Student learning and support
Resources relating to the following PLaCE sub-domains:
S1. Planning and facilitating student learning
S2. Supporting students
S3. Engaging students
Implementing sound strategies and practice in planning, facilitating, supporting and engaging students is vital in enhancing student learning and support.
Other topics covered here include:
- Active learning
- Blended synchronous teaching
- Online teaching
- Team based learning
- First day teaching
- Inclusive teaching
S1. Planning and facilitating student learning
| Resource | Description |
| Echo360 – Beyond the basics | Using Echo360 Active Learning Platform for more than just lecture capture. (TECHE article) |
| Changing work requires new skills and learning methods | What are the future skills that graduates will need in the workplace? (Aust Gov Department of Education, Skills and Employment Higher Education publication). |
| Chunking content for learning | How to group information into meaningful segments to aid learning (PDF) |
| Constructive alignment | What is constructive alignment and how to promote it (from Arts L&T Hub) |
| Designing for learning | Introduces principles of curriculum design, constructive alignment, approaches to student learning & designing learner focused teaching (pdf handbook from Auckland Uni of Technology) |
| Digital literacy | A definition of digital literacy. Models showing the components of digital dexterity and ICT proficiency are presented (Arts L&T Hub) |
| Ensuring academic integrity and assessment security with redesigned online delivery | A guide for unit convenors to help with redesigning assessment for fully online delivery (PDF Deakin University) |
| Guide to good teaching practices | Suggestions cover encouraging interaction, collaboration, active learning, providing prompt feedback, communicating clear objectives and high expectations, respecting diversity and ways of learning (PDF University of Western Sydney) |
| Guidelines for inclusive teaching | Things to consider in the move to online learning during COVID (Arts L&T Hub) |
| Initial learning design sample | An example of how to plan a learning session (pdf From Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching course) |
| Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: A systematic and critical review | This report critically reviews the literature on learning styles and examines in detail 13 of the most influential models. (182p PDF – Learning & Skills Research Centre UK) |
| A lesson plan in one sentence | Focus the learning by outlining the what, the why and the how (Faculty Focus article) |
| Live automated transcription and captioning in Zoom | Increase accessibility of your Zoom classes using live transcription. (TECHE article) |
| Principles for inclusive teaching | Five principles relevant for the MQ context that support our commitment to inclusive practice in learning and teaching. |
| Sample lesson plan | An example of a lesson plan (pdf from Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching course) |
| Selecting iLearn tools to promote active learning | Tools available in iLearn, their function and ways you can use them to support active learning. (PDF) |
| Team teaching | An overview of some common approaches to team teaching (Arts L&T Hub) |
| Threshold concepts for novice online teachers | A research team identifies the threshold concepts for online teaching. Resources & guidelines for professional development.(Website supported by Aust Gov DET. Project led by Avondale College) |
| VoiceThread – Beyond the basics | How to use VoiceThread to collaborate, share, provide feedback and enable student peer review plus some MQ examples. (TECHE article) |
Active learning
| Resource | Description |
| Active learning | Active learning theory and evidence, techniques to use, resources. (Website: Vanderbuilt Uni Centre for Teaching) |
| Active learning – 7 tips | 7 tips to introduce active learning into your teaching (PDF) |
| Active learning – large groups | Active learning strategies for large group instruction (PDF Boise State University) |
| Active learning at Macquarie | A quick tour through the ways we’ve engaged with active learning at MQ (TECHE article) |
| Active learning strategies handbook | Outlines a range of active learning activities for individuals and groups with explanations of how or why each strategy may useful in your teaching. (PDF Uni Wollongong) |
| Active learning summary of approaches | A summary of some of the many approaches to incorporate active learning in your classroom. (PDF Uni Michigan) |
| Active learning – Teaching toolkit series | The what, why and how of active learning. (PDF Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation Teaching Toolkit series) |
| Active learning techniques | Ideas for active learning techniques mapped according to whether they are low preparation/short activity to high preparation/longer activity time. (Best practice active learning website – New York University) |
