Professional insight from Adelaide University

Adelaide University is built on 180 years of achievement, combining the esteemed University of Adelaide and the enterprising University of South Australia to create a comprehensive, for-purpose university for the future.

Adelaide University

A student struggles in the classroom

Being a beginner is hard. Let’s make it easier for our students

Tips and strategies for helping students move beyond the fear of making a mistake – and feel more willing to try

Kate Sansome

Adelaide University

Academics discuss ideas in a meeting

The five levels of learning designer support

Learning designers and academics may have different expectations when it comes to collaborating on course design. Here’s how a five-point scale can help

Daniel Searson

Adelaide University

A man sitting at a laptop concentrates hard on a document

A practical tool for valid assessments in the GenAI-enabled university

An assessment flowchart can help guide educators through the delicate balance of whether or not to allow GenAI in their assignment design. Here’s how it works

Rebecca Smith, Paul Moss, Sasikala Rathnappulige, Carina Correas

Adelaide University

Group of young people holding jigsaw pieces, belonging concept

Strategies to promote belonging from the first day of term – and beyond

Create a supportive learning environment for a sense of community among your students, by deploying strategies to lay the foundations and build on them

Multiple authors

Adelaide University

A teacher works with students on GenAI literacy

How to evolve with GenAI: an educator’s guide

The launch of GenAI has prompted a new stage of experimentation for university education. Here’s how to explore and refine, finding out what works and what doesn’t

Lin Yue

Adelaide University

A Native American dance stick

Place Indigenous knowledge at the heart of academic enquiry

Decolonise the curriculum by engaging students with historically marginalised knowledge from a range of sources. Here’s how

Kam Kaur

Adelaide University

A robot hand presses a key on a laptop keyboard

‘Don’t be sorry, just declare it’: safeguarding the integrity of the essay

With the advent of GenAI, higher education has pronounced the essay dead. Benito Cao argues there are signs of life – and explains how to protect its integrity

Benito Cao

Adelaide University

Brightly-coloured speech bubbles and avatars

Discussion forums: the key to AI-proof assessment?

Providing a supportive learning culture for students will make them less likely to cheat – and discussion forums, with a few tweaks, may be the way to do it

Edward Palmer

Adelaide University

A toilet cubicle

Equality on campus starts in the toilets

With diversity, equity and inclusion policies under threat, there’s a simple and cost-effective change universities can make for a trans-inclusionary, accessible campus

Deanna Grant-Smith , Anne Hewitt , Loki Maelorin, Chisom Ihekwaba

Adelaide University, University of the Sunshine Coast

A phone screen with several different GenAI apps displayed

Can we use GenAI to subvert the neoliberal university?

Generative AI can be a tool of resistance against the corporatisation of higher education – or it can be just another distraction to make us ‘zombies in the loop’ of the system. Here is how we can choose the former

Richard McInnes

Adelaide University

Students work round a laptop together

Create an online learning environment international students feel comfortable in

For international students, navigating online learning is just another challenge among the many they’re already facing. Rajeev Kamineni offers advice based on his own learning journey

Rajeev Kamineni

Adelaide University

A group of people put their hands together

Five steps to decolonise your university curriculum and pave the way for a better future

How can universities reset their curricula and embrace a range of experiences? Here are five ways to start down the path of decolonisation

Steve Larkin

Adelaide University

A health professional checks a patient's lymph glands

Taking trust to the next level in healthcare assessment

When educating health professionals, the role of trust is paramount. Here’s how we can link entrustment with student consensus grading and programmatic assessment

James Thompson, Amanda Maddern

Adelaide University

A human and a robot shake hands

A four-step process to embedding AI literacy in business courses

Business students will need to know how to work with AI tools in their future careers. Prepare them with this four-step process

John Murphy

Adelaide University

A lecturer speaks to a group of students

Four ways to tap into students’ family experiences for better learning

Using students’ family experiences as a jumping-off point for learning can help engage them and prepare them for the workforce. Here’s how to do it

Ankit Agarwal

Adelaide University

The hand of Adam reaches towards a robot arm, with a buffering sign in between

Apply the principles of critical pedagogy to GenAI

Artificial intelligence can shape our educational practices – but when we allow this to happen unthinkingly, what do we risk losing? Here’s how to stay uncomfortable and ask the critical questions

Richard McInnes, Simon Nagy, Laura Airey

Adelaide University

A group of people work in a room full of books

Tips for moving from learning designer to educational leader

Learning designers have all the skills to make great leaders. Here’s how to transition into the role

