Learning and Teaching Strategy update

A first draft of the Learning and Teaching Strategy has been completed and will be released for wider comment early next year.

The strategy is being developed by Pro Vice Chancellor Learning and Teaching, Professor Sara de Freitas and her team.

A lot has happened in the learning and teaching space over the last few months and the team is pleased to report some quick wins with significant progress in a number of areas:

1. Recognition of our teaching excellence: We have recently set up a working group to explore setting up a Murdoch Teaching Fellowship Programme.

2. Academic Development: CUTL colleagues are working towards developing a new Learning and Teaching Certificate. This would lead to a Graduate Certificate scheme for early career academic staff focusing on practical learning and teaching. The Certificate will involve two units, each with a modular structure and micro teaching including planning, delivering and reviewing learning and teaching within the course structure.

3. Academic induction: CUTL colleagues are working to ensure that we have an academic induction ready for 2015 that will support easier transition for academics coming into Murdoch including an awareness of the Murdoch ethos, ethics and policy environment, as well as best practices in learning and teaching.

4. Curriculum @ Murdoch: The Academic Registrar’s Office has begun a substantive redesign of academic planning and related functions in response to sustained feedback of academic staff over a number of years that the current process is overly cumbersome. Unit coordinators, academic chairs and learning and teaching leaders within Schools are urged to take up the offer to contribute their perspective to this work through a range of workshops, interviews and focus groups being scheduled for the first quarter of 2015.

5. Second Wednesday Events: The first lunchtime event will be held on Wednesday 11February 2015 and will focus on Promoting Learning Engagement in L&T Practice: Techniques and Lessons Learnt. Find out more about this event, or see a full list of events on the Minds and Lives webpage. 

Lastly, we want to wish Associate Professor Rick Cummings and Ms Pamela Struthers all the best for their retirement.