Innovative information: stop being lazy and get involved

We’ve all had that moment when we’re teaching a class, and as you’re reading the words straight off the PowerPoint slides, your eyes start to get heavy, and you realise that whatever you do next doesn’t matter. You’re boring yourself, and boring your students, and nothing you say is going to sink in.

There are many challenges we face as teachers, but I think a major one is making sure students are not only well-informed of the discipline content, but also of the support services and help available to them when they’re at University.

Scholarly Teaching Fellow Jacqueline Melvold from the Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation  recognised the lack of student engagement surrounding reception of information related to the available support services at UTS. Instead of reciting words off a PowerPoint slide and unrealistically expecting students to remember it all, she decided she was going to make the students learn and remember – by having some fun.

Melvold designed a series of cards with information for students about the different services offered by UTS, which had to be matched to another card with the logo for the different services in a game of “memory.” The cards are laid down flat, and students turn two over at a time, trying to match the logo with information about the services provided. If the logo and the information didn’t match, the cards are turned back, and the next student takes their turn.

The cards held information about UTS:HELPS, UTS Housing, UTS:Library and UTS health services – to name just a few. Not only does this engage the students and help them to learn (and remember!!) the support services available, but it also serves as a strategic ice-breaker for participating students during Orientation Week.

Melvold has really hit the nail on the head with this one – and now you need to ask yourself – how important is it to you that your students know where to find help? Get innovating and keep them informed.

Keep up to date with innovative ideas from amazing academics by attending the FYE forums throughout the year. Check out what’s been happening in the FYE community at our blog and follow us on Twitter @FYE_UTS

DVC Sally Kift speaks at UTS

For this forum, our speakers described the elements to drive successful student transition, both from research and from practice within UTS. Activities were designed to introduce technology into the lecture theatre, and draw from collaborative activities.

DVC Sally Kift Speaks at the final UTS First Year Experience Forum for 2016. The presentation slides can be downloaded here.

Student transition: Are we trying hard enough?

Students pay the big bucks to attend universities like UTS, but are we doing everything we can to help them transition into the big bad world of tertiary education? Deputy-Vice Chancellor Sally Kift from James Cook University (and a Transition Expert!) says that we’re nailing it – and she’s impressed.

I’ve recently become interested in the different aspects of student transition, and have luckily become involved with Dr Kathy Egea from the Institute of Interactive Media and Learning at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). The idea behind the First Year Experience (FYE) forum is to bring academics and professional staff together to get to know each other, through sharing practice from formal (grant presentations) and informal conversations (group activities) on curriculum, co-curriculum approaches to students transition, and building ongoing collaborations across and within disciplines.  The focus in FYE is to ensure that the students experience a successful transition in their first year of university study. And the FYE forum is definitely doing just that.