2023 Sydney Teaching Symposium

Join us on Tuesday 18 July 2023 for the annual Sydney Teaching Symposium. This popular event highlights approaches to teaching and assessment developed by colleagues across the University which are practical, transferable, and student-centred. This year, we are focusing on how colleagues are building towards key elements of the 2023-2025 Teaching and Learning Strategy: involving students as citizens of their own learning, maximising engagement and outcomes through blended learning, supporting colleagues towards student-centred teaching innovation, transforming assessment and feedback, and using data meaningfully to enhance student learning.

Key details

Date: Tuesday 18 July 2023 from 9:30 am AEST

Venue: Face-to-face in the New Law Annex building on Camperdown campus. A Zoom option will be available for some sessions, and will be made available to participants closer to the date.

Cost: Free but registration is essential. This event will be catered – please indicate any dietary requirements upon registration.

Availability: University of Sydney staff and students, as well as staff from other higher education institutions.

 

Registration closed

 

Symposium themes

This year’s themes are aligned with the 2023-2025 Teaching and Learning Strategy.

Involving students as citizens of their own lifelong learning journey: students’ autonomy and self-efficacy are central as they partner with us in their learning. How do we foster a culture of high expectations and resilience so that we can involve students as partners and become graduates who are motivated by a sense of civic responsibility and ethical leadership?

Delivering effective blended learning experiences to maximise engagement and outcomes: while the in-person experience at Sydney is critical for student learning, self-efficacy, and belonging, the contemporary student has significant lifeload and university study is only part of their lives. How do we design purposeful learning environments which are flexible and deliver the best outcomes to allow all students to flourish, anytime and anywhere?

Recognising, supporting, and rewarding colleagues for student-centred teaching innovation: teaching excellence takes many forms across different contexts, and involves leadership and innovation. How do we build environments where Sydney educators are safe to innovate and experiment in an evidence-informed way?

Transforming assessment and feedback practices: well-designed, authentic assessments and feedback are foundational for learning. How do we design and deliver assessment that is aligned with transformational outcomes and qualities valued by disciplines, employers and the community, including academic integrity, to equip our graduates to be reflective and ethical leaders?

Using data and insights meaningfully to enhance student learning: data enables us to track our progress and discover effective teaching and support practices for different cohorts of students. How are we moving beyond dashboards to use data intentionally, centering on how it can be used to support success, relationships, and engagement in teaching?

 

Program

The symposium program will consist of two types of session:

  • 15 minute practice-sharing sessions – these are seminar-style, and allow participants to quickly identify and learn from others’ innovations
  • 45 minute unconference-style workshop sessions – these allow participants to work on something in an active and collaborative deep-dive into a particular topic, walking away with something concrete and tangible for their own practice

 

Registration closed

 

All times are in Sydney time (Australian Eastern Standard Time).

Time Track A Track B Track C
9:30 am
Welcome
Joanne Wright, Adam Bridgeman
9:45 am
Taking History Beyond the Classroom [1A1]
Darcy Campbell, Michael A. McDonnell

In this session, current History student Darcy Campbell and Professor Michael McDonnell will reflect on the origins, implementation and benefits of a Work-Integrated-Learning unit in the School of Hum... [more]
Cultivating Teaching Excellence through Peer Observation: A Student-Centred Innovation in Tutorial Programs [1B1]
Chandana Maitra, Samantha Clarke, Alix Thoeming

In this presentation, we discuss Peer Observation of Teaching (POT) within tutorial programs. We present evidence from a successful pilot carried out in the School of Economics in 2023 semester 1. Our... [more]
Scaffolding written communication skills for students in transition [1C1]
Hong Dao Nguyen, Caitlyn Forster, Tim Lee

Communicating science effectively to a variety of audiences is a highly desired skill in science graduates. With respect to written communication, the works students are asked to create often require ... [more]
10:00 am
The ‘art’ of connections during the transition to university [1A2]
Joanne Hinitt, Kria Coleman

