Recordings

Strategies for engaging students online

Presenter: Associate Professor Kellie Toohey

Creating engaging and human-centred online learning spaces

Join Associate Professor Kellie Toohey for an inspiring webinar, where she shares her highly successful insights and authentic voice on online teaching. Dr. Toohey’s approach has garnered outstanding student feedback, and she experiences no drop-off in her online classes—reflecting her remarkable ability to keep students engaged and enthusiastic. Her methods go beyond the technicalities of digital tools; they are rooted in a human-centred pedagogical approach that prioritises connection and trust.

Dr. Toohey will walk us through her strategies for fostering a safe, inclusive online environment where students feel encouraged to participate and express themselves. She’ll delve into the “magic” behind her approach, which includes normalising the online learning experience, embracing pauses in conversation, and making every student feel heard and valued. Through her dedication to building genuine interactions and comfort in her virtual classrooms, Dr. Toohey brings humanity into online teaching, creating a space where students thrive. This session promises actionable takeaways for enhancing online learning environments, making it essential for educators looking to deepen their digital teaching impact.

CTL Showcase Event, see the Showcase page for more details.

Showcase 2, Recordings are listed below:

Showcase 2, Introduction and Welcome recording

Includes:

• Showcase introduction by the Director of CTL, Professor Ruth Greenaway
• Welcome to Country, Uncle Herb Roberts
• Official welcome by Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Innovation) Professor Erica Wilson

Presentation 1:
Assessment Design and Implementation in the Age of GenAI @ THSA
Dr Paul Whitelaw, Ms Clare du Plessis, Dr Matthew Brenner, Mr Rick Boulton, Mr John Laing, Mr Steffan Dawson, Dr Donna Little, Mr Andrea Moro (The Hotel School)

Presentation 2:
Working towards a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: A collaborative approach
Dr Johanna Nieuwoudt (SCU College), Dr Kylie Day (Gnibi College), Ms Raphaela Sigamata (PNG-IBSU), Mr Moses Kewa (PNG-IBSU)

Presentation 3:
Engagement Through Interactivity: The H5P Activity Library as an Innovative Resource for Academics and Students in the Discipline of Law
Dr Jonathan Harlen and Mr Warwick Fisher (Faculty of Law), Ms Fiona Stroud, Ms Ashley Filipe (CTL)

Presentation 4:
Enhancing Student Engagement and Connection through the Zoom Whiteboard in a Multi-Disciplinary Career Development Unit
Ms Rachel Findlater (Career and Employability Consultant)

Closing remarks:
Showcase 2, Closing remarks recording
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Innovation), Professor Erica Wilson

SCU's First Microcredential: Professional Certificate Teaching Mathematics (Out-of-field)

Led by Dr. Lewes Peddell from the Faculty of Education, this CTL session outlines the design principles, university approval process, including constructive alignment, digital badging, and advanced standing arrangements, and designation as the Professional Certificate in Teaching Mathematics (Out-of-field Teachers). This presentation also includes insights and outcomes from the inaugural cohort of 25 teachers from across Australia who completed the microcredential during Dual-Term Two earlier this year.

With planning currently underway to offer the microcredential again in 2025, this initiative is attracting national and international interest, including being shared as part of a discussion group session at the 15th International Congress on Mathematical Education in Sydney during July 2024.

Supporting resource: SCU's First Microcredential Prof. Cert. Teaching Mathematics support slides

Introduction to HEA Fellowships

Presenter: Dr Polly Lai and Professor Ruth Greenaway, Centre for Teaching and Learning

We all work hard to improve outcomes for SCU students, but, beyond students’ results, what recognition do we have of our commitment to teaching and learning? That’s where the Higher Education Academy (HEA) comes in. In this workshop, Dr Polly Lai will introduce you to the myriad benefits of becoming a HEA fellow. Administered by Advance HE, HEA fellowships provide international recognition for both academic and professional staff for their skills in, and commitment to, supporting teaching and learning in higher education. SCU has partnered with Advance HE to assist you in joining the growing global HEA fellowship community, which now includes more than 190,000 fellows worldwide and over 7,500 fellows in Australasia. 