| Case studies for active learning | Case studies in a range of disciplines with examples of best practice and resources. (PDF) |
| Classroom assessment and activity techniques | This guide explains and gives examples of how in-class assessment can enhance university teaching and learning. |
| Cooperative learning – guide to working with student groups | Ideas, techniques and advice on how to incorporate group work into your teaching. (44p PDF Ako Aotearoa – National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence – New Zealand) |
| Design active learning | Different active learning approaches to consider and ideas for active learning activities to implement in the classroom. (Website – Monash University) |
| Echo360 Active learning platform Interactive tips | Practical ideas to add interaction into your lectures (PDF MQ Guide) |
| Facilitate active learning | Planning and delivering a successful active learning task for synchronous, small or large classes. (Website – Monash University) |
| Facilitating learning experiences | Ideas to help you think about different aspects of facilitating the learning experiences of your students, particularly in small classes. (Website: University Tasmania) |
| How to apply active learning techniques | A guide to facilitate a more active approach to learning, includes case studies. (PDF MQ) |
| Instructor habits to keep students engaged | Tips to use while in the classroom including advice on paying attention to the back of the room. (pdf. Carl Weiman) |
| Learning activities resources | A extensive searchable resources site focusing on active learning. (Website: Merlot collection) |
| Lesson planning & active learning | A series of short videos making up a self paced module on active learning, lesson planning, assessment, designing activities etc (Carleton University) |
| Teaching for active learning | A handbook on applying, designing and planning active learning sessions. (42p. PDF Auckland University of Technology) |
| Teaching with simulations – Pedagogy in action | Using simulations to engage students in deep learning, with examples. (Pedagogy in Action portal for educators) |
| What is active learning | How to successfully implement active learning and address challenges. (University of Minnesota) |
| Why are they not participating? | Five tips to encourage online communities and increase student participation. (TECHE article) |
Academic integrity
| Resource | Description |
| Enhancing academic integrity in your unit | The rapid move to online learning has left many students vulnerable to contract cheating companies. Here are three ways to deal with it. (TECHE article) |
| Fostering academic integrity in your classroom | A TECHE article outlining resources available to support teaching staff to have educative conversations with students to remind them to act with integrity in their study and future professional life. |
| Turnitin setting changes to improve academic writing | A TECHE article explaining how Turnitin similarity reports can be used as a tool for student academic writing. |
Blended synchronous teaching
| Resource | Description |
| Blended synchronous teaching – a quick guide | Recommendations on how to manage delivering a face to face session with some participants joining remotely. (MQ 2-page PDF) |
| Blended synchronous learning – an example from professional practice | Tips from MQBS for facilitating different kinds of in-class activities. (TECHE article) |
| Blended Synchronous Learning Handbook | This handbook is the output of the Blended Synchronous Learning Project: findings from case studies, a design framework, resources and information to support blended synchronous learning design research and practice. (Website and PDF) |
| Blended synchronous teaching at MQ Guide | Information about using the technology and tools currently available at MQ to support blended synchronous teaching. It includes quick start set up steps for different room situations. (PDF) |
| On-campus sessions with online participants | Tips for teaching on-campus with some students joining remotely. (TECHE article) |
| Small group classes with an online option | Recommendations and guidance for those who find themselves having to be in two places at once using a blended synchronous teaching approach. (TECHE article) |
| Small group classes with an online option – guidance notes | Options to consider, keys to success, using technology, strategies for grouping students, accessibility. (MQ guide doc) |
| Teaching a blendsync class- what’s in my toolkit | Tips you can use to make a blendsync class run smoothly. (TECHE article) |
| Blended synchronous learning – workshop video | A video recording of an MQ workshop – includes case studies, design principles and tips. |
Online teaching
| Resource | Description |
| Ensuring academic integrity & assessment security with redesigned online delivery | A guide for redesigning assessment to suit fully online delivery (Deakin University) |
