Practising What We Teach

I have had the great pleasure of being the Director of Teaching for UNSW Aviation over the past year. In this time, I have seen our team go from strength to strength as a teaching-focused School. The thing about the UNSW Aviation teaching family is, not only do we practise what we preach; we practise what we teach. Our teaching family, which includes professional, academic and industry-based staff, understand that a person’s learning journey starts before university, and follows them into their careers and the rest of their life. This includes our outreach efforts, and our undergraduate, postgraduate, and ‘life-long learning’ teaching. As the refreshed UNSW Aviation undergraduate portfolio reaches its half-year milestone since launching and the School prepares for the introduction of the new postgraduate specialisation suite in 2025, the team have never been more dedicated to student learning. 

Teaching excellence takes a consistent team effort to review our work for continual improvement and growth. To support this goal, UNSW Aviation commenced a new tradition this year; an end-of-term reflection and celebration event. UNSW Aviation staff and collaborators recently met for the Term 2 Reflection and Celebration event to celebrate our successes and innovations, reflect on how the Term went, and how we can learn and improve for the future. The session was full of rich discussion and high energy, as the team spoke about key topics of student engagement, educational design, and how to best prepare our students for their learning journey. 

The event included a presentation from Prof. Carol Oliver, reflecting on the first iteration of the BEES2680 Communications course within the UNSW Aviation undergraduate program. A/Prof. Carlo Caponecchia showcased useful digital tools for improving student support resources and feedback. Mr Malcolm Good summarised the fantastic 360° interactive flight resources that the Flying Operations Unit are creating. We also had a fantastic roundtable discussion on the correlation between attendance and active class engagement, led by Prof. Brett Molesworth and Ron Bartsch, AM. 

In addition to reflecting on what we already do, some of our staff have recently embarked on learning something new. In celebration of the Bachelor of Aviation (RPAS) program launch, UNSW Aviation offered staff who were not previously qualified in drone operations the opportunity to complete their Remote Pilot Licence through Aviassist. Many of our staff took to the books before taking to the sky, learning how to fly drones and enjoying some team bonding in the process. Our staff have since used their skills to promote the world of drones at key outreach events such as Cool Aeronautics and SciFest to aviation enthusiasts and potential future students. As we continue towards the end of 2024 and prepare for new offerings in 2025, we grow more confident that UNSW Aviation is fulfilling its motto of leading through science.