Indigenous Studies academic wins one of Australia’s top teaching awards
12 Oct 2007 | Bernie Goldie
A Senior Lecturer at UOW’s Woolyungah Indigenous Centre, Dr Michael Adams, has been named as one of the recipients of the highest award for teaching and learning in Australia. Dr Adams is the only NSW academic to have won the award in the early career academic category.
Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop, has announced that Dr Adams has been awarded a $25,000 Award for Teaching Excellence.
The Carrick Awards for Australian University Teaching started last year as a means of providing better recognition for the contribution of all staff at tertiary institutions to the quality of teaching and learning. The prizes are awarded by the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, which is the Australian peak body for the advancement of teaching and learning in universities.
The award represents further success for the University in this field. Last year, the University was successful in gaining an Award for Programs that Enhance Learning as well as nine out of 10 of the Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning going to UOW staff. The University repeated this performance this year, gaining nine out of a possible 10 citations again.
Dr Adams has worked in areas such as Indigenous and environmental conservation, working for organisations such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Greening Australia. Dr Adams has also worked in consultancies with Indigenous land councils and government departments on biodiversity, native title and land management issues.
Dr Adams said he was proud to work with a talented team of colleagues at the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre where he teaches Indigenous Studies.
“I am passionate about supporting students to learn about Indigenous, environment and geography issues, and the links between them. While I am an early career university teacher, I have a 20-year professional background in these areas so I am very aware of the real-world relevance of what I teach,” Dr Adams said.
“The research which informs my teaching has taken place in NSW, Cape York, central and northern Australia, India and Arctic Sweden, focusing on the relationships between Indigenous peoples and the environment,” Dr Adams said.
At Woolyungah, Dr Adams teaches on the main campus and UOW’s regional education centres combining extensive eLearning approaches with face to face and field-based experiences for students.
“Indigenous guest lecturers are a key component, and I am privileged to have worked with many inspiring Indigenous people,” he said. The Carrick Awards for Australian University Teaching will be conferred by the Education Minister at a ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra in November.
For further information contact Dr Michael Adams on (02) 4221 5392.
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