Integrating technology in an authentic manner into the curriculum is critical for learners to understand the what and why of measuring learning achievement. Biggs (2003) argues for the “constructive alignment” of learning activities, assessment strategies, and learning outcomes – in other words the assessment activities must be designed to measure authentic learning (Herrington, Reeves & Oliver, 2009). Higher education often suffers from a disconnect between theory and practice, particularly with a focus upon two common assessment activities: exams and essays. In my experience a better approach to assessment design is to focus upon project or problem based learning activities that engage students in authentic tasks that they will use within their chosen professions after graduating – creating a mentoring process into becoming active members of the profession they are studying for. Danvers (2003) refers to this approach as ‘ontological pedagogies’. Thus I focus upon guiding academics to move away from teacher-directed pedagogies, towards designing learning experiences around developing student creativity, ontological pedagogies, and student-determined learning or heutagogy (Hase & Kenyon, 2007). Technology can be a powerful catalyst to facilitate these conceptual shifts in teaching and learning (Cochrane, 2013; Kukulska-Hulme, 2010). For example: How and why can Twitter be authentically integrated in the curriculum? (Cochrane, 2010; Cochrane, Bateman, Buchem, Camacho, Gordon, Keegan & Rhodes, 2011; Cochrane, Mulrennan, Sissons, Pamatatau & Barnes, 2013)
Throughout the design, implementation and evaluation of multiple educational technology projects I have iteratively developed a framework for designing authentic learning activities (Table 1). In 2021-2023 this framework has been updated and applied to new forms of educational technology (Cochrane et al., 2022) as well as exploring the cultural relevance of the framework (Cochrane & Sinfield, 2022). I have also developed and taught courses (2020-2023) as part of the GCUT (Graduate Certificate of University Teaching): EDUC90970 Facilitating Online Learning; EDUC90516 Designing a Curriculum, and Webinar Series (e.g. Foundations of TEL) at the University of Melbourne that directly explore and apply theoretical and practical foundations of learning, teaching and assessment design, with a focus upon TEL Design (Technology Enhanced Learning Design Studios).
Table 1: A Framework for Creative pedagogies, technology and the PAH continuum (modified from Luckin et al., 2010)
| Pedagogy | Andragogy | Heutagogy | |
| Activity Types |
|
|
|
| Locus of control | Teacher | Student | Student |
| Cognition | Cognitive | Meta-cognitive | Epistemic |
| SAMR (Puentedura, 2006) | Substitution & Augmentation
|
Modification
|
Redefinition
|
| Creativity (Kaufman & Pretz, 2012) | Reproduction | Incrementation | Reinitiation |
| Knowledge production | Subject understanding | Process negotiation | Context shaping |
| Self perception and ontological pedagogies (Danvers, 2003) | Learning about | Learning to become | Active participation within a professional community |
For example (Cochrane & Antonczak, 2015a). This framework can be applied to a variety of discipline and curriculum contexts, and integrated within an Educational Design Research methodology (EDR), as shown in Table 2.
Table 2: The intersection between mobile learning and EDR
| Methodology | Educational Design Research | |||
| 4 stages of Learning Design Framework | Informed Exploration | Enactment | Evaluation: Local Impact | Evaluation: Broader Impact |
| Intersection with mobile learning | MSM Framework informing curriculum redesign | Activities designed using Rhizomatic Learning:Developing an EOR
Designing Triggering Events Participant Feedback |
Informed by the scholarship of technology enhanced learning (SOTEL) | |
| Connecting theory and practice | Theory | Practice | Critical Reflection | |
Three examples:
Twitter Tales (Cochrane, 2010)
In this project we integrated Twitter as a communication and collaboration platform for an international project between students at Unitec (New Zealand), and Limerick University (Ireland). We used a Ning site as a collaborative sharing team hub, Skype for two synchronous video meetings between the two student cohorts, and Twitter for asynchronous communication across the geographic and timeZone barriers.
MLearning 2.0: Fostering International Collaboration (Cochrane et al., 2011)
In this project we designed student assessment activities around teams of social media reporters in five different countries who shared their findings of the different uses of social media in each context via Twitter, Storify, WordPress and other shared social media platforms.
Mobilising Journalism Education (Cochrane et al., 2013)
In this project we redesigned the Journalism curriculum from a traditional focus upon essays and exams to the authentic use of online eportfolios and the professional use of mobile social media.
