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I think what is unique about me is my mix of backgrounds. I have studied and worked in both Thailand and Australia, and I have experience as a researcher, lecturer, and also still a learner. I bring practical experience into class, especially from teaching, supervising students, and working in food science and nutrition, so I often try to connect ideas to real situations. I am also open to different perspectives and enjoy learning from others. My main challenge is balancing work, research, and supervision, which sometimes affects how much time I can fully engage, but I do my best to stay engaged and keep up with the learning.

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A LEARNER IN CLASS:

I am 62. Entered tertiary studies late. Had an inferiority complex as to my ability to engage and complete tertiary education. I was the first in my extended family to enter university.

UNIQUE ABOUT ME:

I was not raised in an ‘academic’ family.

I was not ‘academically-minded’ as a child, according to my teachers; so my mother tells me! As such, I went off to a ‘technical’ high school.

I wish I had been given the opportunity to be academic in high school, but maybe I wasn’t ready at that stage of my life.

Now, I am contemplating a PhD.

A STRENGTH:

Attention to detail and an obsession with correct referencing (questionable strength, some might say!).

When I did my honours, the principal marker mentioned that the strength of the paper was its ‘rigorous’ research.

CAPACITY TO ENGAGE WITH LEARNING:

The time of year affects my capacity to engage with learning. I have a farm which has periods of increased workload. These periods of increased workload limit my free time to devote to study. Summer months are when I have the greatest ability to study without affecting farm responsibilities.

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As a career academic who recently transitioned from a research-intensive to an education-focused role, I bring two decades of STEM experience to this Graduate Certificate. Academia and university life has been central to my identity during that time, though shifting from objective/quantitative practice to more reflective "artsy” ways of thinking represents a significant personal challenge. Like many of you, my capacity for learning is currently balanced against the demands of a young family and a (more than) full-time academic workload. I offer this course the perspective of a “seasoned” academic who has a novice practitioner’s curiosity and enthusiasm for all things learning and teaching.

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A learner I know has studied across three different countries from primary school to university, experiencing a wide range of cultures and educational systems. This background has enabled them to adapt to different languages and learning environments, as well as understand diverse teaching styles and expectations. As a result, they bring strong cross-cultural awareness, flexibility, and the ability to approach problems from multiple perspectives. However, constantly adjusting to new academic systems and languages can also require additional effort and time to fully engage with learning.

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I completed my Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Hons) in 2016, and commenced this course in 2023 in the midst of having my 2 children. I have a clinical background and some research experience, but am a newer academic, having only commenced in a teaching role in 2022. I love learning, and always tell my students that the day I stop learning is the day I should no longer be in my profession. Whilst I am less experienced in academia than many of my colleagues, I am unique in my team in that I maintain a clinical role in paediatrics. I have lots of experience working with neurodivergent children and parents, and bring this understanding of different learning mechanisms to my teaching, which has sparked a passion for UDL. My capacity for learning fluctuates with my teaching load and my family commitments (As I write this we are recovering from yet another day care cold!).

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My uniqueness and diversity is due to my last formal study, (a postgraduate qualification) was in 1992.  So, obviously I am older, and online learning is completely new to me as a student (but not as an academic).  I am surprised at how different it is on the other side.  I bring transferrable skills as a mother of 4, long-time sessional/contract academic as well a practising clinician, for example providing care and support to students, organisation, problem solving and time management.  My rusty study skills and sometimes challenged digital literacy will be challenges for me.

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I am a curious and reflective learner who thrives when connecting new ideas to real-world experiences. What makes me unique is my diverse background and the varied perspectives I bring to group discussions and problem-solving. My key strengths include persistence, active listening, and a genuine enthusiasm for understanding complex topics. However, my capacity to engage can sometimes be impacted by competing responsibilities, such as work and family commitments, as well as limited time, which means I need to be intentional and strategic about how I manage my learning.

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I completed undergraduate BSc Science (Monash) and during this time participated in various industry (Trajen), government (DST) and academic (ANU, Wollongong) placements. I later completed Honours in Chemistry (Monash) and a PhD (Adelaide Uni). Later was a postdoc and research fellow (Melbourne Uni).

My education was purely self driven (rather than pressure from family, mostly my family wanted me to settle down), however my personal reflection is that I regret placing such a high value on education. My experience in higher education has been quite toxic (I think this is not uncommon) and I regret that my career is so linked to university. In today's age it feels morally corupt to be so linked to such a bad industry. My motivation in doing this course is to make universities a better place, for teaching and education. I hope for uni's to operate more as educational instututions and not as businesses.

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As an oral health therapist with 15 years of clinical experience and over a decade working in higher education, I bring a strong understanding of professional practice, academic culture, and student learning to this class. I am confident in critical thinking, reflective practice, and navigating university expectations. However, I study while working full time and raising two young children, so time and competing responsibilities can impact my capacity to engage consistently. My perspective as both a clinician and educator allows me to contribute practical insights and connect theory to authentic higher education contexts.

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I am a 40-year-old educator. In a classroom setting, I struggle to focus on content that might not be relevant, and I need to engage in something in order to retain attention. I get bored easily but have an urge to submit the perfect assignment. Haha, contradicting. I am a very good independent learner. I learn best through discussion, reflection and application. Lecture do not work for me at all, unless the teaching is very dynamic in their approach. I take that with me as an educator and apply it to my own teaching methods. I once had a student come to me and say that he is impressed that no one ever falls asleep during my Economics lesson - mission accomplished :).

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I love to learn. It is also one of my top Clifton strengths - followed by Intellection. The way Clifton Strengths describes the learner is a person who has a great desire to learn and continuously improve. I very much identify with this description as I enjoy the process of learning and it excites me to be back in a structured learning environment. I have had a few years off of formal study but as part of my professional requirements, I am always jumping into courses to update my skills and knowledge.

Something that I believe may be unique about myself adding to the diversity of our cohort is that I am a new mother. My son is now 4 months old. This certainly brings some challenges with organising my time and I have certainly been aware of the so-called ‘baby brain’ as I work through this course's content.

