Teaching and Learning 2008

TEACHING & LEARNING 2008

CHANGING

LIVES

An Olympic effort

A new wave of musicians

Learning beyond lectures

Building foundations to a new life

Inspiration leads to national recognition

The world at your feet

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The University of Newcastle For more information about the articles in this publication please visit www.newcastle.edu.au/teaching-and-learning.html Editor

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Academic Division

Cover: Professor Richard Vella. Professor of Music and Head of School – Drama, Fine Art and Music.

Professor Vella is taking the well-respected Conservatorium of Music into a new era.

Read his story on page 14.

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CONTENTS 02 Message from the Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) 04 Students take the news lead in Beijing 06 Across the finish lines 07 An Olympic effort 08 The language of learning 08 The fine art of success 09 Weed killers 10 Building foundations to a new life 12 Support spells success 13 This sporting life 14 A new wave of musicians 15 Big dreams, big beginnings 16 Who wants to be a physicist?

16 Bringing history to life 17 Students have their ‘Eureka!’ moment 18 Programmed for success 19 Conference call 20 Central to building a better learning environment 21 Highly-prized support 22 Sporting chances 23 A traditional path to healing 25 Medical intervention for rural students 26 Nursing sea-change 26 Fulfilling lives 27 The innovation leader for 30 years 28 Inspiration leads to national recognition 30 The school of hard hats 31 A just design 32 The funky side of physics 33 Girl power 34 Learning beyond lectures 36 Legal insight 36 Online for success 37 The quiet achiever 38 The world at your feet 40 Pas de deux

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02 | TEACHING & LEARNING

MESSAGE FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR AND DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR (ACADEMIC)

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Addressing the diverse learning needs of more than 28,000 students requires dynamic and effective teaching methods. Coupled with an innovative and flexible learning environment, the University of Newcastle is at the forefront of resource development and curriculum design for teaching and learning.

In this second edition of Teaching & Learning, the University showcases a sample of its achievements in providing undergraduate and postgraduate students with a vibrant and adaptive learning environment.

Teaching concentrates on academic and professional training with real-life experiences and learning outcomes for students – developing their skills and knowledge and preparing them to be work-ready graduates.

Teaching & Learning 2008 includes an inspiring story about our communications students who worked at the Olympic Games in Beijing as part of their degree program.

The Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics held a special connection for the University. Engineering graduate Mark Arkinstall played a key role in the structural design of the ‘Watercube’, the National Swimming Centre built for the Games. And Australia cheered for University of Newcastle graduate Heath Francis when he won three gold medals and broke two world records at the Paralympics.

Helping students maximise their learning experience by supporting the professional, ongoing development of teachers is the driving force behind the University’s Centre for Teaching and Learning.

The Centre has inspired and motivated staff and students with new programs and workshops for teaching and learning support – and the results are clear.

In 2008, five individual staff members and two staff teams were awarded Citations from the prestigious Australian Learning and Teaching Council. These are awarded to people whose passion and commitment have made a significant contribution to the quality of student learning.

Library staff were awarded their Citation for the development of an online learning tutorial to support the use of EndNote, which assists students to learn bibliographic referencing. The EndNote Tutorial has been acclaimed nationally and internationally and is just one example of the University’s ongoing significant investment in online learning resources.

Wireless internet access, 24/7 library access and state-of-the-art teaching facilities are part of the multi-million dollar investment being made to the Central Coast campus at Ourimbah to cater for the growing number of students and changes in the way they want to learn.

Staying in touch with the latest teaching technologies and techniques is just one component of the teaching and learning challenge.

Collaborating with other educators, exchanging ideas and information and helping students succeed are traits that define University of Newcastle staff.

Providing good quality teaching can never be considered a job completed. Over the coming years we will continue to build on our solid foundations, developing our teaching and learning capabilities, investing in our teachers’ development, and delivering a student-focused learning environment that distinguishes the University of Newcastle experience for students and staff alike.

Professor Nicholas Saunders Vice-Chancellor and President

Professor Kevin McConkey Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)

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STUDENTS TAKE THE NEWS LEAD IN BEIJING

“I worked the Mixed Zone where athletes were interviewed after they left the pool deck. It was a pathway of about 100 metres of lined barriers, with athletes on one side and journalists on the other.

Third-year student Sarah Anderson scored the enviable job of reporting water sports from Beijing’s spectacular Water Cube.

“The role of the Olympic News Service was to capture quotes from at least the first three placegetters in each race, with an emphasis on the high profile athletes. As a result, I interviewed almost every major swimmer, diver and synchronised swimmer at the Games.

“Winning eight gold medals, Michael Phelps was the undisputed star of the Water Cube and each time he walked through the Zone, it would swell to capacity. Journalists would jostle for the best vantage points and there I was, right in the middle of it! I quickly learned that when he was competing I had to stake out a good spot early and hold my ground within the media scrum. I interviewed him 15 times.

“ The Sydney Morning Herald used our quotes almost every day and a quote I gathered from 41-year-old American silver medalist, Dara Torres, featured in newspapers from five continents.

“I met world-class journalists from international media organisations like Reuters, BBC Television and The New York Times. When the Games ended, they thanked us for our work and said they could not have met their deadlines if it were not for us.

“It was a privilege not only to work behind the scenes but to share in the highs and lows of the Olympic athletes. I will never forget seeing Michael Phelps punch the air in sheer relief and joy after securing his seventh gold medal by just one one-hundredth of a second and hearing him speak about his anxiety while he waited to see his name on the scoreboard. At the other end of the emotional scale, was watching Australian swimmer Jessica Schipper sob in distress

at the end of the 100 metres Butterfly. She shared with me how it felt when her swimsuit would not zip up in the marshalling area and how she had to change into an old training suit just minutes before the race.

And then there was jumping up and down in the Channel Seven broadcast box with Daniel Kowalski, cheering and high-fiving as Stephanie Rice won her first gold medal and broke the world record. These are opportunities few people ever get to experience first hand.

“All of these memories, as well as the incredible professional experience of working at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, are things I will treasure for the rest of my life.”

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Few journalists have the chance to interview the world’s greatest athletes during the course of their work but a team of University of Newcastle communication students had the opportunity before their careers had even begun.

When the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) invited 10 universities across the world to

be part of the Olympic News Service, it was inundated with applications.

On offer to the eager students was the opportunity to work as ‘Flash Quote Reporters’, gathering quotes from athletes throughout the Games for international journalists.

More than 200 people applied from the University’s campuses in Australia and Singapore.

Second-year student Lester Kok was stationed at Peking University Gymnasium and covered the table tennis.

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Of these, 40 made it through the rigorous selection process to be accepted by BOCOG. The Newcastle contingent was the largest from Australia and the second largest overall.

The aspiring journalists underwent specialised training to prepare them for the high-pressure atmosphere of the Olympic newsrooms.

“I study in Singapore through the University of Newcastle’s facilities at PSB Academy and paid for my own flight to Newcastle for the final selection round. Needless to say, I was ecstatic about being selected.

“Each day held something different. On arrival at the News Service office, our Sports Information Specialist would brief us on what was happening and we would work on shifts of up to 10 hours a day.

“The excitement and adrenalin rush that goes with working at an Olympic Games is amazing.

When the Singaporean women’s table tennis team won a silver

medal the place went crazy and it was an honour to interview them.

“Being face-to-face with six-time Olympian Jorgen Persson and listening to him answer my questions was a surreal experience. Persson has represented Sweden in every Olympic Games since table tennis was introduced to the Olympic program. He is a true legend of the sport.

“Working at the Games has already opened doors for me. I met several members of the Singaporean media and I hope to stay in contact with them as I continue my journalism studies.”

ACROSS THE FINISH LINES University of Newcastle graduate Heath Francis knows the importance of being able to pace yourself when it comes to achieving goals.

Not only has the 26-year-old graduated with degrees in business and commerce, he has also competed in three Paralympic Games and one Commonwealth Games. Along the way, he collected an array of medals as proof of his prowess on the running track.

Francis, who lost his right hand in a farming accident in 1988, graduated from his Bachelor of Commerce in 2006 and completed a Bachelor of Business in 2007.

The spirited athlete has achieved so much academically while also competing at an elite sporting level thanks to his fierce determination and a flexible University of Newcastle program.

Francis’ modes of study have covered the entire spectrum – from part-time to full-time and distance education – all completed while training on the track for up to 30 hours each week.

“When I first enrolled at the University I was in training for the Sydney Paralympic Games,” Francis said.

“I had regular meetings with my teachers every semester to outline my sporting commitments, and we worked out a flexible timeline for assignments and exams to fit in with training and competitions.”

Francis, who competes in the 400 metre, 200 metre and 100 metre track events and the

4x100 relay team, was often in training full-time during his university life, making study hours a precious commodity.

In 2003, he moved to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, continuing his studies at Newcastle through distance education.

“Throughout my two degrees, the staff at the University went above and beyond to make things easier for me to complete my study,” Francis said.

“I was dealing with teachers from a wide range of courses and the support I received was a reflection of the whole University’s philosophy to nurture athletes through a university education.”

A PLACE FOR ATHLETES As a member of the Elite Athlete Friendly University (EAFU) program, the University of Newcastle is committed to supporting elite athletes to study and maintain their hard-earned sporting status.

Through the EAFU program, the University provides a supportive, flexible teaching and learning environment to help elite athletes achieve both academic and sporting excellence.

Elite student athletes are identified at enrolment and provided assistance with timetable planning and

integrated scheduling of sport and study, as well as access to the University’s premium sporting facilities.

More than 40 elite student athletes, from some 20 different sports, are currently enrolled at the University of Newcastle and supported under the EAFU program.

Photo: Simone De Peak/Fairfaxphotos

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An Olympic effort

The awe-inspiring sight of the ‘Watercube’ – the National Swimming Centre built for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games – illuminating the night sky is one the world will remember for years to come.

The huge box-shaped building, seemingly filled with soap bubbles, is built from more than 22,000 irregular sized beams.

It is a remarkable engineering feat and one that University of Newcastle graduate Mark Arkinstall, who played a major role in its structural design, resoundingly calls “the best work I have ever done”.

The stunning concept was given life after the Chinese Government ran a competition for the design of a national swimming centre as part of its preparation for the 2008 Olympics. The Watercube concept not only won the stamp of approval from the Government, but also won the Chinese popular vote, confirming its functionality and the beauty of the timeless design.

Arkinstall, who graduated from Newcastle in 1994 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), said his role after the initial

design competition was to assess whether such a structure was even possible.

“The design grew from the architects’ inspiration for an organic structure,” Arkinstall said.

“It was always going to be a challenging task – the timeline from winning the competition to tender documentation was only seven months – but I was extremely excited to be working on such a cutting-edge building.”

Arkinstall’s brief was to deliver a structural engineering design that met all of the client’s requirements, as well as the Chinese design codes.

