Teaching@Sydney

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) is pleased to invite applications for grants for projects that promote Indigenous education and encourage and support Indigenous students.

Applications are invited from eligible members of the University community for grants of up to $50,000. Applications seeking more than $50,000 will be considered in some circumstances, where funding is matched from faculty or other sources.

Projects may seek funding to support programs already running and/or provide financial support for developing new programs to address relevant issues affecting Indigenous students. Projects funded are expected to lead to the enhancement of Indigenous student learning, motivation to learn and/or student experience that benefit a significant number of Indigenous students directly.

Applications addressing the selection criteria and demonstrating alignment to the University strategies for Indigenous education are due 12 November 2009.

An information session will be held on Wednesday 21 October at 2pm in the ITL seminar room, Carslaw 354. Application details are available on the website. If you require more information about these grants, please contact Keri Neveldsen.[close]

The SEG Education Committee has revised the existing Large and Small Teaching Improvement and Equipment Scheme (TIES) Grants and the Scholarship Index (SI). The revised SI will have increased funding, enhanced relevance, and transparency in use of funds. The Small TIES grants remain unchanged. The Large TIES Grants have been replaced with Teaching Improvement Projects (TIP) Grants to support projects of up to $50,000 each. Applications are now open for TIPS and TIES funding for 2010. 

Applications for 2010 TIPS projects are invited in relation to the following themes: (1) Projects on improving teaching, particularly in the areas of student engagement, student inclusion, feedback to students and research-led teaching (2) Projects on program learning outcomes, including benchmarking and standards-based assessment. (3) Projects on recognising and rewarding good teaching (4) Projects on global citizenship and on diversity of staff and students.

Information on the revised teaching development funding schemes, including the revised selection criteria, application forms and submission dates is available here.

TIP Grant applications are due to the Office of the DVC-E by 15 January 2010.  Due dates for Small TIES applications are set by faculties, please contact your Faculty A/Dean L&T for your faculty dates.[close]

Congratulations to Dr Slade Matthews from the Faculty of Medicine on winning the University Co-operative Bookshop Excellence in Teaching and Community Award for 2009.

Dr Matthews won the award for his design of a course for Pharmacy students. The course has been developed to assists students to develop an analytical approach to the assessment of the use of drugs in health care and provides a first class learning experience which potentiates student motivation. The award panel considered the online components of the course to be innovative and motivational and designed to engage students with the material.

Dr Matthews was applauded by the award panel for his innovation and creativity and for his involvement with the CSIRO’s Scientists in Schools program where he visits schools and passes on his enthusiasm for pharmacology and science in general.

The Co-op Award was established in 2008 by Co-Op Bookshop and the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) to promote, recognise and reward teaching practices that offer a fulfilling and well-rounded student-centred experience including access to academic and support resources and appreciation of the University of Sydney community. More details about the annual award can be found on the University website.[close]

EvidenceNet is a new area of the UK Higher Education Academy website that aims to promote and support evidence-based practice in learning and teaching.

The site features Resources, Events and Networks as main organisation categories and a smart search engine allows you to filter your search. Once found, a summary of the resource includes the discipline and pedagogic theme related to the resource. There are also prompts at the resource to direct you to events and networks related to your search. ‘Evidence’ collected on the site ranges from case studies emerging from particular practices in particular settings to the outputs arising from large scale research projects which draw on a substantial amount of qualitative and quantitative data. This site is particularly worth visiting if you are looking for sources of evidence to support your scholarship of teaching.[close]

Nominations are invited for the 2009 UniJobs Lecturer of the year award. Established in 2007, the award aims to highlight the efforts of Lecturers and teaching staff that go beyond the curriculum, and enlighten and enrich the lives of their students and co-workers. Both students and staff can nominate their favorite Lecturer or Professor for the award, who have the opportunity of winning a 5 night holiday for two to tropical Fiji.

Nominations for the award close November 30 2009. Nominate here .[close]

Staff at Sydney are invited to this lunch time seminar which is one of a series being held across the country to disseminate the findings of ‘Educating the Net Generation’, a project funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. The project examined technology-facilitated learning and teaching across a range of institutions and disciplines, with a view to sharing emerging good practice.

Dr Karl Maton (University of Sydney) and A/Professor Sue Bennett (University of Wollongong) will discuss some key findings in relation to the following questions: What are the implications of having ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ among the students and staff of Australian universities? What insights can be derived from projects at various universities in which students used web 2.0 tools to create subject content? What might social software websites and tools mean for teaching and learning in higher education? Recent findings from a study at the University of Sydney will also be presented and discussed.

The seminar is being hosted by the ITL on 16th October from 12.30 - 1.30 in Carslaw 360 Read more.[close]

Promoting Excellence is the theme of the 2009 Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Showcase, to be held on Friday 6 November and opened by the Vice-Chancellor.

The morning will feature interactive panel discussions with students and with recipients of the Vice-Chancellor’s and ALTC teaching awards and of university and national teaching-related grants. In the afternoon, parallel workshop topics include publishing investigations into learning and teaching and writing applications for scholarship of teaching and learning funds.

All staff and students are invited to attend some or all of this free event, which will be held in the new teaching spaces near the Law Building. Register here.[close]

The Competitive Grants scheme offered by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) funds projects that involve research, development and innovation related to enhancing teaching and learning in higher education. In 2010 funding of $80,000-$220,000 is available for projects of up to 2 years’ duration focusing on the priority areas of:

• issues of emerging and continuing importance;
• strategic approaches to learning and teaching that address the increasing diversity of the student body; and
• innovation in teaching and learning, particularly in relation to the role of new technologies.

Guidelines, closing dates and application forms are available on the ALTC website. Submissions are coordinated by the Executive Officer in the Office of the DVC (E). The ITL, as well as the many previously successful applicants from the University of Sydney, can provide advice and support to intending applicants. Applications are due at ALTC on 2 November.[close]

An ageing workforce, low satisfaction levels among academics and rapid rises in student numbers are confronting Australian universities with a staffing crisis, a new study has found. A report released on Friday at the LH Martin Institute for Higher Education's international conference in Melbourne says Australian higher education is in danger of losing the best and brightest young academics to the private sector or to other nations. Read more (Source: University World News).[close]

The conference theme explores the ways disciplinary perspectives can inform the study of learning in educational settings, workplaces, and other contexts. The conference is organsied by the International Society of the Learning Sciences which sponsors the Journal of the Learning Sciences and will be held in Chicago, IL, USA, 29 June – 2 July, 2010. Submissions are due by 30 October 2009. More information.[close]