Professional Development

UNSW Course Design Institute (CDI) is designed to guide participants through the instructional design and redesign process in an intensive, five-day workshop. The institute will provide participants with the skills, knowledge, and support necessary to foster a learner-centred environment.

This program is designed to develop the teaching capability of UNSW Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and Higher Degree Research candidates (HDRs) with little to no experience of teaching. Managed by the PVC(E) Portfolio.

The FULT program is offered to UNSW teaching staff who wish to develop their practice by exploring a range of perspectives, ideas, theories, and practical approaches to learning and teaching in the higher education context. Managed by the PVC(E) Portfolio.

Further studies in Higher Education are available which offer university teachers the opportunity to reflect on educational theory and student learning research from the perspective of their own teaching experiences. Some of these programs are managed by the School of Education.

As part of the Continuing Professional Development Framework, the Academic Development Services team offer self-paced learning modules in Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching and Moodle training tutorials.

Are you teaching online? Delivered online via Moodle, this module is designed to support educators in the delivery of online learning. Upon completion, you will be able to identify key online teaching concepts and strategies drawing on pedagogical literature, and design and develop a student-centred online course.

Online courses, resources and how to access support for technology enabled learning and teaching such as Moodle and mediaUcreate.

The Learning to Teach Online (LTTO) MOOC will help you develop a working understanding of successful online teaching strategies that you can apply in your own practice.

Peer-to-peer sharing of best practice, innovation and ideas in university learning and teaching. The seminars are open to all staff and provide a forum to share ideas and get feedback on practice and research.

The Learning and Teaching Forum is an annual platform for UNSW academics and the UNSW community to share best practice in learning and teaching.

The Inspired Learning Summit (ILS) is an annual event that celebrates educational innovations and partnerships enriching education at UNSW.

The monthly Scientia Education Academy (SEA) Lecture Series highlights the innovative educational practices of our outstanding educators who inspire our students to achieve great outcomes both in their studies and future careers.

Open to all staff, EF Lunch & Learns are hosted by a different faculty on a monthly basis and are designed to showcase the innovative work being carried out by passionate EF academics. They also feature a session centred on teaching and professional skills.

The UNSW Learning Analytics & Data Science in Education Research group hold meetings regularly throughout the year for academics and professional staff interested in the area of learning analytics and data science in education.

Academic Mentoring at UNSW is an evidence based approach to mentoring that aims to build successful mentoring relationships across the institution. There are a suite of resources available to assist mentors and mentees on their mentoring journey, using an easy step-by-step process.

Education Focussed Careers offer a new career path for academics who are talented and passionate teachers and are key to the enrichment of the student experience at UNSW.

The process and acknowledgement of applying for grants, awards and fellowships are important ways to develop professionally and to promote and support the enhancement of learning and teaching at UNSW and across the higher education sector. Click to learn more about the support offered and how to apply.

Resources on how to build your teaching case for academic promotion by putting forward a case for teaching, research and service.

Speak to your faculty contact for more information around support for sessional staff. Some faculties also offer discipline specific support for sessional staff. There are also resources available which help sessional staff tackle the key areas and issues related to teaching and learning.

Becoming a peer reviewer can also contribute to your professional development. In 2019, peer review is a requirement for staff applying for academic promotion (excluding research only academics).

There are a growing number of both formal and informal communities of practice, groups and networks in learning and teaching at UNSW. These communities are formed around a shared area of interest in learning and teaching.