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Hi! Im a young, middle aged woman!! My career has always been in the beauty and aesthetics industry and so I have continuously studied. I completed a bachelor of applied health science in 2023 and now wish to take my career into a more academic setting. I'm completing this grad certificate to enable me to do this. I love studying- every time i complete something, i say never again! And then start looking at what else I can learn! I work 2 jobs- one full time and one part time and am a lone parents of 2 teenagers, one dog and one cat. Life is extremely busy!

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Upon reflection, I am pretty fortunate to be where I am. Although education is very much a focus in the country I grew up in, my parents always thought it was sufficient to obtain a diploma and start working after. I did not like this idea and remain the only one in my family to have broken this tradition, and I am glad to have obtained a PhD with my resilience. I always encourage my family to never stop learning and to not be afraid of getting back to school.

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I clearly remember my days a school, where my mother taught me. She was a teacher. Probably at that stage I viewed learning as fun and none threatening in nature. Moving up in grades and with changes in my family situation my learning was the first to be hit, my poor grades , changed my attitude from one who was excited every morning to go to school to one who did not want to go to school without my mother. I still remembering those days.

The moving on in grades in high school, I become a curious learns wanting to learn and explore the world around me and finding reasons for every small things that I did not understand.

I have identified myself as someone who learn in one than one way. Being in the health discipline, there are multiple ways a person can learn. I listen to a topic, read many different papers to widen my understanding and if possible with many topics of learning, I have learnt my physically doing a procedure and now as a educator I teach other which has made my learning concrete.

I give into stress over due assignment. I am not just curious in educational material but other extra curricular activities which draws my attention.

And I believe learning is exciting one the learner is interested in the topic and they can clearly see the personal immediate or long term benefit.

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I didn’t do any under-grad studying until I was in my thirties. I had always done well at school but only if I was interested in the subject matter. As creative pursuits became the way I spent all my time, this meant I was not very engaged during the later years of high school and had no desire whatsoever to study further. To be honest, I thought I hated school!  It wasn’t until much later that I realised I loved both learning and teaching if these things were connected to audio engineering and music production. We have a six month old baby which will make it difficult to devote time to studying but I’m determined to do so.

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I come from a non-English speaking background and currently balancing work, study and family responsibilities.

The strengths I bring in to the class are a strong background in academic culture, critical thinking, time management skills and resilience. My diverse perspective enriches could enrich the discussions through new insights.

Despite time constraints and competing demands, my ability to adapt and apply learning strategies effectively helps me engage meaningfully with the coursework.

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One unique thing about my learning style is video and visual media is my preferred way of learning. One of my strengths I bring to this class is that I’m not even a year out of my undergraduate studies and still have lots of memories of the teaching – good and bad and also relate to the student life a lot more than teaching currently, which brings a different perspective. As a strong advocate for lessening burn out I have very strict boundaries with how much time studying takes up, which can be an issue because I'm not the fastest reader.

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I'm slightly dyslexic and have mild ADD, all of which means I can cope without significant adjustments, but it can be a bit of a muddle. I've developed ways of getting things done such as understanding that I'm a visual and kinaesthetic learner - auditory learning is a complete dud for me. I'm doing the Grad Cert because I want to be qualified in my area of work, something I never have been. This isn't just about professional opportunities, but also pride and professionalism. My greatest challenge is organising my time, something I have not succeeded at thus far.

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I started my degree as a 'mature age' student, at the ripe old age of 23 (no kids, or partner, working part time around my study).

By the time I had finished my degree, I had two children, was married, and we owned a home.

I can reflect on the strengths of both situations as a learner.

Before kids, I had more time to spend on pondering ideas, and diving into the content.

When my life situation changed, I had less time, but I felt that I had a depth to my learning, understanding of people and health conditions (I was studying a bachelor of health science), and could emphasis with people and different situations.

In terms of writing assessments, I had to be more disciplined with my time and energy.

I take this discipline into life now - with teenagers, work, and study to compartmentalise my time :)

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Swimming at the lower end of the socio-economic class pool, I was the first in my family to get into, attend, and graduate university (and will soon be the first doctor in the family).

I am diverse in several ways:

-Neurodiversity in the form of hyperlexia, autism, and ADHD.

-Invisible physical disability which used to make everyday interactions with others even more stressful since I would worry about being seen as "bossy" if I needed supports. Now that I'm older and the world is more open to accessibility, I don't care if my requests are seen as bossy or otherwise.

-Identical triplet, which is a form of marginalisation most people never consider (especially the darker, extreme sexualisation and "de-identitying" by others which goes alongside this).

My strengths come in the form of my neurodiversity, which allows me to read materials quickly. I am also highly open to learning and knowledge, including feedback. Also, the fact I have had to develop the ability to persist and self-motivate to achieve.

The factors impacting my capacity for learning include my physical disability since it affects how long I can sit in a fixed position, like sitting. I am also the primary carer of my three children and work (and volunteer) outside the home.

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I was labelled early on as the 'book-smart' one in my family, and remain the only member of my immediate family with a college education, let alone postgraduate.

I was always a high achiever at secondary school - but this did not come naturally to me, and I would need to spend all night studying to achieve good grades.

I love learning, and what is unique and diverse (and maybe insane) about me is that even when I'm not formally studying, I'm reading journal articles in my cognate area as relaxing bedtime reading.

The strengths I bring to the class are my passion for learning-centered education, and my empathy for international students - having been one myself, and being primarily a teacher of international students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

I work more than full-time, across two jobs: as both an Academic, and as an Industry professional in a Marketing and Business Development role - and I have a young family. Competing priorities - all of them 'The Priority' - impact on my capacity to engage with learning.

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I’m typical of the part-time distant learner profiled in the Conversation article. A first in family university student with children, work, and mortgage while struggling with time, content understanding, and deadlines. For the first half of my degree, I was barely achieving a single unit per semester but then there was a watershed moment where I was either going to quit or get serious. The desire to ‘nail’ this learning business was greater than the easy option to quit so my grades improved, started managing 2 units per semester (plus one intensive summer unit), and completed my Bachelor in 6 years. Because of my maturity and diversity, I understand the varied situations students can be experiencing and now equipped with the academic knowledge and the understanding of how to learn I can tailor my teaching/mentoring to meet these diverse needs.

