Citation earns communicator $10,000
Sonja Larsen
Public relations assistant
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
Another Avondale academic has received a $10,000 citation from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council recognising outstanding contribution to student learning.
Winner: Carolyn Rickett is only the third Avondale staff member to receive an Australian Learning and Teaching Council citation for outstanding contribution to student learning. Credit: Aaron Bellette.
Carolyn Rickett’s citation, only the third awarded to an Avondale College of Higher Education staff member, is for “inspiring and innovative teaching methods that enable communication students to develop confidence and participate in authentic learning experiences.”
Wording the World is an example of these methods. Published by independent Australian publisher Puncher & Wattmann, the anthology features poetry from students in the Creative Writing class and from leading Australian authors. Students from the Design Studio class designed the cover and students in the Print Journalism class reported the news of the launch.
The multifaceted nature of the project earned Carolyn, the communication course convenor in the School of Humanities and Creative Arts, Avondale’s Learning and Teaching Excellence Award in 2010. She shared the award with poet Judith Beveridge, a lecturer in the Department of English at The University of Sydney.
“Publication is the only way for a writer to gain recognition,” says Judith, “and it was only through Carolyn’s efforts that the students had this rare opportunity to showcase their work in a high-class publishing venture.”
Dr Sue Joseph, a lecturer in the Creative Practices Group in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney, also lectures in the communication course at Avondale. She describes having Judith co-teach the Creative Writing class as visionary. “As poetry editor of [literary journal] Meanjin, all student work passing through her hands is implicitly scrutinised at the highest level. . . . This has demonstrably motivated, inspired and encouraged student learning.”
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Theology Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud notes the consistent rating of Carolyn as an outstanding lecturer. Many comments on evaluation questionnaires highlight “how effective her teaching has been on the learning experiences of her students, inspiring them to learn with passion, creativity and commitment.”
Carolyn will receive her citation during a ceremony at Sydney Opera House on August 16. She is one of 185 individual and 25 team recipients representing 42 institutions. Vice-president (learning and teaching) Dr Philip Brown says the citation shows Carolyn’s “passionate advocacy of initiatives that maximise student achievement and enhance teacher effectiveness.”
Carolyn says the citation is a celebration of those in the School of Humanities and Creative Arts. “I work with such innovative, supportive and engaged colleagues who prioritise student learning; Bruna Tawake and the lecturers in the communication course are committed to excellence and best practice in teaching, so I am inspired on a daily basis to find ways to make the curriculum interesting, relevant and meaningful.”
Daniel (2009) and Dr Darren Morton (2008), a senior lecturer in the School of Education, are the other Avondale staff members to have received citations.