| Guide to going online (FoSE iLearn) | Information and support for teaching online; preparing your unit, assessment & exams, labs and pracs, using Zoom and more. (FoSE iLearn site: MQ) |
| How do I encourage students to use their webcams? | Practical strategies to encourage your students to use their cameras. (TECHE article) |
| Humanising online teaching | Practical tips for calming student anxiety around online learning. (TECHE article) |
| Learning & Teaching Toolkit (MQBS) | MQBS site: Use the left hand navigation bar to access resources on topics such as kickstart, team based learning, hybrid classes, student engagement, assessment and more. (MQBS L&T site) |
| Lesson planning for online classes | Proven ideas for planning for online learning (MQ School of Education: TECHE article) |
| Online delivery resources (Arts) | Online delivery resources compiled by MQ Faculty of Arts |
| Online exams in iLearn: Pick the best tool for the job | A handy table displaying the best iLearn (moodle) tools to use for different types on online exams. (TECHE article) |
| Online learning good practice (TEQSA) | Contributions from experts across the Australian Tertiary Education sector – practical resources covering getting started, the student experience, assessment integrity, international perspectives. (Website: TEQSA) |
| The science demo: an experience going virtual | A case study in transitioning from fun, messy science demos in classrooms to online. (TECHE article) |
| Selecting Moodle tools to promote active learning | A list of MQ iLearn tools, their function, how to select which one to use. (PDF) |
| Spotlight on practice | MQ staff talk about their experience of transitioning to online learning and teaching. (TECHE series) |
| Teaching Online Program (iLearn) | An MQ self-paced module covering online learning technologies, creating learning communities, interacting with students via Zoom, marking and feedback. (iLearn module) |
| Teaching online TECHE posts | Access all the articles written about teaching online for TECHE, MQ’s learning and teaching blog. (TECHE articles) |
| Tools for online learning and teaching | Useful resources for all-online learning. (TECHE article) |
| Zooming through breakout rooms | A brief run through of using breakout rooms in Zoom to help manage participants. (TECHE article) |
| Zoom room full of errors | Recommendations for getting set up to use Zoom effectively. (TECHE article) |
Team based learning
| Resource | Description |
| A case for team based learning research article | A paper about the implementation of Team-based Learning at Macquarie University (Website: Taylor and Francis online journal) |
| Team based learning guide (Arts) | An introduction and guide to Team-based Learning (PDF link) |
S2. Supporting students
| Resource | Description |
| Combat online abuse – advice from eSafety Commissioner | A guide for dealing with online abuse from the eSafety Commissioner (Website, eSafety Commissioner) |
| Guide to services that support students | A document with information on how to guide and support students with contact details for MQ support services. (PDF) |
| Independent learning at university | Setting the foundations for students to learn independently: issues; solutions; support. (HE Academy 8p PDF) |
| iLearn insights: a tool to engage, support and motivate students | A series of TECHE articles explaining the features of MQ’s iLearn Insights and how you can use them to engage, support and motivate students. |
| Kindness as push back and designing for care | Why kindness matters in teaching and how to promote kindness as a teaching practice. (TECHE article) |
| MyAcademic: Student advising information | How to use MQ’s MyAcademic platform to access transcripts, class lists, unit and course information useful for student academic advising. (TECHE article) |
| Tips for teaching an accessible online course | 20 tips on how to design an accessible online course. (Washington University, PDF) |
Cross-cultural teaching and learning
| Resource | Description |
| Cross-cultural supervision project | A series of 3-4 minute videos in which PhD candidates and their supervisors talk about cross-cultural supervision challenges they faced. (MQ videos) |
| Cultural intelligence: Become a global citizen | Develop cultural intelligence and sensitivity (Free external MQ course via Coursera.) |
| Indigenous Knowledges and Understandings | MQ resources and training to support the connection of curriculum with indigenous knowledges and understandings. (MQ Faculty of Arts) |
| Learning and teaching across cultures | Good practice principles and quick guides designed to help program leaders and teachers to design, implement and evaluate curricula and teaching practices for effective teaching and learning across cultures. (Office for Learning & Teaching / International Education Association of Australia – 76 page PDF) |
| Teaching culturally diverse learners | Teaching a culturally diverse student cohort considering the Instructional, inspirational and interactional dimensions of teaching. (5 min MQ video) |
