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Background: The last decade has shown that K-12 educators in the United States are facing increasingly diverse student populations.  To better prepare a cohort of our teacher candidates, we designed an immersive experience in Seattle.
 

Method: Qualitative phenomenology was used to examine funds of knowledge at the candidate level.

Results: Candidates’ funds of knowledge were impacted through the immersive experience, as documented through action research projects.
 

Discussion: Block scheduling was critical in creating a rich, innovative field experience that provided real-world teaching and cultural applications.

Background: The implementation of the block model in higher education, enabled barriers associated with inequitable starting knowledge to be decreased to ensure an outcome of equitable knowledge in pedagogical delivery1. Public Health has been formatted as a base model unit that is delivered to different health and social sciences with entry ranging from no pre-requisite knowledge to the highest-ranking students.
 

Methods: Enrolled students access examples based on the – ‘Vocational Locker framework’. Student resources and pedagogical design is categorized and ranked by pre-requisite knowledge with universal resources tailored to reflect the prior education and life experience, not unlike that of previous open education exploration2, however, tailored to a larger cohort and for the first time in the block model.
 

Results: Public Health began in 2018 with a cohort of 246 students across two courses, in 2022 this has increased to 985 students across eight courses. Students are encouraged to access resources that build background knowledge, interpretation, and translation of practice that promotes self-advocacy that builds on key messages. The flipped classroom design has not only resulted in academic success3 it enables students with a variety of starting points to finish with equitable knowledge.
 

Discussion: The global changes that have occurred post-pandemic have resulted in a renewed interest in Public Health and recommendations for greater consideration of the inequity of students4 and content5. This discussion will focus on how public health has successfully used the block model to deliver equitable knowledge and content for a variable cohort of students across multiple undergraduate degrees, regardless of University entry requirements.

Background:  Victoria University’s Graduate Certificate in Digital Learning and Teaching is a collaboration between the College of Arts and Education and Victoria University’s Connected Learning Department. Senior Learning Designers teach into the course, offering authentic, contemporary, and professional experience-based curriculum. This paper focuses on the continuous improvement strategies employed in ADL6001 Engaging Learners in Digital Environments. It will provide an overview of high impact, low effort changes implemented to improve teaching and learning experience, and deliver relevant, professional learning that supports students to graduate industry ready.
 

Methods:

• Gathered feedback from teaching staff and students:

  • Students via online survey and 1:1 discussion

  • Teaching staff via 1:1 discussion

• Implemented changes based on feedback from 2 x block iterations:

  • Adjustments to unit (assessment design, lesson design, organisation of information in digital environment) based on teaching experience, student feedback, industry practices, and contemporary learning design theory

• Evaluated the impact of changes:

  • Gathered feedback in next block to compare against previous teacher and student experience

  • Analysed data

    • Number of assessment queries received

    • Time spent discussing assessment in class

    • Student satisfaction
       

Results:

• Decrease in time spent responding to assessment queries (online, email and during session)

• Decrease in lesson preparation time

• Increase in meaningful engagement with assessments

• Increase in session activity engagement and understanding

• Improved anecdotal student and teacher feedback
   

Discussion:

• Practical strategies for determining low effort, high impact changes in response to feedback/data

• Strategies for implementing changes – applicability to undergraduate teaching and different disciplines

Teaching in block mode requires a paradigm shift. Consequently, the design of units and courses for block delivery must be consistent with such a paradigm shift. In this presentation, we aim to narrate our journey in designing units for block delivery in two new courses dedicated to block teaching. As part of our personal narrative, we put a spotlight not only the design process of moving from regular delivery of units to delivery in block mode, but to the ideological shift that must occur at an institutional level to support the transformational educational experiences to which block mode teaching and learning aspires. Resistance to change is a factor that must be addressed creatively by academics designing units for block delivery. The process of design of block units and courses goes beyond a mere change to teaching approaches and thinking about design, but rather necessitates a change of culture on an institutional level. 

