Teaching Excellence
Awards

Tracy Douglas
School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Medicine

Tracy Douglas is an outstanding teacher demonstrating sustained excellence in leadership and, learning and teaching, during an academic career currently spanning over 32 years at UTAS. She is a multiple UTAS award-winning educator recognised for her sustained commitment to first year transition, active learning innovations and collaborative learning and teaching practices. She has also been awarded nationally for her sustained commitment to student transition and engagement and has actively contributed to scholarship as Branch Chair of HERDSA Tasmania and, in national projects investigating peer learning support, flipped curriculum and core concepts in physiology. Tracy is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), senior lecturer and first year coordinator in the School of Health Sciences, and Deputy Associate Dean (Student Engagement and Retention) in the College of Health and Medicine. Her teaching philosophy focusses on an enriched first-year experience using a transition pedagogy to share her love of science with students and engage and support a diverse cohort in active learning using interactive resources. She engages in reflective and comprehensive evaluation of scholarship of learning and teaching initiatives to underpin sustainable, effective teaching and is a recognised leader in quality assurance, curriculum review and mentoring through collaborative professional learning.

A/Prof Viet Tran – Individual
School of Medicine, College of Health and Medicine

Associate Professor Viet Tran is an internationally recognised emergency physician, health care leader and educator. His approach to teaching within the medicine program places the patient at the centre of learning. To achieve a work-ready multidimensional skillset, his teaching philosophy centres around a cohesive and integrated education journey that begins with students in the medicine program and continues as graduands in the workplace. His ‘classroom’ is a combination of on-site teaching but also off-campus experiences in the Emergency Department, where he has constructed a safe environment in which students can effectively develop skills for lifelong learning. To create an authentic learning experience, his pedagogical methodologies utilise vertically integrated and scaffolded modalities based on innovative curriculum design that ranges from simulation, small and large group case-based discussion, 1 and 2-day intensive workshops and asynchronous learning through online media. His teaching is creative, imaginative, innovative, and tailored to transform health outcomes, with an emphasis on critical thinking and care of critically ill patients. A/Prof Tran’s passion for teaching combined with his clinical expertise and leadership has and will continue to deliver a robust, reputable and distinguished program of teaching at UTAS and better health outcomes for the communities his students will serve.

The Riawunna Murina Pathway team – Programs that Enhance Learning

Riawunna, Academic Division

Riawunna delivers the Murina Pathway Program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at the University of Tasmania to support student success and enhance student learning through its unique pedagogy that embraces Pakana perspectives to strengthen and express cultural connections and understanding. Riawunna has developed a partnership with the University Preparation Program to expand student’s foundational study skills and pathways into higher education as it fosters stakeholder relationships to facilitate a shared responsibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander outcomes at UTAS. Murina engages students in a learning environment that invites Aboriginal sharers with knowledges, lived experiences and stories that guide and lead the content and values of the program. Riawunna staff provide wrap around and coordinated support to Murina students through a range of roles that engage students at different levels of their study journey through programs and activities that inspire and enrich their UTAS experience. Riawunna has engaged in internal evaluative processes that has inspired improved systems to strengthen pathway outcomes for its students whilst valuing and centring their voices to re-imagine success meaningful to them.

Dr Frances Fan – Individual

School of Education, College of Arts, Law and Education

Frances Fan is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and a Program Director for two Initial Teacher Education programs. Her teaching philosophy incorporates a mission to create positive learning experiences through constructive student-teacher relationships, supportive approaches to meet diverse student needs, and sound pedagogical designs based on evidence-based approaches. She actively engages in reflective and comprehensive evaluations of her teaching and acts upon feedback to ensure sustained positive student experiences and continuous improvement. Frances is an emerging leader of education programs with large online and blended cohorts and a recognised expert in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She has led/co-led six funded Learning and Teaching projects, including three UTAS Teaching Development Grants, one CALE-funded project, and two externally funded projects. She is the recipient of three Teaching Merit Certificates (2014, 2015, 2016), and a UTAS Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (Team Award, 2017). Her teaching excellence is acknowledged by evaluations of her students and colleagues. Her expertise is recognised nationally and internationally, demonstrated by outcomes from nationally funded projects, and numerous citations of peer-reviewed publications. Frances is an outstanding teacher educator who has demonstrated sustained excellence in teaching and learning since joining the School of Education in 2012.

Dr Maneesh Kuruvilla – Early Career
Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, College of Health and Medicine

Maneesh Kuruvilla is a Lecturer and Early Career Researcher at the Wicking Centre. His teaching expertise is focused around neuroscience and dementia. Maneesh received his PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience from the University of St Andrews (Scotland) in December 2018. Since joining the Wicking Centre in June 2019, Maneesh has been instrumental in designing and developing Neurobiology of Dementia units in the Master of Dementia (M7X) Program, a program launched in Sem 2, 2019 as the first of its kind globally and one primarily attended by medical/allied health professionals and those with a lived experience of dementia care. Maneesh is the only academic staff to co-ordinate all three neurobiology units in the Master of Dementia Program and has received unit commendations for outstanding performance across all three units. For CAD702 – the capstone neuroscience unit he designed from the outset – Maneesh also received a teaching commendation for outstanding performance as well as student and staff teaching award nominations. Maneesh has used this teaching opportunity to influence student learning and teaching by creating an environment that builds critical evaluation skills, supports student learning by ensuring effective feedback and facilitates the development of research literacy in an applied context.