As a learner I would classify myself as a critical thinker, I have to understand all the reasonings behind any theory and contextualise it into bigger pictures.

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Paul as a Learner

I’m typical of the part-time distant learner profiled in the Conversation article. A first in family university student with children, work, and mortgage while struggling with time, content understanding, and deadlines. For the first half of my degree, I was barely achieving a single unit per semester but then there was a watershed moment where I was either going to quit or get serious. The desire to ‘nail’ this learning business was greater than the easy option to quit so my grades improved, started managing 2 units per semester (plus one intensive summer unit), and completed my Bachelor in 6 years. Because of my maturity and diversity, I understand the varied situations students can be experiencing and now equipped with the academic knowledge and the understanding of how to learn I can tailor my teaching/mentoring to meet these diverse needs.

As a learner I would classify myself as a critical thinker, I have to understand all the reasonings behind any theory and contextualise it into bigger pictures.

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I have been the traditional 18year old, middle-class university student - that was back in the late 80s. I completed my postgraduate studies on-campus too, at the University of Cape Town. I loved the experience of engaging in class, being on campus and succeeding in my studies. It gave me a lot of confidence in my academic abilities, something I didn't really feel in high school.

After emigrating to Australia I completed a Cert IV. At the time I had small children. I found the course very challenging - trying to fit in work, family and study, I really didn't have the time and in retrospect I took on too much. I swore I'd never study again.

But here I am, nearly 20 years later!

I have worked as a marketer in education sector for over 25 years. Marketing requires constant professional development to stay up to date. With my children now adults, I feel ready now to take on a new challenge and set myself up for my 'second career'.

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As one of the first people in my family to attend university (some older cousins attended before me), it is really interesting to see how many first in family students are enrolled in this course!

I was always interested in learning, which was difficult for my dad, who raised me, and who struggled in school and took up a trade at 15. He wasn't able to help with my homework from an early age and has always seemed intimidated by my ability to learn new concepts. When I first started university I didn't have much guidance in terms of what to study etc, so I had a few false starts before I finally finished a degree.

Because I have always found learning easy and enjoyable, I am still actively learning how to provide a better learning experience for students who are struggling.

As a queer and trans person who struggles with mental health, and a carer for disabled family members, from a low SES background, I bring empathy and a strong emphasis on inclusion and safety to my classes. I hope that people feel welcome and comfortable, and I try to make my classes accessible to as many students as possible without the need to single people out.

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It says to write something incredible. That is a tough ask:)!! I'll just write my tertiary education story.

I consider myself to be a life long learner with an inquisitive, analytical style. Perhaps describing myself as a bit of a "muller" before making decisions. Hopefully, that doesn't translate to procrastination too often.

This will be the fifth university degree that I've enrolled in. During my first (a bachelor degree), I was living at home with my parents. All I needed to do was to get on the train in the morning, attend classes and study hard. My family made things easy for me at home. During that first course, we were a pretty homogenous group of students. However, I did find myself in the minority having previously attended the primary and secondary State school system. Just about everyone else in the course had attended private schools. I was also the first in my whole extended family to undertake tertiary study, so the pressure was on somewhat.

I completed my second degree as a full-time student with government assistance while living out of home with friends. Because I had savings after my first degree and the government subsidy, I still didn't have to work to make ends meet. It was a challenge to maintain life outside study, but it was just for one year and the student cohort was a very collaborative and supportvie one.

The third enrolment was in a course that I didn't complete. I enrolled part-time and it worked fine while I was living in Perth. However, when I moved to a remote area location, it became all too hard. I was working full-time and distance education was all about sending CD ROMs to the library to do a search for information for me. For younger learners in this unit, that means there was no email, no access to internet and certainly no recorded lessons. I withdrew when the thought of doing a research project simply became too much.

By the time I enrolled in my PhD, I was married, had one school-aged son and was back in a city. I had emails, internet and great access to library services!! Luckily I received a couple of scholarships, my husband was working full-time and I worked one day per week at Curtin where I was surrounded by learners. While the PhD journey was not an easy one (I don't think any PhD is), once again, I was financially supported throughout and had time to mull and analyse.

This time though is quite confronting. I am working more than full-time in academia and am extremely time poor. There are a lot of activities in which I need to engage in the unit, and little time for mulling. I can really understand the issue of cognitive overload for students that I'd probably never really understood before. It is not the content. Rather, it is the factors outside the unit that are contributing to my overload. I imagine that this must be the case with many of our current students who have significant commitments outside their study.

Let's see how this goes:).

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When I did my undergraduate degree over 20 years ago, I was a terrible learner. Basically, just scraped through on the back of other peoples' lecture notes. I reflect on that now and wish I had made a better go at it. Coming back to learning now, I have a different attitude. However, I now have other demands on my time (work, kids, etc.) that I did not have when I was younger.

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As a learner, I have an open mind and heart. I have three young children, completed my PhD part-time, and I have been working as a lecturer for about 7 years now. I have worked hard on building empathy and emotional intelligence, to be able to situate myself in my students' learning contexts as much as possible, but to also delve into the way I learn and process information.

I believe my passion for facilitating learning for diverse learners is my strength in teaching, and I am passionate about creating a welcoming environment for every learner. I coordinate postgraduate and undergraduate courses, and although these cohorts are different, challenges facing students are often similar.

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I grew up in a rural area and neither of my parents had a tertiary education, in fact my father tried to talk me out of going to university. I had to work very hard to understand concepts at school because I had gaps in my English skills which then have impacted me as I have gotten older. Strengths I work hard to understand concepts. What impacts me is my limited vocabulary, so I constantly have to look up the meanings of words to understand. I am also time poor, working full-time with kids.

