Pecha Kucha presentations - Ara Department of Humanities

Organised by Libby Gawith, chair of the Humanities department research committee. These short show and tell sessions are popular with our tutors at Ara Institute of Canterbury. Presentations are over lunch time with each presenter given 6 minutes to provide an overview of their work. Some of the presentations are based on just completed Diploma in Tertiary Learning and Teaching (DTLT) projects which are based on practical strategies to enhance learning for students.

Andre de Roo from Engineering trades presented on  taking tec to the coal face based on work undertaken as his last DTLT project on programme development. Rationalised through needs of industry with lean manufacturing and CAD / CAM controls, robotic workshops and 21^st century pedagogies with needs for deeper learning. Class set of tablets had logistical issues. Created covers and used onenote class notebook in welding classroom to help learning. 

Louise Sheppard  reported on trialling an e-book version of a course textbook within context of anatomy and physiology. Presented rationale, details of the ebook, costs and principles. Ebook comes with a ‘learning space’ which is a trimmed down LMS revolving around the book. Able to select / hide / structure text book, assign reading week by week (and see learning analytics on this), includes quizzes, multi-media content, book-marking etc. Students also able to like, comment, interact and post picture, videos and links.

Adrian Blunt spoke on the concept of "great expectations". Overview of his study leave over this semester whereby he explored the relevance of the work of Professor Jo Boaler – on math mindfulness and Professor ChristineRubie-Davies (Auckland University) on high teacher expectations.  Teachers with high expectations had equitable classrooms, did not lose sight of individuals, encouraged goal settings, effective feedback and communication between students and teachers. Challenged all to consider setting high expectations for our student.

Mary Brett-Kohistani presented on "the digital divide", part of her final paper on a MA with the topic of what is the digital divide and how does it apply to literacy. Especially what the implications for tutors. Have, can and will or nots. Digital divide is focused on socio-economical issues but also generational differences. So digital = access or ownership or not. Literacy = able or not yet able. Practitioners may assist to close the divide using social media aligned to needs of learners.

Ian Patterson – Peer assessment and feedback – reporting on his DTLT project – how to motivate students with lab work if model answers were published at the end of each week. Involved students through peer assessment, students had to figure out the answer and then provide feedback to their peers. Explained the logistics, challenges, some solutions and reflections. Took more time as tutor was the manager of the assessment process.

Hossein Askarinejad overviewed using BYOD in the classroom which was part of his DTLT project. Need to incorporate active learning through real / live practical activities along with BYOD to engage students. Provided an example whereby learning activity encourages students research article online, check against NZ standard and assess the various options. Summarised logistical needs – enhanced WiFI, charging stations, support for software / hardware and having backup available (shared tablets).

David Cooper  presented on Sound 3 M.A.K.E. – musical audio kinetic electronics which anchors his Year 3 course to assist students to learn the HOW and WHY behind their music theory and practice. Based on using Arduino and open source software to extend their parameters. E.g. connecting musician’s heart beat to musical composition. Encourages students to be innovative but within a budget to encourage sustainable practice.

Graeme Harris provided details of his project – Motorsport and how to also assist a group of Indian students on a block course to learn about engineering analysis. Provided background, the Indian context, the needs of the students – what they want to learn and how the course is structured / design to meet the student learning needs.

 Good to see progress in the various projects. Almost all projects have had some contact with our educational development team, with two projects being off-shoots or continuation of the tablet projects begun 3 years ago.