Kathryn Bartimote-Aufflick

I joined the ITL full-time in July 2008 after 18 months in the Pharmacy Education Unit following 7 years teaching, consulting and researching applied statistics in Agriculture. In the area of applied statistics my research work has been developing methodology for analysing longitudinal ratings data.

In addition to my applied statistics qualifications I have completed a Graduate Diploma in Educational Studies and am currently undertaking a PhD in educational psychology with a focus on the university setting. My particular interest is metacognitive learning - of students and their teachers. Complementing this line of research is my involvement in and leadership of a 3 year action-research
project (funded by TIES) on developing student motivation and interest at the University of Sydney along with colleagues from 10 disciplines.

A premise of my academic development work is using evidence to focus attention on the main issues; another theme is the use of inquiry or research as a vehicle for professional learning.

Current teaching development projects include a TIES project with Pharmacy colleagues trialling unit of study coordinators peer reviewing each others assessment strategies and implementation; and providing advice and support on a University-wide initiative on sessional teaching staff development that has recently
commenced.

Formal teaching duties within the ITL programs have so far included the Principles and Practice of University Teaching and Learning course (including coordination of the November course), and I anticipate being in the Graduate Certificate of Educational Studies (Higher Education) teaching team in 2009.

I currently serve on the Executive Committee of the Higher Education Research & Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) as Treasurer.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to continue to work with colleagues across the University through my work at the ITL.

Email: k.aufflick@usyd.edu.au

Dr Cynthia Nelson
Having joined the ITL in July 2008 as a Senior Lecturer, I will be working on two main projects. One is the Development Program for Research Supervision, which I will be streamlining and revising in light of the 2007 review of the ITL's academic programs as well as consultations held this semester with the Dean of Graduate Studies, the Associate Deans (Research), and current participants. Nearly 100 participants plan to complete the program in December by taking part in a Research Supervision Forum, which replaces the written case study that used to be required. 

My other main project is the Promoting Excellence Initiative, which involves working with various 'communities of inquiry' across the University to enhance teaching quality and student learning. As part of this Initiative, I offer advice to those preparing Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) award and grant applications or using ALTC resources.

My work on these projects will be informed by my extensive experience teaching academic and research literacies, and designing research development programs for students and staff. Most recently, I was a Senior Lecturer and Research Coordinator at a centralised development unit at the University of Technology, Sydney, where for over a decade I created customised programs for Honours students, research postgraduates, and academic colleagues in numerous disciplinary areas (including business, education, engineering, humanities, information technology, international studies, nursing and midwifery, and social sciences).

I have a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Macquarie University, as well as an MA in Teaching (ESL) and a BA in English (cum laude) from the University of Washington. I have taught at both these universities and I have also been an invited guest lecturer at the University of New Hampshire's Center for Humanities and Temple University Japan's Distinguished Lecturer Series, among others. I have been a co-recipient of a UTS Excellence in Teaching Award and have assessed Discovery grants for the Australian Research Council as an 'Expert of International Standing'.

My own research publications and presentations to date have focused on three main areas: research writing and research education and development, with a particular interest in crafting knowledge at the academy/industry interface; teaching practices that engage productively with social and linguistic diversity within increasingly globalised education contexts; and creative ways of writing research to engage generalist as well as specialist audiences. My most recent publication is Sexual identities in English language education: Classroom conversations (Routledge, 2009).

My teaching and research interests have emerged from my 20-year trajectory as an educator: from teaching English to migrants, refugees and international students in workplaces and in further- and higher-education contexts in the US; to teaching academic literacies to both local and international students in Australian universities; to developing the research writing expertise of doctoral candidates and other postgraduates; to advising academic colleagues on their own research publications and grant applications, and on research supervision; and to my current role as an academic developer at the ITL.

I look forward to working with my new colleagues here at the University of Sydney.

Email: c.nelson@usyd.edu.au