"Deep learning occurs when students use appropriate cognitive processes to engage in a meaningful way with the task. When students pay attention to the learning process and critically reflect they are engaged in deep learning. When learning activities and assessment tasks allow them to experience understanding at a deep level and not just reproduce content, learning can be personally transformative." RMIT University, 2017 (resource no longer available).

Activity 3. Engaging students in deep learning

Read the Thriving in Academe guide.
Consider a unit you are currently teaching.
- Have you applied any of the suggestions in this What you can do section in your teaching? If so, which ones and why?
- How do your students engage with your materials?
- Select one of the suggestions and think of how you could apply it to your teaching practice to enable deeper engagement of your students.
Watch and read the series of short videos and statements by Dr Michael Wesch from Kansas State University about his approaches to teaching and assessment design to engage students in deep learning. His advice is inspirational for new lecturers, and includes traps to avoid and the importance of injecting novelty into your assignments. The students’ comments on the differences in the curriculum are also insightful.