Criterion 2

Exemplars

Criterion 2 | Teaching and supporting student learning

 

Exemplar 1 – Dr. Alan Stirling, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University

Alan Stirling was awarded an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for designing learning opportunities that engage and motivate students in clinically applied anatomy. In his award application he reflects on how he uses a student centred approach and engages students by using varied teaching activities that encourage active learning.

“I run practical classes where students draw on themselves and their classmates with marker pens detailing the surface projections of various organs and structures in the body. By incorporating visual, kinesthetic, verbal and literary cues, students who learn in each of these ways embrace another learning opportunity that creates a more lasting memory than a simple didactic lecture” “Student revision sessions are delivered using quiz based games such as “Who wants to be a millionaire” and “The weakest link”. Using a power point generated game show platform and audio, I act as question master getting the students to gain points by answering questions on topics they themselves had previously selected. In this way the revision session is focused on topics of interest to the students and is delivered in a more interactive way. This provides students with immediate feedback and an opportunity to clarify ’muddy issues’.”

He also summarises teacher evaluation ratings and uses comments from his peers and students to support his claims.

Please pass on my gratitude and thanks for the high level of assistance and quality of teaching A/Prof Allan Stirling has afforded myself and in my opinion, the Cohort during the last nine weeks. His approach and innovative techniques to enhance my learning is greatly appreciated” (Students) “Good use of “war stories” from clinical practice. Use of humor selective and effective. It was a pleasure to be in the audience and watch a “natural” at work. (Assoc. Prof D. Field, Peer reviewer, 2008).

View full application

Wood, K., Knight, D., & Kinash, S. (Eds.) (2011). Scholarship of teaching and learning @Bond: Fostering early career research. Queensland, Australia: Office of Quality Teaching and Learning, Bond University, pp. 32-37

 

Exemplar 2 – Peer review letter from Giuseppe Carabetta for Mark Fisher, The University of Sydney

In his peer review Giuseppe comments on how Mark explain concepts in a way that students can understand and helps students that encounter difficulties.

“He appears to understand the learning process from their perspective; in particular, he has a rare ability to explain concepts and layer knowledge in a way that first-year non-law students can understand. He also has a real empathy for his students and responds to them as individuals, both key attributes of effective teaching. Last semester, a number of students experiencing learning difficulties specifically requested to be transferred to his tutorials”

View full letter

The University of Sydney. (2013). Recipients of Excellence Awards.

 

Exemplar 3 – Going Social: It’s a state of mind

This case study shows how Sarah Smith-Robbins engages and empowers her students by giving them control over what they do to demonstrate learning outcomes and how they learn. Her innovative approach is student centred and strongly based on pedagogical principles, incorporating technology, collaborative and active learning. The case study itself includes text descriptions of Sarah’s approach and videos of Sarah reflecting on her approach and teaching philosophy.

“Students who take her course know that it involves social media, but they still need some instruction and modeling to become proficient. “I teach about, with, and through social media”, Sarah says, so it makes sense to use those tools for learning, too. For each course, Sarah creates a Twitter hashtag and encourages her students to use it. She uses it to post information about the class itself, but more importantly, she uses it to post links to interesting articles that she wants to bring to the students’ attention. After a week or two, they take it over. They are answering each other’s questions and posting links to articles they are finding. What’s more, by using the same hashtag for the course from year to year, former students who are out in the working world sometimes rejoin the discussion, bringing their new perspectives into the conversation”

View full source

Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, Indiana University Bloomington. (2013). Going Social: It’s a state of mind. Faculty spotlights.

Criterion 2: Guides to good practice