2024-S2-open-course-schemes

AGRC1021 Biological Concepts and Plant Science

Dr Millicent Smith
Dr Suresh Krishnasamy
School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability

Course overview

• Delivery: 3-hour lecture, 3-hour practical
• Level: undergraduate first year
• Size: large (approximately 250 students)

This foundational biology course examines life from the molecular and cellular level up to complete organisms, starting with core concepts common to all living things before branching into specialised study of plants and non-vertebrate organisms.

The course provides essential biological knowledge that prepares students for advanced studies in agriculture, wildlife and veterinary technology.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: classic lecture–interactive elements–hands-on practicals in lab and glasshouse

The course accommodates students with varying levels of biology knowledge, balancing engaging content for those with prior experience while ensuring newer students can follow along. The course particularly supports students in orienting themselves in practical classes to learn new lab skills and safety.

Lecturer's short bio

Dr Millicent Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Crop Physiology holding a joint teaching and research position between the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability and Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation.

Collaborating with her colleagues, Millicent has supported the development of initiatives to ensure first-year students with no prior high school biology background can successfully transition to higher education.

Suresh is a teaching focussed academic with the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability where he plays a key role in supporting the teaching and learning needs of colleagues and students.

He also partakes in educational research along with curriculum and program design activities at AGFS. He is particularly interested in the transition of first year students from high school and other avenues into undergraduate education.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Tuesday 12noon–1pm, Wednesday 12noon–2pm
• 'Open' weeks: 1–4 (Wed only), 9, 12 (Tues only)
• Location: Gatton campus. 8178-103 (Tues), 8255-105 (Wed)

Practical

• Days and times: Tuesday and Wednesday 9–9:30am, 2–2:30pm
• 'Open' weeks: 3, 5, 7, 12
• Location: Gatton campus. 8111-230
• Notes: Visitors are welcome to the first 30 minutes of practical classes.

BIOL2010 Ecology

Dr Gurion Ang
School of the Environment

Course overview

• Delivery: 3-hour prac, 2-hour workshop and asynchronous UQ Extend
• Level: undergraduate second year students
• Size: large (approximately 160 students)

Symbiotic interactions; sensory ecology; population and community ecology; landscape ecology and ecosystem services; reproductive, behavioural and evolutionary ecology; explored through case studies of varied taxa.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: collaborative exams–journal clubs–fieldwork

No more lectures and traditional exams.

Lecturer's short bio

Dr Gurion Ang is a teaching-focussed academic specialising in ecology, zoology, and science communication.

Top of page

Workshop

• Days and times: Friday 12noon–2pm
• 'Open' weeks: 1–3
• Location: 46-323/343

ECON1020 Introductory Macroeconomics

Dr Terence Yeo
School of Economics

Course overview

• Delivery: Blended course with UQ Extend modules, weekly 2-hour workshops
• Level: undergraduate first year students
• Size: large (approximately 400 students)

Examines functioning of the economy and its interaction with international economy. Studies GDP, unemployment and inflation, interest rates, investment, government expenditure, taxation policies and balance of payments. Alternative macroeconomic theories and models examined.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: active learning–interactive workshops

Focus on in-class discussion applying economic theory/models to contemporary events. Use of in-class online surveys (using tools such as UQPoll, Padlet) to encourage student participation. 

Lecturer's short bio

Terence Yeo is a teaching focused academic with the School of Economics.

Top of page

Lecture/workshop

• Days and times: Thursday 2–4pm
• 'Open' weeks: 2–8, 9–12
• Location: 49-200

ECON1310 Introductory Statistics for Social Sciences

A/Prof Carl Sherwood
School of Economics

Course overview

• Delivery: 2-hour lecture, video modules
• Level: undergraduate first year students
• Size: large (approximately 500 students)

ECON1310 explores basic statistical concepts and techniques that are useful in business and economic contexts. The course covers descriptive statistics, probability, theoretical distributions, inferential statistics (confidence intervals and hypothesis testing) and simple linear regression.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: blended learning–interactive lectures–online video content

Carl aims to inspire students to learn through interactive, contextualised teaching that motivates students to understand the linkages between theory and real world situations.

Lecturer's short bio

Carl Sherwood is a teaching focused academic in the School of Economics with interests in students' own contextualised storytelling for learning, blended learning and experiential learning.

