Professional Development
CSU Academic Staff are strongly supported in their Professional Development in Learning and Teaching with the aim of promoting continuing best practice, innovation and scholarship in learning, teaching and curriculum development.
For staff new to CSU, there is a series of induction programs, and for continuing staff, there are a number of ways of furthering knowledge and skills in teaching.
Induction into learning and teaching at CSU
Becoming an effective teacher* at CSU is fostered through a three part professional development program:
- Foundations of University Learning and Teaching
- Tertiary Teaching Colloquium
- Graduate Certificate in University Learning and Teaching
Continuing Professional Development at CSU
A range of continuing professional development opportunities are also provided for academic staff to develop new knowledge and skills in teaching.
* Effective CSU teachers:
- Possess the organisational know-how and the learning and teaching know-how they need to carry out their teaching roles effectively, including knowing how to operate effectively in the absence of fully articulated information, and knowing how to bring their own special contribution to a subject even when content and/or teaching processes have been significantly determined by others
- Are proactive in developing relationships with fellow teaching staff and support staff in order to more fully realise a meaningful community of educational practice at CSU
- Foster relationships with students in the spirit of (1) respecting student diversity (2) supporting them as professionals-in-training (3) travelling together as a community of scholars
- Exhibit sensitivity, concern, creativity and flexibility in accommodating the diverse needs of students in their teaching
- Exhibit passion for the subjects they teach and for their teaching craft
- Accept a share of responsibility for continuous improvement of CSU courses and subjects in order to realise the University vision to provide an excellent education for the professions.
These are ambitious goals for professional development programs in university learning and teaching. Of course they will not be fully realised in twelve months or even on completion of an academic’s probationary period. Indeed they are not quantifiable attributes. Rather they should be seen as dimensions of excellence in university teaching that guide the design of the suite of programs.