SESSION 3A

Lisa Soviero, UTS: Insearch
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes: the story of an evolving curriculum

Abstract
A high-quality English curriculum, is one of the centerpieces of a successful ESL / EAP program. To ensure that UTS: Insearch stays at the forefront of course quality and innovation, we maintain an ongoing process of improvement to our curriculum. As part of our most recent curriculum review process, the following criteria were provided as integral:

• Contemporise the curriculum,
• Check for cultural sensitivities and include cultural diversity,
• Integrate immersive activities,
• Promote digital literacy and,
• Create authenticity in assessment tasks.

This project is still in its early phases, so my talk will focus on three of these criteria, providing some specific examples of how we are proposing to meet them.

Regarding contemporizing the curriculum, I'll discuss how we incorporated collaborative learning throughout the levels in a variety of ways including collaborative presentation projects, peer writing and peer feedback. For integrating immersive activities, I’ll discuss how we are ensuring that immersion can occur not only for our cohort onshore but the 9000 students we have in our offshore centers. Additionally, I’ll speak to the Sydney specific immersive options we are proposing and how we expect these immersive activities to help students navigate their new life here In Sydney. Finally, I’ll discuss how we are promoting digital literacy through the implementation of more blended learning options in the course as well as through the implementation of the new LMS, Canvas.

Bio
At the start of Lisa Soviero's education career, she worked as an educator of Academic English in various countries. During this period, she also worked in level management and curriculum development roles. Her career in curriculum development really took off at RMIT Vietnam in 2012 where she wrote and implemented a course called Head Start for gifted high school students. She later moved to RMIT Melbourne where she joined the curriculum team in 2014. While part of that team she led the course design for the Upper Intermediate and Advanced courses as well as played an integral role in writing course and assessment materials. She also designed and developed ESP courses, including Business English and Aviation English. The latter course is being delivered to pilots, air traffic controllers and plane engineers in both Indonesia and Mexico. In her current role as Curriculum Leader at UTS Insearch, she recently led a project which adapted Oxford EAP into a pathway program specific to nursing students. She is also the sole designer on a project to update 1000 hours of Insearch's Academic English courses.