Last month we looked at evaluating teaching and some of the different tools available to you to do this. But did you know there is also a range of data sources available to you to further inform your teaching, topic and course reviews? In an era of what feels like constant change, being able to mine relevant, useful data can really help you to guide and stay on top of change and keep your focus student-centred.

Higher education is guided by a number of frameworks and standards. The Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 provides standards (and legislation) that align with the student lifecycle that set out the requirements the institution must meet to maintain its registration. The Australian Qualifications Framework defines the required characteristics of the different levels of qualifications in higher education. Both are administered through the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and in demonstrating that as an institution, we are adhering to our regulatory requirements, there is also a range of data available to staff to inform their teaching.

So, what can I use to inform my teaching?

Flinders has a variety of systems you are able draw data from as well as places where data is already brought together for you. The table below lists the sources you can access for data to inform your teaching

Data and Reports

FLO Reports	FLO reports can inform you about student activities during your topic helping you evaluate and plan for future practice. Reports include: ·       FLO activity ·       Topic participation ·       Individual participation ·       Collaborate attendance ·       Kaltura analytics ·       Readings access For more information have a look at this tip sheet on using FLO data to support student learning.
FLinders Intelligence Portal (FLIP)	FLIP is the University’s information delivery portal that brings together data from different university systems to deliver intelligence and insights that empower you to make data driven decisions. Reports include: ·       Student Evaluation of Teaching (topic & teacher focus) ·       Topic Enrolment Numbers and Topic Grade Distribution reports ·       Student Experience Survey (course experience focus) ·       Graduate Outcomes Survey (graduate outcome focus) ·       Course Trends (5-year trends for a range of course-related metrics) ·       Student Demographics (for topics and courses) ·       Course Key Accountability Measures/Operational Performance Measures (KAMS-CQAG) (used to monitor the health of courses offered at the University)
ComparED	ComparED enables users to compare different institutions and study areas, using a broad range of performance indicators, including Student Experience and Graduate Outcomes.
Student Management System	Your College Student Administration Services staff can help with reports from this source which might include: ·       Course admissions ·       Topic enrolments ·       Class enrolments
College Leadership (e.g. Deans – Education)	·       Internal Course Accreditation reports ·       College Education Committee / Education Quality Committee minutes ·       Course Quality Advisory Group minutes ·       Professional accreditation reports and recommendations
Topic Calibration Reports	You can nominate your topic for external calibration. The report will provide feedback on topic and assessment design, clarity and alignment of learning outcomes, appropriateness of grading and student feedback.

Evaluating our teaching is part of the cycle of continual improvement  ensuring quality in both curriculum design and teaching as outlined in the Educational Quality Framework. The more data we can make use of, the more informed we are about our students, their learning, our teaching effectiveness and the types of ongoing changes we need to make to remain current and student focused.

 

Bibliography

Australian Qualifications Framework n.d, viewed 28 July 2022 <https://www.aqf.edu.au/>

Educational Quality Framework 2019 viewed 28 July 2022 <https://www.flinders.edu.au/content/dam/documents/staff/policies/academic-students/educational-quality-framework.pdf>

The Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 n.d, viewed 28 July 2022 <https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00105>

Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency 2022, viewed 28 July 2022 <https://www.teqsa.gov.au/>

 

Written by Cassandra Hood with information provided by from Julie Herraman (IDS Education Planning & Analytics Business Partner), Anna Smith (Educational Quality and Evaluation Officer) and Jackie Cornell (Learning Designer)