In this workshop, we will answer these questions: 

• What is HEA fellowship? 
• What are the benefits of HEA fellowship? 
• Who is eligible to apply? 
• How do I know which category of fellowship I should apply for? 
• What is the application process? 
• Who will assist me in preparing my submission? 
• What happens after I gain fellowship? 

Audience: All staff.

Moderator: Janette Ellis, Centre for Teaching and Learning

Supporting resource: Introduction to HEA Fellowships slides

Designing Effective Rubrics

Presenter: Mieke Witsel, CTL

Designing and creating effective rubrics in higher education involves several key features to ensure they are clear, fair, and useful for both instructors and students. In this workshop we will address essential components of good rubric design. For interactive and hands-on engagement, bring a rubric along to the session.

Introduction to Generative AI (A practical introduction for beginners)

Presenter: Marlon Jones (he/him), Educational Designer, Centre for Teaching and Learning

This workshop provides a non-technical introduction to AI fundamentals tailored for those beginning their AI literacy journey. It is designed to help both teaching and non-teaching staff understand the basics of Generative AI (GenAI) and explore its potential applications in an educational setting. Through this interactive session, you'll gain a foundational understanding of GenAI, explore popular GenAI tools, and learn practical prompts to enhance your daily productivity. We'll also discuss important security considerations and provide access to curated AI resources to support your continued learning.

Supporting resource: Introduction to Generative AI workshop - supporting PPT slides

New to Teaching @ SCU Workshop

Presenter: Dr Mieke Witsel, Centre for Teaching and Learning

The workshop included opportunities to: 

• experience interactive content in the ‘New to Teaching at SCU’ Blackboard site
• gain insight into the principles of the Southern Cross Model and the Introducing the Southern Cross Model Blackboard site 
• participate in activities to develop effective and engaging teaching strategies for teaching in the Southern Cross Model 
• learn about available resources and support for teaching at SCU in the Southern Cross Model 
• dive into various aspects of teaching in the Blackboard environment 
• network with SCU colleagues online.   

Audience:
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) welcomes staff new to SCU, through workshops designed specifically to help staff learn how to work effectively in a new teaching environment.

Connecting with your pedagogical superpower. Connecting with your strengths, connecting with your students

Presenter: Dr Simone Blom, Faculty of Education

In this Talking Teaching Webinar, we will adopt an interactive workshop style presentation to explore your pedagogical superpower. As teachers, and as people, we all have our own strengths that we bring into the profession just as we have our own contribution to make to the world. But often, we do not reflect on this part of learning and teaching practice enough instead, getting bogged down in the things that we can improve or should be doing better. Or perhaps, we still have some imposter syndrome that is getting in the way of accessing and expressing our natural teacher super powers.
 
Getting familiar with what you do well, and being comfortable with what you don’t do so well, is an important part of your teacher narrative. We are often made to feel that we must do everything well, when in reality, that creates an unrealistic expectation that we are forever limited by. In this presentation, Simone will share her journey in discovering what she did well and also, realising what she did not do well. Simone highlights the importance of connection, enjoyment and to having a sense of humour in your teaching and learning – keeping it real. Through this sharing, Simone encourages you to formulate your pedagogical superpower narrative to share and provides space to explore what lifts and supports us in our teaching and learning practice.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) hands on workshop: implementation in the context of the Southern Cross Model workshop

Presenter: Associate Professor Andy Smidt, Faculty of Health

This second workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to share and discuss their own units. Those who have already implemented some of the features of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) will share their strategies with time for discussion, small group working and mentorship for those new to UDL. This session will be interactive and participants are encouraged to bring along at least one assessment, teaching material or curriculum plan to benefit from the mentorship style workshop. 

Audience:
 Any academic or professional staff member involved in teaching and learning, and interested in building or refreshing their understanding of Universal Design for Learning and accessibility.

CTL Showcase Event, see the Showcase page for more details.

Showcase 1, Recordings are listed below:

Showcase 1, Introduction and Welcome recording

Includes:

• Showcase introduction by the Director of CTL, Professor Ruth Greenaway
• Welcome to Country, Uncle Herb Roberts
• Official welcome by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tyrone Carlin 

Presentation 1:
Improving Student Engagement in the Medical Sciences through Meaningful Learning Experiences recording
Dr Karlah Norkunas

Presentation 2:
Hybrid delivery of a first-year science unit recording
Dr Michael Brickhill and Associate Professor Suzi Syme

Presentation 3:
Faculty of Health innovative approaches to integrating generative AI into pedagogical practices recording
Associate Professor Kellie Toohey, Mr Gareth Vanderhope, Kate Baltrosky, Dr Kachina Allen, and Professor Fiona Nauman.