The transition to university can pose significant challenges for students, especially those from diverse backgrounds or with limited familiarity with the academic expectations and complexities of this... [more]
The development of an online learning module to support students learning whilst on clinical placement [1B2]
Laura Di Michele, Alix Thoeming, Matthew Kiem, Monique Laura

In the curriculum review for the Master of Diagnostic Radiography program, it was found that students lack sufficient coursework on implementation science, which is crucial for producing evidence-base... [more]
Technology to provide customised feedback and reduce examiner workload in authentic case-based assessments [1C2]
Maree Milross, Jean Meyer, Sonia Cheng

This talk will present the evaluation and feedback methodologies of a hands-on end-semester exam, enhanced by technology like SRES for automated, tailored feedback. Previously, paper-based assessments... [more]
10:15 am
AI generated stories for prediction activities: Get students engaged before you even start! [1A3]
Hamish Alexander Fernando

The strategy of "Prediction" in education is a fairly well-known technique in which students are asked to make informed predictions to a certain question/questions pertaining to the lesson o... [more]
Iterative progress on designing for diversity in Pharmacy [1B3]
Jessica Pace, Andrew Bartlett

This session combines the experiences of three FMH unit coordinators who have been iteratively working on improving their student learning experience by adopting UDL principles to re-design elements o... [more]
Mistake-mediated learning [1C3]
Mohammad Polash

Our current assessment practices, limited to in-semester and final exams, may not effectively measure students' learning. These time-pressured assessments provide only one chance to find a soluti... [more]
10:30 am
Q&A [1A]
Q&A [1B]
Q&A [1C]
10:45 am
Morning tea
11:15 am
Using data and insights meaningfully to enhance student learning [2A1]
Janica Nordstrom

In this session, I will share how I work with unit of study survey data to ensure meaningful impact on student learning. Unit of study data is analysed longitudinally with new data each year. This all... [more]
Decolonial approaches to teaching cultural responsiveness [2B1]
Celine Diaz

In OCCP2089 Disability and Decolonising Practices, students are taught in a facilitative style that aims to promote critical reflection within a learning environment that is trauma-informed and priori... [more]
Collaboration Revamp: Unleashing the potential of group assessments for collaboration and quality [2C1]
Anne Quain, Kria Coleman

Redesigning a group assessment to improve collaboration, lift the quality of student work and produce meaningful learning outcomes in an intensive Doctor of Veterinary Medicine unit. Guided by the Uni... [more]
11:30 am
Standardising presentation marking and improving student performance in large scale units [2A2]
Antonije Krivokapic, Tanya Fiedler

We used the University's Student Relationship Engagement System (SRES) in BUSS5220 Responsible Business Mindset to standardize the marking of presentations. Our goal was to develop students'... [more]
Practical based online assessments with students – experiences with Pecha Kuchas, audio and video simulations [2B2]
Khanh Nguyen, Megan Cox

As educators in the Masters of Medicine (critical care) program, our students are busy working medical practitioners taking mostly online courses. Practical based assessments are common in our working... [more]
Empowering students through real world design challenges [2C2]
Sandhya Clement, Peter Lok

BMET3921/9921 (Biomedical Design and Technology) is a key unit in the Biomedical Engineering program, providing students with the necessary skills and experience for the biomedical industry and resear... [more]
11:45 am
Evidence-based innovations in tutor development programs– student-led partnerships and results [2A3]
Yvette Debergue, Peter Lok

When students reported some ongoing issues in the classroom around sexism and racism in a school at the Faculty of Engineering in 2022, they pointed to tutors as being part of the problem. Tutors show... [more]
Delivering Blended Learning Experiences to Enhance Engagement in Veterinary Professional Practice [2B3]
Sanaa Zaki, Susan Matthew

The COVID-19 pandemic presented opportunities for enhancing education through blended learning, combining online and face-to-face activities. This presentation shares a case study of blended learning ... [more]
A case study in iterative assessment design [2C3]
Janelle Gifford, Sarah Humphreys

