National awards celebrate UQ teachers

Several University of Queensland teachers have been recognised in the 2015 Australian Awards for University Teaching.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Joanne Wright, said UQ highly valued student success and put enormous effort into ensuring that its graduates were recognised globally as “must-have” employees.

“Supporting our students to learn and see the world differently is critical to this endeavour,” Professor Wright said.

“We are delighted that several of our staff have been recognised for excellent teaching in the 2015 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning section of the Australian Awards for University Teaching.”

A four-person project team, AIM High, was recognised for “an innovative, institution-wide approach to improving student understanding of academic integrity and plagiarism through a student-centred online interactive tutorial and program”.

The AIM High team comprises Associate Professor Ann Peterson and Dr David Neil from the School of Geography, Planning & Environmental Management, Associate Professor Clive Warren from the UQ Business School and Dominic McGrath from the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation.

Additionally, three UQ teachers were recognised individually in the OLT awards:

Associate Professor Julie Ballantyne, from the School of Music, for helping students “find their voices and inspiring professional identities through transformative learning in music teacher education”.

Associate Professor Timothy Mclntyre, from the School of Mathematics and Physics, “for the development of online physics simulations and modules that motivate students to learn in their own time and place”.

Dr Jack Wang, from the School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences, “for activating research-led student learning of critical thinking skills through large-scale undergraduate experiences in microbiology”.

Professor Wright said the Office for Learning and Teaching would host an event to honour the Queensland citation winners on Thursday 24 September at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. 

“A further opportunity to congratulate our national winners will be during UQ Teaching and Learning Awards ceremony during Teaching and Learning Week (2–6 November) when we will also announce the UQ Excellence in Teaching Award winners,” Professor Wright said.

“We thank most sincerely all our great teachers as we approach the end of another academic year.”

Watch a video on the AIM High program here.

Watch a video of Dr Julie Ballantyne talking about one of her research projects here.

Media: Fiona Cameron, +61 7 3346 7086, f.cameron2@uq.edu.au.