He has received numerous teaching awards, including an Australian National Award for Teaching Excellence (2017), UQ Award for Teaching Excellence (2015) and an Australian National Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2013). He is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA, UK), has a professional background of 20 years as a civil engineer, an MBA and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Friday 2–4pm
• 'Open' weeks: 1–7, 9–12
• Location: 27A-220
• Notes: Please come and say hi at the beginning of the class. I’m happy to engage with any visitors that wish to come along. We can chat afterwards or at another convenient time or, I can meet with you beforehand to explain the context - please email c.sherwood@uq.edu.au

EDUC4620 Teachers as Researchers

A/Prof Ian Hardy
School of Education

Course overview

• Delivery: 2-hour lecture
• Level: undergraduate fourth year students
• Size: large (approximately 120 students)

This course aims to provide students with research skills to inform their work as teachers; it is a 4th year capstone course.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: working towards a more flipped classroom approach

This year, I want to foster more student participation and sharing of experiences (including from previous practicum experiences).

Lecturer's short bio

A/Prof Ian Hardy researches and teaches educational policy and practice at the School of Education. Recent research has focused upon datafication processes in schools and schooling systems more broadly.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Tuesday 10am–12noon
• 'Open' weeks: 1–7, 13
• Location: 24-304

EDUC4740 Teaching Health and Physical Education

Paul Treschman
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences

Course overview

• Delivery: 2-hour lecture, 2-hour workshop
• Level: undergraduate fourth year students
• Size: small (approximately 60 students)

EDUC4740 aims to support generalist primary teachers' confidence and competence in teaching physical education/physical activity and embedding physical activity in broader tasks to enhance learning.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: experiential learning–modelling–reflections–peer problem solving

Through applied examples, reflective opportunities, and interactive learning experiences, students in this course are offered the opportunity to be active in the learning process.

Lecturer's short biography

Paul is a passionate educator with an interest in activating the students in the feedback and learning process.

Paul has 25 years teaching experience in secondary and tertiary education, and enjoys exploring ways to enhance the translation of pedagogical research into practice to support student learning.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Thursday 8–10am 
• 'Open' weeks: 3, 4, 6, 8, 9
• Location: 47A-352

Workshop

• Days and times: Thursday 10am–12noon
• 'Open' weeks 3, 4, 6, 8, 9
• Location: 26B-233
• Notes: Please come and say hi at the beginning of the lecture or workshop. I am also happy to chat afterwards or at another convenient time. Email me beforehand via p.treschman@uq.edu.au so we can make appropriate arrangements.

EDUC7079 An Introduction to the Science of Learning in Practice

Dr Stephanie MacMahon
School of Education

Course overview

• Delivery: Flipped approach, 2-hour online discussion/lecture
• Level:postgraduate masters (and equivalent being offered as SFC)
• Size: small (approximately 15-30 students)

EDUC7079 An introduction to the Science of Learning in Practice is a new course, also offered as a shorter-form credential. It introduces students to the SoL, how it can be applied and evaluated, and implications for leading others.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: blended delivery–online self-paced lectures and activities–interactive online learning and discussions–reflections and implications for practice.

Flipped approach that encourages independent and collaborative online engagement, with emphasis on applying learning into diverse contexts.

Lecturer's short bio

Steph is a teaching-focused academic in the School of Education, with 20 years' experience in school education, and 8 years in tertiary.

As the Science of Learning Field of Study Coordinator, and Program Director for the UQ Learning Lab, Steph engages deeply in the multi-disciplinary literature around how people learn, the factors that affect learning, and how this evidence can be applied into pedagogical practice in school, higher education and adult learning contexts, drawing on her extensive experience in a range of education contexts. 

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Tuesday 4–6pm
• 'Open' weeks: 3–9, 11–13
• Location: 46-371 / Zoom TBA
• Notes: Please come and say hi at the beginning of the class and let me know what you are particularly interested in observing. Happy to chat afterwards or at an alternative time.

