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Media Release
FINALISTS FOR $485,000 UNIVERSITY TEACHING AWARDS ANNOUNCED
26 November 2003 MIN 536/03
Today I have announced the 32 finalists in the 2003 Australian Awards for University Teaching.
It is a remarkable achievement to be short-listed for these Awards, which commend and celebrate outstanding teaching in our universities.
Initiated by the Australian Government in 1997, the Awards are regarded as highly prestigious in the higher education sector inspiring our teachers to achieve and demonstrate an exceptional level of professional excellence that can make a difference to the lives of their students.
There were more than 100 outstanding nominations from 30 universities this year representing all States and the Australian Capital Territory. Finalists in the five teaching award categories represent 11 universities and finalists in the five institutional award categories represent 12 universities.
This year a new institutional category was added to recognise and celebrate teaching innovations that universities are providing for Indigenous students. Closing the education divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remains one of the Australian Government’s highest priorities.
Winners in the teaching category will receive a $40,000 grant. The winner of the highest teaching honour, the Prime Minister’s Award for University Teacher of the Year, will receive an additional $35,000. Each institutional award winner will receive a $50,000 grant.
Winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony at Parliament House on 2 December 2003.
These awards will be further enhanced as part of the Government’s Higher Education reform package, increasing the total to 250 university teaching awards.
A complete list of finalists and their profiles follows.
Media Contact:
Dr Nelson’s Office: Ross Hampton 0419 484 095
Dept of Education, Science & Training: Laila Lacis 0412 040 034
TEACHING AWARDS
Biological Sciences, Health and Related Studies
Dr Michelle Hyde and Associate Professor Rosanne Taylor, The University of Sydney
Associate Professor Ken Brown, University of Technology, Sydney
Ms Dawn Gleeson, The University of Melbourne
Dr Judith Murray, The University of Queensland
Economics, Business, Law and Related Studies
Dr Mark Israel, The Flinders University of South Australia
Dr Prem Ramburuth,The University of New South Wales
Associate Professor Sally Kift, Queensland University of Technology
Humanities and the Arts
Dr Tanya Dalziell, The University of Western Australia
Professor Wayne Hudson, Griffith University
Ms Felicia Zhang, University of Canberra
Physical Sciences and Related Studies
Dr Peter Petocz, University of Technology, Sydney
Associate Professor Helen MacGillivray, Queensland University of Technology
Professor Ian Cameron, The University of Queensland
Social Sciences
Dr Nan Bahr, The University of Queensland
Professor Lesley Cooper, The Flinders University of South Australia
Professor Laurie Brady, University of Technology, Sydney
NEVILLE BONNER AWARD
Indigenous University Teacher of the Year
Mr Bevan Cassady, Macquarie University
Associate Professor Cindy Shannon, The University of Queensland
INSTITUTIONAL AWARDS
Innovative and practical approach to the provision of student support services that assist the learning of students
Griffith University, The University of Melbourne, Deakin University
Innovative and practical approach to team teaching in large, first year classes
The Australian National University, The University of Western Australia, The University of Queensland
Innovative and practical approach to the provision of educational services to the local and/or regional community
University of Tasmania, The University of Queensland, The University of New South Wales
Innovative and practical approach to the enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning in the applicant’s institution
Edith Cowan University, Queensland University of Technology
Innovative and practical approach to the provision of services to Indigenous students
The University of Western Australia, The University of Newcastle, Macquarie University
Finalist Profiles:
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, HEALTH AND RELATED STUDIES
Ms Dawn Gleeson, The University of Melbourne
Ms Dawn Gleeson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Genetics. As Director of First Year Studies in Biology she is creating a ‘Biology Community’, including a Biology Learning Centre, which provides a physical space and help facility for the students.
She is passionate about teaching genetics to her 1,500 first year Biology students.
As a genetics education researcher Ms Gleeson has developed curriculum materials to improve genetics teaching and learning, including a number of interactive computer packages.
Ms Gleeson has a special interest in the transition of students from secondary to tertiary education. She has played a major role in the development of a transition programme in the Faculty of Science at the University, which has been used as a model for other Faculties.
Ms Gleeson is truly an inspiration to students, with an outstanding reputation based on her personal style of lecturing, her development of innovative tools and use of information technology, her dedication to raising public awareness of Genetics, and her commitment to cutting edge teaching.
