The Centre for Educational Development and Academic Methods (CEDAM) is helping ANU staff reshape their approaches to teaching and curriculum

The Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (GradCertHE) is a practical course that offers staff the opportunity to work on an area of their practice as individuals or as a group of colleagues from their college, school or centre.

“The program is very flexible and there are lots of opportunities for putting your learning into practice,” Pam Roberts of CEDAM said. “One of the key elements is trying out new ideas and approaches in your teaching and curriculum based on structured readings and reflections. This is also great for groups of staff working on new programs or reviewing their existing offerings.”

A small group of staff from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH) took up the opportunity to assist in the development of a Masters in Epidemiology. Robyn Lucas, Gillian Hall, Hassan Vally and Chris Kelman encouraged each other to take up the course and their collective participation enabled them to redevelop a curriculum with a coherent approach to teaching and assessment.

“One of the reasons we encourage people to do the course with others from their area is people do develop a new language and new understanding of higher education practice,” Pam said. “We talk about building a network of colleagues who share those understandings and can support each other in new ways of doing things. Participants also value sharing their ideas and concerns about teaching and learning with colleagues from across the university”

“I found the course very interesting and useful,” Chris from NCEPH said. “It has changed the way I approach teaching and has given me a rationale for what I do in teaching.” The participants agreed that they would recommend it for any ANU staff who are involved in teaching and were prepared to make the time commitment.

The qualification is recognised as an important foundation for teaching in universities that is increasingly valued nationally and internationally.

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