Faculty of Arts Teaching and Learning Awards and Citations
Guidelines and Procedures
Each year, the Faculty of Arts will recognise outstanding teaching achievements by offering Teaching and Learning Awards and Citations.
Award Categories
Staff can apply for the following awards:
- Faculty Awards for Teaching Excellence
- Faculty Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
- Faculty Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning
It is expected that winners of faculty awards will be well-placed to nominate for the Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Awards and National Awards for Teaching Excellence in the following years. Previous winners will provide mentoring to future applicants.
How to apply
- Nominations for these awards close on 28 October, 2011.
- Nomination forms are available on the faculty website (as listed above) and are required for all applications. Details about each award are listed below. Please adhere to page and word limits and ensure you provide all necessary documentation.
- For further enquiries and submission of your application, kindly contact Ms Louise Lees at louise.lees@monash.edu .
Eligibility for applying
Nominees must have worked for at least one year at Monash University at the time of their nomination. Applications are open to continuing staff, as well as to staff on fixed term contracts and sessional staff.
Selection Committee
Nominations will be assessed by the selection committee appointed by the Dean in consultation with the Associate Dean (Education).
Resources
The information on this current page is available in audio and Powerpoint formats:
- Learning Awards Guidelines & Procedures 2011 (Audio)
- Learning Awards Guidelines & Procedures (Powerpoint)
1. Faculty Awards for Teaching Excellence
Two awards are available for teaching excellence by individuals or teams. Each award consists of a grant of $3,000 to be used at the discretion of the award winner to further their teaching career.
Applications for this award must address all five (5) selection criteria below:
1. Approaches to teaching that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn
Which may include: fostering student development by stimulating curiosity and independence in learning; contributing to the development of students’ critical thinking skills, analytical skills and scholarly values; encouraging student engagement through the enthusiasm shown for learning and teaching; inspiring and motivating students through high-level communication, presentation and interpersonal skills.2. Development of curricula and resources that reflect a command of the field
Which may include: developing and presenting coherent and imaginative resources for student learning; implementing research-led approaches to learning and teaching; demonstrating up- to-date knowledge of the field of study in the design of the curriculum and the creation of resources for learning; communicating clear objectives and expectations for student learning.3. Approaches to assessment and feedback that foster independent learning
Which may include: integrating assessment strategies with the specific aims and objectives for student learning; providing timely, worthwhile feedback to students on their learning; using a variety of assessment and feedback strategies; implementing both formative and summative assessment; adapting assessment methods to different contexts and diverse student needs.4. Respect and support for the development of students as individuals
Which may include: participating in the effective and empathetic guidance and advising of students; assisting students from equity and other demographic subgroups to participate and achieve success in their courses; influencing the overall academic, social and cultural experience of higher education.5. Scholarly activities that have influenced and enhanced learning and teaching
Which may include: showing advanced skills in evaluation and reflective practice; participating in and contributing to professional activities related to learning and teaching; coordination, management and leadership of courses and student learning; conducting and publishing research related to teaching; demonstrating leadership through activities that have broad influence on the profession.
Lodgement information
Essential documentation for faculty awards
The following essential documentation is required to complete the application:
- Nomination Form
- Written statement (synopsis and statement addressing the selection criteria)
- Curriculum vitae
- Two references
Nominees' written statement includes:
- 150-200 word synopsis written in the third person covering the nominee’s teaching area or discipline, teaching experience, the particular focus of their teaching, teaching methods, and their research/teaching interests.
- An overview of application.
- The remainder of the written statement should address the category of the nomination and each of the selection criteria. Evidence to support the claims must be provided. The views of students, collaborators and/or colleagues, as appropriate, will be a key element in the assessment of nominations.
Written statement should not be longer than seven (7) A4 pages, 11 point font, with single line spacing and margins of 25mm all around.
Curriculum vitae
Should outline the nominee’s educational qualifications, employment history, teaching positions held and teaching experience. The curriculum vitae is limited to three (3) A4 pages (minimum 11 point font) per individual. Teams may allow for one additional page per team member, i.e. a team of three may have five pages (three+two).
References
- Two references, limited to one (1) A4 page each must be provided by colleagues who are able to comment on the nominee’s claims against the selection criteria. One of the referees must be the Head of Department.
- If the nomination is from a team, the references should refer to the team as a whole.
- References must be signed by the referee (electronic signatures supplied by the referee to the nominee are acceptable).
2. Faculty Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
Up to 5 citation of $1,000 may be awarded to nominees (including at least one for sessional staff) who demonstrate superior performance. The title of the citation (twenty-five words maximum) for each nominee must be proposed as part of the nomination process.
Nominations are encouraged from academic staff, professional staff, sessional staff and institutional associates.
Nominees are required to select one (1) of the following selection criteria, determined by the nature of their contribution to student learning. The nomination will be judged on the quality of the support for the criterion and the extent to which evidence is shown in the written statement to support the application.
The selection criteria from which to choose are:
- Approaches to the support of learning and teaching that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn.
- Development of curricula, resources and services that reflect a command of the field.
