Excellence Award in Australia
A Bangladesh born academic with a passion for providing support and guidance to first year students studying via distance education has been named the winner of the Charles Sturt University Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Excellence Award for 2005. Charles Sturt University is the largest distance education provider in Australia. Dr Mir Rabiul Islam, from the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies on the University's Bathurst Campus, is course coordinator of the largest undergraduate psychology course, Bachelor of Social Science - Psychology. Including Education/ Psychology double degrees, he is coordinating courses for over 450 students.
In his online teaching, he strives passionately to use "online strategies" that empower students to be self-sufficient and adaptive to the ever changing needs of life. Student evaluations of his teaching of research methods are extraordinarily high, no mean feat in the area of Advanced Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology unit, a course often regarded as difficult and complex. He considers learning from
students as a unique opportunity to assess and re-assess his own professional integrity. This is a highly competitive award where over 500 academic staff from seven faculties at Charles Sturt University are short listed for the final nomination recommended to the Vice Chancellor. Each year the University recognises and encourages excellence in teaching through the presentation of this award.
In July 2005, he presented best online teaching practices in psychology in Australia to the International Conference of Psychology Education: Teaching and Training in Psychology in Brazil. As a result a sub-committee of International Council of Psychologists (ICP) on Continuing Education in Psychology was established, and Dr Islam was invited to be an Executive Member representing Australasia. He represented Charles Sturt University in an AUTC funded project involving highly acclaimed teachers to review the effective strategies in large class teaching, and Carrick Institute funded project to examine the current curriculum issues and models of training in psychology at Australian Universities titled "Learning Outcomes and Curriculum Development in Psychology".
Dr Islam was born in Rajshahi, Bangladesh in 1960 and obtained his PhD in Psychology from the University of Bristol, UK. He is a chartered psychologist of British Psychological Society and a member of International Council of Psychologists. He is admired by his colleagues and students as an innovative, encouraging, and highly approachable teacher. The award will be presented to Dr Islam in May at the Faculty
of Arts graduation ceremony.
Contact details of Charles Sturt University Media Office
E-mail: bathurst-media@csu.edu.au
Web: http://news.csu.edu.au/director/regionalnews.cfm
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