New ‘Communities of Practice’ to support teaching staff

First-year university units can be a challenge for students and lecturers alike. The transition to tertiary study is not always seamless and educators are frequently tasked with delivering large, important foundational subjects.

At UNE, we are working to support both our lecturers and our students as we double-down on efforts to ensure personal and academic success.

University-wide, new Communities of Practice (CoP) will be launched this year to provide supportive forums for our teaching staff. One is the Student Retention and Engagement CoP, designed to help academics explore strategies for improving student engagement and retention. While these are particularly pressing challenges in first-year units, this CoP is open to all teaching staff interested in fostering engagement at any stage of a student’s learning journey.

The three other CoPs similarly seek to capture universal learnings across disciplines in the areas of Tech and GenAI; Unit and Course Design; and the role-based CoP for Course Coordinators. Facilitated by the Associate Deans Teaching and Learning, (ADTLs) but designed to be peer-led, each CoP is multidisciplinary and open to any interested individuals, to ensure a diverse membership and rich exchange of ideas.

Inspired by a HASSE initiative last year, the Student Retention and Engagement CoP recognises the shared challenges in teaching first-year units across all schools and faculties.

“Student attrition is most likely during or after the first year of study,” said Michelle Edgely, Acting ADTL from UNE’s Science, Agriculture, Business & Law (SABL) faculty. “Retaining students into their second year and beyond is our greatest challenge and this new CoP is one way to meet that challenge, even at the postgraduate coursework level.

“I encourage UNE teaching staff to join one or more of these valuable communities and to share their bright ideas with colleagues.”

HASSE Professor Nathan Wise said the CoPs are intended to provide peer-to-peer support and opportunities for practical learning. “In my 20 years of teaching, I’ve noticed that most innovation in higher education comes from informal conversations with colleagues,” he said. “We hope the new UNE CoPs will facilitate creative conversations and innovative ideas, so we can learn from each other.

“With half our students undertaking first-year units, every teaching academic needs to be mindful of what they are doing to support their students. The new frontier is inclusive pedagogy, self-care and responsible, mindful approaches to teaching, which requires a whole-of-university cultural mindset. If we can empower staff to build student confidence and capabilities, and support innovation, it’s a huge investment in UNE’s future.

“The CoPs will help to create strong networks of academics, all dedicated to improving the quality of the educational experience. And more satisfied teaching staff will hopefully result in more engaged and successful students.”

Professor Jane Clark, ADTL for the Faculty of Medicine and Health, said that shifting the CoPs’ focus from faculty-based to a whole-of-university initiative had been a priority in their design for 2025. “We are also working closely with Kashmira Dave, from Academic Development Digital Education in the Education Future Directorate, to create a series of mini symposiums that reflect each of the CoPs. These will be open to all university staff and reflect the whole-of-university approach that we’re taking.”

One of the exemplars for the new Student Retention and Engagement CoP is the Law School’s First Year Committee, which has been chaired by lecturer Dr Wellett Potter since 2023 and engages some 20 Law School unit coordinators.

“First-year students need much more support and communication from unit coordinators,” said Wellett. “We have found that if we put more work into providing a holistic experience and get them used to thinking differently, it helps immensely with their engagement and that has a direct flow-on to improved retention.

“Unit coordinators can help by communicating regularly with students, managing their expectations and assisting them to develop effective study techniques. Based on responses we receive via Atrium, we refer students to whatever support service they need. We place an emphasis on student wellbeing, beyond their grades.

“Collaboration within the committee has generated a sense of collegiality among lecturers grappling with the same kinds of issues with students. It ensures we give consistent academic guidance and has improved our teaching and learning.”

UNE’s Communities of Practice will meet each trimester, as follows:

Tech and GenAI – Meets Friday, 10am, Week 3 of each trimester.

For academics interested in exploring how to effectively use AI and technology in their teaching or address the challenges AI presents within their units. For SABL, this group replaces the SABL Innovators Group.

Student Retention & Engagement – Meets Friday, 10am, Week 4 of each trimester.

Focused on strategies to improve student retention and engagement, particularly in large first-year units, where it is critical.

Unit and Course Design – Meets Friday, 10am, Week 5 of each trimester.

For those wanting to understand and implement best practices in pedagogy and governance when developing or redeveloping units and courses.

Course Coordinators – Meets Friday, 9am, Week 5 of each trimester.

For more information, click the links above or email Michelle Edgely, tl-sabl@une.edu.au.