RMIT shares best practices in learning and teaching English online

RMIT shares best practices in learning and teaching English online

RMIT School of English and University Pathways (SEUP) delivered keynote presentations on adapting and enhancing quality assurance, and professional development to support online learning and teaching in Vietnam at recent workshops organised by NEAS Australia.

Under the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Grant Program 2021, NEAS Australia recently conducted a series of specialist workshops for policy makers, business owners and teachers in English Language Centres in Vietnam to enhance further bilateral and educational links, share expertise in quality assurance, online delivery, and teacher training, and identify and promote new collaborative opportunities.  

RMIT School of English and University Pathways (SEUP) was invited to be part of both sessions in the NEAS Australia Vietnam Workshop Series which included participants from 14 English Language Centres who are either operating in Vietnam or interested in partnering with Vietnamese organisations. 

Director of SEUP Urica Lopez said that in 2020, the School committed to quality assurance in developing its approach to emergency remote teaching and got NEAS Endorsement for online delivery in September that year as the result of the measures they implemented. 

“Being the fourth English Language Teaching institution to receive NEAS endorsement for online learning and the first in Vietnam in 2020 affirmed SEUP's grounding in best practice and approach to innovation,” she said.  

“NEAS' invitation to share this practice is important for the English Language Teaching industry and community in building capacity and developing high quality and meaningful learning and teaching experiences during this period of disruption and transition.” 

news-1-rmit-shares-best-practices-in-learning-and-teaching-english-online-01 Head of New Initiatives Ronnie Hill and Head of English for University George Chapman presented key features in enhancing the long-term quality of online delivery of teaching and learning which can be implemented in a range of contexts.

Workshop A, with RMIT represented by Director of SEUP Urica Lopez, Head of New Initiatives Ronnie Hill and Head of English for University George Chapman, attracted attendees from across Australia and Vietnam including guests from Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and the National Foreign Languages Project (NFLP).

“Our presentation focused on the features that we view as key in enhancing the long-term quality of online delivery of learning and teaching, but that can be implemented in a range of contexts,” Ms Hill said. 

These included:

  • increasing feedback from both students and teachers via regular ‘exit tickets’
  • enhancing levels of support for students via 1-1 teacher conferences
  • tutoring and advising sessions
  • online safeguarding and etiquette clearly outlined for staff and students
  • initial and ongoing training and support for staff
  • observations used to capture common themes and fed back to the Professional Learning
  • Curriculum and EdTech teams for action
  • Beyond Emergency Remote Teaching (BERT) project team working on both short-term improvements and longer-term planning and development.
news-1-rmit-shares-best-practices-in-learning-and-teaching-english-online NEAS Vietnam Workshop A, with RMIT represented by Director of SEUP Urica Lopez, Head of New Initiatives Ronnie Hill and Head of English for University George Chapman, attracted attendees from across Australia and Vietnam including guests from MOET and the National Foreign Language Project.

At Workshop B, SEUP Digital Learning Manager Peter Bloor and Professional Learning Coordinator Stephanie Cantrell introduced to participants the professional development approach that SEUP applied to support teachers in the rapidly changing teaching environment.  

“We ensure consistency in quality for our students through regular evolving professional development for teachers that harnesses the growing collective knowledge of our online learning platform and teaching approaches,” Ms Cantrell said.  

“The online platform enabled us to extend our communities of practice to reach, connect and train teachers across our three Vietnam campuses and overseas partners.” 

The professional learning framework includes peer ‘pineapple chart’ observations (live and recorded), teacher-led clinics, drop-in desks, a screencast bank, a professional development online portal (the PL Hub), and EdTech blog, a teacher-led tips share, and an online peer mentoring program. 

Mr Bloor emphasised that thanks to well-established digital platforms, RMIT Vietnam has been able to adapt to ‘online and digital enhanced learning’ (ODEL) quickly and efficiently during the pandemic.  

“Apart from supporting programs for teaching staff including training workshops to ensure they are well equipped to deliver online class successfully, the entire University is taken online, with all of its components not just learning and teaching, to maintain excellent student experience.” 

SEUP is committed to contributing its expertise and offering support to NEAS Australia as NEAS will continue its engagement in Vietnam with key stakeholders such as MOET, NFLP and English language teaching providers in 2022. Opportunities for collaboration could include customised professional development programs, tailored consultancy services, quality endorsement activities, and support of in-country initiatives. 

Story: Ha Hoang 

23 November 2021

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