How do we develop student problem solving and research skills across the curriculum? Colleagues from the University of South Pacific explain their perspective on RSD

Bulla!

‘What is the problem here?’ asks A/Profoessor  Jito Vanualailai in the presentation at the VC’s Learning and Teaching forum at USP in October 2013 [link below]. ‘What are the problem solving skills that I need to identify? How do I teach these skills in a cohesive systematic manner?’

Two years since the University of the South Pacific decided to use the Research SKill Development framework to develop problem solving, critical thinkng and researching skills across degree programs, colleagues from the university explain their answers to Jito’s questions.

http://www.usp.ac.fj/?id=14475&file=RSD_Symposium

The advantages for graduates of Research Skill Development across undergraduate degree-programs

We have been interviewing graduates, honours students and PhD students about explicit Research Skill Dvelopment in the undergraduate years to find out the long term advantages of this process.

The news and events sections on this blog show fora where these outcomes are being presented and workshoped. Feel free to come along if you can make it. However we will soon showcase specific outcomes of the project, funded by the OLT, on this blog.

In brief, graduates and honours students looked back over the previous three years of study which had multiple occasions where their reseach skills were explicitly developed. As one student noted:

Since the beginning [of First Year], they have given us assignments based on this criteria. You might not have liked the assignments, but because they have been consistently applying this structure to all of our assignments, we have come to think that way for science… You might not know that you’re following their guidelines, but you are.

From many interviewed, there was a refreshing sense of the big picture: ‘we have come to think that way for science’. There was a clear sense from a substantial majority of those interviewed (43/50) that explicit research skill development in the undergraduate years had advantages for their current employment or honours study, and recommended that this process should be embeded from the First or Second Year of the degree.

More of this in future blogs. I need to fly early tomorrow to Sydney!

John

RSD Presentation at Monash University, Friday 11 October

The advantages for graduates of Research Skill Development across undergraduate degree-programs

Mode:     Presentation then workshop

Date:        Friday 11 October, 2013

Time:       9.30am – 10.30 am: Presentation

10.30am – 10.45am: Morning tea

10.45am – 12.30 pm: Workshop with guest presenters

12.30pm: Lunch and networking

Venue:    ISB Meeting Room 2, Level 2,
Matheson Library, Clayton

Explicit research skill development is proving to be an effective teaching and learning strategy for cognitively engaging undergraduate students in many disciplines, and enabling them to work with increasing academic rigour. The project described in this seminar used the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework to provide the conceptual glue across multiple-courses in various degree-programs. This presentation will focus on attitudes about course-wide explicit research skill development of employed graduates from Health Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. Perspectives of honours students in Heath Science and the Sciences provide a deep understanding of the role of RSD in research capacity building.

There will be opportunity to explore the implications and potential of using the RSD in your context, including:

• Ways that others have initiated the use of the RSD
• How to adapt the use of the RSD to your context
• Starting from scratch- what are possible & realistic starting points?
• Potential collaborations with others in the seminar, or academics in the 30 plus disciplines that have used the RSD
• Assessing students to show that they have attained these research skills
• Scaffolding students to work increasingly independently

Developing curricula to facilitate research skills

Hope to see you there

John

RSD presentation at UNSW Tuesday 8 October

An interactive seminar on

‘The advantages for graduates of Research Skill Development across undergraduate degree-programs’

Date: Tuesday 8 October, 2013

Time: 11.00 -1.00  pm, followed by lunch

Venue: LG 21, John Goodsell Building

Explicit research skill development is proving to be an effective teaching and learning strategy for cognitively engaging undergraduate students in many disciplines, and enabling them to work with increasing academic rigour. The project described in this seminar used the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework to provide the conceptual glue across multiple-courses in various degree-programs.

This seminar will present the attitudes about this explicit research skill development of employed graduates from Health Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering, as well as those from honours students in Heath Science and the Sciences.

There will be opportunity to explore the implications and potential of using the RSD in your context, including:

• Ways that others have initiated the use of the RSD
• How to adapt the use of the RSD to your context
• Potential collaborations with others in the seminar, or academics in the 30 plus disciplines that have used the RSD
• Assessing students to show that they have attained these research skills
• Scaffolding students to work increasingly independently

Developing curricula to facilitate research skills

 

Hope to see you there

 

John