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      1. Towards 2025: Strategic goals and priorities
        1. Scientia Education Experience
        2. Scientia Education Academy
        3. Inspired Learning Initiative
        4. Education Focussed Careers
        5. Students as Partners
        6. Student Surveys
      2. More...
  • Teaching
      1. New to teaching
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      4. TELT Administrator
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      1. Learning and teaching forums
      2. Connections seminar series
      3. eBulletin news
      4. More...
  • Grants & Awards
      1. Awards
      2. Grants
      3. Gathering evidence of your teaching practice
  • Professional Development
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  1. Teaching
  2. Teaching practice

Teaching for Learning

Until recently, research into learning and teaching in universities has focused on what the teacher does rather than on what the learner does. However, recent research into student learning indicates what your students do in order to learn is of the greatest importance. Following on from this research, educators have developed "learner-centred" or "Student-Centred" pedagogy that has significantly influenced our understanding of university learning and teaching.

As Thomas Shuell has said, student-centred teaching is built on the assumption that "what the student does is actually more important in determining what is learned than what the teacher does" (T.J. Shuell, "Cognitive Conceptions of Learning" (1986), 429 ). Therefore, as an important part of our learning and teaching approach, UNSW emphasises student-centred and active learning approaches to engage students in their learning.

If you want your student-centred learning activities to be effective, communicate the objectives, benefits and expectations to students so that they feel prepared and supported in their learning. In particular, students who are used to more traditional (teacher-centred) teaching will need this support.

Teaching strategies

The following kinds of activities can be used to facilitate student-centred learning and teaching. Use these strategies to give students a chance to actively engage with the content and to provide variety within the lecture or tutorial:

  • Active learning spaces
  • Blended and online learning
  • Brainstorming
  • Case studies
  • Debates
  • Discussion
  • Flipped classroom
  • Group work
  • Questioning
  • Simulations
  • Teaching diverse groups

See also

  • Teaching Settings (lecture, tutorial, laboratory session)
  • Roleplays (see Assessing with Role Play and Simulation)
  • Scenario-Based Learning (see Assessment by Case Studies and Scenarios)
  • Projects (see Assessing by Capstone Project)
  • New staff
  • Understanding Learning
  • Teaching for learning
    • Active learning spaces
    • Blended and online
    • Brainstorming
    • Case studies
    • Debates
    • Discussion
    • Flipped classroom
    • Group work
    • Questioning
    • Simulations
    • Teaching diverse groups
    • Helping Students Reflect
  • Assessment
  • Teaching Settings
  • Designing for Learning
  • Evaluating L&T
  • Digital Uplift
  • Educational Design
  • Evaluating Teaching Practice

Events & news

LET’S Meet T1 2021
1 February 2021
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Teaching at UNSW, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia Telephone 9385 5989

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Page last updated: Wednesday 7 December 2016