Adelaide Education Academy

Applications for membership will be assessed on the merit of the application, rather than the academic level or employment status of the applicant.

Applications will be open to:

• Any academic level
• Continuing and fixed term staff (regardless of time left on their contract)
• Casual staff are not eligible

There will be no minimum requirement regarding length of employment at the University of Adelaide – new arrivals can apply presenting evidence from outside the University.

Unsuccessful applicants who show promise will be matched with a mentor and/or given guidance as to how they can be successful in future applications.

Applications for membership commencing in November 2023 have now closed. 

Applications for membership commencing in 2024 will be open from August, 2024.

Staff are asked to address three questions with a 500 word limit per question.  Each question should be considered equally.

Applicants are then asked to substantiate their claims through the provision of evidence.  They can summarise their evidence with a written statement (up to 250 words) in addition to providing up to five A4 pages of evidence (see evidence section for more information).

Staff must address three questions with a limit of 500 words per section.  Progress on the online form cannot be saved so it is recommended that staff draft their responses in advance and receive feedback from a peer (ideally a current member of the AEA) prior to completing the form.

Applicants will be asked to provide evidence to support excellence in practice in the following three areas: 

1. An innovative approach to teaching and support of learning that is grounded in an understanding of pedagogical theory and the contemporary learning needs of students.

• Please explain your teaching philosophy with reference to your beliefs about learning and the ideas underpinning your approach to teaching and/or supporting learning in your discipline context. Your philosophy should be grounded in the pedagogical thinking that inspires you (include reference to the relevant educational literature) and not a description of your practice or teaching activities. See here for a guide on developing your teaching philosophy.
• Please describe how you use innovative approaches in your teaching practice.

2.  A scholarly approach to practice evidenced by purposeful and informed continuous improvement methods with outcomes that receive professional recognition.

• Please describe how you have engaged with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (e.g. use of evaluation evidence to inform teaching practice; use of an action research cycle in evaluating your teaching practice, SoTL publications or other dissemination activities) and describe how you have used student feedback to shape your teaching practice.
• Please list professional and peer recognition of the quality of your teaching and support of learning, such as learning and teaching prizes, and awards, and any formal professional recognition status (such as Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy or of HERDSA).

3. A commitment to leadership in learning and teaching that motivates and influences others.

• Please describe your reasons for seeking to join the Adelaide Education Academy and the ongoing contribution you believe you will be able to make as a member at a School, Faculty and University level.
• Please describe your recent contributions as a leader in learning and teaching. These roles and activities can be formal (e.g. chairing committees at University, Faculty or School level, convening a Community of Practice, participating as a reviewer in Peer Review of Teaching) or informal (e.g. leading curriculum renewal in your area, mentoring colleagues, leading by example).

Please note that even weighting will be given to each question.

Applicants are asked to provide evidence of the quality of their teaching. You are provided with an opportunity to do this in two ways:

1. Written summary of examples (this can include URL links to teaching video's) - optional
2. Provision of up to five A4 pages of evidence - compulsory

Evidence may include:

• a summary of their student evaluation of learning and teaching (SELT) results;
• TRP or PARD-P peer review evaluations of their teaching (if available);
• student feedback on their teaching practice (solicited or unsolicited comments),
• any awards they have achieved for learning and teaching
• testimonials from peers
• short videos (URL's to be included in written evidence summary)
• any other evidence you have collected of teaching quality.

All applications must receive formal endorsement from the applicant's Head of School and Line Manager.

If the Head of School is also the Line Manager then only one endorsement is required.

Endorsers will be sent a copy of the staff member's application and will also be asked to verify that the staff member adheres to the University's Staff Values and Behaviour Framework.

Once expressions of interest have been received, they are presented to the AEA Executive group who evaluate the evidence of teaching excellence.

The Executive then present their recommendations to the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Learning) and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) who then either approve induction, or provide guidance and support to unsuccessful applicants.

AEA membership indicates University recognition of elite teaching and scholarship.

Denote yourself as an expert and leader in Learning and Teaching
Certain leadership and engagement opportunities in Learning and Teaching across the University may at times be invited specifically from the community of Adelaide Education Academy members. 

Access to apply for funding under the Learning and Teaching Advancement Grant (LTAG) scheme
This scheme funds initiatives driven by AEA members seeking to advance teaching excellence at the University of Adelaide. 2023 LTAG applications have now closed.  Applications will be invited again early in 2024. 
To view the successful applicants of 2023, visit the Learning and Teaching Advancement Grant webpage (staff log in required).

Member Networking
Members are supported and encouraged to communicate with peers through informal mentoring programs.

Membership Online Collaboration 
Facilitated though a dedicated team in Microsoft Teams, members are free to discuss issues relevant to teaching staff, share ideas and promote best practice in teaching. 

