Alliance activity points the way to a new kind of pedagogy
Forms of Identity lecture under way in the International Portal room at Caulfield campus.
Successful collaboration of staff at Monash and Warwick, using the International Portal room at Caulfield, has been acknowledged locally and internationally as “pointing the way to a new kind of pedagogy”.
Project Leads, Dr Sarah McDonald from the Faculty of Arts at Monash and Dr Nicholas Monk from the Institute of Advanced Teaching and Learning at Warwick, have recently been awarded a Monash-Warwick Alliance Development Scheme grant to continue their successful collaboration in the area of interdisciplinary undergraduate teaching via the International Portal.
Their unit, 'Forms of Identity', is taught simultaneously at Monash and Warwick, with students functioning as a true cohort through face-to-face discussions, peer learning and out-of-class engagement via on-line forums.
Dr McDonald said the reaction of the students had been extremely positive, some saying it was the best unit that they had ever done at Monash.
“The work we put in to build a rapport amongst the students was key, including ensuring that the design and layout of the rooms was the same at both ends,” Dr McDonald said.
This innovative collaboration received attention in a recent edition of The Times Higher Education in the UK. The article covered a report into transnational education practices commissioned by Universities UK’s International Unit and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, which “highlights the partnership between the University of Warwick and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, as a potential guide to future employment practices”.
The report said that this type of engagement under the Alliance, “may be pointing the way to a new kind of pedagogy” internationally.
Academic Vice-President of the Monash-Warwick Alliance, Professor Andrew Coats said the Alliance allowed Monash and Warwick to break new ground in education, as well as in research.
“'Forms of Identity' is a highlight of what can be achieved by a close working relationship between the two universities, and is a marker of innovation within our two teaching communities,” Professor Coats said.