Often the most challenging part of designing or redesigning academic programmes is the validation and approval process. It’s often long and drawn out, with lots of meetings, endless paperwork and many boxes to be ticked. While the academic quality of programmes is paramount, so too is the need to consider more rapid approaches to innovative design. So, imagine reducing the process into a few days.

This session will explore how we followed Sprint Methodology to transform a University-wide curriculum to block teaching. This shift has called for new, dynamic pedagogies to be introduced while also revisiting assessment methods. It has involved extensive consultations with stakeholders without losing sight of quality assurance and the student experience. Using sprints has helped to refine the complexity of university-wide validations shifting to a new pedagogical approach.

This project was underpinned by the fundamentals of creative research in which exploratory activity leads to new knowledge through interrogation and disruption and is characterised by innovation, sustained collaboration and inter disciplinary praxis.

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This presentation will outline our specific collaborative lesson in integrated Arts -based teaching, designed and carried out via zoom between two Block universities situated at opposite ends of the globe. Initially, we anticipated that students would explore the way arts integration works in another country. Our aim was to enrich student pedagogy by developing an understanding of the benefits of Arts-based teaching as an acknowledged and powerful strategy for enriching learning. After designing and executing the lesson, we learned, based on student surveys and data analysis, that students gained far more than the anticipated pedagogical understandings. Indeed, we were surprised by our findings. We will discuss the challenges both anticipated and unexpected of collaborative teaching and design in the block model; the gains as for both students and staff and the lessons learned for enhancing future collaborative teaching projects in the Block.

Background: This paper reports on the findings of a study investigating a new intensive instructional design approach called the “Cheese Sandwich” (Merry, 2019). The Cheese Sandwich was used to create De Montfort University’s (DMU’s) Effective Learning and Teaching at DMU (ELT@DMU) course. ELT@DMU is an intensive 3-day course, aligning with the institutional commitment to Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The aim of the study was to uncover the extent to which participants on ELT@DMU encountered an intensive learning experience reflecting the UDL principles. A second aim was to assess the importance of those UDL principles in effectively supporting participant learning on the course.
 

Methods: Participants were 30 DMU staff enrolled on ELT@DMU. The extent to which participants encountered an intensive learning experience reflecting UDL principles, and the extent to which they perceived those principles as effectively supporting their learning was assessed via the UDL perception survey (Kennette et al., 2019). The survey consists of 2 main dimensions; 1) the extent to which respondents experienced learning and teaching practices reflective of UDL on their course and; 2) the extent to which respondents perceive those practices to be effective in supporting their learning. Each dimension consists of 36 items adapted from the CAST (2011) UDL “checkpoints”. Responses to each dimension are made on a five-point Likert scale (1 – 5).
 

Results: Of the 36 items in Dimension 2, 29 received a mean score >3.5, meaning they were considered “very” or “extremely” effective for learning. For each of the 29 items considered “very” or “extremely” effective, participant perception was that they occurred “often” or “always” on ELT@DMU. The course also received a 100% satisfaction score from participants in the feedback survey.
 

Discussion: The Cheese Sandwich appears to be an effective intensive instructional design tool, enabling the embedding of UDL into intensive learning experiences, with demonstrable perceived benefits for learning.

Background: The Hogsback project was started in Fall 2021 with funding from NASA through MSGC (Montana Space Grant Consortium)with the aim of engaging non-STEM students in the cycle of scientific research. Student research takes place at a site ten miles from the UMW campus near a geological formation called the Hogsback and is focused on how the foraging and mound-building behavior of the harvesting ant (Pogonomyrmexoccidentalis) radically transforms the ecological and geological landscape.

Methods: Classes that participate in the Hogsback project engage in a portion of the cycle of scientific research that includes reading scientific papers, experimental design, data collection, data analysis, building mathematical models, writing scientific papers, and making predictions for future research. Each class engages in the cycle of science at the appropriate level of scientific and mathematical experience for its students.Student papers are submitted to the Hogsback Journal, a student-run peer-reviewed journal. Papers published in the Hogsback Journal are available for other students to read and design their own research.

