UQ strategy in action: Transformed Business Statistics course blends online and face-to-face delivery for stronger engagement, outcomes & scalability.
University of Queensland’s Faculty of Business and Economics leads the way in innovation with a new custom-built course for 600 students in Semester 1 – to be delivered in both online and blended modes throughout 2017.
Walking through the grassy surrounds of UQ’s St Lucia campus, Professor Carl Sherwood welcomes his first-year economics students to their unit and assigns them a diagnostic activity. Seven thousand miles away in Dubai, his student Sophie* gets to work.
It’s an introductory video and the first point of contact for over 600 students enrolled in Business Statistics within the new Bachelor of Advanced Business course – an online course which integrates video, diagnostic activities, reading content, interactives and assessment into a seamless learning pathway within the Learning Management System – designed to facilitate a blended delivery mode.
The online course experience takes a fresh approach to teaching introductory statistics
The Business and Economics faculty partnered with Wiley in late 2016 to transform the undergraduate economics course into a unique, engaging and scalable online learning experience. The newly designed course was first launched to the 2016 Summer cohort of 100 students, and will impact around a thousand more students from now until Summer 2017. The long term goal is to expand the online delivery to all courses in the Business degree in 2018.
In line with the university’s 2016-2020 Student Strategy, the new course is designed to ‘leverage the ubiquity of digital technologies…without losing the benefits of face-to-face teaching that can inspire and challenge [students]’**. Original video of Course Coordinator Carl is embedded throughout the course, guiding students through the multi-media learning content and imbibing a pervasive instructor presence into the student’s learning experience, regardless of their physical location.
Structured on Wiley’s pedagogical framework of ‘Diagnose, Learn, Apply and Assess’, the course integrates these core teaching and learning pillars into a visually compelling design that guides students through the learning content. Diagnostic activities powered by ORION enable real-time, 360° insight into student proficiency. Existing course content is repurposed into compelling chunks of reading and video; followed by Concept Check question modules and scenario-based interactive case studies allowing students to apply their learning. Integrated assessment is designed to evaluate earning objectives progressively throughout lessons towards mastery.
Feedback from students has been positive, with one student exclaiming ‘I just checked out the site and am so happy! I love the set-up of the page which allows me to see all my tutorials, quizzes and worksheets. I already watched the introductory video and am excited to get started!’***
UQ eLearning Manager Simon Collyer says of the partnership: ‘I think the model used by Carl and Wiley is something that is scalable and future compatible – and I suspect it’s the model the HE industry might largely adopt in the end, because publishers have the resources to build high quality content and tools, and the ability the achieve economies of scale through distribution networks. I hope UQ can benefit from providing a better quality learning experience.’
UPDATE JANUARY 2018: In late 2017, professor Carl Sherwood received an Australian Award for University Teaching Excellence (AAUT) for the transformative course built with Wiley Education Services. The Australian Awards for University Teaching recognise those among Australia’s most outstanding university teachers and programs, contributing to the quality of student learning and student experience in higher education. View the full list of 2017 winners here.
Our Wiley Education Services team collaborates with higher education partners to help expand their reach, optimise their institutions, and stay competitive. Contact us to find out more about our approach to strategic partnerships and how Wiley Education Services can help your institution.
*Student’s name changed for their privacy
**Professor Peter Høj, Vice-Chancellor and President, The University of Queensland Student Strategy 2016-2020 White Paper
***Student enrolled in ECON1310 Summer 2016 cohort