OLT National Senior Teaching Fellowship Symposium 2013

Wednesday 4 December, 11.00am - 5.00pm

Monash University, Caulfield

The symposium showcased results from the OLT National Senior Teaching Fellowship - Developing Excellence in Teaching and Learning through a Peer Assisted Teaching Scheme. and provided opportunities to learn more about participants' experiences of PATS, share ideas and innovations in teaching and learning and discuss potential collaborations around the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Presenters included:

• Prof Adam Shoemaker, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), Monash University
• A/Prof Angela Carbone, OLT National Senior Teaching Fellow and Director, Education Excellence, Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning & Teaching), Monash University
• Dr Steve Drew, Director of Learning & Teaching (SEET Group), Griffith University
• Katherine Lindsay, Senior Lecturer, Newcastle Law School, University of Newcastle
• Professor Sue Stoney, Head, Centre for Learning & Development, Edith Cowan University
• Dr Jo-Anne Kelder, Lecturer, Learning and Teaching Quality, University of Tasmania
• Dr Jacinta Ryan, Academic Head - Management, Kaplan Business School

Further details of the program and some of the presentations shown are available via the tabs at the top of this page.

The full symposium program is available here.

INTRODUCTION

Opening address - Professor Adam Shoemaker, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), Monash University 

 

Developing Excellence in Learning and Teaching through a Peer Assisted Teaching Scheme (PATS) - Associate Professor Angela Carbone, Monash University 

EMBEDDING PATS

The PATS experience in the Faculty of Business and Law at UoN: Supporting professional development and building collegiality - Ms Katherine Lindsay, Newcastle Law School 

 

PACES is PATS with a course enhancement spin - Dr Steve Drew, Griffith University 

 

PebblePATS - Professor Sue Stoney, Edith Cowan University 

Q&A PANEL

PATS participants’ experiences -

• Dr Liam Phelan & Bonnie McBain, University of Newcastle
• Dr Daryl D’Souza & Astrid Bauers, RMIT University
• Dr Helen Naug & Dr Eugene du Toit, Griffith University
• Dr Laurence Orlando & Dr Kris Ryan, Monash University

 

PATS INITIATIVES

PATS and the Learning Thermometer - Dr Glen Croy, Monash University 

The different flavours of PATS - Dr Jo-Anne Kelder, University of Tasmania

The different flavours of PATS - Dr Jacinta Ryan and Jacqui O'Toole, Kaplan Higher Education

CLOSING

Measuring university learning: Reflections on the recent review of degree programs in Swedish higher education - A/Prof Arnold Pears, Uppsala University

The future of OLT fellowships - Suzi Hewlett, Office for Learning and Teaching

Key presenters

	Professor Adam Shoemaker, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Monash University
	Associate Professor Angela Carbone, Director Education Excellence Monash University
	Ms Katherine Lindsay, Senior Lecturer, Newcastle Law School The University of Newcastle
	Dr Steve Drew, Director Learning and Teaching, SEET Group Griffith University
	Professor Sue Stoney, Head, Centre for Learning and Development Edith Cowan University
	Associate Professor Arnold Pears, Head of Education, Deputy Head of IT Uppsala University, Sweden
	Dr Helen Stallman, Senior Lecturer, Clincal Psychology University of South Australia
	Dr Jo-Anne Kelder, Lecturer, Learning and Teaching Quality University of Tasmania
	Dr Jacinta Ryan, Academic Head, Management Kaplan Higher Education
	Dr Suzi Hewlett, General Manager Office for Learning and Teaching

A panel comprising past PATS participants from four Australian universities outlined their reasons for getting involved in PATS and then took questions from the floor.

A video of the session is available at

Dr Liam Phelan	Online Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Gradschool Conjoint Senior Lecturer, School of Environmental and Life Sciences	The University of Newcastle
Ms Bonnie McBain	Conjoint Lecturer, School of Environmental and Life Sciences
Dr Daryl D'Souza	Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science and IT	RMIT University
Ms Astrid Bauers	Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science and IT
Ms Helen Naug	Lecturer, School of Medical Science	Griffith University
Dr Eugene du Toit	Senior Lecturer, School of Medical Science
Dr Laurence Orlando	Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences	Monash University
Dr Kris Ryan	Associate Dean (Education, Faculty of Engineering

Delegates were asked to sign up for two roundtable sessions at registration. Links are provided to handouts for individual session where applicable - click session title to download. 

Kicking goals with PATS: Setting academic development goals effectively

Katherine Lindsay

In any form of professional development, setting goals and monitoring progress towards achieving those goals is integral. In a changing educational landscape, with ever mounting pressure to achieve teaching enhancements, PATS provides an opportunity for peers to discuss and set goals and strategies for improving their practice. Based on goal setting theories from the research literature as well as previous PATS findings, this session will outline key factors to consider when setting teaching improvement goals.

The session aims to:

• share resources to support goal setting practice;
• outline how best to shape achievable goals and strategies; and,
• provide an opportunity to discuss your teaching goals.

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Embedding PATS from a senior leadership perspective

Margot Schuhmacher

The higher education sector is currently undergoing significant change including increased interest in teaching excellence. This session highlights how PATS can be used as a strategic tool to improve unit quality, build leadership capacity and foster scholarship in learning and teaching as well as offering concrete resource to support implementation at faculty level.

