About Bond University

Studying at Bond University

Teaching & Learning Initiatives

Bond University has a commitment towards the ongoing development and maintenance of high quality teaching and learning. The University’s Teaching and Learning Plan outlines a number of initiatives that are currently underway. These include:

Initiative 1:
Providing services to support University teaching and learning

Teaching and Learning Services is a unit which has been set up to provide support for the University in:

  1. Online Learning environments through iLearn@Bond and related applications;
  2. Educational design to support effective and innovative teaching including supporting the use of instructional technologies;
  3. Encouraging and supporting excellence in teaching and learning practice through educational consultancy services; and
  4. Staff development and support particularly for effective and innovative teaching practices and the use of technology in teaching.

Initiative 2:
Graduate Attributes

The Teaching and Learning Committee is supervising the mapping and embedding of graduate attributes across the University. Once the initial mapping process is completed, the Graduate Attributes Working Party will review and identify measures to maintain and reinforce the University focus on graduate attributes in both its teaching and learning and in the broader educational ecosystem.

 

Initiative 3:
Assessment

The Teaching and Learning Committee will review assessment within the University to ensure best practice while maintaining flexibility, diversity and innovation. It will also include the consequences of assessment, including plagiarism and cheating. The review will make recommendations with a clear plan for implementation as appropriate.

 

Initiative 4:
Collaborate to improve facilities and teaching space

The Teaching and Learning Committee will maintain a sub-committee to work with facilities management on any new projects to ensure the development of best practice teaching space given the resources available. The sub-committee will continue to collaborate with relevant groups on the refurbishment and renewal of facilities, in particular the library and art gallery refurbishment. The Teaching and Learning Committee will also work with facilities management to provide teaching spaces to experiment and innovate prior to the introduction of new style spaces into the general teaching areas.

Initiative 5:
Staff development

The Teaching and Learning Committee will maintain a program to aid staff development at a University level to the extent possible with the resources available. The program will respond to perceived staff needs. Particular attention will be paid to ensure that induction programs are appropriate, that general technical training is adequate across the university, that there is basic training available across the critical elements of teaching and that support for sessional staff is in place by the end of this plan. The Committee will continue to work towards implementing a formal teaching certificate or other qualification for staff.

Initiative 6:
Individual Support for Academics

Develop a more effective mentoring and support program for individual academics in collaboration with the Deans and Director of Human Resources. The provision of this support should be integrated with the University’s performance appraisal system, including the use of TEVAL data and peer review.

Initiative 7:
Support for the scholarship of teaching and innovative educational practice

The Teaching and Learning Committee will liaise closely with the Research Committee and Research Services to encourage the scholarship of teaching. Initiatives will include:

    1. Support for the preparation of the book edited by Anne Cullen with the support a Vice-Chancellor’s grant, drawing together models of excellence in teaching and learning at Bond;
    2. Management of an increasing internal grant program to support scholarly work and innovation in teaching and learning;
    3. Raise the profile of and support applications for external grant funding for scholarship and innovation in teaching and learning;
    4. Mentor scholarship in teaching within and across faculties to develop research and expertise in themes that are associated with Bond’s strategic advantages;
    5. Facilitate a clearing house of educational ideas;
    6. Raise the visibility of teaching and learning and associated scholarship both within and outside the university.

Initiative 8:
Review of documentation

The Teaching and Learning Committee will develop a policy covering regular review of teaching and learning documentation and activities and undertake a review by December 2007.