- Prezi outline of project https://prezi.com/s13hryz0dtcx/journalism-20/
- Lecturer Soundcloud introduction https://soundcloud.com/thomcochrane/helen-sissons-cflat
- Team blog http://ejeteam.wordpress.com
The following table outlines examples of the changes in the assessment activities for the journalism courses:
Table 3. Comparison of original and redesigned assessment activities in Journalism Law and Ethics
| Previous assessment criteria | Redesigned assessment criteria |
| Assessment 1: Students each took part in a series of ethical scenarios through online proprietary software. They could compare their responses to other students but could not discuss these. | Assessment 1: Students in groups of three select a case that has been considered by one of the media regulators. They then present that case in full to the class using Prezi or any online presentation tool of their choice and lead a class discussion. Following the class the group members each write up the case including their response to it in a post on the WordPress blog set up for the class. All other class members comment on one of the posts. |
| Assessment 2: Essay of 1,500 words typed up and handed in as hard copy. | Assessment 2: Essay of 1,500 words collated in and published on Storify.com and including material from at least three different social media platforms. |
| Assessment 3: An in-class law test. | Assessment 3: An in-class law test. |
This mobile social media framework was applied to updating the new media paper within the journalism curriculum. For example, the aim of the new media journalism paper was reconceptualised:
Prior course descriptor: This paper examines the digital technologies and the issues affecting journalists and online news media sites. Covers the writing, editing and site design skills relevant to online journalism, including digital photography and image editing. Involves newsgathering with the aim of publication on the course website. (Course descriptor, 2009)
Redesigned course descriptor: Students explore the unique affordances of mobile social media and establish mobile social media eportfolios that become the basis for a professional portfolio developed throughout the length of the course. Students then build upon their mobile social media portfolios to become active mobile social media content creators, collaborators and critics within the context of journalism. Students are invited to become participants within an authentic international community of practice of experts in the field of mobile social media in journalism. (Course descriptor, 2013)
Thus in the redesigned new media paper we invite students to form authentic team-based projects in which they are included as active negotiators of the project outcomes (Heutagogy). Graduates of this redesigned new media paper will be prepared to become active members of collaborative mobile social media journalism teams, both nationally and internationally (Cochrane et al., 2013).
Redesigning the Curriculum for BYOD (Stenhouse, Atkins & Cochrane, 2018; Sinfield & Cochrane, 2018)
In these two 2018 projects I am collaborating with two different creative arts and media course lecturers to rethink and redesign their curriculum to focus upon student-generated content using mobile social media as an enabler. These work in progress projects are exploring a variety of innovative approaches to new assessment activities and student negotiation of learning outcomes based around developing a BYOD supporting infrastructure. The referenced presentations represent our first iterations of developing a student-centred ecology of resources to support each course, and prototyping new assessment activities, that particularly enhance typical studio-based presentations of student work and support a wider audience for the development of graduate professional online profiles.
Reflections:
In my role as an academic advisor my ‘students’ are effectively other academics. While I have taught courses that my ‘students’ have formally enrolled in and been assessed (Cochrane & Narayan, 2012), my predominant mode of working with academics is in a collegial collaborative partnership rather than in a formal assessment situation. Therefore my approach revolves around creating trust and a partnership through communities of practice rather than motivating my ‘students’ by formal assessment activities. By facilitating an environment that nurtures change and innovation in pedagogical strategies over a significant period of time I often see the evidence of real ontological changes in conception without the stick/carrot of formal assessment of my colleagues. Examples of these journeys of discovery are documented in several articles: (Cochrane, 2007; Cochrane & Flitta, 2009; Cochrane & Bateman, 2010).
This has led to the development of a unique framework for creative pedagogies that lecturers can use to help guide them in the design of authentic learning activities and assessments.
A framework provides a pragmatic link between theory and practice, creating a guide for lecturers from a range of discipline contexts to design and implement strategies for creative pedagogies that are informed by appropriate learning theories. (Cochrane & Antonczak, 2015b)
Working collaboratively with a wide variety of discipline based academics provides a rich environment for trans-disciplinary cross-seeding of curriculum activity and assessment ideas and designs. Through the development and expansion of the SOTEL Research Cluster I am facilitating this sharing of minds and ideas beyond the constraints of individual discipline silos.
Throughout 2020-2023 I have also been involved in formal professional development courses as part of the University of Melbourne GCUT that has been an opportunity to more directly model curriculum and assessment design to academics across a wide variety of disciplines. One area of recent development is the exploration of how AI can be used in assessment design and also the implications of AI for academic integrity (Cochrane & Ryan, 2023).
References:
Biggs, John. (2003). Teaching for quality learning at university (Second ed.). Buckingham: The Society for Research into Higher Education.
Cochrane, T., & Ryan, T. (2023). CHATGPT and Academic Integrity: Options for adapting assessment in semester 1 2023. CSHE. Retrieved 13 December from https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/4671856/ChatGPT-and-Academic-Integrity.pdf
Cochrane, T., & Sinfield, D. (2022, 11/18). A Cultural Mapping of the Design for Transformative Mobile Learning Framework to Facilitate Learner Agency ASCILITE Publications, https://doi.org/10.14742/apubs.2022.238
Cochrane, T., Narayan, V., Aiello, S., Alizadeh, M., Birt, J., Bone, E., Cowie, N., Cowling, M., Deneen, C., Goldacre, P., Sinfield, D., Stretton, T., & Worthington, T. (2022). Analysing Mobile Learning Designs: A Framework for Transforming Learning Post COVID. Australasia Journal of Educational Technology (AJET), 38(4), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.7997
Cochrane, Thomas. (2013). Mlearning as a catalyst for pedagogical change. In Z. Berge & L. Muilenburg (Eds.), Handbook of mobile learning (pp. 247-258): Routledge.
