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Teaching excellence recognised

8 October 2008

Professor Mark Peel
Professor Mark Peel
Ms Gerrie Roberts
Ms Gerrie Roberts
Dr Toby Handfield
Dr Toby Handfield

Monash has recognised the exemplary teaching of its staff with the awarding of the Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Teaching Excellence.

The awards were presented on Monday 6 October as part of the Vice-Chancellor's Showcase of Teaching Excellence, an annual event to share innovative teaching strategies and approaches.

Nominees are assessed on a range of criteria including their ability to influence, motivate and inspire students to learn, their development of curricula, approaches to assessment, support for students, and their ability to influence and enhance learning and teaching.

Three individual Monash teachers were recognised this year with one team also receiving a special commendation.

Professor Mark Peel received an award for his contribution to student learning and experience within the School of Historical Studies, the Faculty of Arts, and across the broader university community. Professor Peel helps students develop their own voices through imaginative problem-solving tasks that engage students and encourage participation in tutorials.

Dr Toby Handfield from the Faculty of Arts received an award for his initiatives in peer instruction and assessment which have maximised student engagement in the teaching of philosophy. Dr Handfield's teaching approaches have created an atmosphere of enthusiasm, which has been recognised by his students through consistently impressive student evaluations.

Ms Gerrie Roberts from the Faculty of Business and Economics received her award for innovative practice in the teaching of statistics. With her strong industry experience, Ms Roberts draws on interactions within the learning environment between the students and the teacher, engaging her students in valuable collaborative learning and feedback experiences.

Ms Angela Carbone from the Caulfield School of Information Technology and her team Mr Matthew Butler, Dr Alan Dorin, Mr Shane Moore, Ms Mylini Munusamy and Ms Sheelagh Walton received a commendation for their redevelopment of a core first-year programming unit across the University's six campuses. Their work has produced a thriving teaching environment with positive feedback from all students.

The Vice-Chancellor's Showcase of Teaching Excellence, which this year formed part of Educate 08 celebrations, included a keynote address from international guest Professor Susan McCahan, Chair of first year Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Professor McCahan, who teaches first year classes of 1000 students and is recognised nationally for her exemplary teaching, spoke on the challenge of engaging first year students.