CSUEd2010: Final Report
This is the final report of CSUEd2010 which was held at the Center for Professional
Development on the Bathurst Campus of CSU over November 9-11th.
Conference theme: Educating for 2020 and beyond
CSUEd2010 was organised by the Division of Learning and Teaching Services. The theme
of this year’s conference was Educating for 2020 and beyond. This theme was driven by
the realisation that many of our current students will be joining the workforce around
2015, while many are already in the workforce and seeking to optimise their
opportunities with part-time and distance education. It was imperative that we consider
what kind of education these students should be getting now so that they are adequately
prepared for the challenges that lie ahead of them in the workplace.
In doing so, we aimed to consider what we might predict from national and international
trends in relation to flexible learning, practice-based education, social justice and
participation in higher education, internationalisation of the curriculum, information and
communications technology, and our cultural competence. How are these developments
likely to influence the way we teach, learn and work in the future? But more importantly,
what should we be doing now – this term and in this year to meet the challenges that lie
ahead? How should we be aligning our CURRICULUM, and our PEDAGOGY to better
prepare for the next decade and beyond?
Program activities
The conference activities were organised along the following key themes: Practice-based
education; Blended and flexible learning; Curriculum renewal and pedagogy; Cultural
competence and Indigenous education; and Student experience and participation
Our purpose was to…
• Celebrate our efforts, progress and achievements.
• Push boundaries and explore creative and effective practices.
• Share successful approaches, strategies, tools and techniques.
• Provide opportunities for further development of expertise.
• Connect, communicate and collaborate to build communities.
Keynote speakers at the conference were Professors Ron Barnett and Professor Jeannie
Herbert. Professor Barnett is Professor of Higher Education at the Institute of Education
(University of London, UK) and a leading authority on the conceptual understanding of
the university. Professor Barnett’s visit to CSU was jointly sponsored by the Education
for Practice Institute and the Division of Learning and Teaching Services. Professor
Herbert is Foundation Chair of Indigenous Studies at Charles Sturt University.
The keynotes were followed up with panel discussions (featuring key CSU staff) to
explore the content of the keynotes with conference participants.
The program comprised the following activities: full length paper presentations; staff and
student forums; e-poster sessions (online and offline); workshops and demonstrations;
short/lightning/information sessions. A total of 190 participants registered for the event
and there were 91 presentations made.
CSUEd2010 Report/Page…1
Opening Ceremony
The conference was formally opened by Associate Professor Marian Tulloch (Executive
Director of the Division of Learning and Teaching Services). The opening ceremony
comprised a Welcome to Country by Auntie Gloria Dindima Rogers, Uncle Ralph Naden
and the Yalmambirra Boogijoon Doolin Dance Group (pictured below).
Auntie Gloria Dindima Rogers & Uncle Ralph Naden & the Yalmambirra Boogijoon Doolin Dance Group
Evaluation and feedback
We gathered feedback from conference participants in a number of ways. Foremost, we
developed a simple one page questionnaire which asked participants for their reactions
on a daily basis along the following lines: What was a highlight for you at CSUEd 2010?;
What did not work so well for you at CSUEd 2010?; What could we have been done
differently for you?; Feedback about catering and other services!; What did we do well?;
What didn’t we do so well? Then following the conference we asked selected participants
to respond in an open-ended way about their conference experience.
A selection of these observations is reported in the following (anonymously):
It was a delight for me to be present at, and to play a small part in the CSU conference 2010,
'Educating for 2020 and beyond'. A number of themes and concepts were prompted by the
conference including those of listening, offering, gifting, communicating, proffering, speaking,
enjoying, smiling and laughing; but perhaps most of was the theme and concept of 'engaging',
especially:
•
the willingness of colleagues to engage seriously with each other
•
the determination of colleagues to engage with indigenous cultures
•
the concern of colleagues to engage students; and to engage with students
•
the desire of colleagues to reach out into the wider society, and to engage through practices of
various kinds and
CSUEd2010 Report/Page…2
•
The preparedness of colleagues to engage with themselves, so as to be critically reflexive
about their own professional practices.
Perhaps, in this conference, therefore, we were witnessing the emergence of CSU for 2020 as 'the
engaged university’.
Thanks for providing this opportunity for feedback. I hope that what follows is not perceived as
negative criticism, but rather as the projection of a difficulty encountered as a consequence of
information provided on initial registration. As a relatively inexperienced conference presenter, I
took the invitation relating to format of presentation rather literally. I opted for a 30 minute ‘paper’
(3,000-5,000 words) and went ahead and prepared that. On discussing my upcoming presentation
with a colleague last week, and sharing concerns about how much I had to get through in the
time, I was advised that presentations were more of a ‘show and tell’ rather than the delivery of a
formal paper. I followed this advice and did not go ahead and ‘read’ the paper but rather spoke to
the PowerPoint slides I had prepared. I found myself pretty much pressed for time though as a
result of developing the PP from the ‘paper’ (i.e. too much content). While I realize that the time
pressure I experienced was a result of my own lack of experience, perhaps some more realistic
advice about the expected nature of presentations (as distinct from ‘papers’) might be helpful to
other novice /near-novice presenters in future. I offer these comments in the spirit of helpfulness
and not complaint.