Dr Judith Murray, The University of Queensland
Dr Judith Murray is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Population Health. She is regarded as an Australian pioneer in the teaching and research of a psychology of loss. She developed the unique, and now very popular, multidisciplinary Graduate Health Studies Programme in Loss and Grief.
Through her extensive workshop and lecture programme she has forged strong links into the tertiary, professional and general communities throughout urban and rural Queensland and other Australian States.
Dr Murray is a passionate teacher who inspires in her students an enthusiasm and motivation to learn. Her dedication, energy, approachability and intellectually-stimulating teaching style, incorporating humour and creativity, are highly regarded by her students and her colleagues. Students praise her enormous ability to impart knowledge, share information and enrich their understanding in the difficult, sensitive field of loss and grief.
Dr Murray has demonstrated a strong capacity for leadership in teaching and curriculum development. She has achieved national and international recognition by government, the churches, and emergency services, amongst others, as the key resource in Australia for knowledge and skill development in the loss and grief area.
Associate Professor Kenneth Brown, University of Technology, Sydney
Kenneth Brown is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences. He is renowned as an expert in the new discipline area of coastal management.
Associate Professor Brown developed the first postgraduate coursework program in coastal management in Australia which has become the model of many international and multi-disciplinarian programmes.
Associate Professor Brown is fully committed to the international development of biology education. He runs workshops in the USA, and is a highly regarded key note speaker on all aspects of teaching. He is currently researching the application and success of new e-learning techniques in biology education.
One of his main strengths is his accessibility to students who seek him out for subject mentoring and career advice. He also pays particular attention to students from non-English speaking backgrounds to ensure they fully understand the challenging subject material.
Associate Professor Brown is the main driver for innovation in teaching and learning in biological sciences at the University. His enthusiasm is long-standing, resulting from a passionate desire to guide students to appreciate the wonder of scientific discovery.
Dr Michelle Hyde and Associate Professor Rosanne Taylor, The University of Sydney
Michelle Hyde is a Senior Lecturer and Rosanne Taylor is an Associate Professor within the Faculty of Veterinary Science. They have both been recognised as excellent classroom teachers and highly influential leaders of change.
Dr Hyde has focused on the classroom and the students as individuals, and Associate Professor Taylor has focused on academic leadership and facilitating change in the Faculty.
They believe that classroom practice and leadership of change need to be integrated, aligned and congruent to fully support quality student learning.
Dr Hyde has used innovative teaching approaches and has initiated a major review of teaching in the third and fourth years of the new Animal Science degree.
As Chair of the Faculty’s Teaching and Learning Committee, Associate Professor Taylor has championed a range of curriculum and staff development initiatives that support professionalism and scholarship in teaching and learning. Her focus on neuroscience and physiology research has provided students with a good understanding of new emerging fields, including animal biotechnology.
Dr Hyde and Associate Professor Taylor share a student centred, evidence based approach to teaching and learning. They strive to assist students in achieving deep holistic learning that will last beyond the immediate demands of assessment, and stimulate lifelong learning.
ECONOMICS, BUSINESS, LAW AND RELATED STUDIES
Associate Professor Sally Kift, Queensland University of Technology
Sally Kift is a lecturer within the Faculty of Law. She is one of Australia’s brightest and most effective legal academics working in legal education scholarship and curriculum development.
Associate Professor Kift rejects traditional approaches to legal education in an effort to reinvigorate the discipline. She strives to provide students with a more relevant and credible educational experience.
She has made significant contributions to the development of teaching and learning initiatives and cultural change at the University. These include the development of the first year curriculum, support for casual teaching staff, online teaching policy development, the improvement of first year student experience and the development of graduate capabilities.
Associate Professor Kift is developing a national and international profile through her own excellent scholarship and legal research. She works extremely hard and aims to achieve practical, effective, life-changing outcomes for students.
Dr Mark Israel, Flinders University of South Australia
Dr Israel is a Reader in Law and Criminology. His enthusiastic approach to teaching has consistently produced critically-reflective students who are motivated to pursue their interests in criminal justice long after they leave his class.
Dr Israel strategically links research, teaching and community service. He has developed extensive and useful student learning resources, sharing the lead role in developing Crime and Justice, a widely-used undergraduate textbook in Australian criminology.
