In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defin... more In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defining the value of an on-campus student experience has become a key concern for HE institutions. Originating in response to these challenges, The Belonging Project seeks to improve the student experience in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. As part of its pilot initiatives, we worked to refurbish an existing but underused space in the School, the Atelier. This paper documents the refurbishment and its outcomes, while situating the process within a broader literature on student engagement and transition.
Memory Cages (Rachel Wilson, 2003) is a personal art film exploring themes of traumatic memory an... more Memory Cages (Rachel Wilson, 2003) is a personal art film exploring themes of traumatic memory and autobiographical presence within cinema. The thesis defines a theoretical context to examine the thematic concerns portrayed within the film and provides insight into my filmmaking practice. Creative explorations of memory and trauma are often located within autobiographical practice. However, the genre of Personal Art Film allows for experimentation with form and genre and downplays the narrative formations of identity and subjectivity characterised by autobiographical practice. Personal Cinema is critical, self-questioning, detached, subjective and reflective, using ambiguity as a tool to explore truth and internal realities that are characteristic of cinematic modernity. Memory and trauma have distinct and intricate cultural histories, which like autobiography, operate across disciplines and genres. Operating as memory machines, photography and filmmaking are often seen as the technological equivalent of the psychic activity of memory. Incorporating the role of fantasy within formations of traumatic memory and its cultural representations, is the challenge for theorists in this area. In representing the unrepresentable of traumatic memory, Memory Cages asks the audience to both identify with, and bear witness to, a fragmented and limited insight. This film is dominated conceptually and aesthetically by the cinematic traditions of the 1960's American avant-garde. Typified by practitioners such as Michael Snow, Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas, Memory Cages continues the tradition of placing the personal voice within complex visual landscapes.
The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 2013
This paper presents some preliminary findings from The Belonging Project -a longitudinal learning... more This paper presents some preliminary findings from The Belonging Project -a longitudinal learning and teaching research project seeking to develop and define a new approach to student engagement. In this project, the concept of belonging is used as a tactic to engage both staff and students in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University as part of the project's aim to improve the student experience. This paper maps the way in which we use belonging -defined in relation to the educational experience -as a point of departure to achieve this outcome. Having established our definition of belonging and its purpose in our project, we then discuss some key results of focus groups with students, outlining the way in which students navigate issues of transition, interdisciplinarity, and notions of space and place, in their relationship to university and campus life.
I have been conducting research into the feasibility of (and developing the schema for) the estab... more I have been conducting research into the feasibility of (and developing the schema for) the establishment of an online digital archive/repository designed to house the screen production and research outputs of the staff and students of Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association (ASPERA) member institutions. In conducting this research a number of significant issues facing the archive sector as a whole, and moving image archives in particular, have been identified. As all information agencies begin to grapple with the logistical issues emerging from the impending 'digital deluge' the very nature of the role that the moving image archive plays within the contemporary audio-visual landscape is under increasing scrutiny. The sheer volume of data produced with each 'born digital' audio-visual title means the issues of collection policy and curatorship, search-ability and accessibility together with preservation strategy become even more imperative. This paper articulates the rationale behind the project and identifies a number of the historical, theoretical, philosophical perspectives (and challenges) underpinning the notion of the contemporary moving image archive with particular reference as to how these bear influence on the establishment of the ASPERA online digital archive/repository.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'18), 2018
RMIT University is Australia’s second largest higher education provider and has a very diverse st... more RMIT University is Australia’s second largest higher education provider and has a very diverse student body. Taking a holistic approach and capturing the entire student life cycle, the RMIT Belonging Strategy outlines a rationale and plan for delivering belonging interventions across the whole institution. An institution wide strategy requires economic, political and global considerations; however, as grass-roots academics, our work is informed by the philosophy that education can affect positive communitarian and individual change, and that meaningful and authentic relations with staff and students enable genuine collaboration and growth (Chickering, Dalton, & Stamm, 2006; Kreber, 2013). Guided by these principles, we identified five drivers that impact student belonging at the university, and proposed a measurement framework to form an ‘index’ of belonging that can be tracked and reported. This paper focuses on the innovative and collaborative work of developing an enterprise wide...
