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The Learning and Teaching Symposium explores the theme AI in Education.
These themes are explored through presentations from UNE colleagues and invited speakers and show and tell sessions. The full programme can be found below.
When the conference starts you will see a connect button within each cell that corresponds to each session, click the “Connect” button and you will be directed to a Zoom meeting. The button will look like this:
Tim Fawns is Associate Professor (Education Focused) at the Monash Education Academy. Tim’s research interests are at the intersection between digital, professional (particularly medical and healthcare professions) and higher education, with a particular focus on the relationship between technology and educational practice. Tim’s research covers a broad range of educational practices (including curriculum design, assessment, teaching practice, evaluation and more), with emphasis on appreciating complexity in relation to online, blended and hybrid education. He has recently contributed to TEQSA’s Assessment reform for the age of artificial intelligence guidance document and played a leading role in a range of sector-wide events to help institutions respond to the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence.
In this session, we explore progressive strides made in university teaching methodologies, specifically focusing on enhancing online social presence and implementing trauma-informed practices. Anchored in the rich collaborative groundwork laid from 2021 to 2024, this initiative has expanded across all faculties at UNE, incorporating insights from the Oorala Aboriginal Centre and the Wellness Centre. Central to our discussion is the effective dissemination of a student-centric pedagogy that addresses inclusion and a pedagogy of care. Digital tools are profiled and examples of practice are showcased that provide practical examples for academics to develop inclusive and innovative practices. This presentation provides academics with ways forward to improve retention and reduce attrition among students from diverse backgrounds, including those of low socioeconomic status and Indigenous heritage.
Our discussion will cover the theoretical underpinnings of these innovations, provide practical applications, and highlight the tangible impacts on student retention and well-being. The session also aims to inspire academics by demonstrating the potential of AI to transform educational practices, ensuring a responsive, inclusive, and empathetic teaching environment that aligns with the strategic objectives of UNE’s Future-Fit 2021-2030 plan.
AGSY102 Sustainable Agricultural Systems II is a first-year unit core to all UNE’s agriculture courses where by the end of the unit can demonstrate a technical and theoretical understanding of the key principles of agricultural sustainability. Interpreting the sustainability of management practices is an essential skill of an agricultural graduate and requires students to be able to problem solve in the moment, not using notes or electronic material. To begin to develop these critical problem-solving skills, AI generated material is not allowed in this invigilated task. Students choose a topic and a group to evaluate a scenario to explore a concept of sustainability. They produce a poster in class and are then interviewed as a group on their topic. In creating this assessment, the key principles of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Salvia et al. 2009) were considered and students evaluated their team based on the Margerison-McCann team management wheel (Margerison et al. 1986). This presentation will explore the use of UDL at a time when lecturers are seeking ideas for authentic invigilated assessments, where students can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a topic without the use of AI.
Margerison, C., McCann, D. and Davies, R. (1986), The Margerison-McCann Team Management Resource – Theory and Applications, International Journal of Manpower, 7(2), 2-32.
Salvia, J. et al. (2009). Assessment in special and inclusive education, https://www.cast.org/binaries/content/assets/common/publications/downloads/cast-udltipsforassessment-20200920-a11y.pdf
This presentation is to share a research proposal intended for evaluating the effectiveness of gamified Lego brick games in imparting experiential learning amongst first-year marketing students. The proposed research further intends to examine the impact on student engagement and transference of employability skills through the application of the simulated marketing game. International students enrolled in the marketing unit in the Sydney campus lack work experience to contextualise marketing theories. Due to the lack of such work experience, it becomes a challenge for these students to reflect upon any practical examples that inform the theories. A Lego-based marketing simulation game was developed and administered as part of the class workshop on two occasions (2 groups X 2 times 4 times). During the games, students demonstrated significant engagement. However, a proper investigation is due. As part of the research, after completing the activities, a written response will be sought from the students participating in the game. Students will be provided with a self-administered semi-structured survey questionnaire. The questions will be generally around students’ knowledge of marketing subjects and skills acquisition and experiences gained during the activity. The data will be analysed by applying both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research will contribute to the theory of gamified pedagogy and experiential learning theory.
In our foundation science unit Science in Practice, SCI100, we saw a surge in generative AI academic misconduct cases in 2023. In response, we decided to embrace generative AI tools in the written assessment tasks for the unit. This year, we restructured our written assessments to allow students to use generative AI tools to polish their written work. Further, in response to students sharing past essays, we have employed generative AI to develop an efficient system of creating a new fictional case study each trimester. The outcomes were a large reduction in academic misconduct cases and an observed low uptake and resistance to using AI tools among students. In this talk, we will share our experiences and findings with a seemingly constructive way forward in this challenging space.
This article considers generative artificial intelligence (gAI) in the context of UNE Business School (UNEBS). In particular, it discusses the challenges surrounding the formulation and implementation of academic integrity policies and processes. Despite the growing body of literature on gAI in the higher education sector, there is limited guidance on how business schools might harness and manage gAI with appropriate policies and processes. While UNE has noted the potential of gAI to enhance student learning, policy responses at the faculty or school level have been hurried and haphazard. For example, processes to prevent gAI-specific plagiarism are not supported by adequate resources to handle a burgeoning number of cases. More importantly, the need for a more equitable approach to policy development and practices that ensures the diversity of student voices and staff concerns is taken into account has been overlooked. This exploratory research responds to this gap and draws on two work-in-progress research projects the author is currently involved in to identify gAI-specific academic integrity policy challenges. The findings presented here have practical implications for unit coordinators, academic integrity officers, and course managers at the UNEBS and beyond.
