HERDSA Notices 6 August 2025

* HERDSA Blog Post: Reflections in Ink: Capturing a HERDSA 2025 keynote through comic panels
* HERDSA Community: Comment on Interactive orals at scale: What happened when we tried to draw the owl?
* HERDSA Community: Unveiling the power of storytelling assessments in an AI-powered world
* HERDSA Community: HERDSA NZ Branch update August 2025
* The (Re)Launch of the HERDSA Academic Development SIG is happening this week
* August Assessment Quality SIG Catch-Up: Revamping the SIG & Lightning Round
* HERDSA SoTL SIG - August 2025 meeting - Next Friday! --- Rethinking SoTL outputs: Scholarly inquiry beyond empirical studies
* CAULLT webinar: Developing and Sustaining the Identities of Emerging and Established Educational Leaders
* The CAULLT/HERDSA Award for Outstanding Leadership in Research and Development in Higher Education
* The Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching MOOC has started
* New articles in Higher Education Research and Development

To submit an announcement for this list complete the online form at http://herdsa.org.au/herdsa-notices

A full list of HERDSA Notices is online at http://www.herdsa.org.au/latest-news

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HERDSA Blog Post: Reflections in Ink: Capturing a HERDSA 2025 keynote through comic panels
Diana Saragi Turnip, 6 August 2025

Diana Saragi Turnip reflects on the fantastic keynote presentation from Dr Amanda White OAM at HERDSA 2025, in particular looking at how we can use parasocial relationships to build connections with our students.

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HERDSA Community: Comment on Interactive orals at scale: What happened when we tried to draw the owl?
Amanda Wolf, 24 July 2025

Thanks for this detailed note. Do you have any thoughts on fairness, or handling any real or perceived advantage of having an oral conversation appointment later in the set, and possibly hearing from fellow students about what to expect, being able to take others' feedback into account, etc? Having individual artefacts to discuss seems to help. Would this work if students had only a study guide or question bank to use to prepare?

Read Jason & Dan's responses at https://herdsa.org.au/herdsa-connect/interactive-orals-scale-what-happen...

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HERDSA Community: Unveiling the power of storytelling assessments in an AI-powered world
HERDSA Assessment Quality SIG, 17 July

Diana Saragi Turnip shares her highlights from the webinar"Storytelling Assessments in an AI-Powered World." convened by Pranit Anand for the HERDSA Assessment Quality SIG. Sixty participants learned from Carl Sherwood how students’ own stories in a statistics class could bring complex academic concepts vividly to life. Pranit Anand shared his experiences integrating digital storytelling into cybersecurity management courses at UNSW. Karen Ho revealed how storytelling significantly enhanced student inclusivity and academic confidence in a chemistry lab in Mount Royal Universityin Canada. A lively discussion followed the presentations exploring questions on effective storytelling rubrics, strategies for maintaining academic integrity amidst rapid advancements in AI, and practical advice on incorporating storytelling in diverse classroom settings.

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HERDSA Community: HERDSA NZ Branch update August 2025
Susan Geertshuis, 5 August

The NZ branch has had two meetings this year, one in June and one in August. 2024 and 2025 has been an unsettled time for many HERDSA members who are based in NZ. Associate Professor Erik Brogt, our chair for the previous two years has moved into private sector consultancy and has stepped down as chair. Susan Geertshuis has taken over as acting chair. The committee has also lost valued committee members but also attracted new faces ensuring a good representation from across NZ’s universities.

Our main topic of discussion at the August meeting was ways to communicate SoTL and engage with our constituency. Our next meeting will be in early October.

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The (Re)Launch of the HERDSA Academic Development SIG is happening this week
8th August 2025

Do you work in Academic Development and want to connect with peers?
Join the (Re)Launch of the HERDSA Academic Development SIG

08 August 2025
13:00–14:00 AEST (Sydney time)

Via Zoom (link provided upon registration)

At this (re) Launch, YOU will:

* Have your say about our SIG’s focus and mission, meeting frequency and event formats
* Meet colleagues from multiple universities who work in similar roles
• NO HERDSA membership required (anyone is welcome to join!)
• Bring your questions, ideas, and energy!
Spread the word and invite your academic-dev friends. Let’s build a supportive community together!

Further information: olga.kozar@mq.edu.au or k.shoecraft@griffith.edu.au

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August Assessment Quality SIG Catch-Up: Revamping the SIG & Lightning Round
Friday 15 August 2025, 10:00–11:00am AEST

Join us for the lightning round presentations in the next SIG meeting!