- Approaches to assessment, feedback and learning support that foster independent learning.
- Respect and support for the development of students as individuals.
- Scholarly activities and service innovations that have influenced and enhanced learning and teaching.
Lodgement information
Essential documentation for faculty Citations
The following essential documentation is required to complete the application:
- Nomination Form
- Written statement (citation wording, synopsis and statement addressing the chosen selection criterion)
The written statement must include the citation title (max 25 words) and a synopsis written in the third person (max 100 words).The remainder of the written statement should address the chosen criterion with evidence to demonstrate outstanding contributions to student learning.
The written statement should not be longer than three (3) A4 pages 11 point font, single line spacing and margins of 25mm all around.
Some examples of citation wording:
- For sustained contributions to the imaginative teaching of history, and to the transition, progress and welfare of students in his own and other universities;
- For advancing the quality of anatomy education in physiotherapy through innovative teaching techniques that instill a passion for learning across local and distant learning environments.
3. Faculty Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning
One award to the value of $2,000 may be made for programs which enhance student learning. In line with the Vice-Chancellor’s Programs Award, this award recognises learning and teaching support programs and services that make an outstanding contribution to the quality of student learning and the quality of the student experience. The programs and services that receive this Award must have demonstrated their effectiveness through rigorous evaluation that will set future benchmarks for similar activities at Monash University.
Nomination is open to all programs and services that enhance student learning within the Faculty of Arts at Monash University. It is intended that eligible programs are broader than one or two subjects or a limited service that involves only a few students. For example, programs may involve a service or program provided at the institutional, faculty or school level, a program of study across a year or number of years, or a service or program directed at particular groups of students. Professional staff and teams are eligible and invited to submit their programs for this award.
Categories
There are seven program award categories:
Assessment and feedback encompassing assessment initiatives that encourage students to develop and demonstrate higher-order skills and attitudes such as academic independence, ethical practices and values, and critical thinking and feedback that is timely and supports students’ learning development.
Educational partnerships and collaborations with other organisations encompassing partnerships between universities, and universities and other organisations - such as schools, professional bodies businesses and industries – in collaborative approaches to learning and teaching.
The first-year experience encompassing the academic and social transition to higher education, and the quality of the first year student experience.
Flexible learning and teaching encompassing approaches to learning and teaching that afford flexibility in time, place and/or mode of learning
Innovation in curricula, learning and teaching encompassing innovations that encourage novel approaches to learning and teaching, innovations that encourage or support multidisciplinarity, research based learning and teaching approaches, innovations that utilise the potential of new and/or emerging technologies
Postgraduate education encompassing programs that focus on postgraduate students, postgraduate coursework teaching and learning, postgraduate research supervision and research higher degree candidature, and postgraduate learning support
Services supporting student learning encompassing services directly related to student learning such as services for specific groups of students, information access, course advising, language and learning support, counselling and disability support
Selection criteria
Applications for this award must address all four (4) selection criteria below:
- Distinctiveness, coherence and clarity of purpose
Extent to which the program has clear objectives and systematic approaches to coordination, implementation and evaluation
- Influence on student learning and student engagement
Extent to which the program targets identified needs and directly or indirectly enhances student learning, student engagement and/or the overall student experience of higher education
- Breadth of impact
Extent to which the program has led to widespread benefits for students, staff, the institution, and/or other institutions, consistent with the purpose of the program
- Concern for equity and diversity
Extent to which the program promotes and supports equity and inclusiveness by improving access, participation and outcomes for diverse student groups
In assessing nominations against the four selection criteria, the Selection Committee will take into account:
- Evidence of the impact of the program in formal and informal evaluation
- The degree of creativity, imagination or innovation
- Evidence of the sustained effectiveness of the program
Lodgement information
Essential documentation
The following essential documentation is required to complete the application:
- Nomination Form
- Written statement (synopsis and statement addressing the selection criteria)
- Curriculum vitae
- Two references
Nominees' written statement includes:
- A 350-400 word synopsis written in the third person providing a description of the program and its teaching areas, the program’s contribution to student learning and engagement and the program’s impact on students.
- The remainder of the written statement should address the category of the nomination and each of the selection criteria. Evidence to support the claims must be provided. The views of students, collaborators and/or colleagues, as appropriate, will be a key element in the assessment of nominations.
The written statement should be no longer than eleven (11) A4 pages, 11 point font, with single line spacing and margins of 25mm all around.
Curriculum vitae
Should outline the nominees’ educational qualifications, employment history, teaching positions held and teaching experience. The curriculum vitae is limited to three (3) A4 pages (11 point font) for nominations from each individual. Teams may allow for one additional page per team member, i.e. a team of three may have five pages (three+two).
References
- Two references, limited to one (1) A4 page each must be provided by colleagues who are able to comment on the nominee’s claims against the selection criteria. One of the referees must be the head of the nominee’s faculty, department or school.
- If the nomination is from a team, the references should refer to the team as a whole.
- References must be signed by the referee (electronic signatures supplied by the referee to the nominee are acceptable).