UniSA offers internal Teaching and Learning Grants that support the needs of staff to undertake funded scholarly work to improve teaching and learning practice and align with strategic priorities.
Funded projects usually involve investigating, developing, implementing, and evaluating initiatives that enhance the student experience and/or improve the quality of educational outcomes for students.
Importantly, project work must be distinct from the core business normally associated with the initial or further development of course offerings. In other words, there is usually an element of innovation or exploration of new approaches to teaching and learning that goes beyond what is normally expected as part of a continuous improvement process.
The TIU can provide advice on what to consider when applying for internal or external Teaching and Learning Grants as well as sources of support available to prospective applicants.
At UniSA, we think of our staff as incapable of being defeated, overcome, or subdued – Unstoppable!  Building on existing excellence, Unstoppable Teaching and Learning Grants help seed the growth and implementation of innovative ideas in teaching and learning that realise the University’s strategic priorities and vision.
The Unstoppable Grants & Awards project, as part of the Academic Enterprise Plan, supports UniSA staff’s commitment to excellence, learning, and research through innovative projects which aim to transform our teaching and learning practices, build on existing knowledges, or seed larger nationally competitive grants or awards.
Two categories of Unstoppable Teaching and Learning Grants are available to UniSA staff; Early Career Academic Innovation Grants and Teaching and Learning Development Grants.
All funded projects must align with at least one of the following priority areas:
The main purpose of Early Career Academic Innovation (ECAI) Grants is to provide recipients with opportunities to test ideas that can be developed further with subsequent projects. Therefore, ECAI Grants are especially suited to applicants who are new to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), or those who are venturing into highly innovative approaches to teaching and/or curriculum design. Applicants must have less than 5 years’ T&L experience at a tertiary level.
Teaching and Learning Development (T&L Dev) Grants provide broad scope for projects which advance curricular innovation, challenge complex problems, and enable collaboration across Academic Units or disciplines. These grants will be awarded to those who seek to demonstrate significant impact on current teaching and learning theory or practice to develop their ideas in a collaborative mode.
The key points of difference between the two Grant categories are summarised in the following graphic:
Visit the Unstoppable Teaching and Learning Grants SharePoint site for further information, including forms, instructions and timelines.
KEY DATES FOR AWARDS, GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
Dr Katrina Li (ALH) Empowering physiotherapy students to develop skills and knowledge through an innovative authentic assessment and feedback.
Dr Sarah Moulds (JUS) Belonging in the JUS classroom.
Dr Fatin Shabbar (JUS) Digital storytelling as a transformative and programmatic approach to curriculum and assessment design in Child-focused courses.
Joti Weijers-Coghlan (CTV) How did we do it? Articulating the methods, processes and learning outcomes of Design Construct’s built student projects to create learning material for architecture and construction related courses.
Shayne Chau (ALH) Maximising undergraduate medical radiation students’ learning experiences using Cloud-based Computed Tomography (CT) software (SmartSimulators).
Susannah Emery (CTV) “Playing with game design theory”: playable lectures to provide immersive examples of theoretical game design elements.
Dr Hana Hadinejad (BIS) Champion in class, leader in assessment: A pilot study of the application of gamification for hospitality students.
Dr Michele Jarldorn (JUS) Dismantling and rebuilding HSP: A programmatic approach to student retention and academic literacy development through creativity, diversity and community.
Dr Annie Liang (STM) Remote Air traffic control (ATC) simulation tutoring assistant tool (E-tutoring).
Sandhya (Sandy) Maranna (ALH) Pilot project to create and implement online vivas to improve assessment of higher order skills in a capstone medical sonography course.
Dr Katica Pedisic (CTV) Drawing Plus: Amplifying communication through Augmented Reality.
Dr Chris Della Vedova (CHS); Dr Sarah Davey (CHS); Dr Andrea Stringer (CHS)
Development, implementation and evaluation of interactive oral assessment as an alternative for examinations in Clinical and Health Sciences and production of a best practice “toolkit”.
Dr Caroline Fryer (ALH); Dr Anna Phillips (ALH); Sarah McMullen-Roach (ALH); Dr Helen Banwell (ALH); Emma Hiscock (ALH); A/Prof Gisela van Kessel (USO)
UniSA Learning Bytes for Clinical Educators: An online learning enterprise to support successful clinical education experiences for industry-based educators and allied health students.
