Previous grant recipients

Health and Physical Education (HPE) work-integrated learning (WIL) pilot Ph2: research its impact on Teacher Education Students efficacy.

The ever-increasing teacher shortage crisis is prominent in national and international discourse. This crisis is now directly impacting Teacher Education Students (TES). There have been concurrent challenges in TES education with student engagement and retention. With increasing geographical remoteness, these issues are all exacerbated.

This year, new ways to deliver core Health and Physical Education (HPE) education subjects were piloted by adopting work-integrated learning (WIL) and implementing innovative assessment tasks. This project aimed to strengthen TES efficacy. Efficacy influences the enactment of curriculums, TES confidence, and TES well-being and retention. WIL was built within a subject, providing teacher education students with opportunities to be in schools, observing, team teaching, and micro-teaching while returning to the university to reflect and prepare further without the stresses of a four-week block practicum. Teacher education students learned theory and pedagogical approaches on the university site, implemented these into practice on the school site, and then reflected on the process.

The Teaching Academy Grant will allow us to investigate the impact of WIL on TES efficacy and take the learnings to roll it out more successfully across all four campus footprint areas in 2024

Evaluate the use of the online interactive oral task to assess the clinical competencies of fourth-year psychology students authentically.

In the field of in the field of tertiary psychology education there is general agreement on the importance of developing and evaluating core competencies. However, finding valid and reliable ways to assess required competencies within psychology is a challenge. Real-time assessments of competency are considered to be authentic, reliable and valid methods which overcome limitations of traditional methods for assessing clinical competencies. These assessments are commonly used in postgraduate psychology programs, however they are less commonly used to assess pre-competencies at the undergraduate level. To date, no known studies have evaluated the use of an interactive oral task to assess undergraduate psychology students’ development of required pre-competencies.

The current project will employ a mixed-methods design to evaluate the use of an interactive oral task to assess fourth-year psychology students' development of required pre-competencies regarding counselling microskills and skills for reflective practice. An online survey will be used to assess students experience of the interactive oral task, the impact of the task on their engagement and depth of learning, and their perceptions of the task as an authentic assessment of skills required in their future profession. Focus groups will be conducted with students, and with registered psychologists involved in marking the interactive oral assessment, to further understand their experience and perceptions of the task.

The findings of this evaluation make a valuable contribution to the literature regarding and will inform the use of interactive oral tasks to authentically assess psychology students’ development of competencies required for professional practice.

The use of silicone wound models in teaching appropriate aseptic technique and wound care of heavily infected wounds to Veterinary Technology students.

This project aims to develop a silicone wound model that is durable, reusable, and potentially transferrable across Charles Sturt programs. The model aims to give students hands-on experience in dealing with heavily infected wounds enabling students to develop skills in aseptic technique and wound care. This will facilitate students to develop their skills prior to embarking on work placement building their confidence and capabilities enabling Charles Sturt to work towards producing industry-ready graduates.

Develop new comparative animal anatomy and physiology resources to support student learning and engagement in these subjects.

The study on Anatomy is challenged by the decline in the availability of cadaveric resources. While the basic of physiology teaching is challenged by complex processes involved in organ function. The use of computer aided learning and development of interactive materials are increasingly used to add value to anatomy and physiology education thereby increasing the use of alternative mechanisms for teaching beyond the traditional textbooks, formalin fixed specimens and the cadaver. The use of above resources such as videos, development of models and simulations and interactive images and animations for teaching would allow lecturers to share their knowledge using visual objects rather than as conceptual thoughts. In addition, the use of these resources will provide access to students to learning at any time beyond the classroom, providing an authentic learning experience.

Outcomes:

• Increase in student engagement: measured through student feedback surveys or tracking student participation in interactive resources.
• Improvement in student performance: measured by analysing student grades and exam scores before and after the implementation of the anatomy and physiology resources.
• Increase in student satisfaction: measured through student satisfaction surveys or feedback on the usefulness and effectiveness of the anatomy and physiology resources.
• Increase in student retention and progression rates: measured by tracking the number of students who successfully complete anatomy and physiology courses and progress to higher-level courses.

Provide a comprehensive video series (vignettes) showcasing a Mask-Ed named ‘Val’, a character with a comprehensive health, medical and social history in authentic scenarios set in various environments, including acute medical facilities, community settings, aged care facilities and/or general practitioner rooms.

Introducing an exciting academic initiative - a comprehensive video series featuring 'Constance,' a character brought to life through the innovative Mask-Ed technique. Constance embodies a rich health, medical, and social history of an older person living in regional Australia, and she features in authentic scenarios that unfold in diverse settings, from health clinics to community care and acute facilities. The video series will offer versatile, sustainable learning resources and will be tailored to promote

interprofessional practice, bridging nursing, medicine, and paramedicine professions. With expert clinical advisory group’s input, our health students’ grasp of person-centered care for older individuals will be enhanced through stimulating discussions and deep learning that will result in improved clinical readiness.

Perspectives and evaluation of a feedback resource kit for staff and students.

Evaluating assessment feedback to enhance learning and development.

Assessments are an opportunity for students to demonstrate transformative learning. Supported by feedback that is constructive, and linked to the marking rubric and subject learning outcomes can be insightful and empower students to drive their learning needs. This co-design research will inform the development of a resource kit designed to hone academic’s skills to deliver feedback that students can action in their ensuing assessments. Key stakeholders are students and academics in the School of Nursing, Paramedicine and Healthcare Sciences.

Subject review to better understand student engagement.

This study evaluates the use of the Sociological Imagination (Wright Mills, 1959) as a teaching tool in the redevelopment of a large, first year sociology subject (SOC101). The redevelopment aimed to use the Sociological Imagination as a critical thinking tool and facilitate a greater degree of student-centred learning and teaching, increase student engagement and offer greater flexibility. This approach is significant because it considers new ways of teaching sociology that engage and improve outcomes for students in professional degree programs.

The study supports deep reflective practice and continuous development for the teaching team. Research outcomes will contribute empirical and theoretical insights in the field of curriculum and pedagogy in higher education as well as enhance empirical and theoretical understandings about teaching this vital, foundational, introductory sociology subject. Insights of national and international interest will be disseminated via team publications and seminar presentations.

Dr Claudia M. Diaz

The Human Canvas' art exhibition. How art can transform the way we learn anatomy.

Exhibition was displayed in Albury at the Human Canvas' from 5-31 October 2023.

• Flyer 1
• Flyer 2