Inter-Faculty collaborations explore new teaching perspectives!
The Inter-Faculty Transformation Grant (IFTG) scheme offers funding and support to projects that have the capacity to result in impactful change in education through the collaboration among Faculties. The IFTG projects frame differences in educational spaces as potentially enriching, with a focus on student learning benefits. As a result, the richness of knowledge and learning outcomes from these projects “grapple with learning new tasks and identities in new places … in collaboration with others” (Newman et al., 2014, p. 322).
The Monash Education Academy encourages and supports interdisciplinary projects providing funds up to a maximum of $70,000 over 2 years.
Three projects were awarded this year. They mainly focus on student engagement and teaching practice:
- Title: A bespoke academic-led engagement program to foster connection, community and wellbeing of international students
Its purpose is to provide regular faculty-community-based programs that foster a sense of belonging and well-being.
Project Team Leaders: Dr Nilushi Karunaratne and Dr Betty Exintaris - Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Project Team Members: Suzanne Caliph, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ; Alastair Thomas, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ; Su Li Yeoh, Faculty of Science ; Susie Ho, Faculty of Science ; Shear Teo, Faculty of Law ; Mel Marquis, Faculty of Law ; Barbara Kemp-Harper; Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences ; Michael Enticott, Faculty of Arts ; Will Duddy, Faculty of Arts ; Edoardo Daly, Faculty of Engineering ; Sudha Mokkapati, Faculty of Engineering ; Anisha Sandhu, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Amudha Kadirevula, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. - Title: Catch me before I fail: An Early Intervention Framework to Improve At-Risk Students’ Academic Performance, Engagement and Unit Retention Rates
This project adopts a behavioural approach that supports the use of nudges to interact with students to increase engagement and motivation as well as to provide study guidance.
Project Team Leader: Ms Charanjit Kaur - Monash Business School
Project Team Members: Patricia Menedez, Monash Business School ; Robert Brooks, Monash Business School ; Dewi Tojib, Monash Business School ; Jess Co, Monash Business School ; Ainura Tursinalieva, Monash BUsiness School ; Tristan Cui, Monash Business School ; Julie Luu, Monash Business School ; Jonathan Li, Faculty of Engineering ; Tian Goh, Faculty of IT ; Pearl Subban, Faculty of Education ; Khong Wei Leong; Faculty of Engineering, Malaysia. - Title: Exploring the value and impact of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for university educators’ teaching practice
Given the positive impact of PCK on teacher education, understanding how and to what extent PCK impacts higher education could prove valuable for both educators and students alike.
Project Team Leader: Dr Mahbub Sarkar - Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.
Project Team Members: Michelle Lazarus, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences ; Caroline Wright, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences ; Dragan Ilic, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences ; Paul White, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ; Chris Thompson, Faculty of Science, Nicoleta Maynard, Faculty of Engineering and Amanda Berry, Faculty of Education.
Congratulations to the project teams based across nine Faculties! The Monash Education Academy will share the project's outcomes and strategies and resources the teams developed with the wider Monash teaching and learning community.
References
Newman, S., B. Niemeyer, T. Seddon, and A. Devos. 2014. “Understanding Educational Work: Exploring the Analytic Borderlands Around the Labour That Enables Learning.” Globalisation, Societies and Education 12 (3): 321–335. doi:10.1080/14767724.2014.916609. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Google Scholar]