Cochrane, Thomas, & Antonczak, Laurent. (2015a). Designing creative learning environments. Interaction Design and Architecture(s) Journal – IxD&A, N.24(Special issue on: Peer-to-Peer Exchange and the Sharing Economy: Analysis, Designs, and Implications), 125-144.
Cochrane, Thomas, & Antonczak, Laurent. (2015b). Connecting the theory and practice of mobile learning: A framework for creative pedagogies using mobile social media. Media Education, 6(2), 248-269.
Cochrane, Thomas, Mulrennan, Danni, Sissons, Helen, Pamatatau, Richard, & Barnes, Lyn. (2013, 4-6 July). Mobilizing journalism education. Paper presented at the International Conference on Information Communication Technologies in Education (ICICTE 2013), Crete, Greece.
Cochrane, Thomas, Bateman, Roger, Buchem, Ilona, Camacho, Mar, Gordon, Averill, Keegan, Helen, & Rhodes, David. (2011). Mlearning 2.0: Fostering international collaboration. In I. Candel Torres, L. Gomez Chova & A. Lopez Martinez (Eds.), Iceri2011: 4th international conference of education, research and innovations (pp. 42-51). Madrid, Spain: IATED.
Cochrane, Thomas. (2010, 5-8 December). Twitter tales: Facilitating international collaboration with mobile web 2.0. Paper presented at the Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future. Proceedings 27th ASCILITE Conference, ASCILITE 2010, Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach, Sydney, Australia.
Cochrane, Thomas, & Narayan, Vickel. (2012). Defrosting professional development: Reconceptualising teaching using social learning technologies. Research in Learning Technology, 19(Supplement 1 – Proceedings of the 2011 ALT Conference), 158-169. doi: 10.3402/rlt.v19s1/7796
Cochrane, Thomas, & Bateman, Roger. (2010). A mobile learning journey: Or “a tale of two academics pedagogical partnership”. Paper presented at the The 6th International Conference on Technology , Knowledge and Society 2010, Free University, Berlin, Germany. Virtual retrieved from http://t10.cgpublisher.com/proposals/89/index_html
Cochrane, Thomas, & Flitta, Isaac. (2009, 16th to 18th November). An mlearning journey: Critical incidents in transforming pedagogy. Paper presented at the International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI2009), Madrid, Spain.
Cochrane, Thomas. (2007). Moving mobile mainstream: Using communities of practice to develop educational technology literacy in tertiary academics. In A. Norman & J. Pearce (Eds.), Mlearn 2007 – making the connections 6th international conference on mobile learning (pp. 37-45). Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Melbourne: University of Melbourne, Parkville Victoria 3010, Australia.
Danvers, John. (2003). Towards a radical pedagogy: Provisional notes on learning and teaching in art & design. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 22(1), 47-57. doi: 10.1111/1468-5949.00338
Hase, Stewart, & Kenyon, Chris. (2007). Heutagogy: A child of complexity theory. Complicity: an International Journal of Complexity and Education, 4(1), 111-118.
Herrington, Jan, Reeves, Thomas, & Oliver, Ron. (2009). A guide to authentic e-learning. London and New York: Routledge.
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (2010). Mobile learning as a catalyst for change. Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 25(3), 181 – 185.
Luckin, R., Clark, W., Garnett, F., Whitworth, A., Akass, J., Cook, J., et al. (2010). Learner-Generated Contexts: A Framework to Support the Effective Use of Technology for Learning. In M. Lee & C. McLoughlin (Eds.), Web 2.0-Based E-Learning: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching (pp. 70-84). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Puentedura, R. (2006). Transformation, Technology, and Education. Retrieved 18 February, 2013, from http://hippasus.com/resources/tte/puentedura_tte.pdf
Sinfield, D., & Cochrane, T. (2018, 15th February). Designing the changing classroom. Paper presented at the SoTEL: Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning 2018, Auckland University of Technology, Manukau, New Zealand. https://tinyurl.com/yanovmw9
Stenhouse, D., Atkins, S., & Cochrane, T. (2018, 15th February). NMIT Music Curriculum Redesign. Paper presented at the SoTEL: Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning 2018, Auckland University of Technology, Manukau, New Zealand. https://tinyurl.com/y9qmxk28
Sternberg, R. J., Kaufman, J. C., & Pretz, J. E. (2002). The creativity conundrum: A propulsion model of kinds of creative contributions. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
Exploring Educational Technology 