Flexible Education Research

Flexible Education development is informed by current educational research and international best practice in learning quality enhancement using educational technologies.  Developers are engaged in implementing the findings of current research and in contributing to it through research and publication based on Flexible Education project development at UNSW.

Flexible Education developers continue to engage with research and publication, to bring new approaches and applications of technology to project development at UNSW, and to raise the profile of UNSW in current educational research.

Current research projects

Current Flexible Education development projects that have related research and publication include:

• Project-based learning design for the new faculty-wide “Engineering Design and Innovations” first year course. 

This project uses facilitated learning guides and online peer review and assessment to support investigative and creative teamwork and reflective learning for large numbers of students.  Current research is examining student learning as reflected in written work.

Publication:  Paper published by the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) conference, Sydney, December 2006. Abstract | Full paper (PDF).

• A blended approach to collaborative learning: Can it make large group teaching more student-centred?

This project introduced an online group project into a content-rich materials science course for 300+ first year engineers. Research evaluates the experience for students and teachers, and how this is reflected in learning outcomes.

Publication: Paper published by the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) conference, Sydney, December 2006. Abstract | Full paper (PDF).

• Time efficient approaches to learning quality enhancement. 

UNSW staff members who have undertaken learning enhancement projects using educational technologies and who have identified time-efficiency gains as a result were interviewed for this project.  Time-efficient learning enhancements were found in techniques for using online discussions and online peer review and assessment processes.

Publication:  A journal paper is under development.
See a summary of the project findings [link to come].
See a draft of the paper [link to come].

• Implementing A Blended Approach to Active Learning. 

Following implemetation of this new workshop program in 2006, surveys, focus groups and interviews with participants will be used to identify outcomes from the approach, program strengths and ways of improving it.

• Learning templates to support active learning online.

UNSW implemented the WebCT Vista LMS in 2006, providing an opportunity to develop a range of learning templates for academics to use as a basis for their courses. To encourage academic staff to foster active learning processes, a range of institutional templates were developed. The Vista templates have since been used to support the development of new courses, and guidelines have been developed to support their use. The 2006 implementation of the templates is now being evaluated.

Publication: Book chapter in development (Handbook of Research on Learning Design and Learning Objects: Issues, Applications and Technologies. Editorial Team: Lori Lockyer, Sue Bennett, Shirley Agostinho, and Barry Harper; Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong.

Flexible Education Research Papers

• List to come