The rapid changes facing higher education are placing increased focus on the quality of the student experience, achieving learning outcomes, and employability expectations. As a result, academics in teaching roles are increasingly measured on performance via student evaluations amplifying attention on professional development initiatives for…

This research investigates the experience of unit coordinators across Australia. It builds on an earlier Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) project that examined and clarified the role of unit coordinators as leaders of learning in higher education (UCaLL). In this paper we focus on the first phase of the project that involved…

Advancing the development of good practice around the teaching team has been the focus of a recently completed, nationally funded Australian grant entitled Coordinators Leading Advancement of Sessional Staff (CLASS). The project focused on developing leadership capacity of subject coordinators to provide supportive contexts for sessional staff to…

For the past 30?years, beginning with the seminal work of Herbert Marsh in Australia and New Zealand, institutions of higher education have developed internal practices and procedures to collect and analyse student evaluations of teaching and learning. However, the question remains: has this development resulted in the achievement of institutional…

Previous research on professional learning has identified that face-to-face consultation is an effective approach to support academics' learning from student feedback. However, this approach is labour and time intensive, and does not necessarily provide all academics with just-in-time support. In this article, we describe an alternative approach,…

Benchmarking as a type of knowledge-sharing around good practice within and between institutions is increasingly common in the higher education sector. More recently, benchmarking as a process that can contribute to quality enhancement has been deployed across numerous institutions with a view to systematising frameworks to assure and enhance the…

A pilot study was conducted in a regional university setting to promote awareness of the value of affective teaching and learning amongst staff and students. Academic staff and students from diverse disciplines at University of South Australia's (UniSA) Centre for Regional Engagement (CRE) were recruited to the study. The research investigated…

The Centre for Advancement of Teaching at Macquarie University in Australia serves as an agency through which the University makes a contribution to increasing the effectiveness of teaching and learning at all levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary. To this end the Centre seeks to develop cooperation with the academic staff of the University,…

Sabbatical leaves are viewed as being essential to the ongoing nature of a self-renewing community of scholars. This study was undertaken to provide data on current use of sabbatical leave plans in universities in several countries - Canada; the United States; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales; Australia, and New Zealand - to provide…

An increasing number of higher education institutions are offering courses designed to improve the quality of teaching. Examples in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Australia are cited.

A survey of educational development practices that directors of educational development units in Australia found most effective in their institutions for the improvement of teaching is discussed. The University of Queensland staff development program is described. (Author/MLW)

Suggests ways of improving the effectiveness of the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) in raising the quality of university teaching, including: (1) the wide reporting of more accurate teaching performance indicators; and (2) a revised university funding model in which university income is based on teaching performance indicators. (EV)

Discusses improvements in university teaching and reports on three initiatives in an Australian university which created opportunities for teachers to share their understandings with others and gain recognition for their contributions. The initiatives centered on the development of Teaching Enhancement Teams--groups of good teachers working…

Presents two perspectives on the nature of preservice TESOL teacher education. The management perspective limits professional development and promotes a status quo. The reflective perspective benefits everyone involved, allowing consideration of factors beyond the classroom. A pilot project at an Australian university is described. (SM)

A study traces changes in teachers' views of inservice education during the first three years of a state-administered teacher development program in Australia. The findings are compared with those of another national study recommending increasing the availability of inservice education. Strengthening current information systems of professional…