Values underpinning my contributions are“inclusivity” and “sustainability”.
Teaching
SOLES curriculum leadership:
I lead the implementation of a reframed Botany BIOL2X30 uos. Reframing:
- resulted from a significant academic staff redundancy in 2021 (my lecture load has doubled; teaching team n = 6, n = 2 casuals),
- entailed several reschedulings of two major assessments (directive from FoS, industrial action),
- was critical to ensure horizontal integration Genetics and Genomics (pathway for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major), Ecology and Biology (pathway for Biology major), selective for new Sustainability major, whilst retaining the position of this uos as core to Plant Science minor, noting that reinstating the Plant Science major is expected 2023/24.
Reflective practice:
I led the reframing of Botany BIOL2X30 uos, which included implementation of significant rescheduling of two key assessments – anatomy assignment and prac test. This rescheduling risked compromising timely feedback from the assignment, which was crucial for student to feedforward to address misconceptions before attempting the prac test. My concern this year was that time between assessments was less than ideal for students to adequately digest their feedback. By offering general class feedback (tutorial) and individual feedback (CANVAS) the USS items for ‘assessments’ were not impacted and remained the highest scoring i.e. “The assessment tasks challenged me to learn” (95% agreement; mean Likert 4.5) and “The work has been intellectually rewarding” (90% agreement; mean Likert 4.3).
This year the USS values were lower than last year; my colleagues report the similar. I suspect that there are number of underlying reasons including:
- students entering this uos with less bench experience and
- generalised pandemic fatigue.
COVID impacts will continue into the near future, and in planning for next year I will create additional tailored support material (as identified in the USS feedback) to better support students who have limited bench experience.
Inclusivity and Influence:
I participated in the first ‘inclusive Australian chemistry lab’ (DVCISS funded project) where the Sydney language (Gadigal) names for the plants students were using for their extractions (Myrtaceae) were offered. I am always delighted to see students and staff “sit up” when they hear the Gadigal names for the plants around them. The pedagogic value of the CampusFlora app was realised in a new context (Chemistry), and this lab set the scene for discussions with students about Indigenous IP.
Research
WorldBank HEIP: Leading an international cross-cultural team n = 8.
Cambodia’s agriculture sector is facing the challenges climate change. Rainfall patterns (temporally and spatially) are less predictable for rice farmers. The lack of predictability has implications for rice farmer likelihoods and food security. The CAMSID project developed ‘technical packages’ to improve rice yields and for crop diversification (e.g vegetables, fruit, mushrooms, fish, honey).
The WorldBank project offers the opportunity to translate the findings at an international level from CAMSID into the Agriculture curriculum. “Adaptive practices” by way of diversification is likely to be relied on more and more in Cambodia and this will generate more opportunities for women to become more economically active as women are typically in charge of vegetable cultivation.
I am leading an international to develop teaching and learning strategies to enable Cambodian staff and students to develop necessary skills and knowledges for adaptive agricultural practices will ensure a healthy and economically viable agricultural future. I have:
- finalised the program for online ‘Agroecology’ pedagogic workshop (8-10 August) which offers principles of SOTL, my student-as-partners research, findings of ACIAR project CAMSID project (speaks to ‘impact’ of the CAMSID project), alignments to SDGs and
- finalised the itinerary for the NUBB delegation visit to Australia (Sept 2022).
Expansion of national and international collaborations featuring First Nations perspectives and botanical expertise e.g. Native grains (e.g.Cross et al., 2022; Pattison et al., in prep*), botanical literacy where the CampusFlora initiative continues to impact (Quinnell et al., in prep*; Lys & Quinnell, in prep*), Treaty trees (collaboration with Westmead Children’s Hospital).
Lead contributor for a new international collaboration investigating landscape-human relationships in times of disruption: Writing Oral Histories in the Digital Age. International SDG Collaboration Program. $150,000.(Outcome pending)
*Submission of ‘in prep’ papers have been delayed through ill-health of one or more of the authors, including myself.
Cross, R., Pattison, A., Saunders, K., Moore, K., Bell, B., Keitel, C., Khoddami, A., Way, A., Troy, J., Skinner, J., Quinnell, R., Howell, H. & Bell-Anderson, K. 2022. Regenerative rural transformations: An Indigenous-led native grasslands for grains industry. Institute of Australian Geographers Conference. Armidale NSW. July 2022.
Pattison, A., McGee, K., Birch, J., Saunders, K., Ashby, R., Quinnell, R., Bell-Anderson K., & Way A.(in prep*). What do we know about threshing traditional grains in Australia? Journal of Ethnobiology [multidisciplinary audience: biology, botany, agriculture, archeology]
Quinnell, R., Motion, A.E., Illingworth, S., Calyx,C., Bray H. & Borda A. (in prep*). Citizen science in Australian higher education: emerging learning and research communities. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education [highly reputable open access higher education journal]
Lys, I. & R. Quinnell (in prep*). Students as co-creators of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage gardens and interactive maps. ascilite 2022. UTS. 4-7 December. [highly recognised education technology conference]
*delays in submissions due to impact of COVID on authors’ health.
Governance
Leadership
Achieving Academic Goal: Academic Directorship SAGE (applied July 2022), aligns with recent research on ‘academic identity’ in HE.
Contributions as SEI Deputy Director:
- focusing University 2022-2032 strategy conversations on values (workshops June 1 – 9, 2022): inclusivity, sustainability, organisational communities, respect.
- supporting high performing students to achieve their research goals in addressing environmental sustainability (selection SEI scholarship awardees: Hons, PhD)
- showcasing my practice of value-driven procurement in supporting Aboriginal enterprises for Financial Services -aligns with University’s Sustainable Investment Strategy 2030.
- sharing my values, reflections in an opinion piece on First Nations leadership pre-NAIDOC as a non-Aboriginal academic : burrugin.
- Feedback: This is such a deep and thoughtful reflection…, Beautiful words Rosanne. Heartfelt. Thanks for sharing with us…,
Commitment to scholarly communities
- Mentor and Assessor Higher Education Academy fellowship program: UK HEA training completed August, 2019; USYD HEA training completed June, 2022). Supporting my University colleagues, particularly those in teaching-focused roles, to gain recognition for their contributions to student learning builds University-wide capacity in scholarship of learning and teaching and in educational leadership..
- Reviewer for Journal Science Education and Technology; ascilite. Supporting colleagues in my research community to publish their work, particular through disruptions due to COVID, is critical work.
- International symposia organising committees to create spaces for critical, scholarly conversations about cultural and environmental wellness.
- **GARABARALA! Sydney Indigenous Research Knowledge feast. Theme: This Place. 28 – 29 November 2022
- Nature Feelz. SEI. 6 – 7 December 2022
- Facilitator for Policy Lab research method workshops (three workshops in semester 1)
- Lead: USYD Questagame teams (2016-current). Engaging the University community with logging biodiversity on our campuses through engagement with Citizen Science. April Higher Education challenge complete with team member awards for: Most Valuable Player (Winner), Champion Identifier (3rd).
**additional role mentoring PhD students, ECRs.