Graduate learning outcomes
Deakin courses, underpinned by research, theory and evidence, are designed and continually enhanced to enable all students to create and curate evidence of their learning. They're delivered through engaging learning and assessment experiences either online, onsite or on campus.
One element of the curriculum framework is our graduate learning outcomes. We structure our teaching and learning activities to ensure our graduates develop and evidence these attributes. Deakin’s eight graduate learning outcomes are:
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities
Appropriate to the level of study related to a discipline or profession.
Communication
Using oral, written and interpersonal communication to inform, motivate and effect change.
Digital literacy
Using technologies to find, use and disseminate information.
Critical thinking
Evaluating information using critical and analytical thinking and judgment.
Problem solving
Creating solutions to authentic, real world and ill-defined problems.
Self-management Working and learning independently, and taking responsibility for personal actions.
Teamwork
Working and learning with others from different disciplines and backgrounds.
Global citizenship
Engaging ethically and productively in the professional context, and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as well as diverse communities and cultures in a global context.
Design principles and practices
The other element of Deakin’s curriculum framework is the design principles and practices, which underpin the design and delivery of learning experiences. Learning experiences at Deakin are purposefully designed to harness digital, physical and human connections. Learning experiences aim to build learning communities that support students to develop the knowledge, skills and capabilities they need to be lifelong learners who thrive and make a difference in a rapidly changing world.
The design principles are:
Holistic: building on and connecting to students’ existing knowledges and skills, fostering wellbeing, self-determination and the development of capabilities that transform learners into graduates who can achieve their goals.
Feedback focused: underpinned by feedback designed to support students to achieve and evidence learning outcomes; feedback fosters dialogue that enables students to see their learning progress and make evaluative judgements.
Inclusive: inclusive, accessible and equitable; providing flexibility and choice in mode of study that is balanced with structure to support the development of a learning community.
Authentic: reflective of our digitised lives and world of work; students use ideas, theories and tools relevant to contemporary contexts to solve meaningful problems and make an impact in a rapidly changing world.
Integrated: tailored to the discipline and study mode; digital and physical affordances complement each other and are sequenced across time, space and place to form an integrated whole that prepares students for the contemporary world.
Digital: digital by design; digital technologies are leveraged as core design elements to enable access and participation, and support student success.
Course-wide: designed to be constructively aligned and coherent across a course; a narrative clearly articulates the relationship between activities, assessment and outcomes to support student journeys from transition to graduation.
Active and collaborative: interactive, active and collaborative; students develop skills and knowledge through application activities that support the achievement of learning outcomes.
Relational: promote relationships, connect students to their discipline, others, space and place, strengthen communities and foster belonging.