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As a PhD-qualified university teacher with about a decade of industry experience and a parent of two, I anticipate sharing education, dispositional and circumstantial similarities with my peers. I am conscious of my expertise within my discipline and appreciate the balance of life’s competing priorities, as well as the importance of respecting others’ time. Although I completed my first university degree later in life, I expect that many have had experiences studying as mature students for their postgraduate degrees. My most unique aspect is cultural—I came from a non-English speaking country in my late teens and there are four different nationalities (with no dual citizenship) within my immediate family. This background enables me to introduce various learning styles and education systems to this class. My engagement with this unit may be challenged by time constraints due to other work commitments, including four research presentation commitments in Singapore, South Africa, Austria and the Netherlands during the course of this unit, and research visits away from home from April to early July this year.

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I have successfully finished a couple of degrees but it was a long time ago ! My recent learning has been informal but constant. My children have all recently finished studying and I feel very empathetic with my students because I know the pressures on 20 somethings in today's society. My challenge now is meeting all of my commitments fully.

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As a learner, I am driven by curiosity and a desire to use knowledge to improve the health and well-being of global citizens. My medical training gave me a strong foundation in scientific principles, which I have continued building on through my postgraduate degrees and postdoctoral research in epidemiology and public health. I am capable at synthesizing and analysing large amounts of information and translating findings into policy. Having studied and worked internationally, I have developed an appreciation for diverse perspectives and new ways of thinking. I am an engaged, collaborative learner who enjoys classroom discussions and working on teams, listening and sharing ideas. Outside academics, I make time for intellectual exploration and learning new things just for the joy of it. I take a thoughtful, reflective approach to assimilating new information and considering how I can apply it meaningfully. Overall, learning is a lifelong endeavour for me, instrumental in both personal and professional development.

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Learning has evolved for me over the years. As someone who has actively sort post-graduate learning opportunities and also my profession required me to learn consistently via CPD. I have felt the overwhelm and stress of not only balancing and juggling many roles and responsibilities, but also the way learning is offered and presented has changed. Yes, it's easier because of multiple platforms (online and offline). But the ease of these platforms and resources can also a burden. Being a lecturer now and also having lived my experiences of being and still currently a learner. It's allowed me greater empathy and understanding of the needs, challenges and the many stresses my student cohorts face in the modern teaching environment.

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I enjoyed reading everyone's experiences so much, I almost forgot to post my own! It struck me how relatable your stories are. It has been a loooong time since I graduated from uni (over 21 yrs). To be honest, it's a little daunting, particularly the online study process. I'm fine with tech, but not so good at navigating a syllabus, orienating myself in the course structure, and reading longer texts without the 'roadmap' of printed material. I also have two teenagers - one who's (in theory) doing 1st year university, and the other who's in year 8 - so, like many of you, my study is impacted by family life. Perhaps more impacting, I have a neurological illness that limits functional hours - if I'm up and about then I'm doing great, but if I'm not then I'm a write-off. Gotta love life in the extremes! I know this probably also makes me 'unique and diverse' (to address the question) but I'd rather be unique and diverse in some other way haha. In terms of strengths I can bring to the class, I really, really love ideas and exploring nuanced topics with others. I'm not much of a debator, but listening to how others form their thoughts and theories is one of life's most facinating elements for me :)

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Roanna as a learner: completed school, undergrad and Masters degrees in UK and PhD at Curtin. I have been studying at a tertiary level on and off since 1986 completing my Masters and PhD part time with a young family. Studying was respite! I was the second in my family to attend university. I am a senior lecturer at Curtin and very time poor coordinating a large unit (300 students), leading 8 research projects, line managing 10 staff. I love learning when I can carve out some time :-) 

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Roanna as a learner: completed school, undergrad and Masters degrees in UK and PhD at Curtin. I have been studying at a tertiary level on and off since 1986 completing my Masters and PhD part time with a young family. Studying was respite! I was the second in my family to attend university. I am a senior lecturer at Curtin and very time poor coordinating a large unit (300 students), leading 8 research projects, line managing 10 staff. I love learning when I can carve out some time :-) 

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I finished my Undergrad degree in 2016, then Honours in 2017, so I feel like I have quite a recent experience of what it's like to be a modern-day learner, and can empathize with the students enrolled in the units I teach. I am a mum of 3 young children (3, 5, and 7 years), I work multiple jobs (0.5FTE teaching, 0.2FTE research, I have a home-based cake baking & decorating business, and I work as a chef for OzHarvest WA once per month). My life as a learner in this Grad Cert is much busier than when I was an undergrad (working fulltime, studying part time, and halfway through I had my first baby and returned to study when he was 4 months old)

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This is my first formal learning in more than 10 years, previously I was able to achieve well - first in family to Uni and eager for more, high achieving in my clinical role as a nurse. As a learner now it's vastly different, and I struggle with how to maintaining my clinical skills while building educational skills. Competing needs of work and family, neurodiverse children who require presence and immediate responses of my time, and poor boundaries around my academic teaching encroaches. I have to readjust my priorities, reaffirm my commitment. This is a humbling experience and generating great empathy in me towards my students.

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I am a mature aged learner.  The last time I was at University, the internet hadn't been invented and mobile phones were very expensive bricks.  Literature reviews were done on Microfiche and photocopying in libraries.  My 30 year career as an Emergency nurse has taken me into the realm of university teaching and requires me to achieve a Post-Grad to continue onwards and upwards.

I have never had the greatest experience with learning.  I think I see a learning disability that my daughter has in me.  I have learnt to manage and compensate but it made learning a chore and difficult. I also believe that I am a better teacher than learner. I think because I know my subject inside out and backward, that helps.

I've started back this semester and already overwhelmed with the University jargon and frequently need to stop and define.
I learn visually and through practical demonstration.  I dislike GANTT charts but love 'tick-boxing'. I have marked academic papers but know that writing the academic paper is going be challenging.

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Growing up, I have always been encouraged to ask questions. As a result I am curious and enjoy learning new things. I have already learnt new knowledge and skills teaching in higher education but this has taken time for me to grow.

My biggest issue for me as a learner is time management. I have a young family and many commitments, hence the late post to this padlet. I have a difficult time saying no to helping others, however, am working on this as the weeks go on.

