Curtin Sarawak hosting two-day open forum on teaching and learning

Miri – 14 July, 2009 – The Teaching and Learning Committee of Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) is holding a two-day Teaching and Learning Open Forum at the university campus here on 17 and 18 July, 2009.

Themed ‘Engaging Learners’, the forum will provide an effective platform for the sharing of the latest innovations and research findings in teaching and learning in all types of educational institutions.

It is an excellent opportunity for education practitioners from not just tertiary institutions like Curtin Sarawak, but also local schools, colleges, vocational institutes and other education-related establishments, to gather for discussions and learn from presentations and technical sessions conducted by experts.

“Curtin Sarawak is proud to organise the forum, and we look forward to the participation from all sectors of the education industry,” says Professor Joan Gribble, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of Curtin Sarawak and patron of the forum.

Professor Gribble, who is a Member of the Australian College of Educators, will also be one of the forum’s keynote speakers. Her teaching experience has been across all sectors of education in Western Australia – from teaching in rural schools, heading several metropolitan schools, to being a Superintendent of Education inspecting schools around the state and some 20 years teaching in the tertiary sector. In 2007, she was appointed Dean (Academic and Teaching and Learning) at Curtin Sarawak, followed by her appointment as Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor.

She pursues a wide range of research interests, especially in effective organisational practices, curriculum theory and practice; effective classroom practices related to teaching, learning and assessment; and equity issues in relation to gender, socioeconomic status, cultural background, world view and linguistic diversity.

Professor Gribble’s keynote address entitled ‘Engaging Learners’ during the forum will provide a critique of teaching and learning in a tertiary classroom setting.

Another notable speaker will be Professor Beverley Oliver, Director of Teaching and Learning at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia.

Professor Oliver is a winner of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Fellowship and has had extensive experience in leading teaching and learning projects such as the Hewlett-Packard Mobile Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative, eVALUate (Curtin’s online student feedback system which was recognised with a Carrick Citation in 2007), among others.

Aside from that, Professor Oliver has published in a range of teaching and learning areas, including student transition, e-learning and m-learning, student evaluation and curriculum renewal and graduate employability. She is also the project leader for the ALTC Competitive Grant building course team capacity to enhance graduate employability.

Professor Oliver will be delivering her address entitled ‘Engaging the Emerging Learner in the 21st Century’. The keynote presentation will provide an update on teaching and learning innovations currently being implemented by universities and individual teaching staff to engage and challenge students with diverse characteristics and learning needs.

The forum will begin with registration at the foyer of the Harry Perkins Lecture Theatre, followed by the official opening by Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communication, Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who is also the chairman of the Curtin Sarawak Management Board.

Thereafter, it will continue with the first keynote address, parallel sessions and a workshop, and ending its first day with a dinner for all participants. The second day will see the second keynote address being delivered, and a parallel session, workshop and panel discussion, followed by the closing ceremony.

For full details on the Curtin Sarawak Teaching and Learning Open Forum 2009, log onto the forum website at www.curtin.edu.my/TLForum2009/. One can also contact Catherine Wee at +60 85 443866, or alternatively, faxing to +60 85 443838, or sending an e-mail to TLopenforum2009@curtin.edu.my.

 ‘Engaging Learners’ theme of Teaching and Learning Forum 2009.

Curtin Sarawak Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Joan Gribble to deliver address entitled

‘Engaging Learners’.

Prof Dr Beverley Oliver to talk about Engaging the Emerging Learner in the 21st Century