Review(s) of: Stairway to the Moon, by Colin Falconer, Bantam, $32.95 tpb, ISBN 9781863255714, De... more Review(s) of: Stairway to the Moon, by Colin Falconer, Bantam, $32.95 tpb, ISBN 9781863255714, December.
Review(s) of: Lucy Springer Gets Even, by Lisa Heidke, Arena, $23.95 pb, ISBN 9781741755831, Janu... more Review(s) of: Lucy Springer Gets Even, by Lisa Heidke, Arena, $23.95 pb, ISBN 9781741755831, January.
Review(s) of: Lola's Secret, by Monica McInerney, Michael Joseph, October, $29.95 tpb, ISBN 9... more Review(s) of: Lola's Secret, by Monica McInerney, Michael Joseph, October, $29.95 tpb, ISBN 9781921518751, October.
The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 2014
Drawing on contemporary transition pedagogy, this paper provides a case study of a suite of trans... more Drawing on contemporary transition pedagogy, this paper provides a case study of a suite of transition activities piloted by The Belonging Project in collaboration with a creatively oriented academic program in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University. Through qualitative research, this case study demonstrates the importance of adopting Kift, Nelson and Clarke's (2010, p. 6) notion of transition "as a process, not an event." This paper argues that a sustained program of low cost transition activities that bridge the formal and informal curriculum fosters an essential "sense of belonging" among first year students. It provides a successful example of an approach that embeds essential social and academic literacies while facilitating positive social, cultural, and academic transitions.
Belonging emerged in the 1990s as a conceptual framework to promote student success, retention an... more Belonging emerged in the 1990s as a conceptual framework to promote student success, retention and engagement in Higher Education (Tinto, 1993; Hurtado & Carter, 1997). Belonging is the sense of mattering and interpersonal connectedness: a basic human need, it enhances motivation and drives behaviour (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Strayhorn, 2012). Generally, its application within higher education has been to discrete student cohorts, often based on ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status or first-year transitioning status (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Strayhorn, Bie, Dorime-Williams, & Williams, 2016; Ribera, Miller & Dumford, 2017). RMIT University, Australia's second largest higher education provider, has a diverse student body. Student retention at RMIT University remains relatively high, however, recent evaluations have indicated that students believe the university is not doing enough to help foster a sense of belonging and friendship. In response, the university has positioned s...
A shifting political and technological landscape combined with increased competition and financia... more A shifting political and technological landscape combined with increased competition and financial pressure have reshaped the way higher education institutions fulfil their core business of education, collaboration, research and service. Evolving models of online learning have fuelled international competition, while the changing technological environment in which universities operate, provides students with myriad social networking sites in which to extend the informal curriculum.
A shifting political and technological landscape combined with increased competition and financia... more A shifting political and technological landscape combined with increased competition and financial pressure have reshaped the way higher education institutions fulfil their core business of education, collaboration, research and service. Evolving models of online learning have fuelled international competition, while the changing technological environment in which universities operate, provides students with myriad social networking sites in which to extend the informal curriculum.
In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defin... more In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defining the value of an on-campus student experience has become a key concern for HE institutions. Originating in response to these challenges, The Belonging Project seeks to improve the student experience in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. As part of its pilot initiatives, we worked to refurbish an existing but underused space in the School, the Atelier. This paper documents the refurbishment and its outcomes, while situating the process within a broader literature on student engagement and transition.
In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defin... more In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defining the value of an on‐campus student experience has become a key concern for HE institutions. Originating in response to these challenges, The Belonging Project seeks to improve the student experience in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. As part of its pilot initiatives, we worked to refurbish an existing but underused space in the School, the Atelier. This paper documents the refurbishment and its outcomes, while situating the process within a broader literature on student engagement and transition.
