Charanya Ramakrishnan, Senior Lecturer in the School of Computing, and Shamim Joarder, Senior Learning Analytics Adviser, are announced as winners of prestigious AAUT Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning this week.
Citations recognise and reward the diversity of contributions made by individuals and teams to the quality of student learning.
Top of the class: Shamim Joarder and Charanya Ramakrishnan have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to education.
Ms Ramakrishnan is acknowledged for her innovative approaches to engaging students in Information Technology. Active learning methods such as longhand writing are unconventional in the IT learning space, and her use of live coding, visual aids, contemporary examples and problem-based learning are recognised for enhancing student learning and engagement.
“I dedicate this citation to my students, who inspire me to be a better teacher,” said Ms Ramakrishnan.
“Teaching for me means creating a supportive and engaging learning environment that encourages students to think critically, ask questions and explore new ideas, and empowering students with knowledge and skills to help them succeed in their future endeavours.”
Mr Joarder, whose role saw him responding to support requests for online learning and teaching applications, realised the opportunity to develop an innovative online application to address the challenge of engaging, motivating and supporting students. His AAUT Citation award recognises six years of work creating iLearn Insights, which enables teachers to initiate personalised automated communications to students, provide targeted assistance to students most in need, and gain insights on unit and assessment design. A student version, MyLearn, makes learning analytics accessible to students.
“I take immense pride and joy knowing that my work is helping our educators shape student learning experiences,” Mr Joarder said.
“By leveraging data-driven insights, our educators can gain a deeper understanding of student progress and engagement, identify areas for improvement and timely intervention, and tailor their teaching approaches to meet student needs better.”
Professor Rorden Wilkinson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) extended congratulations to both winners on being recognised for their contributions to student learning at Macquarie University.
“This year’s AAUT award winners Charanya Ramakrishnan and Shamim Joarder epitomise the creativity and dedication of members of our community to the transformative education we provide at Macquarie University,” Professor Wilkinson said.
“We are grateful for their innovations, which have had tangible positive impacts on our students’ learning experience.”
