Shepherd recognised as one of Australia’s best uni teachers

Associate Professor Shepherd was the only Sydney academic to win an individual Carrick Award for Teaching Excellence in 2006.

" I have a mix of emotions about this prestigious award. It's exciting to be recognised by your peers at a national level. It's gratifying because finding effective teaching solutions involves a lot of thought, time and effort. And lastly, it's humbling because teaching is what I love, and I've got far more out of it than I've put in. Hearing students say that they get it, that they've discovered that it is possible to understand ideas, concepts and principles, rather than just memorise material and regurgitate it in an exam, is fantastic. And, after all, if teaching and learning can't be fun then I think we should pack up and forget about it."

For Shepherd teaching has always seemed like coaching. He describes his role in the process as encouraging, cajoling, begging, daring - and even conning students into doing the sorts of things that are likely to lead them to actual learning, as opposed to cramming stuff into their short term memories. until the exam's over." I think Dewey got it right when he said that ' learning is based on discovery, guided by mentoring, rather than on the transmission of information',"  he says. " New knowledge is not fully understood until it can be made accessible to novice learners. There is the difference between a teacher and a content expert."

Contact: Skaidy Gulbis

Phone: 9850 4774