Join us on narrative journey as we share a transformative four-year experience of applying a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) mindset to assessment design as part of the science/physiology degree a... [more]
12:00 pm
Q&A [2A]
Q&A [2B]
Q&A [2C]
12:15 pm
Lunch
During lunch, Adam Bridgeman will host an informal 20 minute information session on the new University-wide educational grants scheme... [more]
1:00 pm
Workshop pitch session
Workshop facilitators

Location: In-person only

Hear pitches from our diverse workshop facilitators and get excited about which ones you'll attend.... [more]
1:15 pm
“Async is hard”: Exploring interaction in asynchronous learning and how we can support it [3A1]
James Kite, Silvia Choi, Philayrath Phongsavan

Location: In-person only

Online learning has become an expectation of students, especially post-pandemic and in postgraduate environments where students are often juggling work, family, and study demands. Many students like t... [more]
Steps to designing for diversity in your context [3B1]
Joanne Hinitt, Jessica Pace, Andrew Bartlett, Janelle Gifford, Kria Coleman, Sarah Humphreys

Location: In-person only

Using the combined experience of four unit coordinators who have been iteratively working on improving their student learning experience by adopting UDL principles to re-design elements of their units... [more]
Working with trauma and challenging content in the tertiary classroom [3C1]
Sharon Chung, Meera Atkinson, Chioma Idam Chukwuma, Ghena Krayem, Alix Thoeming, Eleanor Cowan

Location: In-person only

This workshop focuses on the need for a trauma-aware teaching orientation, drawing on clinical trauma studies and acknowledging the societal prevalence of trauma, particularly gendered and racial trau... [more]
2:00 pm
Unleashing Information and Digital Literacy Skills through generative AI [3A2]
Isabella Micallef, Jesse Xu, Jessica Hughes

Location: In-person only

This workshop aims to showcase the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) as a tool for students to develop and demonstrate information and digital liter... [more]
Developing Communities of Practice: Keeping Students Connected Beyond Graduation [3B2]
Bronwyn Reid O'Connor, Ben Zunica

Location: In-person only

In this session, we will present our work in developing a community of practice for University of Sydney secondary mathematics education students. As coordinators of 12 secondary mathematics curriculu... [more]
Practical approaches to assessment in an AI copilot world [3C2]
Adam Bridgeman, Danny Liu

Location: In-person only

This hands-on session puts you at the center of the AI-assisted education landscape. Engage in discussions and critically redesign your own assessments, emphasising process over product. Participants ... [more]
2:45 pm
Afternoon tea
3:15 pm
Practical approaches to assessment in an AI copilot world [3A3]
Adam Bridgeman, Danny Liu

Location: In-person only

This hands-on session puts you at the center of the AI-assisted education landscape. Engage in discussions and critically redesign your own assessments, emphasising process over product. Participants ... [more]
SaP ASAP: What do we mean when we say “student partners”? Now, what do we actually mean? [3B3]
Maria Ishkova and students

Location: In-person only

In recent years, the academic discourse on Higher Education has shifted towards co-creating teaching and learning experiences with students. The metaphor 'students-as-partners' (SaP) has gai... [more]
Steps to designing for diversity in your context [3C3]
Joanne Hinitt, Jessica Pace, Andrew Bartlett, Janelle Gifford, Kria Coleman, Sarah Humphreys

Location: In-person only

Using the combined experience of four unit coordinators who have been iteratively working on improving their student learning experience by adopting UDL principles to re-design elements of their units... [more]
4:00 pm
Drinks and canapes

 

More information

This symposium is being organised by the Educational Innovation team in the DVC (Education) Portfolio, and is led by Danny Liu, Jessica Frawley, Samantha Clarke, Eszter Kalman, Marianna Koulias, Ruth Weeks, and Adam Bridgeman. To contact us, please email [email protected].