Communities of Practice

The University of Adelaide Communities of Practice for Learning and Teaching (CoP) provide an avenue for passionate staff and current students to come together and explore new and innovative ways to enhance the learning and teaching experience at the University of Adelaide.   

Meeting monthly (face-to-face and virtually) these groups discuss topics of strategic relevance to the institution, develop teaching resources, outline best practice and deepen their knowledge and expertise. 

Led by Community of Practice Facilitators these groups are voluntary and have representatives from all areas of the University.

Membership is open to all University of Adelaide staff.  For more information on how to become involved please contact the Facilitators connected to each Community or contact the Teaching Excellence team.

Are you considering establishing your own CoP?  This helpful facilitator guide aims to assist new facilitators in getting started with their first meeting and building membership. 

  • Artificial Intelligence

    About the community

    The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Community of Practice, is a cross-disciplinary forum that aims to bring together academics, professionals, and students to explore the impact of AI in various academic and professional contexts. The CoP seeks to facilitate real-time data collection and sharing of experiences, concerns, and best practices related to the use of AI in assessment, curriculum design, academic integrity, work readiness, and other areas where AI can support academic and professional development.

    The broad goal of the AI CoP is to inform university decision-making around academic and professional practice by providing a diverse set of members with a safe space to discuss thorny issues related to the use of AI. The CoP welcomes a range of members, including students who will be very interested in exploring the role of AI in their academic and professional futures. The CoP encourages openness and transparency in all discussions and seeks to foster a culture of learning and growth where members can learn from each other's experiences.

    View news and resources related to artificial intelligence and learning.

    Meeting format

    We will meet regularly face to face and via Zoom to allow for discussion.

    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au

    Co-facilitators:

    Ed Palmer, Amy Milka and Cheryl Pope

     

  • Diversity and Inclusion in Teaching

    About the community

    A community of staff and students to explore inclusive learning and teaching practices.

    • Design and implementation of an inclusive teaching framework offering tools and exemplars for inclusive course structure, delivery, assessment, feedback and review
    • Significantly increase the awareness of diverse student groups and of existing theory, tools and approaches for inclusive learning and teaching.

    Meeting format

    Monthly meetings where we work on tangible objectives the community sets, directly reporting to the PVC(SL).

    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au

    Co-facilitators:

    Aaron Humphrey or Emma Muhlack.

    Resources

    Diversity and Inclusion in Teaching - Comic

  • Effective and Engaging Teaching

    About the community

    The Effective and Engaging Teaching Community of Practice was formed due to a merger of the Active Learning and Assessment and Discovery Learning Communities of Practice.  This CoP is for passionate educators who are dedicated to finding and sharing inspiring and practical examples of engaging and effective teaching from across the university. The focus will be on creating tangible outputs that will benefit all educators.

    The group are currently working to gather, collate and curate learning activities that have been tried and tested in the classroom across a variety of disciplines.

    The monthly meetings are the perfect place to share ideas and get feedback on activities you have incorporated into your teaching to improve student experience in your classroom.

    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au

    Co-facilitators:

    Viythia Katharesan and Danijela Menicanin.

  • e-Learning

    About the community

    A community for academic and professional staff interested in the development of digital learning resources, the transition of courses from face-to-face to online delivery, MOOCs, and/or evaluation of the impact of e-learning strategies on student learning.

    Technology is increasingly being used to facilitate active learning and collaboration, to better engage and support students via richer learning experiences and to accommodate the needs and expectations of students from different cultural backgrounds, with different learning styles, across different study contexts.

    Community goals

    The e-Learning CoP provides opportunities to:

    • engage in capacity building through professional development in e-learning.
    • support networking and collaboration between academic and professional staff across The University of Adelaide faculties and divisions.
    • engage university staff and students in scholarly activity, such as research and dissemination.
    • facilitate the sharing of best practices and examples in e-learning across the University.
    • provide a forum for constructive peer review and evaluation of e-learning.
    • provide opportunities for student participation and feedback in e-learning design learn from leaders in the field.

    Meeting format

    • Monthly one hour meetings - on the third Tuesday of each month - with structured Agenda
    • Meetings in 2024 will be held online. Please contact us to be added to the meeting request and receive the Teams meeting link for online events.
    • Includes formal presentations or structured discussion on topics of interest.
    • Allows time for ‘fellowship’ informal discussion and networking
    • Participate in active and engaging scholarly activities
    • Social Meetings – relationship building
    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au

    Co-facilitators:

    Jessica Viven-Wilksch and Rebecca Vivian

    Resources

    One important achievement for the group has been the development of their MyUni page which now has a range of resources available for members.  One resource has Jessica completing a demonstration using Vivi in blended modes of teaching in Lecture theatres (see a preview).  

  • Employability

    About the community

    The Employability Community of Practice brings together academic and professional staff to discuss and develop employability-focused learning and opportunities. It aims to provide a collegial space to share best practice in fostering employability both within and alongside curriculum, and a forum for sharing and exploring experiences, issues and solutions.

