Some thoughts on teaching
Instead of encouraging the student to devote himself to his studies for the sake of studying, instead of encouraging in him a real love for his subject and for inquiry, he is encouraged to study for the sake of his personal career; he is led to acquire only such knowledge as is serviceable in getting him over the hurdles which he must clear for the sake of his advancement.
(Karl Popper)
Schools teach you to imitate. If you don’t imitate what the teacher wants you get a bad grade. Here, in college, it was more sophisticated, of course; you were supposed to imitate the teacher in such a way as to convince the teacher you were not imitating.
(Robert Pirsig)
Bad teaching is teaching which presents an endless procession of meaningless signs, words and rules, and fails to arouse the imagination.
(W.W. Sawyer)
If there is no place for pleasure in teaching, surely our Teaching has failed us altogether.
(Kenneth Eble, 1988)
Teaching
I am a University of Tasmania Teaching Excellence Award winner but more importantly I love to teach.
Teaching and research are intertwined, or concomitant, elements of my professional life. I strive to link teaching and research, and build upon those links, to aim for what the former vice-chancellor of Wollongong University Ken McKinnon described as a spiral of quality – a continuous cycle of planning, acting, observing and reflecting.
My general academic expertise, and desire to teach, is built upon a constantly developing and expanding scholarship that interfaces the classroom, the insights of scholarship and the practical world. Students in my classes are exposed to current debates and policy questions and are encouraged to develop and present their own informed views on these issues. The points raised in class are then fed back into discussions with bureaucrats, journalists, Ombudsmen, lawyers and other academics (not just within Tasmania but nationally and internationally). Research and articles are then generated from this exchange of ideas and brought back into next year’s classroom to continue the cycle or spiral.
As a teacher I am inclusive, people orientated and have a passion to search out, test and pass on knowledge whether it be from a lectern, the pages of a journal or an on-line opinion piece. For students, experts and the community I try to act as a bridge or conduit between research, ideas, public law values and the needs of citizens.
Looking for a short term Administrative Law Teacher?
I have accepted many invitations to give lectures, talks or run short courses at various Universities. I am also interested in opportunities to teach jointly with other teachers (either at University of Tasmania or another institution) in the areas of Administrative Law or Comparative Administrative Law.
Courses
University of Wollongong 1995/1996
University College Cork 1999
University of Western Ontario 2003
Lectures presented at:
- University of Melbourne
University of New South Wales
Edith Cowan University
University of Queensland
Victoria University of Wellington
Perspectives on Teaching