In Support of Excellence

It's all about the students

Just in Time Teaching (JiTT) and Interactive Learning Modules (ILMs)

It all started with the Graduate Certificate in Online Learning (HE).  Sophie and Cathy were in the first wave of graduates, and as I developed the majority of the curriculum and taught in it, we got to know each other very well.  Their passion for their students was obvious so I challenged them with
“What if I could take 30-40% of your face-to-face lecture content and package it up and deliver it to your students using elearning technology, would you be interested?”

Before they had a chance to respond I continued

“But wait there’s more, and what if I could add formative assessment and then diagnostic assessment as well and then get the results back to you ‘just in time’ so you know what they know, as well as what they don’t know and you can change what you teach them face-to-face so you achieve better learning outcomes… now would you be interested?
Allan instructing photo
Their answer began a journey that has made history at the University of Adelaide. Their award is the first time the Elder teaching award and VC’s teaching prize has been given to a team. They embraced Just in Time Teaching (JiTT) and under my mentoring they begun building Interactive Learning Modules (ILM’s - Slide 14 forward). In 2006 I introduced them (and the rest of the University) to the rapid elearning deployment software called Articulate and they have been making ILMs ever since with great success. Students have responded positively to this style of teaching and it is reflected in improvements in their grades. Sophie and Cathy continue:

Sophie and Cathy share about the grades

Stacks Image 515
Using comparative assessment metrics, the class average for the final exam has increased slightly from 67% in 2007, pre IOLMs, to an average of 72% from 2008-2010 post IOLMs. However, the most significant impact has been witnessed in the student progression rates. The failure rate pre IOLMs for the semester 2 exam was 15% in 2007, decreasing to an average of 6% between the years of 2008-2010 and possibly signifying that the IOLMs have made the biggest impact on those students who have traditionally struggled with the content.
Students report they now find the hardest part of the course, Embryology, much easier. JiTT and ILMs are the methods Sophie and Cathy have used to turn it around in the minds of the students. Another indicator of the success in a student’s perception of a pedagogical approach is when they come to the teacher and ask to use the same approach to present their research assignments for grading.  Students now are using ILM’s as well as the teachers… to a learning designer that is quite a success indicator.

Error : You must not have any spaces in your Teleport Key
[allaneportfolio]

Allan Carrington has been awarded the 2012 Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) Australian Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.  His citation read: “For sustained commitment to inspiring, challenging and mentoring academics to teach with activity-centric pedagogies and the latest learning technologies, to enrich the student experience.” He is also winner of the 2011 University of Adelaide Award for Excellence in Support of the Student Experience. This website was developed to support these applications and is now his ePortfolio.
Since 2003 Allan has been a Learning Designer with the eLearning Development Team supporting the university faculty.