    Employability is increasingly central to the mission of higher education in Australia, and supporting students to develop their employability helps to provide a pathway from education to professional practice. The range of activities encompassed by employability includes work integrated learning, experiential learning, and career development learning.

    Potential members are invited to also view further information regarding Student Employabilty including the Graduate Employability Framework here.

    Meeting format

    Academic and professional staff from across the University are invited to join the CoP, with meetings held monthly.

    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au

    Co-facilitators:

    Co-facilitators are Jane Powers, Associate Director: Employability, Careers and Student Academic Skills, and Dr Kathryn Bowd, Associate Dean, Work Integrated Learning, Faculty of ABLE.

  • HDR Supervision

    About the Community

    The HDR Supervision Community of Practice – also known as the ‘HDR CoP’ – is a community of academic staff who are or have been engaged in the supervision of research students at MPhil or PhD level. The community also welcomes members engaged in other forms of research supervision (e.g. Honours or Postgraduate Coursework research projects) and professional staff who work within these fields.

    The HDR CoP officially launched on 20 May 2021.  

    Community goals

    • To be an inclusive, supportive environment in which to share experiences of supervision
    • To support beginning supervisors as well as those who are more experienced
    • To offer a forum to discuss the problems and difficulties that arise in supervision
    • To generate new ideas and approaches to supervision
    • To provide a support network for supervisors aiming to develop innovative methods of supervision
    • To provide leadership in supervision for the benefit of the wider university community

    Meeting format

    • Every two months
    • Formal presentations or structured discussion on topics of interest
    • Informal discussion and networking
    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au

    Co-facilitators:

    Tania Crotti and Anna Szorenyi.

    Launch event

    The HDR CoP was officially launched with an event in the Ingkarni Wardli building on Thursday May 20, 2021. The guest speaker was Professor Alistair McColloch who discussed Changing Students, Changing PhD & Challenging Supervision.

  • Languages

    About the Community

    The Language Community of Practice – also known as the ‘Language CoP’ – is a community of academic staff who are teaching languages.

    Community goals

    • To be an inclusive, supportive environment in which to share experiences of teaching languages
    • To support beginning language teachers as well as those who are more experienced
    • To offer a forum to discuss the problems and difficulties that arise in language teaching
    • To generate new ideas and approaches to language teaching
    • To provide a support network for language teachers aiming to develop innovative methods of teaching
    • To provide leadership in language teaching for the benefit of the wider university community
    Meeting format
    • Every two months
    • Formal presentations or structured discussions on topics of interest
    • Informal discussion and networking
    Resources

    1) Meeting Multilingual Minds

    2) New website for Kaurna Language

    Facilitator:

    Associate Professor Shoko Yoneyama, Program Coordinator: Bachelor of Languages, Diploma in Languages & Bachelor of Languages (Honours) shoko.yoneyama@adelaide.edu.au

  • Learning Analytics

    About the community

    A community for staff to explore the potential for learning analytics to improve student learning.

    Community goals

    • Assessment of student academic performance and the assessment of a course through the use of learning analytics.
    • Objectively improve course delivery and strengthen student engagement promoting a better understanding of teaching best practices.

    Meeting format

    Monthly meetings where we work on tangible objectives the community sets, directly reporting to the PVC(SL).

    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au.  

    Co-facilitators:

    David Wilson

    Florian Ploeckl

  • Open Educational Resources

    About the community

    The OER CoP is a forum for academic and professional staff to collaborate, learn, and share advice in the discovery, use, and creation of open educational resources (OERs). OERs are digital learning materials made freely available online using an open license (such as Creative Commons), which allows them to be freely downloaded, kept, shared, and revised by anyone – staff, students, and the wider community alike. OERs help lower cost and access barriers for students in engaging with course material, and enables the design and delivery of more flexible, personalised, and authentic learning experiences. Members of the OER CoP collaborate in the advocacy of OERs, and open educational practice (OEP) more generally, by sharing strategies in finding and creating high-quality and reliable OERs, embedding OERs in curricula, and connecting the use of OERs with broader pedagogical practice.

    Meeting format

    Meetings will be held monthly and alternate between in-person and fully online events. Meeting topics and agendas will be collaboratively set by the group based on interest and experience of its members, with formal presentations and collaborative activities paired with general discussion and asynchronous collaborative projects.

    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au.  

    Co-facilitators:

    Tom Crichton

    Matthew Lumsden

  • Simulation-Based Education

    About the community

    Well executed Simulation- Based Education (SBE) provides high quality student learning experiences. SBE enables educators to address key employability capabilities at the same time as students learn relevant discipline content and technical and non-technical skills. Through skilled pre-brief, debrief and feedback, students are given the space to self-reflect, develop self- awareness and construct strategies to further improve their communication, confidence, team-work and technical skills

    The Simulation Based Education Community of Practice – also known as the ‘SBE CoP’ – is a community of academic and professional staff who are or would like to use simulation-based education practices in their teaching (both in clinical and non-clinical disciplines).

    SBE at The University of Adelaide is well established. For example, in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (FoHMS) Adelaide Health Simulation is currently the only accredited health care simulation facility for excellence in learning and teaching in Australia.

