A mind-set towards learning

Taking attendance to encourage self-regulated learning

Esther Fink, University of Queensland

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Our Challenges

First Year Engineering

• Educating engineers for the changing world

• Dealing with a cohort of 1200

• Supporting the transition from High school

• Maximising retention through ownership of learning

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Teaching Characteristics

• Project centred curriculum

• Team focused with individual and mutual accountabilities

• A cross disciplinary collaborative approach

• Realistic relevant projects & broad professional practice issues

• Discovery-based learning

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Attendance does NOT equal Engagement

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Why students attend

Clay, T., & Breslow, L. (2006)

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Giving students a reason to come to class

• Active learning

• Problem solving sessions

• Hand-on lab sessions: “see”, experience and confirm key principles

Taking Attendance? A logistic nightmare!

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Taking attendance to…

• Monitor resources – are students attending their allocated sessions?

• Identify at risk’ learners for targeted support

• Give feedback to students to raise awareness of their own learning patterns.

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Workplace OH&S in Labs and Workshops

Student Technology Centre

1. Complete online inductionto Workplace OH&S

2. Book your slot

3. Bring your Certificate

4. Scan your Student card

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Taking Attendance in large classes? A logistic nightmare!

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The process

• USB SmartCard reader or portable barcode reader (depending on student card)

• Swipe card + verify record

• Save session list + send to head tutor

• Head tutor processes data on a weekly basis (in one go)

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Generate attendance list

• Log on to attendance tool

• Select course or upload csv (can be downloaded from Grade Center - User Information only)

• Select scan dumps from the week‘s sessions (all in one go)

• Attended will show up as 1 or 0Failed records trigger a warning

• Download attendance list and upload the csv to Grade Center

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3/4 D1 Workshopsattended

Share with students on Blackboard

• Access Blackboard. In Grade Center select "work offline“

• Upload your csv file and submit

• A new column in Grade Center will be created.

• Create a  calculated column (running total ) to aggregate scores from all sessions.

• Students can view My Grades.

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Where to from here?

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Learning Pathway Project

Need to know

Need to do

COMING SOON:What you didHow you did