EDUC7603 Contemporary Theories of Development and Learning

Prof Jason Lodge
School of Education

Course overview

• Delivery: blended: 2-hour face-to-face workshop, online modules in UQ Extend
• Level: postgraduate first year students
• Size: large (approximately 200 students)

Introduction to research and theory of human learning and development for future educators.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: blended learning–active learning–range of strategies–range of tactics

As a core requirement for future educators, this course includes a range of teaching strategies. This is because it is as important to model what teaching looks like as it is to cover content in this context.

The course has also been designed to draw on the research evidence about quality learning in higher education. The strategies and tactics used are therefore evidence-informed. 

Lecturer's short bio

Jason Lodge is a national award-winning educator with 20+ years of experience in higher education. He also received a UQ Award for Teaching Excellence in 2023.

For over a decade in academic development roles, he led flagship teacher development programs across several Australian universities. He is currently  Principal Practitioner - Generative AI in ITaLI.

Top of page

Workshop

• Days and times: Wednesday 10am–12noon
• 'Open' weeks: 3–13
• Location: ModWest 11A 110/111
• Notes: Please come and say hi at the beginning of the class. I am also happy to chat afterwards or at another convenient time.

ERTH1000 Planet Earth: The Big Picture

Dr Kevin Welsh
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Course overview

• Delivery: 2-hour lecture, 3-hour practical
• Level: undergraduate first year students
• Size: medium (approximately 150 students)

ERTH1000 is an introduction to Earth Science course. It will be taken by students undertaking BSc Majors in Earth, Ocean and Coastal Science, Archaeology, Environmental Science and Management, however, it is aimed at a broad audience of non-specialist students.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: fieldwork–student response system–Inspera

Lectures have become more active with student response system tools including Mentimeter. Laboratory practical sessions using Inspera. Two fieldtrips.

Lecturer's short bio

Kevin teaches across earth, environmental and marine science at UQ. He uses records of past changes in environmental variables like sea level or hydro-climate to examine how they will change in the future. He has won Faculty of Science and a UQ Award for Teaching Excellence.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Wednesday 2–4pm
• 'Open' weeks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–12
• Location: 50-T105

Practical

• Days and times: Monday 1–4pm
• 'Open' weeks: 2, 3, 5, 11, 12
• Location: 3-229

HLTH7315 Advancing Research Inquiry

A/Prof Peter Lewis
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work

Course overview

• Delivery: 1-hour lecture, 1-hour tutorial (both online)
• Level: master's first and second year (course sits across multiple programs)
• Size: medium (approximately 150 students)

This course assists students to develop expert search strategies and advanced analytical and critical thinking skills to engage with scholarly literature. 

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: online delivery–self-paced–weekly modules

This is the second offering of this course. It is structured to meet the needs of adult learners Their engagement is determined by knowledge and interest rather than forcing the students to engage.

Lecturer's short bio

Peter is a TF academic who has been at UQ for 6 years He is Director T&L for nursing, midwifery, social work and counselling disciplines.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Monday 9–10am
• 'Open' weeks: 1–8, 9, 12
• Location: Zoom
• Notes: Happy to chat with any visitors to the course. These are lecture times only. If you wish to attend a tutorial you are welcome to. Please email me at peter.lewis@uq.edu.au and I will enrol you in the course as a student so that you can access the tutorial links. All tutorials are 1 hour and run on Tuesdays; first at 7am and last at 5pm.

LAWS3101 Income Tax Law

A/Prof Thea Voogt
School of Law

Course overview

• Delivery: 3-hour lecture, 1-hour workshop, both face to face
• Level: undergraduate final year commerce students
• Size: large (approximately 160 students)

Introductory income tax law course is for commerce students. Accredited by CA ANZ and CPA AU. The course covers Income Tax, Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT), Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: inspiring–high energy engagement–practical–student support

This jam-packed course requires non-law students to engage with large volumes of complex legislation that can easily overwhelm them. I use real-world tax problems in high-energy lectures to get my students excited about tax.

Lecturer's short bio

Thea Voogt (HEA Senior Fellow) follows a pastoral teaching philosophy that engages individual students in a large class setting so that they have different avenues to meet the challenges of studying the law as commerce students. She has won 4 BEL and Law School teaching awards.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Tuesday 8–11am
• 'Open' weeks: 1–7, 9–12
• Location: 7-234
• Notes: Come along! Tax is understandable and a lot of fun. Please introduce yourself before the lecture. I'm keen to get your feedback in person/via email.

