Keynote Speakers
Professor Geoffrey Crisp
Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education), University of New South Wales
Prof. Crisp taught chemistry for many years at the University of Adelaide and developed his passion for learning and teaching while continuing his research work in chemistry. He was actively involved in the development of online learning as the Director of the Centre for Learning and Professional Development and Director for Online Education at the University of Adelaide. He has received the University of Adelaide’s Stephen Cole the Elder Prize (Excellence in Teaching); the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Stranks Medal for Chemical Education and Australian Learning and Teaching Council Fellowships as well as a HERDSA and ASCILITE Fellowship. Prof. Crisp is currently the PVC(Education) at UNSW Australia.
Keynote Speech
Educational transformation in a research intensive environment: Lessons from the University of New South Wales in Sydney
This session will explore the recent journey of the University of New South Wales in Sydney as it transforms itself into a great teaching as well as a great research university. The University has introduced a new academic expectations framework, a new Education Focussed academic career track up to professorial rank, a new Scientia Education Academy for outstanding educators and a mandatory summative peer review of teaching process for academic promotion and internal teaching awards. In addition, a major curriculum redesign project around digital uplift and a strategic partnership with a third party provider for fully online Masters programs has significantly shifted the online footprint of the University. Our relationship with our students has changed with the adoption of the Students as Partners approach to all levels of decision making and educational design. The transformation of the learning spaces is progressing with the new active learning space design and the introduction of new student led spaces across the campus. We will examine some of the implications of this new educational environment and reflect on the drivers and impediments for change in educational practices in a research intensive environment.
Professor Mick Healey
Emeritus Professor, University of Gloucestershire
Prof. Mick Healey is an HE Consultant and Researcher and Emeritus Professor at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. Until 2010 he was Director of the Centre for Active Learning, a nationally funded Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. He is currently The Humboldt Distinguished Scholar in Research-Based Learning at McMaster University, Canada. He has previously held visiting professorships at several universities, including Macquarie, Queensland and UCL. He was one of the first people in the UK to be awarded a National Teaching Fellowship and to be made a Principal Fellow of the HE Academy. He received a SEDA@20 Legacy Award for Disciplinary Development in 2013 and in 2015 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Mick is an experienced presenter. Since 1995 he has given over 500 educational presentations in 25 different countries. He has written and edited over 200 papers, chapters, books and guides on various aspects of teaching and learning in HE, and has over 5,500 citations. He was co-editor of the International Journal for Academic Development (2010-13) and is currently Inaugural Senior Editor International Journal for Students as Partners. He is often asked to act as an advisor to projects, universities and governments on aspects of teaching and learning, including the Canadian Federal Government and the League of European Research Universities. Mick has previously given workshops and keynotes at HKU, HKUST and EdUHK. More information can be found here: www.mickhealey.co.uk.
Keynote Speech
Co-constructing excellence in learning and teaching with students
This interactive session will explore how students can partner with staff to co-construct excellence in learning and teaching. Excellence is a relative and context dependent term and hence we should recognise that what is excellent learning and teaching varies over time and between national systems, HE institutions and disciplines. Ways of engaging students and staff in higher education as partners to identify and co-construct excellence in learning and teaching is arguably one of the most important issues facing higher education in the 21st Century. The literature identifies two main areas in which students may act in partnership: a) Engaging in learning, teaching and research; and b) Enhancing the quality of learning and teaching. Emphasis will be placed on how we may build on and move beyond simply asking students for their views and involve them actively as partners in striving for excellence in learning and teaching in their contexts.
Professor Rick Glofcheski
Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong
Prof. Rick Glofcheski’s primary areas of teaching and research are tort law, labour law and higher education. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Hong Kong Law Journal. He is the author of Tort Law in Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Sweet and Maxwell Asia, 4th edn, 2017, 850 pp), co-editor and co-author of Employment Law and Practice in Hong Kong (Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2nd edn, 2016, 950 pp), and co-editor and co-author of Scaling Up Assessment for Learning in Higher Education (Springer, 2017). After teaching tort law for many years to a large cohort (250+) of students, Rick identified some failings in conventional law teaching. To address these, he designed and introduced over a period of years a series of measures oriented toward a more learner-centered, more authentic and more sustainable learning in which students play an active role in the construction of their learning. His work is the subject of analysis in D. Carless, Excellence in University Assessment (Routledge, 2015). In recognition of his achievements, Rick was awarded the inaugural HKU University Outstanding Teaching Award (2009), the inaugural HKU University Distinguished Teaching Award (2010), the inaugural sector-wide University Grants Committee Teaching Award (2011), and the HKU University Distinguished Teaching Award (2015). Rick has presented his work at conferences, workshops and seminars at universities around the world.
Keynote Speech
Co-constructing excellence: Persuasion, negotiation and engagement
The enhancement of learning environments and the better achievement of learning outcomes come about through innovative thinking in the design of learning and assessment. This is a process that may begin with the teacher but involves multiple stakeholders (i.e. “co-construction”). It often entails risk-taking and is a process that may not always be smooth, encountering resistance at different levels. Resistance to change is not surprising and there are many reasons for it. Persuasion, negotiation, and engagement are critical to the process. Yet it is only through risk-taking and boundary-crossing actions, that positive changes in practices can take place, leading to a better learning experience for students, and setting new examples for future practices.
Dr. Susan Bridges
Assistant Dean (Curriculum Innovation) and Associate Professor, Faculty of Education
Associate Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, The University of Hong Kong
After completing doctoral studies in internationalisation of higher education and a Research Fellowship in Australia, Dr. Susan Bridges moved into dental education at The University of Hong Kong. She is currently Associate Professor and Assistant Dean (Curriculum Innovation) with the Faculty of Education and the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and Adjunct Professor with the Australian Catholic University.
She works in curriculum re-design and staff development in higher education with a particular focus on professional programmes (health professions and teacher education). Her research explores the ‘how’ of effective pedagogy and health communication through interactional and ethnographic approaches. She is the principal investigator of 4 HKSAR General Research Fund (GRF) grants and has current funded collaborations with interactional researchers in the US and Finland.
She was awarded teaching excellence awards in Hong Kong in 2012 (Team Award) and at the QS Wharton Re-Imagine Education Awards in 2016 (Bronze Asia). In 2016, she was invited to join the Steering Group of the Universitas21 (U21) Education Innovation cluster to further support excellence and innovation in higher education across this research-intensive network. She was shortlisted for the 2017-18 Fulbright Scholar Program.
Keynote Speech
Co-constructing excellence in curriculum design: What can the learning sciences contribute?
Designing learning experiences for and with our university students is a creative, joyful and demanding enterprise. As higher education researchers and practitioners across the globe are responding to the dilemmas of reconciling open access of information, changing student and employer expectations and the imprimatur of degree credentialing, we have seen a revival of integrated, inquiry-based approaches and interest in expanding off-campus, international experiences.
While these directions illustrate how we are rethinking both the formal and informal dimensions of the curriculum, as we scale up the design process to the level of course or curriculum/ programme, the complexities seem to grow exponentially. In this talk, I take an interactional focus to examine how the learning sciences can assist us to not only understand the nuances of the situated and social nature of learning in higher education but may also provide some guidance for curriculum leaders as they navigate the complexities of co-constructing excellence in curriculum design.