TECHE’s revitalised purpose

The TECHE team met earlier this year to discuss and plan activities for the year ahead. We also finalised a NEW Purpose Statement for TECHE which will clearly define TECHE’s purpose and what it sets out to achieve for the Macquarie learning and teaching community. Further details can be found below:

TECHE Purpose Statement

TECHE connects and supports our learning and teaching community by: 

• SHARING information and resources, good practice and innovation.  
• VALUING all contributions made to the mission of learning and teaching. 
• CELEBRATING the achievements of learners and teachers and the impacts of learning and teaching. 
• ADVANCING scholarship* and professional and reflective practice in higher education learning and teaching.   

Upcoming Activities for TECHE

Some of the activities that the TECHE team will be working on during 2022 are outlined below:

Changes to the look and feel of TECHE

• You will see some small changes to the look and feel of TECHE over the coming months. We have added a RESOURCES tab to the TECHE landing page which collates teaching development resources for staff. We will be improving the EVENTS page so it is easier to find event information in categories. We want to ensure you have the best possible experience reading TECHE so please let us know if there is anything we can do to improve how the content is displayed/categorised. Feel free to reach out to us via teche@mq.edu.au with your feedback.

Series of Articles

The TECHE team will be working on several series of articles over the course of 2022. These include (but not limited to):

• Spotlight on Practice – where we will continue to interview staff and place a spotlight on their teaching practice.
• ABC’s of Pedagogy – a new series where Associate Professor Agnes Bosanquet will share the ABC’s of Pedagogy.
• Using SocialMedia to connect with students (Ed. still working on this title so very much a work in progress) – a new series of articles promoting the benefits of social media and how it can be used as a ‘tool for good’ in learning and teaching. Articles will be written by Benjamin Munro Smith, Macquarie’s Social Media Manager in liaison the TECHE team and other contributors.
• Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoTL) – a new series of articles to raise awareness of the SoTL, prompt reflection and encourage scholarly practice will be written by Olga Kozar. Topics will include: engaging students in class discussions; effective lectures; key challenges and opportunities of active learning and inclusive teaching (to name a few).

Your article contributions are welcome

Some thing which has not changed is the importance of staff contributing article ideas to TECHE. We encourage staff (academic and professional) to consider sharing your projects / initiatives / developments / practice in TECHE. Articles do not need to be long and providing there is a learning and teaching focus (just read the new purpose statement if you are not sure), we will do our best to ensure the article is published in TECHE.

I would also like to thank the TECHE Editorial team of Alexandra Velleley, Asimo Krizan, Julia Rolph, Dr Karina Luzia and Kylie Coaldrake for their ongoing support for TECHE. Its true what they say – “it takes a village”! Special thanks to Professor Dominique Parrish and Associate Professor Agnes Bosanquet for their on going guidance and leadership.

Image Credit: Adam Scarf via Canto