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Professional learning - level 1 Finding the right level Learning resources Recognition of your professional learning Feedback

Professional learning - level 1

Level 1 is designed for those who are new to tertiary teaching/learning support, and/or those who have some experience but are new to ACU. The focus of this level is on building competent teaching capacity and establishing a professional learning pathway.

Level 1 offers a collection of resources aimed to orient staff to the ACU context and Mission, support development of competence in the Learning Management System (Canvas) context as well as provide foundational theories and strategies promoting student-centred learning. Level 1 offers formal (Graduate Certificate in Higher Education) and informal professional learning resources.

Finding the right level

To assist you find the level of learning that is most useful to your role and career stage, user stories have been developed and provided by ACU staff for each of the four levels. Below you can view stories that reflect diverse staff roles, interests and learning objectives and are provided to help orient you to the appropriate level of resources.

Achiko - Faculty

Achiko is an experienced, registered nurse who tutors first year nursing students at ACU and also supervises clinical placements. She is developing a passion for teaching but has little theoretical insight into university teaching and learning and is also uncertain of what resources exist at ACU to support her professional development.

Levi - Learning Design

Levi has a background in website administration and is working within the Centre for Education and Innovation. He currently oversees the website of the centre and is now appointed to operate one of the ACU studios. As he gets to be more involved with academics in creating high quality video lecture content, he becomes more interested in gaining the skills and knowledge about higher education teaching, theories of teaching and learning, and educational technologies. Levi believes that he will be able to provide more support in delivering exceptional student experience if he expands his knowledge and skills in these areas.

Greg - Faculty

Greg has been a practising accountant for most of his career and has also been lecturing for several years at various universities as a sessional academic. He has recently begun teaching at ACU. He is confident in the discipline he teaches into but is feeling lost in the ACU context where he is learning to manage a new LMS, developing awareness of ACU policies and procedures relevant to his teaching and is seeking resources to help him develop his competence in the ACU context.

Harry - Library

Harry is completing their final year of a library and information master’s degree. This is their first job as a professional librarian; prior to this, they worked in retail and casually at a local art gallery. Harry’s undergraduate degree is in creative arts and they are eager to utilise their skills to design online library learning and teaching resources for students, but they are still developing their understanding of digital pedagogy.

Noor - Library

Noor is a qualified librarian who has recently joined ACU as an Information Services Librarian from an equivalent role at another institution. While she has experience working in reference services at an academic library, she has limited experience with reading list creation or knowledge of the academic library’s role in scaffolding information and digital literacies in curriculum. Noor is hoping to learn more about these areas through internal training and resources.

Marco -Library

Marco has recently completed his master’s degree in Library and Information Science and he is working in his first job in a university library. He has some experience observing Library classes during his professional placement and he is aware of some of the recent literature on developing students’ information and digital literacy skills. However, he is very nervous about teaching his first class.

Janice - Learning support

Janice has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Teaching. She has taught maths in high schools for eight years before starting as an academic skills advisor (maths) at ACU. She is aware of the key policies impacting her work with students but would like to expand her understanding of the higher education sector and theories of teaching at tertiary level. She is interested in some more formal study to support her development as a teacher in higher education.

Learning resources

Professional Learning - Level 1

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Informal Learning

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Reflective Practice
and Collaboration

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ACU Scholarship

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Formal Coursework

Teaching in the ACU Context

ACU's distinctive approach

ACU New Teacher Induction

Copyright

Impact through empathy

Learning activities in blended learning

Understanding First Peoples' curricula

Understanding the learning journey

Working with LGBTIQ+ students

Curriculum Design and Quality Assurance

Academic Integrity

Introduction to SELT Reports

Selecting curriculum resources

Educational Technologies

Virtual Teaching

Reading Lists (Leganto)

External resources

Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching MOOC: Enrol now for S2 2023

Library Partners in Teaching and Learning

Canvas Resources

Canvas Training and Tutorial Videos

Canvas Instructor Guide

Compliance and Professional Learning

ACU Hub

ACU Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice

Peer Observation and Review of Teaching (PoRT)

PoRT

Reflective Practice in Higher Education

Reflective Practice and Evidencing 

Teaching in the ACU Context

Working with the Academic Skills Unit

Meet the Library Team

CEI Showcase of Teaching and Learning

CEI Showcase Series

INSPIRE

INSPIRE overview

Evidence toolkit

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

SoTL

HERDSA SoTL Modules

Teaching Development Grants (TDG)

ACU Teaching Development Grants

Graduate Certificate in Higher Education

Graduate Certificate in Higher Education course overview

UNMC510 - Foundations for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

UNMC520 - Improving Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

Recognition of your professional learning

Once you are familiar with these resources and confident in your skills, you may like to apply for recognition with Advance HE as an Associate Fellow or apply for a teaching award.

Associate Fellowship

To achieve Associate Fellowship with Advance HE, an applicant must demonstrate knowledge and skills in two of the following areas of activity:

1) designing, planning learning activities or programs of study
2) teaching or supporting learning
3) assessing and giving feedback
4) developing effective learning environments and student supports, and/or
5) continuing professional development incorporating scholarship.

Evidence of your successes in two of these fields is required.

Further to these areas of activity applicants must also demonstrate evidence of knowledge of subject material as well as knowledge of appropriate methods for teaching, learning and assessing in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme.

Applicants must demonstrate respect for and inclusion of diverse learners as well as an awareness of the implications of their practice for the futures of learners and their communities of practice. Scholarly approaches to professional practice must be evident through engagement in continuing professional development and reflection on practice so that teaching and student support is evidence-based and informed by research.

Who to contact?

ACU supports staff interested in achieving any level of Advance HE Fellowship through mentoring. Please contact Fellowships.CEI@acu.edu.au for advice on Fellowship application support.

To prepare an application for a Teaching Citation or Award, it is recommended that you speak with your supervisor to identify School and Faculty options, then consult the CEI  website under Scholarly Development and Recognition for ACU wide opportunities and then AAUT (Australian Awards for University Teaching) for national awards.

Feedback

For any feedback, to raise questions, or to to share comments on the professional learning program, send us an email at CEI@acu.edu.au. We look forward to hearing from you.

Page last updated on 16/01/2024

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