Research and Development in Higher Education: [Re] Valuing Higher Education, 2018
Belonging emerged in the 1990s as a conceptual framework to promote student success, retention an... more Belonging emerged in the 1990s as a conceptual framework to promote student success, retention and engagement in Higher Education (Tinto, 1993; Hurtado & Carter, 1997). Belonging is the sense of mattering and interpersonal connectedness: a basic human need, it enhances motivation and drives behaviour (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Strayhorn, 2012). Generally, its application within higher education has been to discrete student cohorts, often based on ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status or first-year transitioning status (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Strayhorn, Bie, Dorime-Williams, & Williams, 2016; Ribera, Miller & Dumford, 2017). RMIT University, Australia’s second largest higher education provider, has a diverse student body. Student retention at RMIT University remains relatively high, however, recent evaluations have indicated that students believe the university is not doing enough to help foster a sense of belonging and friendship. In response, the university has positioned student belonging as a major strategic focus area in 2017-2018, and has developed a whole of institution RMIT Belonging Strategy. The strategy emerges from an extensive internal stakeholder consultation process and builds on the research of The Belonging Project (Clarke & Wilson, 2016). The strategy identified and tested five drivers that impact student belonging at the university, and proposed a measurement framework to form an ‘index’ of belonging that can be tracked and reported using existing university data sets. This paper focuses on the innovative and collaborative work of developing an evidence based, data driven enterprise wide strategy for inclusive belonging, and presents a roadmap of the process.
RMIT University is Australia's second largest higher education provider and has a very diverse st... more RMIT University is Australia's second largest higher education provider and has a very diverse student body. Taking a holistic approach and capturing the entire student life cycle, the RMIT Belonging Strategy outlines a rationale and plan for delivering belonging interventions across the whole institution. An institution wide strategy requires economic, political and global considerations; however, as grassroots academics, our work is informed by the philosophy that education can affect positive communitarian and individual change, and that meaningful and authentic relations with staff and students enable genuine collaboration and growth (Chickering, Dalton, & Stamm, 2006; Kreber, 2013). Guided by these principles, we identified five drivers that impact student belonging at the university, and proposed a measurement framework to form an 'index' of belonging that can be tracked and reported. This paper focuses on the innovative and collaborative work of developing an enterprise wide strategy for inclusive belonging and presents a roadmap of the process. We argue that grassroots, practical responses through learning experience interventions have the greatest potential to influence student engagement.
This paper presents some preliminary findings from The Belonging Project – a
longitudinal learni... more This paper presents some preliminary findings from The Belonging Project – a
longitudinal learning and teaching research project seeking to develop and define
a new approach to student engagement. In this project, the concept of belonging is
used as a tactic to engage both staff and students in the School of Media and
Communication at RMIT University as part of the project’s aim to improve the
student experience. This paper maps the way in which we use belonging – defined
in relation to the educational experience – as a point of departure to achieve this
outcome. Having established our definition of belonging and its purpose in our
project, we then discuss some key results of focus groups with students, outlining
the way in which students navigate issues of transition, interdisciplinarity, and
notions of space and place, in their relationship to university and campus life.
In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defin... more In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defining the value of an on-campus student experience has become a key concern for HE institutions. Originating in response to these challenges, The Belonging Project seeks to improve the student experience in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. As part of its pilot initiatives, we worked to refurbish an existing but underused space in the School, the Atelier. This paper documents the refurbishment and its outcomes, while situating the process within a broader literature on student engagement and transition.
