Search
Login
Login
Contact
Tuesday 7th May 2019

Blended Learning Designs in STEM: Putting Learning First

Category: Customers
Shane Sutherland CAO PebblePad
by: Shane Sutherland

Foreword by Shane Sutherland, PebblePad CEO

Ever since their inception, ‘eportfolios’ seem to have been typically associated with showcasing examples of completed work, rather than for sharing and receiving feedback on work, projects and ideas in progress. And while examples of portfolio practice have often come from disciplines like nursing and teaching, we have over our years of PebblePaddling (15 and counting) heard about innovative examples of eportfolio practice in many other disciplines, but often these have been viewed as atypical. How wonderful then for personal learning advocates and the wider STEM community to have at their disposal the excellent collection of use cases brought together by the superb team in Griffith Sciences. I cannot overstate the value and usefulness of the resources in the book described below, and how proud I am to have Griffith University as a customer.

This blog post has been authored by Julie Crough, Chris Campbell and Christopher Allan from Griffith University.

Sustaining quality teaching and learning in STEM

Finding and sustaining quality learning and teaching practice in STEM can be difficult, particularly when it involves a new technology. Finding examples within STEM to support sustained growth can be almost impossible. In 2017, Griffith University implemented a university-wide adoption of PebblePad. To facilitate this implementation, Griffith Sciences instituted a blended learning fund to find and support initiatives utilising PebblePad and other technologies. The Blended Learning Designs in STEM Higher Education book provides some results of that initiative.

The book provides a professional learning framework that can be used to implement blended learning technologies such as PebblePad, in Higher Education in an authentic way. It offers a set of learning principles to inform the design of learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). These principles, coupled with a range of PebblePad initiatives and case studies across STEM disciplines, provide a rich suite of resources to support educators to adopt or adapt them to their own context.  We think the book is unique in that it provides a snapshot of one university (Griffith University) and one implementation of a new technology (PebblePad) within a STEM context. It documents the “grass roots” initiatives of STEM practitioners and the blended learning designs that have organically grown throughout this process.

The Blended Learning Designs in STEM Higher Education is edited by Christopher N. Allan, Dr. Chris Campbell and Julie Crough from Griffith University.

References and resources

Blended Learning Designs in STEM Higher Education: Putting Learning First
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-981-13-6982-7

Leveraging educational technology to enhance career confidence
https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/5505/view

New flight procedures training laboratory for Griffith Aviation
https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/7128/view

Promoting active learning and equity in a HyFlex course
https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/7148/view

Using PebblePad as a design brief with a first year cohort
https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/7328/view

Using PebblePad to collect evidence of learning
https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/7348/view

Supporting science students to be problem solvers, not recipe followers – https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/7368/view

Building urban and environmental students’ career paths
https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/7508/view

For more information on the learning and teaching process undertaken within the book, see the Griffith Sciences Blended Learning Model – https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/6405/view

share
Picture of Shane Sutherland
Shane Sutherland

As the founder of PebblePad and Chief Academic Officer, Shane has been a driving force in the world of ePortfolios and personal learning for over 20 years. His boundless enthusiasm and innovative thinking continue to elevate PebblePad's position as a leader in the field.

Latest Articles

Now Live: Our Game-Changing AI-Powered Workbook Generator

Read more
Picture of Shane Sutherland

14th Eportfolio Forum Keynote: Stories, Reflection & Turning Over Compost

Read more

PebblePad: Powering Reflective Practice & High-Impact Learning in Canada

Read more

Want to chat

If you want to talk to a team who really understands
your world, please get in touch today.

Get in touch

Curriculum Transformation at the University of Edinburgh: co-creation and the relationship between local innovation and institutional change

Talk description: I will use the themes of reflection and experiential learning, skills development and assessment (including programme level assessment and changes in assessment practice) to explore this process in more detail. This includes the link between disciplinary and institutional curriculum reform, learning from local innovations and changes, and using this to inform University level changes and support.

Bio: My current position is leading the University wide Curriculum Transformation Project. This is a major and long term initiative for the University considering all areas of the University’s undergraduate and taught postgraduate curriculum. Prior to this Jon set up and led the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) at the University of Edinburgh. The IAD provides University level support for teaching, learning and researcher development, including direct support for students and staff, and support for enhancement and innovation in curriculum development, the student and researcher experience. Jon has a PhD in petroleum geology.

Mission Possible: The DNA of a bespoke professional development program

Talk description: The diversity of students in higher education dictates that there cannot (and should not) be a single ‘silver bullet’ approach to address the complex challenge of career readiness learning. However, the reality of modern university structures is that delivering bespoke experiences for each student is a challenge in and of itself.  And yet, all things are possible with creative use of PebblePad to streamline delivery (for the university) and make it highly personalised (for the student). 

Bio: Gayle Brent is a Learning and Teaching Consultant (Employability) at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. Gaye’s specialist area of interest is developing and implementing strategies to enhance staff and student understanding of employability in both curricular and extra-curricular contexts. She completed a Master of Education and Professional Studies Research to explore the potential barriers and challenges to embedding employability-based learning in higher education curriculum and is currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy exploring the impact of an extra-curricular employability program on the individual student experience.

Dr Melissa Highton. Assistant Principal, University of Edinburgh

Talk description: A journey through the stories told by wicca data. How a neglected research data set was used by students to overturn historic injustice and shed new light on the lives of women in Scotland.

Bio: Melissa has worked for many years in higher education at some of the UK’s finest and most ancient institutions. In each place she enjoys discovering the hidden histories and less heard voices which can be surfaced in new ways using the most up to date and open technologies. She is a champion of playful and curious approaches to engagement with audiences on campus and online, and is an invited speaker at events about dangerous women.

Education is an Experience That Should Be Designed

Talk description: We have any number of problems and opportunities as universities, and universities must adapt to help students from diverse backgrounds develop the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and make a positive impact in the world. Key to those adaptations is understanding that we provide students with an experience. We ought to design them with intention and purpose. This talk with take up this argument and ground it within a large educational transformation project at the University of Leeds.

Bio: Jeff Grabill is Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Education at the University of Leeds. Prior to joining the University of Leeds, Grabill was at Michigan State University (MSU) in the United States for nearly 20 years. He served Michigan State University as the Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. In that role, he was responsible for facilitating innovation in learning and educator professional development via his role as Director of the Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology. Grabill’s research focuses on how digital writing is associated with citizenship and learning. That work has been located in community contexts, in museums, and in classrooms at both the K-12 and university levels. Grabill is also a co-founder of Drawbridge, an educational technology company.

Sign Up to the Customer Newsletter