Educational research

The Learning Enhancement Team has a dedicated educational researcher who supports teaching staff and program leaders to gain valuable insights into their teaching practices and the student learning experience through the design and application of a range of context specific and bespoke evaluation practices. This is informed through reference to the educational research literature.

Our Educational researcher can assists with:

conducting program level reviews that inform strategic decisions about curriculum structure
implementing course level evaluation leading to effective curriculum design
co-developing T&L Awards and Grants applications using an evidence-based approach

Other educational initiatives

SLOCI supports academic staff to explore their teaching through a student-centric approach, providing unbiased information directly from students about their learning environment and experiences.

The team consists of student researchers from the Schools across the Faculty. The team was founded in April 2018 and has experience in T&L research. The team also operates as an alternative source of feedback to staff (representative of the student voice), and as a point of contact and support for staff and students engaged with student-staff-partnership projects in the Faculty.

The SLOCI team are trained in:

Educational research (quantitative and qualitative research including mixed methods research).
Survey, focus group, interview and field work.
Observational analysis (e.g. using the PORTAAL and COPUS tools).
The terminology and techniques relevant to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
User experience and usability studies especially for technology enhanced learning projects.
Educational research in naturalistic settings.
Document analysis and the development of descriptive educational field notes.

Strategic priorities addressed by SLOCI

The work of the SLOCI team specifically addresses the following aims of UQ’s Student Strategy areas through its work with student and staff:

Aim 3 - Meet the learning expectations of a hyperconnected and entrepreneurial generation of digitally-minded learners.
Aim 5 - Support a student experience that recognises students as both consumers and co-creators of knowledge.
Aim 7 - Engender a culture whereby staff commitment to an enriched student experience is supported and rewarded so that our students remain at the heart of all that we do.

SLOCI Project List

The SLOCI team has been involved in various projects since 2018. These include a number of course reviews as well as the design and analysis of a number of surveys, focus groups and interviews.

Current projects

Task	Group	Details
Analysing and improving online Learning	EAIT	Part of large T&L project designed to collect information on students’ experiences of the shift to online learning over 2020/21. Involves the development of a range of novel data collection techniques, including the use of online guerrilla interviews/surveys and focus groups. The benefit to staff and students will be in the form of guidelines to create an improved online/blended learning experience for students
MyProgramming Tutor	EAIT	Provide insight into the student learning experience for the existing MyPyTutor tool to feed into development of new tool. This includes evaluation of user interface and exercises.
ARCH1201	EAIT	Develop, conduct and analyse guerrilla interviews, focus groups, interviews and surveys to contribute to course review from the student perspective. Collate findings and conduct qualitative analysis in order to understand the distinctions between disciplines/School and course type.
CHEE2001	EAIT
CSSE1001/7013	EAIT
ENGG1100	EAIT
ENGG4900	EAIT

Past projects

Task	Group	Details
VLE Review	ITS	Represent other student stakeholders as part of the review of the Virtual Learning Environment. Coordinate and collate feedback produced as part of the review for use by VLE project leads.
ITS SSP Project	ITS	Mentorship and training of ITS SSP students to examine a range of issues affecting the student learning experience. This included: Allocate Plus Maze Maps
Teamwork Experience	EAIT SoMME	Assistance with gaining further feedback on students’ experiences with teamwork. This project builds on work undertaken earlier in 2019 as part of an SSP project.
Archistar Software Learner Experience	EAIT	Design, develop and deliver focus group and survey questions as part of a review of an EAIT T&L grant looking at technology enhanced learning in order to determine the feasibility and utility of providing additional funding to acquire another licence for Archistar in the future.
ENGG1100 Course Review	EAIT	Conduct focus groups with students to discuss course structure, provided feedback on course document (assessment table and grading matrix). In-class observations at lectures and workshops to look at student engagement with staff and different class types.
ENGG1200 Course Review	EAIT	Conducted focus groups to discuss course structure, further on delivered online survey to quantify findings. A total of six students were recruited to participate in weekly activities to provide consistent feedback on the course.
ENGG1211 Course Review	EAIT
CIVL3141 Course Review	EAIT	Conducted focus groups to discuss course structure, analyse the main differences in approaches to learning between different disciplines under the same course structure (Note that CIVL3141 is mainly taken by chemical and civil engineering students).
FIRE3700 Course Review	EAIT	Conducted focus groups to discuss course structure and opportunities (lab access, future careers), took part in in-class observation to look at student engagement in interactive lecture over time.
BE/ME Review	EAIT	Conduct focus groups across different years and disciplines, graduates and industries to collect feedback on student needs, and current industry trends in order to provide advice for program review.
Tutor Training Feedback	EAIT	SLOCI helped to summarise the EAIT tutor training survey results, and provide guidance for improvements to subsequent training.
2018 EAIT T&L Forum	EAIT	Participated in 2018 EAIT T&L forum as student representatives to provide student feedback, presented SLOCI as a student-partner that is able to liaise with staff and students.
2018 Australian Students as Partners Roundtable	UQ/International Universities	Presented poster on SLOCI experiences, participated in roundtable discussions, networked with other likeminded people from universities around the world.