Memory Cages (Rachel Wilson, 2003) is a personal art film exploring themes of traumatic memory an... more Memory Cages (Rachel Wilson, 2003) is a personal art film exploring themes of traumatic memory and autobiographical presence within cinema. The thesis defines a theoretical context to examine the thematic concerns portrayed within the film and provides insight into my filmmaking practice. Creative explorations of memory and trauma are often located within autobiographical practice. However, the genre of Personal Art Film allows for experimentation with form and genre and downplays the narrative formations of identity and subjectivity characterised by autobiographical practice. Personal Cinema is critical, self-questioning, detached, subjective and reflective, using ambiguity as a tool to explore truth and internal realities that are characteristic of cinematic modernity. Memory and trauma have distinct and intricate cultural histories, which like autobiography, operate across disciplines and genres. Operating as memory machines, photography and filmmaking are often seen as the technological equivalent of the psychic activity of memory. Incorporating the role of fantasy within formations of traumatic memory and its cultural representations, is the challenge for theorists in this area. In representing the unrepresentable of traumatic memory, Memory Cages asks the audience to both identify with, and bear witness to, a fragmented and limited insight. This film is dominated conceptually and aesthetically by the cinematic traditions of the 1960's American avant-garde. Typified by practitioners such as Michael Snow, Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas, Memory Cages continues the tradition of placing the personal voice within complex visual landscapes.
The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 2013
This paper presents some preliminary findings from The Belonging Project -a longitudinal learning... more This paper presents some preliminary findings from The Belonging Project -a longitudinal learning and teaching research project seeking to develop and define a new approach to student engagement. In this project, the concept of belonging is used as a tactic to engage both staff and students in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University as part of the project's aim to improve the student experience. This paper maps the way in which we use belonging -defined in relation to the educational experience -as a point of departure to achieve this outcome. Having established our definition of belonging and its purpose in our project, we then discuss some key results of focus groups with students, outlining the way in which students navigate issues of transition, interdisciplinarity, and notions of space and place, in their relationship to university and campus life.
I have been conducting research into the feasibility of (and developing the schema for) the estab... more I have been conducting research into the feasibility of (and developing the schema for) the establishment of an online digital archive/repository designed to house the screen production and research outputs of the staff and students of Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association (ASPERA) member institutions. In conducting this research a number of significant issues facing the archive sector as a whole, and moving image archives in particular, have been identified. As all information agencies begin to grapple with the logistical issues emerging from the impending 'digital deluge' the very nature of the role that the moving image archive plays within the contemporary audio-visual landscape is under increasing scrutiny. The sheer volume of data produced with each 'born digital' audio-visual title means the issues of collection policy and curatorship, search-ability and accessibility together with preservation strategy become even more imperative. This paper articulates the rationale behind the project and identifies a number of the historical, theoretical, philosophical perspectives (and challenges) underpinning the notion of the contemporary moving image archive with particular reference as to how these bear influence on the establishment of the ASPERA online digital archive/repository.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'18), 2018
RMIT University is Australia’s second largest higher education provider and has a very diverse st... more RMIT University is Australia’s second largest higher education provider and has a very diverse student body. Taking a holistic approach and capturing the entire student life cycle, the RMIT Belonging Strategy outlines a rationale and plan for delivering belonging interventions across the whole institution. An institution wide strategy requires economic, political and global considerations; however, as grass-roots academics, our work is informed by the philosophy that education can affect positive communitarian and individual change, and that meaningful and authentic relations with staff and students enable genuine collaboration and growth (Chickering, Dalton, & Stamm, 2006; Kreber, 2013). Guided by these principles, we identified five drivers that impact student belonging at the university, and proposed a measurement framework to form an ‘index’ of belonging that can be tracked and reported. This paper focuses on the innovative and collaborative work of developing an enterprise wide...
Review(s) of: Stairway to the Moon, by Colin Falconer, Bantam, $32.95 tpb, ISBN 9781863255714, De... more Review(s) of: Stairway to the Moon, by Colin Falconer, Bantam, $32.95 tpb, ISBN 9781863255714, December.
Review(s) of: Lucy Springer Gets Even, by Lisa Heidke, Arena, $23.95 pb, ISBN 9781741755831, Janu... more Review(s) of: Lucy Springer Gets Even, by Lisa Heidke, Arena, $23.95 pb, ISBN 9781741755831, January.