I am looking forward to learning more structure about Higher Education and the various standards it is based upon.

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Firstly, I appreciate all the posts here. As I read through, I am reminded of similarities with my life experience and background and that each read like a story and a window so generously opened. Thanks all around!I grew up in India in a Defence force family, which meant we got transferred every two years, so I got to be in many schools. While fitting into a new class and forming new friendships was challenging, I was simultaneously able to experience significant variations in landscape, culture and cuisine. I had the privilege of experiencing truth as being multiple, diverse and contextual. I went on to train in Fine Arts, but on moving to Australia, I moved to a regular job in Banking. I believe the interactions with clients and being a part of many communities has helped me not be a solo artist working away in isolation but to value contact with others. I think of myself now as a socially engaged cultural practioner, and my research interests are interdisciplinary, traversing history, anthropology, medical science and religion. I apply an auto-ethnographic, feminist lens sensitive to Indigenous epistemology and think of education and art as spiritual practices. A chance to share, help, learn and nurture gives me a sense of fulfilment and an opportunity to share what little I know.

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Firstly, I appreciate all the posts here. As I read through, I am reminded of similarities with my life experience and background and that each read like a story and a window so generously opened. Thanks all around!I grew up in India in a Defence force family, which meant we got transferred every two years, so I got to be in many schools. While fitting into a new class and forming new friendships was challenging, I was simultaneously able to experience significant variations in landscape, culture and cuisine. I had the privilege of experiencing truth as being multiple, diverse and contextual. I went on to train in Fine Arts, but on moving to Australia, I moved to a regular job in Banking. I believe the interactions with clients and being a part of many communities has helped me not be a solo artist working away in isolation but to value contact with others. I think of myself now as a socially engaged cultural practioner, and my research interests are interdisciplinary, traversing history, anthropology, medical science and religion. I apply an auto-ethnographic, feminist lens sensitive to Indigenous epistemology and think of education and art as spiritual practices. A chance to share, help, learn and nurture gives me a sense of fulfilment and an opportunity to share what little I know.

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I have prior study experience which has made me feel that I am a successful learner and encouraged me to develop high academic self-esteem. I have a demanding work load as I am teaching full time and I also volunteer to teach one day per week. My linguistic and environmental background is conducive to learning in English. I am the only sibling who has completed a degree and only one in my family to complete postgraduate study at a Master’s level. My cultural assumptions encourage critical and open discussion.

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Like Jacqui, I have a PhD and have a high level of understanding of what’s required of me and university systems and structures. This wasn’t always the case. I am the first in the family to attend university. As an Aboriginal woman, very few of the family on my mum’s side have a university degree. As the oldest of my cousins on my dad’s side, no one had finished university before me. When I first attended university, I had to learn how to do everything by myself.

As an Aboriginal woman, I also found university challenging in the past and now. The way Aboriginal people are often spoken about in deficit dialogue, using stereotypes and at times entirely excluded from the subject in a way that suggests everyone is the same. This puts me in a difficult position and undermines my confidence in educators who behave this way. Simple things like not capitalising the first letter in Indigenous demonstrate that someone is not culturally safe. How can I trust you with the big stuff if you can’t get the simple things right?

Now I am a mother of an 11-month-old, working full time and engaging in several governance roles to improve Indigenous people's health and wellbeing in Australia and globally. My time is VERY much split between the various responsibilities.

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I will describe myself as a motivated and curious learner, who likes to think critically, make connections.

Despite not being new to academia and having completed my Ph.D and MBA overseas, I still found myself in uncharted waters when I first stepped in academia in Australia. Although it was overwhelming first it did not take me long to adjust to the new system and expectations. I believe that  learning has one goal though there might be several systems, dimensions or perceptions for achieving it.

Looking back, I was the traditional learner, being at the university at 17 and having completed my Masters by the age of 22. After 7 years of corporate experience the yearning for education took the better of me and lead me to enroll in Ph.D.

Education was the first priority in my family. With both my parents being acclaimed academicians, I was immersed in the critical, thought enriched environment all along. I have tried to emulate and live by the values and self-expectations of teaching and learning inculcated by my parents.

Currently, I am balancing my own learning with a full time lecturer role and as a parent of two lovely daughters and a very supportive partner.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching and learning new ways of doing things. I aspire to apply my learning to challenge myself and make the learning experience meaningful for both me and my students.

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I will describe myself as a learner as a motivated and curious learner who likes to critically think and make connections.

Having completed my Ph.D and MBA overseas I still found myself in uncharted waters when I first stepped in academia in Australia.  Although, it was overwhelming first but it did not take me long to adjust to the new system and expectations. I believe that the learning has one goal although their might be several systems, dimensions or perceptions for achieving it. I thoroughly enjoy teaching and learning new ways of doing things to make the
learning experience meaningful for my students and myself. I like experimenting and challenge myself in bettering my teaching.

Looking back, I was the traditional learner being at university at 17 and completing my Masters by the age of 22. After 7 years of corporate experience the yearning for education and learning, took better of me and lead me to
enroll in PhD.

Education was the first priority in my family. With both my parents being acclaimed academicians, I was immersed in the critical, thought enriched environment although. I have always tried to emulate my parents and live by the
values and self -expectations that they have inculcated in me.

Currently, I am balancing between a full time role as a Lecturer, a mom with two kids and my learning. I aspire to apply my learning to enrich my own teaching and create meaningful learning experiences for my students.

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I come from a family where no one attended university and I have so far been the first in my family to attain this level of tertiary education. I come from a non-English speaking background, so much of my early education (around year 5 onwards when I moved to Australia) was shaped by me trying to learn in a new language. I felt I was always behind other students at school because learning for me was not just about understanding in a theoretical sense, but heavily clouded by my inability to speak English to the level required. In short: how could I make sense of what I was being taught - if I could not understand the language it was taught in? To overcome this and the inability for the public school system to support my learning to the extent I needed, I relied on myself to learn more English, read non-stop and track my own understanding/development. My motivation to succeed as a learner and the feeling of needing to work twice as hard to be in the ballpark of others, developed into a highly focused approach to learning in school. I have always had an immense curiosity and desire to learn more and this was largely achieved through my own independent study. I now get overwhelmed by that feeling of wanting to know and learn everything and it means that maybe I am not the learner I used to be. I am easily distracted by work, other commitments and topics that might spark my interest more than the direct study in front of me. I also take on too much and then later end up stilted on where to start or even to finish things I committed to. I have consequently become a relatively unfocused learner, which I think has resulted in me becoming more of surface learner compared to a deep learner.