This included the design of thousands of steel beams for the superstructure – all of which needed to be capable of resisting thermal, wind, fire, snow, earthquake and gravity loads under a host of different conditions.

Computer automation and optimisation techniques were developed to create the final solution, including programs for structural design, optimisation and tender drawing creation.

Arkinstall attributes his ability to create the computer programs required to design the Watercube to the fundamentals he learned in programming classes at the University during his engineering degree.

As part of his desire to ‘give back’ to the University, Arkinstall gives at least two comprehensive presentations to engineering students during the teaching year.

It is a practice he has maintained since 1995, as a way of inspiring would-be engineers to aim high and to reach far.

“I give the presentations at the University to demonstrate to students what they can achieve,” Arkinstall said.

“Engineering can be a very theoretical subject, so if students actually see where their degree can take them, they often gain a whole new perspective on their studies. Being able to see the application of their work really does make a difference.

“Not surprisingly, for the last few years, my presentations have focused on the Watercube and I like to think they have been inspirational for the engineering students.”

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The language of learning Faculty of Education and Arts Associate Professor Alison Ferguson believes she gets as much as she gives when supervising postgraduate students.

Ferguson was a speech pathologist working with patients who had suffered brain injuries or strokes when she decided to pursue a PhD in linguistics.

The PhD soon led her to a life of academia, where she is now supervising PhD and masters students in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

It is a role in which she clearly excels, having in 2008 received a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Supervision Excellence.

Highly regarded nationally and internationally for her work in both linguistics and speech pathology, Ferguson believes the role of a supervisor to be collegial.

“I personally develop as a supervisor in response to who I am supervising,” she said.

“Speech pathology has many areas of expertise and my students may be experts in areas that I am not. Frequently, I am supervising my clinical peers who know much more about their subject than I do.

“They come to me with different backgrounds and diverse needs.

Above all, I need to be flexible and collaborative, especially when working with subjects hovering on the edges of my field. My job is to guide them in getting the most out of their postgraduate work.”

Ferguson was honoured with the Vice-Chancellor’s award for the clear and strong theoretical structure of her supervision, and the respectful and collaborative relationships she builds with students.

“Postgraduate studies take an enormous amount of time so we really become part of each others’ lives. Both supervisor and student grow personally and professionally from the relationship. From my point of view, not only am I guiding students but I am simultaneously learning from their research.”

The fine art of success When former paralympian Elizabeth Wright touched the end of the pool for the last time as a competitive swimmer, she finished on a personal high but had no idea where her life would take her next.

Fast-forward to today and that future is full of ambitions, mostly focused on an academic career.

Wright – who was born with a congenital impairment in her right arm and leg – is studying her Master of Philosophy (Fine Art – Photography) at the University of Newcastle.

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It was Wright’s mother who suggested she indulge her lifelong love of art and enrol in an Open Foundation course at the University in 2003.

“I had never imagined myself as the type who would go to university,” Wright said.

“My career as a Paralympic swimmer spanned seven years and once I retired from competition, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else but art.”

After her Open Foundation year, Wright went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University’s Central Coast campus.

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Success had been hers in the pool – Wright won bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games as well as silver and bronze in the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000 – but retirement as an athlete meant her future stretched before her with no concrete goals in sight.

You never know where life will take you or what you can achieve. My story proves that if you are open to embracing new challenges and following a passion, anything is possible

Along the way, she proved to be an inspiration to students and staff alike. She spent four months of her third year at Leeds University in the United Kingdom on an exchange and gave her year’s graduation speech at the Central Coast ceremony.

In the speech, Elizabeth urged the 700 graduates to follow their dreams.

“Five years ago, I did not entertain the idea of getting into university,” she told the auditorium. “And now I am going on to study my Master of Philosophy.

“You never know where life will take you or what you can achieve. My story proves that if you are open to embracing new challenges and following a passion, anything is possible.”

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We are taking learning out of the classroom and giving it highly practical applications by helping a community group with its regeneration project

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Weed killers Not many people have an opportunity to save a coastal rainforest while studying at university.

First-year sustainable resource management students at the University of Newcastle are doing just that, under the leadership of Associate Professor Bill Gladstone.

In a unique collaborative project, the students are helping eliminate the noxious Australian weed lantana from a local ecosystem and restoring the natural balance.

The initiative focuses on Wamberal Lagoon Nature Reserve on the NSW Central Coast. The heritage-listed site was selected for its high conservation value and significant number of threatened plant species, such as magenta lilly pilly. It is also home to a range of native animals, including echidnas, bowerbirds, carpet pythons and lace monitors.

Gladstone and his students are working with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and a local Bushcare group of conservation volunteers to help rehabilitate the ecosystem and restore the natural rainforest coverage to the area.

“The program introduces students to real world examples of how conservation practices are often partnerships between government, scientific experts and the community,” Gladstone said.

“We are taking learning out of the classroom and giving it highly practical applications by helping a community group with its regeneration project.”

Gladstone said the lantana weed was a significant threat to the local ecology and, in particular, the coastal rainforest.

Students spent their Saturdays clearing the lantana and planting native vegetation (such as banksias) known to thrive in coastal areas.

“Last year, our students planted literally thousands of banksias in place of the lantana,” Gladstone said.

“We were able to reduce the coverage of the weed and return the coastal rainforest cover. The work was quite physical but highly satisfying for the students because they could see the end results.

“If the Bushcare community group had not decided not to act, the rainforest would have been crowded out and eventually killed. By involving our students, the group was able to tackle a much greater area of the lantana infestation. Our combined efforts made a major contribution to the local ecology.”

A vegetation survey at the end of the project showed a significant reduction in weed species, an increase in habitat for threatened species and included an up-to-date weeds assessment of the reserve.

“While the students made significant headway towards eliminating the weed last year, it is necessary to keep maintaining the site because of lantana’s ability to spread quickly and reclaim the area,” Gladstone said.

“That is why we continued the program with this year’s first year students who are equally enthusiastic about the cause.”

In 2007, Associate Professor Gladstone received a prestigious Carrick Citation (now known as an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation) for the innovative project.

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Building foundations to a new life As a young girl, Deborah Morgan-Zammit dreamed of finishing school, going to university and becoming a teacher. But, as so often happens, her life did not go according to plan.

Morgan-Zammit found herself leaving school at 16, before completing Year 10, and marrying her high school sweetheart.

She spent the next 22 years as a devoted mother of three and wife, while juggling part-time work as a cleaner. The day she came across a University of Newcastle advertisement promoting Open Foundation, Morgan-Zammit’s life changed forever. Like a bolt from the blue, she realised that now her children had left school, she would have time to study.

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The University is very supportive of mature age students, particularly those in Open Foundation

“I thought, now is my time,” Morgan-Zammit recalls.

“I decided if I have to work for another 30 years, it may as well be doing something I’m really interested in. For as long as I could remember, I’d always wanted to be a teacher. It was time to make that dream a reality.”

Morgan-Zammit’s Open Foundation journey was about to begin.

The first to admit commencing study was a shock to her system, Morgan-Zammit said there were several times she felt she had bitten off more than she could chew.

After passing Open Foundation with a distinction average, Morgan-Zammit went on to study a Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts at the Central Coast campus, graduating with honours.

“My first assignment was terrible,” she said. “I felt like giving up. Instead, I accessed the University’s free student support service. From there, I learned how to write essays, take notes and manage my time better. It made a world of difference.”

“I must admit, when I dreamed of being a teacher all those years ago, it did not include me graduating with my husband, grown children and three grandchildren in the audience.”

Morgan-Zammit completed the four-month intensive Open Foundation program, while continuing to work as a cleaner on weekends and during school holidays.

Morgan-Zammit said having the support of her family and the University was integral to completing her degree.

“The University is very supportive of mature age students, particularly those in Open Foundation,” she said.

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“Open Foundation is great preparation for the degree programs but it offers so much more than academic qualifications.

It gave me a long list of life skills for which I will always be grateful.”

Like many who take part in Open Foundation, MorganZammit was the first in her family to attend university, and it has inspired her children to study and follow their dreams.

Open Foundation – Australia’s leading tertiary preparation program – provides a pathway into University for those 20 years of age or over who do not already qualify for university entry.

Offered at both the Newcastle and Central Coast campuses, as well as via distance education, it provides a taste of university life and the learning skills needed to undertake a degree program.

To accommodate work commitments, classes are offered both during the day and at night. Students can choose to do the four-month intensive program – as Morgan-Zammit did – or study part-time over 12 months.

University of Newcastle sociology graduate Heidi Forrest is another supporter of the Open Foundation model.

Forrest suffered an aneurism when she was 13, leaving her paralysed down one side of her body. She went on to complete her HSC in 1981 and, while she very much wanted to continue onto university, at the time resources simply were not available.

“I couldn’t write and it was the days ‘PC’ – pre-computer – so there was no way to type up my assignments,” Forrest explained.

“Using scribes was not an option for me because I think as I write.

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Forrest is now pursuing her academic career further and is undertaking a Bachelor of Law.

“Back then, there was no such thing as online lectures.

“After graduation, I hope to work in a community legal centre of Legal Aid and be in a position to help disadvantaged people, including those with a disability,” she said.

“All that has changed and students with a disability can now access a range of services and resources to make academic life easier.”

“Without the assistance of the University and the confidence that comes from doing Open Foundation, none of this would have been possible.

Completing Open Foundation in 2000, Forrest went on to study sociology, majoring in politics. She became active in a number of disability advocacy organisations and was elected President of People with Disability Australia.

In that role, she travelled to the United Nations and was involved in drafting the Disability Convention.

“Open Foundation is a flexible, supportive introduction to academic life. The staff and lecturers are there every step of the way to give you the help you need to succeed.”

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Support spells success Helping students maximise their learning experience by supporting the professional, ongoing development of teachers is the driving force behind the University of Newcastle’s Centre for Teaching and Learning.

By inspiring quality, collaborative and innovative teaching through support and information for its educators, the Centre aims to help students realise their academic potential.

With more than 28,000 students at the University, ensuring dynamic, effective teaching methods consistently address their diverse learning needs is paramount.

Centre for Teaching and Learning staff pride themselves on keeping across up-to-the-minute techniques in student and teacher support – from educational technology to student-centred learning methodology.

Three new staff have been appointed to the Centre’s Learning Support Team to address the needs of international students, who now make up almost one-fifth of the student population.

One of the team’s groundbreaking new initiatives is an English language assessment tool, known as the Diagnostic Academic English Learning Test (DAELT). DAELT helps teachers identify the areas of learning where an international student may require intervention.

Centre for Teaching and Learning Director Professor Gail Huon said DAELT showed the students areas in which they needed to upskill – such as reading, listening or writing – to maximise their learning experience.

“International students are particularly challenged because, not only are they tackling a university course, they are also studying in a second or even third language,” Huon said.

