Research Skill Development Framework and Work Skills Development Framework at Monash University

As I have already mentioned in another blog post, Monash University has adopted the Research Skill Development Framework as the backbone for the University's educational strategies.
I had a meeting with Lyn Torres, Information Research Skills Manager at the library, and she explained the framework and told me about how the library and university are using it. I was incredibly impressed about Lyn's skills and enthusiasm and I wished we would have someone like her at our library.  

The Research Skill Development Framework "presents a conceptual, non-prescriptive model for curriculum and assessment design that explicitly and coherently develops students' research skills within disciplinary content, at the course and unit levels."  Subject/liaison librarians and learning skills advisers are applying the framework and working very closely together with teachers and academics when designing curricula/courses.
The Research Skills Development Framework looks similar to the skills frameworks or information literacy frameworks at other universities/libraries. However at Monash University Library they decided to stay very close to the original framework by John Willison and Kerry O'Regan (I have been talking about it in earlier blog posts).
That means the framework includes six facets of research: a) Embark & Clarify,  b) Find & Generate,  c) Evaluate & Reflect,  d) Organise & Manage,  e) Analyse & Synthesise and  f) Communicate & Apply.  There are five levels of students' autonomy or research levels: Level 1: Prescribed Research, Level 2: Bounded Research, Level 3: Scaffolded Research, Level 4: Self-actuated Research and Level 5: Open Research.

Colleagues, please have a look at the framework and think about how we can use it in our library and teaching!  http://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/156760/research-skills-development.pdf

It was also interesting to learn that the library teaches academic staff to understand and use the framework. This teaching happens in collaboration with the department that teaches new staff about how to teach.

The Australian government and the Australian universities have been focusing more and more on students' employability skills during the last years. Therefore Monash University Library has adopted the so-called Work Skills Development Framework that was developed by Sue Bandaranaike (James Cook University) and John Willison (University of Adelaide). It addresses work-readiness as part of the Higher Education teaching and learning agenda, and enables the interpretation and articulation of students’ work skills gained through study and participation at the university.
The library offers to help with the design and incorporation of employment skills within curricula.
Have a look at the Work Skills Development Framework here:  http://www.adelaide.edu.au/rsd/framework/frameworks/WSD-2009_2014.pdf

It really was impressive at Monash University Library and I realised that staff at NTNU University Library (including me!) need to get up-skilled a lot!!!