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HERDSA Conference Snapshots
Straight talk about queer issuesThe authors point out that a university reflects the wider community, mirroring both positive aspects of diversity and negative aspects of prejudice existing towards different groups in the community. Discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation are unacceptable behaviors under the University's 1993 Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy Statement. The Rainbow Project: Perspectives on Sexuality at UWA (Sullivan, Goody, McFarlane & Fialho, 2002) found a significant minority of students reporting homophobic attitudes and high levels of discomfort regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) people. Students holding more positive attitudes reported a low level of supportive behavior and ignorance of harassment issues for GLBTI students and staff. The Ally Project, a joint initiative between the Organisational and Staff Development Services, the Equity and Diversity Office, Student Services and the UWA Student Guild, is a strategy to help create a visible GLBTI staff and student presence on campus, as well as visible support and advocacy for GLBTI people, through 'Allies'. An Ally is someone who is informed about, is sensitive toward and understanding of GLBTI people and their issues. An Ally affirms the experience and rights of GLBTI persons. Tacit disclosures of sexuality, which occur readily for heterosexuals within the university community, can be difficult for GLBTI staff and students for fear of stigmatisation. Conversations within the university that make the invisible visible and the stigmatised acceptable can allow GLBTI staff and students to thrive. The full paper for this snapshot can be accessed at http://www.ecu.edu.au/conferences/herdsa/main/papers/ref/pdf/Goody.pdf
Corporate strategies and excellence in teachingUniversities no longer have a clientele that is exclusively made up of the "scholastically capable, intellectual elite" (Onsman, 2002, p. 11). With an increasingly diverse student population, academic staff will need to actually teach more and also teach in more interventionist ways rather than just supervising students' study. There are still, however, some university staff who view teaching as a diversion (or worse, an irritation) from their 'main' activity ie. research. Because government funds them, universities have an obligation to provide the best education that they can. Advertising themselves as innovative and excellent educators means universities also have a business obligation to provide an excellent education and to be able to demonstrate that they do or face the possibility of litigation. What are the implications for excellence in teaching? What is a university's obligation to ensure teaching excellence in its staff? How can excellence be ensured? Blanket training? Accreditation? Checking and fixing faults? Or should the university just check out its public liability insurance? The full paper for this snapshot can be accessed at http://www.ecu.edu.au/conferences/herdsa/main/papers/nonref/pdf/AndrysOnsman.pdf
Academic leadershipWhat are the information and development needs of an academic moving into the head of department role? What support needs to be provided to assist the incoming head to cope with a complex and often ambiguous role? Parker and Wilson (2002) surveyed heads at two New Zealand institutions and found a preference for a staged development process. In the first month, the need was for information on university procedures for governance, staffing and finance. Within six months information needs centred on such things as negotiating workloads, recruitment and selection, employee relations and committee structures. After six months, heads were seeking information on broader issues such as strategic planning, quality issues, team output and leadership styles. Other findings were the need for support from multiple sources including ongoing administrative assistance, appropriate written documentation, the value of interpersonal support from departmental colleagues and an effective handover period from the predecessor.
Teaching and learningHow does a university teacher's beliefs and conceptions about teaching impact upon the type of teaching experience that they offer? How does this change over time? Student-centred learning is accepted as good professional practice, but how does a teacher ensure learner-centred approaches build over time to give meaning the whole of an individual's experience? This study presents the results of the first year of a longitudinal study in which the complexity of the experience of teaching is examined in relation to the above questions.Journal data and interviews are used to explore participants' conceptions of content, knowledge and learning as well as the way in which transitions in understanding occur over time.
How can a teacher meet the needs of a group of students with widely varying experience and background in the subject? This paper, which won the award for best paper on authentic learning environments at the HERDSA conference, explores learning approaches that can meet the needs of business students, some of whom have had decades of experience while others have yet to start their first job. The paper proposes a reflective and facilitative model which removes the barriers to learning, some of which are due to exposure to poor or erroneous practice in the work place, while other barriers are due to lack of experience and opportunity. Using a four stage process, a common experiential base is established which can be used equally effectively to promote learning in all subsets of the student group.
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...supporting academics in their practice with the aim of enhancing the quality of the student learning experience...
