Excellence in Education Award Guidelines

The University of Adelaide Excellence in Education Awards are presented annually. They are designed to recognise and reward academic staff who have made a sustained and significant contribution to the excellence of the educational experiences provided by the University.

Five awards of $2000 each are available, one award for each Faculty. Each winner will also receive a Certificate of Achievement.

Categories of Nomination

The awards are not limited to outstanding classroom practice, but are being offered to both individuals and teams who contribute to quality learning and teaching, and to the excellence of the student experience, inside or outside the lecture theatre, tutorial or lab. There is opportunity for a range of contributions to be recognised under three broad categories.

1.  University Learning & Teaching Committee themes

• enhancing flexible approaches to learning and teaching
  which may include: blended learning (discussion boards; just-in-time-teaching; podcasting; vodcasting; wikis; e-sims; discipline resources); successful online delivery without any face-to-face component
• the incorporation of more effective feedback for students
  which may include: innovative formative assessment; calibrated peer assessment, votepedia, just-in-time teaching

2.  Excellence as an educator

• which may include: outreach involving students (access, equity, pathways); outreach related to the quality and reputation of the discipline; student engagement; student retention

3.  Activities in support of teaching and learning excellence

• which may include: contributions to curriculum planning and discipline initiatives (eg, resources developed through sector collaboration or University or ALTC grants); significant contributions to the University's strategic goals in learning and teaching; mentoring

Nomination Process

All applications are to be submitted in the first instance to the Teaching Awards and Grants Office (email: tagc@adelaide.edu.au), which will collate them, and pass them on to the Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching) in the appropriate Faculty.

Each Faculty will choose three applications to submit to the Teaching Awards and Grants Committee (TAGC), which is responsible for the final selection of one winner of the award for each Faculty. The TAGC will assess each application on the basis of the:

• nature and quality of the activity in terms of its purpose and outcome
• impact the activity has had on student learning
• impact the activity has had on colleagues or others in the University

Eligibility

Staff who have won a Stephen Cole, ALTC Citation or ALTC Teaching Excellence Award in the last five years are not eligible for University Excellence in Education Awards. In addition, winners of the Excellence in Education Award will not be eligible for a further Excellence in Education Award for three years.

The following categories are eligible for nomination:

• All full-time and part-time members of the academic staff (including affiliate and adjunct titleholders, as well as sessional teachers) with at least two years service to the University in a teaching position.
• Teaching groups, which predominantly include full-time and part-time members of the academic staff (including affiliate and adjunct titleholders, as well as sessional teachers) with at least two years service to the University in a teaching position, and which may include professional staff members.

Content and Layout of Submission

Nominators should write an application in support of excellence in one of the broad categories described. The application should be no more than three A4 pages in length, excluding the CV and supporting documents, and be organised using the following headings:

• Overview
  Information about the applicant, what they teach, personal outlook on teaching and learning, the context of the activity being described.
• Description of contribution
  Describe the activity. This may include the applicant's reasons for developing the activity; issues encountered; reasons for success.
• Impact of contribution
  Describe the impact of the activity on student learning, on colleagues or on the discipline. Where aggregated SELT data are used to support a claim, the size of the sample should be included.
• Ensure that margins of the application are no less than 1.5 cm, and that the font size is no smaller than 11 point Times New Roman, or its equivalent.
• Elaborate presentation is not required. Only the nomination form should be used as a cover for the document.

Attachments

A CV of no more than three A4 pages should be included, focussing on the candidate's career, contribution to learning and teaching in their School, Faculty and the University (which can be indicated by awards and leadership activities) and outreach activities. Teams may add one additional page per member; ie, if there are three members, pages are 3 + 2 = 5.

The nomination form, application and CV should not exceed seven A4 pages except in the case of teams.

Optional Materials

Up to five pages of supporting documentation (eg SELTs, testimonials, etc) may be included. This should be presented in a separate envelop or electronic file, clearly marked with the applicant's name and the category of award for which they are applying. Please note that supporting documentation will only be used in the Faculty in deciding which nominations will go forward to the Teaching Awards and Grants Committee for selection.

Receipt of Awards

• Certificates will be presented at a ceremony to be held at a date and time to be advised.
• Monies are to be paid through academic units and used by the winners to assist with their professional development.

Submission of Application

SAVE your application as a .PDF file for electronic submission.

USE the following naming convention: eine_lastname_faculty_2011

SUBMIT your completed application by email by 5.00 pm, Monday 8 August 2011

EMAIL your completed application to the Teaching Awards and Grants Office: tagc@adelaide.edu.au