Sessional Staff Learning and Teaching Program

Introduction to Learning and Teaching Practice at Western

The Introduction to Learning and Teaching Practice (ILTP) Program at Western aims to orient new sessional staff to learning and teaching at Western. The interactive program includes exploring contemporary, active learning environments along with engagement strategies to enhance student learning experiences. The program runs twice a year during Autumn and Spring. It is tailored to the professional learning needs of sessional academics with a current teaching contract at Western. This is a paid offering for eligible sessional academics.

What is the Program about?

The ILTP is designed to empower sessional academics at Western to

  • Examine students’ needs for learning and engagement to adapt approaches to teaching (context specific – disciplinary and UG/PG L&T variations/modes of delivery/regard for contextual nuances of learners + considerations for new educators – online/f2f/hybrid mode + summer intensives)
  • Identify strategies to improve responsiveness to culturally diverse learning environments
  • Explore and utilise relevant educational technology and Gen AI platforms available at Western to support learning and teaching and to consider how they might be used to improve the educational experience
  • Utilise research-informed principles on effective feedback to reflect on the approaches to assessment within subjects
  • Identify multiple sources of feedback on teaching and students' learning to enhance teaching quality within subjects and teaching teams
  • Exchange strategies and sources of support with other academic colleagues
  • Build awareness of recognition opportunities for good teaching practice at Western

This Program is facilitated through a flipped delivery mode where attendees are required to

  1. Complete pre-workshop activity in Pathway A or post-workshop activity for Pathway B (1 hour)
  2. Attend an interactive, participant-focused workshop (2 hours) facilitated by Dr. Naima Iftikhar
  3. To cater for our wide range of sessional academics at Western Sydney University, the ILTP program is delivered with two pathways. Participants will be required to select a pathway based on teaching experience.

Pathway A - Designed for sessional academics (new to teaching) with 0 - 2 yrs of teaching experience in higher education.

Pathway B - Designed for sessional academics (new to Western) with 2+ yrs of teaching experience in higher education.

NOTE: Please consult your supervisor and/or School Manager before registering for the workshop.

Register your interest to participate in the next session

The Autumn 2026 ILTP for sessional academics dates will be released soon. The sessions will be delivered online.

Please contact the Learning and Teaching team with any questions.