Lecturers win citations

UWS was again very successful in the national Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) Awards and Grants scheme, receiving five citations in the School of Education, School of Humanities and Communications Arts, and School of Nursing and Midwifery.

UWS was also successful in the OLT Round One Grants Scheme, which involves working with partner institutions in a national context.

Dr Lucie Ramjan, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, was awarded a citation for contextualising nursing concepts within the classroom – Lucie recreates a realistic clinical practice for her students. Lucie undertook a project in 2009 to investigate students’ perceptions of numeracy skill-testing in nursing and created a paper that incorporated clinical scenarios and images such as charts, syringes and IV drip set-ups to cater to visual learners and to add authenticity. She found that 80 per cent of the students preferred the paper, noting that it added an element of realism and made them feel better prepared for clinical placement. This assessment strategy has now been adopted by other units within the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

“My teaching philosophy is focused on narrowing the theory-practice gap and contextualising students’ learning so that it’s relevant, realistic and inspiring,” Lucie explains. “I influence, motivate and inspire students to learn by establishing a rapport with them and showing them the clinical relevance of their learning (now and for their future career as nurses).”

Lucie explains that winning the OLT citation means further developing these learning strategies “to assist our diverse student needs within the School of Nursing and Midwifery and to further strengthen quality teaching and learning within the School”.

Gwyneth Howell, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, won a citation for the design and implementation of pedagogies that develop the understanding of crisis communication practice. “In my units, students engage with content through a variety of teaching methods blending my innovations with sound pedagogical advice,” explains Gwyneth. “Student needs are supported through the incorporation of technologies such as the University’s Blackboard interface (vUWS); social media engagement; email messaging; intense small group workshops; seminars; and traditional lectures, appealing to the various learning styles.” Winning the citation cements Gwyneth's position as a national leader in blended-learning teacher delivery.

More information about these and other learning and teaching awards can be found on the Awards and Grants for Learning and Teaching webpage (opens in a new window).