Teaching Induction Program
Welcome to teaching at VU!
VU values its teaching staff and it seeks to support its staff in the development of teaching through a variety of approaches.
A key approach is the Initial Induction program which is designed to offer support to teachers new to VU in their first semester of work.
The program seeks to support staff new to teaching to understand what is expected of them as teachers at VU.
These expectations are shaped by the university’s commitment to supporting student-centred flexible approaches
to learning through 5 commitments it has made to its students and community. These commitments require teachers at VU to
understand and implement student-centred and flexible learning in the context of work based learning approaches.
The Initial Induction program is based on
8 key capabilities that the university expects of its teachers.
The purpose of the program is to offer an overview of the capabilities and offer interpretations of what they mean in this context.
All teachers new to teaching at VU undertake the program, with the exception of sessional
staff who teach less than 15 hours of study or who do not assess
students.
The program is administered and delivered by the Quality Teaching and Innovation Unit in the Staff College.
Enquires about the Project Brief for this work can be directed to Rhonda Hallett Head of Unit (Rhonda.Hallett@vu.edu.au).
Program
Where to Next?
Coordination
Program Dates 2008
Faculty Programs
Central Programs
Assessment
The Program
The program comprises 12 hour participation including 9 hours of structured learning.
In devising activities for the program we recognise that learning for professionals is both formal and informal. It is structured to capture both aspects of professional learning as such:
| Informal (unstructured) learning |
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Conversations with peers about what is expected of you.
- Conversations with colleagues about key issues such as marking and assessment; workload allocations etc;
- Discussions with your Head of School or Program Manager/Course coordinator about what is expected of you;
These can occur in tearooms, in offices or the corridors.
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| Formal (structured) learning |
Teaching & Learning at VU
This is a face-to-face activity conducted by an Educational Developer as an introduction to learning and teaching at VU.
These sessions are conducted each semester in your faculty. See below for dates and venues
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3 hours are counted for this activity.
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1. Collaborative Peer review of Teaching:
This Activity is the basis of assessment in the Initial Induction program.
- An observation of a colleague's teaching on which you give feedback. This could be someone from your department or from another area of the university (we recommend observing teaching in another sector);
- A colleague observes your teaching and gives you feedback;
- You are asked to participate in a collegial conversation and prepare a 500 word reflection on your experience;
OR
2. Development of a Teaching Philosophy: This entails researching key ideas about teaching and learning and interpreating them into a situation of your practice. 500 words required. |
7 hours are counted for this activity. This is an important activity for the university and is a critical element of the HE promotions process. |
Online self-paced modules
This activity focuses on assisting you to understand what is required of you as a teacher at VU by coming familiar with the key teaching and learning policies at VU.
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2 hours are counted for this activity. You complete this activity in your own time using the University’s
online learning platform, Blackboard. You are asked to complete this before you attend the
face-to-face session. |
Where to next?
After you complete the Initial Induction program, you can go onto the Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education.
The initial induction program counts towards the graduate certificate; it is the first unit of the 8 unit program.
All new staff with teaching responsibilities with an ongoing or 3 year contract undertake this program.
All other staff with teaching responsibilities including sessional staff are eligible for the Certificate
and are encouraged to undertake it. The graduate certificate is HECS free for all staff.
Ask the Educational Developer who conducts the initial induction program for information about how to enrol in the graduate certificate.
Coordination
The coordinator of the Graduate Certificate is Rhonda Hallett (Email: rhonda.hallett@vu.edu.au,
phone 9919 8343 or 0412 265 712)
Rhonda supports the Educational Developers who deliver the program in each faculty. Her responsibilities include:
- Organising resources for the teaching of the program;
- Reporting completions to Human Resources
- Reporting outcomes of assessments to the coordinator if the Graduate Certificate;
- Ensuring that program evaluations are administered and recorded;
- Assisting in the moderation of assessment of program activities;
- Reporting program activities to the coordinator if the Graduate Certificate;
- Answering general enquiries from teachers.
Program dates 2008
The program will be delivered in each faculty twice a year in the early stages of each semester.
|
Faculty |
Date |
Venue |
Time |
| Faculty of
Business and Law |
29 October |
City Flinders, room 1049 |
9:30am-12:00pm |
| Faculty of
Arts, Education and Human Development |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| Faculty of
Health, Engineering and Science |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| Faculty of
Workforce Development |
16 October |
Footscray Nicholson, T116 |
2:30pm- 4:30pm |
| Faculty of
Trades and Innovation Skills |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| VU College |
23 October
(Only for International Teachers) |
City Flinders, Room TBA |
2:30pm- 4:30pm |
Centrally delivered programs:
| All Faculties |
14 October
|
Footscray Park, C |
9:00am- 12pm |
Faculty Programs
For information, contact:
Faculty of Business & Law
Carolyn Woodley
Ph: 0407 053 943
Email:
carolyn.woodley@vu.edu.au
Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development
Kate Fannon
Ph: 9919 4994
Email:
kate.fannon@vu.edu.au
Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science
Christine Armatas
Ph: 0411 433 185
Email:
christine.armatas@vu.edu.au
Faculty of Workplace Development
vacant
Faculty of Trades and Innovation Skills
Pamela Every
Ph: 9919 8370
Email:
pamela.every@vu.edu.au
VU College
Natalie Senjov-Makahon
Ph: 9919 8377
Email:
natalie.senjov-makohon@vu.edu.au
Central programs
Central programs may be run at the end of the year for staff who miss faculty based sessions because of leave of absence from the university and other reasons.
Program details are not finalised for 2008.
For information contact: Leonie Beaton, QTI administration, Phone 9919 8344 (svetlana.brzica@vu.edu.au)
Registration will be via PD online
Assessment
Information about assessment requirements can be found in the
Unit Outline.
The assessment tasks aim to assess whether participants have gained understandings about what is expected of them as teachers at VU.
There are 2 tasks which can be undertaken:
-
Task 1: A 500 word reflection on the Collaborative Peer Review process. This focuses on your awareness of the
VU capabilities for teachers and how they apply to your work.
- Task 2: A Teaching Philosophy statement, 500 words.
Feedback on the assessment is made using a
Structured Observation of Learning Outcomes
(SOLO) for the unit. The SOLO focuses on the assessment criteria used for these two tasks.
Last Updated: 21/10/2008
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