Staff teaching in the 1CC central courtyard rooms in S1 this year were asked to provide feedback on their experience of teaching in those spaces. This post is to outline what was said and what is being done in response to that feedback.

The staff survey and focus groups conducted at the end of S1 highlighted that staff and students enjoyed these vibrant new spaces but also revealed that there are some differences in the way we now teach compared to when the rooms were envisioned 4 years earlier. The survey responses are summarised in this Evaluation Report.

Some of the key survey findings:

  • Over 61% felt happy or very happy to be teaching in these rooms. “This is the most beautiful teaching space I’ve ever taught in and the students love the different seating. It is really helping to make my classes engaging and interesting.”
  • There was significant support for including Zoom capability across the rooms with 82.76% indicating such a feature would be ‘game changer’ or ‘useful’ to their teaching.
  • Some students experienced difficulties in connecting their devices and laptops.
  • There was a preference for the presets for the blinds to be changed so that blinds would remain open as the default setting instead of automatically closing whenever the main screen is turned on.

Enhancements planned for S1 next year

Whilst we won’t be able to address all the issues raised in the first instance, this is what is planned for implementation by S1, 2022:

  1. Facilitate blended synchronous (i.e. Zoom) teaching through the installation of some additional AV equipment
  2. Rectify an annoyance of the blinds automatically closing each time the AV system is started.
  3. Address a lack of HDMI cables for students in pod equipped rooms.

There will be further evaluation during S1 next year, including a student feedback survey, which will help to inform stage 2 works. Further details about Phase 1 works and what is being considered as part of potential stage 2 enhancements are outlined in this 1CC upgrade proposal summary.

Posted by L&T Development

The Learning and Teaching Staff Development team works with staff across the University to ensure they are supported to facilitate quality learning for students. This includes offering professional development, contributing to curriculum and assessment design, recognising and rewarding good practice, supporting peer review of teaching, and leading scholarly reflection. Email professional.learning@mq.edu.au with questions or requests.

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