Facilitating collaboration in physical and virtual learning environments

摘要

This presentation outlines some of the teaching research and innovations undertaken as part of my Graduate Certificate of Academic Practice from 2015-2016. It is divided into three parts. The first part suggests that targeted group work in tutorials enhances learning outcomes and creates a sense of belonging for students operating in an online environment. The second part suggests that use of Facebook as an online collaborative platform can help students interact together to understand particular legal issues. It is especially useful for allowing internals to interact directly with externals in an environment which is more naturally comfortable for contemporary communication. Finally, the presentation proposes an innovative approach to assessment which involves students collaborating with staff to create assessment by enabling them to propose their own essay topics for an exam. This arguably enhances learning outcomes by providing students with intrinsic motivation to prepare for assessment.