We ran in early April a full day exercise (over 7 hours) with 50 postgraduate coursework students attending, all via Zoom!! This practical workshop applies principles of experiential learning by ‘doing’ that goes beyond reading and listening to lectures and in the past has markedly improved the learning experience and outcomes for the students. The exercise included content delivery, students’ presentations, class and group discussions and an oral assessment. The assessment was conducted simultaneously in four separate breakout rooms, with 12 students and one staff in each. It was formulated as a Q&A, during which the students responded to prepared questions, reflecting on lessons they had learned during the day. Transitioning the entire exercise to an online format required stronger emphases on early communication with the students and among staff, setting students expectations, extra support for student engagement and content delivery.
Teaching@Sydney