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Results:To date, this project has engaged 457 students across 32 classes in scientific research across all levels. Students have submitted 109 papers of which 42 have been published in the Hogsback Journal. We currently have two student editors working to keep up with submissions. Discussion: Participation has exceeded expectations in the number of students and faculty involved, the number of papers submitted, and the number of datasets collected and curated on the Hogsback Journal repository.In this ongoing project students learn about the cycle of science by engaging in it at warp speed.

Background: The Hogsback project was started in Fall 2021 with funding from NASA through MSGC (Montana Space Grant Consortium) with the aim of engaging non-STEM students in the cycle of scientific research. Student research takes place at a site ten miles from the UMW campus near a geological formation called the Hogsback and is focused on how the foraging and mound-building behavior of the harvesting ant (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) radically transforms the ecological and geological landscape.

Methods: Classes that participate in the Hogsback project engage in a portion of the cycle of scientific research that includes reading scientific papers, experimental design, data collection, data analysis, building mathematical models, writing scientific papers, and making predictions for future research. Each class engages in the cycle of science at the appropriate level of scientific and mathematical experience for its students. Student papers are submitted to the Hogsback Journal, a student-run peer-reviewed journal. Papers published in the Hogsback Journal are available for other students to read and design their own research.

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Results: To date, this project has engaged 457 students across 32 classes in scientific research across all levels. Students have submitted 109 papers of which 42 have been published in the Hogsback Journal. We currently have two student editors working to keep up with submissions.  

Discussion: Participation has exceeded expectations in the number of students and faculty involved, the number of papers submitted, and the number of datasets collected and curated on the Hogsback Journal repository. In this ongoing project students learn about the cycle of science by engaging in it at warp speed.

In this presentation, we explore strategies for student engagement and learning in Creative Arts assessment tasks within block delivery units of study. Through a series of case studies, we will critically discuss arts-based approaches to assessments that are co-designed with students. The design of block units of study and the teaching and assessment strategies they necessitate are intrinsically creative. The process of moving beyond traditional higher education structure of teaching and assessment into block mode delivery will be explored through these narrative-based case studies. In them, we will critically interrogate the pedagogical and ideological paradigm shift that defines block mode, providing descriptions of innovative and creative approaches to assessment that challenge conventional ideas of learning in higher education.

Background: Teaching in the block model comes with its own specific challenges. Ghapanchi (2022) explains that subjects can be rushed or intense due to the short duration of units taught in block model. This can be particularly challenging for outdoor education subjects because need to cover content as well as teach in the field. This is compounded by the challenge of adequately preparing students for time away. Subsequently, unit coordinators design block subjects in a way that maintains reasonable pace throughout the block and avoids giving students the perception of working at an uncomfortable pace. So, how is this achieve for Outdoor Education units?

Method: This presentation will examine how Victoria University's Block Model Principle (2022), Biggs’ (2014) Constructive Alignment theory and Wiggins & McTighe’s (1998) Backwards Design Process of have been successfully applied in unit design processes of serval outdoor leadership units taught in block mode by the First Year College at Victoria University. It will examine how assessments tasks, rubrics, learning content and field trip activities are planned to align to the unit learning objectives. Further, it will explore how assessment tasks are created first in order to inform the selection of evidence based teaching and learning content.

Results: A preliminary review of the literature supports that the application of constructive alignment, and backwards design in curriculum development (Dame, 2012; Reynolds & Kearns, 2016; Ruge, Tokede & Tivendale, 2019) improve the teaching and learning quality in higher education. Within outdoor education units this has enhanced content delivery to students, improved student experience in lectures, made students more engaged, and provides them with more frequent feedback on comprehension. In the field this process has also elevated the to an appropriate Australian Qualifications Framework level.

Discussion: This presentation seeks to share good practice occurring in Victoria Universities Outdoor Education program in the curriculum design and development for outdoor education. It is hoped that it can assist other practitioners in similar disciplines such as physical education, and environmental sciences improve the quality of teaching and learning when designing units in Block Mode.

