Contextualised learning for student success: Supporting the educational attainment of students from traditionally underserved backgrounds

Abstract

As a hub of student support, university libraries are uniquely positioned to address elements of UN Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education. One way the Digital Learning Team at the RMIT University Library helps all students succeed is by providing online resources that enable students to review and practice essential skills needed for tertiary education. The team has recently published “Learning Lab Contextualised Content”, a suite of Open Educational Resources (OERs) designed to inspire higher education attainment and improve outcomes for Australian students from traditionally underserved backgrounds. The resource collection imagines a fictional rural town called Salty Creek, where a town festival is being planned by six young members of the Salty Creek community who have similar backgrounds to the target student audience. Built on the four pillars of representation, relevance, reassurance, and reliability, the content situates learning activities in areas such as communication, art and design, engineering, and sustainability within the context of authentic tasks undertaken as part of planning a community festival. These contextualised learning activities are further backed by foundational skills tutorials on the RMIT Library’s Learning Lab website. Learn how this work supports SDG 4 with an overview of the project, teachers’ guide, and student feedback.