    Increasingly, early adopters and passionate educators are advocating for, and utilising SBE to assist students to meet learning outcomes in a range of disciplines. The School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences (SAVS) delivers SBE in a sophisticated manner to support their curriculum.  Exciting collaborations between Schools/Faculties have emerged including: The Adelaide Medical School (AMS) and SAVS, AMS and the Adelaide Law School and AMS and the Faculty of Arts. The potential for growth and collaboration is exciting and this community of practice is an opportunity to realise that potential.

    Community goals

    SBE requires an educator to be creative and innovative and to have developed skilful debriefing and feedback capacities. It is a specialised teaching role with multiple considerations including:

    • Writing effective scenarios which captures both the human emotional experience and the clinical or discipline content/skill.
    • Training and developing simulated patients (actors) to adopt the created role and, if indicated, provide objective and structured feedback related to their experience.
    • Developing the skills of effective debrief, whereby the learners are empowered to self-reflect, learn from the experience and feel supported to try new strategies.
    • Developing the skills of effective feedback related to the learner’s learning objectives and providing the feedback in an objective, structured and balanced format.
    • Gaining confidence and experience with the various platforms available for technologically enhanced SBE

    Meeting format

    • Every second month, in person or online.
    • Formal presentations by invited speakers or members of the group or structured discussion on topics of interest
    • Informal discussion and networking
    • Sharing current collaborations and learning events
    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au.  

    Co-facilitators:

    For more information or to join, please contact our co-facilitators: Ellen Davies, Adam Montagu or Michelle McArthur.

  • Student Leadership

    About the community

    The Student Leadership CoP is open to all staff and students with an interest in student leadership. The CoP meets regularly to discuss topics such as developing and maintaining peer-to-peer support activities and programs, training needs for student leaders, student ambassador and mentor roles, collaboration opportunities and more. The overall aims of the group are to foster a network focused on problem-solving, resource-sharing, and connection, with a focus on empowering and appreciating students who support other students.   

    Meeting format

    Our schedule alternates between regular meetings where members and guests connect to share experiences, issues, and resources, plan professional development opportunities, and create a supportive network, and themed workshop-style meetings with a focus on student/staff partnership.

    Meetings are held in-person/online through our MS Teams space, which is also a site for connection, collaboration, resource sharing and general moral support!

    • Monthly meetings
    • Shared interest themes for focussed discussion
    • Regular roundtable updates for information sharing across programs/teams/areas
    • Informal networking and group problem-solving
    • Occasional guest speakers
    • Occasional professional development/training sessions

    Themes and schedule

    2024 Student Leadership CoP meetings:

    January 24 - Setting Academic Goals for the Year

    February 21 - Time Management and Study Techniques

    March 20 - Career Planning and Skill Development

    April 17 - Wellness and Stress Management

    May 15 - Leadership and Extracurricular Activities

    June 19 - Diversity and Inclusion

    July 17 - Financial Literacy

    August 21 - Networking and Building Professional Relationships

    September 25 - Global Awareness and Cultural Exchange

    October 23 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship

    November 20 - Community Engagement and Volunteerism

    December 18 - Year in Review and Future Outlook

    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au.  

    Co-facilitators:

    Chelsea Avard 

    Elise Przytula

    Anthea D'Aloia

  • UoA–Pearson Alliance Programs

    About the Community

    The partnership between the University of Adelaide and Pearson is an alliance anchored in the design, development and delivery of a suite of fully online educational programs. All online programs offer an accelerated learning experience for students – each course within the post-graduate programs is delivered in an accelerated 6-week period, with 6 online teaching periods per year.

    The UoA–Pearson Alliance Programs Community of Practice – also known as the ‘Alliance CoP’ – is a community of academic staff who are or have been engaged in the design, development and delivery of online learning experiences within the Alliance Programs. This includes Program Directors, Course Coordinators and Course Contributors (e.g., content authors).

    The Alliance CoP officially launched on 25 March 2021.

    Community goals

    Our shared goals centre around a dedicated space to come together and explore new and innovative ways to enhance the learning and teaching experience at the University of Adelaide – supporting ongoing skills development by facilitating peer learning amongst our community of educators.

    The Alliance CoP provides opportunities to:

    • Engage in capacity building through professional development in fully online learning and teaching
    • Support networking between academic staff to foster peer support, sharing insights and learnings within and across disciplines
    • Share strategies for effective course authoring and coordination to enhance the student experience
    • Provide a forum for constructive peer review and evaluation of online learning and teaching (design, development and delivery)  
    • Create knowledge (specific to the online environment) that can be disseminated more broadly 
    • Engage academic and professional staff in scholarly activity.

    Meeting format

    • Four meetings per year
    • Formal presentations or structured discussion on topics of interest
    • Informal discussion and networking.

    Meetings will be held via Zoom. There is also a dedicated channel in Teams for ongoing conversations and sharing of news and articles.

    Join and connect with current members

    To join, please email teachexcellence@adelaide.edu.au.  

    Co-facilitators:

    Dr Christopher Bean and Dr Tiffany Lavis.