Background: Post-pandemic, more students than ever before are expressing preferences for flexible study options (Robert, 2022) and seeking engaging learning delivered via digitally-enabled pedagogies (Devlin & Samarawickrema, 2022). In this evolving environment, it is timely to examine the implications of immersive forms of learning for online students in higher education.
 

This study is situated at Southern Cross University, one of several Australian universities that have transitioned their curriculum to a form of immersive learning. In contrast to the typical one-unit-at-a-time block model, the Southern Cross Model (SCM) engages students in up to two concurrent units across 6-week terms using converged, active learning pedagogy (Roche et al., 2022).
 

This study examines two questions:  Has the SCM affected the academic achievement of online and on-campus students differently? Have impacts on achievement varied across disciplines?
 

Methods: Inferential statistical tests are used to compare the grades of online and on-campus students in one year of trimester delivery (2019) and two years of immersive delivery (2021 and 2022). Analyses are conducted across study modes and disciplines including business, science, engineering, education and arts.
 

Results: Early data indicate that success rate gains in the immersive model were greater for online students, rising by up to 27% in comparison to 12% for on-campus students (Goode et al., 2022b). Analysis of data from the first five terms of 2022 indicate similarly positive outcomes.
 

Discussion: The SCM, a novel variation on one-unit-at-a-time block models, appears to have had a particularly positive impact on the academic performance of online learners across multiple years and disciplines at an Australian university. The centring of on-demand, media-rich, interactive and responsive online modules in the immersive curriculum may be key to these results (Goode et al., 2022a). Online students appear to be among the cohorts that benefit the most from digitally-enabled immersive learning.

With classes that meet every day, the block schedule doesn’t seem to allow for assigning complex, dense reading materials. Can we expect students to read 100+ pages of Sartre or a Shakespearean tragedy overnight? Can we expect students not only to read but also to understand these kinds of texts? The answers are yes and yes.

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Research by Kirsty Miller and Hannah Meridian shows that while most instructors assign academic reading many fail to teach students how to read for college (9). Critic Jan Larson describes several studies that demonstrate how reading comprehension is enhanced when students are given “explicit instruction on how to infer from, connect to, and question the text” (23). In particular, Larson points to the importance of student reading communities as a way for students to engage in reading and discussion in a low stakes environment (24). Typically, reading communities bring students together in small groups to discuss a class reading. However, finding time to meet outside the assigned class time is difficult, particularly for commuter students or students who work off campus.

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My presentation will show how block instructors can scaffold reading assignments for in-class and on-line discussion so that students have reading support no matter where they are. I’ll describe how I use  threaded discussions coupled with small group work to help students not just to understand assigned reading but to see academic reading as it helps inspire their own ideas about the topic they’re studying.

BACKGROUND: While Block and Intensive format course delivery has many advantages, it can also pose additional pressures and challenges for students. Typical solutions or accommodations, such as reduced course load and extensions on assignments, cannot always be implemented. Given the significance of the implications to student wellness, attrition levels, and graduation rates, this presentation offers tangible options for how an institution can prepare students for the expectations of higher education, and specifically for the demands of the block plan format, during the pre-matriculation period.

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METHODS: These approaches come from practice: the presenter developed, implemented, and evaluated these approaches at a 3.5-week block plan undergraduate university (Quest University Canada), and at a 7-8 week module plan graduate school (Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University), where she was the inaugural Dean of Students at each.

RESULTS: To help ensure incoming students are better prepared for the demands of the block system, clear information and skill-building strategies can be introduced at multiple points prior to matriculation. These include during campus visits by prospective students and parents; during the admissions process; and during pre-arrival communications and online sessions. Given the role that parenting approaches play in university-readiness, some of the approaches target the parents.