DAELT results are used to assign students to appropriate workshops where they can practice and excel in speaking, listening, writing and/ or reading in small groups.

Learning Support Team Coordinator Janet Counsell said the newly-expanded team aimed to respond directly to the needs of international students by creating workshops which were subjectspecific and interwoven with standard coursework.

This is proving particularly beneficial to international students in the Newcastle Graduate School of Business who participate in

workshops on various areas of study including writing skills, essays and referencing.

“When we teach Graduate School students how to write essays, we teach them specifically how to write business essays,” Counsell said.

DAELT will be piloted with the next cohort of students in the Graduate School, with the results used to further refine workshop content.

CENTRE FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING Led by Director Professor Gail Huon, the Centre for Teaching and Learning is composed of four teams: Teaching and Learning Support Development Team: Supports academics in taking a scholarly approach to teaching.

Coordinator: Dr Craig Turnbull.

Educational Resources Support and Development Team: Responsible for the design, development and application of student-centred, engaging and effective online educational technology. Coordinator: Dr Maria Northcote.

Learning Support Team: Supports students by developing academic, English language, mathematics and numeracy skills.

Coordinator: Janet Counsell.

Teaching Spaces Support Team: Provides advice, consultation, user-training and support services to faculties and schools for audiovisual technologies and other educational resources.

Coordinator: Robert Bull.

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This sporting life Whatever the sport – team or individual – the preparation can be lonely and life can become a series of isolated highs and lows.

It is an area all too familiar to The Matildas’ (Australia’s women’s football team) target striker and University of Newcastle psychology student Kate Gill.

Gill’s decision to study psychology stems from her interest in the human mind and how it works in relation to athletic performance.

Currently in Sweden playing with a professional football side and taking a year off from her studies, she said her ambition was to bring together her two loves – sport and psychology – for a career as a sports psychologist.

“My dream job would be to work as a life coach for athletes,” she said.

“It is fascinating how one day athletes have the ability to perform so well, yet it can all go so horribly wrong the following day.

“Most athletes are extremely independent or believe they are.

With the number of highs and lows you experience, it can be a very lonely and challenging existence.

“I believe the successful athletes are the ones who are satisfied with all aspects of their lives – not 100 per cent, but enough to have control over all situations.

“I want to help athletes reach that point.”

Soccer has always been a big part of Gill’s life. She has been playing since she was five years old and ran on the field for her local team, New Lambton.

“On the field, I had to concentrate on developing my performance for the national stage, while off the field, my time management skills became critical so I could fulfill my study commitments.”

Now completing her Bachelor of Psychology through the Elite Athlete Friendly University program, Gill has the flexibility to juggle her passion for the game with her study. She said without the program it would be difficult, if not impossible, to complete a university degree and continue her sporting career.

Gill is justifiably proud of how she has managed a good balance between the two. Not only has she achieved national and international status in football but she has simultaneously maintained a credit/distinction average for her degree.

She said the support from the University was fantastic.

“The School of Psychology at Newcastle is one of, if not, the best in the country,” Gill said.

“The lecturers and tutors have been understanding of my situation and very flexible when I have had scheduling conflicts between my sport and my studies.

“But most importantly of all, the way the course is taught is very effective. Lecture and tutorial content are very closely matched and I have a realistic picture of what it means to be a practising psychologist.

“This makes learning so much easier than it might otherwise be.”

She said being accepted into the Youth National Football squad at 16 and The Matildas at 19 had changed her life – both on and off the field – in many ways.

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When an athlete crouches on the track, bolts at the starting gun and powers to the finishing line, it is the culmination of hours of physical and mental preparation.

The School of Psychology at Newcastle is one of, if not, the best in the country

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A new wave of musicians What does a 21st Century musician need to know to succeed in today’s world? And, with so many different genres and styles of music and limited time to teach it all, how can an undergraduate music degree deliver industry relevance to its students?

Both are questions being tackled by the University of Newcastle’s Professor of Music, Professor Richard Vella, as he takes the well-respected Conservatorium of Music into a new era.

“The music business is offering more diverse careers – from recording to promotion, publishing, venue management, broadcasting and performance,” Vella said. “To be competitive, music graduates must enter the market selling their skills and being completely familiar with the niche they wish to target.

“Musicians must operate like any other small business.

Conservatorium graduates need to establish networks, invest in capital infrastructure, introduce themselves to potential employers and develop audiences and clients.”

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Vella is taking the Conservatorium in an exciting direction to address the fundamental conundrum of how, in just three years, its curriculum can prepare graduates to enter the music industry as well as teach the technical skills required of a modern musician

Vella is taking the Conservatorium in an exciting direction to address the fundamental conundrum of how, in just three years, its curriculum can prepare graduates to enter the music industry as well as teach the technical skills required of a modern musician.

He intends harnessing existing teaching strengths and channelling them into a new curriculum that reflects current musical trends and focuses on a creative – as well as an instructive – approach to learning.

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At its core lies student-based learning, in which problems are presented to a class and individuals create their own solutions from their experiences.

“This approach means that it is the students, in collaboration with staff, who are driving the program,” Vella said.

“I believe this is how we can teach six years of information in three.”

This concept underpins the collaborative model of learning that Vella is using to drive the future curriculum at the Conservatorium – student-tostudent work, as well as studentto-teacher learning initiatives.

In a classroom, students are taught how a musical concept, such as rhythm, works across a host of genres, from rap to baroque, classical and funk.

Once students have grasped the concept, they are asked to create their own piece of music incorporating what they have learned.

“It lets students and teachers enter a collaborative teaching space on an equal level from which both can learn,” Vella said.

“A teacher might advise a student to learn a piece from the 18th Century so the student can master a technique for their own work, which might be rock.

In turn, that student is in all probability teaching the instructor something they don’t know about rock music.”

Vella believes the Conservatorium can create ongoing, rejuvenating learning inside the set curriculum that will bring the continual creation of new learning outcomes.

Vella’s way forward paints a picture of cultural interaction between old-school learning and everything a “19-year-old with his jeans falling down” knows.

“Staff do not have to wear their jeans down to their knees or go to hip-hop clubs until 4am for commonality to be found with their students because that is what the music does,” he said.

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“It is about knowledge translation – taking one idea into many new places and collectively learning from it.”

Vella likens the Conservatorium’s need to accept change and challenge ‘danger’ within the curriculum to the ongoing need for musical evolution throughout history.

“Mozart’s ‘Queen of the Night’ aria from The Magic Flute, with all of its dramatic phrasing shifts and extreme use of registrars, would have been just as shocking to 18th Century audiences as Jimi Hendrix’s guitar solos in the 60s or punk rock in the 70s were to their generations,” he said.

“The Conservatorium needs to be open to the unfamiliar, the new, the foreign and the popular because this is at the very heart of what feeds our music graduates.”

Vella believes an industryready music graduate must draw on a host of skills, including the ability to use cutting-edge musical technology; studio recording knowledge; management, business and communication confidence; problem-solving strategies and collaborative know-how.

“The new curriculum will preserve tradition while cultivating innovation to ensure our graduates can engage with the music industry,” he said.

“We want to empower our graduates by giving them opportunities throughout the curriculum to experiment, explore and evaluate.”

Big dreams, big beginnings The year 2007 drew to a close, the earth rolled into 2008 and, as the lights of Newcastle’s lively Foreshore Park twinkled in the dark summer sky, one fledgling local band’s dream of cracking the big time was just beginning.

Taking the stage on New Year’s Eve, as the support act for internationally-acclaimed Australian band, Grinspoon, was Vaudeville.

The four-piece contemporary pop-rock band from Newcastle had won first prize in a local band competition.

Keyboard player Chris English, a University of Newcastle Bachelor of Music graduate, said winning Resonate, the Music Industry Showcase Band Competition, was a dream come true.

“It was a brilliant way to mark the completion of my degree and a great foot in the door to the industry,” he said.

English, a piano major, said his training at the University’s Conservatorium stood him in good stead for the music industry.

“Learning that music was a business like any other was a valuable part of the degree program,” he said.

“I’ve learned the importance of ensuring financial and legal arrangements are in place before pursuing any commercial arrangement.

“As well as the business side of things, I also studied music technology, which was really useful when it came to learning about new digital equipment.

“The facilities at the Conservatorium are first-rate and the classical training is a good backdrop for being able to take my music in a more contemporary direction.”

16 | TEACHING & LEARNING

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Who wants to be a physicist?

Learning about the Vietnam War takes on a new dimension when it is set to the music of Jimi Hendrix

The humble clicker, made famous in the ‘ask the audience’ segment of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, is making a real difference to learning during classes conducted by Dr John Holdsworth, a Senior Lecturer in Physics.

The clicker is a device that allows students to select answers from multiple choice options presented in lectures. The clicker software enables instant transmission then automatically collates and displays the responses from the group in real time.

The concept of using the device to enhance learning came to Holdsworth two years ago and has since received enthusiastic support from the University.

“I regularly use the clickers to poll students on their understanding of a concept,” Holdsworth explained.

“I then ask them to convince the person next to them why their answer is correct.

“The lecture theatre regularly erupts with discussion and debate which allows the students to compare their understanding with their peers and, I believe, greatly enhances the learning experience.”

Dr Holdsworth said he was fortunate to secure funding from the University to purchase the initial batch of 200 clickers and test his theory for the unusual teaching technique.

“As lecturers, we have gone from the chalkboard, to behind projectors, to the whiteboard and onto the PowerPoint presentation as our teaching methods have evolved.

I see this as a unique and interesting way to engage the students actively during lectures and enhance their comprehension through the peerassisted learning technique.”

The University now has around 400 clickers being used by a variety of lecturers who have enthusiastically embraced the concept.

Bringing history to life Humour, Hendrix and Hollywood come together in the classes of Dr Josephine May to create learning experiences that inspire and invigorate students long after their history lesson is over.

A lecturer in Australian history at the University’s Central Coast campus, May said her teaching tools helped enhance learning and drove student engagement.

It is not unusual to hear some classic Jimi Hendrix or a screening of Mel Gibson’s Mutiny on the Bounty coming from her lectures. So, it is easy to see why May’s students are so enthusiastic about the classes.

Women’s history student Linda Sharman said May’s course was the best she had done.

“The way Jo conducted both the lectures and tutorials made it really interesting because it was more than words,” Sharman said.

May believes using mixed media brings people’s imaginations into the era.

“Learning about the Vietnam War takes on a new dimension when it is set to the music of Jimi Hendrix,” she said.

“Mixing it up teaches students in a way that bridges gaps and brings history alive.

“Humour is a particularly useful tool when teaching about culture clashes. For example, when talking about the unprecedented number of US servicemen in Australia during World War II, I use accents and role play to convey the great differences between Australian and American norms

regarding gender relations, especially around dating.