He is the author of almost 50 articles, books and book chapters, and is a published author in the specialist areas of criminology, education, victimology and sociology.
Dr Israel nurtures students’ commitment to lifelong learning. He inspires students to leave his classes thinking that their degree might be the beginning and not the end of their tertiary education.
Dr Prem Ramburuth, The University of New South Wales
Dr Ramburuth is a Senior Lecturer in the School of International Business, Faculty of Commerce and Economics. She is cutting edge in terms of curriculum development, content, and experiential and reflective learning techniques.
Dr Ramburuth’s courses are models for student-centred learning and inclusive teaching, and include innovative strategies to ensure that student diversity is recognised.
She has made an impressive contribution to the Faculty and the University through the development of programmes and material on issues such as the multicultural classroom, student diversity, internationalisation of curricula and student-centred learning.
Her research interests include cross-cultural and diversity management, global assignments, comparative and intra-cultural work values, cross-cultural learning and development, and inter-cultural communication.
Dr Ramburuth believes that by creating an excitement about learning in her courses, she is able to maintain the same excitement about teaching.
HUMANITIES AND THE ARTS
Ms Felicia Zhang, University of Canberra
Ms Zhang is a lecturer in the School of Languages and International Education. She is a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese and a near-native in English and Cantonese with 15 years of teaching and research experience in languages.
Ms Zhang is currently undertaking a PhD in Applied Linguistics, and conducting research into how Mandarin pronunciation might be taught more effectively by means of specially developed audio-visual materials, classroom activities and software.
Her belief in the usefulness of technology for language learning has led her to develop and promote useful technology tools to students and staff. Ms Zhang keeps up to date with current developments in the field and embraces new ideas. She also regularly presents papers on teaching and learning Chinese and using technology in language teaching.
Ms Zhang’s whole approach to education is one of ‘the teacher as the facilitator,’ rather than as an ‘authority on a pedestal.’ She encourages students to be independent, to think critically, and to research additional language resources, such as on the internet.
She believes that her role as a language teacher is to be the initiator of a process of acceptance and tolerance towards other cultures so that her students might more fully reap the benefits of language learning.
Dr Tanya Dalziell, The University of Western Australia
Dr Dalziell is a Lecturer in English, Communication and Cultural Studies. She teaches in a wide range of courses at all levels, which reflects her research interests, and is actively involved in outcomes based education and various aspects of secondary education.
She is a valuable and versatile academic and has developed a new upper level unit in cultural theory, which attracted the highest enrolment of any second semester unit in English.
She keeps up to date with new ideas and publications in her teaching fields, and this helps her to manage a heavy teaching load with considerable creativity and scholarly finesse.
Professor Wayne Hudson, Griffith University
Wayne Hudson is a Professor in the School of Humanities. He is known for his enthusiastic approach to History teaching and also has a deep interest and expertise in law, philosophy and sociology.
As a result of his mix of enthusiasm, commitment, knowledge of the scholarship and substantial publications and research related to teaching, Professor Hudson has been able to take a leading role in national and international professional activities to promote new approaches to History teaching.
Professor Hudson is a model for younger historians as he continually explores the boundaries of the teaching of Humanities generally. He challenges his colleagues and his students to address issues in global ways and to think more flexibly and creatively about issues of identity.
Students of all ages leave Professor Hudson’s lectures positively glowing with a desire to learn more and learn better, and to rise to the demanding standards he both expects and personifies.
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND RELATED STUDIES
Professor Ian Cameron, The University of Queensland
Ian Cameron is currently a Professor in Chemical Engineering. He has made a significant contribution to chemical engineering through his involvement in innovative curriculum design and development as well as the learning environment. He has played a leadership role in the development and implementation of a chemical engineering curriculum which has excited national and international interest from engineering educators.
Professor Cameron is internationally known in the area of process systems engineering research, publishes his work widely and collaborates with European and American colleagues. He is the co-author of two books in the area of control and process modelling and is currently completing a book on process systems risk management.
Professor Cameron is widely respected by students and staff as an excellent and caring teacher. His selfless attitude to education and his discipline make him an outstanding role model of excellence in professional engineering practice.
Dr Peter Petocz, University of Technology, Sydney
Dr Peter Petocz is a Senior Lecturer in Statistics within the Department of Mathematical Sciences. He actively researches statistics and mathematics learning and teaching and has developed many useful teaching resources, including video packages that are used widely in schools and universities. Several of these resources have won national and international awards.
