Common Core Office
School of Education, University of Queensland
School of Education, University of Queensland
Key Takeaways
Programme Description
The co-curricular project between HKU Common Core Office and UQ School of Education started as a 6-week virtual international exchange for students to explore well-being and coping with stress through multimodal art, story, and film. Supported by the Gallant Ho Experiential Fund, the students undertake experiential activities to identify and relate concepts of student well-being to their own lives.
Distinctive Features
- Light-touch authentic experience requiring only 25 hours of total time
- Auto-ethnographic research by reflecting on the well-being practices of self and peers across intercultural contexts
- Experiment with multimodal experiential approaches such as object-based learning and digital storytelling
Intended Learning Outcomes
- Ability to compare and analyse student well-being practices across two different contexts
- Capacity to generate creative digital outputs through individual reflection and group collaboration
Digital Technologies Used for Teaching
Schedule
| Week 1 | Induction with HKU students: Expectations, local teambuilding exercises, Q&A, Homework: Post self-introductions (Padlet) |
| Week 2 | Introductory Session between HKU & UQ teachers and students: Expectations, icebreakers (Miro), cross-cultural teambuilding exercises, instructions for assignments. Homework – A 1-minute “Day in the Life” video (Padlet), complete well-being instrument questionnaires on Qualtrics (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale, Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being) |
| Week 3 | Storytelling Session with Australian indigenous academic Dr Marnee Shay. Debrief of well-being instruments and key concepts of well-being |
| Week 4 | Art and Object-Based Learning Workshop (with UQ Art Museum and Dr Florian Knothe at the HKU University Museum and Art Gallery) |
| Week 5 | Students work collaboratively in groups on a 5-minute digital story |
| Week 6 | Final presentation of digital story output to all students and teachers |
Insights for Teaching and Learning
- The importance of embedding of the COIL progressions throughout the curriculum: (i) Icebreaking, teambuilding, trust development; (ii) Comparative discussions and Organising teams; (iii) Collaborative project work and problem solving; (v) Presentation and Reflection
- The intentional design of socialisation within the curriculum among the local and international students to promotes performance, competency, and community. However, grouping students together is not enough.
- Broadening of research imaginations for undergraduate students via multimodal experiential learning activities, for example, using objects, art, and digital storytelling to conduct research
- Thinking about how COIL can enable the building of trans-global/ -cultural research capacities