Faculty prizes and awards

Teaching Excellence Awards

Five Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2021 – to Mr Paul Chalkley, Associate Professor Michael Griffith, Dr Kathleen McGuire, Dr Michelle Black and in a Team category, Dr Margaret Hutchison & Dr Jon Piccini.

Dr Margaret Hutchison & Dr Jon Piccini (Team category)

Our teaching team consisted of Dr Hutchison and Dr Piccini. In 2020, we collaboratively redeveloped the capstone unit (HIST308) for History on the Brisbane campus, in consultation with colleagues in the National School of Arts. We seized the expansion of Historical Studies staff on the campus as an opportunity to engage with students more deeply and to bring them a sense of connection with us as teachers and scholars. Our aim was to not only build students’ skills and knowledge in historical methods and theories, but to do so in a way that responded to the specific needs of the Brisbane cohort. By introducing new content, delivery methods, and assessments, we have developed a unit that inspires students to pursue their own intellectual interests and supports their independent learning. Over the past two years, we have reflected on these changes, adapting and revising the unit to improve students’ leaning experience.

Mr Paul Chalkley

Paul Chalkley is a teaching focused lecturer in youth work who has taught at ACU since 2010. As a result of the global pandemic, 2020 and 2021 saw significant disruption to social, personal and academic life. In this time of rapid change, transitioning to online teaching and responding to an ever-changing tertiary education landscape, it was imperative to capture, engage and motivate students. Paul extended on developments made in recent years to create a relevant and engaging learning environment strategically and deliberately. This targeted approach specifically focusing on Youth Work students intended to connect them deeply to a sense of professional identity and career development that fosters retention and contributes to work-ready graduates.

Associate Professor Michael Griffith

My teaching area is English Literature, specifically Australian Literature (with a specific focus on poetry and indigenous writing) English Literature (from Beowulf to the 21st Century), American Literature (including Native American Indian). I have been teaching in this discipline for 51 years, first at Marist Brother’s NorthShore (1970-72), then at the University of Sydney (1973-1976) and since 1977, for 44 years, at ACU and its predecessor college CCES. I have taught literature to ACU undergraduates, post-graduates and to the marginalized communities that attend our Clemente Program. My specific teaching and research interests are the intersection between literature (especially poetry) and spirituality. All my teaching has been driven by the wish to make students aware of how literature can nurture our spiritual experience and understanding.

Dr Kathleen McGuire

When commencing at ACU, I brought 33 years of international experience as an educator and arts professional. This encompassed primary, secondary and tertiary teaching, leadership of major arts organisations, collaborations with multiple entities, and fulfillment of sizeable grants. This background underpinned my focus on professional experience (PEX) opportunities for ACU’s pre-service teachers (PSTs). Successful PEX placements are essential in Initial Teacher Education (ITE), yet I have witnesses for several years the detrimental impact of delayed placements (attributed to professional staff turnover followed by COVID-19). For PSTs, such delays can manifest in high anxiety, low morale and even course withdrawal. Addressing these concerns, I adopted reflective approaches to my teaching. The result was an expansion of placement-relevant content in my PEX units and, to mitigate placement delays, development of a raft of innovative PEX opportunities. These advancements led to further innovations – supported by research – for ACU’s new national PEX units.

Dr Michelle Black

I am a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the ACU Strathfield campus. My expertise is in health sociology, and I teach SOCS235 Health, Illness and Wellbeing and SOCS243 Global Health and in 2021, I commenced teaching the Capstone unit GLST305 Global Studies Research project. Teaching in global studies has extended my innate interest in the social impacts of global events on human behavior the interconnectivity of our ‘global village’ and in global citizenship and activism. In March 2020 I assumed a Leadership role as National Course Coordinator (NCC) for the Bachelor of Global Studies and the Bachelor of International Development Studies (BIDS). As NCC I oversee curriculum development and implementation and in 2021, the curtailment of overseas travel led to my redesigning the Global Studies International experience program to incorporate an innovative virtual (remote) internship program. This application is focused on my leadership and management of the Global Studies International Internship unit, GLST300.

Teaching Excellence Awards

Four Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2020 - to Dr Ann Holt, Dr Thu Ngo, Dr Xiaoying Qi, and in a Team category, Dr Joanna Winchester, Mrs Chrissy Monteleone and Dr David Lee.

Dr Ann Holt

I am a passionate and committed visual artist and Lecturer specializing in the disciplines of painting and drawing with extensive experience in subject coordination, scholarship, and research. I have held numerous appointments at several Art Schools in the university sector over the past twenty years I am Lecturer in Charge for the Painting and Drawing undergraduate units at ACU, a position I have held for thirteen years. I am also a Lecturer at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, where I prepare and present Lecturers, and teach both semester and intensive programs. My skill in delivering dynamic, studio-based art programs has been recognised in SELT surveys and further evidenced in the retention rates. I aim to incorporate innovative methods based on my professional practice that inspire students to achieve excellence, whilst actively promoting individual development, confidence, and independence in learning.

