Higher Ed Heroes

Our guest in this episode is Dr Sarel Gronum (Business School at the University of Queensland), whose Masters students get thrown into proper, several week long, consultancy projects with real world business clients. Besides the challenge of building this flagship course and how he had to fine tune his own teaching role within it, Sarel talks about the centrality of ambiguity and ‘trench warfare’...

In this episode, we talk to A/Prof Allison Mandrusiak (School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The University of Queensland).  Coordinating a cardiorespiratory physiotherapy course, Allie has built a model hospital to replicate real clinical practices and even lets her student play cardio karaoke. But central to Allie’s teaching are the ideas of building scaffolding and safety nets into he...

In this episode, we talk to Professor Chris Reus-Smit (University of Queensland) about lecturing as a performance art, about the essence of being physical, animated, and enthusiastic in order to draw students into the learning content.

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Dr Rebecca Olive (RMIT Australia) about how students in human movement studies learn by taking on an unfamiliar sport for six weeks. It is about experiencing the strangeness of the familiar, about self-reflection, and about the development of (self)compassion. 

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Professor Garr Reynolds (University in Osaka) about how to design and deliver powerful presentations, how to avoid death by powerpoint, and how the best learning comes through doing. 

We have all been there: having to teach a topic which is either difficult to grasp or that we know is unpopular with students. How can make these topics accessible and bring them alive in a fun way to help students learn? Dr Suzanna Fay (The University of Queensland) faced these challenges when she first started teaching statistics and probability theory to social science students. Her solution: l...

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Kiri Ingram and Dr Andrew Dougall (both at UQ's School of Political Science and International Studies) about starting out as lecturers, about the nerves, the challenges, imposter syndromes, and the dos and don'ts.

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Dr Fabiane Ramos (School of Culture and Languages & School of Education, UQ) and Dr Laura Roberts (Flinders University) about their use of weekly journal writing as a way to help students reflect about course content (and as it relates to their own lives), to build trusting relationships and to foster a nourishing learning environment.

In this episode, Associate Professor Al Stark (usually one of our podcast co-hosts) turns interviewee to share with us what he calls '20 Minute Moments': it's about stopping the lecture, exposing students to a practical, fun, interactive, but ultimately meaningful activity that allows students to learn key lessons.

In this episode, Al and Seb speak to Prof John Hattie (University of Melbourne) about the few key factors that have the biggest impact on student learning. Based on analysis of more than 300 million students from around the globe (the world’s largest evidence-based study), John Hattie identified the key factors that improve student learning. His findings are equally impressive as they are eye-open...

In this episode, we talk to Dr Leigh Sperka (Lecturer UQ’s School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences) about the ‘escape box’ exercise and learning through team work. 

In this episode, we talk to Dr Karin Sellberg (The University of Queensland), who uses the production of short videos – ‘me in a minute’ – as a form of assessment. How does this exercise work and how does it foster student learning? 

In this episode, we talk to Associate Professor Phil Orchard (University of Wollongong), who has designed his courses around simulations and role plays. Why are these so central to Phil's teaching, how do they differ and how can we effectively use different formats in our classroom?

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to two experienced and excellent tutors, Dr Federica Caso and Robert Arcidiacono, about all things tutoring: how to be an effective tutor, how to guide, how to handle respond to challenging situations, and how to bring a tutorial/seminar alive. 

In the first episode in 2021, Al and Seb talk to Dr Tom Chodor (Monash University) about the ways he has experimented with and ultimately refined different techniques to ensure that students actually do the readings before rocking up for class. 

In this episode, Seb and Al discuss with Associate Professor Matt McDonald (The University of Queensland) everything simulations and role play: different ways they can be employed; how to mark them; and how they can enable students to learn if done well. 

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Associate Professor Sarah Percy (The University of Queensland) and Professor David J Hornsby (Carleton University) about about the art of the lecture. In particular, they discuss the tricks and techniques they employ to grab and hold the attention of students in large lectures. 

In this episode, we are talking to Prof. Lydia Kavanagh (School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, UQ) who decided to get rid of exams in her courses and who instead offers learning exercises where students collaborate on solving practical, open-ended, real-world problems.  

In this episode, we talk to Dr Kim de Rijke (Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, The University of Queensland) on how he makes his students learn through research activities that focus on the social impact of real world development projects. 

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Prof Blake McKimmie (School of Psychology, University of Queensland) on how he revamped his courses around the way students learn. They also talk about the crime drama series Blake produced and which is used week by week to help students navigate through their course. 

In this episode, Seb and Al talk to Dr Jacqui Bond (School of Pharmacy; The University of Queensland): how teaching is not just about cognition but also - and crucially emotions; how integrating and addressing the emotions of learning enable students to have a more holistic experience.  

In this episode, Seb and Al talk to Professor James Arvanitakis (Western Sydney University): how he sees his role as a teacher as someone who wants to take his students on a journey and how he designs his classroom as a safe space as well as a brave space.  

In this episode, Al and Seb introduce the second podcast season and reflect upon what they have been doing in the classroom both during COVID and outside their current existence as zoom/online teachers.

In this episode, Seb and Al talk to Dr Mary Broughton (School of Music) about her students collaborating with the curator of one of the museums in Brisbane to pitch their own ideas for a public exhibition on the psychology of music. The conversation centers around how through this exercise students are offered a more complex and deeper learning experience.

In this episode, Al and Seb talk to Dr Ryan Williams (School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry at The University of Queensland) about making students aware of how the their studies are being embodied and lived in their every environments and spaces.