Social Constructivism and Portfolio-based assessment at its best: Reimagining Online Learning

The Transition Program Online (TPO), launched in March 2021, is a 16-week intensive program aimed at international students who have completed Year 12 equivalent studies but have just missed the entry requirements for top-tier institutions such as UNSW. The TPO exemplifies an innovative, meaningful, impactful, and holistic fully online educational experience that not only prepares students for transition to undergraduate study abroad in a short period of time but, by virtue of the pedagogy enabled by the OpenLearning (OL) platform, it develops skills that set students up as lifelong learners. The impetus to develop the TPO was provided by the following:

• International students are increasingly evaluating their study options with regards to country of choice, affordability, and the ability for providers to deliver a quality student experience. Furthermore, international “students are becoming less attached to the idea of studying in a particular country while becoming more focused on whether an institution can provide them with skills for their careers” and career outcomes (ICEF Monitor, 2021). The TPO which is recognized by multiple universities globally, gives students the time and flexibility to make a choice about where they would like to pursue higher education without relocating, investing resources, and locking in their options.
• Effective online learning requires careful design and structure grounded in an evidence-based educational approach. Issues of learner disengagement, teacher-centred and passive learning, a lack of sense of belonging, feelings of isolation, etc. continue to be cited in literature on online learning (e.g., Hodges et al., 2020). Academic misconduct and plagiarism, an ongoing problem across the higher education sector (Birks et al, 2020) has been further exacerbated by the onslaught of online assessments due to the pandemic. Student-centred, active and engaging, social and collaborative learning involving such things as learner generated content, self-reflection and authentic outcomes-based assessment is the essence of OpenLearning’s educational philosophy.
• The future of work necessitates that learning inculcates employability or transferable skills and a growth mindset for lifelong learning (Deloitte, 2021). Such skills cannot be explicitly taught and need to be implicitly developed via learning and teaching practices along with discipline specific and technical skills. Centred around a socio-constructivist approach to learning, the TPO fosters communication, teamwork, critical and analytical thinking, self-regulation, and self-evaluation skills in students while developing motivation, nurturing a growth mindset, and fostering an inclusive online social learning space and community.

What makes the TPO unique and innovative?

The TPO is a technically and pedagogically unique and innovative online education experience in that the program:

• Is centred around OpenLearning’s five pillars of social learning (OpenLearning, 2021) that are grounded in socio-constructivism and self-determination theory.
• Does not rely on textbooks or videos and transmission making it sustainable, affordable, accessible, and equitable.
• Has a high-level support model that goes beyond the academic support needs of students including daily and/ or weekly facilitation, synchronous Q&A sessions instead of lectures - essentially a flipped classroom model.
• Includes individual interview-based formative feedback at various checkpoints.
• Implements outcomes-based continuous assessment via the use of digital portfolios and a final high-stake interview, minimizing if not eradicating academic integrity issues.
• Ensures student identity and authenticity of their work via custom built “know your learner” (KYL) technology including facial identity, user-agent (browser/device), IP geolocation (country/state) and keystroke checks and Turnitin integration.
• Is data driven with ongoing research on employability and lifelong learning skills implicit in the learning design and pedagogy.
• Is academically rigorous with quality and high standards maintained via ongoing review of the curriculum and content, subject matter experts, teacher and student feedback, marking moderation and benchmarking exams. 

What are the outcomes from the TPO to date?

To date the TPO has attracted students from across the globe. More than 110 students from 20 nationalities have completed the program with positive outcomes. The March 2021 cohort graduated in July 2021 with 87% of the students receiving an offer at UNSW. Students across the board have responded very positively when asked about their learning experience.

“The program has taught me a great many things - one of them is how to be a self-reflective and independent learner. I’ve learned not only to engage with my peers, but with the course itself as well. With the constant support that the program provides, I believe that I can reach my highest potential in academic learning in preparation for university.” ~ student

“The TPO taught me that you don't have to be smart to get good grades; what you need is a consistent effort to do your best in all. Accepting that you cannot do anything on your own and finding assistance from others is also the smartest thing to do.” ~ student

From four intakes in the first year, the TPO has progressed to five intakes in 2022. Graduates of the TPO are being recognized by an increasing number of universities in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK with other European and US universities on the horizon.

References

Birks, M., Mills, J., Allen, S., & Tee, S. (2020). Managing the mutations: academic misconduct in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Int. Journal Educ. Integrity, 16(6).

Deloitte. (2021). The future of work is now. Is APAC ready? Autodesk Foundation

Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review.

ICEF Monitor. (2021). Surveys show that career outcomes outweigh rankings for many prospective international students. https://monitor.icef.com

OpenLearning. (2021). The 5 pillars of social learning design. https://solutions.openlearning.com/whitepaper