BU Research Blog

The Faculty of Media and Communication will be welcoming Dr. John Willison from the University of Adelaide for a series of researcher development training open to all academic staff, PGR’s and colleagues in RKEO.

Dr Willison is a highly engaged and widely published academic whose expertise include the creative blending of teaching and research, researcher development and the evolution of research-oriented curricula. He is a senior lecturer in the Department of Higher Education, School of Education at the University of Adelaide, South Australia, where he coordinates the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (GCHE) for academics from all faculties. He is currently leading a major initiative funded by the Office for Learning and Teaching considering Research Skill Development (RSD) and assessment in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across disciplines from all faculties.

Dr Willison’s principal research interest centres on the ways that academics conceptualise and implement the development of their students’ research skills in content-rich courses. He examines the close conceptual connection between the skills associated with research in a discipline, and the skills required and developed in problem-solving, critical thinking, clinical reasoning and Work Integrated Learning. His research with graduates from various disciplinary contexts is pointing to the value graduates place on research skills once they are employed.

Click here for further details and a range of resources.

FMC have scheduled a series of tailored training events. The faculty are keen to hear the discussion and share new thinking widely across BU.

All events will take place in the Fusion Building, Talbot Campus – Room F201

The sessions are outlined below:

Thursday 29th June

Session 1: 10.00-12.00: Research Skill Development First Year to PhD

This workshop will be of interest to all academics at BU. It provides an introduction to the Research Skills Development (RSD) framework, which provides a systematic approach to the scaffolding of research into learning for students at all levels. The session will also look at how RSD can be integrated into and complement the Research Development Framework developed by Vitae, which is currently used at BU for PGT and PGR training

Session 2: 14.00 – 16.00 Enabling Research Skill Development for Higher Degree Researchers and Early Career Academics

This workshop will be of primary interest to Deputy and Associate Deans, Heads of Department, Heads of Research, Research Centre Directors, and colleagues in RKEO, amongst others who have a role in the support of postgraduate students and early career academics. It examines how the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework can be used to assist PGR students and ECRs to achieve successful outcomes at these most crucial stages in their academic careers.

Friday 30th June

Session 3: 10.00-12.00: Models for Engaged Learning and Teaching (MELT): MELT your students’ minds

This workshop will be of interest to all academics at BU. It provides an introduction to the Research Skills Development (RSD) framework, which provides a systematic approach to the scaffolding of research into learning for student at all levels. Its main focus is on the adaptation of the RSD framework to meet the particular needs of different disciplines. It will demonstrate how this adaptation can be carried out to enhance the student experience in different disciplines without losing the core strengths and consistency that the framework provides for scaffolding student learning.

Session 4: 14.00 – 16.00 Engaging teachers to enable dynamic student learning

This workshop will be of primary interest to Deputy and Associate Deans, Heads of Department, Heads of Education, Programme Leaders, and colleagues in CEL, amongst others, who have a role in the support of curriculum design, the enhancement of the student learning experience, and the conduct of research into university education. It examines how the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework can be used to scaffold learning and assessment design across curricula at all course levels. It will use data from a series of large-scale research projects that provide a critical analysis of the use of RSD in a wide range of disciplines.