Teaching excellence
We have a long history of driving innovation in higher education. Our commitment to teaching excellence is exemplified in our achievements and as the home of four Australian University Teacher of the Year awards. In fact, our teachers and researchers have made us one of the most awarded, highly cited universities in Australia.
Learn from the best
We’re proud to have an exceptional record at the Australian Awards for University Teaching, acknowledging our work advancing how and what students learn, influencing best practice and contributing to the scholarship of learning and teaching in higher education.
4 Australian Teachers of the Year
8 National Teaching Fellowships
8 Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning
17 Awards for Teaching Excellence
65 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
Australian University Teacher of the Year Award
The Australian Awards for University Teaching celebrate and reward excellence in university teaching. This prestigious national award acknowledges significant contributions to enhancing student learning in higher education.
Professor Kevin Larkin
"Education is the way we change society"
2018 Australian University Teacher of the Year
As a mathematics educator, Kevin Larkin wanted to transform how the subject was taught by the next generation of teachers. His focus on helping pre-service teachers to overcome their negative perceptions of mathematics, to learn their full potential and begin their careers with confidence in their ability to teach mathematics. His inspiring and transformative teaching style has seen him nominated for teaching awards by over 500 pre-service teachers.
- 2016 Vice Chancellor’s Griffith University Teacher of the Year
- 2017 National Teaching Citation
- 2018 National Teaching Excellence Award
- Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy
Professor Halim Rane
“Students need to directly observe what is happening in the Muslim world—this helps them to develop skills to engage professionally and sensitively”
2015 Australian University Teacher of the Year
Halim Rane has embedded ‘educating for impact’ into developing a suite of courses in Islamic Studies with a contemporary focus on Islam-West Relations. By encouraging students’ cross-cultural understanding with active, experiential learning experiences like the in-country Muslim World Study Tour, he is preparing them to contribute as both global professionals and citizens.
- 2015 National Teaching Citation
- 2015 National Teaching Excellence Award
Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet
“When they look into the eyes of another musician and build that connection, it has a transformative effect on their learning”
2014 Australian University Teacher of the Year
By bringing music students into the varied settings where Brydie-Leigh Bartleet works, from classrooms to remote Aboriginal communities, she models her belief in community engagement as a transformative journey, not just for the people involved but for institutions. She is globally recognised for her leadership in co-designing arts-based service learning with First Peoples and catalysing the creation of learning programs connecting musicians, researchers and communities to work towards a brighter future.
- 2021 Australian Research Council Future Fellowship
- 2022 Fulbright Scholar
- 2014 National Teaching Excellence Award
- 2014 National Teaching Citation
Professor Emeritus Keithia Wilson
As an educator and change agent, I have always been guided by the principal articulated by Mahatma Gandhi to "Be the change that you wish to see in the world". If we wish our students to be engaged in learning, we must first engage with them as future citizens and professionals.
2007 Australian University Teacher of the Year
Widely published and recognised for her extensive research into teaching quality and learning design in higher education, Keithia Wilson spent over a decade co-developing the systems for recognising and rewarding good teaching at Griffith during its formative years. Her leadership in student success and retention saw the development of strategies for successful orientation of students, improving engagement and retaining commencing students. By working across academic, professional and administrative teams to develop good practice, Keithia embodies our culture of student support and success.
- 2017 National Teaching Citation (The Student Success Coaching Program)
- 2010 National Senior Teaching Fellowship
- 2007 National Teaching Excellence Award
- 2007 National Teaching Citation
Australian Awards for University Teaching
2023 Teaching Excellence
Associate Professor Kerry Bodle
Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics
Neville Bonner Award for Indigenous Education
Associate Professor Kerry Bodle is passionate about empowering young Indigenous people to embrace business as a potential career, indigenising the traditional business education curriculum and using community-led research to break down barriers to ensure success for Indigenous people, businesses and communities.
Associate Professor Sarah Cresswell
School of Environment and Science
Science
Sarah’s excellence in learning and teaching encompasses innovative teaching approaches introduced to extend the learning experience for students, with the intent of developing student motivation, and equipping students with embedded professional and industry perspectives in forensic chemistry.
2021 Teaching Excellence
Associate Professor Vinod Gopalan
School of Medicine and Dentistry and School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences
Health
Recognised in the Health category for his student-centred approach to histopathology, Vinod Gopalan blends the workplace and classroom to foster self-confidence and academic success.
Dr Diana Tolmie
Queensland Conservatorium
Art
For over two decades, Diana Tolmie has sought to elevate the status of the professional musician and ensure, through her innovative course design, that graduates possess the tools and knowledge to adapt and transform an industry under continuous pressure.
Programs that Enhance Learning
2021 Bachelor of Pharmacy Program
- Associate Professor Gary Grant, Ms Denise Hope, Ms Briohny Spencer, Dr Matthew Cheesman, Ms Fiona Miller, Mr James Townsend, Ms Susie Patton, Ms Lee Litfin and Ms Georgina Sanger
By empowering students to build their knowledges and skills through the ‘PharmG’ gamified simulation, placements, interprofessional learning and a unique capstone learning event, this team was recognised in the innovation in curriculum design and pedagogy practice category.
Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
Higher Education Academy (HEA) Principal Fellows
HEA Principal Fellowship (PFHEA) is a prestigious international award recognising highly experienced academics for their effectiveness in strategic leadership of high-quality learning and extensive impact within the higher education sector. HEA Fellowships, including PFHEA, are awarded by the UK-based Advance HE. This global organisation works with institutions and the higher education sector across the world to improve higher education for staff, students and society with a focus on teaching and learning, governance, leadership development and equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Associate Professor Jane Fowler, School of Health Sciences and Social Work
- Professor Mark Loon, Department of Business Strategy and Innovation
- Professor Wendy Loughlin, Office of the Provost
- Professor Ruth McPhail, Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources
- Associate Professor Paula Myatt, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education
- Professor Caroline Rueckert, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education