Dr Thu Ngo

My main teaching area is Primary Literacy Education. Since my employment at ACU in January 2017, I have been in charge of two very large consecutive core Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment (CPA) Literacy units in the B.Ed Primary program (EDLA241 and EDLA342) across Strathfield and North Sydney campuses, involving the dominant proportion of ACU enrolments. My leadership of the two units, over a sustained period of time, has allowed me to restructure the sequence of the whole teaching content in Primary Literacy Education, develop new resources incorporating innovative research-informed content and pedagogical knowledge, utilizing digital technology in literacy education in a meaningful way. In this application I would like to showcase my outstanding innovative development of curricula and resources with special focus on EDLA342, the second unit in the suite of B.Ed Primary core units that witnesses an impressive increase in the SELT data from 3.94 in 2017 to 4.88 in 2019.

Dr Xiaoying Qi

I am a sociologist. I have been a LIC, Lecturer and Tutor for SOCS207, SOCS208, SOCS300 and POLS211. Through my creating a caring, positive and effective learning environment I motivate students to engage in discussion, improve their performance, and strive for achievement of their best. By providing students with a thorough grounding in sociological theories and concepts, as well as a broad knowledge of the field, I cultivate students’ appreciation of cutting-edge developments in sociology. By discussing ideas that students tend to regard as counter intuitive, I challenge accepted ways of thinking and expand their imagination. I encourage students to appreciate the value of critical and creative thinking and show them how to be critical and creative in their own thinking. Through my connecting intellectual substance with current issues, students investigate the realities that underpin their own concerns and the socially based needs and purposes that engage students with the real world.

Dr Joanna Winchester, Mrs Chrissy Monteleone, Dr David Lee (Team category)

This award is in recognition of the outstanding contribution of a team of teachers in Work Integrated Learning (WIL) who continue to innovate, develop, assess and refine models which produces exceptional performance of PSTs across sequential, professional experience units (EDFX241, EDFX242, EDFX343, EDFX444, EDFD452). Dr. Joanna Winchester who has been teaching at ACU since 2009 and has contributed to professional experience through leadership roles and teaching. Joanna has completed research with pre-service teachers (PSTs) in special education contexts. Mrs. Chrissy Monteleone has been at ACU since 2008, leads professional experience partnerships and has taught professional experience units. Chrissy has engaged in research on mentoring and PST development in schools. Dr. David Lee has been teaching in professional experience units at ACU since 2010 including the Teaching and Learning Consortium, in partnership with schools. David has researched the influence of relationships in professional experience.

Teaching Excellence Awards

There were no awards in 2019

Teaching Excellence Awards

Four Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2018 - to Dr Joanne Harris, Mr Alasdair Macintyre, Ms Sarah Nailer and Dr Joanna Winchester.

Dr Joanne Harris

I am passionate about the importance of a quality music education for all. Music makes a unique contribution to the lives of children and young people, to their learning, and to their ability to be creative thinkers. This knowledge of the powerful effects of learning music is the basis of my commitment to the pedagogy of music across all Education programs at ACU. I aim to instil a love of music in my students, building their confidence and capacity to teach music through sharing my passion and engaging them in carefully scaffolded, fun learning activities. My approach is based on experiential learning, developing understanding through active experience, modelling music pedagogies which students collaboratively engage in and critically reflect upon, and employing mastery tasks which enhance self-efficacy. I develop graduates who are 'classroom­ready' - possessing the skills, conceptual understandings and knowledge of effective pedagogies to provide developmental learning opportunities for their classes.

Mr Alasdair Macintyre

Alasdair Macintyre is a practising artist and has been lecturing in the visual arts at the Australian Catholic University for the last 12 years. Prior to this he taught art at Catholic schools (after completing a Dip. Ed. At ACU in 1995) and in the TAFE system, as well as conducting many workshops and artist talks in public galleries such as the QLD Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Australia, and the Australian National University. In his time at ACU, he has worked principally in the School of Arts, but has also taught for the School of Education, Equity Pathways, and the Clemente program. Alasdair is constantly seeking ways of improving learning outcomes for visual arts students, and he actively engages with new technologies and supportive teaching methods.

Ms Sarah Nailer

Over the past 6 years at ACU I have been involved in research, teaching and publications in connection with the Catholic Teacher Education Consortium, a School-University Partnership. It is through innovation, leadership and scholarship, particularly as part of the partnership that I have been able to promote an enhanced student experience in the Faculty. I have maintained my connection with the teaching profession and intend to continue my work at ACU as well as teaching part-time in a partner school in 2019. My passion for teaching and my partnership work with schools has enabled me to teach my students effectively and take an active part in their induction into the profession. I have brought my commitment to equity in education and catering for a diverse range of students to my teaching across a range of education studies units.

