Teaching for Learning in Tertiary Education: Foundations and Beyond

Participants establish a shared foundational understanding of effective and responsive teaching practice in tertiary education informed by contemporary adult learning theories, frameworks and principles. Drawing on their experiences and evidence-based research, participants address the critical elements of quality teaching and learning promoted by the VU Block model; studying one subject at a time guided by active, collaborative, engaged and flexible strategies to enhance education for all students. Participants will apply those elements to specific disciplines or fields of study, and link theory and practice through a range of interactive activities. They will explore a variety of physical and online teaching and learning contexts and modes of delivery for diverse student cohorts. To further develop participants’ teaching practices, they will engage in observation of active teaching and learning techniques, and provide collegial, constructive feedback through structured peer review. Participants will also justify the selection and application of relevant teaching frameworks by creating purposeful lesson plans, putting it all into practice for a small group micro-teach. Primarily online self-paced, this unit has two optional Saturday morning workshops providing valuable opportunities for peer learning and networking The final assessment takes place in week 4.