DISCUSSION: Many new students fail classes and/or drop out not because they lack the academic skills to succeed, but rather they lack executive functioning skills and independence that are necessary to managing their own day to day functions. Mental health issues have become a top issue at institutions, and the pandemic further exacerbated this situation. Given that the block format can preclude use of some of the standard solutions to mitigate health issues and/or learning differences, it is essential that institutions take steps to prepare students for block-learning prior to their matriculation.

Background: Very few faculty arrive on our campuses with experience teaching Block or intensive format courses. Research on what makes for an effective intensive format course suggests that two factors– the expertise of the faculty and their pedagogical choices– are far more instrumental in student learning than the number of hours or weeks in class (Davies, 2006; Fedesco, 2018).

While the studies on “what works” in teaching Block & intensive courses is limited, there is some agreement that faculty who are least successful teaching in these formats are those who simply try to incorporate all of the course material they would teach in a traditional-length semester into a compressed time-frame (Daniel, 200; Davies, 2006). Effective instruction in Block and intensive courses requires faculty to adjust their curriculum and assessment practices (Davies, 2006; Lee & Horsfall, 2010; Freeman, Fedesco, & Cavin 2020), to vary their teaching strategies, with an emphasis on active learning and reflection (Scott 2003; Freeman, Fedesco, & Cavin, 2020), and to cultivate a positive classroom climate (Lee & Horsfall, 2010; Freeman, Fedesco, & Cavin, 2020). Such findings are consistent with what we know about how students learn.

Methods: This poster will feature a model for developing faculty who teach Block and intensive courses that is grounded in learning theory and evidence-based best practices for teaching Block Plan and intensive courses. The model will apply to both in person and online courses.

Results: This model for faculty development can be adapted for use at other institutions.

Discussion: Well-designed faculty development programs can contribute positively to student learning outcomes (Condon et al., 2020). These programs are even more critical for faculty teaching Block or intensive courses, since these course formats are less familiar to faculty and students and demand different approaches to instruction (Kretovics, Crowe, & Hyun, 2005)

Background:

• Victoria University’s Connected Learning department employs a team of Senior Learning Designers (Educational Developers) for the process of collaborating with academic staff to design and develop Block Model units. Since the introduction of the Block Model in 2017, Learning Designers and other support staff have been involved in the design and development of over 1,000 units of study spanning all university disciplines and year levels. This paper will focus on the experience of selected members of the team, exploring the role that these ‘third space’[1] professional staff play in the design of teaching and learning, and the evolution of approaches over the course of several years designing for Block Model.
   

Methods:

• Exploration of key roles and responsibilities of ‘third space’ professional staff in educational design, drawing on relevant literature from across the higher education sector, and role descriptions and insights from selected Senior Learning Designers.

• Analysis of the evolution of Learning Designers’ principle-based process/approach to designing Block Model units.

• Collection of qualitative data investigating Learning Designer individual approaches to collaborative design of learning and teaching for Block Model.
   

Results:

• Findings from Senior Learning Designers about their experience with and contribution to Block Model Unit Design and Development.

• Identified factors impacting changes in approach to Block Model Design and Development i.e., feedback, initial outcomes of unit delivery, experience, professional development, review.  
   

Discussion:

• ‘Third space’ professional staff: Key areas of impact and their nuanced, varied role in design, development and continuous improvement of learning and teaching.

Whilst exhibiting students' creative works is important and can create employment opportunities. However, in an intensive teaching environment, many questions are raised about the most appropriate approach and balance. These concerns stem from the frequency of work created and the availability of an exhibition or screen location, which is commonly off-campus. The limitations of a physical location include those able to attend, limiting employability opportunities. Whilst some may suggest a website to aggregate and showcase work, it removes the immersive interactions and engaging discussion possible from a physical exhibition.

A way to expand the reach of a student exhibition and maintain elements of the immersive experiences of a physical exhibition, can be accomplished through the use of a metaverse platform. The metaverse concept continues to move from what many may see as science-fiction, to being accessible and adopted by a more significant proportion of the general public. This paper will explore the use of metaverse platforms to create immersive virtual exhibitions for students' creative outcomes. It will focus on tools and platforms with the greatest accessibility to allow all participants the opportunity for immersive engagement.