“When used appropriately, humour can really help students understand complex issues and themes in a non-threatening way.”

May, who won a NSW Quality Teaching Award for her commitment to excellence and student achievement, said her teaching philosophy was simple: “We are taking our students on a journey and it is important they are excited by it.”

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The teachers enjoy observing the experiments and watching their students’ excitement as they have a ‘Eureka!’ moment

STUDENTS HAVE THEIR ‘EUREKA!’ MOMENT Experiencing the thrill of a ‘Eureka!’ moment is all part of bringing science to life for NSW high school students during the University of Newcastle’s annual ExperimentFest.

Designed to give Higher School Certificate (HSC) students a hands-on understanding of what they learn in the classroom, ExperimentFest puts them to the test as they unveil the mysteries of flight paths, the transmission of light and phosphoric acid content in soft drinks.

More than 1,300 Hunter and Central Coast students take part in the event, staged at both the Newcastle and Central Coast campuses. They explore some of the more complex HSC concepts from their physics and chemistry syllabus and conduct experiments using equipment not available in a high school laboratory.

An initiative of the University of Newcastle’s physics and chemistry staff, ExperimentFest started eight years ago, when changes to

the HSC physics syllabus meant schools needed difficult-to-acquire liquid nitrogen for experiments.

After the University received calls from a number of teachers looking for the elusive liquid, the idea of bringing high school chemistry and physics students to the University was born.

“Chemistry and physics gain new dimensions as students learn under the supervision of University staff and postgraduate students,” the Faculty of Science and Information Technology’s Professor Bruce King explained.

“Each experiment is chosen to complement the HSC syllabus, cementing classroom theory and providing a good basis for examination preparation. Students are supported by a comprehensive website, handbooks, follow-up discussions and questions to enhance the learning experience.

“The students see scientific concepts come alive, which opens them up to the possibilities and real-life applications of science.

“They are also exposed to the University’s laboratories, getting a taste for University life and an insight into where a degree in science can take them.”

King collaborates with his colleagues – Associate Professors Scott Donne and Colin Waters at Newcastle and Drs John Furst and Michael Bowyer at the Central Coast – on the program structure.

Retired high school science head teachers Larry Milton and David Rushton also make substantial contributions to give ExperimentFest its high school focus. To further ensure ongoing relevance for schools, feedback is invited from participating teachers as the program is developed each year.

“The teachers enjoy observing the experiments and watching their students’ excitement as they have a ‘Eureka!’ moment,” said King. “They tell us participating in ExperimentFest means their students are much

better prepared for the HSC, which makes it all worthwhile.”

Dr Mark Butler is the head teacher of science at Gosford High School, and said ExperimentFest educated and motivated his students.

“As a selective school we are continually looking for science activities to extend and excite our students,” he said. “ExperimentFest fits the bill perfectly.

“It offers students the opportunity to experience a range of experiments that relate directly to the syllabus but that are difficult or impossible to do at school.

“The students return to school more motivated about their senior subjects and many have told me they didn’t really understand the concepts until they saw them at ExperimentFest.”

ExperimentFest is currently available to high schools in the Hunter and Central Coast. The program has been so successful that the organisers are looking to extend it next year to other areas of NSW.

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You may be the world’s most brilliant software engineer but if you cannot communicate effectively or work in a team, your professional career could prove much more challenging than it has to be.

According to the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science’s Associate Professor Huilin Ye, teamwork and communication are vital qualities for a software engineer.

Ye, who worked in the software engineering industry for a decade before joining academia, has used her experience to identify important professional values and skill sets. She has incorporated them into the University’s software engineering degree program.

The course takes a universityindustry collaborative approach to deliver the professional skills demanded of graduates, and earned Ye an Australian Learning and Teaching Citation in 2008.

“There is a great shortage of software engineers in Australia and it is important our graduates are trained properly so they

can cope with the challenges of this emerging engineering discipline,” Ye said.

The third-year course is designed to give the students a taste of the real world, experiencing all the professional twists and turns of a working software engineer.

In teams of three or four, the students use a standard industry development methodology, known as Process MeNtOR, throughout the course and are given an opportunity to qualify for an industry-recognised certificate in its proficiency.

Process MeNtOR is provided by Sydney firm Object Consulting, which has been partnering with the University for nearly a decade to help ensure graduates are familiar with state-of-the-art industry practices.

The students are given a product function that they need to develop using project specifications that are intentionally incomplete and ambiguous.

“Complexity and changeability are very much part of the discipline and we want the students to experience reality as closely as possible.”

The course has a three-stage delivery and each is marked and students given detailed feedback.

At a later stage, the teams have the opportunity to improve on whatever they missed earlier.

“This is the life of a software developer – everything is always evolving and being improved on,” Ye said.

“We show students how to use Process MeNtOR to guide their project development and extend their learning in dealing with industry-based themes, issues and problems of software development.

“This is great experience for their future careers.”

“This is what software engineers come up against all the time,” Ye said.

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There is a great shortage of software engineers in Australia and it is important our graduates are trained properly so they can cope with the challenges of this emerging engineering discipline

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Programmed for success

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After years of hard work, fourth-year psychology students at the University of Newcastle find themselves in the spotlight. As the final instalment of their degree, the soon-to-be honours graduates front an audience of more than 100 peers and staff, eager to hear about their work on mind and behaviour.

Established in 2002, the Fourth Year Psychology Student Conference gives students the opportunity to present their work in a ‘real-life’ conference environment.

Each year, approximately 70 students communicate their thesis in 15-minute presentations, as either individuals or groups. The conference accounts for 10 per cent of their final year results.

PhD student Phylippa McKay, who participated in the conference last year, said it was particularly helpful for students who went on to research higher degrees.

“We will do a lot of presenting at industry conferences,” she said.

“So it gave us our first taste of what it will be like and tested our ability to speak in front of an audience.”

The day-long conference mimics a professional event, where students present their final-year work before facing question time.

“It made us think about our research in a new and exciting way by forcing us to draw out the most important and interesting components to present in a brief amount of time,” McKay said.

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“The feedback, comments and suggestions from others about my research helped me enormously.”

Conference convener Dr Frini Karayanidis said the event put students in the spotlight.

“We want students to finish their degree program feeling confident and ready for what the future will throw at them,” she said.

“This conference makes students condense their work into short, understandable and interesting presentations that are critiqued by their peers. It is daunting, but it helps students see the value of sharing knowledge.

“Learning is a two-way street, and this conference clearly demonstrates that.”

The conference also gives students an opportunity to learn about their peers’ research.

“The work presented during the conference highlighted the excellent standard and diverse nature of work in the School of Psychology. It also showed thirdyear students the type of research they could undertake in their honours year,” McKay said.

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We want students to finish their degree program feeling confident and ready for what the future will throw at them

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Conference call

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The conference ends with a presentation of awards including the coveted Summer Scholarships, which allow students to write their thesis for publication.

“For students continuing with research, having their first paper published is an invaluable kickstart to their academic career,” Karayanidis said.

20 | TEACHING & LEARNING

Central to building a better learning environment The phrase ‘education revolution’ has become a catch-cry in recent times but the University of Newcastle’s Central Coast campus is doing more than just talking. It is leading the charge by changing the ways students interact and learn.

Student enrolment at the campus is growing dynamically every year and is expected to reach more than 4,000 by 2012 – close to a doubling in student numbers over a 10-year period.

The rapid growth is thanks to the popularity of courses such as nursing and sports science and a number of new programs, including psychology, podiatry and oral health.

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Supported by four major grants from the Australian Government, the expansion project includes general purpose teaching facilities, specialist teacher education facilities and more information technology teaching laboratories.

The University of Newcastle’s Director of Infrastructure Services, Trevor Gerdsen, said more than one million dollars had been spent on IT alone.

“We are making significant investments in infrastructure to ensure the teaching environment is responsive to the way students want to learn,” he said.

With the installation of 22 wireless access points across the campus, students no longer need to visit the library or a computer lab to access the internet or their emails.

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Wireless internet access, 24/7 library access and stateof-the-art teaching facilities are part of the multi-million dollar investment being made to the campus at Ourimbah to cater for the growing number of students and changes in the way they want to learn.

All of these initiatives are designed to enhance learning for our students.

They are in response to the reality of how people study and interact

“The idea of building a room so 30 people can sit and work at a desk is a 20th Century concept,” Pro Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Central Coast campus, Professor Stephen Crump, said.

“The way young people think and learn has changed. They now expect to walk onto campus and open a wireless connection to the web as they would do at home or in a café.”

The Wireless@Ourimbah project had humble beginnings as a pilot study in the campus library.

It allowed wireless access to the internet and the University’s email service network in a secure, encrypted environment.

“The success of the pilot paved the way for the campus-wide rollout,” Crump said. “Over time, we will continue to upgrade the wireless network to ensure continued first-class access to IT services for our students.”

New common areas and hubs provide a one-stop shop for students to study and socialise.

They can visit the hubs to work, submit and collect assignments, access online lecture and tutorial notes and get assistance and advice from staff. The wireless-

enabled areas have computer access, printers, scanners and photocopiers, cafes and the flexibility of extended opening hours.

Hub staff can also refer students to a range of services, including career advice, counselling and scholarships, loans and welfare.

To cater to demand, the campus library is now open 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Students can access computer workstations and resources when they need them.

The Central Coast campus also boasts new buildings and specialist teaching facilities.

Specialised clinical labs help those studying nursing and health sciences by simulating a hospital environment. Gerdsen said the purpose-built health skills labs had two five-bed hospital wards with electronic beds, oxygen outlets and emergency call buttons.

“For all intents and purposes, they are like a real, working hospital,” he said.

New facilities, including teaching and interview rooms, have also been planned to support the

TEACHING & LEARNING

recently introduced Bachelor of Psychology program. The rooms will be housed within the new Exercise and Sports Science building, due for completion by the end of 2009.

Australia’s most modern podiatry lab can also be found on the Central Coast campus. The facility, which won a Master Builders Association Award for adaptive re-use of an existing building, gives students onthe-job learning experiences under the guidance of a fullyqualified podiatrist.

“All of these initiatives are designed to enhance learning for our students,” Gerdsen said. “They are in response to the reality of how people study and interact.

“Quite simply, students like to be around each other when they are studying and it is our role to make the campus an attractive, functional and desirable place to learn.”

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Highly-prized support Knowing it could help give students a start in the business world made Mark Hoddinott’s decision to locate his business on the University of Newcastle’s Central Coast campus even easier.

Hoddinott is Managing Director of Hoddinott Consulting, a commercial accounting and financial service firm based on the campus since 2000. Passionate about guiding young graduates into the accounting and financial services industry, Hoddinott is a firm supporter of the University and its teaching practices.

“Being part of the campus and involved in a variety of ways with the business students has two-way benefits,” Hoddinott said.