Stefanie Bucher, Dr Debra Rowett, Dr Scott Weeks, Dr Angela Berndt, Dr Emily Ward, Dr Kade Davison, Dr Carolyn Murray, Dr Ryan Causby (ALH)
Telepractice Education and Interprofessional Module (TEAM)
Rebecca Somerfield, Dr Damien Spry, Dr Jane Andrew, Dr Alice Dodd, Ms Susannah Emery, Mr John Gartland (CTV)
Communication and Media Clinic: An immersive program approach to graduate capability development
Shiao-Lan Chou (CMR), Ron McIver, Dr Theodore (Lei) Xu, Dr Ron Donato
Dr Andrew Cunningham (INM), Liz Smith, Dr Ross Smith, A/Prof Stewart Von Itzstein
Learning professional skills through immersive virtual reality
Tarosh Jacob (UO), Dr Stephanie Centofanti Dr Amanda Hutchinson
Approaches to counselling and psychotherapy in the 21st century: Enhancing student learning and engagement through innovative digital learning resources
Dr Lisa O’Keeffe (EDS), Dr Amie Albrecht, Bruce White, Chelsea Cutting
A/Prof Katherine Baldock (HLS), Dr Katia Ferrar, A/Prof Nayana Parange
Preparing first year students studying on-campus for online learning: a pilot project
A/Prof Kathleen Heugh (CIL), Dr Enza Tudini, Dr Jeanne-Marie Viljoen, Dr Fiona O'Neill, Dr Julie Nichols, Dr Vandana Arya
Using human language technology to enhance academic integrity, inclusivity, knowledge exchange, student diversity and retention
Dr Micah Peters (NRC), A/Prof Kristin Carson-Chahhoud, Sarah McQuillen, Carole Gibbs, Imogen Ramsey
An interactive web-based resource for best-practice evidence synthesis projects for students and researchers
Dr Vijay Suppiah (PMB), Dr Matthew Sykes, Dr Tim Barnes, Dr Kristen Bremmell
Development of digital resources to advance the design and delivery of practical teaching across chemistry and pharmacy laboratories
Dr Jo Zucco (INM), Dr Ross T Smith, Shivvaan Sathasilvam
ARduino: An Augmented Reality tool to support student learning of Arduino microcontrollers - creating a digital learning environment to enhance student learning outcomes and engagement.
Dr Connie Caruso (PMB), Prof Anthony Woods
Virtual microscopy: fostering globalisation in future professional practice
Dr Megan Cooper (NRC), Dr Angela Brown, Dr Nayana Parange, Amye Eden
Online Simulation Modules: Improving student competence, confidence and resilience
Prof John Fielke (EEE), Dr Romeo Marian, Dr Ke Xing, Patrick O'Sullivan
Re-engaging mechanical engineering students with relevant remote laboratory experiments with the emphasis on experimentation 
Dr Philip Roetman (NBE), Dr Mat Kor, Dr Tom Raimondo, Prof Ning Gu, Dr Martin Freney, Dr Alpana Sivam, Dr Sadasivam Karuppannan, Dr Rameez Rameezdeen, Jacqueline Jepson, Dr Ki Kim, Dr Jorge Ochoa, Dr Jun Ahn
Creating virtual environments for enhanced student learning and public engagement
2016 Projects awarded additional funding in 2017
Dr Ben Stubbs (CIL)
The continued exploration of virtual reality storytelling: Developing a learning environment where VR production and technological understanding enhance graduate capabilities
Dr Ben Stubbs (CIL), Prof Bruce Thomas, Dr Ross Smith, Dr Carolyn Bilsborow
Exploring virtual reality in journalism: Establishing a learning environment where digital production and technological understanding enhance graduate capabilities
Dr Shepard Masocha (PSW), Dr Johanna Saltis, Dr Nadine Pelling
Development of a 3D simulation-based learning platform to enhance Clinical Psychology and Social Work students' cognitive decision making and emotion regulation strategies, needed for conducting suicide risk assessments and management
Dr Nick Fewster-Young (INM), Dr Belinda Chiera, Dr Lisa Schultz
Program Roadmap: A visual, interactive and self-regulating digital representation of the student learning journey
2016 projects awarded additional funding in 2017 to mainstream project outcomes
Dr Sean Pickersgill (SSL)
Team work, social constructivism and the Virtual Site
Eileen Giles (HLS)
Developing 3D virtual anatomy resources for use across disciplines
A/Prof Kerry Thoirs (HLS)
Teaching clinical communication skills: developing a flexible and experiential educational model using digital technologies for the health disciplines
Dr Sukhbir Sandhu (MGT), Roger Edmonds
A location-based mobile learning framework
Dr Sean Pickersgill (SSL), Dr Rameez Rameezdeen, Dr Jeremy Coggins
OnSite2: Team work, social constructivism and the virtual site
Eileen Giles (HLS), Dr Nicola Massy-Westropp, Dr Arjun Burlakoti, Dr Harsha Wechalekar
Developing 3D virtual anatomy resources for use across disciplines
A/Prof Kerry Thoirs (HLS), Dr Rowena Harper, Dr Giordana Cross, Dr Sandra Ullrich, Jane Coffee
Teaching clinical communication skills: developing a flexible and experiential educational model using digital technologies for the health disciplines
Dr Paul Corcoran (NBE), Liz Smith, Deb Moulton, Dr James Ward, Dr Diana Quinn, Dr Tim Rogers
Program roadmap – a visual, interactive and self-regulating digital representation of the student learning journey
The critical dates page provides a snapshot of the professional development options offered by UniSA's Teaching and Innovation Unit, including symposiums, workshop dates, a summary of UniSA and external teaching awards and grants opportunities and their submission deadlines.
