What happens when you give education-focused academics funding to investigate their teaching questions? A year on from the first round of Education Focused (EF) SoTL Grants, four teams are investigating class participation and belonging, peer observation practices, AI-enabled self-regulated learning, and narrative coherence in first-year psychology.
We checked in with these teams to learn about their progress and gather advice for colleagues considering applying in the 2026-2027 grant cycle (proposals due 5 pm Monday, 23 February 2026). The EF SoTL grants support education-focused academics in pursuing scholarship of teaching and learning research, with collaborative projects addressing priority areas including assessment innovation, student belonging, and the integration of generative AI in learning. For more information and to apply, visit the Staff Intranet page.
1) Sydney Law School reflecting on ‘Belonging Through Assessment’
A team from Sydney Law School – Associate Professor Karina Murray, Associate Professor Sandy Noakes, Lecturer Louise Cauchi and Lecturer Louisa Di Bartolomeo – is investigating current practices around class participation in the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Juris Doctor (JD) courses. Specifically, they’re examining how class participation as an assessment item can foster first-year law students’ sense of belonging.
Team lead Karina Murray reports that one of the major advantages of the EF SoTL grants scheme is that it encourages education-focused scholars to work together:
You know that you’re not the only one working on teaching and learning initiatives.
The team is examining class participation from both students’ and academics’ perspectives. Working as a research team has meant they’ve been able to pool their skills and experience – and learn from each other.
The team successfully obtained ethics approval in 2025 and is currently conducting surveys of students and academics, with in-depth focus groups planned for early 2026.
The timing is particularly important: the Law School introduced a new curriculum in both the LLB and JD courses at the start of 2025. Associate Dean Education Associate Professor Kevin Walton notes the project will provide real insights – from both students’ and academics’ perspectives – about how the new curriculum is working on the ground.
2) Building a community of music practitioners through peer observation at the Conservatorium of Music
The Extending Horizons project emerged from Senior Lecturer Carla Trott’s interest in the newly formed Community of Music Practitioners (HE CoMP), a group of Horizon Educators (all education-focused lecturers) from diverse experiences and backgrounds identified as educational changemakers. Carla and her co-investigator, Professor Jennifer Rowley, developed the grant from conversations about the practicalities of peer observation and what SoTL looks like at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Their grant Reflections from a Community of Music Practitioners on the Effectiveness of Ongoing Peer Review of Teaching allows for in-depth exploration of peer observation of teaching in a tertiary setting. These conversations were particularly important as many practitioners navigate multiple professional identities as performers, educators, researchers, and colleagues. Discussions revealed uncertainty and tension around ‘reviews’ of teaching – they were often seen as formal and isolated, and associated with evaluation, hierarchy, and fear. This contrasted with Carla’s own experiences of ‘open door’ classrooms in school settings, which are more informal, involve dialogic pedagogy, and occur regularly throughout the year. The project aims to not only facilitate regular observations as professional development, but also create a safe and trusting space for pedagogical conversation and reflexive practice.
In November, Carla used grant funding to attend the annual International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) conference in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she and Professor Jennifer Rowley presented their research project at a roundtable discussion. Colleagues from Australian and international tertiary institutions provided feedback, insights and suggestions aligned with best practice research in this field. For Carla, an early career researcher in SoTL, the experience highlighted the importance of collaborative practice – the very impetus for the Extending Horizons project.
3) Using generative AI to support self-regulated learning at Sydney Business School
Lecturer Jennifer Sun’s grant, Empowering Lifelong Learners: The Role of Generative AI in Self-Regulated Learning, examines how generative AI (Gen-AI) can support students to become more effective and independent learners through self-regulated learning (SRL). SRL involves students setting goals, monitoring progress, and reflecting on their learning. The project focuses on feedback as a key mechanism – how students interpret and act on Gen-AI feedback compared with assessor feedback, and how multiple feedback sources can support critical thinking and problem solving. Jennifer Sun leads a team including Associate Professor Doowon Lee, Senior Lecturer Ju Li Ng, Lecturer He (Fred) Huang, and Senior Lecturer Mark Freeman. Across several large Business School units (FINC3600, FINC6001, INFS6071 and WORK5002), the team is designing structured Gen-AI learning interventions and evaluating them using surveys, focus groups, workshops, and student assessment artefacts. The project aims to generate practical guidance on how purposeful Gen-AI use can strengthen students’ self-regulated learning development.
