ALIUS: Active Learning in University Science: Leading Change in Australian Science Teaching

Abstract

The ALIUS project is about leading change in the teaching of chemistry in large university classes. ALIUS is a collaboration of six Australian universities funded by an ALTC Leadership for Excellence in Learning and Teaching Grant (LE8-818). The aims of this project lie in three domains: • Development of project members as Science Learning Leaders • Development of the skills of project members in practice-based learning and teaching innovation • Creation of a virtual Learning Hub Methods being used to achieve these aims are: • Leadership- professional development in leadership specifically targeted at fostering change in academic teaching practice • Learning and Teaching Innovation - the U.S. NSF funded POGIL project will be used as a model for teaching innovation. Experienced POGIL instructors and facilitators brought from the U.S. run workshops and consultancies with ALIUS project members to build member skills in teaching innovation. • The learning hub (http://www.alius.edu.au/) will serve as a resource to share experiences in building teaching innovation, developed materials, resources about innovative teaching methods This presentation will introduce the ALIUS project together with results and experiences of the project so far, including: • Experiences in implementing new teaching practices • Experiences in motivating changes in teaching practice of colleagues • Answers to uniquely Australian problems in implementation of POGIL style activities