ALTC Citation Winners From Bond University

Dr Penny de Byl - For the sustained development of learner-centred innovative and effective curricula and assessment involving technologies and industry practices that engage students in authentic learning environments

Associate Professor Penny de Byl’s twenty years experience as a computer scientist allowed her to develop an extensive applied command of the field of computer games development. For the past twelve years, Penny has been developing and sharing progressive pedagogies and curriculum based on these experiences. Penny makes an outstanding contribution to student learning by exposing learners to the day-to-day issues she faces in game development projects and helps students balance theory and practice.

Mr Phillip Fourie - Innovative and student-focused translation of the medical curriculum to enhance a holistic understanding of client needs in the counselling context

Phillip Fourie, Associate Dean and Head of School of Social Sciences, implements curricular and pedagogical enhancement of undergraduate and postgraduate subjects in counselling and behavioural management. Phillip’s career as a General Medical Practitioner enables him to translate and explain the significance of medical content to students. He models a “whole-person” approach to clinical services. Phillip bridged the strengths of two disciplinary traditions and engaged exemplary pedagogies to make a significant contribution to student learning.

Dr. Amy Kenworthy - For translating a command of the field of Business Negotiation into curricula, experiential teaching approaches, resources and services that motivate and inspire students to learn

Associate Professor Amy L. Kenworthy’s citation is “For translating a command of the field of Business Negotiation into curricula, experiential teaching approaches, resources and services that motivate and inspire students to learn.” She has designed and embedded the entire suite of Negotiation subjects offered in the School of Business, including subjects run at the undergraduate (BBus; BCom), graduate (MBA), executive (EMBA), and blended delivery (MyBondMBA.com) program levels. Her innovative teaching practices, designed to inform, inspire and motivate students, include a semester-long service-learning consulting project, internet-based negotiations, weekly role-play simulations and a “hands-on” exercise program run through the University’s Fitness Centre.

Dr. Allan Stirling - For designing learning opportunities that engage and motivate medical students in clinically applied anatomy

Assistant Professor Allan Stirling’s citation is “For designing learning opportunities that engage and motivate medical students in clinically applied anatomy.”  He teaches clinical anatomy in all five years of the medical degree and has developed a clinically relevant teaching style and assessment practices that enable students to focus on core knowledge and independent learning practices, preparing them for their future as practising clinicians. Allan engages and motivates students using a variety of approaches to convey the subject’s core information, adopting a learner centred approach providing a learning experience that encourages the students to analyse, synthesise and interpret the presented information.

Dr. Vicki Bitsika - For exemplary translation of clinical practice into development of hands-on, innovative, student-focused curriculum and teaching techniques in Behaviour Management

The teaching approaches and resources arising from this curriculum are designed to bring into the classroom real-life clinical issues central to the effective practice of Behaviour Management. Students are regarded as clinicians in training and engaged in learning experiences which build on clinical problem-solving, independent decision-making and self-evaluation. This innovative curriculum impacts significantly on students’ confidence and prepares them to be effective clinicians capable of delivering best practice in Behaviour Management.

To enable students to become effective clinicians Bitsika has designed her curriculum, including her teaching approaches and resources around real-life clinical practice. In field placements students are regarded as clinicians in training and current issues are used to build expertise in clinical problem-solving, independent decision-making and self-evaluation. Her innovative curriculum impacts significantly on students’ confidence and prepares them to be effective clinicians capable of delivering best practice in Behaviour Management.

Dr. Michael Rees - For developing advanced, innovative virtualisation technology and teaching processes to allow information technology students to gain industrial-level experience with advanced software, servers and operating systems

This sustained teaching resource development has created the Virtual Information Technology Teaching Laboratory which has now been used successfully and reliably by more than 150 students enrolled in 9 advanced subjects taught by 6 lecturers. Students have commented on the considerable improvement in their experiential learning, and the development of software installation, operation and maintenance experience of direct relevance to their prospects of future employment in the information technology industry.

Dr. Stephen Sugden - For supporting and encouraging learning in mathematics and computing via enthusiastic delivery, timely feedback, innovative use of spreadsheet and visualisation technology sustained over twenty years

To cope with student diversity, Sugden uses creative computer visualisation in spreadsheets, illustrating mathematical theorems and relationships otherwise inaccessible to the majority of students. He is able to capitalise on the ubiquity of the spreadsheet, willingness of students to use it to advantage and on powerful visual processing and pattern-recognition abilities innate in humans. In 2002 he set up the peer-reviewed open access eJournal Spreadsheets in Education and has served as editor since that time.