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The current university setting is not as a familiar place for me now as it was during my undergraduate and postgraduate days. When I completed my undergraduate I did so as an older 1st year student beginning my degree at 25. At that time I found my prior experiences were useful in setting and maintaining study priorities (treating it like a job), while now like many in this class I assume it is trying to find the balance of our teaching load with this new learning load. The familiar but unfamiliar context of the university setting is because I’ve only recently (last 4 months) started with Curtin coming from 15 yrs in the national sports institute system working with our Olympic and Commonwealth games bound athletes. I hope to be able to bring the passion I had for working in this applied field, to the front and use these experiences to bring to life, for the students I'll be working with, the theory and practice of sports science.

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I feel like I haven't stopped formal learning since first starting at kindy! Aside from formal qualifications and degrees, I am always learning as I progress my various research interests, and also learning lots about the content that I teach. I find that I learn better by discussing content with others rather than spending too long reading up about content/new research, but also just as a way of solidifying new information - talking about it or asking questions seems to help me develop longer term memory in schemas.

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Robin as a learner: I grew up with education as the highest priority in my family of origin - my mum is a primary school teacher, my dad a professor, and sisters, cousins and aunties are teachers. I love to learn, but empathise with many current students with significant competing work/life demands, and I have to resist the urge to be outcomes/assessment focused, and dive in and enjoy the learning.

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Robin as a learner: I grew up with education as the highest priority in my family of origin - my mum is a primary school teacher, my dad a professor, and sisters, cousins and aunties are teachers. I love to learn, but empathise with many current students with significant competing work/life demands, and I have to resist the urge to be outcomes/assessment focused, and dive in and enjoy the learning.

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I am the first in my family to be completing my third degree, as well as working full time. I feel that I add to the diversity spectrum within this course as I commenced this Grad Cert prior to commencing teaching within the Exercise Science Degree. As I finished my last degree six years ago I find I can relate to the learner experience easier than others. Whilst completing this Grad Cert, I am also balancing working within 2 universities, home life, sporting life and a social life which is impacting my capacity to engage. I also find the discussion board to be quite daunting which is reducing my engagement.

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I am from QLD originally and was always a complete overachiever in both school and university academically, both undergrad (1st class honours) and postgrad with my masters results. I didn't understand students who only aimed to pass as I didn't see it as that difficult - I felt you just had to be committed and organised to get good results. Doing this Post Grad Cert as a working mother with very busy sporty children with many commitments has given me a new perspective. Prioritisation is key and sometimes - near enough may just have to be good enough. This is a very foreign concept to me but it has given me a new appreciation of those students who may be aiming "just to pass".

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I really value learning and believe that education is freedom.  I came to my undergraduate degree as a mature aged student, with two children, aged  11 and 17, after a couple of attempts at higher education.  My husband was really supportive however also somewhat of an impetus in that I recognised that I wanted to be in a position that I could support myself and my children if I made a choice to be on my own.  That hasn’t eventuated, which is great, but I am really pleased that I now have my piece of paper that gives me some additional freedoms in terms of earning capacity and identity.

I do enjoy learning, and gain a sense of  achievement from learning and success.  however I also procrastinate and incubate ideas for longer than I should. In our end of degree celebration, informal awards, I have the dubious honour of being the most outstanding student who left things to the last minute.  This was partly because of some competing priorities that included raising a family, building a house and studying, but also because I require the healthy level of stress to motivate myself to undertake assessments and complete work. My Mum was a teacher and I remember her staying up for nights on end when it was report time, so I suspect she might have instilled some of this behaviour!

I graduated in 2012 and have done okay in my working life, with my most recent position, before coming to my University job, being in management. I enjoyed this however it took a toll and I would probably say that I was somewhat burnt out and I made the move, despite liking my job, as I recognised that it probably wasn’t sustainable long term.  It has taken me a while to recover and undertaking this course when I did was potentially too soon and I struggled with the first unit in terms of sitting down and completing what I needed to do.  I found the sense of something hanging over me – like an assignment – was almost paralysing and was a remnant relating back to  being burnt out. In fairness, I was also learning a new job as I commenced the course so that may have had some influence as well.  I got great marks, although did lose some of those to late submission penalties.  I do feel in a better place now, and my circumstance, and reading those of others, does very much highlight the diversity of who we are as students, the response to varying circumstances and motivators, and that there are overarching as well as day to day influences that impact on who we are and how we perform as students.

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The unique thing about me is that I have a natural enthusiasm for learning. My life has been a journey of a continuous learning cycle which invariably has created a solid foundation upon which additional academic strengths have been built over the years. I am quite versatile in the way that I learn as I am fascinated by numbers but equally enjoy learning via reading/writing, kinesthetic, aural or visual. My strengths are my curious dispositions and ability to use reason and logic to resolve problems. However, the fear of asking for help could sometimes act as an impediment to my learning.

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This is my fourth degree at university so I would say that I am an experienced learner. More precisely, I am experienced in passing university degrees. I think of myself as a life-long learner, although I didn't really fall in love with learning until my first post graduate degree.

My first experience at university wasn't pleasant and I changed courses from a commerce degree into an occupational therapy degree after the first six months due to this negative experience. Although I enjoyed my undergraduate degree, I wasn't overly successful, but did enough to pass and complete my degree without failing any units.

When I came back to study after seven years of working (to a business degree funnily enough) I was much more motivated and the course was better suited to my strengths. I think I also matured developed some professional and organisational skills that really help me excel in this degree.