Paul Moss, Richard McInnes, Simon Marek

Adelaide University

Three business people consider a document

For learning design projects, build the time to reflect on the past into your future

Reflective practice is essential for continuous improvement in learning design. Paul John Gregory Moss, Richard McInnes and Simon Marek explain how to incorporate structured reflection into project scopes

Paul Moss, Richard McInnes, Simon Marek

Adelaide University

A yellow ball rolls out ahead of blue blocks

We can face the challenge of corporatisation by embracing subversive leadership

Educational developers must balance the corporatisation of higher education with providing transformative education. To do this, subversive leadership is the key, argues Richard McInnes

Richard McInnes

Adelaide University

A female student holding a notebook stands in a library

To give female students an equal educational experience, we need to promote women

Female representation in leadership roles is crucial to show young women that success can be theirs too. Catherine Branson explains how her life and career have helped her succeed in a male-dominated world

Catherine Branson

Adelaide University

A student receives an A-graded test

Cut down your marking time by using whole-class feedback

Whole-class feedback offers three advantages – it’s time saving, it encourages self-regulation and will help identify any weaknesses in the rubric. Paul Moss shows how it’s done

Paul Moss

Adelaide University

A human hand writes in a notebook while a robot hand types on a computer

Can academics tell the difference between AI-generated and human-authored content?

A recent study asked students and academics to distinguish between scientific abstracts generated by ChatGPT and those written by humans. Omar Siddique analyses the results

Omar Siddique

Adelaide University

Webinar graphic

Campus webinar: Can universities keep pace with digital transformation?

Three Australian digital education experts from the Campus+ network explore the benefits and risks of AI and VR in teaching and learning, and gauge higher education’s pace of digital transformation

Edward Palmer, Julie Lindsay, Karen Blackmore

Adelaide University, The University of Southern Queensland , The University of Newcastle, Australia

Two yellow cups joined by a string on a blue background

Finger on the pulse: establish a culture of communication for better feedback

Why wait until the end of the course to hear from your students? Sasha Lanyon encourages a real-time, authentic approach to student evaluation

Sasha Lanyon

Adelaide University

Two male swimmers in a pool

Stay in your lane or swim sideways: working respectfully in the third space

Learning designers and subject matter experts often have to navigate the choppy waters of course co-creation. Here, Jay Cohen offers six tips for collaborating successfully

Jay Cohen

Adelaide University

A shadowy hand casts a vote in a ballot box

How to engage students using public advocacy

Use real-world events to help students join the dots in their learning. Cornelia Koch outlines how

Cornelia Koch

Adelaide University

A group of students laugh together while sitting on the floor of a library

Students’ life stories can bridge the gap between theory and practice

Drawing from lived experience can help build students’ self-efficacy and develop learning skills. Ankit Agarwal explains how

Ankit Agarwal

Adelaide University

A pawn looks in the mirror and sees a queen

How consensus grading can help build a generation of critical thinkers

Instead of punitive testing and high-stakes exams, consensus grading helps students learn how to critique their own work. James Thompson encourages a real-time reflective approach to assessment

James Thompson

Adelaide University

Five students wave national flags

Let’s make the international student experience as valuable as the degree

Given the unique challenges international students face, how can universities create an inclusive and supportive community? Educators share suggestions for helping international students thrive

Multiple authors

Adelaide University

A yellow toy robot waves hello

How hard can it be? Testing the dependability of AI detection tools

Students are using artificial intelligence to write essays and other assessment tasks, but can they fool the AI detection tools? Daniel Lee and Edward Palmer put a few to the test

Daniel Lee, Edward Palmer

Adelaide University

Writing a prompt for generative AI

Mastering generative AI: crafting reusable prompts for effective learning design

Richard McInnes and Ajay Kulkarni discuss how to get consistent quality and replicable results when using generative AI to support course design and development

Richard McInnes, Ajay Kulkarni

Adelaide University

Student money worries ahead of internship

Equitable access to work-integrated learning is finally on the agenda in Australia

A group of Australian academics discusses what changes could ameliorate the issues faced by students from equity groups when it comes to accessing internships

Anne Hewitt , Craig Cameron , Deanna Grant-Smith , Laura Grenfell

Adelaide University, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland University of Technology

ChatGPT for course design

Embracing generative AI as a co-design partner for designing and developing courses

Generative AI is here to stay, so what opportunities are there for educational developers and learning designers to leverage it as a partner when designing courses?

