Good Practice Case Study

Encouraging Teaching Innovation - Faculty of Creative Arts

Contributed by: Penny Harris and David Vance

Abstract:

The Innovations Committee, an informal sub-committee reporting to FEC, has the brief to translate contemporary teaching approaches and methods into teaching practice. It takes an issue such as collaboration or inter-disciplinarity and examines models for delivering these learning experiences within current structures. An outcome is continual review of the structures and their relevance.

Aims:

• To provide an avenue for staff to talk through their teaching innovations.

Context:

The Faculty of Creative Arts has around 35 academic staff in three Schools. Each School covers two discipline areas.

Outcomes:

• Academic staff have had an opportunity to discover what other staff members are doing, raise ideas, share expertise, discuss models and safeguards, and resolve problems
• The Faculty has successfully brought together members of staff, particularly junior staff, to pool ideas on teaching, and to capitalise on individual strengths in the service of collaborative possibilities
• Team teaching has been supported and encouraged
• Projects have been carried out or are underway to pilot collaborative approaches to undergraduate teaching
• Students have been able to come together to work with students in other discipline areas
• New staff in the Faculty have met other staff, learned how other areas of the Faculty work and been able to share their expertise from other Universities
• Cross-discipline research has been encouraged and papers are being published by Sub-committee members
• Support has been given to: a member who has had a grant to look at assessment criteria for team teaching, group work and collaborative projects; a member who established a post-graduate theatre group; a group of members who have been successful in a recent grant application. The Sub-committee has been a venue where project ideas, issues and models could be discussed in detail
• The group has concentrated on a continuing area of interest for the Faculty, ie cross-disciplinarily - as a result it has been strongly supported and had a pivotal role in leading and supporting change in the Faculty
• Feedback has been that members find the group collegial, enthusiastic, vibrant and rewarding.

What was done?

Overview

• A small group of four academics began meeting in 2002. This group formed a standing committee of the Faculty Education Committee. Associate Professor John Scott was the original chair and drew up the terms of reference
• It was conceived as a small and informal group. From this nucleus other staff with relevant interests were invited to join.
• The group is now around 12 people, representing most areas of the Faculty, which meets regularly to discuss teaching innovations
• The meetings are a forum for academic staff to discuss teaching-related research ideas, translate ideas into teaching projects, solve problems that arise, and share models and results

Meetings and themes

• The group meets for two hours, twice a session
• The current theme of the group is cross-discipline collaboration. This has been a focus and helped pulled together those who are interested in that area
• Although each meeting has a chair and an agenda, the framework is kept fairly loose to allow freedom of discussion and time to talk issues through. A fluid approach to meetings allows creative thinking and thus innovation in the way the group operates
• The broad aims of the Sub-committee allow the different interests of members to be accommodated

Membership

• Membership is open to all interested teaching and technical staff
• Interested postgraduate students and casual tutors are welcome to attend

Support and commitment

• The Sub-committee has strong support from the Dean, Sub-Dean and Heads of School. Their interest and involvement has been critical and has encouraged people to put forward innovative ideas and projects
• The original chair has provided mentoring and support to the new chair
• People are passionate about the issues discussed and keen to participate in the group

Reporting structures

• The Sub-committee reports to the Faculty Education Committee on its activities and discussions, and when it has a formal proposal or suggestion to put forward. This has been important to give the Faculty Executive an understanding of the interests of members and what ideas and issues are being discussed

Key dates:

• The Subcommittee was established in 2002
• 2005 meetings are scheduled for March, May September and December

Critical success factors:

• Starting with a small, contained core of people who can establish a group identity
• Concentrating on a common area of interest which sits between research and teaching innovation, so that the group is enthusiastic and focused
• Finding a format that works for the mix of people and interests, and encourages creative thinking and innovation. This may mean managing the meetings so they are vibrant and fluid, with a relaxed atmosphere, but still keeping an underlying structure, having a clear agenda and resolving decisions where needed by the end of the meeting
• Allowing the group to change focus if different people come into the group or move on. This can be supported by changing chairs
• Keeping the focus initially on sharing experiences and issues. Trying to avoid have any pressure for outcomes in the first year - instead thinking of the process of sharing teaching experiences as an outcome, and allowing the group to evolve. Other outcomes will follow naturally over time as a result of pressure from members and the Faculty Education Committee
• After the early phase, gradually introducing more structure and establishing ways for people to move forward and achieve outcomes. Change or potential for change from the discussions is important to avoid frustration
• Encouraging new staff members to join. They can share their experiences from other Universities; it is also a way for them to debrief and integrate those experiences

Review and improvement:

• Informal feedback has been extremely positive, both from Sub-committee members and the Faculty Executive
• A formal review of the Sub-committee was intended after 12 months but was postponed. This will be on the agenda for Faculty Education Committee in 2005

Future plans:

• The next challenge is to harness the ideas and abundant energies in reviewing teaching and learning activities in the Faculty
• Some of the new initiatives which are emerging include:
  • A conference on interdisciplinarity and collaboration is being organised for Spring 2004
  • An e-journal is being considered
  • A web site is being considered
  • Discussions are underway about the potential of cross-discipline courses - possible undergraduate and postgraduate programs where students can work across disciplines
• A community space in Wollongong is being sought for collaborative projects, performances or student exhibitions

• The Dean has recently presented a proposal for a restructure of Faculty research with an emphasis on interdisciplinarity. This is a positive development for the Sub-committee
• More formal reporting to the Faculty Education Committee has been proposed. This will involve some changes to the structure and the way the group operates.