Just a quick email to congratulate members of LTS on their contribution to CSUEd 2010. The
conference was very successful and LTS staff members were engaged in the planning and
preparations for the conference (including CSU Print). During the conference LTS provided a wide
range of organisational, technical, administrative, and social support. Many staff members were
involved in really interesting presentations. People I talked to were enthused by the quality of the
sessions they attended and the conversations they engendered which will be a great basis for
further work. The strong sense of community evident at the conference around learning and
teaching is a great tribute to the partnerships between academics, the Institutes and LTS. A
special thanks to Som and his organizing team. Well done!
My favorite presentations tended to look at the larger picture such as Angela Ragusa’s qualitative
analysis of international students’ experiences. I was motivated to watch out for the wellbeing of
this cohort and possibly do some research in this area myself. The conference seemed to be very
well organized. All went smoothly for me including the catering and the dinner which were done
well. I have a feeling at CSUEd that those who might benefit the most from the coaching and
advice sessions are not in attendance. I really like the fact that CSUed gives inexperienced
academics an opportunity to present to their peers in an environment that tests their nerve but
doesn’t seem too intimidating. Congratulations to the EDs who support teaching staff to break the
presentation ice.
It was a pleasure to chair the keynote panel and to participate in the session that I was involved
in. I’m afraid I only attended these 2 sessions so cannot comment on the rest of the conference.
But from all I heard Ron Barnett was an excellent choice of speaker and extremely generous with
his time. I thought the keynote was really excellent – again, a wonderful choice. Getting questions
and answers immediately after a lecture is always difficult – especially at the start of a conference.
I find that it works well to have a panel discussion later in the conference as by that time ideas
have been discussed and questions are better thought out. But it does mean of course that the
Keynote lecturer has to be there.
Many thanks for all the hard work. I didn’t get a chance to go to anything sadly due to unforeseen
circumstances. I did find it difficult racing from the CPD to s16 as my presentations were one after
the other. I must say I also found the program overwhelming and everything seemed a tad
rushed. Maybe less presentations and more time for the presentations that do run with more time
between to allow people to discuss what they have heard and move to the next presentation. This
also allows for presentations to have a bit of flexibility with time to allow for discussions that might
run over. I thought the dinner was great – loved the informal atmosphere and entertainment. Nice
to have the opportunity to interact with other staff in this way. It rarely happens.
Thank you to all involved in the conference. Once again it was great to catch up with others from
across the Uni. and to hear all the interesting things that are happening. A highlight was the
wonderful friendly and supportive atmosphere of the conference. The two keynotes were thought
provoking and challenging, Philip and Miriam's informative session on all the great resources listed
on the Interact site of the ICT-enabled Learning community. Very useful. Look that one up.
CSUEd2010 Report/Page…3
Angela's insight into the experience and expectations of international students was interesting and
then meeting the team from the first Year Experience with Liz. This should have excellent
outcomes and linked in my mind to Jeannie's keynote, thinking that if this initiative supported new
indigenous students along with any others who would benefit from extra support, it would have
wide reaching impact. The breakfast session with Ontario was interesting and then Claudio's ebooks and e-texts clarified a few questions. Lucy and Judy illustrated Wimba in a novel and fun
way and then Ken demonstrated a very useful e-marking assistant. Enjoyed all of the above.
Some of the distances were a bit of a trial, with the time a bit short to make the destinations at
times. Maybe we need to look at doing more group/roundtable discussions about similar themes to
try a few less sessions. Some sessions ended up with one or two in attendance disappointing for
the presenters. Mostly good. Lunches and Fruit platters excellent. Would have preferred proper
coffee and a selection of herbal teas on offer rather than having to go and ask individually every
time and getting one! I also believe we need to rethink the idea of guests purchasing drinks before
dinner. For the sake of a couple of hundred dollars, this leaves a sour taste especially as staff are
giving up their time to be in attendance. The nibbles were a highlight! Also I think not having
bottles on the tables at the dinner was a bit on the mean side as well. The rooms at the CPD are
well serviced and comfortable. Overall it was a tiring but enjoyable conference. Thank you.
Just wanted to say I thought CSUEd was fabulous. It was so well organised and smoothly run; the
food was great; the atmosphere was both exciting and relaxed; the opening ceremony was
wonderful - many people have said they were especially moved by the Welcome to Country. You
did a fantastic job!!!
What do we need to do better?
•
Program offered too many concurrent options.
•
More time between sessions, esp. when venues so spread out.
•
More variety in presentations, for instance combine some presentations into roundtable
sessions which allows more interaction of participants and compresses the number of
presentations; more less formal sessions; "speed dating" sessions where useful
tools/resources could be shared/demonstrated. Eg Transition projects "game" was fun and
informative.
Some suggestions for future events
The following are some suggestions for future events:
1. Allow more time between sessions, esp. when venues are spread out.
2. Plan for longer tea breaks and lunches as these times offer opportunities for
participants to talk informally and follow-up on discussions taking place.
3. Continue to liaise with Ontario Campus to ensure staff members there have the
opportunity to contribute and participate.
4. Try to have a chairperson/time keeper in each room during presentations to ensure
presenters don’t go over time.
5. Reduce number of presentations per person.
CSUEd2010 Report/Page…4