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Helping first-in-family students navigate their university ‘journey’
byThere is much to be said for conceptualising the experience of transitioning to university as a stage in a ‘journey’ that all students go…
Latest Posts
Welcoming students to class: Lessons from ICPU intensives
byOnline learning is often depicted as impersonal – the lack of ‘face-to-face’ interaction can make students (and teachers) feel isolated in the process of…
Helping first-in-family students navigate their university ‘journey’
byThere is much to be said for conceptualising the experience of transitioning to university as a stage in a ‘journey’ that all students go…
Online By Our Design: Our Community and Our Stories
byObserving the rapid, creative, and in some cases experimental approaches colleagues took to engaging students in online learning throughout Semester 1, the Dean of…
Facing challenges positively – using framing interventions in your class
byWhat are framing interventions? In Tinto’s important article from 1975, anxiety and self efficacy were identified as two of the key barriers to students developing…
Engaging students through inclusive teaching: conversations with Dr Samantha McMahon
byInclusive teaching describes a range of teaching approaches that consider the many different needs, backgrounds, and ways of learning of all students. Knowing how…
A style guide to provide clarity and improve students’ experience
byComments shared by students in the semester 1 USS, and presented as a qualitative topic–model analysis at this year’s Symposium by Jess Frawley and Sam Clarke, highlighted something that we know well: students value clear communication and clear expectations. By way of the…
How do ordinary people teach well during extraordinary times?
byHaving survived semester 1’s rapid shift to online teaching, members of the University of Sydney community gathered together to celebrate and learn from some…
Learning online during COVID – key insights from Sydney students
byComing up for air after a semester like no other, on 8 July 2020 University of Sydney staff had a chance to “gather” online…
The Anthropocene, emotions and the ‘who’ of pedagogy
byAs a semester defined by the disruption of COVID-19 was coming to a close, I remember reflecting on the wisdom of having set a…
Preparing students for learning in the hospital environment – an interdisciplinary, interactive resource for all
by“Preparation for Learning in the Hospital Environment” is an interactive, online resource designed to prepare students from both health and non-health disciplines for workplace…
Why are we sharing practice? Reflections on a School’s teaching day during extraordinary circumstances
byIn a time where being online all the time is the norm, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed in both our professional and personal lives….
Postgraduating teaching during COVID-19: assessment and belonging in EDPA5001
byLiving through a global event in which we haven’t experienced the likes of before, there is no better time to focus on the fantastic…
Five ways to make online videos better for student learning
byIn a recent tweet that went viral (by education standards), a recent paper by Richard Mayer and colleagues received global attention for its evidence-based and…
COVID-19, Climate and CLaS
byI recently travelled to Antarctica as part of the largest contingent of women in STEMM to venture to the frozen continent. During my three…
Getting students talking through masks and mics – active learning in times of COVID-19
byFor better or for worse we’ve made it. As we exit semester 1 and the great COVID-19 online pivot, we do so with mixed…
Memes, polling, and scribbles: An Introduction to Microeconomics
byFor Associate Professor Marian Vidal-Fernandez, innovation makes its way through her teaching – both in her physical and virtual classrooms. Her style reflects an…
Broadening horizons: Online offers good news for experiential and embodied learning
byDr Margaret Spencer joined the social work program in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work as a lecturer. Following her professional qualification…
Assessing Clinical Skills in light of COVID-19
byThe first year of the renewed MD 2020 curriculum was implemented in January of this year. The Year 1 program focuses on developing the…
Embracing the moment: Teaching Cultural Politics of Difference through Covid-19
byDr Shawna Tang joined the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies in 2018 as Lecturer in Gender Studies. She has held postdoctoral fellowships at…
Collaborative assignments via Zoom: “It was a new experience but a good one.”
byIn Semester 1, 2020 among the many challenges with rapidly going online was how to modify complex assignments to achieve the same learning outcomes…
Scaling up use of SRES in semester 2, 2020
byThe ‘Student Relationship and Engagement System’ (SRES) was developed by teachers at Sydney to help other teachers personalise engagement with large student cohorts. By…
What does physical distancing teach us about what we value in terms of physical space for learning?
byRecently I found myself looking for a good way to kick-off a meeting about physical learning spaces, in Zoom. The irony of allocating time…
In defence of just doing what you can during COVID-19
byIt’s been a tough semester. And, as it comes to an end we may feel the urge to look back on what just happened….
Design for online – opportunities to enrich your students’ education for semester 2 and beyond
byPreparing for semester 2 2020 has certainly been a very challenging year so far, but it seems likely that there will be a slow…