Inclusive Teaching Workshops 2024

Improving Access to Education: Introduction to UNSW’s Gateway Equity Target

Presented by Prof. Stephen Doherty (ADA) & Lucy Jellema (PVCE)

Stephen Doherty (Associate Dean and Co-Chair of the GET SSWG*) and Lucy Jellema (Educational Developer, Equity) explored UNSW’s commitment to improving access to education for students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. This session included information and a range of hands-on activities to help develop participant's understanding of the target and how it impacts their pedagogy.

^{*GET SSWG: Gateway Equity Target, Student Support Working Group}

Speakers

Prof. Stephen Doherty is the Associate Dean (Education) and leads the education portfolio across the Faculty Arts, Design and Architecture. He is a future-focussed academic leader with a HASS and STEM background, he brings strategic and operational leadership for effective and sustainable technology-enhanced educational innovation, rich and rewarding student experiences, and recognised educational excellence built on a foundation of inclusive and high-performance people and culture. He is the co-chair of the Gateway Equity Target Student Support Working Group and has led meaningful change across all components of the target.

Lucy Jellema is the Educational Developer, Equity in the PVCE division. She has a background in teaching and developing professional learning across a range of educational and corporate settings. Lucy completed her Master's in Inclusive Education at UNSW and has a passion for accessibility and inclusion within all levels of education. She loves opportunities to support professionals to develop their teaching pedagogy and presentation skills to maximise engagement and retention. She is a member of the Start@Uni project, Diversify and TED COP to engage with the wider UNSW community. Her key purpose is to make positive and meaningful changes to both teaching staff and students at UNSW.

Getting Started With Inclusive Teaching

Presented by A/Prof. Melanie White (ADA), A/ Prof. Michele Madigan (Medicine & Health) & Lucy Jellema (PVCE)

A/Prof. Melanie White (UNSW ADA), A/ Prof. Michele Madigan (UNSW Medicine & Health) and Lucy Jellema (Educational Developer, UNSW Equity) explore how inclusive teaching benefits educators and delve into strategies that have the biggest impact for the lowest time commitment. They introduce various teaching strategies and reflect upon how educators could implement them in their courses or individual lessons.

Speakers

A/Prof. Melanie White is an award-winning teacher who specialises in strategies to inspire students and support active learning in large classroom settings. She teaches in the Sociology program for the School of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture.

A/ Prof. Michele Madigan is a research-education academic in Optometry and Vision Science (SOVS). Michele is actively involved in education across areas including human eye anatomy and diseases, eye development and aging. Michele is passionate about small group teaching and providing interactive, enjoyable, and comfortable in-person opportunities for students to ask questions and learn all about eyes - drawings, puns and stories are a key focus in class. Michele has been the Academic Advisor in SOVS for many years, part of the FMH Education Academy, and an (unofficial) advocate for encouraging more kindness in our education and research activities at all levels. 

Lucy Jellema is the Educational Developer, Equity in the PVCE division. She has a background in teaching and developing professional learning across a range of educational and corporate settings. Lucy completed her Master's in Inclusive Education at UNSW and has a passion for accessibility and inclusion within all levels of education. She loves opportunities to support professionals to develop their teaching pedagogy and presentation skills to maximise engagement and retention. She is a member of the Start@Uni project, Diversify and TED COP to engage with the wider UNSW community. Her key purpose is to make positive and meaningful changes to both teaching staff and students at UNSW.

 Next Steps for Inclusive Teaching

Presented by A/Prof. Rebecca LeBard (Science), Dr Ramesh Walpola (Medicine & Health) & Lucy Jellema (PVCE)

Rebecca LeBard (Associate Dean and Associate Professor in Science), Ramesh Walpola (Academic Lead in Medicine and Health), and Lucy Jellema (Educational Developer, UNSW Equity) share expertise and new strategies and reflect upon how you could implement them in your course or in individual lessons. A range of teaching strategies are explored so all teaching staff (including sessional and casual staff) can benefit from this session.

This workshop is aimed at teaching staff with some experience in inclusive teaching.

Speakers

A/Prof. Rebecca LeBard is an Associate Professor in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences and Associate Dean Education, innovation and student experience for the Faculty of Science at UNSW. She also holds a MEd (higher education) from UNSW, and teaches undergraduate courses in the Faculty of Science and the medical program. Rebecca is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy UK). She was awarded the UNSW Vice Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2015, and a citation for contributions to student learning in the Australian University Teaching Awards, 2016, recognising her teaching excellence.
 

Dr Ramesh Walpola is a pharmacist, certified health manager (CHM) and the Pharmacy Academic Lead & Program Authority in the School of Health Sciences. His main area of research expertise and interest is in patient and medication safety, particularly examining the social determinants of safe practices. Ramesh completed his PhD at The University of Sydney in 2016, which focused on the development of educational interventions to enhance generational change in patient safety practices in the pharmacy setting. Ramesh joined UNSW in 2019, originally teaching health leadership and management in the School of Population Health. Ramesh currently leads the implementation of the new pharmacy program in the School of Health Sciences, as part of the suite of new health professional programs launched in 2023. 

