A Guidebook for Scholarly Career Progression

Authors

Keywords:

teaching-focused, career pathway, guidebook

Abstract

PROBLEM

 

There has been an increase in the number and recognised value of contributions by teaching-focused academics (TFA) in higher education. This evolution has supported the delivery of teaching yet there is a lack of clear recognition or articulation for how TFA are able to progress in their careers, particularly for casual TFAs. Resources do exist (Ross, 2019) and some institutions (e.g. Squires, 2020; University of Queensland, 2023) have commenced movement towards career pathway articulation. However, issues remain around institutional access, transparency, simple articulation, types of appropriate evidence and practical implementation for career progression.

 

PLAN

 

A group of senior TFAs took a research-informed approach to develop a framework that could be used for the purposes of career planning, performance review, strategic scholarship development and recognition. The work supports TEQSA’s requirement to create a climate of scholarship and mechanisms to monitor and evaluate impact (2022). The resource aimed to draw together all elements of a scholarly career progression to form a practical guidebook of best practices aligned with all elements of a scholarly approach that is accessible, institutional-non-specific and readily applied.

 

ACTION

 

The guidebook has been developed using publicly available resources but goes beyond the simple measure of promotion guidelines like those for discipline researchers. It combines several elements (i) an appointment level framework for the three categories of learning and teaching; research and scholarship; and collegiality, leadership and management - each with several subcategories (ii) types and quality of evidence that can be curated to align with the both the categories and profile levels (iii) step-by-step instructions as to how to utilise the resources with worked exemplars (iv) templates to curate evidence. The guidebook can be used by all academic levels, from a casual TFA just commencing their career to a national L&T leader. It can be readily used to for personal reflection, to support performance evaluation, to provide stretch goals, and to identify career progression and support recognition opportunities.

 

REFLECTION

The guidebook has been successfully piloted by a small group of TFAs of varying levels in developing annual performance reviews, career planning and promotion applications. Feedback indicates that “this resource brings together all the different parts of scholarly work in a really practical manner that saved me time and clearly set expectations I can work towards.” (Pilot TFA, Level B).

 

REFERENCES

 

Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. (2022) Guidance note: Scholarship, Canberra, ACT: Australian Government.

Ross, P. (2019) The changing nature of the academic role in science. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government

Squires, J. (2020) Academic promotions framework. Bristol, UK: University of Bristol

University of Queensland. (2023, September) Teaching Focused (TF) guidance and resources (2023).

Author Biographies

  • M.Sarah-Jane Gregory, Central Queensland University

    I am a passionate educator with 25+ years experience supporting the next generation of future doctors and science/health professionals in Queensland. I holistically integrate the various aspects of my academic work to complement and augment each other.

    My Higher Education discipline expertise includes metabolic and clinical biochemistry, laboratories, human biology, immunology and clinical pathology. I appreciate learning needs diversity and my student-centred approach combines modelling active learning strategies, building student learning partnerships and stimulating curiosity through facilitated autonomous learning, critical evaluation and transferable application to real-world context.

    My leadership in the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching has been recognised with awards; at National, University and Faculty University levels, and research grants at university and national level. 

    Initially my career research focused on the role of thioredoxin in embryo development. Post-maternity leave, I transitioned to scholarly research and have recently had my doctoral thesis conferred. My thesis was exploring the lived experiences of undergraduate science students during the 2nd year of their academic program of study.

    My research augments my teaching areas and service profile enabling my support of students' learning journeys developing senses of purpose and community; creating balanced, capable and adaptable individuals.

  • Sarah Cresswell, Griffith University

    I have taught forensic chemistry since 2002; moving to Griffith University in 2010. As an Associate Professor of Forensic Chemistry I passionately believe that forensic science, as popularised by TV, is the ideal platform to encourage students to pursue scientific careers both within and beyond forensic science. In each course I focus on active learning strategies to encourage students’ participation and mentor sessional staff, who teach into these courses, enabling them to employ similar strategies.

    My focus as an educator is the development of authentic hands-on learning experiences which encourage students to become life-long learners. As an undergraduate I learned best by doing and encourage my students by involving them in the education process; learning new skills and challenging one another. I believe that developing a sense of wonder, and excitement for learning, is key and I take a student-centred approach; spending time with my students, engaging them in discussions, developing assessment tasks that encourage them to become independent learners, and by invoking a desire to know more.

    My research interests can be broadly divided into two areas; tertiary science education and forensic chemistry. I have developed research links with the State Forensic Science Laboratory and we have jointly supervised students to Honours and PhD and have published much of this research. For more information about my research interests and publications, please see https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1988-0701.

    I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and Chartered Chemist. I am also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Professional Member of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences.

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Published

2024-09-09

Issue

Proceedings of The Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (2024)

Section

Abstracts