LAWS5134 Environmental Law

Prof Justine Bell-James
School of Law

Course overview

• Delivery: 1-hour lecture, 2-hour seminars
• Level: undergraduate elective, final and penultimate year students
• Size: large (approximately 120 students). 40 in small group seminars

An introduction and overview to environmental law in Australia, and its scientific and political context.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: small group discussions–group assessment–law reform approach

Most law courses involve considering what the law is; in my course we take a much more critical lens and look at what the law is, its deficiencies, and what it could be. This helps to 'future-proof' students from future law reforms, and also encourages critical thinking

Lecturer's short bio

Justine is a Professor in the Law School and HEA Fellow.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Wednesday 12noon–1pm
• 'Open' weeks: 1–8, 9–12
• Location: 50-T105
• Notes: Happy to chat to you before or after the lecture, please come and introduce yourself.

MATH1040 Mathematical Foundations I

Dr Michael Jennings
School of Mathematics and Physics

Course overview

• Delivery: 3 x 1-hour lectures, 2-hour workshop
• Level: undergraduate first year students
• Size: medium (approximately 300 students)

An introductory calculus course which covers fundamental mathematical concepts, useful to students in a wide range of discipline areas. It is the University's equivalent of Queensland high school Mathematical Methods.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: active learning–daily recaps–build on current knowledge–Unidoodle

Maths is learnt by doing. In this course we use UniDoodle, an audience response system which lets students write equations and sketch graphs. This instantaneous feedback allows us to tailor the course appropriately.

Lecturer's short bio

Michael Jennings is an inspirational and dedicated teacher of mathematics at UQ. He teaches large first-year courses and uses his experiences in both secondary and tertiary systems to engage and inspire students.

Michael has won 6 UQ teaching awards as well as 2 national awards. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the UQ College of Peer Observers.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Monday 4–5pm, Wednesday 1–2pm
• Weeks: 1–8, 9–13 (Week 10 Wed only)
• Location: 8-139 (Mon), 63-348 (Wed)
• Notes: Please introduce yourself before or after the lecture

MATH1052 Multivariate Calculus and Ordinary Differential Equations

A/Prof Poh Hillock
School of Mathematics and Physics

Course overview

• Delivery: 3 x h-hour lectures, 2-hour workshop
• Level: undergraduate first year students
• Size: large (approximately 500 students)

MATH1052 covers university-level mathematical concepts useful to students in a range of discipline areas, including mathematics, business, health sciences, science, applied science and engineering.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: blended learning (UQ2U)–F2F workshops–interactive lectures

The course has a large collection of online learning resources and many face-to-face initiatives run during the semester. These include extra help sessions, support tutorials, exam revision classes, pre-semester workshops.

Lecturer's short bio

Poh received her PhD from The University of Adelaide in the area of Convex Sets with Lattice Point Constraints.

More recently, her interests have switched to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in mathematics. Poh is always on the lookout for practical ideas to help her first year students learn mathematics. Poh has won 3 UQ teaching awards and a national teaching award.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Tuesday 4–5pm, Thursday 10–11am
• 'Open' weeks: 2–8, 9–12
• Location: 49-200

MECH2305 Introduction to Engineering Design and Manufacturing

A/Prof Michael Bermingham
School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering

Course overview

• Delivery: 2-hour live lecture, 2-hour practical/tutorial, online video content
• Level: undergraduate second year students
• Size: large (approximately 320 students)

In this course students are introduced to the strong interactions between manufacturing, materials and engineering design processes.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: interactive F2F lectures and learning/discussions–hands on learning–echopoll

This year the course will return to F2F lectures after having a largely online mode post covid. The live lectures will involve interactions with the students show casing demonstrations & using active learning tools like echopoll.

Lecturer's short bio

Michael is an A/Prof and ARC Future Fellow in materials engineering, manufacturing and engineering design. He teaches accross undergraduate and post graduate engineering plans. He has won teaching awards at the faculty, university and at the national level. 

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Friday 8–10am
• 'Open' weeks: 1–3, 9, 11, 12
• Location: 23-101
• Notes: I’m happy to engage with any visitors that wish to come along, including meeting with you beforehand to explain the context - please email m.bermingham@uq.edu.au to introduce yourself before the lecture. 

