RELT curriculum framework

There are many variations to how research and teaching can come together in the student and staff experience of curriculum. As a framework for thinking about this we might consider our students' curriculum in the following ways:

1. There is a (familiar) aspect of curriculum which is about content: Research enriched learning and teaching means that new knowledge and research findings in the discipline are included in the curriculum content. The content is 'up to date' with the discipline's research.
2. There is a second dimension to curriculum which is about how we articulate student learning outcomes (rather than teacher content input). Research enriched learning and teaching in this second dimension of curriculum is about including research relevant learning outcomes in curriculum design. Students are learning about 'how to do' research in their discipline or field. At Sydney these learning outcomes are often the sort included in faculty statements of the 'Research and Inquiry' graduate attributes.
3. There is a third dimension to curriculum which is about the teaching and learning processes. Research enriched learning and teaching means that students are learning in research-like ways. They are engaged as active questioning participants using the inquiry processes of their discipline to construct knowledge.
4. Curriculum can also be thought of in a more inclusive way as extending to the broader experience of learning beyond courses. In this aspect of a RELT curriculum we might think about creating a research enriched learning community for students and staff, characterised by opportunities for meaningful and motivating engagement and participation.

These different elements of students' experience of research enriched learning are all important, and each can be achieved in various different ways which might be suited to particular discipline research cultures and to different stages of a student's experience.