The firm supports the learning experience of the Central Coast students in a variety of ways, from offering traineeships and putting up academic prizes to delivering guest lectures and participating in curriculum development.

Hoddinott said the University’s business studies students were well trained and the curriculum encouraged and accommodated on-the-job training.

“Students benefit from the first-hand experience and businesses have access to the brightest new candidates keen to enter the field – it’s a win for all of us,” Hoddinott said.

Hoddinott currently employs six students at various stages in their studies. Trainees work in the firm three days a week, leaving time for University lectures, tutorials and study. In addition to receiving a salary, trainees are given extra annual leave for study and financial assistance for University expenses.

“Most students need to earn money while studying and if business students can do this and gain industry experience while obtaining their formal qualifications, they are a step ahead,” Hoddinott said.

The firm also offers two annual academic prizes for business students. The Hoddinott Consulting Prizes – open to all final-year accounting students at the Central Coast campus – recognise the highest achieving male and female student.

22 | TEACHING & LEARNING

Sporting chances Students in the Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science degree program at the University of Newcastle’s Central Coast campus know all about hands-on learning. In fact, learning does not get much more hands-on than taking the pulse of a professional footballer.

Third-year students take to the training field of the Central Coast Mariners to perform exercise testing on the A-League team.

They then analyse the results and report them to the coaching staff to provide fitness snapshots of players.

Dr Dan Dwyer and Dr Xanne Janse de Jonge are lecturers in the degree program.

“Exercise testing the Mariners is definitely a highlight for the students and a valuable way for them to gain practical experience with professional athletes,” Janse de Jonge said.

This interactive learning is just one way the new degree program helps qualify its graduates for the wide spectrum of career opportunities in the sport and health industries.

The new, three-year degree was introduced in 2008 to replace the Sports Science and Physical Activity major in the Bachelor of Science.

Students undertake extensive study of human anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, sport psychology, exercise testing and prescription, sports nutrition and sports management. The qualitycontrolled, industry-focused learning program prepares them for roles in the health, elite sports performance, fitness and leisure professions.

Dwyer said the program would be constantly refined to ensure the most streamlined, relevant program for preparing industryready graduates.

“The final year of the degree has a strong emphasis on fieldwork experience linked to the students’ particular interests, and the University has partnered with more than 50 Central Coast organisations who offer placements to the third-year students,” he said.

Those majoring in sport can choose to spend time with sporting clubs such as the Central Coast Mariners, the Newcastle Knights and the

Newcastle Jets. Health majors can train in hospitals, while students in health promotion can work with the likes of NSW Health and the Department of Sport and Recreation.

Janse de Jonge said the work placements helped develop well-rounded graduates who were realistic about their future profession.

end of their second year enabling them to gain a Certificate III and IV in Fitness, the basic qualifications required to work in gymnasiums and as a personal trainer.

“This means students in their third year can work in their chosen field while they are studying,” Dwyer said.

“It is a way for them to apply their knowledge and experience what working in their chosen field would be like.”

“We are working on building more short, industry-recognised courses into the program so students not only graduate with a quality degree but with additional qualifications that make them even more employable.”

Students are also offered the opportunity to undergo a professional bridging course at the

The University is working to achieve national accreditation with the Australian Association

of Exercise and Sport Science for all graduates of the program.

Students are set to benefit further from new purposebuilt exercise physiology and biomechanics fitness laboratories being constructed on the Central Coast campus.

Dwyer said the new building would also include teaching space resembling a large commercial gym and a 75-metre runway through the biomechanics lab for the analysis of sporting movements.

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A traditional path to healing When an Aboriginal elder in remote New South Wales was introduced to Dr Dein Vindigni, a qualified chiropractor, he saw the perfect opportunity to bring the traditional bush healing methods of his ancestors into the new millennium.

Photo supplied courtesy of Fairfax Community Network

Visiting the Indigenous community of Brewarrina as part of his Master of Medical Science studies at the University of Newcastle, Vindigni was interested in what cultural elder Uncle Paul Gordon had to say.

Gordon had been raised in a community where tradition had long been based on using hands to heal. He wanted Vindigni’s help to create a health qualification that would validate traditional healing for his people.

“Uncle Paul talked of his grandmother using prayers, bush medicine, natural pain relief remedies and massage to heal suffering – but on the mission where he grew up, that was all forbidden,” Vindigni said.

“He also told stories of elders warming their hands at the fire before placing them on different points of the body to ease pain.”

At the heart of Uncle Paul’s request was the suffering of the Aboriginal community in Brewarrina and the fear of losing traditional healing methods.

“Uncle Paul likened it to what you would expect in a developing country,” Vindigni said.

“He said the suffering was the legacy of a people disconnected from the past and poorly connected with the present.”

Tired of having his people’s problems merely identified, Gordon spoke to Vindigni of the community’s concerns about the epidemic of physical, mental and spiritual illnesses consuming the remote areas.

“Uncle Paul told me it was time something real was done and urged me to do my PhD on the musculoskeletal health of his people, hopeful it would lead to positive action,” Vindigni said.

Vindigni, founder of Hands on Health Australia, resolved to undertake his University of Newcastle PhD in Behavioural Health, focusing on Gordon’s request.

“Meeting Uncle Paul really inspired me. He is a highly respected elder and custodian of traditional knowledge and has been described as akin to a Cardinal in the Catholic tradition.”

Assessing the prevalence of pain and disability in the communities, his work resulted in the development, implementation and evaluation of a community-based Certificate IV in Sports Massage for Aboriginal Health Workers.

More than 20 workers have now graduated from the nationallyaccredited program, which combines aspects of traditional

approaches to managing musculoskeletal conditions with mainstream Western methods.

A subject on traditional approaches to treating common injuries is taught by Aboriginal elders. It includes identifying, collecting and preparing bush plant extracts as oils to treat basic musculoskeletal conditions.

The practical, hands-on program is supported by the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, The Murray School of Health Education, Health Schools Australia and Booroongen Djugun Aboriginal College.

Graduating Aboriginal Health Workers practise in a range of community settings, including Aboriginal health services, sporting clubs, voluntary community health clinics, as well as in private practice.

“The program is about managing pain, disability and the effects of psychosocial conditions but it also brings about hope and healing on other levels,” Vindigni said.

“To be greeted with warmth and nurtured through touch are simple but often very powerful tools in the healing process.

“Our shared vision for this work is that it continues to grow at a grassroots level and empowers communities to promote sustainable health and wellbeing.”

On Australia Day 2008, Vindigni was honoured with an Order of Australia for his work with Hands on Health Australia.

“My meeting with Uncle Paul Gordon continues to drive and inspire me through the challenges of my work and I am so grateful to be recognised for something I am passionate about.”

24 | TEACHING & LEARNING

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The hands-on sessions exposed us to aspects of the industry we would never otherwise see

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medical intervention for rural students You only have to pick up a newspaper or watch the news to realise Australia has a chronic shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas.

A program delivered by the University of Newcastle is helping address that problem.

Lismore student Lucy Cochrane and Albury’s Katrina Pavic took part in the University’s Rural Health Career Week as secondary students. They are now in their first year of the Bachelor of Medicine degree program at Newcastle.

Both had planned to become doctors from an early age but were unsure if their dreams could be realised.

“I wanted to be a doctor since second grade when my mother had an operation,” Pavic said.

“But as I got older, I began to consider a career in business, as I had a keen interest in it also.

“I really was not sure I could obtain the marks to get into medicine. That all changed after I attended the Rural Health Career Week. It reaffirmed my passion in medicine and I became convinced that I really wanted to pursue it as a career.”

Cochrane said the program brought to life what it would be like to study medicine.

“The hands-on sessions exposed us to aspects of the industry we would never otherwise see,” she said.

“We worked in an anatomy lab, visited a pathology museum and learned how to suture, plaster and collect a blood sample. It was an awesome experience.”

The Rural Health Career Week is a joint initiative between the University of Newcastle, the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney. Initiated in the late 1990s, the program is open to Year 11 and 12 students who have shown an interest in pursuing a career in medicine or other health-related services.

“We know that students who come from rural areas are more likely to want to return to those areas after they graduate,” coordinator Kerrie Bissett said.

“Programs like the Rural High Schools Health Career Week help to address the major shortage of rural doctors.

“The Rural Doctors Network has identified three main reasons why students from rural areas shy away from studying medicine. Put simply, they are marks, motivation and money. Our program shows ways to overcome each of these obstacles.

“The week is a huge collective effort that sees dozens of professionals from medical institutions come together all with the same goal – to encourage and show these bright students that a career in medicine is not out of their reach.”

Every year, 35 specially selected students from New South Wales country areas stretching from Lismore to Broken Hill and down to the Victorian border take part in the program.

As well as the hands-on exposure to medical life, the would-be doctors are given a taste of what to expect at university to help alleviate any fears they may have about living away from home.

“They also learn about assistance schemes designed to help make studying medicine possible, such as the Rural/Remote Admissions Scheme and HECS,” Bissett said.

“On a practical level, they visit health services, including the John Hunter Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Base.

We also take them on a tour of the University’s facilities and on campus accommodation.”

Pavic, who met Cochrane during Health Career Week, said the experience gave her a deeper insight into her chosen career.

“We met a variety of people from different regional areas who were in the same situation as us,” she said.

“It really helped to know others could relate to our circumstances and we encouraged each other to see how pursuing a career in medicine was attainable if we wanted it badly enough.”

Many students, including Cochrane and Pavic, form significant friendships during the week. When the girls were accepted to study in Newcastle, they arranged to move in together.

“Having each other for support and understanding alleviated a lot of the anxiety that comes with moving from a small rural area to a large city and starting a new life at university,” Cochrane said.

“The Rural Health Career Week gave me a career direction, a new city to live in and a fantastic new friendship – it really did change my life.”

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Nursing sea-change Hospitals Australia-wide, particularly those in rural areas, are experiencing critical nursing shortages.

As a sea-change destination, more than 20 per cent of Port Macquarie’s population is aged 65 or over (compared to the national average of 13.3 per cent).

This, combined with its location, means the region has an acute nursing shortage, which the University of Newcastle’s Port Macquarie campus is endeavouring to help with.

Since its introduction in 2005, more than 170 students have enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing degree at Port Macquarie. The majority live within the local area – from Forster in the south to Kempsey in the north – and are attracted by the flexible learning options.

Fulfilling lives

Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery Professor Michael Hazelton said the innovative program offered face-to-face and flexible, multimedia online learning.

The program also includes faceto-face learning in the clinical laboratory at Port Macquarie and hands-on experience in local health facilities, working alongside registered nurses.

“Students are expected at the campus once a week for lectures,” he said. “They can study a significant part of the degree from their home computers, with tutorials and course notes delivered online.”

“The level of clinical practice, combined with the theory, is designed to ensure graduates are more confident in the clinical setting from day one as a registered nurse,” Port Macquarie Site Coordinator Lyn Bowen said.

