2024 RUN Learning and Teaching Awards

RUN is excited to share our finalists for the 2024 RUN Learning and Teaching Awards. The three minute videos have a focus on one of the key topic areas: Innovation in learning and teaching, Regional education and Indigenous engagement.

Charles Sturt University

NAME: Belinda Downey
TITLE: Boosting Retention Through Equitable Assessments in Early Childhood Education
ABSTRACT: Australia faces a shortage of 21,000 Early Childhood Educators (ECE). The Bachelor of Education (Birth to 5) degree aims to address this gap, but student retention has been a challenge.
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NAME: Christopher Cummins
TITLE: Constructing & adopting a virtual observatory to connect the stars and improve student outcomes
ABSTRACT: Physics education is centred on modelling the universe using mathematics. However, students in our Bachelor of Science program come from diverse backgrounds, resulting in varying levels of mathematical literacy and approaches to studying physics.
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NAME: Nicole Sugden
TITLE: Beyond the essay: E-portfolios engage diverse learners and foster academic integrity
ABSTRACT: Biopsychology, with its extensive terminology and in-depth exploration of human anatomy, can be a daunting subject for university students. Amplifying this challenge, is Charles Sturt University’s diverse student body encompassing first-in-family learners, mature age students, and students from various cultural backgrounds, including those with disabilities and neurodiversity.
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CQUniversity

NAME: Anja Pabel
TITLE: MBA (Leadership): Widening participation for mature students through hyperflexible delivery
ABSTRACT: Widening participation of mature-age students in regional areas remains a critical goal in addressing educational inequities. Many mature-age students face unique challenges, including balancing work, family responsibilities, and studies.
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NAME: Maria Tyler and Martin Turner
TITLE: Social Learning for the regions – supporting interactive online learning
ABSTRACT: The learning and teaching innovation supports first year accounting students in regional Australia to engage actively with each other – while studying online. At its centrepiece are individualised, authentic assessments, with regular feedback.
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NAME: Rena MacLeod and Darren Swanson
TITLE: Bridging the Digital Divide: Enhancing Education and Equity with GenAI and Cognitive Learning Strategies
ABSTRACT: The rapid evolution of GenAI necessitates an urgent need to equip regional, rural, remote, and struggling students with essential skills to effectively and ethically leverage this technology.
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Federation University

NAME: Amreeta Sarjit
TITLE: Nurturing laboratory skills for industry
ABSTRACT: The launch of Federation University as Australia’s first co-operative university connects students to industry as a core part of their degree. There are a significant number of first in family student enrolments and mature-aged students enrolled in the 3rd year Food Microbiology unit.
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NAME: Ryan Worn
TITLE: Generative AI as a shortcut to more effective learning
ABSTRACT: It is estimated that 65% of primary school-aged children will work in yet-to-be-created careers involving augmented reality, data analytics and artificial intelligence. For teaching academics, this creates a challenge, as it is difficult to prepare students for careers that have not been invented.
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Southern Cross University

NAME: The SMILE Team
TITLE: Student Initiative in Lifestyle Education
ABSTRACT: SMILE is a service-learning approach to education that aims to motivate students to think creatively, respond to real-world problems, and promote social justice by working in partnership with community groups and not-for-profit organizations.
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NAME: Christos Markopoulos
TITLE: Transforming Mathematics Education: The Power of Trust
ABSTRACT: As a passionate Mathematics teacher, I’ve designed and developed the Mathematics and Numeracy unit for first-year education students. My innovative curriculum and teaching methods help students overcome math anxiety and excel. Continuous encouragement, meaningful feedback, and clear learning pathways have helped them succeed.
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University of New England

NAME: Cassandra Sundaraja
TITLE: Growing the Regional Psychology Workforce – Innovative & Culturally Inclusive Modifications to Curriculum
ABSTRACT: One of the challenges in teaching psychology online is facilitating application-based learning. PSYC421 (Professional Practice 1) offers fourth-year students their first glimpse into psychological assessments in clinical settings.
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NAME: Alana Blackburn
TITLE: Extending online music education: A regional conservatorium partnership program
ABSTRACT: The Regional Conservatorium Partnership Program at the University of New England (UNE) is a key initiative that enhances music education in regional New South Wales. This collaboration combines UNE’s online Bachelor of Music with the practical, community-focused face-to-face training offered by regional conservatoriums.
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NAME: Vandana Gulati
TITLE: Interactive Real Patient Video-based Case studies increased student engagement and motivation in Pathophysiology (PSIO230) Unit
ABSTRACT: As a unit coordinator for a fully online unit Pathophysiology (PSIO230), with diverse students from rural-regional areas, re-development process was designed to increase the student engagement by replacing the traditional assessments (literature review and mid-trimester exam) to the interactive real patients’ video-based case studies.
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University of Southern Queensland

NAME: NPILF Industry Projects Team
TITLE: A Virtual WIL Model Built for the Regions
ABSTRACT: Rural and remote students face many access challenges, including access to a range of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities. The regions, particularly in rural and remote areas, also face challenges with attracting and retaining staff.
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NAME: Kerstin Braun and Noeleen McNamara
TITLE: Boosting the Employability of Regional Law Students
ABSTRACT: Given that our cohort of predominantly regional law students have less exposure than city students to the wide range of career possibilities for law graduates, they sometimes have unrealistic career expectations that can lead to poorer employment outcomes after graduation.
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NAME: Jessica Elliott
TITLE: Keeping Locals Local: Empowering Rural Healthcare with the UniSQ Charleville Nursing Revolution
ABSTRACT: UniSQ’s Charleville End-to-End Nursing Program addresses a critical shortage of nurses in Southwest Queensland through comprehensive, locally-focused training. This is the first initiative to offer nursing in a modified Monash seven – or very remote location – in Queensland, enabling local students to pursue their nursing studies within their communities and removing travel barriers
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University of the Sunshine Coast

NAME: Ratna Paudyal
TITLE: Empowering Regional Accounting Students: A Multifaceted Approach to Learning and Teaching Innovation
ABSTRACT: This presentation outlines an innovative approach to teaching accounting in regional Australian universities, addressing unique challenges faced by first-generation students and those perceiving accounting as unengaging.
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NAME: Dimitra Lattas
TITLE: Using Simulation in social work education to enhance regional equity
ABSTRACT: Social work faces increased demand for specialised mental health, family and domestic violence and youth crime services; particularly in regional areas where limited practitioners manage complex areas of practice. Traditionally, social work education uses field placements to expose students to professional practice.
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NAME: Anne Drabble and Florin Oprescu
TITLE: From Fairy Tale to Reality: Building Pathways to Success for Regional Students
ABSTRACT: Equitable access to higher education is a critical issue in regional Australian universities, especially given the shortage of teachers and early childhood educators. To address this, we developed the Precision, Alignment, and Mentoring (PAM) model at UniSC.
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