IMAC Education

Professor Ian Macdonald

Employment history:

CURRENT POSITION:

Director, Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching, Victoria University, Melbourne.

The Director is responsible for the strategic educational leadership and management of CILT and for the provision of high level strategic advice on learning and teaching to senior university officers. To achieve this CILT conducts research in teaching and learning practice and disseminates and recommends opportunities for improvement and innovation in pedagogies flexible learning teaching, learning spaces, staff capacity building and innovative policies for Vocational, Further and Higher Education. The centre has around 40 staff, and an annual budget of $4.5 million dollars.

October 2005 to January 2009.

Director, Teaching and Learning Centre, the University of New England.

The Teaching and Learning Centre was responsible for providing professional development support for academic staff; learning support for students; supported development projects in all aspects of teaching and learning across the university; and provided a range of other support roles both academic and technical. This included a major project to move the learning model to a digital “blended learning” format. TLC also managing the development, reproduction, and distribution of learning materials for the 12,500 UNE students who study by distance mode, and managed the assessment cycle digitally. The centre employed over 50 staff, and had a $3 million budget. The Director TLC reported to the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic, and participated in a wide range of high level University committees and bodies, providing advice and policy initiatives relating to learning and teaching issues. Recent projects include the development of the integrated Virtual Learning Environment servicing the entire university, and the implementation of the Joint Medical Program with University of Newcastle. I was on the B.Med Program Committee. I was a Director on the Board of UNE Partnerships, UNE’s Education and Training company. I was also actively involved in a range of national bodies: ACODE, CADAD, ODLAA, HERDSA, ascilite, ACEN, as well as the international ICDE.

September 2003 to September 2005.

Associate Dean Curtin University

My title was “Associate Dean”, and I was a Head of School at Curtin University of Technology based in Perth, Western Australia.

My primary responsibility was to manage a Master of Technology (Petroleum Technology) that is taught in partnership with the Oil and Gas giant Shell. Just over 1300 Shell graduate employees in technical fields are enrolled in the degree, where they gain academic credit by completing Learning Events at the Shell Learning Centre, and by distance mode through the Shell Open University. Eighteen of the 120 Shell Learning Events are registered as Curtin Masters Units, with Curtin academics quality assuring the curriculum and teaching, and moderating the assessment. My role was to manage the degree; assist new Learning Events’ inclusion in the degree; develop new degrees to meet Shell’s needs; and provide professional development and academic advice to the Shell Learning Leaders at the Learning Centre on regular trips to the Shell Learning Centre in the Netherlands. Events are taught both face to face and, increasingly, by “blended” learning mediated through the web. It was my “virtual School”, and I reported to the Executive Dean of the Division of Resources and Environment about it.

My time was otherwise split to support the academic programs being provided from the Division of Engineering, Science and Computing to the Curtin campus at Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia – in both directions. 130 Units in 8 degrees are delivered from Bentley Campus to Miri. It was my job to coordinate the program, develop greater links between the two campuses, assist the academic staff in Miri, and develop academic policies to guide the relationship between the campuses. In that role I reported to the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Computing, with some reporting to the Executive Dean of the Division.

Simultaneously I was the Miri campus representative at the main Bentley campus. With the Pro Vice Chancellor responsible for the campus now resident in Miri, my role was to represent Miri’s interests in University committees and decision making bodies, and generally “fire fight” issues that develop. In this role I reported to the PVC Curtin Sarawak

August 2002 to September 2003

Director Teaching and Learning, RMIT International University Vietnam. The Director T&L is the most senior academic role in the university, with broad responsibility for all academic issues, including staff development, program introduction and development, student learning issues, research development etc. The university is less than two years old (as of May 2003), but already has 800 students. Growth has been rapid, and projected growth will be even greater.

RMIT Vietnam operates as an independent entity, but is closely linked to RMIT University in Australia, and teaches programs on behalf of RMIT, in close cooperation with the RMIT staff.

