Unit rationale, description and aim
To improve your teaching practice, you need to combine an advanced knowledge of adult learning and teaching foundations with skills of critical reflection and reasoning, and to draw on the scholarship of learning and teaching in higher education. Therefore, this micro-credential aims to help you develop your teaching practice informed by adult learning theory, scholarship, the needs and circumstances of your students, the institution’s Mission and its teaching and learning policies, teaching standards frameworks, and other governance requirements in the higher education sector.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Develop and apply strategies for improving your te...
Learning Outcome 01
Design engaging learning and teaching experiences ...
Learning Outcome 02
Content
Topics will include:
- the nature of adult learning
- theoretical and ethical perspectives on adult learning and teaching in higher education
- the diverse needs of adult learners
- different conceptions of knowledge (including Indigenous Knowings and internationalisation)
- aligning adult learning activities, learning outcomes, and assessment
- preparing students for work and life
- reflecting on and reviewing teaching practice: for example, online learning, peer observation and review of teaching, team teaching, problem-based and inquiry-based learning, and universal design of learning.
- working with university policies and procedures and strategic priorities for learning and teaching
- applying the scholarship of adult learning and teaching
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment strategy in this micro-credential would consist of one formative assessment task and one summative assessment task. The tasks must provide a developmental sequence that supports the educational purpose of each of the three stages described above and ensure it assesses the learning outcomes which are in the same constructive developmental sequence.
The first assessment task is a formative assessment which provides an initial learning opportunity and assists to embed the declarative knowledge through reflection of a participants’ teaching practice as it relates to a teaching framework. This task relates mostly to the achievement of learning outcome number 1.
The second task is a summative assessment extends the thinking from the first task to an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a participants’ teaching methods and approaches, and suggestions of improvement of the teaching practices. This task allows participants to apply their understanding of the inter-relationships between learning and teaching educational literature to an improvement of teaching practices. This task relates mostly to the achievement of learning outcome number 2, but builds on learning outcome 1, and assesses both.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Formative assessment Using ad...
Assessment Task 1: Formative assessment
Using adult learning concepts, principles and theories introduced in this and the preceding (UNMC510) micro-credential, write a critique and alignment to two of the five areas of activity in the UKPSF as it relates to your teaching practice.
This assignment uses Turnitin.
Guide length: between 500 and 1000 words. Not including the reference list.
For feedback
Assessment Task 2: Summative assessment Using kn...
Assessment Task 2: Summative assessment
Using knowledge of adult learning and teaching foundations in higher education, and based on the formative assessment task, provide a justification for improving your teaching methods/approaches.
This assignment uses Turnitin.
Guide length: between 1500 and 2000 words. Not including the reference list.
100%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Participants in this micro-credential are predominantly academics whose geographical location is widespread. These participants are adults, all of whom are qualified with at least one higher education degree. Participants have expertise that collectively spans the full range of disciplines taught by a university. Their experience in higher education teaching is diverse. Notwithstanding that some participants have decades of experience as tertiary teachers resulting in considerable ‘practice wisdom’, a few of the participants bring formal disciplinary expertise in higher education with a scholarly base. This micro-credential needs to respect the range of experience represented in this cohort and respond in a manner that assists all participants to progressively reflect upon and improve their teaching practice informed by learning and teaching foundations and theory in higher education, teaching standards frameworks, the needs and circumstances of their students, institutional mission and policies, and other governance requirements in the higher education sector.
To achieve this, the micro-credential is delivered using an online mode of delivery. This capitalises on the maturity and capability of the participants, but also provides equitable access to a full provision of learning experiences within which a community of scholars can be developed.
The micro-credential is structured as a progressive, constructive, developmental narrative that supports participants’ learning through a sequence of three overlapping learning stages. In each stage, the nature of the learning and the nature of the teaching supports provided are different but complementary. Each stage builds on the next so that learning from one acts as necessary foundation for the next.
Teaching approaches need to be selected and sequenced in ways that support the nature of learning at each stage.
- The first stage is characterised as acquiring declarative knowledge. Teaching supports are basic readings together with learning and assessment activities that encourage participants to relate these to their teaching practice. This stage builds upon what you learned in the preceding micro-credential, MCHE510
- The second stage overlaps with the first which involves assimilating this knowledge in the form of learning and teaching theory and concepts. More advanced readings, drawing on a broader base of educational theory, consideration of relevant teaching standards frameworks, institutional context and its learning and teaching policy are coupled with learning activities that encourage a greater application of self-reflection of the participants’ teaching practices are critiqued with reference to the theories and concepts they are assimilating.
- The third stage requires participants to apply this conceptual knowledge into the development of skills, that is, functioning knowledge. Learning activity here involves the application of conceptual understanding to the critique and justification of improved teaching practices.