Review(s) of: Lola's Secret, by Monica McInerney, Michael Joseph, October, $29.95 tpb, ISBN 9... more Review(s) of: Lola's Secret, by Monica McInerney, Michael Joseph, October, $29.95 tpb, ISBN 9781921518751, October.
The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 2014
Drawing on contemporary transition pedagogy, this paper provides a case study of a suite of trans... more Drawing on contemporary transition pedagogy, this paper provides a case study of a suite of transition activities piloted by The Belonging Project in collaboration with a creatively oriented academic program in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University. Through qualitative research, this case study demonstrates the importance of adopting Kift, Nelson and Clarke's (2010, p. 6) notion of transition "as a process, not an event." This paper argues that a sustained program of low cost transition activities that bridge the formal and informal curriculum fosters an essential "sense of belonging" among first year students. It provides a successful example of an approach that embeds essential social and academic literacies while facilitating positive social, cultural, and academic transitions.
Belonging emerged in the 1990s as a conceptual framework to promote student success, retention an... more Belonging emerged in the 1990s as a conceptual framework to promote student success, retention and engagement in Higher Education (Tinto, 1993; Hurtado & Carter, 1997). Belonging is the sense of mattering and interpersonal connectedness: a basic human need, it enhances motivation and drives behaviour (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Strayhorn, 2012). Generally, its application within higher education has been to discrete student cohorts, often based on ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status or first-year transitioning status (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Strayhorn, Bie, Dorime-Williams, & Williams, 2016; Ribera, Miller & Dumford, 2017). RMIT University, Australia's second largest higher education provider, has a diverse student body. Student retention at RMIT University remains relatively high, however, recent evaluations have indicated that students believe the university is not doing enough to help foster a sense of belonging and friendship. In response, the university has positioned s...
A shifting political and technological landscape combined with increased competition and financia... more A shifting political and technological landscape combined with increased competition and financial pressure have reshaped the way higher education institutions fulfil their core business of education, collaboration, research and service. Evolving models of online learning have fuelled international competition, while the changing technological environment in which universities operate, provides students with myriad social networking sites in which to extend the informal curriculum.
A shifting political and technological landscape combined with increased competition and financia... more A shifting political and technological landscape combined with increased competition and financial pressure have reshaped the way higher education institutions fulfil their core business of education, collaboration, research and service. Evolving models of online learning have fuelled international competition, while the changing technological environment in which universities operate, provides students with myriad social networking sites in which to extend the informal curriculum.
In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defin... more In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defining the value of an on-campus student experience has become a key concern for HE institutions. Originating in response to these challenges, The Belonging Project seeks to improve the student experience in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. As part of its pilot initiatives, we worked to refurbish an existing but underused space in the School, the Atelier. This paper documents the refurbishment and its outcomes, while situating the process within a broader literature on student engagement and transition.
In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defin... more In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defining the value of an on‐campus student experience has become a key concern for HE institutions. Originating in response to these challenges, The Belonging Project seeks to improve the student experience in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. As part of its pilot initiatives, we worked to refurbish an existing but underused space in the School, the Atelier. This paper documents the refurbishment and its outcomes, while situating the process within a broader literature on student engagement and transition.
Research and Development in Higher Education: [Re] Valuing Higher Education, 2018
Belonging emerged in the 1990s as a conceptual framework to promote student success, retention an... more Belonging emerged in the 1990s as a conceptual framework to promote student success, retention and engagement in Higher Education (Tinto, 1993; Hurtado & Carter, 1997). Belonging is the sense of mattering and interpersonal connectedness: a basic human need, it enhances motivation and drives behaviour (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Strayhorn, 2012). Generally, its application within higher education has been to discrete student cohorts, often based on ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status or first-year transitioning status (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Strayhorn, Bie, Dorime-Williams, & Williams, 2016; Ribera, Miller & Dumford, 2017). RMIT University, Australia’s second largest higher education provider, has a diverse student body. Student retention at RMIT University remains relatively high, however, recent evaluations have indicated that students believe the university is not doing enough to help foster a sense of belonging and friendship. In response, the university has positioned student belonging as a major strategic focus area in 2017-2018, and has developed a whole of institution RMIT Belonging Strategy. The strategy emerges from an extensive internal stakeholder consultation process and builds on the research of The Belonging Project (Clarke & Wilson, 2016). The strategy identified and tested five drivers that impact student belonging at the university, and proposed a measurement framework to form an ‘index’ of belonging that can be tracked and reported using existing university data sets. This paper focuses on the innovative and collaborative work of developing an evidence based, data driven enterprise wide strategy for inclusive belonging, and presents a roadmap of the process.