Richard McInnes

Adelaide University

Group discussion

Using active learning to increase student engagement and understanding

Creating an active learning environment in a large group setting is challenging. Ingrid Sierp shares ways to increase engagement, encourage attendance and gauge understanding in real time

Ingrid Sierp

Adelaide University

Chained to the desk

The scramble to push students towards internships is troubling

With employability at all costs now dominating HE, we seem to be ignoring the very real problems of a system built on free labour and work placements, says Anne Hewitt

Anne Hewitt

Adelaide University

Storyboarding is a crucial step in using animations for university teaching

Using animation to stimulate learner engagement

Videos are a popular means of engaging students in learning concepts, and using animated videos allows a wide range of contexts and situations to be explored

Mahmud Masum, Janice Loftus , Paul Moss

Adelaide University

Group activities can help HDR student belonging

We must help HDR students experience a sense of community and belonging

A University of Adelaide team on what can be done to enhance community for higher degree by research students and how to ensure they see this culture from the outside

Multiple authors

Adelaide University

Checklists and other course quality evaluation tools

Seven steps to make an effective course quality evaluation instrument

Tools such as rubrics and checklists are increasingly common for monitoring the quality of courses, so how do we choose the best one for our purposes?

Richard McInnes

Adelaide University

Mentorship and helping

Leading through mentorship: a guide to the ups and downs

Anna Chur-Hansen reflects on her experiences as a mentee and mentor, how this skill can be developed and how it contributes to the building of a meaningful career

Anna Chur-Hansen

Adelaide University

Leading with empathy is more important than ever in HE

How to be an empathetic leader during times of change

No one style is the panacea for all leadership challenges but, as Rachel Gibson explains, empathy is a crucial ingredient for leadership success

Rachel Gibson

Adelaide University

Catching up with academic colleagues is part of keeping it REAL

Authentic leadership: the four pillars of keeping it ‘REAL’

Corinna van den Heuvel explains how developing a strong personal leadership philosophy is key to authenticity as a leader

Corinna van den Heuvel

Adelaide University

Mentoring postgrad students well requires much planning

Setting up right is crucial for supervision success – here’s how

Successful supervision requires careful planning. Tania Crotti and Anna Szorenyi share road-tested approaches to establishing and maintaining effective supervisory practices

Tania Crotti , Anna Szorenyi

Adelaide University

A team examining data

How data from digital learning tools can refine teaching

Digital learning tools enable educators to quickly collect and analyse student performance data in order to refine their teaching, as Paul Moss explains

Paul Moss

Adelaide University

Relationship-building skills are transferable from the workplace to academia

Relationship-building: the key to effective teaching

Teaching in HE is daunting for new academics, but interpersonal skills honed in the workplace provide strong foundations, say Charles Marley and colleagues

Charles Marley

Adelaide University

Communities of practice are an excellent way for staff and faculty to share knowledge

Communities of practice: how to help them thrive

There are few better ways for staff to build and share knowledge within institutions, but while communities of practice can evolve organically, they also need nurturing

Melanie Brown

Adelaide University

Using comic books can be a great way to teach complex topics to university students

Picture this! Teaching difficult concepts through comics

David Brown and Mark Giancaspro explain how they use visualisation to maximise engagement and student success when teaching complex topics

Mark Giancaspro , David Brown

Adelaide University

A lecturer marking dozens of assignments

A step-by-step guide to designing marking rubrics that will save hours of time

Designing marking rubrics that provide guidance but with enough flexibility for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in multiple ways is a difficult balancing act. Paul Moss explains how it can be done

Paul Moss

Adelaide University

Advice on explaining to students why they should keep their cameras on during online classes

Stay in the frame: how to persuade students to keep cameras on in lessons

Paul Moss shares advice on how to convince students that making themselves visible during online classes is in their own interest and will aid learning outcomes

Paul Moss

Adelaide University

An overview of how cognitive load can be used to determine how challenging your learning content can be before it risks alienating students

How challenging can my content be?

Paul Moss explores the concept of cognitive load as a way to determine how challenging your learning content should be to remain effective

Paul Moss

Adelaide University

Guidance on building space into curricula for creative exploration and discussion of topics

Making space for creativity in higher education

Paul Moss explains why and how university tutors should create opportunities for creative exploration among students within their courses

Paul Moss

Adelaide University