Five Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2025 – to Ms Kylie Vanderkley, Dr Susan Kelly, Dr Kathleen Plastow, Ms Karen Hope, Dr Ebony Nilsson.

Associate Professor Xiaoying Qi, Associate Professor Tom Barnes, Dr Haydn Aarons (Team category)

As a team, we have designed a cohesive 3rd-year sociology-oriented program which has advanced learning, provided skills and laid a foundation for citizenship and generational contributions. Students have engaged with real life issues and prepared for critical and meaningful involvement with the social world they inhabit and shape. Students have acquired qualitative and quantitative research skills and learned how research translates into decision making for real world scenarios. By engaging in social issues and policies, students have reflected upon processes of and barriers to social change and learned the importance of exercising their own capacities as agents of change.

Kylie Vanderkley

Grounded in a commitment to service and student success, I partner with local primary schools, principals, and ACU alumni to support Ballarat ACU students in gaining employment as Learning Support Officers. These partnerships create authentic, real-world learning opportunities that connect theory to practice, fostering student confidence, independence, and motivation. Early immersion in school communities fosters a stronger professional identity and increased retention. This collaborative, relationship-based approach inspires students to engage deeply in their learning, develop workplace capabilities, and pursue purposeful careers, reflecting ACU’s mission and the transformative impact of meaningful school-university partnerships.

Susan Kelly 

As a lecturer in the National School of Education, I aim to influence, motivate and inspire students to learn through inclusive, researchinformed teaching that prepares preservice teachers for their first professional placement. In EDET590, I scaffold professional identity

formation using reflective, person-centered pedagogy, clear communication, and authentic learning design. I support students to critically analyse AI in education, build confidence through professional learning groups and structured feedback, and respond to diverse needs with differentiated support and empathy. I model the evidence-based strategies and values I hope my students will take into their own classrooms.

Kathleen Plastow 

My work on developing “assessment packages” brings together critically reflective practice (Brookfield, 2017a, 2017b; Mezirow et al., 1990; Proud & Morgan, 2021), cognitive load theory (Evans et al., 2024; Timothy et al., 2023), self-determination (Evans et al., 2024; Howard et al., 2021), Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (Almeqdad et al., 2023; Capp, 2017), assessment research and andragogic principals (Biggs et al., 2022; Merriam, 2001) to re-shape assessment structures to improve the student experience and engagement in learning. Building on the work of Brophy and Fautley (2017), I have developed a conceptual model that promotes equity and social justice through assessment design (Fig. 1) and a Learning Summary Framework (LSF) which creates a nexus between tutorial work and assessment tasks to increase learning relevance for students (Fig. 2). The approach to assessment design reduces cognitive load, improves outcomes and promotes autonomy. This work has been presented nationally and internationally in 2025.

Karen Hope

Karen Hope is committed to advancing innovative learning that fosters student-centered engagement with content, by grounding theoretical understanding in meaningful practice-based experiences. Her pedagogy integrates flipped classrooms, off-campus visits to education services, and active learning opportunities, including problem-based scenarios and simulations to support students to make meaningful connections between theory and practice. Students consistently describe her teaching as empowering, relevant, and transformative, leading to the development of their early professional identities.

Ebony Nilsson

Ebony creates inclusive, engaging, and intellectually rich learning environments that connect personal stories to broader historical trends and contemporary issues. Her teaching inspires deep curiosity, critical thinking, and a passion for history across diverse cohorts. Through innovative assessments, real-world applications, and a culture of care, she empowers students to see themselves as thinkers

and historians. Her units consistently receive outstanding feedback for relevance, accessibility, and impact, and her personalized approach – from archival research to creative role-play – supports student confidence, retention, and academic growth. Ebony’s teaching exemplifies ACU’s mission to foster whole-person development and promote the common good.

Four Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2024 – to Dr Lissa Carter, Dr Michael Witter, Dr Nicki Brake, Dr Tracey Clement

Associate Professor Matthew Zbaracki & Ms. Kathy Green (Team category) 

The Embedded Teacher Formation Project is an innovative year-long opportunity for Bachelor of Education, Primary students in years 2 and 3 to work in a primary school throughout the school year and experience what it is like to be a Catholic School teacher. The project provides the opportunity for Preservice Teachers to see the nexus between what they are learning in their university subjects with what teachers experience and undertake in their classrooms.

Dr Lissa Carter

The Food Moulding Project is an authentic assessment within TECH213 Food Industries that adopts an innovative, student-led design-thinking approach to foster creative and critical thinking skills in learners. The task utilises scaffolded established design processes and the signature design

pedagogies of collaboration and critique to enable students to develop research-informed and effective solutions to complex real-world food challenges. The pedagogical emphasis on sociocultural approaches to learning encourages knowledge co-construction, engagement, effective uptake of critical feedback and mirrors industry dynamics. Additionally, the project prepares individuals for the challenges of tomorrow by strengthening their capacity to innovate and confidently use digital technologies to design for preferred futures.

Dr Michael Witter

As lead developer and Course Coordinator of the Master of Teaching (Secondary) (Leading Learning) (MTSLL) and LiC, my approach aligns both my research and teaching areas, grounded in my lifelong commitment to improving educational equity. With two decades of experience as a classroom teacher, instructional leader, program director and now early-career academic, my teaching methods aim to build preservice teacher self-efficacy for evidence-based teaching through practice-based pedagogies for teacher education, inclusive and responsive strategies for positive learning, and authentic assessment to influence, motivate and inspire students to not just learn about effective teaching, but to enact it in their classrooms.