| Teaching international students | A selection of resources covering practical strategies for preparing international students for the workplace, teaching international students, and insights into staff attitudes towards having international students in the classroom. (Federation University Australia website) |
| Universal design for learning in tertiary education | A free self-paced online course to enhance the knowledge and capability of tertiary educators to confidently apply UDL in their curriculum and improve the learning experience of all students. increase your understanding of designing, developing and implementing universal design for learning. (External course) |
Inclusive teaching
| Resource | Description |
| A sense of belonging among Australian university students | A research study exploring what students perceive as essential factors influencing their sense of belonging. (Journal article: Evianne L. van Gijn-Grosvenor & Penelope Huisman (2020) |
| Auslan at MQ | Overview of sign language and what it means to identify as hard of hearing. (Slides from presentation, MQ Translation & Interpreting, Department of Linguistics) |
| A perspective of inclusion: Challenges for the future | Creating a culture dedicated to identifying and reducing barrier to inclusion and increasing the learning and participation for all students. (Journal article: Braunsteiner M & Mariano-Lapidus S 2018) |
| Creating Inclusive Classrooms | Gain insights from students of Inclusive and Special Education courses and learn how to make an impact within the inclusive learning environment. (MQ Youtube video – 1 Hour) |
| Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement | A textbook aimed at preparing pre-service, in-service, and tertiary teachers for diverse classrooms and helping them develop strategies to engage students with varying backgrounds, needs and abilities. (Hyde, M. B., & Dole, S. & Tait, K. (2022). Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement, Fourth Edition. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.) |
| Guidelines for inclusive teaching | Guidelines for Inclusive teaching from the Faculty of Arts Diversity and Inclusion Committee (Website, Arts L&T) |
| Inclusive teaching toolkit | Materials, resources, strategies, teaching tips, exemplars to support inclusive education. (Deakin website) |
| Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education: a synthesis of research | A paper exploring the key themes, principles and practice synthesised from a range of studies related to inclusive learning and teaching. (67 page .pdf. Prof. Christine Hockings. EvidenceNet) |
| Inclusive teaching: reasonable adjustment for learning needs | Supporting students with disabilities to participate in tertiary education is complex, and includes negotiating and implementing learning supports and processes. Practical examples and suggestions from MQ staff Kathleen Tait and Sue Silveria. (TECHE) |
| Inclusive teaching strategies | Evidence-based strategies to provide teachers with an overview of inclusive teaching practices to support the inclusion of students with a diverse range of abilities and strengths. (NSW Government (Education) website) |
| Let’s talk about diversity in the classroom! | An article from ‘The Educationalist’ focusing on how we relate to diversity in our teaching and how we address it practically. (Weblink – 5 minute read) |
| Planning for inclusive classrooms | A website of resources to assist in fostering inclusivity in course design, day-to-day classroom interactions and assessment practices. (University of Michgan) |
| Practicing and assessing inclusive teaching | Strategies to support the meaningful and accessible learning for all students: inclusive design, creating a respectful & productive learning environment, assessing inclusive teaching practices. (University of Washington website) |
| Principles for inclusive design for the MQ context | A guide for inclusive design for teaching at MQ. Outlines 5 principles that underpin development and design work of Learning & Teaching at Macquarie. (PDF. MQ) |
| Setting the tone for an inclusive classroom | Five general practices to create an intentionally inclusive environment in any class. (University of Michigan) |
| Teaching diverse students: Practical approaches | An annotated bibliography of literature with a practical focus relating to cultural competency and teaching diverse students within the higher education sector. (MQ Learning & Teaching Centre) |
| Teaching for accessibility | MQ experts answer questions on accessibility in teaching. (TECHE) |
| Teaching for Diversity | MQ experts answer questions on teaching for diversity. (TECHE) |
| Teaching & learning in the diverse classroom | A self-paced higher education-centered course that offers an inclusive teaching framework for reflection and exploration of the research on learning and diversity. (Cornell University US) |