Dr Joanna Winchester

I have been employed since 2009 as a lecturer in Drama education, and have taught in the Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary courses. I am LIC of numerous units including Creative Arts units in the Primary Bachelor and Master courses, the elective Drama units, and LIC of the Drama CPA units. The success of my leadership in teaching has led to leadership roles including National Professional Experience Coordinator for Primary/EC in the Faculty of Education and Arts. I employ high quality learning and teaching that encourages pre-service teachers to consider themselves as learners in a group context, capable of producing quality group work as an ensemble of learners. In an era of individualised learning, my approach enhances students’ knowledge of group process and quality product. My capacity to engage students in practice that enhances their knowledge of performing arts and its educative purpose is a skilled part of my teaching.

Teaching Excellence Awards

Four Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2017 - to Dr Aisling O'Donnell, Dr Belinda von Mengersen, Ms Elvis Richardson and Dr Robyn Bentley-Williams.

Dr Aisling O'Donnell - Aisling's nomination illustrates her excellent work as a teacher and her work is reflective of an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to teaching, combining contemporary problem-oriented analysis, theoretical rigor and critical pedagogy. Her teaching is strongly student-centred and technologically dynamic.

Dr Belinda von Mengersen - Belinda's award highlights her approach to the development of real-world, high-stakes learning experiences and assessments that are consistently designed to foster multidisciplinary, collaborative solutions to design problems, to inspire in education students deep understanding of textiles' capacity to adapt. Her approach to student learning privileges thoughtful, ethical, and individual responses to complex realities, including inherent environmental and moral concerns.

Ms Elvis Richardson - Elvis demonstrates excellence in the creation of dynamic and authentic assessment tasks that engage students with experiences and outcomes that produce design outcomes beyond the class room.  Her approach to holistic assessment draws on her own creative and professional experiences and uses real clients as well as self-generated projects to produce meaningful design outcomes that contribute to our communities and the common good beyond the classroom.

Dr Robyn Bentley-Williams - The strength of Robyn's nomination recognizes a strong strength-based approach where see strives to build a dynamic community of learners' culture where each individual's unique perspectives are encouraged and valued, as a means of developing deep understanding on controversial, diverse socio-cultural issues influencing inclusive practice.  Her pedagogical approaches are interwoven with developing productive respectful relationships with students and colleagues.

Teaching Excellence Awards

Four Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2016 - to Dr Jann Carroll, Dr Haydn Aarons, Associate  Professor Michael Griffiths and Dr Matthew Ryan

Dr Jann Carroll - Jann's award highlights her passion and advocacy for equipping preservice teachers who are able to demonstrate their understanding of theory, practice and critical inquiry as classroom practitioners. Jann is to be commended for the ways in which she integrates her teaching areas, research interests and constructivist pedagogy.

Dr Haydn Aarons - Haydn's award highlights his passion and deep interest in supporting vital skill development in research methods units and inculcating the importance of scientific rigor. His commitment to students and his enthusiasm for sociology and preparing students who are theoretically and methodologically well prepared for a range of careers in public service, community development, social policy and governance is commendable.

Associate Professor Michael Griffith - Michael's award was strongly centred on his innovative learning and teaching for different contexts: the Clemente program for the IACE; the ACU indigenous program through Yalbalinga; the Marist Fathers' Aquinas Academy in Sydney and for contextualizing literary studies. His focus on enhancing students' experience with the latest technologies helping them create meaningful connections with texts, with each other and with the global knowledge environment is recognized here.

Dr Matthew Ryan - Matthew's award draws upon his deep knowledge of the discipline of Literature, his innovative approach to designing units and assessments. A strong focus on accessibility to learning in the discipline of Literature is the guiding principle for Matthew's teaching practice. Central to this is his development of a pedagogy that is inclusive of students new to Literature or students who might be otherwise marginalised.

Learning Innovations Award

The 2015 Learning Innovations Award was awarded to Dr Nick Carter, Dr Duncan Cook and Dr Chris Matthew for their development and delivery of a unique interdisciplinary undergraduate field school in Rome (The History and Geography of Ancient and Modern Rome). The innovation lies in the field school's dynamic and distinctive combination of interdisciplinary and field-based study in an overseas context, and its creative mix of experiential, reflective, cooperative and problem-based learning strategies to enhance the student learning experience.

Teaching Excellence Awards

Three Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2015 - to Dr Jen Couch, Dr Victoria Carruthers and Dr James Marland.

Dr Jen Couch (Youth Work) - Jen's award highlights her work in challenging students to examine their own experiences and their thinking about young people, and her creative approach to developing and implementing a curriculum that provides student with insight into their future profession and the values that are required when working with marginalised young people.

Dr Victoria Carruthers (Modern and Contemporary Art History and Theory) - Victoria's award highlights her commitment to students and her knowledge and enthusiasm for student-centred approaches, as well as her innovative, empathetic and passionate approach to creating a connected curriculum. Her positive influence, motivation and inspiration to critically engage students with the world through art and visual culture is well evidenced.

Dr James Marland (Drama) - James' award was strongly centred on his creative and highly humanistic approach to supporting, inspiring and motivating students, as well as his strong critically reflective stance in cyclical curriculum development. James' approach to curriculum differentiation and the creation of a collaborative and safe learning environment is to be applauded.