RMIT University is Australia's second largest higher education provider and has a very diverse st... more RMIT University is Australia's second largest higher education provider and has a very diverse student body. Taking a holistic approach and capturing the entire student life cycle, the RMIT Belonging Strategy outlines a rationale and plan for delivering belonging interventions across the whole institution. An institution wide strategy requires economic, political and global considerations; however, as grassroots academics, our work is informed by the philosophy that education can affect positive communitarian and individual change, and that meaningful and authentic relations with staff and students enable genuine collaboration and growth (Chickering, Dalton, & Stamm, 2006; Kreber, 2013). Guided by these principles, we identified five drivers that impact student belonging at the university, and proposed a measurement framework to form an 'index' of belonging that can be tracked and reported. This paper focuses on the innovative and collaborative work of developing an enterprise wide strategy for inclusive belonging and presents a roadmap of the process. We argue that grassroots, practical responses through learning experience interventions have the greatest potential to influence student engagement.
This paper presents some preliminary findings from The Belonging Project – a
longitudinal learni... more This paper presents some preliminary findings from The Belonging Project – a
longitudinal learning and teaching research project seeking to develop and define
a new approach to student engagement. In this project, the concept of belonging is
used as a tactic to engage both staff and students in the School of Media and
Communication at RMIT University as part of the project’s aim to improve the
student experience. This paper maps the way in which we use belonging – defined
in relation to the educational experience – as a point of departure to achieve this
outcome. Having established our definition of belonging and its purpose in our
project, we then discuss some key results of focus groups with students, outlining
the way in which students navigate issues of transition, interdisciplinarity, and
notions of space and place, in their relationship to university and campus life.
The Belonging Project is a longitudinal learning and teaching research project seeking to develop... more The Belonging Project is a longitudinal learning and teaching research project seeking to develop and define a new approach to enhancing student engagement and graduate outcomes in the School of Media and Communications RMIT University. The project, bound by the theoretical concept of belonging, grew from collaborative work undertaken within the School to develop and document a common pedagogical approach and create a unified learning and teaching narrative. Importantly, the project was aligned with the whole of undergraduate degree structure in order to achieve findings with transferability to other schools and higher education institutions.
The project sits within the context of the continually evolving nature of the higher education sector which presents numerous practical opportunities and challenges, not least of which is the changing role of higher education in civil society more broadly. Contemporary universities are both educational institution and broker between diverse stakeholders with complex and, at times, competing interests: secondary institutions, students who increasingly exercise their authority as knowledge consumers,and industries.
In 2014, The Belonging Project aimed to embed global competences in the curriculum across the ent... more In 2014, The Belonging Project aimed to embed global competences in the curriculum across the entire student lifecycle for students in the creative disciplines, while continuing to support and expand upon initiatives undertaken in the disciplinary (Tier One) and interdisciplinary (Tier Two) phases of the project.
The Global at Home: At Home in the Global explored the idea that the core discipline-based cohort experience can be improved by integrating both interdisciplinary and international experiences across the whole student lifecycle. This idea arose out of our initial research into this third tier of The Belonging Narrative Model which identified the overlap between resources for the interdisciplinary and global tiers.
