More than 100 Education Focussed academics gathered in the Blue Mountains to discuss education at UNSW.
The annual Education Focussed (EF) Retreat took place on the weekend of 11-13 August in the Blue Mountains. More than 100 education specialists met to welcome new members of the community, discuss education at UNSW, engage in professional development sessions and stargaze, inspiring the group to see, think and work differently.
“We began with this idea of stargazing and the different ways we look at the night sky. Dr Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway (Monash) talked about the stars and the known universe, whereas Drew Roberts (Shared Knowledge) talked about how in Indigenous culture, you understand the night sky by looking at the darkness between the stars,” explained Associate Professor Louise Lutze-Mann, Director of Education Focussed Career Development.
“The EF role represents a new way of working as an academic and is an opportunity to redefine what it means to be an educator,” Associate Professor Lutze-Mann added. “Education is at the heart of UNSW’s work and we want to take a new perspective on something we’ve been doing for a very long time, in order to keep evolving our teaching practice and respond to the needs of our students. That’s what we tried to capture in our theme for this retreat - Look Again: Seeing, Thinking and Working Differently.”
The retreat also allowed EF academics to build deeper connections within the community, fostering cross-faculty collaborations and new ways of working.
“Across the two days of sessions we were grouped by different academic levels, disciplines and areas of interest. For me, this highlighted the diversity of backgrounds and expertise that exists in the community,” said Dr Angela Maharaj, part of the first cohort of EFs appointed at UNSW and Lecturer in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences. “Those cross-faculty conversations on common educational issues improve our own teaching practice and our ability to deliver better outcomes for our students.”
These connections serve to enhance the work of cross-disciplinary EF Communities of Practice, which address educational priorities at UNSW, including digital assessment, teaching at scale and student wellbeing.
“The formation of a new community of Educated Focussed staff who dedicate themselves to teaching and the broader student experience is a triumph for everyone at UNSW. We are bringing together many of our most gifted educators and via their Communities of Practice, they are improving how we deliver our courses,” said Professor Merlin Crossley, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic). “I was enormously impressed by the retreat – it was an invaluable opportunity to learn from the EFs and to work with them to define our educational priorities as a university.”
One such priority is assessment and getting it right for our students, explained Professor Alex Steel, acting Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education), especially with the introduction of the UNSW3+ academic calendar.
“Assessment is a key concern for our staff and students,” Professor Steel said. “Working with the EFs on this during the retreat gave us a better understanding of assessment methods in the different Faculties, as well as what we’re assessing and how often. How do we improve assessment moving forward? The EF community’s input is an important part of that conversation.”
The retreat also provided professional development opportunities for EF academics, including a keynote from Professor Peter Corke (QUT, 2017 Australian University Teacher of the Year), a Pecha Kucha presentation session, a panel on promotion, a teamwork session delivered by NIDA, and an update on EF roles across Australia.
“As a new member of the EF community, I felt very welcome. It was clear that we are supported in our career, in tackling our biggest educational challenges at the University, and that my contribution as an educator is valued at UNSW,” said Dr Kerry Uebel from the School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
For Associate Professor Louise Lutze-Mann, the retreat represented all the best aspects of being part of this collegial community.
“The EF community is growing, both within the University and across Australia. At UNSW, we’ve had over 250 academics join the EF community and now have members from all Faculties, including sessional staff who have become EFs through the conversion process, as well as external appointees,” she said.
“It is remarkable what we can achieve when we bring this group of educators together and I look forward to seeing what the EF community will be doing with their teaching, in their schools and faculties, and in their EF Communities of Practice over the coming year.”
To find out more about the EF community and their work, visit EF Central.
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