Background: Teaching in a digital learning environment requires academics to consider how they are going to foster student engagement.  Moore’s transactional distance theory suggests that e-learning curriculum design requires a combination of structure, dialogue and autonomy. (Moore, 1973 p. 661) The presentation will showcase virtual law field trips and online interactive tools such as Feedback Fruits, which were used to facilitate engagement in the online block delivery of law units during the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings from a student survey conducted in 2021 will highlight the benefits of using virtual law field trips. The presentation will categorise these teaching approaches using Moore’s theory and offers best practice guidelines for online teaching in block mode.

Method: A confidential survey about a virtual law field trip was conducted from 14 December 2021 to 2 March 2022. A total of 31 First Year students (6% of student cohort) who studied the unit BLB1101 during 2021 and who attended the virtual Parliament Program responded to the survey.

Results: The data from 2021 survey highlights aspects of the virtual parliament program which were most interesting. The study revealed that 74% of students who attended the field trip completed the post-field trip reflective journal. 83% of students were able to make connections between the experience and unit content, while 65% of students agreed that it assisted them in identifying career objectives. Interestingly, 78% students agreed that they were able to apply the skills/knowledge from the virtual field trip in subsequent tasks in the unit.

Discussion:

Online block delivery guidelines:

1. Suitable structure for an online environment 

2. Engagement /immersive experience 

3. Create opportunities for peer interaction

4. Facilitate Reflection

5. Virtual field trip: Connect the virtual field trip to the Unit (Assessment and Learning Activities) 

Background: Aquinas College, a small liberal arts college in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, recently streamlined its curriculum to provide greater flexibility for a student-centered, experiential education. Driven by twin concerns of declining enrollment– especially among non-athlete students– and a desire to provide an equitable and transformative educational experience, the College will pilot an immersive block model schedule in Fall 2023.

Methods: The decision to pursue the block model was supported by a meta-analysis of various factors, including research reports, enrollment trends from other block-model colleges in the United States, a greater focus on experiential learning, and the college’s desire for an equitable education, which gives all students, especially marginalized populations previously penalized by more traditional models (Jackson, et. al. 2022), an equal opportunity “to participate fully in all the educational and nonacademic opportunities we offer” (Mintz, 2021). The decision regarding full adoption of the block model will be supported by qualitative and quantitative data regarding both student experience and student learning.

Results: The college will pilot the block model for the 2023-2024 academic year; however, it has not yet determined whether it will adopt the model. In the college’s collective decision-making process, we have gained considerable insight into the potential benefits and concerns about the block model and how these might be viewed by both early adopters and hesitant stakeholders.

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Discussion: The presentation will share key aspects of our process and questions that remain, and will invite dialogue with attendees regarding their own findings, emphasizing discussions of equity-based education. In addition, presenters will offer advice for those looking to venture into block models based on how movement toward the pilot has progressed.

Block Model of learning and teaching is an intensive type of teaching introduced in VU in the recent past. It is a big shift from the traditional method of learning and teaching in the semester system. This paper is an exploratory and conceptual paper reflecting on the change journey of academics and the students moving from semester system to the block model of teaching and learning. This is a reflective piece of work. The author of the paper is using experiential knowledge based on the fact that the author has taught in traditional teaching and learning environment in trimester system and now the author is teaching in block model. Observation method is primarily used in identifying the key changes and their perceived impact on teachers and students learning outcomes.
 

The paper attempts to reflect on the changes experienced from a teacher’s perspective and student’s perspective. Due to COVID-19, much of the reflections related to Block Model may be limited to online teaching and learning, hence that may be a limitation of this paper as the author attempts to compare the online teaching using Block Model teaching methodology with in-person teaching methodology while teaching in semester system. This paper will focus on some changes to design and hence delivery of the teaching content.  As part of this paper, the author will also explore the use of hybrid mode in Block model and its potential impact on teaching and learning.

