Until recently, a key strength of studying with UNSW Petroleum Engineering was the small class sizes. Classes of around 40 students enabled instructors to spend significant time in one-on-one and small group teaching as part of the conventional pattern of a lecture followed by a tutorial. However recently student numbers have increased considerably. In response to this rapid shift from small to large classes and to facilitate active student learning, we modified the delivery of my courses by using tutorial-lecture swapping (TLS) where a tutorial is presented before delivering any teaching material related to the topic. The goal was to achieve sustainable improvement in the delivery of these courses and enhance our students’ learning experience. In this presentation I present the methodology and lessons learnt from our experience. Further application of TLS in blended delivery mode is also discussed.
One of the main advantages is the embedded feed-back loop. This dialogue enables common misconceptions to be efficiently replaced with discipline knowledge. This approach is effective for advanced level courses which are based on students’ prior knowledge. Students’ responses indicating students were able to gain critical insight into complex topics. The results show that we can sustain high level students’ satisfaction.
About Furqan
Dr. Furqan Hussain is a senior lecturer at the School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering. He received his BSc and MSc Engineering degrees from University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore and a PhD from UNSW Australia, all in Petroleum Engineering. He is teaching Reservoir Engineering and Numerical Reservoir Simulation. He is interested in experimenting teaching techniques to enhance students' engagement.