The flexible delivery model is part of a trend toward bringing education closer to the real-life needs of students. It enables a balance between study and personal commitments, which is resulting in the course attracting increasing numbers of matureaged students.

“Part of the clinical practice includes mastering skills identified as important by a large cohort of experienced registered nurses.”

Shaping and meeting the ever-expanding profession of occupational therapy is a key direction of the University of Newcastle’s School of Health Sciences.

Appointed in 2007, Professor Susan Ryan is the University’s first Professor of Occupational Therapy. Ryan is internationally recognised for her design of honours and masters advanced healthcare practice programs at University College Cork in Ireland and at the University of East London in England. Together with her colleagues she is now drawing on her standing and experience to reshape the undergraduate degree course in Newcastle.

In Australia and overseas, occupational therapy is meeting new health care trends of working with people in the community – in their own homes, in day centres, schools and community clinics – rather than just in hospitals. This provides diverse opportunities for students and the profession, and the University’s Bachelor of Occupational Therapy curriculum is being revised to be an innovator in the field.

The course is conducted in facilities on the North Coast Institute of Technical and Further Education (TAFE). The University

“Occupational therapy is about many things, but ultimately is about helping people find fulfilment in their lives,” Ryan said.

“Traditionally, occupational therapists help people overcome disease, physical injury, developmental delays, emotional trauma, psychological problems or social disadvantage to regain a meaningful life.

and TAFE have formed a partnership for their students to share access to teaching space including the nursing and aged care clinical laboratories.

“We have seen quite a few of the TAFE students inspired by their association with our undergraduates,” Lyn Bowen said. “Many of them have been motivated to go on to enrol in the degree program.

“The opportunity to choose nursing as a career in Port Macquarie has never been more accessible and, with most of our graduates accepting positions in local hospitals or nursing homes, the whole community is benefiting.”

“There is now a relatively new concept of the ’science of occupation’ – how people occupy their time meaningfully. This is about empowering people to work on their own strengths to prevent or delay ill-health.”

The four-year occupational therapy degree program covers the traditional areas as well as the emerging occupational science field.

“Our graduates will have the knowledge, skills and abilities they need, but even more significantly, they will know how to research and learn, and how to shape their profession in the interest of their clients and the community.”

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the innovation leader for 30 years The University of Newcastle’s School of Medicine and Public Health has been setting the agenda for leadingedge medical education since it opened its doors in 1978.

In the past 30 years, the School has continued to lead the way with innovative teaching practices, setting the benchmark for programs and dynamic educational methods in medical schools around Australia.

From its inception, the School’s learning philosophy was founded on the cornerstones of excellence and specialised teaching techniques. These were created in response to a 1973 Federal Government inquiry into medical education that found nation-wide dissatisfaction with medical student selection procedures, vocational training and the overall education process for our future doctors.

The Karmel Report of the time was a wake-up call that medical education in Australia was

not producing quality health professionals and an overhaul of the system was needed.

needed both brains and bedside manner – a truly revolutionary concept for the era.

As a result of the Report’s recommendations, the University of Newcastle determined its Medical School would tailor its curriculum around preparing doctors to practise in both hospital and community settings.

As the School celebrates its 30th anniversary, it continues this pioneering tradition.

The founding Dean of Medicine was the highly regarded David Maddison, who kick-started the School’s pioneering reputation by initiating early clinical exposure for students through Australia’s first Problem-Based Learning program.

The School also turned tradition on its head by introducing interview admissions that assessed a candidate’s suitability for studying medicine.

Maddison believed medical students needed more than academic excellence to become outstanding doctors. They also had to be good communicators who displayed vocationallyappropriate personal qualities.

The Newcastle students were taught to learn and respect the importance of their community and its role as a living entity with high expectations of its health professionals. In short, they

Last year, in response to the chronic shortage of doctors in rural areas, it established Australia’s first joint medical school with the University of New England together with Hunter New England Health and Northern Sydney Central Coast Health.

The innovation is the latest chapter in the School’s long line of firsts, which have strongly influenced medical education across Australia.

Today, most Australian universities construct their medical curriculums on ProblemBased Learning. Admission interviews and a philosophy of community involvement are widespread practices.

According to the Head of the School of Medicine and Public Health, Professor Michael Hensley, the School’s long-standing ability to attract dynamic staff has played a major role in its successes.

“Thanks to the courage and commitment of these people, we have been able to implement

initiatives years before their time and stayed at the forefront of innovation in medical education,” Hensley said.

“A significant part of the School’s long-term success is due to its early recognition of the benefits of working with government and other stakeholders to meet the ever-changing health needs of our community.”

Hensley is particularly proud of Newcastle’s role in educating Indigenous medical professionals.

“In the 1980s, the School implemented an Indigenous recruitment program and today, almost 50 per cent of the nation’s Indigenous doctors are graduates of our program,” he said.

The School’s reputation for innovation and excellence is arguably best represented by the University’s 1998 collaboration with the community and Hunter New England Health to form the internationally-acclaimed Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI).

Today, HMRI is recognised as one of Australia’s most innovative health and medical research institutes and is the only facility of its kind located outside a major capital city.

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When enthusiasm and passion for teaching come together, the result is excellence – for the teachers themselves, the educational institution they represent and, most importantly, the students.

When this dedication is combined with a commitment to staying in touch with the latest teaching technologies and techniques, the motivation to collaborate with other educators and a vibrant approach to teaching, the result is quality teaching.

Such excellence was recognised this year by the prestigious Australian Learning and Teaching Council, with five individuals and two teams receiving Citations for their work.

Formerly known as the Carrick Citations, they are awarded to staff whose passion and commitment have made a significant contribution to the quality of student learning over time.

Each Citation reflects the many ways in which recipients contribute to excellent teaching in higher education.

The University’s Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Professor Gail Huon, said she was inspired by each of the winners.

“They have proven their commitment to giving the best they can to our students.

Their inspiration is what helps learning come alive.”

The Auchmuty Library team of Debbie Booth, Michael Carr, Susan Day, Ann Stokes and Helen Lloyd: recognised for its development of an online learning tutorial to support the use of EndNote. EndNote is a bibliographic management software tool used by thousands of University students, researchers and academics to organise references, format in-text citations and automatically create bibliographies. The EndNote Tutorial’s innovative design, online availability and simplicity enables all users – including international and online students – to familiarise themselves with the program in their own time, regardless of their learning pace and geographical location. The team has been approached by various Australian universities to use, adapt and link to the tutorial.

The Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment’s Graham Brewer: awarded for his long-term commitment to developing and implementing student-centred teaching and assessment strategies. Over the past eight years, Brewer has encouraged students to become problem-solvers and thoughtful practitioners. He has done this by designing and implementing new and exciting learning experiences that encompass the values and methods of disciplines outside his own. Brewer was recognised for initiatives empowering students to steer their own learning experiences by putting them at the centre of the learning process.

The Faculty of Business and Law’s Katherine Lindsay: recognised for championing a teaching approach nurturing firstyear students as they develop academic skills and engage socially, inside and outside the classroom. Her inspirational approach has created a professional, supportive, studentcentred first-year learning community in which the learning experience is enriched. Katherine meets the diverse needs of full-time, part-time, mature-age, international, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, as well as students with disabilities and family responsibilities.

Photo: Justine Perl, Justine Perl Photography

Inspiration leads to national recognition

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Absent from photo: Susan Day

The Faculty of Education and Arts’ Dr Kathryn Holmes and Gavin Little: recognised for developing a mathematics teacher retraining program inspiring graduates to be thoughtful practitioners who motivate high school students to go onto higher level mathematics learning.

Initially developed in 2002, the Master of Education Studies (Mathematics) program has evolved into a well-regarded, integral component of how the impending shortage of mathematics teachers is being addressed by the NSW Department of Education and Teaching.

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The Faculty of Education and Arts’ Dr Philip Matthias, conductor of the University of Newcastle Chamber Choir: cited for developing a vibrant culture of choral and organ music inspiring and motivating students to perform professionally at international levels. Under his direction, the Choir has performed at world-renowned venues, including St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame Cathedral. The Choir has also performed in national choral competitions, on live television and radio and has recorded both live and studio CDs.

The Faculty of Health’s Dr Tracy Levett-Jones: recognised for designing and implementing an innovative clinical competency assessment model for nursing students.

The industry-recognised Structured Observation and Assessment of Practice (SOAP) model has resulted in significant improvements in students’ critical learning.

It ensures University of Newcastle nursing students meet the requisite standards of clinical competence and have confidence in their own ability to practise as a Registered Nurse.

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The Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment’s Associate Professor Huilin Ye: cited for the development of a teaching and learning model integrating classroom and workplace experience to support and inspire professionalism in software engineering graduates.

Recognising the challenge students face in effectively applying methodologies and principals in real-world software development, Ye created her model by embedding a large-scale, team project based on world-class industry development methodology as a major assessment item in the software engineering degree program. The model has significantly enhanced the practical and professional skills of software engineering students and magnified students’ career prospects.

They have proven their commitment to giving the best they can to our students. Their inspiration is what helps learning come alive

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The school of hard hats Thanks to a nationwide building boom, demand for construction management professionals is at an all-time high.

While this is great news for the economy, it means students are being tempted away from construction management, quantity surveying and building surveying degree programs.

The lure of instant careers and on-the-job training is raising concerns in the industry about its future. Once the boom is over, will construction management suffer from a chronic shortage of qualified professionals?

Addressing this and other problems at university level is part of work by Associate Professor Tony Williams and Willy Sher from the University’s School of Architecture and Built Environment.

The pair has received a grant from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council to look at the issues and opportunities confronting the discipline in terms of teaching, assessment, curriculum structure, professional attributes and work-readiness of graduates.

Williams said the quality of construction management education in Australia and how well it met industry expectations in delivering work-ready graduates, was key to how universities could assess and expand the curriculum.

“Like any industry, we want our graduates to hit the ground running as skilled, qualified professionals,” Williams said.

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Like any industry, we want our graduates to hit the ground running as skilled, qualified professionals

Williams and Sher have surveyed all full-time academics in the field; held focus groups with staff and students at universities across Australia; studied curriculum handbooks; and reviewed Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations data.

They have found that of those committing to a degree program, many are also working at least 20 to 30 hours a week.

“This has a real impact on learning,” Williams said. “Industry is poaching students as early as their first year and offering them part-time salaries of up to $100,000. As a result, they may not have time to learn properly and meet the demands of their assessment tasks.”

Williams and Sher said another issue compounding the skill shortage problem was the fact that women represented only 15 per cent of the construction management student population across Australia. Sher said that this gender imbalance was seen across academic staff numbers and the industry as a whole.

“Women are poorly represented and we need to address this as one way to meet demand,” he said. “If females are not attracted to construction management, we are missing out on a large pool of potential students.”

