Bringing about change in teaching and learning in higher education is a core aspect of the work of academic developers. This paper is novel in analysing the experience of a year-long initiative to support curriculum changes in departments in related disciplines in different universities. It applies some of the processes developed by Change Academy…

Academics in an engineering school at an Australian university participated in peer observation of a teaching program using a partnership approach. The present case study explains and discusses program aims, design, process and outcomes. The success of the program was dependent on four critical elements: educational leadership; a staged,…

Towards the end of his characteristically straightforward account of the landscape of educational development, Graham Gibbs announced: "I am skeptical about the value of the rush to scholasticism". Gibbs goes on to explain that he sees his most influential contribution to university teachers in his "practical manuals and…

Many institutional cultures resist change, and within universities academic developers vary their response to such resistance, depending on the type of change, the institution and their own characteristic styles, working preferences and strategic judgements. Variables influencing the successful introduction of innovation in academic practice…

There is limited research into the effectiveness of non-accredited foundational courses for new academic staff. An ongoing issue is that of attention and anxiety overload in the critical first period of employment when the challenges of establishing oneself in a new collegial environment are most acute. Approaches to addressing this issue may be…

Higher education is facing a conundrum relevant to the field of educational development: expectations regarding entrance criteria and graduation attributes are changing simultaneously. Biggs' model of constructive alignment can be used to analyze the challenges presented by these shifts in expectation and help educational developers…

For 40 years, the "staff teaching seminar" has aimed to prepare academics to meet the complex demands of university teaching. In Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ), as elsewhere, the seminar emerged in the late 1960s-early 1970s, and preceded centrally funded academic development (AD) centres. Targeting new academics, the programme typically…

If we are to realise the potential of blended learning in higher education, then further research into academic practice and relevant academic development is essential. Our review of literature on blended learning in higher education reveals an interesting scholarship landscape which, when described in detail, pointedly directs attention to the…

This article describes the practice of postgraduate supervision on a blended professional development programme for academics, and discusses how connectivism has been a useful lens to explore a complex form of instruction. By examining the processes by which supervisors and their students on a two-year part-time masters in Applied eLearning…

This paper reviews a range of challenges and tensions experienced when using portfolios for learning as well as for summative assessment in the context of continuing professional learning in academic development programmes. While portfolios are becoming increasingly prominent, the details of how they are used are under-examined; they are often…

A small group of new academic developers reflected on their induction into the profession and wondered if things could have been done differently. The researchers decided to question the directors of three tertiary academic development units about how they recruited new developers, what skills and competences they looked for and how they inducted…

Although it can be argued that directors of central academic development units (ADUs) are critical to the implementation of university teaching and learning strategies, it would appear there is a high director turnover rate. While research in the USA, the UK, and Australia illustrates that ADUs are frequently closed or restructured, that research…

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has blossomed as a field of study over the past two decades. In addition to the highly successful conferences of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL), there is now a substantial, growing, and diversifying range of refereed published outputs. Additionally, a…

This paper presents the cooperative analysis by a lecturer and an academic development practitioner of a reflective journal dialogue over the 12 weeks of teaching a postgraduate course. Through a retrospective analysis of the journal the present paper explores the following issues: the framing of an inquiry; the personal-professional nexus; and…

This article explores the impact of a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (PG Cert.) on new lecturers, appointed for their professional expertise. It focuses on staff perceptions of acculturation into the discourses of university learning and teaching. Drawing on a literature review which reveals (at best) ambivalent evidence…