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I grew up in a country town in WA that revered sport and mining, and there wasn't a huge focus on higher education while I lived there. I was first in family to attend university and it took me many years to find my feet after moving to Perth and living out of home for the first time. As a secondary school student I was extremely focused and dedicated to my studies, and when I began university I fell apart. I failed / didn't complete many units in my first course because of my mental health struggles and lack of social support. I felt completely isolated in a new environment without friends or family to show me the way. I eventually found the right course, made new friends, and my love for learning soon returned (and continues!). This experience showed me the power of social inclusion and its influence on not only academic success but wellbeing more broadly.

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I was told I wasn't smart enough to study physiotherapy by my careers advisor at school, but I was defiant and applied anyway! I didn't get in to a course the first year I applied so I enrolled in college to take some more A-levels.  I got lucky I suppose, and got into physio degree in London where I moved to to lived on or close to campus for the duration.  I had a lot of competing interests in my undergraduate degree, at the time I was playing in the English National league (hockey) so was dashing around England for the duration of my degree and probably could have put a bit more effort into learning over hockey.

I was the first female in my family to attend university, my older brother the first ever family member.  My parents knew very little about HE, but my Mum was keen to give me opportunities she never had.

I got a lot more out of my Masters degree here at Curtin, and my clinical doctorate, as I knew what I wanted to study, and valued the experience more. Given the fact that I continue to study, I would call myself a life long learner, and I love the challenge of problem solving. I still have competing interests with life outside work but I tend to put study before hockey these days. I think my family (all still in England) have come to terms with the fact I moved to the other side of the world to pursue my career.  I keep promising myself never to study again... but here I am!

I am very much a kinesthetic and visual learner, but I like to read too. I find just listening to something difficult, I just don't take it in without seeing how it works or looks. I like to ask questions if I don't understand concepts. I always think of myself as a work horse, I just keep plugging away at something until I get the job done.

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I think I differ from the traditional stereotype of a university student in a couple of ways. For example, I am the first person in my immediate family to go to university and the first person in my whole family to undertake postgraduate studies. I feel that early on, the lack of understanding from my family impacted my capacity to engage with learning; however, over time they have come to understand and even embrace higher education themselves.  I feel like I also differ a bit from this cohort as I have more of a background in research than teaching/education. In turn, it is sometimes hard to pick up all the educational terms. Although, I can keep up pretty well thanks to the internet.

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I am from a migrant family, was the first in my family to attend University and did so straight from school. I completed a Bachelor degree while living at home with my parents and Masters degree while working and living away from home.  I married and then became a stay at home parent. I was well supported emotionally and financially through my studies and did not suffer any disadvantage. I began some sessional teaching in the 1990s and my teaching commitments increased as my children grew up and eventually I became a F/T lecturer.  I have needed to master many topics and skills in my profession, however, I have learnt my teaching skills by osmosis, having had no formal training, but many excellent mentors. I also still believe in the value of a good lecture, supplemented with other forms of learning.
My own learning is impacted by a demanding job and family responsibilities. As a student, I prefer formal classes to self-directed learning. I offer many years of teaching and life experience which has brought me into contact with a diverse range of learners.

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As a learner, I am a deep and critical thinker, sometimes at a detriment to myself. In person, I am much more likely to be vocal than I am on discussion boards as I often feel comfortable talking with others. Having worked in the disability field for a number of years before pivoting to a teaching environment, I have a unique way of approaching learning having supported individuals with a disability in learning settings, which I think has framed the way I approach education and educational settings. I currently work two separate part time jobs and am a parent to a 10 month old baby. These factors certainly impact on my capacity to engage, as there can be times where work tasks are a priority, and I always endeavour to put family first, meaning I can at times lack energy to focus on tasks. My previous work has also led to high levels of stress and burnout, which certainly impacts my learning, as I have changed the way I approach tasks now to better manage my own mental health.

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I come to this class as a 10-year veteran of teaching at this university. In this time I’ve had a child, done a PhD and won faculty and university teaching awards, had wonderful and awful, and everything in-between feedback. I’ve been a student of some form for longer than most of my UG students have been alive. There’s a sense of nihilism that creeps in at times, but then there’s still a sense of wonder in creating new learning activities – I engage with learning about teaching when I can see the relevance, contemporary-ness and accessibility.

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I was the first in my family to attend Uni. I always achieved good grades at School and my parents viewed an education as important, so I was lucky to have good support during Uni. I have always been good at gaining knowledge and understanding concepts. My Honours, PhD, and post-doctoral studies involved lab-based research, where I found pure knowledge was less important than persistence and hard work - there's no substitute for it!

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I am a fairly recent product of the university system, so I've experienced first-hand some of the newer approaches to teaching - but online-only/99% self-directed is still new and unfamiliar to me (and a little uncomfortable). I consider myself fairly tech-savvy and use this to support my learning. Full time work takes up a lot of my time/capacity, but I am also planning a wedding which is taking up a fair bit of space in my life at the moment!

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I realise most of my post isn't really directly about me. I thought I would add that I did a heck of a lot of study (and part-time work) while I was a sole parent for over 20 years. During this time I lived in the bush (actually in a little town in the bush) east of Melbourne, amid people who generally do not value tertiary education. Consequently, I don't know many others around me who've attended uni, let alone taught there. Although I have met various school teachers of course, including some with very alternative perspectives. I've found that the diverse range of people with alternative worldviews are often able to make some profoundly positive impacts in the sense of how the community evolves.

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I have a lot of niche interests that make me a rarer individual than some, but the only thing unique about me is the things I have created. For example, I’m the only person who has written my MPhil thesis.

I come from a diverse personal and professional background. My siblings and I were raised below the poverty line with few of my extended family completing secondary school. However, two of my siblings and I are three of almost two hundred individuals (from either side of my family) to earn tertiary degrees.

I suspect the key strength I bring as a student is my empathy for course coordinators and/or tutors. Being mindful of teachers as people has helped me throughout both my BSc and MPhil to work with any potential pitfalls when they’ve occurred.

Finally, the biggest factor impacting on my learning is marking my own student’s assessments. I’m about a week behind on this course due to marking, but hope to get ahead before the next assessment comes in on 17/09/21.