Presentation 4:
Teacher Presence: You gotta be in it to win it recording
Mr Paul Weeks

Presentation 5:
Strengthening the ‘practice’ in Family Law Practice through curriculum innovation and industry experience recording
Dr Georgina Dimopoulos and Associate Professor Helen Walsh

Closing remarks recording
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Innovation), Professor Erica Wilson

Introduction to implementation of Universal Design for Learning in a university setting workshop

Presenter: Associate Professor Andy Smidt, Faculty of Health

This workshop will introduce UDL for those who are new to this area. Universal Design for Learning is an approach to curriculum design based on designing accessible content for all students not just those with a disability. It is, however relatively underused in the higher education sector. A recent Australian scoping review (Jwad et al., 2022) recommended that, in Australian universities, training in UDL should be a requirement for instructors involved in course design tailored to the institution. A/Prof Andy Smidt is new to SCU and brings with her, significant expertise at implementing UDL in university settings. Andy is part of the leadership team of UDLHE and is chair of Digicon. In this introductory session, participants will learn about the benefits and challenges of curriculum design for inclusivity with time to discuss how this might work in the Southern Cross.

Lecture Breakers Academy, Community and Conference workshop

Presenter: Professor Nigel Andrew, Faculty of Science and Engineering

In this seminar,  Professor Nigel Andrew takes you through his ‘Lecture Breakers’ experiences and the influence that this has had, and is having, on his teaching philosophy. He will share with you:

1. the essential aspects of the Lecture Breakers Academy course he attended last year.  The Lecture Breakers Academy is an innovative approach to faculty development that combines the power of a supportive community, the trust of a program informed by research, and the flexibility of mobile learning.
2. what he has gained from being part of the Lecture Breakers community.
3. insights from the recent online Lecture Breakers conference.

Feature your SoLT in Cross Connect Workshop 2

Presenters: Margie Pembroke, SCU Library, Maureen Bezanson, SCU Library, Dr Mieke Witsel, CTL

This workshop will enable you to feature your Learning and Teaching achievements and activities with SCU’s Cross Connect. 

Cross Connect is the institutional repository of Southern Cross University, spotlighting our academic experts, research, scholarly publications, projects, and activities. Embracing various intellectual, creative, and cultural outputs, including Open Access research and Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoLT) endeavours, Cross Connect stands as a testament to our institution’s commitment to scholarly dissemination. 

n this workshop, we equip participants with the skills to feature their learning and teaching accomplishments and activities on the Cross Connect platform, amplifying their professional profiles. Hands-on training will teach you to input your achievements and appropriately tag them as “Scholarship of Learning and Teaching” (SoLT). 

Audience the event was aimed at: All SCU academics and staff involved in the scholarship of learning and teaching.

Additional Links:

• Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Framework
• Categories of Scholarship of Learning and Teaching activity and achievements
• How to showcase your Learning and Teaching achievements and activities
• How to Update Cross Connect

New to Teaching @ SCU

Presenter: Dr Mieke Witsel, CTL

This is a recording of the 28-06-24 New to Teaching @ SCU Workshop. These workshops are designed specifically to help staff learn how to work effectively in a new teaching environment. 

Embarking on SoLT publishing: Building a strong foundation workshop

Presenter: Dr Liz Goode, Office of the PVC (Academic Quality) and Dr Johanna Nieuwoudt, SCU College

In an earlier CTL Workshop (10 April 2024), we learned that the scholarship of learning and teaching (SoLT) involves systematic inquiry into learning and teaching and "going public" with our insights. Publishing SoLT work - in pre-prints and journals, and at symposia and conferences - is one of the key ways we can do this.

In this workshop, we will introduce participants to SoLT publishing. With a focus on the Australian higher education sector we will discuss: What does the landscape of SoLT publishing look like? What are some entry points for getting started on a project? What are some of the foundations of a rigorous and publishable SoLT project?