How can institutions evaluate the effects of the block format on student learning? Assessing the role that the academic calendar plays in the value of a college education proves remarkably elusive.
 

Early assessments of the Block Plan at Colorado College indicated improved attendance, better performance, and more applicants. Those indicators pointed to success. But college leaders also wanted to determine how the block system affected what students learned and retained. This paper describes those efforts and acknowledges the continuing struggle to make convincing claims about the relative worth of learning one course at a time.
 

As soon as it approved the block system in 1969, Colorado College scrambled to gather the baseline data they needed to make semester and block comparisons. Once the Block Plan was in place, the administration created a multi-faceted examination of how and how well the new system worked.  
 

More systematic assessments of its effects on students’ personal and intellectual growth and on the quality of teaching came at the ten (1979) and twenty-five (1995) year marks. The most recent significant study, 2016-18, examined student motivation by applying self-determination theory to the question.
 

According to the theory, students respond to classes that satisfy three psychological needs: the need for autonomy, for competence, and for relatedness. In traditional systems, students rely first on feedback from quizzes and tests for motivation and to a lesser extent on a sense of autonomy. At CC evidence pointed instead to connections to the professor and to fellow students as the galvanizing ingredient. It singled out features of the Block Plan, small classes and leaving the classroom, as key sources of connectedness.
 

An analysis of the goals, methods, and results of these studies shows both the range and the limits of assessments of the block system’s role in what and how students learn.

Background: We have previously reported of the positive impact of active learning based, intensive teaching on student outcomes (Klein et al., 2019 a), and that this mode of teaching has a proportionally greater positive effect on disadvantaged students (Klein et al. 2019 b; Winchester, Klein & Sinnayah, 2021).  Here, we compared student outcomes from the previous traditional mode of learning with that of the Block Teaching Model’s (BTM) discipline specific effects on gross anatomy, to provide a more accurate predictor for student outcome, and to assist in managing student expectation of these subjects.
 

Methods: Student record datasets were analysed by comparing unit results obtained in 2016-17 (traditional mode) and comparing them with results obtained in 2018-2022 (BTM). Statistical analyses were conducted at the unit of study and between year level. The percentage point change in pre-block mean marks calculated for each year group versus the block teaching year groups followed by either a two-sample t-test or ANOVA. Student evaluation of unit (SEU) data was analysed.
 

Results: The results indicate a remarkable consistency in student outcomes across the years 2018-2022, averaging approximately 2 grade points higher compared with pre-block marks. A further interesting finding is that the marks also remain consistent over the 2018 to 2022 period including the switching from face to face (f2f) to totally online teaching during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic interruption (Klein et al., 2021), supporting the robustness of the teaching model in both face to face and synchronous remote format.
 

Discussion: The re-organising of faculty into a First Year College and curriculum around the goal of increasing students’ social engagement is feasible and results in a wealth of positive learning and institutional outcomes. The most significant effect of introducing the block mode was the improvement across assessment results in anatomy. This effect was robust, remaining positive for all BTM years (2018-2022). Interestingly, the effect remained the same for across the period of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) where the units were offered only online via zoom. In summary, we can observe higher final exam scores, higher attendance rates and higher student satisfaction (SEU data) for content and contact heavy anatomy subjects.

Background: Anatomical education is a cornerstone in the preparation of future health care providers and is, therefore, prerequisite to the successful application of clinical skills. The primary student goals of undergraduate anatomical education are: 1) To develop fluency in anatomical terminology; 2) to understand the three-dimensional organization of the body; 3) to learn tissue discrimination and 4) to appreciate the complexity of organismal construction through high-quality dissections. However, successfully meeting these goals requires overcoming multiple challenges, such as finding qualified instructors, securing dedicated lab space, and establishing an appropriate balance between content instruction and dissection time. These challenges are exacerbated on the block schedule, which limits traditional semester-long dissection plans to a mere 18-days. Hence, through our combined expertise in clinical anatomy, athletic training, and anatomical education, we developed an innovative, interdisciplinary approach that addressed these immediate challenges and recentered anatomy in the education of our biology and kinesiology majors at UMW.
 

