Academic Development

My passion is learning and supporting learning. I have found my tribe in the academic development community and I find much joy in supporting academics to further develop their learning and teaching knowledge, skills, and abilities. I believe that academic development is an important part of supporting academics and students throughout the learning and teaching journey. One of my current favourite quotes about education is from the TALIS 2018 results (OECD, 2019) and this forms a central part to the way I think about academic development, i.e. that we need to support our academics to be able to do this:

“education is no longer just about teaching students something, but about helping them develop a reliable compass and the tools to navigate with confidence through an increasingly complex, volatile and uncertain world”

Currently, my work in academic development focuses on developmental support through facilitating learning and teaching orientations, continuing this foundational work through facilitating seminar series regularly that focus on key areas of learning and teaching in higher education, and supporting L&T grants. I believe I have had impact within these areas, and this is presented below (current to the end of 2019).

Evidence

The evidence of my impact within these key areas of my work tells the story of the levels of success that I have achieved using my personalised, contemporary approach to academic development. The following provides a by-the-numbers overview as at the end of 2019:

  • Learning & Teaching Orientation: 4 full-day sessions, 40 more experienced participants, 80 new-to-USQ participants, average rating of 4.79/5

  • Learning & Teaching Interactive Seminar Series: 16 sessions, 20 co-facilitators, 161 participants (59 unique participants), overall rating of 4.81/5 (data only available from Semester 2, 2019)

  • L&T Grants: 4 grant schemes, 15 completed projects, 6 ongoing projects, 77 recipients, 9 project events, 12 applications successfully coached 

  • L&T Awards: 2 schemes, 5 applicants

  • Online L&T Modules: 11 modules, participation increased by 325% from 30 to 98 participants in 2019, with 2 participants fulfilling all requirements to complete the course

Qualitative feedback on these academic development initiatives also illustrates the impact that my work is having on academic, professional, and third-space staff at USQ.

In the L&T Orientation, feedback is overwhelming positive with participant comments on what went well including “All of it. Thank you, especially to Trisha”, “the whole session/day”, “the exchange of ideas”, and “Everything! I’m very pleased I came along. I got so much out of it!” The feedback on what could be improved was also positive as the comments were typically “Nil” or left blank. Furthermore, feedback from the more experienced participants also highlighted their appreciation of the L&T Orientation experience: “Over the last few years, I have seen you transform the format into something that I feel meets the immediate needs of the academic staff, whilst also providing space for larger issues and discussions to occur.  We work well together, and I'm glad we have this opportunity. Your facilitation skills are well-developed, and you keep a good eye to schedule and ensuring the goals of the day are met...” and “You ran a really great day.  I particularly liked how you broke up the ‘information giving’ with activities.  That kept us all engaged and avoided information overload/fatigue.”

In the L&T Grant schemes, feedback from the recipients focuses on the coaching that I have provided and the support through the community meetings. This is reflected in verbal feedback and acknowledgements in community meetings and during project events, and feedback and appreciated written in the final reports submitted for these projects.

In the L&T Award coaching, the feedback has identified that the coaching process has supported the academics in more than their award application. For example, one academic wrote: “The quality of feedback you provided was really high, and I feel my application has benefited from your suggestions. All the comments you provided on my application were constructive, clear and precise. And it was lovely to receive feedback that was productive and honest but framed to be encouraging. Certainly an entirely different experience to feedback provided as part of journal peer-review processes.” Another coached applicant wrote about their coaching experience as well as their other interactions with me throughout the year: “I can’t say how much I appreciate you taking the time to not only read over my application but to provide such detailed and generous feedback, and at the last minute too… Without your ongoing encouragement and support, I’m certain I wouldn’t have got this in on time. You have been such an incredible support to me this year - thank you. And thank you too for placing such high value on teaching and learning at USQ; it’s very affirming for those of us who share your passion.”