Faculty of Arts and Education

Read examples of how teaching teams have acted on eVALUate results and suggestions for improvement in units.

Contents

• ASP215 Philosophy, Happiness, and the Good Life
• ASS329 Anthropology of Crime and Violence
• ECA735 Arts Education Curriculum Inquiry 2
• EPP401 Curriculum Assessment and Policy in Contemporary Schooling

You said, we did

ASP215 Philosophy, Happiness, and the Good Life

In previous versions of this unit, students have told us that these aspects of the unit have helped them to achieve the learning outcomes:

• Clear and engaging teaching
• Interesting readings
• Engagement with real world concerns; philosophising as a living dialogue about things that matter.

The following aspects of the unit have been introduced, enhanced or retained in response to feedback from students who have undertaken this unit in previous trimesters:

• We restructured the unit to speak to students' concerns and issues, and introduce philosophy in response to the questions real people face in their lives, rather than the other way around
• We introduced a 'hurdle' requirement in the dialogue assessment, to ensure all students are active in discussion with their partners at least 3 weeks prior to the final assessment due date
• In 2019 we simplified the unit site, so that students have the readiest access to the variety of readings we recommend in connection with classes and also assignments
• From 2019-20, we began to prerecord 3-4 short online "key ideas" sessions for all students, each week
• In 2019 we added a text on natural law by Denis Diderot, a thinker from the French enlightenment to carry forward the theme of toleration in Week 8
• In 2021, we successfully added a new week on grief: is there a duty to grieve for lost/deceased loved ones, and if so, to whom or what, and how explained?

ASS329 Anthropology of Crime and Violence

In previous versions of this unit, students have told us that these aspects of the Unit have helped them to achieve the learning outcomes:

• Teaching staff who demonstrate their passion for a particular research topic within anthropology
• Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and supportive teaching staff.

The following aspects of the unit have been introduced, enhanced or retained in response to feedback from students who have undertaken this unit in previous trimesters:

• We have streamlined assessments linked them more integrally with each other
• We have made clearer the exact due dates and times of assessment tasks, and provided more detailed instruction on them.

ECA735 Arts Education Curriculum Inquiry 2

In previous versions of this unit, students have told us that these aspects of the Unit have helped them to achieve the learning outcomes:

• the assessments were easy to align with my workplace tasks and therefore were easy to complete while working full time
• the examples of students’ work for the different aspects of each assessment were useful and made it clear what the different requirements were in a more visual manner
• teaching was clear and helpful. The content linked to the requirements as well as real life teaching
• online modules were easy to understand and clearly laid out
• the communication and career relevant material
• the assessments’ expectations were clear, and their progression was really good
• the assignments really challenged my learning and asked me to think more like a teacher
• great lecturers, exciting and fun classes
• the staff were very helpful and considerate.

The following aspects of the unit have been introduced, enhanced, or retained in response to feedback from students who have undertaken this unit in previous trimesters:

• We have reduced the number of readings or preamble in weekly content
• We have included more practical components
• We spend more time explaining the unit content and assessment tasks
• We spend more time discussing teaching rounds, linking theory to practice.

EPP401 Curriculum Assessment and Policy in Contemporary Schooling

The following aspects of the unit have been introduced, enhanced, or retained in response to feedback from students who have undertaken this unit in previous trimesters:

• We have scheduled classes as 1 hour (3 times per trimester), and a weekly 2.5 hour seminar rather than a 1 hour class and 2 hour seminar each week, as students gave us feedback that the weekly classes were rushed with no time to unpack the learning through hands-on activities
• We spend more time in seminars using participatory pedagogical approaches
• Students last year responded positively to the scaffolded assessment for learning approach, where assessment tasks were progressively built upon and supported through in-class learning activities. In acknowledging student feedback that this approach supported their achievement of the learning outcomes, we have again adopted a similar approach in this offering of the unit. In short, the teaching, learning and assessment elements of this unit are integrated in nature and as such we have retained the focus on student engagement during class time as a key aspect of modelling assessment 'as' and 'for' learning.
• Students found the information about assessments and the DTPA to be a little overwhelming in such a busy year, therefore we have again instituted a week 0 (before week 1), where students have the opportunity to engage with an overview of the assessments and how they play out across EPP401 and EPP405 (a 2-credit point sequence).
• We have simplified the information this year and responded to feedback by providing more short videos to support assessment.