Dr Petocz has authored and co-authored textbooks that are well-structured, and clearly written with many interesting anecdotes to stimulate the reader’s interest. He has also published articles about the application of statistics in nutrition, diabetes, orthodontics, environment and science.
Dr Petocz is the Program Director for postgraduate studies in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, responsible for advising students about their studies and educational choices. Teaching appraisals routinely rate him very highly; students draw attention to his teaching ability, his enthusiasm for his subject, his friendliness and approachability and his sense of humour.
Associate Professor Helen MacGillivray, Queensland University of Technology
Helen MacGillivray is an Associate Professor in Mathematical Sciences. She is an inspirational teacher who, over her years of teaching statistics, has converted many people in a variety of disciplines into professionals who can both appreciate the importance of good statistical thinking, and analyse their data thoughtfully and critically.
Associate Professor MacGillivray’s interest in teaching extends far beyond the classroom itself. She has been an active member of the international teaching community, most recently in the United Kingdom.
She has also made a valuable contribution to mathematics and statistics education in schools, and through the Queensland Studies Authority and Education Queensland, with work on syllabus and assessment development, and at a national level through work with the Australian Mathematical Sciences Council and the Statistical Society of Australia.
Associate Professor MacGillivray has demonstrated to her students that the lecturer can be a partner in learning, rather than merely a source of information.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Dr Nan Bahr, The University of Queensland
Dr Bahr is a lecturer in the School of Education. She teaches and researches in the field of educational psychology and has published in the areas of educational technologies and learning. She has been involved in the innovative development of teacher education programmes, which are drawn together by significant online resources and presence.
Dr Bahr’s area of expertise relates to adolescence. She uses a range of strategies to engage students in understanding, theorising and learning how to teach teenagers. Student evaluations of Dr Bahr’s teaching demonstrate the outstanding quality of her classroom work; she sees the rights and needs of her students as being of paramount importance.
She has a strong commitment to quality education, with a particular interest in the rejuvenation of education and the development of new technologies with a focus on the key role that teachers and professional educators have in creating and leading effective learning experiences.
Dr Bahr believes that education is fundamental to creating and sustaining life opportunities, personal fulfilment and agency.
Professor Lesley Cooper, Flinders University of South Australia
Professor Lesley Cooper teaches in the Social Work Program in the School of Social Administration and Social Work. She has engaged in considerable research on work-integrated learning in social work and social administration. She has gained an international reputation in this field and is invited to provide keynote addresses worldwide.
The strength of Professor Cooper’s approach is that she has woven together her interests in teaching, research and services to the Faculty, University and profession. Her classroom teaching uses practical examples from human services and ‘hot learning’ to promote enquiry, stimulate critical thinking, and link practice with theory.
As a teacher, researcher, writer and life-long learner, Professor Cooper is passionate about stimulating student learning across all levels of university education.
Professor Laurence Brady, University of Technology, Sydney
Professor Laurie Brady is a Professor of Education. For many years the focus of his teaching ‘about teaching’ has been all-encompassing, including the planning for teaching (program and curriculum design); the broad repertoire of teaching models and strategies; and the assessment of student and teacher performance.
His work on teaching has been adapted for radio and television, and he has developed and compered teaching programs for children on commercial television.
Professor Brady has written 15 books about the planning, organisation, management, direction and assessment of teaching which have been widely adopted nationally and internationally.
He constantly evaluates his own teaching practice, and works systematically to improve it, drawing upon information from students, schools, the system and research. Students acknowledge the relevance of his assessment tasks, the high quality of his professional guidance and support, and his compassion.
Professor Brady believes passionately that a purpose in life is to make a difference for the betterment of all, and that the ‘skilling’ and ‘humanising’ of teachers is his purpose.
NEVILLE BONNER AWARD
Associate Professor Cindy Shannon, The University of Queensland
Cindy Shannon is an Associate Professor in the School of Population Health. She is recognised as one of the leaders in Indigenous health education. This is reflected by her membership in a number of national committees on Indigenous health and her role as an advisor to Government, both at a State and Federal level.
Associate Professor Shannon has been responsible for the development and implementation of degree level training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers over the past decade. In addition she has been able to influence the inclusion of Indigenous health issues in the curriculum for a number of courses within the Health Sciences Faculty.