The recent rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) offers educators opportunities to consider the purposes of assessment and implement new possibilities in teaching and learning. TEQSA’s recent report on assessment reform for the age of artificial intelligence invites us to reconsider the assessments used in our units to evaluate learning outcomes and the best ways in which to prepare and train students in their respective fields in the age of artificial intelligence. In this presentation, I will share my personal reflections, including the challenges and opportunities, on assessment redesign in curriculum units following TEQSA’s advice to consider ‘what is worth assessing and, consequently, what and how students learn.’ The presentation will showcase some examples of assessment redesign requiring the use of ChatGPT in curriculum units that are preparing primary and secondary teachers to teach History and Geography. Further reflection will be provided with an overview of some preliminary feedback from students on these redesigns using GenAI in their assessments.
Virtual campus focused – if undertaken as a presentation I can take you our thought process designing the campus, the functionality of the platform that houses the virtual campus and possible uses in teaching and learning going forward.
Themes include social isolation as a result of online study, gamification, and community building through shared spaces.
If you would like for us just to have it set up as an interactive activity that people can check out and use, we could do that as well.
AGFN100 ‘Fundamentals of Agriculture’ was created in 2022 to equip students with the foundational tools to solve a wide variety of real-world agricultural problems. The unit has a diverse cohort of students, both with their knowledge of the scientific underpinnings of agriculture and level from AQF 5 to 8. Being offered as a blended and hybrid learning mode, but with no on-campus experience for the online students, the unit coordinators responded creatively by firstly duplicating the on-campus practical and tutorial experience through purpose-built asynchrony edited videos for the online students. But with no intensive school, which is the norm in agricultural units, students disengaged, leading to the unit having a higher fail rate by online students than comparable units. HTML 5 package (H5P) is an interactive tool that can be embedded in Moodle/myLearn including interactive video that has been effectively used to increase student learning and increase grades (Mutawa et al. 2023). The unit coordinators increased the interactive activities within the unit using H5P. In this presentation, the unit coordinators will reflect on the process of using H5P activities and videos to ensure online students receive an equivalent and engaging experience.
Mutawa, A. M. et al. (2023). The effectiveness of using H5P for undergraduate students in the asynchronous distance learning environment. Applied Sciences, 13(8), 4983.
Assessment of the outcome of spatial thinking is complicated and influenced by many variables (understanding software, learning environments, comprehending spatial phenomena, student backgrounds, and individual learning styles, etc.). Integrating innovative tools like Story Map provided scope to use web maps and applications as tools for students to communicate the results of their knowledge and research, while serving as assessment tools for me to evaluate student learning. The assessment allowed students to work on a topic of their choice (flexible), research a topic and collect relevant information (critical thinking, problem solving), summarise and design web maps (creative, innovative, spatial skills) and present information (communication) – a range of skills that empowered them to be fit for spatial industry employment. Not only did students created interesting story maps, they also made fascinating spatial observations in the task. I have reflected their opinion through unit feedback and a separate survey conducted for this assessment. The majority of the cohort had not ever used GIS before when they did this assignment and found the task to be not very difficult 93% of students (n = 27) found the task to be useful in enhancing their spatial analysis thinking and skills. The most interesting and positive aspect of the assessment was that >85% students would like to see more similar tasks in other geospatial science units.
In this talk I explore how AI image generators can be used to get students to engage with the close reading of historical texts through a specific activity created for an ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture unit. The activity focused on an ancient text about art and asked students to pull apart pieces of the text to use as prompts to ‘recreate’ an ancient art gallery using an AI image generator. In addition to encouraging students to read the ancient passages carefully in order to create prompts from them, by combining text and image, this activity instigated broader conversations about the place of art in society, the role of the artist, and the meaning and place of creativity and imagination.
TBC.
The fast pace of AI developments and the complexities of developing policy and guidelines for the use of AI in Higher Education (Venaruzzo, et al., 2023) creates a need for staff and students to develop AI literacy in order to use it effectively and ethically in education and employment contexts. Building on digital literacy, AI literacy involves developing the knowledge and skills to ‘critically evaluate AI technologies’ to enable their use as a tool in education and the workplace (Long & Magerko, 2020, p.2; Venaruzzo, et al., 2023). Ongoing engagement with evidence-based examples, training opportunities, regulatory guidelines, and institutional priorities are essential strategies to support academics and students to develop AI literacy and competency (Venaruzzo, et al., 2023).
The purpose of this presentation is to review and collate practical guidance, resources, and examples that UNE staff can use to grow their AI literacy and to develop effective teaching and learning strategies. We’ll explore some of the resources UNE has developed to support staff and students so far, and outward to where others have gone in this rapidly evolving new era.
References:
Long, D. & Magerko, B. (2020, April). ‘What is AI literacy? Competencies and Design Considerations.’ Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Honolulu, HI, USA: ACM (April 2020) pp1-16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.337672
Venaruzzo, L., Ames, K., & Leichtweis, S. (2023, March 9). ‘Embracing AI for student and staff productivity.’ Australasian Council on Open Distance and eLearning (ACODE). Canberra, Australia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14742/apubs.2023.401
Check out our half-day 2025 Symposium recordings.