Dr Nicki Brake

With my steadfast dedication to excellence in teaching and service, I am deeply committed to fostering the holistic development of students at ACU. Through a studentcentered and reflexive approach, I intentionally cultivate a positive and supportive learning environment. My teaching practices are designed to engage and motivate students, preparing them for their future careers. I empower pre-service teachers to create flourishing lives by prioritising their well-being to emerge as positive role models for their own students and communities.

Dr Tracey Clement

My approach to studio-based pedagogy has been shaped by my decades-long practice as a professional artist, arts writer and curator. My achievements in teaching are made particularly clear in the work I have done in Strathfield’s McGlade Gallery; a space that I utilise as a teaching and learning laboratory, a vital interface between the students and the public which allows them to model professional behaviour, and a manifestation of the teaching/research nexus in which my current research—particularly into sustainable art practices—can be shared.

Two Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2023 – to Dr Jason Wong, Dr Sindu George.

Professor Marina Papic, Dr Gretchen Geng, Dr Kate Highfield, Ms Sammi Huynh and Dr Victoria Minson (Team category)

The ACU Early Childhood leadership team implemented a series of curriculum development initiatives by offering the existing Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) accredited Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Birth to Five Years) program over 18 months. The accelerated course won a tender application of $13.5 million in funding by the Department of Education and Training Victoria. It is aligned with the ACU and the National School of Education's Missions and innovatively implements a triple helix University-Government-Industry model into an enhanced learning and teaching experience.

Dr Jason Wong

I have a strong conviction in employing effective teaching approaches and providing support that positively influence, motivate, and inspire students in their learning journey. I firmly believe in creating transformative student experiences that foster motivation, inspiration, and preparedness for the globalized workforce. At ACU, I continuously reshape the learning and teaching practices in Health and Physical Education to equip our graduates for future careers.

This approach is deeply rooted in instilling a strong sense of belonging, pursuing excellence, and upholding professionalism. By cultivating these values, I create an environment that nurtures personal growth, academic achievement, and propels students towards success.

Dr Sindu George

EDSI100, Science in Our World, the primary science content unit in the BEd programme, developed in 2021, has been designed with an intention to empower individuals through learning and appreciating science as a way of knowing, rather than as a discipline in the curriculum. Upholding the principles of openness to different perspectives and attitudes, and embracement of new and creative ideas, the teaching and learning approaches I adopted in EDSI100 fostered diversity, inclusion, and respectful relationships. Built on student-centered philosophy and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines, the reach of the unit has been substantial (650 students in 2021-2022).

Three Teaching Excellence Awards were conferred in 2022 – to Dr Elvis Richardson, Dr Jen Couch, Associate Professor Melissa Bellanta

Dr Ben Mountford, Dr Ellen Warne, Dr Jacqueline Laughland-Booy, Dr Lorinda Cramer, Associate Professor Maggie Nolan, Associate Professor Mark Chou and Dr Matthew Ryan (Team category)

This team has developed and delivered a suite of innovative Humanities and Social Science (HASS) internships to enhance ACU students’ academic, professional, social and cultural tertiary experiences. These internships build students skills, confidence and competence, and highlighting the many employment pathways for HASS graduates. They enable students to connect theory with practice, and to recognise the applicability of the skills that they had developed during their degree. These internships also support ACU’s commitment to building mutually beneficial partnerships with external organizations.

Dr Elvis Richardson

Cooperative learning informs my approach to creating active and constructive learning experiences through collaborative class projects working with authentic real-world design clients that allow students to be guided as immediate practitioners in a professional context. My collaborative class projects are designed to provide structured interdependence with individual accountability built on incorporating the diversity of perspectives and technical skills of enrolled students and their existing knowledge, background, and aspirations. Authentic real world projects for a real-world client center students learning around a meaningful and realistic professional task that has useful outcomes in the real world, I seek to foster students' confidence to grow on a journey of independent life-long learning.

Dr Jen Couch

Preparing for and welcoming difficulty in a class on refugees and migration. The course content in my unit on forced migration and refugees, may challenge students’ deeply held beliefs and assumptions about themselves and society. It may raise questions regarding who has the right to speak or teach about issues related to forced migration. It may evoke a wide range of emotions and foment interpersonal conflicts. Given the breadth of challenges to effectively teaching forced migration, I have needed concrete strategies for minimising harm to all students and for fostering dialog and reflexivity in the classroom. By engaging effective and embodied dimensions of learning I have been able to prepare for, and welcome difficulty in the classroom

Associate Professor Melissa Bellanta

This application relates to the curriculum design and delivery of a third-year modern history unit, HIST342 History of the Present, with the aim of encouraging active citizenship in students and motivating them to learn. The application focuses on one of two innovative assessments designed for this purpose: a 'class preparation task' that enlists students as co-creators of class content. This assessment fosters students’ sense of self-efficacy as historical thinkers and researchers. It also cultivates ‘learning-oriented behaviours’ that notably include a willingness to work ‘at the edge of expertise or capacity’ (Rudolph et al 2014) to acquire new knowledge and skills.

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.