Sher, the recipient of a prestigious Australian Institute of Building Award – the Ronald Swane AM Award for Excellence in Teaching – said the scoping study was an important step forward for construction management education.

“We envisage the study creating the landscape from which new teaching and learning initiatives will emerge,” he said.

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A just design

An eclectic mix of sandstone, breathtaking coastal views and glass atriums was the inspiration behind an award-winning design by University of Newcastle graduate, Shaun Purcell.

Purcell was a third-year Bachelor of Design (Architecture) student when he received the honour from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects NSW Chapter for his innovative vision for a courthouse within Newcastle’s legal precinct.

The HPA/Mirvac Award, fiercely contested by students from universities across Australia, acknowledged Purcell’s endof-year work for its creative interpretation of public architecture.

“I wanted it to be a truly modern interpretation of a courthouse,” Purcell explained.

“The courthouse needed to represent the transparency of the legal system, which is why I incorporated a visually engaging glass atrium that spans all floors.

Yet the building also had to

maintain a sense of mystique and permanence, appearing quite solid, as though it was carved from rock.”

the history and traditions of the law. I wanted it to reflect the complexity of the law and the society it governs.”

The design brief called for the replacement of a dilapidated block of flats on a prominent corner in Newcastle, famed for its breathtaking coastal views.

Purcell added the mix of old and new helped give the building a sense of the past and the future.

This outlook was taken into account in the final design through Purcell’s use of construction materials.

“I used sandstone to represent not only the natural environment but also the legal system’s traditions, as sandstone is a material commonly used in courthouses,” Purcell said.

“It was important for the building to engage with the outside and represent the natural environment, as well as represent

“This design was essentially about solving a complex planning problem and making your own assessment of what public architecture means,” he said.

Another crucial element required by the design brief was for the building to be user-friendly and actually work as a public administration building.

“It was especially important I got the function right, taking into account things like ensuring the circulation patterns of jurors, judges, the accused and the public did not cross.”

The new courthouse comprised one district courtroom, a local courtroom and ancillary spaces.

Purcell, who now works for global design firm Woods Bagot in Brisbane, said the award and his training at the University had given his career a substantial boost.

“The architecture degree at the University of Newcastle is held in high regard in the industry and the problem-based learning approach – which was evident in the courthouse brief – is something I would highly recommend as a learning tool,” he said.

“The course ensures graduates are highly employable once they leave university. It certainly prepared me well for the workplace.”

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THE FUNKY SIDE OF PHYSICS Professor Paul Dastoor’s passion for physics is as inspiring as the University’s latest investment in its physics facilities – the million-dollar Nanostructure Deposition Facility.

About the Nanostructure Deposition Facility This world-class Facility represents a $1 million investment by the University and the Australian Research Council (ARC).

The Facility is a Class 1000, meaning there are fewer than 1000 particles per cubic foot in the lab. It is the University’s only ‘clean room’.

The Facility is being used to advance work in nanotechnology, the science and technology of building devices from single atoms and molecules. The technology has wide applications, such as building cheaper solar cells using plastics.

“Current solar cells made from silicon are energy efficient but far too expensive,” said Dastoor, Director of the University’s Priority Research Centre for Organic Electronics.

“By making the cells out of semi-conducting polymers instead of silicon, our goal is to build large areas of solar cells at very low cost.”

Dastoor can tell you many things about the ‘funky side of physics’ and is particularly passionate when it comes to the impact that state-of-the-art teaching equipment can have on the potential of his students. He believes students in Newcastle

are extremely fortunate to have access to this equipment so early in their learning.

What does this mean for physics students and the wider community?

“As well as the world-class Nanostructure Deposition Facility, which brings with it a world of possibilities for learning, we now also have seven scanning probe microscopes in the physics laboratory,” Dastoor said.

“With equipment like this, we can train highly skilled students, leading to excellent PhD candidates who create groundbreaking research or conduct amazing work in the field.

“This equipment allows our undergraduate students to apply their understanding of nanotechnology at an early stage of their academic career.

Previously, students could only access this kind of equipment during their PhD years, if they were lucky!

“If you build centres of excellence, you attract excellence and it grows within your institution.

“Instead of just telling them how important physics is, with this equipment, we can show them its possibilities. We can now teach students how to conduct scan probe microscopies before they are unleashed on the more expensive equipment.”

“I believe it is incredibly important for Newcastle and the Hunter to have state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities.

“By exposing our students to the best in teaching and research, we create a vibrant home for intellectual capital which, in turn, will help guarantee the region’s success.”

The Facility will enable an exciting new program of multinational collaborative research in organic electronics and nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter at the level of atoms and molecules, work which is so small, it is one billionth of a metre, or 80,000 times smaller than a human hair.

A key aspect of the Facility will involve building tiny nanotubes which can be incorporated into advanced electronic devices. This may not mean a lot to those unfamiliar with the discipline, but to science students, it signifies endless possibilities for their learning and research potential.

The Facility is one of the best in Australia and the only one located outside a metropolitan centre. It has led to the University becoming part of a national network of recognised laboratories that connects five Australian institutions with five international institutions for a series of exchange and research visits.

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Girl power

Practical and theoretical tasks revolving around maths, science and engineering opened the Year 9 girls’ eyes to how these subjects could lead them to rewarding, interesting and highly valuable careers they may otherwise have never considered.

From learning about artificial intelligence and robotics to how to push a plastic straw through a raw potato, the topics and practical experiments were designed to engage and challenge the girls on a variety of levels.

Initiated by the University of Newcastle’s Equity and Diversity Unit, the inaugural GIRLS + MATHS + SCIENCE = CHOICES Summer School was offered to girls from rural and regional areas, students from a non-English speaking or low

socio-economic background and students who have a disability.

Riverina Anglican College student Angela Lei said her experience at the Summer School had definitely altered her perception of what the future held for her. She said she was now aiming to study medicine or engineering at university – a decision guided by a new interest in science and maths.

“I never realised just how many science and maths related professions were open to me,” she said.

“The best activity was the robotics session. It was very interesting and something not many (probably none!) of us have ever come into contact with before.”

The University’s Deputy ViceChancellor (Academic) Professor Kevin McConkey said the Summer School was all about creating choices and providing a link between maths, science and fulfilling careers.

“It shows how this course of study can open up pathways to a whole range of exciting and inspirational careers that are vital to society,” he said.

The program included career talks given by women in non-traditional roles, interactive activities and industry field trips to motivate and inspire the students to really consider their subject choices for Years 11 and 12.

University of Newcastle Equity and Diversity Manager Belinda Munn said the Summer School aimed to boost confidence and

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encourage students who were generally less likely to attend university because of a limited vision of their choices.

“As well as providing academic insights, the Summer School also gave the girls the opportunity to stay in the University residences and get a taste of university life in a secure and caring environment,” Munn said.

Student Hayley Graham said the school had shown her many new possibilities for her future.

“Summer School has definitely influenced my subject choices.

It is the reason I have chosen a mainly science and maths-based year of study,” she said.

“I am doing extension maths, physics, chemistry and biology; and I will definitely aim for university after I leave school.”

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When 180 girls enrolled in a unique summer school at the University of Newcastle in late 2007, little did they realise how dramatically their perspective on the rest of their lives was about to change.

It shows how this course of study can open up pathways to a whole range of exciting and inspirational careers that are vital to society

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Bachelor of Civil and Environmental Engineering student Matthew Oliver, who is sponsored by Lake Macquarie City Council, is a busy man.

Learning beyond lectures Students fortunate enough to gain a place in the University of Newcastle Industry Scholarship Scheme (UNISS) have the best of both worlds at their disposal. They study and learn in the classroom and in companies, and their scholarships help to ease any financial pressures.

UNISS is a partnership among the University of Newcastle, the student and an industry sponsor.

The highly sought after scholarships offer recipients enriching, flexible work/study opportunities, with relevant ‘real-life’ experience in the student’s chosen field.

Throughout their degrees, UNISS scholars are supported financially and given opportunities to make significant contributions to the workplace, while experiencing the culture and ethics of a professional role.

In 2008, there are 128 UNISS scholars in fields ranging from engineering to accounting.

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UNISS Manager Angela Samuels said industry sponsorship meant students were professionally nurtured and given the opportunity to shine in their chosen fields.

“For many, the scholarships give their studies a true focus,” Samuels said.

“The work placements let them experience what the industry is like day-to-day, so they can hone their subject choices and shape their careers very early on.

“UNISS scholars are given the support and experience to become well-rounded, motivated graduates who make significant contributions to their sponsor’s workplace.”

The work placements let them experience what the industry is like day-to-day, so they can hone their subject choices and shape their careers very early on

Oliver began his degree in 2004 and in the years since, has found time for study, a full-year work placement at the Council and contributions to various volunteer organisations.

In 2008, he attended the Ecumenical Water Network Summer School in Geneva, Switzerland, and the previous year took part in the Engineers Without Borders Conference in Melbourne, all with the support of his sponsor.

“The Engineers Without Borders Conference focused on how engineering can be applied outside the popular realm of large companies and in vulnerable communities, such as those in developing countries,” Oliver said.

“Supplying water and sanitation infrastructure to these areas was one aspect

of the conference which really interested me. Overall, it was a fantastic opportunity and I learned a lot from it.

“Even though I was in the middle of my full-year placement when the conference was on, the Council was completely supportive of me attending.”

Oliver – who hopes to specialise in water engineering – said the UNISS scholarship had allowed him to gain invaluable experience at the Council, which ultimately shaped his particular interest.

“I was initially exposed to a broad range of engineering projects, but once the Council’s engineering department found out I wanted to pursue water engineering, it made sure I was involved with those sorts of projects and was extremely supportive.”

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‘Testing the water’ took on a whole new meaning for Bachelor of Environmental Engineering student Hannah Thompson when she was awarded a UNISS placement at the Hunter Water Corporation in 2005.

Not only was she facing a new experience in the form of university life, Thompson was also getting her feet wet – literally and figuratively – in the environmental engineering industry in which she wants to build a career.

As a UNISS scholar, Thompson will complete four semesters of her degree working with Hunter Water on various projects, including project managing soil surveys and assessments of Grahamstown Dam.

theatre. On target to complete her degree in 2010, Thompson is working as a Student Engineer in Hunter Water’s Network Operations Group. The Group is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the water and wastewater network, as well as dams and catchments.

“Most of the study I do at University is focused around water engineering so being at Hunter Water has been a real benefit,” Thompson said.

As she undertakes her studies, Hunter Water provides her with a scholarship as a well as invaluable industry experience.

“The rotation opportunities across the organisation expose me to different aspects of engineering and teach me about the business that can only be learned through first-hand experience.

Now in her fourth year of study, Thompson said the scholarship had allowed her to explore environmental engineering beyond the lecture

“Working with engineers whose years of experience total more than my years on earth, really lays the foundations for a great learning environment.”