In this report detailing Phase Three Focus on the Interdisciplinary Experience (2013) we discuss ... more In this report detailing Phase Three Focus on the Interdisciplinary Experience (2013) we discuss the rationale for interdisciplinary learning within the broader context, how we have mapped and modelled interdisciplinary practice within the School of Media and Communication and propose a range of strategies and recommendations for embedding interdisciplinarity within student lifecycles.
The Belonging Project is a four-year pilot project to investigate, design and trial an integrated... more The Belonging Project is a four-year pilot project to investigate, design and trial an integrated program and school-based approach to enhancing the RMIT undergraduate cohort experience.
In the Belonging Project narrative model (the model), each student’s sense of identity and belonging is built incrementally across the three years of their undergraduate degree program. In first year students establish a strong disciplinary and professional base within their program cohort. In second year, students build on this disciplinary base, becoming more aware of their place within an interdisciplinary community (a wider school cohort). In third year, they are supported to test their disciplinary and interdisciplinary identity and knowledge by working in a wider world of intercultural and global links and experiences.
The Belonging Project seeks to develop and test a new narrative model for an improved student coh... more The Belonging Project seeks to develop and test a new narrative model for an improved student cohort experience, aligned to the three-year undergraduate degree structure within RMIT.
The model builds students’ sense of identity and belonging across the three years of their undergraduate degree program, broadening out from first year to third, so that students begin with a strong disciplinary and professional base, before becoming more aware of their place within a trans-disciplinary community and as future media professionals working in a wider world of global links and experiences.
Memory Cages (Rachel Wilson, 2003) is a personal art film exploring themes of traumatic memory an... more Memory Cages (Rachel Wilson, 2003) is a personal art film exploring themes of traumatic memory and autobiographical presence within cinema. The thesis defines a theoretical context to examine the thematic concerns portrayed within the film and provides insight into my filmmaking practice. Creative explorations of memory and trauma are often located within autobiographical practice. However, the genre of Personal Art Film allows for experimentation with form and genre and downplays the narrative formations of identity and subjectivity characterised by autobiographical practice. Personal Cinema is critical, self-questioning, detached, subjective and reflective, using ambiguity as a tool to explore truth and internal realities that are characteristic of cinematic modernity. Memory and trauma have distinct and intricate cultural histories, which like autobiography, operate across disciplines and genres. Operating as memory machines, photography and filmmaking are often seen as the technological equivalent of the psychic activity of memory. Incorporating the role of fantasy within formations of traumatic memory and its cultural representations, is the challenge for theorists in this area. In representing the unrepresentable of traumatic memory, Memory Cages asks the audience to both identify with, and bear witness to, a fragmented and limited insight. This film is dominated conceptually and aesthetically by the cinematic traditions of the 1960's American avant-garde. Typified by practitioners such as Michael Snow, Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas, Memory Cages continues the tradition of placing the personal voice within complex visual landscapes.
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Papers by Rachel Wilson
RMIT University, Australia’s second largest higher education provider, has a diverse student body. Student retention at RMIT University remains relatively high, however, recent evaluations have indicated that students believe the university is not doing enough to help foster a sense of belonging and friendship. In response, the university has positioned student belonging as a major strategic focus area in 2017-2018, and has developed a whole of institution RMIT Belonging Strategy. The strategy emerges from an extensive internal stakeholder consultation process and builds on the research of The Belonging Project (Clarke & Wilson, 2016). The strategy identified and tested five drivers that impact student belonging at the university, and proposed a measurement framework to form an ‘index’ of belonging that can be tracked and reported using existing university data sets. This paper focuses on the innovative and collaborative work of developing an evidence based, data driven enterprise wide strategy for inclusive belonging, and presents a roadmap of the process.
longitudinal learning and teaching research project seeking to develop and define
a new approach to student engagement. In this project, the concept of belonging is
used as a tactic to engage both staff and students in the School of Media and
Communication at RMIT University as part of the project’s aim to improve the
student experience. This paper maps the way in which we use belonging – defined
in relation to the educational experience – as a point of departure to achieve this
outcome. Having established our definition of belonging and its purpose in our
project, we then discuss some key results of focus groups with students, outlining
the way in which students navigate issues of transition, interdisciplinarity, and
notions of space and place, in their relationship to university and campus life.