Lucy Jellema is the Educational Developer, Equity in the PVCE division. She has a background in teaching and developing professional learning across a range of educational and corporate settings. Lucy completed her Master's in Inclusive Education at UNSW and has a passion for accessibility and inclusion within all levels of education. She loves opportunities to support professionals to develop their teaching pedagogy and presentation skills to maximise engagement and retention. She is a member of the Start@Uni project, Diversify and TED COP to engage with the wider UNSW community. Her key purpose is to make positive and meaningful changes to both teaching staff and students at UNSW.

Advanced Inclusive Teaching Practices

Presented by Prof. Terry Cumming (ADA), Ms Katrina Blazek (Medicine & Health) & Lucy Jellema (PVCE)

Terry Cumming (Deputy Head of School and Professor in ADA), Katrina Blazek (Lecturer in Medicine and Health) and Lucy Jellema share expertise, new strategies and how you can implement inclusive teaching within your course or individual lessons. A range of teaching strategies are explored to benefit all teaching staff (including sessional and casual staff) from this session.

This workshop is aimed at teaching staff with considerable experience in inclusive teaching.

Speakers

Prof. Terry Cumming is a Professor of Special Education and Deputy Head of School Learning and Teaching in the School of Education. Her teaching and research are focused on improving the lives of neurodiverse people, especially in the area of access to education. Current research areas include Universal Design for Learning, school connectedness, and wraparound systems of support. She is the Academic Lead Education of the UNSW Disability Innovation Institute, a Scientia Education Academy Fellow, and a co-founder of Diversified.

Katrina Blazek is a Lecturer in Health Data Science, dedicated to fostering a student-centred learning environment in biostatistics courses in the School of Population Health. She recognises that students have unique needs and learning styles and tailors her instruction to accommodate diverse learning approaches. Whether teaching in traditional face-to-face settings, synchronous online classrooms, or asynchronous online modules, Katrina consistently creates equitable learning opportunities that meet students where they are at. Her commitment to sustainable teaching practices ensures that her instruction not only imparts knowledge but also cultivates lasting problem-solving skills and a deep understanding of biostatistics.

Lucy Jellema is the Educational Developer, Equity in the PVCE division. She has a background in teaching and developing professional learning across a range of educational and corporate settings. Lucy completed her Master's in Inclusive Education at UNSW and has a passion for accessibility and inclusion within all levels of education. She loves opportunities to support professionals to develop their teaching pedagogy and presentation skills to maximise engagement and retention. She is a member of the Start@Uni project, Diversify and TED COP to engage with the wider UNSW community. Her key purpose is to make positive and meaningful changes to both teaching staff and students at UNSW.

The Essay is Dead, Long Live the Essay: Accessible Course Design in the Age of AI

Presented by James Bedford (Academic Skills) & Will Scates Frances (Academic Skills)

Speakers

James Bedford is an Academic Learning Facilitator at the University of New South Wales. He specialises in course design and assessment and uses a constructivist approach to learning and teaching. He is currently investigating ways to respond to generative AI in higher education. He was a recipient of an Australian Post-graduate Award, Research Excellence Award, and a University Medal. In addition, he was a visiting doctoral student at the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. He was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of New South Wales in 2019 and has been published in various journals.

Will Scates Frances is a historian, educational designer and academic learning facilitator at UNSW. His interests range from eschatology to neurodiversity and you can find him around campus delivering writing workshops, facilitating tutorials, gesticulating lectures or engrossed in a coffee overlooking the library lawn.

Awkward Pedagogy: The Benefits of Transparent Teaching

Presented by James Bedford (Academic Skills) & Will Scates Frances (Academic Skills)

How can you make students understand your choices in teaching? Tell them! This is the second workshop hosted by James Bedford and William Scates Frances from Academic Skills. They explain how the use of transparency in teaching and learning enhances student engagement and success. Gain useful insights, learn practical strategies and be inspired by this incredible teaching duo!

Speakers

James Bedford is an Academic Learning Facilitator at the University of New South Wales. He specialises in course design and assessment and uses a constructivist approach to learning and teaching. He is currently investigating ways to respond to generative AI in higher education. He was a recipient of an Australian Post-graduate Award, Research Excellence Award, and a University Medal. In addition, he was a visiting doctoral student at the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. He was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of New South Wales in 2019 and has been published in various journals.

Will Scates Frances is a historian, educational designer and academic learning facilitator at UNSW. His interests range from eschatology to neurodiversity and you can find him around campus delivering writing workshops, facilitating tutorials, gesticulating lectures or engrossed in a coffee overlooking the library lawn.