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LEGAL insight

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No other law subject incorporates this level of practical experience into its syllabus

A group of University of Newcastle first-year law students is going to court and possibly a jail cell.

Not because they have broken the law, but as a result of an innovative program designed by one of the lecturers.

The Local Court Observation program, by Deputy Head of the University’s Law School Dr John Anderson, gives first-year law students a rare insight into the criminal justice system by allowing them to attend Hunter and Central Coast courts.

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The students are briefed on each case by a police prosecutor or legal aid solicitor and, at times, also sit in on client/counsel interviews in the court’s jail cells before observing what transpires in the courtroom.

Online for success Masters of Information Technology student Rachel Prior began her study while living and working on a farm in north-central NSW. “I was tending cattle and sheep – entrenched in all the ‘politics’ of rural life,” Prior said.

“I wanted to do more study but wasn’t sure how I could fit that around my farm commitments and its hours.

“The answer was GradSchool. com, where I could study at any hour of day that suited me, or whenever I could find time to squeeze study in.”

GradSchool.com offers tailored postgraduate coursework programs exclusively for online students. They study at their own pace and to suit their lifestyle and ambitions. Programs range from a 12-week course to an entire postgraduate degree.

“In that first foray, I felt entirely out of my depth,” Andrew Jackson, now in his fourth year, said. “I could barely keep up with what was going on.

“It made me realise that practical experience is essential for law students. Without it, the study of law becomes an entirely bookish pursuit. The earlier a law student can gain practical experience, the better.”

Anderson said the program, for which he received a Carrick Citation (now known as an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation), was insightful and challenging for the students.

After participating in the program, many undergraduates, like finalyear student Gabrielle Watts, undertake placements with the Legal Aid Commission, giving disadvantaged members of the community access to legal assistance and services.

“No other law subject incorporates this level of practical experience into its syllabus,” Watts said.

“You need to understand how the theory works in practice.

The first-year course had a major impact on me and, as a result of my experience, I decided I would ultimately like to work with Legal Aid.”

“For some, it also engenders a sense of social justice that influences how they study and ultimately practise law,” he said.

Anderson is currently exploring ways to expand this innovative program. He received a $10,000 grant as part of the Citation and is anticipating using some of it to fund a fact-finding mission to the US and Canada.

GradSchool.com General Manager Mat Sharman said the self-paced, interactive programs appealed to busy people.

lecturers and classmates through the University’s Blackboard system, a web-based learning environment of teaching materials and support.

“Ultimately, it is about fitting in with the lifestyle demands of professionals, as well as graduate students,” Sharman said.

“And you do not necessarily need a degree to enrol. People who have 10 or more years relevant workplace experience may be eligible for postgraduate study.”

All GradSchool.com programs cover the same course content as their on-campus equivalents, with students staying connected to

Prior said she found the set up as supportive as it was flexible.

“At every stage of my studies, the support given to me by the staff at GradSchool.com has been incredible,” she said.

“I expected stuffy academics but instead got courteous and respectful people who always encouraged the best from me, even when I did not think I could achieve.”

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The quiet achiever Across the globe, every hour of every day, University of Newcastle students are accessing their library services and scholarly resources via the internet.

“They can email their Faculty librarian at the Newcastle campus, review course content online, or access 35,000 e-books and more than 60,000 online journals.

“The University has students in more than 100 countries and, in so many ways, technology is changing the way they are studying and learning,” University Librarian Greg Anderson said.

“We also offer self-paced tuition via the internet to help students find information for their assignments. These modules – InfoSkills and our Endnote Tutorial – have received international recognition and are now used by more than 50 libraries around the world.”

“Whether they are around the corner or on the other side of the world, our scholars can take advantage of the University’s award-winning online library services.

Approximately 70 per cent of the library’s scholarly information budget is now spent on electronic resources. In 2008 alone, more than $4 million has been invested in online journals and electronic books.

“We have certainly invested heavily in online materials to ensure information is available anytime, anywhere,” Anderson said.

One of the many benefits of the online service is that students rarely have to wait for resources as concurrent access to the same material is available.

The online services are particularly important for University of Newcastle students studying at the campus in Singapore. The 2,000-plus Singapore-based students and academics now have the same access to the library’s electronic resources as those at the Newcastle and Central Coast campuses.

Essential course reading materials available online include scanned book chapters and electronic journal articles available 24 hours a day.

Lecturers can also link these resources in the online learning tool, Blackboard, so students can easily obtain lecture notes, quizzes and assignments.

Blackboard also allows the students to communicate with the University’s academics.

Last year, the library developed a webpage for staff and students enrolled at the University’s Singapore campus. The webpage brings together relevant information about the library’s services such as an electronic reference service (ASAP Info), InfoSkills and the award-winning EndNote Tutorial. It can also be used to ask general library questions via email or SMS, with 90 per cent of emailed enquiries answered within 24 hours.

Whether booking a training session or logging on to read a chapter of an e-book, interactivity is a key focus of the website. Many of the students in Singapore use the site’s online discussion forums to keep in touch and share ideas with their Australian-based peers.

“At the end of the day, no matter where students are based, we do whatever we can to enhance their learning experience,” Anderson said.

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THE WORLD AT YOUR FEET

Going to university is so much more than just getting a degree. Students are exposed to new ideas, new ways of thinking, new people and are given opportunities like never before.

For many students, university opens their eyes to the world.

This experience is especially evident at the University of Newcastle’s Singapore campus.

Every day, students studying at Singapore sit alongside friends from China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam and more.

With 1,900 students, the University’s Singapore campus offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs in partnership with private education provider PSB Academy.

Complete with a library, computer and science laboratories, lecture theatres and meeting rooms, the campus also offers students recreational facilities including a gymnasium, multipurpose hall, basketball and badminton courts.

Staff from mainly Singapore and Australia teach across the fields of business, commerce, communication, engineering, information technology, and environmental and occupational health and safety.

A key aspect for the University is ensuring the University of Newcastle student experience in Singapore, while respecting and nurturing the varied backgrounds of its students.

Leading the delivery of the student experience in Singapore are two highly committed staff members, Dr Doreen Kum and Mei Koh. With a strong research background and industry experience in marketing, Kum is a senior lecturer in marketing with specific research interests in consumer behaviour. She teaches a range of marketing

courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and is a popular staff member with students.

“Aside from teaching, I am the Student Academic Conduct Officer for the campus,” Kum said. “A key focus of my role is helping students understand how an Australian university operates and its expectations of academic integrity.

“The educational expectations placed upon them by an Australian university are sometimes different to those they are used to. So part of my role is to help the students understand how to respect the work of others while building new insights, knowledge and ideas.

“Promoting a culture of academic integrity relies more on effective communication than wielding a big stick.”

Kum works closely with the University’s Centre for Teaching and Learning, based in Newcastle, and her colleague in Singapore, Teaching and Learning Consultant Mei Koh. Koh adapts and implements the Centre’s learning support programs with a focus on academic integrity in the Singapore context.

She said students valued the guidance offered through academic language and learning skills workshops.

“They are generally not used to having so much help,” she said. “The support offered by an Australian university is different to anything they have experienced before, and they really appreciate it. That is why students really enjoy their university lives here.”

Both women said they thoroughly enjoyed working for an Australian university.

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“For students, studying at the University of Newcastle in Singapore is about so much more than just achieving a degree.

“It is about meeting people, creating new friendships and networks, learning new ways of thinking, and opening minds to people of different cultures and backgrounds. I really enjoy being part of that.”

Both Kum and Koh believe the resources dedicated to the student experience at the University of Newcastle’s Singapore campus are integral to the growing popularity of the campus across Asia.

“If we can provide good teaching and learning support to students, regardless of their background, they will perform better and, most of all, be transformed by their experience with the University,” Kum said.

To document the Singapore campus experience, Koh and a Singapore-based colleague, Dr Stephen McIlwaine, are compiling a video clip in which students share their stories of studying at the University of Newcastle.

Called The Singapore International Student’s Experience: In Their Own Words, the video offers an insight into student experiences in Singapore.

“The students know the University cares about their progress and that staff are readily available to help.

“This creates a warm atmosphere of trust and encouragement on campus that is almost infectious.

I wanted to capture and share this.”

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If we can provide good teaching and learning support to students, regardless of their background, they will perform better and, most of all, be transformed by their experience with the University

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“The culture is relaxed and casual – I love Australian humour, the social exchanges and the open communication among colleagues,” Kum said.

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PAS DE DEUX Cohesive teamwork and a complementary approach to teaching have made the University of Newcastle’s French discipline a haven of learning in which undergraduate to PhD students are supported and nurtured.

Dr Alistair Rolls and Dr MarieLaure Vuaille-Barcan are part of the School of Humanities and Social Science. Their distinctive teaching partnership was recognised in 2007 with a Carrick Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning.

The award noted their ‘innovation and excellence in revitalising a small discipline through intensive teamwork and by reaching out to multiple communities of learners’.

That year, Rolls and VuailleBarcan were also honoured with a Vice-Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.

The pair, who share the teaching of every French course with the exception of two electives, attribute their success to a shared passion for their discipline and their different approaches to teaching.

English-born Rolls, who is internationally respected for his French literature research, believes the partnership works so well because the pair can draw on each other’s interests and knowledge to develop a course relevant for all students.

“Our teaching and research interests combine, so we can each contribute something different to our programs,” Rolls said. “We function at the true nexus of teaching and learning.”

The University offers students a range of undergraduate language study and postgraduate research possibilities, with teaching and learning including literature, translation and didactics in French.

“These groups give students the opportunity to practice speaking what they are learning with people whose first language is French,” she said. “It is a wonderful way to learn the practicalities of French.”

There are two principal major sequences designed to lead into honours and postgraduate work; courses cater for both students who have previously studied French and those who have not.

Students of French at the University of Newcastle are also encouraged in their learning with a range of grants and awards.

Before coming to Australia, Vuaille-Barcan completed a Master of Philosophy in French as a Foreign Language in Cross-Cultural Situations at the Université Lumière Lyon 2 in France. She said her teaching philosophy was based around being as available as possible for students and trying to empathise with their difficulties to provide positive, encouraging support.

As a member of the greater French community in Newcastle, Vuaille-Barcan regularly forges links between students and local cultural groups such as the Alliance Francaise.

One such scheme is the Hartley Bequest, created from a gift of the Foundation Professor of French, Emeritus Professor Kelver Hartley.

Founded to support students in various ways, the bequest annually funds fully paid exchanges to the University of La Rochelle. It also subsidises research trips for postgraduate students, supports honours students with fee grants and gives annual study awards for undergraduates to study French.

“The Hartley Bequest is unique to the University of Newcastle,” Rolls said. “Languages can be vulnerable but the bequest enables us to strengthen the discipline of French at this University.”

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