ERI@EAIT is a supportive Community of Practice (CoP) for staff interested in collaborating, improving their teaching and learning practice, engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) or Educational research.

Purpose

The purpose of the CoP is to promote the continuing transformation of teaching and learning in the Faculty through evidence-based practice and engagement with teaching and learning research in a reflective environment. The CoP adopts an action learning approach to encourage staff to further engage with T&L.

CoP supports staff by:

Fostering innovation in teaching practice based on experience, shared knowledge, evidence and research.
Disseminating information about engineering, architecture and information technology education research.
Identifying suitable methods to evaluate T&L innovation and practice.
Supporting staff applying for recognition of their teaching practice through awards (e.g. Faculty or UQ-based, HEA).
Promoting the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning or SoTL /Educational research within the Faculty.
Encouraging collaboration between staff through sharing ideas about teaching and cross-disciplinary work (e.g. teaching grants).
Strengthening the existing culture of teaching and learning in the Faculty.
Supporting staff at any stage of developing their teaching research – from scholarly teaching, through to the scholarship of teaching and learning through to expertise in disciplinary educational research.

The last point is developed further in Table 1 (adapted from Streveler , Borrego and Smith, 2007). Table 1 indicates typical activities that would be discussed within the CoP. Other areas of practice that are supported by the CoP are covered in Table 2.

Table 1. Exploring teaching and learning – from excellent practice to educational research.

Excellent teaching	Scholarly teaching	Scholarship of Teaching and Learning	Educational Research
Involves the use of good content, teaching methods and the development of pedagogical content knowledge	Involves gathering evidence, informed by best practice and knowledge, invites collaboration and review	Involves evaluation of teaching practices and student learning; is open to critique, can be built on by others, involves asking questions, inquiry and investigation	Begins with a research question Ties the question to learning, pedagogical or social theory

Excellent teaching

Scholarly teaching

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Educational Research

Involves the use of good content, teaching methods and the development of pedagogical content knowledge

Involves gathering evidence, informed by best practice and knowledge, invites collaboration and review

Involves evaluation of teaching practices and student learning; is open to critique, can be built on by others, involves asking questions, inquiry and investigation

Begins with a research question

Ties the question to learning, pedagogical or social theory

Table 2. Framework for scaffolding T&L activities within the CoP (adapted from Cruz et al., 2019).

	Emergent exploration	Considered exploration	In depth exploration
Innovation and Ideas	Develop ideas about your teaching practice or student learning in your discipline in response to an identified need for innovation or change	Adaptation of existing tools, frameworks, learning designs to suit specific context	Novel approach to teaching and learning in the discipline incorporating experience, expertise and awareness of alternatives and risk
Examples:	Discuss your ideas about T&L with a colleague or mentor Pitch your idea for a T&L project to a subgroup with disciplinary expertise for encouragement and support Innovation in T&L practice and approaches to student learning and engagement e.g. through development of novel learning environment
Knowledge and Preparation	Develop pedagogical content knowledge	Explore T&L literature more deeply	Contribute to the state of knowledge of educational research in your discipline
Examples:	Attend T&L seminars or CoP in your area of interest Review T&L research literature relevant to your field
Practice and Evidence	Explore your own T&L practices with a view to change	Implement evidence-based changes to T&L in the classroom	Constructively critique the established T&L evidence-base in your area
Examples:	Apply your ideas for change to your own practice based on your experience and/or the literature Evaluate practice in light of outcomes and the literature
Scholarship and Review	Evaluate the changes to your T&L practice	Analyse your practice and research with regards to wider literature	Contribute to T&L research knowledge base through theory or practice based research
Examples:	Write up your findings for a conference presentation or journal article Present T&L research at a conference Write a chapter or book
Collaborate and Network	Make links with colleagues with similar T&L interests or challenges	Share the findings, e.g. at an internal event such as School TLC, Faculty T&L Forum, institutional T&L week	Establish links with others outside of your institution or in cross-disciplinary fields
Examples:	Participate in a T&L Community of Practice (CoP) Attend T&L Conference in your discipline
Culture and Environment	Join or establish a T&L group	Support others to explore their teaching practice	Mentor and support others in the development of their T&L disciplinary expertise and
Examples:	Apply for a Faculty or UQ T&L Award or nominate and encourage others to apply Focus on T&L through EAIT yearly T&L Forum Participate in discussions leading to revision of policy Recognition of T&L through promotion

CoP Meetings

The group will meet 8-10 times per year (or as required/needed) to share ideas, foster collaboration and develop new ideas.

Possible themes for discussion are:

Applying for T& L Grants
Getting started with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning ( SoTL )
Conducting educational research
Educational Theory
Writing up your T&L research for publication