SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium 2019 banner text with lineart logo of a colourful  lightbulb figure sitting at a laptop with a headset on communicating online

Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium

Tuesday 5 November 2019, Gold Coast campus

We invite all SCU staff to participate in our 2019 Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium with the theme:


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Online and blended learning and teaching has increased rapidly over the last decade. Providing quality online learning experiences allows students to study anytime, anywhere, on any device. However, this trend to provide educational experiences online creates challenges for both our practice and identity as academics.

At Southern Cross University we have seen a growth in students choosing to study online. To provide a quality educational experience in the online learning and teaching environment we can draw on, enhance and extend the teaching experience that we bring from our experiences of teaching in face-to-face modes.

SCU’s Strategic Goal 1 is to “equip our students for diverse futures and global careers that enrich society”. The online and blended environment provides the perfect opportunity to help us achieve this goal by “co-creating learning rather than simply delivering content”. As the rationale for this goal states, “It is vital we adopt radically new ways of facilitating learning”.

  Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium 2019 Program

  Abstracts for Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium 2019

The following topics and questions will guide our discussion at the 2019 Symposium. We encourage innovative presentation styles, and creative ways to engage with your audience and stimulate discussion.

  1. What does it mean to be a learner or an educator in an online or blended environment?
    How are our identities changing? How are our interactions with students changing? How can we support each other through these academic/educator/student identity shifts? How do we evaluate and reflect on our practice? How do we disseminate appropriate, efficient and effective practice inside and outside the University?
  2. How can we employ blended learning to improve the effectiveness of our teaching on student engagement/learning?
    Does blended mean bland? How can we blend multiple modes, pedagogies and strategies to enhance both the learner experience and student learning?
  3. How are we creating, delivering and evaluating curriculum that engages students online?
    What designs are most effective for online/blended curriculum? How does content interact with pedagogy in the context of online learning? What new opportunities emerge for assessment that is collaborative and/or creative? How do we design inclusive online and/or blended curriculum? How do we evaluate the quality of our learning design and of student engagement in ways that provide us with meaningful feedback for us to reflect on?
  4. What strategies help us survive, thrive and engage students given rapid technological advances?
    How have you built your digital literacy skills? How do we effectively support colleagues and students? How do we evaluate the benefits of emerging platforms, technologies and tools?
  5. How have we developed student and teacher presence and community online?
    What is the effect of presence and community on learning? What approaches are effective? What opportunities are emerging for developing more inclusive communities?

Southern Cross University (2016). Strategic Plan 2016-2020.

Steering Group

The Symposium Steering Group provides guidance to the Centre for Teaching and Learning in organising the event and is responsible for reviewing submissions.

The Symposium Steering Group consists of:
Associate Professor Jo-Anne Ferreira, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Dr Raoul Adam, School of Education
Peter Cook, School of Education
Dr Lisa Jacka, School of Education
Dr Lachlan Forsyth, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Chris King, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Cathryn McCormack, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Tina van Eyk, Centre for Teaching and Learning