MGTS1301 Introduction to Management

Dr Gemma Irving
UQ Business School

Course overview

• Delivery: 1.5-hour lecture, 1.5-hour tutorial
• Level: undergraduate first year students
• Size: large (approximately 1100 students)

This course provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of managing business organisations including key management concepts, models and contexts. 

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: active learning (kahoot, padlet, scavanger hunt)–TaBLE case method–team–based learning

The second tutorial is an award-winning Great Court scavenger hunt fostering belonging and giving students an experience of course concepts.

Tutorials from Week 4 involve assessed team-based learning based on the TaBLE case method, fostering preparation, positive team-work and assessment security at scale.

Lectures involve active engagement of large cohorts. 

Lecturer's short bio

Gemma is a Senior Lecturer in the UQ Business School with expertise in office spaces, hybrid work, collaboration, learning and professional work. She helps students relate management evidence to their own experiences using team-based learning.

Gemma has recived teaching awards at the school, faculty and university level.

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Tuesday 10–11:30am, Thursday 2–3:30pm
• 'Open' weeks: 2, 5–10
• Location: 50-T203

Tutorial

• Days and times: Monday 1:30–3pm, Thursday 10:30–12noon
• 'Open' weeks: 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12
• Location: Mon 39A-202, Thu 39A-203
• Notes: Scavenger Hunt is in Week 3, team-based tutorials remaining weeks. Please let me know you are coming (g.irving@business.uq.edu.au), so I can advise the TA in advance. They have had many peer observers in their classroom and happy to chat.

PHRM2500 Pharmacokinetics and Medicines Management

A/Prof Christine Staatz
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Course overview

• Delivery: New UQ Extend content each week, 1-hour online workshop, 2-hour face-to-face tutorial
• Level: undergraduate second year students
• Size: medium (approximately 250 students)

PHRM2500 provides pharmacy students with an opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in pharmacokinetics and the application of pharmacokinetic approaches to optimise drug dosage regimen design.

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: UQ Extend site–engagment activities–synchronous workshops–f2f tutorials–formative quizzes

Students investigate course concepts through a UQ Extend site. This online site delivers material to students in small, bite-sized pieces, in a variety of forms to enhance their learning. It includes narrative text for students to read, short 5 -10 minute videos for students to watch and several engaging consolidating activities in H5P format for students to complete.

Each week, content delivered to students on the UQ Extend platform is further explained and elaborated on in synchronous workshops. Students also attend f2f tutorials which provide them with formative quizzes and further encourages their practical skills development.

Lecturer's short bio

Christine is a T&L academic within the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She has not won any teaching awards but generally receives positive feedback from students on her teaching and course coordination.

Top of page

Tutorial

• Days and times: Monday 10am–12noon, 1–3pm
• 'Open' weeks: 2–4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12
• Location: Dutton park campus 870-5038
• Notes: Please send me an email (c.staatz@uq.edu.au) or introduce yourself before the tutorial.

PHYL2066 Human Function in Health and Disease A

Dr Louise Ainscough
School of Biomedical Sciences

Course overview

• Delivery: 1-hour lectorial per module
• Level: undergraduate second year students
• Size: small (approximately 70 students)

PHYL2066 provides occupational therapy students with an introduction to human physiology including cellular structure, function and communication. The course will provide a comprehensive overview of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, including pharmacological treatments for common diseases. 

Teaching tools and techniques

• Keywords: UQ Extend site–engagment activities–synchronous workshops–f2f tutorials–formative quizzes

Students complete their asynchronous lectures created in H5P, then attend a F2F lectorial for revision. In the lectorial, students test their understanding through active learning. We use Kahoot, Conceptboard and direct questioning to engage students in the activities.

Lecturer's short bio

Louise is a teaching-focused academic in the School of Biomedical Sciences. She has a keen interest in understanding students' approaches to learning. Louise is a HEA fellow, and has won the Faculty of Medicine Award for Teaching Excellence. 

Top of page

Lecture

• Days and times: Thursday 10–11am
• 'Open' weeks: 2, 8 and 10
• Location: 24-S402
• Notes: Please feel free to say hello either before or after the class. There is usually some free time after class to chat.