Take a seat! Presentations from the Navitas Professional Institute Conference

The 2nd annual Navitas Professional Institute (NPI) Conference was held at the campus of the Australian College of Applied Psychology and Navitas College of Public Safety, located in the heart of the vibrant Melbourne CBD on Friday, 4th November 2016.

NPI has a proud history of educating students with skills for making a difference, and the conference aims to bring together the NPI learning community including students, academics and teaching staff, together with managers, policy makers, practitioners, and researchers from the broader community.

The Conference Theme: Innovation and Engagement for Learning, Health and Wellbeing

In the context of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, being innovative is about looking beyond what we currently do well, identifying the great ideas of tomorrow and putting them into practice. The theme of the 2nd NPI Conference highlights some key issues for the Australian post-secondary educational community, looking at transforming learning, encouraging engagement and fostering innovation.

The event was opened with a keynote address from Andrea Chester, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor at the College of Design and Social Context, RMIT University. Andrea has an extensive background in psychology education and practice, with more than 20 years’ experience as an academic, making her speech a poignant and well-aligned introduction to kick off the day’s events. Andrea spoke about the power of partnerships: transforming learning, encouraging engagement and fostering innovation. Her presentation focused on the partnerships between students as peer mentors, peer partnerships with teaching staff and student-staff partnerships in learning and teaching innovation. Andrea’s speech was described as:

engaging and thought-provoking, and the breadth of her presentation spoke to all in attendance and set the tone for the rest of the conference.  Many conference attendees have continued discussion of key ideas Andrea raised, particularly in relation to peer review and ways in which teaching staff can work more closely with our students.

The event included 16 sessions for participants to attend, covering topics such as innovation in assessment, self-efficiency and self-esteem, radical transformation, work experience and placement, and much more. Lucy Blakemore, Head of Learning & Teaching Communities and Networks said the event exposed deep insights which will be useful for many Navitas teaching staff beyond the NPI contexts.

Check out a sample of the fantastic presentations below!

  • Michelle Cavaleri (NPI): ‘Engaging students with feedback: How do video comments measure up to written comments?’

 

  • Bill Wade (SAE): ‘Work integrated learning / professional practice in creative arts programs: four years on – reflecting on SAE’s current Internship and Work Placement Program’

 

  • Michelle Cavaleri (NPI) & Jessica Lothian (NCPS): ‘Students’ Perceptions of Different Feedback Methods’

 

  • Michaela Munoz & Vicki Hutton (ACAP): ‘Students’ preferred learning structure in Blended Delivery Mode: An evidence-based model building process’

 

  • Ed Irons & Christine Jessup (ACAP): ‘Making practicum an authentic learning experience’

 

  • David Baxter (ACAP) & Ellen Cooper (NPI): ‘Ensuring a strong foundation for graduate success’

 

  • Denis O’Hara & John Meteyard (ACAP): ‘Factors influential in the healthy psychosocial development of work-ready graduates’

 

  • Vicki Hutton (ACAP): ‘Factors associated with student achievement in the Blended Delivery learning environment’

 

  • Daniel Moon (NPI), Sharon Walker (ACAP), and Caitlin Hall (student at ACAP): ‘Online student engagement activities’