Awards for outstanding teachers

Four University of Adelaide staff have been named as among the nation's best teachers, thanks to their outstanding contributions to student learning.

The Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) has announced its 2011 Citations, worth $10,000 each. They will be presented at the Australian Awards for University Teaching at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday 16 August.

Citations are awarded to academic, general and sessional staff, and institutional associates, who have made significant contributions to student learning in a specific area of responsibility over a sustained period.

The award money provides development opportunities for the winning individuals and programs, injecting funds directly back into higher education.

"I am very confident that the winners of this year's citations will continue to make a lasting impact on the student experience," said the Chief Executive of the ALTC, Dr Carol Nicoll.

The University of Adelaide staff to receive citations are:

Kayoko Enomoto (School of Social Sciences - Centre for Asian Studies)

For fostering independent learning through sharing power in learning with students from diverse backgrounds, using scaffolded curriculum innovations and feedback-based study action plans.

For more than 18 years, Ms Enomoto has helped Japanese language students to recognise that the skills gained from learning a foreign language can be used as a tool for gaining 'new knowledge'. She has fostered self-regulated independent learning by implementing curriculums that allow a gradual transfer of responsibility from teacher to student through staged successes, helping to build student confidence and prepare them for life beyond university.

Associate Professor Mounir Ghabriel (School of Medical Sciences - Anatomy and Pathology)

For decades of supporting, encouraging and inspiring medical students to learn human anatomy using multiple novel and interactive approaches.

Associate Professor Ghabriel has made a significant contribution to medical students' learning of human anatomy, stimulating their interest by employing multiple interactive approaches, using personally developed coloured diagrams, locally produced models, digital animations, and body painting. His contribution has been acknowledged by the award of the Dean's prize for Excellence in Teaching (2006), nomination for the University Excellence in Education Award (2009) and the award of the Richard Pellew Prize in 2009 and 2010.

Associate Professor Paul Sendziuk (School of History and Politics - History)

For developing and evaluating innovative learning activities and assessment tasks that engage the curiosity of students and promote critical reflection and lifelong learning skills.

Associate Professor Sendziuk employs activities that require creativity and teamwork so that students with different sets of skills have an opportunity to thrive and be challenged. Through his development of a novice tutor training program at the University of Adelaide, and in sharing his insights about effective teaching in published journals and conference papers, he has also sought to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in other classrooms.

Dr Craig Willis (School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering)

For successfully using peer review and engineering verification techniques to build educational feedback into first-year courses, enabling students to learn with confidence and enthusiasm.

Teaching first-year courses of up to 550 students, Dr Willis has developed innovative ways of providing continuous formative feedback using interactive teaching techniques, peer instruction, and professional engineering processes. These interactive experiences enable first-year students to make the transition from tentative teenagers to engaged, independent, critical thinkers.

To hear more about outstanding teaching at the University of Adelaide visit Open Day Sunday 21 August. adelaide.edu.au/openday