Introducing research on managing the risks of outsourcing to genAI - Presenter: A/Prof. Anne-Marie Chase, Dr Kelly Galvin, Swinburne University of Technology

Critique on GenAI's critique: Will I use you when you disagree with me? - Presenter: Dr Tam Dinh, Monash University Malaysia

Making learning visible: A new approach to mapping program learning outcomes to assessment tasks - Presenter: Dr Edward Lock, Victoria University, Melbourne

Further information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/august-sig-catch-up-revamping-the-sig-light...

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HERDSA SoTL SIG - August 2025 meeting - Next Friday! --- Rethinking SoTL outputs: Scholarly inquiry beyond empirical studies
Friday, 15 August 2025, 12.00–1.00 pm AEST (NSW/VIC time)

Our August meeting will be a great one with a panel of SoTLers from all different areas. Take a peek at what we'll discuss!

Topic: Rethinking SoTL Outputs: Scholarly Inquiry Beyond Empirical Studies

Overview: Ethics approval is often seen as a major hurdle when embarking on a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project. While important, the process can delay or even deter educators from sharing valuable insights. But not all SoTL work requires an ethics application. In this session, we’ll explore a range of publishable genres - including systematic literature reviews, reflective essays, and process articles - that offer rich scholarly contributions without needing ethics clearance.

Join our panel of academics and editors from USyd and UNSW as they share their experiences publishing in these alternative formats and offer practical guidance on getting started. We’ll also highlight journals that welcome these contributions and provide time for networking to foster cross-institutional collaborations.

Presenters: The Session Moderator is Professor Mary Wright, and the Panel Chair is Dr Jessica Frawley. Panel members include Dr Samantha Clarke, Dr Benjamin Miller, Dr Gabi Nudelman, Dr Billy C.C. Chan, and Dr Elliot Varoy.

Join our LinkedIn group to stay connected: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14343410/

Further information: Please feel free to contact the HERDSA SoTL SIG at herdsa.sotl.sig@gmail.com

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CAULLT webinar: Developing and Sustaining the Identities of Emerging and Established Educational Leaders
15/8/2025 12 noon - 1 pm

How do we cultivate and sustain educational leaders throughout their careers? What does educational leadership mean in higher education contexts?

Join us for this webinar presenting groundbreaking research findings that address these fundamental questions. The multi-institutional research team will share insights from their CAULLT-funded study examining educational leadership identities across all career stages in Australasian universities.

To register for this webinar, please go to https://tinyurl.com/hmtvrscp

Further information: https://tinyurl.com/mr2my7yw

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The CAULLT/HERDSA Award for Outstanding Leadership in Research and Development in Higher Education
6.00pm AEST 15th September, 2025

CAULLT and HERDSA are delighted to report that as part of our Memorandum of Understanding, the Inaugural CAULLT / HERDSA Award for Outstanding Leadership in Research and Development in Higher Education was established and is now available for application for 2025.

The Award recognises evidence of an individual’s innovative and effective leadership in higher education research and development in a broad range of categories that enhances teaching, learning, and student experience in higher education.

The application form is available on HERDSA website https://herdsa.org.au/awards-and-prizes

Further information: https://herdsa.org.au/awards-and-prizes

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The Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching MOOC has started
21 July 2025 – 14 December 2025

The award winning CAUT MOOC saw 700 participants register last semester. If you missed out on this MOOC then Semester 2, 2025 enrolments have opened for the Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching MOOC. There are 24 modules to choose from!

This course is for those who:
• teach in higher education anywhere in the world
• want content designed by learning and teaching experts
• seek to enhance their teaching and their students’ learning
• are interested in scoping the course for their institution’s professional development program
• are sessional, contract or continuing teachers.

You can choose which modules you explore and when, but we recommend one of the four pathways: new to teaching, enhancing student learning, enhancing your teaching practice or leading learning and teaching. An enhanced feature is that participants completing any of the four pathways can receive a digital badge for that pathway. Study is self-paced in two-hour modules that can be completed over a semester.

MOOC content is available to universities to share and adapt under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. The course is presented under the auspices of the Council of Australasian University Leaders in Learning and Teaching (CAULLT) and is led by Professor Agnes Bosanquet (Torrens University) and A/Prof Marina Harvey (Macquarie University).

Enrol here: https://canvas.instructure.com/enroll/LTXWT4

Further information: Enquiries: mooc@caullt.edu.au

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New articles in Higher Education Research and Development

How early entry schemes can help to widen access to higher education: insights from university students from historically underrepresented equity groups, Sally Patfield, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2025.2536289

Enriching work-integrated learning: conceptions of integrating Indigenous reflective practices, Patricia Lucas & Rachael Hains-Wesson, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2025.2536286

Moderating effects of macro-opportunity structures on unequal higher educational attainment: a gender perspective, Pepka Boyadjieva & Petya Ilieva-Trichkova, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2025.2526806

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In the spirit of reconciliation HERDSA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australasia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

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