Open Classrooms

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to Paul Wyborn about the approaches used to teach trainee pilots at RMIT Flight School, Point Cook.

Paul reflects on some of the challenges faced by students, especially in the first stage of their course when they have to adapt to intensive learning approaches, both in the air and on the ground. Hear how the staff support them to work through issues such as aviation sickness, claustrophobia and stress management and how the use of simulators supports personalised and paced learning where needed.

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to Marion Muliaumaseali’i about the projects she is involved in to understand and enhance the indigenous student journey.  With a research background in ethnography, Marion has brought an important cultural lens to some high profile RMIT projects, exploring the interface between western and indigenous ideologies and developing practical ways of normalising indigenous language and practices into our university culture.

She uses ethnographic tools to understand what she refers to as the ‘human experience’. This includes working with students as partners to identify the "pain points," values and learning priorities of our indigenous students, working together to develop ways of improving retention and success in learning.  The conversation touches on some important learning and teaching themes, including empathy, storytelling and reciprocity.

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to Nicolas Menicucci from the School of Science about the work he has done to transform how quantum physics is taught to first-year students.

Few topics excite physics students more than quantum mechanics, and first-year students arrive at RMIT inspired and keen to learn. But the very features that make quantum physics so fascinating also present a steep learning curve. Difficult mathematics and counter-intuitive concepts usually delay real learning about quantum physics until the later years of the degree programme. Nick has developed a curriculum that enables students to get their hands dirty with the real mathematical tools and concepts used in cutting-edge quantum physics research – all in first year. His approaches include:

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to Ashlee Pearson from the School of Engineering about the training programme she delivers for tutors. She tells us how she opens up discussions and explorations of key topics like:

Ashlee is herself a PhD student and tutor in the School and this gives her a unique and valuable perspective on the training needs and practice experiences of this important part of our teaching community.

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to Ilya Kavalchuk about the approaches he uses to teach our Vietnam-based first-year engineering students essential employability skills.  Faced with the challenge of teaching a multi-lingual cohort of students who are culturally accustomed to a teacher-centric approach and rote-based assessment, Ilya has effectively used problem-based learning and ePortfolios to give his course authenticity and relevance.

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to Nevena Todorova about the approaches she uses to teach research methods to a large, mixed cohort of engineering students. In addition to a range of approaches to make lectures engaging, they explore creative approaches to assessment that promote active and authentic learning.

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to 3 members of staff from Science and Engineering who have been experimenting with new assessment formats this semester. Together they explore how introducing the opportunity to evidence learning in non-traditional and creative ways – including videos, infographics, self-set essay questions, social media profiles and website design – has transformed the assessment experience for students and markers!

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to Sam Grover about the innovative way in which she has designed her soil science course. Working in groups, students are heavily involved in the design and delivery of classes – they curate content, present it and facilitate class activities/discussion. Central to the success of the approach is the early establishment of an empowering team dynamic – this is achieved through the use of Lego Serious Play.

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to Nic Connelly about the creative ways in which she embeds careers information, employability skills and industry engagement into the first-year curriculum.

In this episode, Natasha Taylor talks to James Harland about his innovative use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) to replace traditional textbooks in his Computer Science course.