In the past year, the project has moved from planning into implementation, with several key milestones – including ethics approval and a pilot study in Semester 2, 2025. The pilot helped refine the intervention design and clarify which aspects of feedback and self-regulated learning to focus on. The work is now moving into a full rollout in Semester 1, 2026, with evaluation activities running in parallel. Working across multiple units has started to show how the intervention needs adapting for different cohorts and assessment structures to ensure scale and transferability. Data from the pilot has been accepted for an upcoming AI Symposium, and the conceptual design work has been submitted to conferences for 2026.
4) School of Psychology reflects on ‘Whose Narrative Is It Anyway? Comparing Teacher-Student Narratives of First- Year Psychology Courses’
A challenge in psychology education is the fragmentation of first-year curricula, where students encounter a broad array of topics – for example, neuroscience, personality, perception, and mental health -without a clear connective thread. Students can struggle to see how the pieces fit together just when the transition to university already presents significant challenges. A team from the School of Psychology led by Associate Professor Simon Boag – Daniel Costa, Stetson Lo, Elisabeth Seeley, Kelsey Zimmerman, Alissa Beath, Sharni Corowa, and James Brown – is exploring narrative-based approaches as one potential solution. Stories help organise meaning and provide coherence in complex disciplines. Using focus groups, the project investigates how coherent and meaningful narratives within first-year psychology units appear to both students and lecturers. By analysing the coherence or fragmentation of these stories, the research aims to support the co-creation of a clearer, more engaging narrative that enhances learning outcomes, teaching practices, and the student experience.
One year into the project, the grant has enabled the team to engage a student co-designer and several research assistants, and has helped the large team of new education-focused academics come together to create a platform for ideas and collaborations.
Top tips for future applicants
1) Prioritise student experience
Find a project where the outcomes will genuinely improve the student experience while also enabling education-focused academics to succeed in their roles.
2) Plan implementation early (especially if you are changing unit design!)
Ethics approval, data collection timing, and intervention design often take longer than expected. A clear timeline helps avoid last-minute pressure, particularly if you need primary changes to the unit outline.
3) Structure the work and maintain team rhythm
Be curious and reflect on what motivates you as an educator. Break the project into a small number of subprojects that collectively support the overarching goal, for example, one subgroup focusing on the systematic literature review and another on the conceptual framing and design. Giving each area a clear lead helps keep things moving, and regular team meetings bring the pieces back together to ensure research, evaluation, and classroom implementation stay aligned.
4) Build a team with complementary expertise
SoTL projects often span multiple areas (such as feedback, self-regulated learning, and Gen-AI). Look beyond availability and ensure each member is genuinely interested in the topic and can contribute in a meaningful way – this supports sustained collaboration and increases the chance of outcomes that go beyond what any one person could deliver alone.
5) Reach out to your community
The EF Academics Community of Practice can be invaluable for advice on methodology and ethics applications. Grantees note that it serves as a great forum to hear about projects in other disciplines and share ideas. Finding opportunities to engage in professional discourse helps shape your project.
Carla Trott notes:
If you are stuck for a place to start, Mary Wright, Eszter Kalman, and the whole team at the Division of Teaching and Learning USYD are a font of knowledge and wonderful to talk to!
6) Use SoTL resources to shape your approach
If you are stuck for ideas and need inspiration for a place to start, Carla recommends exploring ‘A SoTL Primer: Top Ten’ collated by Nancy Chick. Another recommendation is the Project Planning Worksheet in Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning by Cathy Bishop-Clark and Beth Dietz-Uhler (2023, page 23). (This book is available to read online in the University of Sydney Library.)
Other tips:
- Find a collaborative partner to work with on the application and project.
- Articulate a question that is relevant to you, your teaching, and your students’ learning.
- Have a growth mindset – this project will require self-reflection, experimentation and creativity.
- Start small and see how the project evolves – it could eventually even involve students as partners.
- Write your submission early as it will require a signature from your team leader (don’t leave it to the due date…).
How to apply
Applications for the 2026-2027 EF SoTL Grants are now open and close at 5 pm on Monday 23 February 2026. The grants provide up to $5,000 for individual projects or up to $15,000 for collaborative team projects, with a maximum of $10,000 per education-focused academic across all funded proposals. For more information about eligibility, priority contexts, and application requirements, visit the Intranet and dedicated EF SoTL Grants page. If you have questions or would like to discuss your potential project, contact Mary Wright ([email protected]) and Eszter Kalman ([email protected]) with the subject line “EF SoTL Grant Consultation Request“.