The session aims to:

• provide an outline of the types of decisions Associate Deans (Education), Directors Education Quality etc need to make to engage academics in PATS;
• discuss some of the drivers for participation in PATS; and,
• share some key resources that highlight these decision points. 

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Breaking down the barriers to teaching improvement

Dr Caroline Cottman

The issue of academics facing barriers to teaching improvement is far from novel. There is significant 21st century literature across a range of disciplines identifying and classifying the challenges faced by teachers in higher education, who are seeking to improve their practice and their students’ educational experience. What is less well-traversed in theory and practice are the strategies and processes available to teachers for overcoming the challenges and moving beyond these barriers to achieve their learning and teaching improvement goals.

The session aims to:

• provide an opportunity to reflect on and discuss barriers faced in your own teaching;
• outline the types of barriers discussed in the literature and evidenced by participating teachers; and,
• share resources that provide strategies for overcoming common types of barriers.

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PATS: The how to guide for PATS Coordinators

Dr Bella Ross

This session will outline the key milestones and tasks involved in being a PATS Coordinator. The experiences from past coordinators from a variety of different contexts will be drawn on to outline the different aspects to consider when implementing a scheme such as PATS.

The session aims to:

• discuss recruitment strategies and the challenges involved in embedding PATS;
• outline the tasks involved in participating as a coordinator: recruitment, setting up online workbooks for participants, mid and post semester debriefs, acknowledgement letters, providing support;
• provide relevant PATS resources for coordinators; and,
• explore the lessons learnt by coordinators from past challenges implementing PATS.

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Engaging in the student voice

Dr Liam Phelan

There is merit in lecturers seeking students’ perspectives on their learning experiences in order to foster high quality teaching and learning: Brookfield argues that simply seeking to understand students’ experiences of their learning is a key indicator of good teaching practice. However, students’ perspectives on learning experiences can be considered feedback only when lecturers acknowledge and act on them.

This session aims to:

• provide relevant and effective methods to support lecturers in collecting student comments;
• highlight how PATS can support lecturers to close student feedback loops; and,
• share lecturers’ perspectives on inviting, reviewing, reflecting on, and responding to student comments through PATS.

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Enhancing courses through peer observation

Dr Steve Drew

Enhancing higher education quality in universities is gaining importance. Peer observation of teaching is a way of improving teaching and comprises one component of PATS. Peer review enables peers to focus on how teachers might better achieve their unit development goals while paying particular attention to students’ most commonly perceived unit improvement needs.

The session aims to:

• outline the peer observation process;
• discuss the relative merits of the different observation instruments available; and,
• highlight the benefits of peer observation from literature and PATS participants’ perspective.

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Teaching quality: How is it measured?

A/Prof Angela Carbone

To make improvements to teaching it is important to understand what is teaching quality. Various measures of teaching quality have been developed, many of which measure similar or overlapping domains of teaching.  This session highlights frequently measured domains of teaching and whether they are relevant in a changing higher education context.

The session aims to:

• share results of a systematic review study that synthesised what teaching domains are measured in quality instruments;
• discuss the relevance of the ten most frequently measured teaching domains; and,
• reach consensus on measures of teaching quality that would be relevant in the changing higher education context.

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How PATS supports the Better Teaching, Better Learning Agenda

Melinda Cashen

With the changing demands of a global community, the explosion of new technologies and the emphasis on greater skills, it is essential that Monash is ready, willing and able to challenge the learning and teaching journey we provide our students. The Better Teaching, Better Learning agenda aims to encourage academics to challenge all aspects of their units. PATS supports academics to work in collegial partnerships to address the seven challenges: people, content, mode, resources, space, assessment and time.

The session aims to:

• start a conversation around learning and teaching challenges;
• provide academics with resources to provoke thinking, challenge ideas and explore opportunities; and,
• consider ways in which PATS can enable academics to adapt to the changing educational environment.

Posters 

Posters were contributed by a range of delegates and were available for viewing during the lunch break. You can view a pdf of the poster by clicking on its title.

The Monash University PASS Program: Ticking all the boxes for transition to uni

Adrian Devey and Alison Glasgow, Monash University

Implementing three streams of PATS: Showcasing experiences and lessons learnt

Melanie Greenwood, Tracy Douglas and Jo-Anne Kelder, University of Tasmania

The Belonging Project

David Carlin, Brownwyn Clarke, Rachel Wilson, Natalie Arujo and Karli Lukas, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University

PACE - A Next Generation Learning Space: Breaking down pedagogical barriers

Theo Hughes, Monash University

Creating collegial frameworks to tighten and close student feedback loops

Liam Phelan, Dan Tout, Caroline Cottman, Angela Carbone, Steve Drew, Belinda Ross, Sue Toney and Katherine Lindsay

Enhancing teaching and learning using web based tools: Experiences of one PATS reciprocal partnership

Hilary Monk and Corine Rivalland, Monash University

PATS without Borders: Journeying to new technologies to enhance teaching and learning

Ros Gleadow and Patricia Wevill, Monash University

JCU RAT PATS: Embedding Peer Assisted Teaching into school based Retention Action Teams for the Tropics

Glenn Harrison and Fiona Navin, James Cook University