Graduate Certificate in University Teaching

This subject will focus on effective presentation and/or facilitation in actual teaching contexts - specifically, lectures and/or small group settings. The diversity of teaching contexts is a feature of the subject with participants encouraged to consider their particular teaching setting and practice. Participants, in pairs, engage in reciprocal peer review of teaching, alternately taking on the roles of reviewer and reviewee. Participants also engage in a reciprocal peer review cycle with a department colleague.

This subject introduces students to the fundamental principles of effective teaching for learning in higher education. In a series of seminar/workshops it will provide an introduction to theories of teaching and learning and guidance on effective procedures for large and small group teaching, assessment and evaluation, e-learning, peer learning and other topics relevant to the contexts in which participants teach. It will draw on participants’ experiences, research on effective approaches and practical guides.

This subject deals with the principles of curriculum design and the translation of these principles into a program of study in a specific context. It covers the formulation of objectives and outcomes, content selection, teaching activities and the design of assessment tasks. One module deals with designing for web-based presentation. Participants are encouraged to use the experience as an opportunity to work on the design of a curriculum in which they are involved. The subject also provides participants with the experience of reviewing each other's work online.

This subject provides participants with the opportunity to investigate an aspect of teaching and learning of mutual interest to them and to their departments. Supported by workshops, individual mentors and networks, each participant develops a complete and viable research proposal in an area of relevance to teaching and learning in their department/faculty. The completed report may subsequently be used as the basis for an application for funding and/or further research studies such as a Masters-level research project.

This subject provides an introduction to the guiding principles of effective teaching for learning in blended and online environments. It begins by reviewing the general principles of designing for learning, and then moves to the online context to consider what it means to become an online teacher and how the community of inquiry framework can be applied to develop teaching, cognitive and social presence. The subject continues with a critical analysis of the key elements of effective, student-centred approaches in blended and online learning environments, including the flipped classroom, the design and facilitation of learning tasks (i.e. inquiry projects, role-play simulations, peer collaboration), discussion board activities, feedback and assessment. The subject is evidence based, drawing on published research in the field, and also provides opportunities for participants to apply learnt skills by writing a proposal for, and creating a LMS mock-up of, a blended or fully online unit to use in their particular teaching and learning context.