Methods: We designed a three-part approach to anatomical education based on content lectures, clinical skills in surface anatomy, and detailed dissections of non-human cadavers. To achieve our curricular goals, we generated customized lecture notes and two laboratory manuals for surface anatomy and dissection instruction, respectively. Laboratory time was allotted to each day of the block and students were given 24/7 access to the lecture hall and dissection lab space. The instructors delivered lecture content according to their expertise but combined their efforts to guide student dissections.
 

Results: BIOH 221: Human Anatomy with Lab was taught twice during Fall 2022. Student achievement in both sections exceeded expectations. Written and practical exam performance demonstrated student acquisition of foundational knowledge and academic skills that can be applied to future courses and professional school. Furthermore, our co-teaching approach modeled interdisciplinary collaboration to the students and helped foster academic relationships between historically disparate majors.
 

Discussion: Block scheduling did not limit the ability of students to perform a high-quality dissection of each of the body systems during the course.   

Background: Traditional quantum courses are a year long and follow a predictable, often historical journey through various topics. That curriculum is driven by inertia; and ignores the needs of many potential students with interests in newer fields such as quantum chaos, quantum information, or materials science. DKU uses seven-week blocks and students take two full courses at a time. We didn’t want to just squeeze a traditional quantum course, so we created a new structure that centers around developing fundamental understanding similar to an expert.

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Methods: Our quantum course was redesigned to fit into seven themes, each with four classes. The themes alternate between a differential approach and an operator approach, so that students could digest each theme during the corresponding off-week, while still learning new material. Intense study is devoted to three often understated pillars of quantum theory: measurement, pure versus mixed states, and angular momentum. The approach was inspired by the Paradigms Project at Oregon State[4]; additional ideas have been drawn from the literature.

Results: Students from two class offerings have responded well to the approach, and a draft of a text that could serve as a format for interactive block learning is being developed. Combining with other learning modalities, including online interactive guided lessons, en- ables more time to be spent confronting misconceptions, and enables student building of a scaffold of expertise.

Discussion: The restructuring allows for addressing known challenges in teaching quantum mechanics; an intense block course creates an environment suited for confronting misconceptions[8][9]. We look to collaborate with others seeking a novel approach to teach- ing what is often seen to be counterintuitive quantum mechanics. Migrating some of the work to guided interactive online assignments adds to the students’ workload, and must balance with the already heavy demands of shared block courses.

Shifts in tertiary education have resulted in a significant increase of participation of students undertaking university studies, a phenomenon referred as massification in tertiary education. Coincidently, a higher proportion of the low SES cohort appears to be increasingly less prepared for first year university study. This situation is further accentuated in the case of fundamental sciences such as Physics, especially for students with none or limited prior mathematics exposure. This work shows the positive correlation between students’ mathematical skills and their performance in physics based subjects observed in the recently adopted Block Model of teaching at Victoria University (VU). These findings suggest that significant improvement in engineering students’ grades can be achieved by carefully “sequencing” the block units in an appropriate order simply by capitalising on the significant correlation between normalized learning gain and students’ pre-instruction mathematics skill.

Video-based learning (VBL) has become a common learning and teaching tool within online education. Yet VBL is limited in many ways, particularly its potential to create an immersive educational space for students. This is particularly evident when used for practical-based discipline areas, like screen media education. 360-degree video is another video format that has a great opportunity for innovative teaching and learning for practical skills and knowledge. This video format is a subsection of virtual reality (VR) that allows for an omnidirectional viewing experience. As a result, 360-degree video allows for a more immersive and greater comprehension of the overall environment than viewing VBL content.

In recent years 360-degree video has become more accessible due to the decline in the cost of the technological tools required to produce and view immersive content. This paper will discuss 360-degree video as a way to allow students greater accessibility to practical-based learning within digital environments. In particular, the paper will focus on VU block model teaching, which can create significant demands on both time and resources for practical-based media units.