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2011 Casual Academics Conference

The 2011 Casual Academics Conference is an opportunity to hear from interesting keynote speakers, participate in a range of practical workshops and meet other casual academics working across the university to share your experiences. This event is a forum for sharing information on teaching and learning and recognises the valuable contribution casual academics make at UTS.

Date: Monday 26 September, 2011
Time: 9:15am - 5:00pm, followed by drinks
Venue: UTS Broadway Campus
Program: 2011 Conference Program & print version (pdf 49Kb)

As well as keynote presentations from Professor Shirley Alexander DVC (TLE) and Dr Fraser Torpy, the Conference will offer casual staff a range of activities that examine aspects of teaching at UTS. These include:

  • A range of popular and practical workshops sessions about Teaching and Learning in Tutorials or Laboratories, Assessment, Online Learning, Student Writing and Teaching Culturally Diverse students.
  • Networking and refreshments
  • Experts on hand to answer your questions over lunch
  • A plenary session on student diversity
  • A chance to enter our UTS Model of Learning competition.

Conference Workshop Descriptions

ASSESSMENT, MARKING AND FEEDBACK

The marking of student work and the provision of feedback can be a tedious and unrewarding task for many teachers. By understanding and applying the principles of good assessment practice, this important part of teaching can be made more effective and engaging for the student and the teacher. A range of technologies for supporting assessment will be also be demonstrated in this workshop, including UTSOnline, Turnitin, ReView and SPARK.

TUTORIAL FUNDAMENTALS: AN INTRODUCTION TO LEARNING AND TEACHING IN TUTORIALS

This workshop is an introduction to some key elements to facilitate successful student learning in tutorials. We will be discussing some of the fundamentals that can help students and teachers get the most out of these sessions, including: the purpose of tutorials; planning and running good tutorials; dealing with common issues; and how to build on your experiences.

INTRODUCTION TO UTSONLINE

In this workshop participants will learn how UTSOnline is supported at UTS, and the processes required to create a UTSOnline subject, enrol students into the subject, and, activate and use, their Student View Account. Participants will also have the opportunity to create class announcements and upload course materials, as well as exploring the discussion board.

STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING STUDENT WRITING

This workshop covers a range of strategies that can be implemented in tutorials to improve student writing. These include: building writing into teaching and tutorial activity; explicit scaffolding of assessment task requirements; providing material to assist students through guided writing processes in class or online; and directing the marking focus of teachers (macro and micro level language) to alert students to areas of concern.

MAKING ACTIVE LEARNING WORK IN TUTORIALS

This workshop demonstrates how to incorporate greater student activity into tutorials. It shows how to engage students in the learning process through problem solving, case studies, role-plays, journal writing, games and simulations. Workshop participants will discuss the benefits to using such activities and how to overcome student resistance to taking a more active role in their learning.

MANAGING GROUPS ONLINE

This workshop explores the different ways to facilitate collaborative learning in online groups, whether it be tutorial groups, project groups or student research teams. We'll compare the online spaces available for collaboration within and outside of UTSOnline to see which best support your students' learning and your teaching and learning aims. This workshop will have some hand-on activities and time for questions and discussions.

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CULTURALLY DIVERSE TUTORIALS

In this workshop you will be exposed to international students' perspectives on studying at UTS, and have the opportunity to develop strategies applicable to your own teaching in tutorials or other small group contexts. During the workshop examples of successful inclusive teaching and learning strategies will be presented, including approaches to groupwork. You will then work in groups yourselves to develop and share strategies that are applicable to your teaching contexts.

IMPROVING THE LABORATORY TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCE

In the laboratory the staff : student ratio is approximately 1:15 and it may be the only teaching / learning activity in a large enrolment subject with such a favourable ratio. What are our expectations of the laboratory session? What do the students hope to get out of lab work? How can we prepare them to be ready to learn in the laboratory? How can we best prepare to make the laboratory session the best teaching / learning experience of the week? Thinking about optimising the experience for all concerned will make the laboratory session a rewarding experience for the students and, importantly, the teacher.

For more information contact Enza Mirabella 9514 1669 or Nicola Parker 9514 1665.