Research Skills Development

(RSD) Framework

An argument for embedding the RSD

framework in every unit, in every discipline,
in every curriculum, being developed,
taught and learned at Monash SA
 Comment on RSD Framework,
on Monash University website

Monash University has adopted the

Research Skills Development framework as
the backbone for the Universitys educational
strategies
www.monash.edu/library/skills
 Origin of RSD Framework

Willison and ORegan (2006)

University of Adelaide

A conceptual model that provides an

explicit scaffold and precise building blocks
for the student to develop research skills
 What research skills?
How to:
Launch a systematic inquiry;
Find or generate data/information;
Critically evaluate information;
Organise information & manage process;
Synthesise, analyse, apply new knowledge;
Communicate knowledge & the process.
 The RSD framework also teaches
how a student may learn to operate at a
higher level of:

Information literacy competency;

Autonomy;
Open-endedness in the questions addressed;
Ability to assess, evaluate, scrutinise and
manage the research process;
Unstructuredness;
Use of language particular to a discipline.
The RSD framework makes explicit
how a student may be taught and assessed:

Behaviours associated with being a researcher.

Academic reading skills;
Critical thinking and decision-making skills;
Academic writing skills;
How to organise information and process.
 The intent of the paper by
Pretorius et al.

Learning Skills Adviser worked with

lecturers to redesign a second-year
Midwifery assessment task;

Application of Constructive Alignment

theory and RSD Framework.
 Objectives of the study

1. A standard essay was transformed

to an assignment that was more
clinically relevant;

2. To realise the expected graduate

attributes;
3. To meet the Boards standard on the
attributes of a graduate in this field:

Dynamic practice that incorporates

application of high-level knowledge and
skills in extended practice across stable,
unpredictable and complex situations.
4. To follow where the findings of
research has led:

Nursing and midwifery training should

provide learning experiences that promote
analysis, application and clinical reasoning

Using realistic clinical situations to foster

learning helps students develop skills critical
to midwifery practice, such as evidence-
based practice and clinical judgment
 The conclusion drawn

The RSD framework was used to

constructively align graduate attributes,
learning experiences and assessment tasks
transforming an undergraduate
assessment task into a learning experience
relevant to clinical practice.
 Advantages reported

Students engaged with the content at a

much deeper level, evidenced by the nature
of student questions:
Did I select appropriate academic sources?
Is this treatment approach more appropriate
than that?
Questions on the interconnectedness of
several different symptoms in the case
 Advantages reported (cont.)

Lecturers found:
Their feedback to students to be much more
focused and streamlined
Rubric / marking guide clearly identified
areas for improvement and commendation
The skills being taught are those actually
specified in the statements of learning
outcomes
 The conclusion drawn

The RSD Framework was used to

constructively align graduate attributes,
learning experiences and assessment
tasks transforming an undergraduate
assessment task into a learning
experience relevant to clinical practice.
 Constructive alignment

Advocates a teaching and learning

environment where students actively
construct meaning through engagement
with the content;

Course and unit objectives, learning

experiences and assessment tasks are
aligned.
Workshop Pack:

The actual RSD framework;

The paper by Willison, the developer of the
framework, to give an account of the
rationale;
The paper by Pretorius et al. to show how the
framework is actually used.
If you do not connect with what I
have said in this presentation,
then I encourage you to visit:

www.adelaide.edu.au/rsd/framework
www.monash.edu/library/skills

THANK YOU!