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Wednesday 9 March 2016
Issue 1 of the ACDS Teaching and Learning Centre - March Newsletter
Thursday 4 February 2016
February Newsletter
On behalf of SaMnet, happy new year to all of you. We hope you have enjoyed your break, come back refreshed, and ready to face a new year of science and mathematics education.
From next month, the SaMnet newsletter will include the Australian Council of Deans of Science blog as part of the integrated newsletter covering the SaMnet, ACDS, ACSME and IJ-ISME communities! Look out for the new newsletter in March!
This
Month’s Question:
As the new year begins, we want to
provide you with new opportunities for collaborative teaching and learning
projects. Special interest groups within the umbrella of science and
mathematics education in Australia – FYiMaths
is just one example – develop and flourish because of the hard work of the
community involved, including the work of SaMnet scholars.
What special interest groups in
science and mathematics education, whether Australian or internationally, are
you involved in that you feel the SaMnet community should know about? Please let us know at samnetaustralia@gmail.com and we shall highlight
them in future editions of the newsletter.
Ireland’s
National Teaching & Learning Network, the Network for Advancing Integration of
Research, Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL)
was relaunched in 2015. This network is open for international members, so if
you are considering travelling to Ireland, keep your eyes on potential
opportunities coming from the network!
We
would like to draw your attention to
two surveys looking at staff and academic perceptions on aspects of student
learning and employability:
- Our colleagues from Monash are exploring science academics' perceptions of employability. Could you please complete their survey at: http://goo.gl/forms/IDjiIQ7ix5
- Dr Nazim Khan (UWA) has also invited you to participate in a survey on staff attitudes on student class attendance, available here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FCBJKL8
2. Conferences & publication
Call for
Abstracts for Oral Presentations and Posters - 2016 RACI Chemical Educational
Division Symposium
Monash University, Melbourne, 31
March-1 April, 2016
The symposium is an opportunity for
participants to discuss four key themes in chemical education, with each discussion
chaired by a leader from the Australian Chemical Education community.
Pan Pacific Hotel, Perth, 29 June-2
July 2016
The STARS conference makes its way to
Perth in 2016.
Call for Papers – Special
Issue: International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education
(IJ-ISME) “Going Rural: Issues and Opportunities for STEM Education”
Rural education in Australia poses a
fascinating set of challenges and provides opportunities for educational
innovation.
Interested authors should submit an
expression of interest, including a 250-word abstract, to jcox@csu.edu.au.
Submissions are open until Friday 27 February 2016.
Past:
2015 Biomed Forum – Canberra, ACT
FYiMaths NSW Meeting – Sydney, NSW
HAPS Australia Regional Meeting 2015 –
Melbourne, VIC
Current:
University of Melbourne – 3 February
2016
University of Sydney – 5 February 2016
Monash University, Melbourne, 31
March-1 April, 2016
The symposium will allow participants
to discuss and present on four key themes in chemical education.
Pan Pacific Hotel, Perth, 29 June-2
July 2016
The STARS conference makes its way to
Perth in 2016.
Brisbane Convention and Education
Centre, Brisbane, 7-9 August 2016
The theme of this conference is
“Improving STEM Learning: What will it take?”
4. SaMnet activity
The proceedings from the ACSME 2015
conference on ‘Transforming Practice: Inspiring Innovation’ are now available
online; click
here for the online proceedings.
Furthermore, the special issue of
IJISME on ‘Assessing Laboratory Learning’ is available online. The link
to the issue is available here.
We are currently hard at work on the
transition to an integrated SaMnet, ACDS T&L, ACSME and IJISME newsletter,
delivering news, events and support for practitioners and educational
innovators as an arm of the Australian Council of Deans of Science Teaching and
Learning Centre. This transition will occur next month; watch this space!
5. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Carl O’Brien for
The Irish Times
A report by the Higher Education Authority in Ireland has shown
concerns about drop-out rates in technology-related courses, with suspicions
focused on low maths entry requirements. Concerns about mathematical abilities
of students entering university are worldwide; what should Australian
universities do about these requirements, as highlighted by recent news from Sydney University?
Trudy W. Banta and Catherine A.
Palomba, Chapter 2 in the book Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing
and Improving Assessment in Higher Education
What
is the purpose behind your assessments? Who are the stakeholders affected? When
should assessments be conducted? At a student, faculty and institutional level,
well-crafted assessment planning can help engage the goals of the institution
for all relevant parties. What is your approach to assessment planning? Have you
written down your assessment planning documents?
6. Leadership Insights
Susanne Morton for the Science in Australia Gender
Equity (SAGE) blog
Contextualising
your institution with respect to the unique local factors of the institution,
including its history, provides an important step towards enacting cultural
change within an institution. Could this approach extend beyond gender
equality, as used by the SAGE project? How would your institution’s history and
unique local qualities affect the way you approach institutional change?
Audrey
Williams June for The Chronicle of Higher Education
Three perspectives are offered here on
how simply hiring people of diverse backgrounds is not enough to entrench
diversity. Rather, the environment of the institution, from the leadership team
down, must be conducive to supporting diversity policies. What aspects of these
perspectives do you observe here within your institutional context and how do
they contribute or detract from change?
7.
Classifieds
Tuesday 1 December 2015
November Newsletter
This
Month’s Question:
As we move towards the end of the
year, we are reviewing the SaMnet workshops conducted this year. Here is your
chance to have your say on future workshops! Suggestions for future workshops
have included stronger engagement with STEM education literature, understanding
the leadership environment within your university and leading change in your
university beyond your unit.
