 Dr Stacey Fox
The focus of this edition of CATLyst is UWA’s
award-winning Postgraduate Teaching Internship Scheme. Now in its
tenth year, the Internship is one of the most comprehensive
postgraduate tutor training programs in the country. It continues
to play an important role in preparing UWA postgraduates for
their early forays into university teaching, and, in the longer
term, provides a firm foundation for an academic career.
Indeed, a number of former Interns have gone on to successful
academic careers, both within Australia and overseas. In this
edition, four former Interns reflect on their experience of the
Internship and the impact it has had on their career. Dr Michelle
Harvey, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science at the University of
Portsmouth, credits the Internship with ‘providing the
grounding for my direct transition from research student to
academic,’ while Dr John Bamberg writes that the teaching
and learning culture in Belgium, where he is currently teaching,
is distinctly different to Australia, and that ‘some of the
things I learnt during the Internship were essential for
discerning and critically evaluating these differences and for
adapting my style of teaching to a new system.’
A significant part of the Internship is the teaching and
learning research project that all Interns undertake. Since 2000,
seventy-seven Interns have presented papers (on a diverse range
of topics) at the annual Teaching and Learning Forum. Links to
all Intern papers published (with referred publications) with the
Teaching and Learning Forum are available on the CATLyst website,
and collected here are summaries of just a few of the
Interns’ research projects. Although reflecting different
disciplinary backgrounds, each of the projects considers a
teaching-related issue of interest to the wider university
community: assessment, Problem Based Learning, power and
authority in the classroom, student preparation for class,
teaching graduate attributes, the impact of Lectopia, and the
provision of learning resources and training for postgraduate
students.
Krystyna Haq takes up the issue of supporting the learning of
postgraduate research students, discussing a series of workshops
run by the Graduate Research School. Also in this edition, Alissa
Sputore and Felicity Renner, from the UWA Library, discuss the
importance of information literacy and Eileen Thompson, from the
faculty CATLyst for the UWA Business School, showcases the
School’s teaching and learning achievements for the past
year.
I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage you to
take part in Teaching and Learning Month 2009. There are a range
of exciting, informative and interesting sessions scheduled,
including national and international visiting scholars, a
‘hypothetical’ exploring the role of the curriculum
in engaging students, and a research colloquium.
If you or your faculty are doing something in teaching and
learning that you would like to share, please get in touch with
Stacey Fox, stacey.fox@uwa.edu.au.
CATLyst would like to thank Ms Naama Amram for her
editorial support.
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