The discussion will involve scholars at all levels of SoLT experience - from totally new, to years of publishing experience with SoLT projects. You will be able to hear stories, ask questions, and build an individual and collective sense of the possibilities and challenges of SoLT publishing. Join us to kickstart your journey!

Workshop slide resource: 

Embarking on SoLT publishing: Building a strong foundation workshop slides

Feature your SoLT in Cross Connect Workshop 1

Presenters: Margie Pembroke, SCU Library, Maureen Bezanson, SCU Library, Dr Mieke Witsel, CTL

This workshop will enable you to feature your Learning and Teaching achievements and activities with SCU’s Cross Connect. 

Cross Connect is the institutional repository of Southern Cross University, spotlighting our academic experts, research, scholarly publications, projects, and activities. Embracing various intellectual, creative, and cultural outputs, including Open Access research and Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoLT) endeavours, Cross Connect stands as a testament to our institution’s commitment to scholarly dissemination. 

In this workshop, we equip participants with the skills to feature their learning and teaching accomplishments and activities on the Cross Connect platform, amplifying their professional profiles. Hands-on training will teach you to input your achievements and appropriately tag them as “Scholarship of Learning and Teaching” (SoLT). 

Audience the event was aimed at: All SCU academics and staff involved in the scholarship of learning and teaching.

Additional Links:

• Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Framework
• Categories of Scholarship of Learning and Teaching activity and achievements
• How to showcase your Learning and Teaching achievements and activities
• How to Update Cross Connect

Workshop slide resource:

CTL Introduction to Cross Connect presentation slides

Teaching critical GenAI literacies: Redesigning a unit with the theme of GenAI

Presenter: Dr Grant Andrews, SCU College

This presentation discusses a case study of a foundation academic literacies unit that was redesigned to focus on the theme of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) like ChatGPT in various disciplines, as well as exploring the use of GenAI in education. The unit included multiple activities and assessments that focused on how to critically work with generated texts without compromising one’s own learning or skills development. I consider the challenges and affordances of the approach and offer some preliminary thoughts on the impact that this has had on academic integrity, students achieving learning outcomes, and how students are able to evaluate GenAI texts in their academic writing.

Workshop slide resource: 

Teaching critical GenAI literacies Workshop presentation slides

Introduction to SoLT: What, why, how?

Presenter: Dr Liz Goode, Office of the PVC (Academic Quality)  

The scholarship of learning and teaching (SoLT – aka SoTL) is an important, but sometimes unclear, domain of academic work (Felten, 2013; Godbold et al., 2024; Trigwell et al., 2000).

What is SoLT exactly, and specifically what is considered SoLT within our context at SCU? Why should we do SoLT? How can we do SoLT in ways that are valued and recognised? This webinar provides a foundation for addressing these questions – and for engaging in reflective, systematic and quality SoLT that enriches our professional practice and benefits both learning and teaching.

Workshop slide resource:

Introduction to SoLT Workshop slides

New to Teaching @ SCU

Presenter: Dr Mieke Witsel, CTL

This is a recording of the 24-04-24 New to Teaching @ SCU Workshop. These workshops are designed specifically to help staff learn how to work effectively in a new teaching environment. 

Workshop slide resource: 

New to Teaching at SCU 24 April 2024 Workshop slides

Gen AI for Development and Delivery Workshop

Presenter: Dr Chris Lawler, Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Generative AI as an academic authoring tool – signposting potholes and how to elevate outputs. In this one-hour session, Chris Lawler will share her principles developed while course writing and as a Unit Assessor providing feedback to students.

The use of cutting-edge technologies like generative AI (LLMs) has the power to significantly enhance the quality and efficiency of course development and delivery.

Workshop slide resource:

Gen AI for Development and Delivery Workshop slides

Supporting staff-student-GenAI interactions in learning and teaching

Presenters:
Dr Jo Munn, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Ms Jenny Luethi, SCU Library

Frameworks, approaches and resources to support staff-student-GenAI interactions in learning and teaching at SCU. This session is co-presented by CTL and SCU library and will showcase resources and approaches to target the development of student AI literacies for effective and responsible use of GenAI. We also encourage colleagues to contribute by sharing their teaching practice with brief examples of learning activities (online or in class) where they are encouraging students to use GenAI tools.

Workshop slide resource:

Supporting staff-student-GenAI interactions in learning and teaching Slides