Associate Professor Chris Landorf from the School of Architecture has been recognised for her teaching excellence at The University of Queensland with a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.
The Australian Awards for University Teaching (AUUT) are known as Australia’s most prestigious teaching honours, and a number of UQ academics were recognised in a ceremony at Universities Australia’s annual higher education conference this month.
Associate Professor Landorf was honoured for leadership in innovative, contextualised, inquiry-based learning in construction-related disciplines, including creation of a four-dimensional digital environment that enables virtual access to live building sites to facilitate work-readiness in graduates.
Associate Professor Landorf said she believed initiatives that improve students' learning experience support a deeper engagement with the knowledge and skills required by those who work in industries like as architecture.
"As a creative problem-solving profession, architects need to be able to work across unique design challenges, regional differences, regulatory variations, and changing work teams, building technologies and construction techniques," she said.
"Evidence-based educational innovation is critical if we care about continual improvement in learner experiences and outcomes."
"The AAUT program represents the pinnacle in peer recognition for teaching excellence so being recognised with a Citation is an incredible privilege," she said.
UQ recipients of AAUT awards also include Associate Professor April Wright from the UQ Business School and UQ Faculty of Science's Associate Professor Timothy McIntyre, who both received awards for Teaching Excellence at a ceremony in Canberra.
Associate Professor McIntyre received his award for developing new approaches to teaching, enriching programs and creating online engaging and informative interactive modules that allow physics students to prepare for his classes.
“I’m always looking for new ways to enhance the learning experiences of my students, and the use of modern technology is an important aspect of my approach,” Dr McIntyre said.
“I enjoy working on these ideas, and it’s an absolute honour to receive recognition in the form of this award.”
Universities Australia Chair Professor Margaret Gardner said inspiring teachers changed lives.
“Our greatest university educators not only prepare students for the careers that await – they also spark a deep passion for ideas, knowledge and evidence in those they teach,” she said.
The Australian Awards for University Teaching have been recognising outstanding teachers in higher education for more than 20 years.