Associate Professor Shannon’s research and publications cover a range of areas significant to the Indigenous community and over the past few years she has concentrated on the important area of policy development.
Associate Professor Shannon provides a fine example of leadership in action for both Indigenous and non Indigenous people working in the broad health area.
Mr Bevan Cassady, Macquarie University
Bevan Cassady is a lecturer in the Department of Indigenous Studies. He has made a significant contribution to the development and implementation of the Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Services) at the University.
A prime mover for the development of the degree, Mr Cassady perceptively identified the need for such a qualification, contributed to the development of appropriate curriculum and delivery models, was instrumental in developing successful teaching and learning strategies, promoted the programme to communities, and provided exemplary teaching, including mentorship and learning support.
A tireless advocate for the vital importance of early childhood education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Mr Cassady has used his networks to attract, retain and develop skilled early childhood educators. The comparatively low attrition rate, the progressive flow of graduates to postgraduate study and the programme’s continued vitality are largely the results of his talent, energy and dedication.
Mr Cassady is an unwavering support and mentor to his students, and a superb role model for male students as the impact on Indigenous youngsters of having well-qualified male teachers in a caring early childhood educational environment is vitally important from an early age.
INSTITUTIONAL AWARDS
Innovative and practical approach to the provision of support services (on, and/or off campus) that assist the learning of students
The University of Melbourne – School of Graduate Studies
The University of Melbourne provides its postgraduate students with a distinctive education of international quality by adopting a comprehensive University-wide strategy: Developing Postgraduates to Become Leaders of Tomorrow. This is an integrated programme of activities from the beginning to the end of candidature.
Developing Postgraduates to Become Leaders of Tomorrow is facilitated through a three stage process:
- Getting a Flying Start- Integrated orientation and induction programmes.
- Adding Breadth to Depth: A Collaborative Strategy- Coordinated skills development programme for postgraduate students and academic staff.
- Heading for Leadership- Dynamic programs to equip postgraduates with transferable skills.
The success of the strategy is demonstrated by increased participation rates across all programmes, an increased range of opportunities and courses for postgraduate students, positive evaluation scores and feedback for programmes being maintained, and an increased awareness of postgraduate teaching and learning issues across the University.
Griffith University – ExcelL Intercultural Skills Program
In order to enhance intercultural understanding, Griffith University developed the innovative support programme ExcelL (Excellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership).
ExcelL is a theory-driven and evidence-based group programme designed to enhance international students’ confidence and skills in academic, social and career contexts. This then leads to decreasing any stress associated with cross-cultural encounters, encouraging social contact with students from other cultures.
ExcelL has demonstrable benefits for improving intercultural understanding between local Australian, international and immigrant students, thus maximising the potential benefits of the cultural diversity of Griffith University students.
Deakin University – First Year at Deakin
First Year at Deakin (FYAD) aims to improve transition to tertiary study and retention rates, particularly at first year level. As social wellbeing is fundamental for student success, the programme has emphasised both social and academic connectedness.
FYAD is a partnership among students, staff, faculties and divisions to enhance and improve the first year experience. It is a unique university-wide, multi-disciplinary, coordinated approach.
FYAD involves three phases including Enrolment, Orientation and The First Six Weeks. It is a dynamic, evolving process of continuous improvement.
Ongoing monitoring, evaluating and reviewing activities lead to new priorities for the next implementation cycle and enhancement of current programmes and it allows the University to be responsive to identified needs of different first year students.
Innovative and practical approach to team teaching in large, first year classes
The University of Queensland – First Year Biology Teaching Team
The First Year Biology Teaching team coordinates and delivers an innovative, modern and exciting biological curriculum to more than 1,000 students. The first year biology programme is a collaborative teaching initiative of the Faculty of Biological and Chemical Sciences, involving three schools and more than 100 staff and students leaders.
The team encompasses a collaborative teaching approach that transcends traditional discipline boundaries and encourages teamwork among molecular and evolutionary biologists, human physiologists and anatomists, ecologists, botanists, biochemists and zoologists. This has stimulated team building activities and strong leadership that has delivered an innovative and student focused curriculum and effective teaching model in the first year biology programme.
