Case Studies

Example 1
evidence based practice materials

Example 2
building group work skills

Example 3
building research communities

Example 4
project based learning activities

Example 5
research and teaching: an intrinsic link

Example 6
the link between cultural identity and research

Example 7
An inextricable link - theory into practice

Example 8
Teaching connoiseurs of research

Example 9
Exploiting the link in course design

Example 10
innovative practice linking engineering methods and principles to constructing a winning product

Example 11
research and links to critical pedagogy

Example 12
Four examples to promote the synergy in history

Example 13
Students' perspective on linking research and teaching

Example 14
Two students'
perspectives

Associate Professor Gerry Turcotte, Head of the English Studies Program, sees teaching and research as inextricably linked. His research interests, journal and book publications form the basis of the subjects he teaches in postcolonial theory, Canadian and Australian literatures, film and film theory and Indigenous Studies. He sees it as essential that lecturers conduct and bring their research into the classroom to ensure that students gain an understanding of up-to-date and rapidly changing theories.

In his Program students and lecturers often work together to discuss the complex ethical issues which revolve around research matters. Key issues of who owns and runs publishing houses, who decides who and what gets published, and whose voices are heard or silenced are examined. Gerry makes a point of working with guest lecturers in his many subjects, particularly in areas of high cultural sensitivity. In his Indigenous literatures subject, for example, visiting Indigenous lecturers discuss their own experiences in the world of publishing, and the sorts of pressures and dilemmas they often face, especially in the all-too-frequent situation of having to submit work for publication to presses run by non-indigenous people.

Students and lecturers work in concert with each other to explore issues of cultural identity and political agency. Discussions and student work feed directly into research publications, including PhD theses which in turn generate a new generation of scholars and teachers.

As Director for the Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies established in 2000, Gerry attracts internationally renown authors to numerous fora where students have direct access to authors¹ skills and craft in writing. Margaret Atwood, for example, recently visited Wollongong and discussed her latest book to an audience of over 300, and Gerry¹s Canadian literature students were given pride of place in the event. Similarly, numerous conferences and symposia have been organised around the key areas of teaching and research, and students have been invited to participate actively in these events, either as audience members, presenters or researchers.

In contemporary fields of study, where cultural and political policy change daily, and theoretical movements are constantly evolving, research and teaching have to be intimately linked or the material being taught falls rapidly out-of-date.

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