The university is located in central Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with two satellite campuses nearby. A 13 hectare campus in South Saigon Development Area will be ready in 2004. A further campus in Hanoi opened in late 2003. Programs in Computer Science, Software Engineering, MultiMedia, Commerce, and Education currently run, with the introduction of an MBA and Communications Engineering program, amongst others, imminent.

January 2001 to 2002
Director of the Swinburne Centre for Learning And Teaching in information Technology, Engineering and Science (LATTES)

Centre for LATTES had the scope to engage in action research into all aspects of teaching and learning, with the ultimate aim of improving the learning of the students. At the heart of LATTES's work is the development of Teaching Communities as a means of curriculum development, in-house teaching support and professional development for academic staff, and the consequent promotion of Learning Communities in the student body.

A specific directive was to promote the education research profile of the School, and encourage academic staff to engage in research on their teaching, and their students' learning.

A detailed description of LATTES work is found in the Manifesto page. A sudden withdrawl of central funding, and a subsequent School funding crisis, led to the demise of LATTES.

Concurrently I remained an Honorary Research Fellow in the Faculty of Education Monash University in the area of educational psychology, while engaged in numerous consulting and research activities overseas, with other faculties of Monash University, with other Universities and Colleges, and with secondary schools in Melbourne and beyond. The non-teaching work is through IMAC Education.

January 1997 to December 2000:
Director of the Centre for Learning in Engineering and Science (CLEaS), and Academic Leader of First Year Engineering at Swinburne University This was a coordinating role within the first year program for engineering, ensuring that the common first year maintained an educational integrity.

The first year project (funded by a CUTSD grant) resulted in the formation of Teaching Communities for 6 of the 8 first year subjects, a complete rewrite of the curriculum, introduction of a new project subject, and significant measurable changes to both teaching quality and learning approaches of the students. Retention rates improved dramatically. The role was split between the Schools of Engineering & Science (E&S) and Biophysical Science and Electrical Engineering (BSEE).

During this time I was also working on the Thai-Australian Science and Engineering Assistance Project (TASEAP).

January 1996 to December 1996:
Gradual transfer from a lecturing position in the Education faculty of Monash University to Academic Leader of First Year Engineering at Swinburne University. My fraction steadily increased at Swinburne from 0.4 to 1.0, with corresponding decrease at Monash.

At Monash I was working as a lecturer in educational psychology at Monash University education faculty, in particular involved in the development of the undergraduate double degree program, including the subject "How learners learn" that I wrote and taught. I continued to work in a sessional role to teach into specialist programs.

February 1994 to January 1996:
Assistant to the Dean, Faculty of Education, Monash University. My role was to provide academic, research and administrative assistance to the Dean as required. This was a diverse and challenging position that incorporated the entire spectrum of faculty activity during the Dean's first appointment. This also involved a significant teaching component (see teaching section).

February 1992 to January 1994:
Full time student at Monash University, as a candidate for Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, with the assistance of an Australian Postgraduate Research Award. Concurrent with this I was employed part time to tutor two groups in the Teaching and Learning (TAL) course in the Dip. Ed. program.

January 1991 to January 1992:
Science Coordinator, and teacher of Senior Physics at Methodist Ladies College, Kew, VIC. I resigned while on leave to take up a tertiary position.

January 1988 to January 1991:
Head of Physics at Billanook College, Mooroolbark, VIC.

January 1985 to January 1988:
Teacher of Physics at Peninsula School, Mt. Eliza, VIC (AGS).

November 1983 to January 1985.
Teacher of Physics at Brighton Grammar School, Brighton, VIC (APS).

March 1983 to November 1993.
Travelling in Europe.

January 1981 to March 1983.
Mechanical Engineer with Mount Newman Mining Company based in Port Hedland WA. Acting as Senior Mechanical Engineer (Railroad Technical) at time of leaving.

December 1979 to October 1980.
Mechanical Engineer at Sprinkler Installations Pty Ltd., Melbourne.

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