RMIT University, Australia’s second largest higher education provider, has a diverse student body. Student retention at RMIT University remains relatively high, however, recent evaluations have indicated that students believe the university is not doing enough to help foster a sense of belonging and friendship. In response, the university has positioned student belonging as a major strategic focus area in 2017-2018, and has developed a whole of institution RMIT Belonging Strategy. The strategy emerges from an extensive internal stakeholder consultation process and builds on the research of The Belonging Project (Clarke & Wilson, 2016). The strategy identified and tested five drivers that impact student belonging at the university, and proposed a measurement framework to form an ‘index’ of belonging that can be tracked and reported using existing university data sets. This paper focuses on the innovative and collaborative work of developing an evidence based, data driven enterprise wide strategy for inclusive belonging, and presents a roadmap of the process.
longitudinal learning and teaching research project seeking to develop and define
a new approach to student engagement. In this project, the concept of belonging is
used as a tactic to engage both staff and students in the School of Media and
Communication at RMIT University as part of the project’s aim to improve the
student experience. This paper maps the way in which we use belonging – defined
in relation to the educational experience – as a point of departure to achieve this
outcome. Having established our definition of belonging and its purpose in our
project, we then discuss some key results of focus groups with students, outlining
the way in which students navigate issues of transition, interdisciplinarity, and
notions of space and place, in their relationship to university and campus life.
The project sits within the context of the continually evolving nature of the higher education sector which presents numerous practical opportunities and challenges, not least of which is the changing role of higher education in civil society more broadly. Contemporary universities are both educational institution and broker between diverse stakeholders with complex and, at times, competing interests: secondary institutions, students who increasingly exercise their authority as knowledge consumers,and industries.
The Global at Home: At Home in the Global explored
the idea that the core discipline-based cohort experience can be improved by integrating both interdisciplinary and international experiences across the whole student lifecycle. This idea arose out of our initial research into this third tier of The Belonging Narrative Model which identified the overlap between resources for the interdisciplinary and global tiers.
In the Belonging Project narrative model (the model), each student’s sense of identity and belonging is built incrementally across the three years of their undergraduate degree program. In first year students establish a strong disciplinary and professional
base within their program cohort. In second year, students build on this disciplinary base, becoming more aware of their place within an interdisciplinary community (a wider school cohort). In third year,
they are supported to test their disciplinary and interdisciplinary identity and knowledge by working in a wider world of intercultural and global links and experiences.
The model builds students’ sense of identity and belonging across the three years of their undergraduate degree program, broadening out from first year to third, so that students begin with a strong disciplinary and professional base, before becoming more aware of their place within a trans-disciplinary community and as future media professionals working in a wider world of global links and experiences.
Creative explorations of memory and trauma are often located within autobiographical practice. However, the genre of Personal Art Film allows for experimentation with form and genre and downplays the narrative formations of identity and subjectivity characterised by autobiographical practice. Personal Cinema is critical, self-questioning, detached, subjective and reflective, using ambiguity as a tool to explore truth and internal realities that are characteristic of cinematic modernity.
Memory and trauma have distinct and intricate cultural histories, which like autobiography, operate across disciplines and genres. Operating as memory machines, photography and filmmaking are often seen as the technological equivalent of the psychic activity of memory. Incorporating the role of fantasy within formations of traumatic memory and its cultural representations, is the challenge for theorists in this area.
In representing the unrepresentable of traumatic memory, Memory Cages asks the audience to both identify with, and bear witness to, a fragmented and limited insight. This film is dominated conceptually and aesthetically by the cinematic traditions of the 1960's American avant-garde. Typified by practitioners such as Michael Snow, Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas, Memory Cages continues the tradition of placing the personal voice within complex visual landscapes.