Higher Ed Heroes

We have all been there: having to teach a topic which is either difficult to grasp or that we know is unpopular with students. How can make these topics accessible and bring them alive in a fun way to help students learn? Dr Suzanna Fay (The University of Queensland) faced these challenges when she first started teaching statistics and probability theory to social science students. Her solution: let her students learn by building these topics around the actor Denzel Washington. 

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Kiri Ingram and Dr Andrew Dougall (both at UQ's School of Political Science and International Studies) about starting out as lecturers, about the nerves, the challenges, imposter syndromes, and the dos and don'ts.

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Dr Fabiane Ramos (School of Culture and Languages & School of Education, UQ) and Dr Laura Roberts (Flinders University) about their use of weekly journal writing as a way to help students reflect about course content (and as it relates to their own lives), to build trusting relationships and to foster a nourishing learning environment.

In this episode, Associate Professor Al Stark (usually one of our podcast co-hosts) turns interviewee to share with us what he calls '20 Minute Moments': it's about stopping the lecture, exposing students to a practical, fun, interactive, but ultimately meaningful activity that allows students to learn key lessons.

In this episode, Al and Seb speak to Prof John Hattie (University of Melbourne) about the few key factors that have the biggest impact on student learning. Based on analysis of more than 300 million students from around the globe (the world’s largest evidence-based study), John Hattie identified the key factors that improve student learning. His findings are equally impressive as they are eye-opening, inviting us to rethink what we – as teachers - do in our uni classrooms.

In this episode, we talk to Dr Leigh Sperka (Lecturer UQ’s School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences) about the ‘escape box’ exercise and learning through team work. 

In this episode, we talk to Dr Karin Sellberg (The University of Queensland), who uses the production of short videos – ‘me in a minute’ – as a form of assessment. How does this exercise work and how does it foster student learning? 

In this episode, we talk to Associate Professor Phil Orchard (University of Wollongong), who has designed his courses around simulations and role plays. Why are these so central to Phil's teaching, how do they differ and how can we effectively use different formats in our classroom?

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to two experienced and excellent tutors, Dr Federica Caso and Robert Arcidiacono, about all things tutoring: how to be an effective tutor, how to guide, how to handle respond to challenging situations, and how to bring a tutorial/seminar alive. 

In the first episode in 2021, Al and Seb talk to Dr Tom Chodor (Monash University) about the ways he has experimented with and ultimately refined different techniques to ensure that students actually do the readings before rocking up for class.