What other elements do you think are vital for SaMnet scholars to experience in future workshops? Let us know at samnetaustralia@gmail.com
The
Australian Government has announced the establishment of a
new National Institute for Learning and Teaching to begin on 1 July 2016. This
will replace the current Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT). This follows a
report on the strengths and weaknesses of the current programme, completed
after extensive consultation with the higher education sector. The report is
available here: https://docs.education.gov.au/node/38401
2. Conferences & publication
Parkroyal Melbourne Airport,
Melbourne, 11 December 2015
Science faculties are invited to
nominate 2 or 3 leaders responsible for the development and/or delivery of WIL
programs in science or mathematics, as delegates to the Forum and members of
the new network.
RSVPs are to be sent to kally.kneale@deakin.edu.au with delegate details (name, email, dietary
requirements). No registration fee, but numbers are limited.
Along with the launch of the new WIL
in Science Network, the Forum will also introduce the WIL in Science Lighthouse
Projects, “action-learning projects designed to establish visible WIL
organisation and leadership in science-based faculties.” Expressions of
interest for projects are now open.
The special issue invites papers from
education, neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology and computer science
researchers on the topic of “Brain, mind and education: Understanding learning
in digital environments.”
Pan Pacific Hotel, Perth, 29 June -2
July 2016
The STARS conference makes its way to
Perth in 2016.
Past:
National ASELL Science Workshop – Melbourne,
VIC
LaTrobe University, Melbourne, 4-5
December, 2015
This is the inaugural Australian
regional conference of HAPS, the largest society of human physiology and
anatomy teaching professionals.
Shine Dome, Canberra, 8-10 December
2015
This forum will see the launch of the
Bioscience Education Australia Network (BEAN), the new umbrella network
combining CUBEnet and VIBEnet; as well as hosting the Mathbench Symposium,
which will launch and demonstrate the Mathbench-Australia website.
Parkroyal Melbourne Airport, Melbourne,
11 December 2015
Join discipline leaders and TL
champions from across Australia at this inaugural national forum to launch the
new WIL in Science Network.
University of Technology Sydney, 11
December 2015
4. SaMnet activity
As we approach the end of the calendar
year, SaMnet is interested in what you have achieved this year and what you
have planned for next year.
Do you have an initiative, project or
interest to chare with the community that you would like feedback on? Do you
have any publications that you wish to disseminate to the wider SaMnet
community? Please contact us at samnetaustralia@gmail.com
5. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Carl Wieman for Change Magazine
"Current
methods of evaluating teaching at colleges and universities fail to encourage,
guide, or document teaching that leads to improved student learning outcomes." Carl
proposes the Teaching Practices Inventory, an evaluation approach which monitors
the extent to which academics employ teaching practices that are known to work.
Would this be an effective mechanism of promoting change in teaching practices amongst
academics within your institution?
Mark Francek, Professor of Geography
at Central Michigan University
Mark
outlines three key elements that he considers to necessary for good teaching:
building a sense of community within the classroom, holding students
accountable for their learning and relevance to student perspectives. Are these
elements embedded within your teaching practices? What other elements do you
think are essential to teaching?
6. Leadership Insights
Philip Shapira, reviewing Designing the New American
University by Michael M. Crow and William B. Dabars
Aligning your
initiatives with the goals of those higher up within your institution is one
means of driving change in the institution. The article highlights some of the
pressures and trends in the American system that allowed for a new cultural
environment within Arizona State University. Are these trends evident in the
Australian system? How could you combine those with external cultural shifts
outside the classroom to effect change in your instutition?
Ellen
Harries, Rachel Wharton and Rob Abercrombie, supported by LankellyChase
Foundation
SaMnet aims to foster 'distributed
leadership'. That is part of a strategy touted in this report on how to
change complex social systems - like your department, faculty, university, or
discipline. This report provides a nice, reasonably succinct, conceptual
overview of how different disciplines and professions have defined systems and
how they can change. It also outlines principles about pursuing 'system
change'.
7.
Classifieds
The SMART Directory indexes useful
websites relevant to teaching and learning in science and mathematics, with
annotated resources and a rating system indicating the usefulness of the
resources. The Directory is ready for testing, and the developers welcome
feedback and comments on the site, which is available in beta here.
The
Department of Mathematics at The University of Auckland is advertising for
a Professional Teaching Fellow in Mathematics. This is a teaching-focussed
role; the position is intended for candidates with a PhD in Mathematics, or a
closely related discipline, who demonstrate a strong commitment to excellence in
the teaching of Mathematics at the undergraduate level. Applications
close Sunday 13 December 2015.
The School of
Mathematics and Physics is advertising for a Learning Designer. The successful
appointee will work on a University of Queensland Technology-Enhanced Learning
project to develop dynamic, interactive simulations to enhance student
learning. Candidates should possess qualifications in a relevant discipline
such as mathematics, physics, engineering or similar and be comfortable with
web-based technologies and programming. Applications should be sent to A/Prof Tim
McIntyre either via mail or emailed to t.mcintyre@uq.edu.au. Applications close
Monday 14 December 2015.
The School of Mathematical Sciences is
advertising for a Research Fellow in Mathematical Sciences. The successful
applicant will conduct independent and joint research in areas related to
financial mathematics; they will also be expected to teach financial
mathematics at a Master’s degree level. The position is intended for candidates
with a PhD in a relevant discipline, strong knowledge in the area of financial
mathematics and the ability to teach it at a Master’s degree level.
Applications close Sunday 10 January 2016.
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