| Teaching and supporting first in family students | Practical tips on how to support first in family students in universities. (Aust Gov. Office of Learning and Teaching) |
| Universal design for learning in tertiary education | A free self-paced online course to enhance the knowledge and capability of tertiary educators to confidently apply UDL in their curriculum and improve the learning experience of all students. increase your understanding of designing, developing and implementing universal design for learning. (Aust Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training) |
S3. Engaging students
| Resource | Description |
| 10 ways to engage students online | 10 ways to engage students online including tips on student retention and student-centred learning (OnlineCl@ssroom, PDF) |
| Activities for motivating and retaining online learners | A resource that has 100+ suggestions on how to motivate and retain learners online (TEC-VARIETY, Website) |
| Classroom discussions | A website that has resources about facilitating effective classroom discussions (Faculty Focus, Website) |
| Create a sense of belonging online | A short module about creating a sense of belonging online through empathy, online teaching etiquette and community (Betina Pfaendner, Adobe Spark module) |
| Designing for external and online students | A short module about designing for external students with a focus on creating a sense of belonging (Betina Pfaendner, Adobe Spark module) |
| Engaging and supporting students | 10 pedagogical tips on how to support student engagement (MQ) |
| Engaging students online | Articles and tips on engaging students online from the Faculty of Arts Learning and Teaching hub (L&T Hub, Website) |
| Facilitating discussions and debriefs | A resource for facilitating discussion and debriefs including techniques for guiding discussions and strategies for active listenting (SupportRealTeachers.org, Website) |
| How to lead discussions – Learning through engagement | A handbook on how to lead discussions from the Faculty of Business and Economics (MQ 2008, PDF) |
| Making lectures more engaging | 5 was to make lectures more engaging though ‘active’ lectures (TECHE 2018, URL) |
| More content doesn’t equal more learning | An article about how to trim content and manage information overload for students (Faculty Focus, URL) |
| Motivating and retaining online learners | A book on adding variety and activities to retain and motivate learners online (Tec-Variety, 367 pages, PDF) |
| Presentation skills for unit teachers | A handout with information of how develop more effective presentation skills from the University of Queensland (UoQ, PDF) |
| Promoting student engagement | A one page handout with 7 tips on how to promote student engagement (Arts L&T, PDF) |
| Sample lesson plan | A sample lesson plan template from the Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching Course (CAUT MOOC, PDF) |
| Sample rubric for online discussion | A sample rubric on the topic of Online Learning Activity Participation Asssessment (PDF) |
| Social media toolkit | A handout on how to get started with using social media at Macquarie University (MQ, PDF) |
| Student engagement literature review | A review for student engagement based on definitions in literature from Lancaster University (Lancaster Uni, PDF) |
| Suggestions for improving student engagement in forums | A handout with tips on how to improve student engagement in forums. (Arts L&T, PDF) |
| Teaching by showing – What to show your students | An article exploring how showing can be used to increase student learning and retention. (Faculty Focus, URL) |
| Teaching in front of the camera | A video series with practical tips to portray confidence on camera and make your recordings and presentations more effective and engaging. Series of 9 short (approx. 5 min) videos created for MQ staff. |
| What is student engagement in online learning? | And how do you know when students are engaged? A brief outline of how educational researchers have thought about student engagement in online environments, and how educators might think about this in the development and delivery of their online subjects. (6p PDF University of Melbourne) |
First day teaching
| Resource | Description |
| Checklist for first day of teaching | A checklist for getting ready for the first class including where to go and what is needed to be able to teach (MQ PDF) |
| First day teaching things to remember | An infographic with 7 things to remember for the first class (MQ , jpg) |
| Icebreakers for tutorials | A handout outlining ideas on how to make icebreakers more effective and meaningful (MQ, jpg) |
| Terrible first day of teaching | An article about reflecting on having a bad first day of teaching. (Visible Pedagogy, URL) |
| What students want from their first class | Short (2 min) video that runs through what students want from their first class. (From the Contemporay Approaches to University Teaching MOOC) |
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