AEA member events (F2F and online) 
A range of events and activities are arranged by the AEA on behalf of its members. These include invited speakers such as nationally and internationally recognised scholars and thought leaders in higher education, and other events aimed at the interests of the AEA membership.

Previously applicants were required to be employed at the University for a minimum of two years to apply for AEA membership.

This condition no longer applies. New arrivals can apply and present evidence of their outstanding practice in learning and teaching from institutions outside the University of Adelaide.  The context will need to be described, however, which can be done in the 250-word description of evidence section on the online form.

Please direct any questions to the Teaching Excellence Team.

As part of the membership refresh all membership tiers will be dissolved - i.e. there are no longer  'full' and 'affiliate' members of the AEA. 

All members of the AEA will be eligible to apply for LTAG funding in the 2024 round however, an amount of money will be prioritised for members who are Education Specialists (or teams who are led by an Education Specialist).

More information will be provided when the 2024 LTAG applications are opened in January 2024.

The provisions for contract variations to become an Education Specialist are still available, and these options can be discussed with your line manager and with HR. 

Joining the AEA is not necessary to become an Education Specialist, but may still be of particular interest to Education Specialists and others on teaching intensive workloads, or those looking for career progression within teaching-focussed pathways. 

An ‘Education Specialist’ refers to certain academic staff members with a particular workload allocation and contract type.  

Prior to 2023, full membership of the Adelaide Education Academy was tied to the Education Specialist designation, but this has now been separated to allowed broader access into the Academy. Under previous processes, contract variations to become an Education Specialist were commonly entered into when members joined the Academy. However, these processes are now separate. 

The provisions for contract variations to become an Education Specialist are still available, and these options can be discussed with your line manager and with HR. 

Joining the AEA is not necessary to become an Education Specialist, but may still be of particular interest to Education Specialists and others on teaching intensive workloads, or those looking for career progression within teaching-focussed pathways. 

The AEA Executive Group recognises that many Educations Specialists are likely to be members of the Adelaide Education Academy, and will make efforts to ensure that the specific interests of this group are taken into consideration within the Executive Group’s representation of the entire membership.  

AEA members who are Education Specialists are encouraged to continue to use the AEA as one avenue to connect with other Education Specialists. For example, discussion of matters specific to Education Specialists regarding promotion, SSP, and other matters, are encouraged to continue within this group through avenues such as the Microsoft Teams channels. 

• Walter Barbieri (AEA Executive Committee)
• Kathryn Bowd 
• Tom Buchanan
• Hong Cai 
• Benito Cao
• Domenic Carbone
• Dustan Cox
• Erin Derina
• Mark Dodd (Co-Chair AEA Executive Committee)
• Kayoko Enomoto 
• Jessica Ford
• Anne Hewitt
• Cornelia Koch
• Elizabeth Koch
• Mahmud Masum (AEA Executive Committee)
• Edward Palmer
• Florian Ploeckl
• Lucy Potter
• Gareth Pritchard
• Thomas Wanner

• Amanda Able
• Jill Bauer
• Bree Bennett
• Antoni Blazewicz
• James Botten
• Michelle Coulson
• Maria Gonzalez Perdomo
• Adrian Hunter
• Catherine Irving
• Stuart Johnson
• Adrian Koerber
• Sara Krivickas
• Sasha Lanyon
• Michael Leonard
• Beth Loveys ( AEA Executive Committee)
• Andrew MacKinnon
• Holger Maier
• Hayley McGrice (AEA Executive Committee)
• Dorothy Missingham AM
• Helen Morris
• Yung Ngothai
• Braden Phillips
• Cheryl Pope (Co-Chair AEA Executive Committee)
• Simon Pyke
• Karina Riggs
• Olaf Schaaf
• Alistair Standish
• Velta Vingelis
• Raymond Vozzo
• Elizabeth Yong

• Jan Alderman
• Kent Algate
• Poppy Anastassiadis
• Natasha Antwerpen
• Matthew Arnold
• Melissa Arnold-Ujvari
• Elizabeth Beckett
• Adelaide Boylan
• Peta Callaghan
• Tania Crotti
• Andrea Dillon
• Esma Dogramci
• Frank Donnelly
• Matthew Dry
• Anastasia Ejova
• Iain Everett
• David Foley
• Jennifer Gray (nee Miller)
• Rainer Haberberger
• David Hunter
• Viythia Katharesan
• Dimitra Lekkas
• Sally Martin
• Danijela Menicanin
• Christian Mingorance
• Adam Montagu
• Emma Muhlack
• Judith Naine
• Samantha Newell
• Tammy Page
• Eleanor Parker
• Jo Perry (AEA Executive Committee)
• Katrina Plastow
• Philippa Rasmussen
• Mario Ricci
• Abdallah Salem
• Simran Sidhu
• Lauren Stow
• Peter Strelan 
• Kerrie Stockley
• James Thompson
• Nichola Thompson
• Corinna Van Den Heuvel
• Bonnie Williams

• David Butler