Quality Teaching in Higher Education

Professional development opportunities for academic staff and HDR candidates

This year, academics and HDR candidates at the University of Newcastle can register to undertake a new professional development program, Quality Teaching in Higher Education. Funded by the Vice-Chancellor and run by the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre in the School of Education, these opportunities will support teaching staff (inclusive of permanent, fixed-term and sessional staff) across all Colleges in delivering high quality teaching.

Following two successful pilot projects in 2019-2020 and 2024, Quality Teaching in Higher Education introduces the Quality Teaching Model as an accessible pedagogical framework designed to enable academics and HDR candidates to analyse and enhance their teaching and assessment practice. In so doing, the professional development directly aligns with the teaching domain of Foundations for Inspiring People by supporting staff to substantiate their achievement in ‘teaching outputs’ and ‘formation of pedagogical practice’.

Participants will also be asked to evaluate their involvement in Quality Teaching in Higher Education as part of a research project.

This year we offered the following opportunities for professional learning. All workshops have now been completed for 2025. Please contact our team if you have any questions.

Stream 1. Peer Review of Teaching

In this stream, participants will learn how to use the structure and language of the Quality Teaching Model to engage in peer review of teaching. After learning about the QT Model, participants will be supported to take part in a peer review of teaching experience with a colleague, engaging in detailed analysis and rich discussions of teaching. The stream involves:

  • Completion of the online self-paced course on the QT Model (5 hours);
  • Attendance at a workshop on how to conduct peer review of teaching (1 hour, both online and face-to-face options available);
  • Conducting reciprocal peer review of teaching with a colleague (involving a lesson observation and follow-up discussion, one for each person); and,
  • Evaluation of the professional learning (interview).

Given the nature of this professional learning, interested participants should either be teaching in the second half of 2025 and/or have a recorded lesson they could use for the peer review.

Stream 1 workshops have now been completed for 2025. Please contact our team if you have any questions.

Stream 2. Support for Promotion and Award Applications

In this stream, participants will learn how to use the structure and language of the Quality Teaching Model to articulate their ideas about pedagogy for a promotion or teaching award application. Specifically, participants will be provided with scaffolded strategies with which to write about their approach to teaching and learning, as well as how to discuss the impact of their teaching on student learning (beyond the use of student evaluations). This stream involves:

  • Completion of the online self-paced course on the QT Model (5 hours);
  • Attendance at a workshop on how to use the QT Model to write about pedagogy (1 hour, both online and face-to-face options available); and
  • Evaluation of the professional learning (interview).

Stream 2 workshops have now been completed for 2025. Please contact our team if you have any questions.

Stream 3. Enhancing Assessment Practice

In this stream, participants will be supported to use the structure and language of the Quality Teaching Model to take part in a peer review of assessment with a colleague. The stream involves:

  • Completion of the online self-paced course on the QT Model (5 hours);
  • Attendance at a workshop involving assessment task analysis and discussion with a peer (1 hour, face-to-face); and,
  • Evaluation of the professional learning (interview).

Given the nature of this professional learning, interested participants should have an assessment task they could use for the peer review.

Stream 3 workshops have now been completed for 2025. Please contact our team if you have any questions.

Have a question? Email the Project Support Officer, Josie Bull at josie.bull@newcastle.edu.au

female teacher in grey blazer stands at front of a classroom gesturing at a student with their hand up