The central theme of this programme is genetics and evolution, a new direction designed to reflect the unprecedented changes on DNA technology currently taking place in life sciences and medicine.
Three core activities have driven the programme: developing a coherent curriculum, building a collegial teaching team and creating a supportive learning environment for the students. The programme inspires in students a real appreciation of science and scientific research as a human activity.
The Australian National University – Resources, Environment and Society: an interdisciplinary team-taught first year course
Resources, Environment and Society was born out of the desire to combine Arts Faculty and Science Faculty approaches to understanding the relationship between people and the environment. While meeting the needs of both Arts and Science students it has also attracted a wide range of students from across all of ANU’s faculties.
The course has a strong skills development focus that aims to give students the research and communication skills required to successfully complete later year courses. Particular attention has been given to critical thinking and writing skills.
The course is team-taught by staff from the Science and Arts Faculties, key researchers from the ANU Research Schools, staff from the Information Literacy Program and the Academic Skills and Learning Centre, experts from Federal and ACT government departments, as well as key Canberra based non-government organisations.
The University of Western Australia – First Year Human Biology at UWA
Human Biology is a first year unit with 500 students enrolled. Human biology often only encompasses the structure, function and perhaps development of the body, but this course also incorporates genetics, evolution, primates, behaviour, reproduction, biological anthropology, ecology and biosocial interactions.
The commitment to quality teaching of a diverse and large students group is achieved by several strategic approaches driven primarily by a focus on integration, direct communication with students and extensive monitoring of their perceptions, evaluation of innovations, and high quality communication among staff.
While Human Biology has extensively embraced technology for innovative solutions to large-class teaching, they also believe that their best innovation has stemmed from an empathy with the students, particularly recognition of the transitional phase they find themselves in, and the problems of large-class teaching from their perspective.
Innovative and practical approach to the provision of educational services to the local and/or regional community
The University of Queensland - Graduate Certificate in Social Science (Interprofessional Leadership)
The Ipswich campus of the University of Queensland focuses on innovative and responsive teaching and learning practice. From its inception in 1999, the campus has had a strong focus on responsive community engagement and partnership. The UQ ‘Boilerhouse’ Community Service and Research Centre is an integral part of the University’s Community Engagement Strategy.
The submission focuses on the establishment and delivery of the Centre’s Community and Interprofessional Leadership teaching and learning programmes. The courses are founded on improving the quality of life of the local community and the quality of university teaching, learning and research.
The Goodna Service Integration Project (Goodna SIP) was created to respond to the unique and complex issues faced by the Goodna community. The Graduate Certificate in Social Science (Interprofessional Leadership) was the first accredited learning programme initiated through the Goodna SIP.
The students learn the theoretical groundwork and practical skills for initiating and sustaining collaborative work and work on a real issue in the Goodna/Ipswich region which requires an interdisciplinary approach. They are supported and guided by the university teaching staff, practical professionals and community representatives.
The University of New South Wales - The UNSW Community Development Project
The University of New South Wales Community Development Project (UNSW CDP) works with public housing estate communities in Waterloo, Redfern, South Coogee and Menai. The Project’s work was based on the initiative of Professor Tony Vinson in 1994 who, after local community consultations began negotiations with the Department of Housing to establish a student unit. The purpose of the unit is to provide social work students with professional practices which involved benefiting from tenants’ life experiences and tenants benefiting from the University’s educational resources.
The Project has taken a two-pronged approach- one at the grass roots level; the other directed at housing policy and service provision. It has helped students from a range of faculties within the University to work in partnership with tenants helping them to overcome some of their social, financial, educational and employment problems.
The UNSW CDP, in partnership with tenants and other agencies, has been highly successful in supporting the empowerment of tenants to develop their knowledge and skills to actively participate in bringing about community change that reflects their needs.
The University of Tasmania – Building a Learning Neighbourhood: Mooreville Road Education Precinct
The University of Tasmania has initiated a significant cultural change in north-west Tasmania, a region with among the lowest higher education participation rates in Australia,. Through the innovative work of its North-West Centre in Burnie, the University has established a vibrant, creative and culturally rich Learning Neighbourhood.
The Mooreville Road Education Precinct is based around a ‘creative pathway’ which uses landscape design elements and art works to provide visual links on the actual roadway that connects the education institutions.
The communication between the educational partners has resulted in the effective delivery of relevant and meaningful education to a neighbourhood previously reluctant to embrace higher education.
