Author – Professor Janet Taylor, Southern Cross University, Australia
Janet Taylor is Professor and Director, Teaching and Learning, Teaching & Learning Centre, Southern Cross University, Australia. Janet has Masters and PhD degrees in zoology with a strong link with mathematical applications and a teaching qualification in mathematics education. She has worked in higher education for over 25 years, teaching and writing curricula for mathematics and biology at four Australian universities, primarily at first year, and at USQ also for distance education programs, and is currently a Fellow of HERDSA (Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia). Over the past 12 years she has been the recipient of three national teaching development grants and has received a Carrick Citation for outstanding contribution to student learning.
Janet’s current research involves investigating students’ learning experiences within first year of study and the application of new technologies to learning.
More information is available from the SCU’s Teaching & Learning Centre
First Year Curriculum Perspective
This commentary examines first year curriculum design from the academic skills perspective (pdf 1.84MB). “Academic skills” are those skills that students require to be successful as students. Academic skills often fall into the following categories:
- communication skills
- working with others
- assessment skills
- academic numeracy
- critical analysis/problem solving
- reflective/self monitoring skills
- managing university
- study management
- information literacy