Teaching Awards

• Faculty of IT Teaching Excellence Award 2007: Extra Large Classes Category
• UTS Equity and Diversity Award 2007 (Indigenous Pre-IT Program)

Teaching Experience

Lecturing at the University of Technology, Sydney

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

Communication for IT Professionals
Introduction to Information Systems
Information Technology Professional and Society
Introduction to Collaborative Systems
Conducting Business Electronically
Networking 1 and 2
Programming Fundamentals

Graduate Diploma in Information Technology

Introduction to Information Systems
Information Systems Foundations
Information Systems Principles

Indigenous Pre-IT Program

Information Systems Development
Computer Fundamentals

Teaching Philosophy

Teaching has been a major part of my life since 1988. My philosophy of teaching is learner-centred and emphasizes the importance of the learner’s active participation in the construction of meaning. I believe we need to remember that our students are individuals, bringing with them a diverse range of experiences, interests and abilities, which will inform their learning. In this context the role of the teacher is very much one of providing an environment where the students can contribute, interact and experiment while building their own knowledge from materials provided by the teacher or by other students or located by themselves. A necessary element in this learning environment is that the students must feel at ease, have fun, and be given the opportunity to develop good co-operative learning relationships with each other and also with the teacher.

A major challenge for academics in the field of Information Technology (IT) is delivering lectures to large classes of students often numbering in their hundreds. However, even in these situations I believe we can move away from the traditional and outmoded lecture format of teacher talking, students listening (or falling asleep), to more interactive modes of lecturing. For example a lecture format I have found extremely effective is a mixture of teacher presentation punctuated by pairwork or small group discussion activities in which students engage with the material just presented and report their conclusions to the class.

Another major challenge of teaching in the Australian context is the extremely diverse cultural backgrounds of our students. In some classes the majority of students are from overseas. Moreover, there is now a small but increasing number of Indigenous students as the Faculty of Information Technology at the University of Technology, Sydney, pursues its policy to increase the participation of Indigenous Australians in the IT sector. An advantage of the learner-centred approach that I have adopted in my teaching is that it allows all students, whatever their background, to contribute to the learning in the class and to provide insights informed by their particular cultural perspective. It also provides a challenge because one cannot assume that these students necessarily have the requisite written and oral language skills necessary to complete their assignments. One thing that I always include in my classes is due provision for foundation workshops and handouts on report and essay writing, oral presentation skills, as well as the basic computer skills students will need to complete the subject successfully. This is beneficial to all students enrolled, not just those from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Where does my approach to teaching come from? In part it derives from my qualifications in teaching: I am a qualified adult literacy and numeracy teacher, I have an industry certification to teach networking, and am qualified to teach adults English. Most importantly my approach comes from years of experience as a language teacher where encouraging students to communicate and interact was a number one priority. I also have a long experience in conducting university preparation courses and study skills workshops, and have taught basic computer skills to adults, including prisoners in gaol. The fact that I only learnt to use a computer myself in September 1998 has given me a particular insight into difficulties that some students have in approaching the technology.