The institutions have developed a ‘joined up’ pathway of learning, which sees a network of interactions between their students, their staff and their communities. The pathway is cemented through formal interactions, special projects and resource sharing, initiated by the University in building a Learning Neighbourhood.
Innovative and practical approach to the enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning in the applicant’s institution
Queensland University of Technology – The Corporation in the Curriculum Project
The Corporation in the Curriculum Project was born of a twofold desire by the Faculty of Business to improve teaching and learning for undergraduate business students.
The Faculty wanted to provide more systematic support for students to develop generic skills vital to business, such as, time management, team work, decision making, and lateral thinking.
The Faculty also wanted a better way to integrate the eight distinct core curriculum subjects to help students understand the inter-relationships between key fields of knowledge that shape business activity.
Their solution is imaginative and multi-faceted, a stimulating virtual workplace based on a real, dynamic organisation. Students learn how different business theory connects to a business in real ways, empowering them to better come to grips with how business can respond to opportunities and obstacles.
Edith Cowan University – Retention and Persistence Transition Support (RAPTS)
The RAPTS program is a holistic, strategic initiative, developed specifically to support students in their first year of the University’s psychology course.
A small group of psychology lecturers and general staff met to share their concerns about the difficulties students were experiencing in the transition into university, and the high attrition rate. One way identified to provide support was mentoring, so the group designed their own programme, then trialled it with a group of 30 volunteer students. This was a success right from the beginning. The result was the Retention and Persistence Transition Support (RAPTS) programme, which now underpins the whole first year for psychology students.
A variety of components have been developed for the RAPTS programme: peer mentoring, learning communities, school liaison, orientation, tutor training and curriculum reforms.
The power and success of the programme comes from the whole-of-school approach, with academic staff, tutors, general staff, and the whole student body working together. The University is committed to sharing their learning with the wider community, through publication and dissemination of the results.
Innovative and practical approach to the provision of services to Indigenous students
The University of Western Australia – Succeeding in Mainstream: Graduating Indigenous Professionals
The School of Indigenous Studies provides programmes to Indigenous students that are innovative, flexible, responsive to student needs as well as community aspirations and highly successful.
The School is distinguished from many of its counterparts by its commitment to ensuring Indigenous students have access to highly competitive mainstream degree courses in professional areas such as Law, Medicine, Engineering and Social Work; and by its extensive work with Indigenous secondary students not just in relation to UWA courses, but in promoting courses at other Western Australian universities to help students make informed career choices.
A series of pathways has been developed into mainstream degree studies that help Indigenous students tailor a programme to meet their own educational needs and aspirations by choosing or combining study options.
The School has also recognised the need for course specific support in particularly difficult and academically competitive areas by creating a full-time Law Tutor position, and working with the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry to establish the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health.
The School has empowered and enabled Indigenous students to fulfil their potential and to develop knowledge and skills that are valued by employers, professional associations, labour markets and society.
Macquarie University – Bachelor of Teaching: The Early Childhood Teacher Education Program for Indigenous Australians
The Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Services) has national significance because of its outreach to students across Australia; it is community-based, allowing individual Indigenous students to remain living and employed in their home community while studying towards a professionally recognised teaching qualification in early childhood.
The programme targets mature aged people, predominately from regional and remote communities, who are working in early childhood settings such as childcare and preschools.
Philosophically, the programme is committed to a two-way teaching and learning process where both the staff and student populations exchange cultural knowledge and teaching opportunities. This provides the opportunity for understanding amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians of the inherent issues of early childhood education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
The University of Newcastle – Innovation and Celebration: Wollotuka and Indigenous Education
From meagre beginnings in 1983, the original Wollotuka Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Centre has blossomed to include the construction of the present Birabahn, a new multi-purpose building on campus which houses Wollotuka, Umulliko, Yapug and some staff from the Indigenous Health and Education Centre.
Wollotuka, Umulliko, Yapug and the Indigenous Health and Education Centre are committed to developing, implementing and evaluating educational services that celebrate and centralise the voices of Indigenous people.
These groups are a comprehensive network of independent services that function collectively, offering students a range of innovative, culturally appropriate and culturally safe services developed, delivered and evaluated by Indigenous staff. These include student financial support, tutoring, guidance with academic programs and counselling.
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