Content
Achievements and highlights
ALTC Grant success
USC staff received two competitive ALTC grants. The successful applicants and grant projects are:
Don Maconachie, Director, Executive Projects Unit (EPU)
A Handbook:Leadership for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
$220,000
This project will produce a handbook to guide leadership for excellence in learning and teaching. The handbook will include a concise and accessible theoretical framework, key research findings, practical guidelines and resources. It will provide a model, templates, case studies of good practice, and resources for designing, delivering and evaluating insitutional programs for the leadership of leraning and teaching.
Dr Claudia Baldwin, Senior Lecturer, Regional and Urban Planning and Associate Professor Johanna Rosier, Program Leader, Regional and Urban Planning Program
Experiential Learning in Planning Education; Resources and Tools for Good Practice
$176,000
The aim of this project is to develop an integrated package of resources hat will serve to promote and enable delivery of good practice experiential learning in Australian planning education. This will, in turn, contribute to improved student learning outcomes.
USC wins first ALTC Award for Programs that Enhance Learning
USC claimed its first Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) National Program Award, valued at $25,000, for its project titled Regional Access, Inclusion and Success in Education (RAISE)
The University was one of only 10 across Australia, and one of three in Queensland to receive ALTC Awards for Programs that Enhance learning for 2011. Its success was in the category for "educational partnerships and collaborations with other organisations".
USC's application highlighted five of its outreach initiatives: its Headstart program for high school students; its alternative entry program Tertiary Preparation Pathway (TPP); its provision of a Primary Industry Centre for Science Education (PICSE USC); a Creative Writing Excellence program for schools; and an Integrated Learning Engineering (ILE) program for schools.
USC's Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill congratulated all staff involved in these innovative pre-university programs as well as the University's Office of Learning and Teaching which coordinated the the award nomination.
ALTC Citation success
In June the ALTC announced that five USC staff were awarded Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in the 2011 ALTC Award Scheme. The recipients were:
- Dr Peter Baxter, Faculty of Business
- Ms Emma Kill, Faculty of Science, Health and Education
- Dr Christine Morley, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
- Dr Fiona Pelly, Faculty of Science Health and Education
- Ms Kylie Readman, Faculty of Science, Health and Education
Sessional Staff Development Day
Sessional Development Day was held on Monday 15 February 2010 and was attended by over 110 sessional staff and course coordinators. The program for the day included workshops, plenary discussions and Faculty-based sessions. Participants enjoyed a morning tea on arrival including a welcome address from the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Paul Thomas. In addition to the many developmental benefits that Sessional's Day offers, participants receive an opportunity to meet colleagues, develop networks and raise any issues they might have regarding their teaching.
USC involved in national ALTC investigation project
The Manager of the Office and Learning and Teaching, Ms Tilly Hinton, has been charged with responsibility for jointly leading an Investigation Project funded by the ALTC in partnership with Deanne Gannaway of the University of Queensland.
The project was commissioned by the ALTC to evaluate the effectiveness of ALTC project outcome dissemination. In September 2009, Australian universities were invited to submit project proposals to the ALTC for this project. Tilly will commence the $208,000, yearlong project in January 2010.
This wonderful development adds to USC's growing list of ALTC grants and awards achievements. USC congratulates Tilly on the excellent standard of her application and wishes her the very best of luck with the project.
New approach to Graduate Attributes
University Council has approved a new approach to graduate attributes, which will be implemented in 2010. The graduate attributes model has been developed following extensive consultation throughout the University. It also draws upon findings of Australian Learning and Teaching Council graduate attributes projects. Commencing in 2010, all coursework programs will be revised to include the new Graduate Qualities and Graduate Skills, expressed through Program Learning Outcomes.
New policies on Learning and Teaching
The Learning and Teaching Management Committee has undertaken significant policy development work resulting in new or revised policies, including the Learning and Teaching Policy, Assessment Policy, Work-Integrated Learning Policy, Program Accreditation and Course Approval, Recognition of Prior Learning Policy, Credit Policy, Teaching-Research Nexus Statement, Student Academic Integrity Policy, Student Academic Misconduct Policy, Admission, Enrolment, Progression and Exclusion, Graduation Policies, Grades and GPA Policy, and a number of Program Policies.
ALTC Fellowships Ideas Workshop
On 2 December 2009, Associate Professor Joanne Scott (FASS) and Associate Professor Stephen Lamble (FASS) attended a one-day ALTC Fellowship Ideas Workshop in Melbourne.
The workshop provided participants with the following:
- a briefing on the ALTC Fellowships Scheme and the 2010 Guidelines
- an overview of current and completed Fellowships
- an opportunity to explore links between Fellowships and other ALTC work
- the chance to present an idea for a Fellowship for discussion and development with Fellows, peers and senior academic leaders
- time to reflect on what had been learnt during the day
Professor Margaret Gardner AO, Chair of the ALTC Board’s Fellowships Standing Committee, opened the Workshop and Professor Ron Oliver, Professor Vi McLean and Emeritus Professor Adrian Lee acted as critical evaluators for the Workshop.
The Australian Learning and Teaching Council’s Fellowships Scheme aims to advance learning and teaching in higher education by supporting a group of leading educators to undertake strategic, high-profile activities in areas of importance to the sector. Through their fellowship activities, ALTC Fellows have a positive and lasting influence on higher education practice in Australia.
Project Ideas Workshop - Leadership for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
On Tuesday 1 December, Senior Lecturer in Paramedic Science, Nick Prass, attended a Project Ideas Workshop for the ALTC Leadership for Excellence in Learning and Teaching Program held in Melbourne. The workshop provided those wishing to explore project ideas under the Leadership Program with the opportunity to discuss and develop them. Emeritus Professor Lesley Parker AM, Emeritus Professor Kwong Lee Dow AC and Professor Janet Greeley acted as critical evaluators at the workshop.
The workshop program included the following:
- a briefing about the 2010 Leadership Program Guidelines
- an overview of current and completed work in the Leadership Program
- an opportunity for participants to present their project idea for critique by peers and experienced academic leaders
- an exploration of the links between the various ideas
- an opportunity to reflect on what was learnt during the day
Foundations of University Teaching
The Office of Learning and Teaching is delighted to report that the 2009/2010 cohort of the Foundations of University Teaching course will be the strongest cohort in the five years since the developmental course has been running. The course commenced on Wednesday 9 December with 44 participants enrolled.
The enrolment comprises 45 percent of the cohort who are external clinical facilitators, and the remaining 55 percent are current USC staff representative of both T&R and APT staff from the three faculties and Student Services.
The course is being delivered by a team of educationalists from the Office of Learning and Teaching under the direction of Karen Whelan, course coordinator (in lieu of Cynthia Tait's secondment to FOSHE).
Highlighting the effectiveness of the course, a significant proportion of staff nominated for a VC's teaching award/sessional staff medal this year had previously undertaken the Foundations of University Teaching course at USC.