Background to the Guidelines
The process that led to the formulation of the Guidelines of Learning that Inform Teaching at UNSW began when it was recognised that, despite its commitment to excellence in learning and teaching, UNSW had no learning and teaching plan, unlike most other Australian universities. It was also recognised that UNSW needed to respond to various governmental policy pressures related to learning and teaching quality. UNSW did not want to produce a teaching and learning plan that would be little read and rarely acted upon; rather, it wanted to produce a document that was likely to be useful to staff in improving the student experience.
A document was drafted, based on this principle as well as on a survey of other Australian universities and a review of relevant literature on learning and undergraduate education. This draft document was presented to the Committee on Education (CoE) in mid-2003. After a consultation process, the CoE agreed on a set of 16 statements based on the educational research literature and acknowledged best practice in teaching. These statements outline a basis for the development of activities that are likely to enhance student learning - that is, they are guidelines that could inform our teaching at UNSW. These statements were presented to and passed at the November 2003 meeting of the Academic Board as the Guidelines on Learning that Inform Teaching at UNSW.
The Guidelines are organised according to five broad categories:
engaging students in learning
contextualising students' learning experiences
creating an inclusive learning and teaching experience
designing an engaging, contextualised, and inclusive curriculum
teaching an engaging, contextualised, and inclusive curriculum.
As in any research field, there is debate in the literature from which these guidelines have been drawn. Nevertheless, these Guidelines align with key concepts that commonly underpin principles of learning. It is not expected that every guideline will be relevant to and applicable in all learning and teaching practices at UNSW.