Swinburne University of Technology

Head of Centre

Reporting Relationship for Head

Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic Innovation)

Structure

Activity

Typical Activities of the Centre

Facilitating learning design activities, including whole course design, unit design and unit improvement
Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (Higher Education), a fully online postgraduate course in tertiary education, with a focus on digital learning environments
Running a range of training activities that support good teaching practice and foster educational innovation
Providing expert individual and broader Faculty and department-focused advice on effective teaching approaches and new teaching tools
Enable staff to engage with the scholarship of teaching and learning
Staff development – digital first teaching
LMS (Canvas) transition and enhancement training and resource development

Priorities

LMS (Canvas) transition and enhancement training and resource development
Learning design activities, including whole course design, unit design and unit improvement workshops
Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (Higher Education), a fully online postgraduate course in tertiary education, with a focus on digital learning environments

Swinburne University of Technology's Learning Centre

Name of Learning Centre

Mission Statement

Mission

The Learning Transformations Unit supports and enables Swinburne’s teaching staff to deliver high quality, effective teaching and learning experiences to their students. We do this by:

Facilitating learning design activities, including whole course design, unit design and unit improvement workshops
Teaching the Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching, a postgraduate course in tertiary education, with a focus on digital learning environments
Running a range of training activities that support good teaching practice and foster educational innovation
Providing expert individual and broader Faculty and department-focused advice on effective teaching approaches and new teaching tools
Supporting staff to engage with the scholarship of teaching and learning

Principles

Inclusive: We support all Swinburne staff, across both HE and PAVE, all campus locations, all courses, and working across both blended and online modes of delivery

Evidence-based: Our approach to pedagogical enhancements and teaching is informed by research and data

Sustainable: The learning activities we deliver, the learning technologies we support and the advice and expertise we provide is scalable and can be maintained over time

Applied: The learning experiences that we create, deliver and support are authentic, customised and personalised

Stakeholder-driven: Our activities are aligned to Swinburne’s strategic plans and responsive to Faculty and PAVE priorities

Accessible: The learning activities and experiences that we co-create and implement are designed to be usable, and enable participation, by students across the broadest ranges of backgrounds and ability.

History of Centre

The Learning Transformations Unit (LTU) has been under the lead of the newly created role of Director, Learning Transformations, since July 2017. LTU now sits within the portfolio of the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic Innovation) and has been reconfigured as a service delivery centre, responsible for the professional development of learning and teaching staff. We aim to transform practice across the Faculties and PAVE by inspiring, enabling and empowering teaching staff to develop capacity and capability in innovative teaching and learning, with a strong focus on digital first, online and blended learning. We have a team of 34, comprising learning designers, learning technologists. and academics. We work to Swinburne's 2025 strategic plan, the Transforming Learning (HE) Learning and Teaching Strategy 2017-2020, and the Pathways and Vocational Education (PAVE) Investment Plan 2015. Our focus throughout 2018 is the transition and enhancement of 3,700 units (subjects) from Blackboard to Canvas for 'go live' in semester one, 2019.