It’s the third month of my slow reading challenge and I have created a shared file to document my progress. In time, it may offer a valuable resource for others reading about or researching ideas under the broad umbrella of slow academia. This month’s reading follows on from last month in two ways: a focus ..read more

I am sharing this post here as it may no longer be available where it was previously published, and it provides a useful resource on the challenges of recognising and evidencing leadership if you don’t (yet) have a formal leadership role in higher education. I recently presented a webinar on Claiming and evidencing leadership in ..read more

A new book arrived in the post the other day – The Contemporary Scholar in Higher Education: Forms, ethos and world view. I can’t wait to read the chapters philosophising the idea of the scholar, different conceptions of scholarly work, and world views of scholarship. Rikke Toft Nørgård, Barbara Grant and I co-authored a chapter ..read more

The first article I read for my August slow reading challenge post didn’t pass muster because slowness was not mentioned. Such is the rabbit warren of citations and literature reviews and slow academia! Instead I have chosen Marcus Banks’ (2014) open access Slow Research: exploring one’s own visual archive (cited by Ulmer in Writing Slow ..read more

This post was prompted by participating in an excellent professional development session recently — a Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) webinar Understanding Australian higher education: the private sector. It was presented by Christy Collis (Provost, Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors) and Raja Kannusamy (Head of Teaching and Learning, Australian Institute of ..read more

The time has come to tackle my ever-growing pile and folder of readings on slow academia. I have set myself the challenge of reading (or re-reading more slowly) at least one article or chapter a month. This goal follows Helen Sword’s recommendation to create SAFE goals (Simple, Attainable, Forgiving and Easy) — at least, I hope it does! And, after almost eight years of blogging (time flies!) it seems apposite for the slow academic to live up to the promise in my first post: to bring together a growing body of writing and resources. This evening’s reading is Jasmine B. Ulmer’s (2017) Writing Sl ..read more

Observing colleagues going through transitions such as retirement or redundancy, I’ve noticed that it helps to have a rich life outside of work. I seem to have taken this advice to heart! It has been a busy time in the lead up to changing university and beyond (and having older children certainly helps). Here’s a snapshot of what I have been up to in wintery Sydney. (Worth making explicit: this post is not sponsored in any way). Eating out Most notably at Colombo Social, a restaurant described as soulful Sri Lankan. It’s hard to pick a favourite dish! Perhaps the beetroot bhajis? Or kingfish ..read more

A free online higher education teaching development course open to all! Enrol now – course starts 15th July This course is for you if you: teach in higher education anywhere in the world want content designed by learning and teaching experts would like to enhance your teaching and your students’ learning are interested in scoping the course for your institution’s professional development offerings are a sessional, contract or continuing teacher want free, self-paced teaching development. There are 24 modules (and 3 resources), with a workload of approximately 2 hours per module. Content has ..read more

I’ve started a new role as Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in Design and Creative Technology at Torrens University. My first week involved meeting colleagues—so welcoming—and getting to know systems, processes, structures, policies. I took some photos of my new campus (one of several). Here’s to new beginnings ..read more

I realised that I will be a parent to a teenager every year between 2019 and 2032—that’s thirteen consecutive years. Today’s post is dedicated to our first teenager, who turns 18 today! This kid—I can still use that term, right?—has enriched our lives, and continues to do so in wonderful ways. Previous blog posts offer a glimpse—learning about dragons, school holidays featuring dragons, and a view of the university inspired by dungeons and dragons. Notice a theme? Dragons are also the focus of an art major work at the moment so the passion continues! And we will be eating a How to Train Your D ..read more