Third year student conference organised by 4th year students taking a professional education elective

Developed by: Ms Elizabeth Williams and Dr Gillian Webb
The University of Melbourne

Teaching and learning strategy

This conference takes place as the assessment for part of the subject Physiotherapy Practice 1. The student conference introduces the students to an aspect of professional life that they will participate in as graduates. It demonstrates to them the nature of a professional conference. The students are both the participants and the presenters. The students gain information on many aspects of professional issues and related topics from their peers. Time is allowed for questioning and discussion. Keynote speakers are invited to speak on topics of interest to the students and a trade fair is arranged. The conference is organized for the students by fourth year students undertaking a teaching elective. The fourth year students are responsible for the gaining of sponsorship, the trade display, the organisation of the timetable and the production of the conference proceedings. Third year students must individually submit an electronic abstract, which is then compiled into the proceedings. The students are divided into small groups for the presentations and the poster production. Students must reference their talks and posters appropriately.

Prizes are given to the best podium presentation and the best poster. Detailed feedback is given to each group following the conference.

In what course/ subject/ unit/ module/ program is the teaching and learning practice used?

Student Conference in Subject 513-304: Professional practice 1

In what year level are the students who participate in the teaching/ learning practice?

Third year students are participants and fourth year students, undertaking a teaching elective, are responsible for the organization.

Expected learning outcomes from the teaching and learning practice:

The students should gain experience in presenting either orally or in the form of a poster at a professional conference

Students should gain experience in writing and submitting an abstract.

Students should gain an understanding of a variety of selected professional issues

Students should gain an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the physiotherapist as a health care provider and the practice of physiotherapy within the health care system

Aspects of the teaching and learning practice which make it particularly effective.

This is a student centred learning activity in which the students are responsible for the presentation of key information on professional issues. The students are assigned a mentor to assist them in their work. The students are able to present their material in a number of different formats eg power point presentation, video clips, role plays and posters. The students are encouraged to participate in short discussions responding to questions after each presentation.

The fourth year students get experience in the organizational aspects of a conference and the running of the conference on the two days. Organisation involves designing the cover for the abstracts, sourcing sponsors, setting up the rooms and general help on the days of the conference.

Evaluation

This has been evaluated using the standard university quality of teaching survey and also with an internal survey at the end of the conference

What were the outcomes of the evaluation?

The students' feedback has been very positive. They feel that they have gained from having to present in a designated time in the podium presentations and on topics of interest to them. The poster presentation has been very well received as these are left on the notice boards for several months and are read by other students and visitors to the school. Some students have used role plays as their presentation and these have been very popular with the audience. The trade display has also been appreciated by the students, as well as the fact that they are provided with morning tea and lunch.

Do you have any plans to make changes to the teaching and learning practice?

There is constant review of the topics and how these are spread across the two half days.

If so, describe the changes you plan to make.

Changes to expectations around the presentations of the posters has been made in response to costs to students.

Contact details

Name: Gillian Webb
Address School of Physiotherapy, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010.

URL: http://www.physioth.unimelb.edu.au/