Talking About Teaching and Learning (TATAL)

What is TATAL?

The Talking about Teaching and Learning (TATAL) initiative helps to develop communities of practice that facilitate scholarly discussion about teaching and learning in higher education.

What does TATAL involve?

TATAL groups, known as TATALs, mainly consist of supportive, collegial discussion about teaching and learning in higher education. Groups meet roughly once a month. At first, the group discussions focus on teaching philosophies, and many TATAL members find that the support of a TATAL group helps them to develop their very own teaching philosophy. To that end, the TATAL groups assist members in undertaking various forms of reflective thinking about their practice. Many TATALers move on to complete a HERDSA Fellowship. TATALs are used more widely in supporting TATALers going through change, unemployment, change of employment and simply balancing impossible workloads.

When did TATAL begin?

TATAL was founded by Dr Coralie McCormack and Robert Kennelly (then at the University of Canberra) in 2008, following various discussions (since 2003) about the ideas underpinning TATAL. Their aim was to develop communities of practice that would facilitate scholarly discussion about teaching and learning in higher education.

How can I become a member of a TATAL group?

Most TATALs are formed during the annual HERDSA Conference, which usually takes place in late June or early July. Other TATALs form within various higher education institutions. TATAL participants are typically referred to as TATALers. The group members usually meet once a month.

Who can I contact for further information?

Please contact the TATAL officer for further details about things TATAL, including scholarly resources.

Where can I find further reading and resources?

Below is a list of key outputs about TATAL.

- TATAL workbook

- Coralie and Robert’s (2011) journal article ‘We must get together and really talk…’

- Coralie and Robert’s article from a 2009 edition of HERDSA News

TATAL publications:

(Kennelly et al.; Kennelly, 2013; McCormack & Kennelly, 2009, 2011; Schonell et al., 2016; Scott et al., 2022)

Kennelly, M. R., Shekhawat, R., & Schönwetter, D. J. Talking about Teaching and Learning (TATAL) 2019.

Kennelly, R. (2013). Talking about teaching and learning in Western Australia. HERDSA News, 35(3), 18-21.

McCormack, C., & Kennelly, R. (2009). Talking about Teaching and learning (TATAL). HERDSA News, 31(1), 8-10.

McCormack, C., & Kennelly, R. (2011). ‘We must get together and really talk…’. Connection, engagement and safety sustain learning and teaching conversation communities. Reflective Practice, 12(4), 515-531.

Schonell, S., Gilchrist, J., Kennelly, R., McCormack, C., Northcote, M., Ruge, G., & Treloar, G. (2016). TATAL: Talking about teaching and learning: Teaching philosophy workbook. Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia.

Scott, J., Pryce, J., Fisher, M. B., Reinke, N. B., Singleton, R., Tsai, A., Li, D., Parkinson, A. L., Eri, R., & Reid, S. (2022). HERDSA TATAL tales: Reflecting on academic growth as a Community for Practice. In Academic Voices (pp. 269-281). Elsevier.