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Tass as a learner.
- Craig's intro was very familiar territory for me. I am a middle-aged, highly educated and broadly experienced tertiary learner and educator, with considerable research experience, adult children, and other home, family and professional responsibilities. I am very familiar with all manner of learning platforms, and being in front of a computer is usually one of my favourite places to be.
Having said that, some of my most substantial learning, that's taken place across the 'course of my life' (no pun originally intended), has probably occurred in 'the school of hard knocks' on the one hand, and on the other hand in understanding a lot more now about diversity, and the increased needs of learners (particularly women) with challenges of various forms, especially given that many people now attend uni who previously wouldn't have. I am grateful to have tutored for almost 10 years at Uni of Melbourne, where there is a highly diverse student population, including some students with disabilities, making for an excellent learning experience for class teachers.

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I'm one of those odd ducks who is studying an undergrad and postgrad at the same time - a Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of IT and now this Grad Cert. I also did a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) when I was straight out of school (I was 15 starting uni), so I'm very familiar with what it feels like to be an undergrad student and be stuck into assignments and campus life generally.

Looking at a lot of the other responses on this Padlet, I suspect I'm the youngest student in this class -  turning 25 at the end of September. I've essentially been raised on online interaction, especially through instant messaging, but online study is a whole new thing for me! That said, I probably have a lot more tech fluency than some others, and I'm happy to help if need be.

Of course, I'm teaching at the same time as this, and am actually about to head into teaching my database management class at the time of this writing. I'm hoping that my current dual perspective as both a learner and teacher will be of use.

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I am 38. I began my university journey at the age of 21 as an adult entry. I sat the entry test as I did rather poorly at school. Not from lack of intelligence or ability, quite the opposite, I was grade skipped in high school. Rather, I was bored, under stimulated, and had a lack of motivation to achieve. So here I am at 21, just sat the entry exam and scored well enough to get into Law. I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer! After 12 months of grappling with Torts and having numerous moral arguments with tutors, I decided that law wasn't for me after all and I dropped out. I became a travel agent, worked in customer service and sales for the next 11 years until I thought I was going to go crazy if I had to book another trip to Bali! I came across the term 'ethnomusicology' one day when bored and trolling wikipedia and it was as if a light bulb suddenly turned on in my head. From that moment on, my goal has been to complete my PhD in ethnomusicology and become an academic. I never thought I would achieve what I have (first class honours, ethnomusicology prize, Aurora intern) - I am a very fast learner, but if I am not interested in what is being taught, I zone out completely. I am a learner of all styles, kinetic, aural and visual, depends on my mood and how much sleep I have had! I know I am not unique in this and it always astounds me when traditional learning techniques are used when we don't live in a traditional world. I hope that through this course I can learn how to facilitate the learning of others in a manner that works for them, to further the knowledge of everyone, not just a select few.

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I was born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria and now live in Perth, Western Australia. I was only the second person in my extended family to attend University back in 2004.

I am a collaborative student who is organised & enjoys helping others. I am an especially enthusiastic learner when the topic interests me.

I am a mother of two young boys (3yo, 4mth old) and a husband who works away so my time is stretched fairly thin. My husband is extremely supportive and when he is home (3 weeks out of every 6) he is an amazing 'house husband' who helps me to 'catch up'. I am currently on leave from my employment so I am able to focus on studying around the family commitments.

I am often told that i'm an 'over achiever' but personally I worry that I spread myself too thin and so don't complete everything to the high standards I could be capable of in all aspects of my life. I need to be careful that my own physical health does not suffer when I over commit.

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When it comes to the diversity of learners, I can even identify great diversity within my own personal experiences of learning. Now, within this course, I am someone who is familiar with online learning and have the skills and resources to engage with the content with few barriers - apart from time. I love to understand topics, and specifically like to challenge what I think I know. This is a place I only found when doing my PhD (I'm mid-way on leave), through conversations with my brilliant supervisors and slowly processing conversations about philosophers and methodologies I couldn't pronounce let alone grasp.

This is in striking contrast to the learner I was when I began my honours in 2018. At that stage, I had taken some time out of the workforce to be a carer for my daughter who had lots of support needs at that time. I had an old dodgy computer. I was struggling to cover bills as a carer. I was homeschooling my child as a solo parent. Most of my honours reading and notes was done under my doona cover, on a mobile phone, next to a child that had sleeping troubles.

The learner I was in my masters by coursework was again different. I started that as a single young person who just liked to study but had other priorities and would always rush work just before the due date. I never wrote drafts - gosh why would I do that?! I finished that masters as a mother to a six-month-old who had lots of medical and therapy appointments who had no time to write drafts and with a mind elsewhere.

I have also been the young uni student that moved away from parents that never went to uni, as a 17yo and ate Maggi noodles while trying to wrestle with understanding the meaning of life and why I needed to be here.

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While I have multiple postgraduate qualifications, I have not undertaken a coursework program since finishing my Masters in 2008 so contributing to discussion posts rather than moderating them is a little bit of a novelty. I can be a bit of a procrastinator and over-committer which is frustrating for others at times (e.g. it drives my husband bonkers that I leave tasks to the last minute). This is something I am slowly working on with limited success!

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I was born and raised in Hong Kong. My mother tongue is Cantonese but the medium of instruction from primary to year 12 was in English. When I studied my last two years in high school in the US, I didn’t feel I was capable of speaking in English with my peers. In retrospect, I could recall some of my teachers’ intense interest in my background but no quite the same from the students in my class or year. There wasn’t much of an understanding of diversity in the class. I wonder if my experience would be different if I am a student there in 2021?

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A lazy, last minute learner, who finds it very difficult to reflect (which makes a lot of education units very difficult for me). I work 1 full time job and 1 part time job as well as have an almost 3 yr old with another on the way, but I need to be busy. If I am not busy I am bored. I’ve been a tertiary student almost consistently for the 15 last years and have never held a full time job, thanks to the dreaded “c word” (casualisation). I love to learn but hate learning about learning and prefer to work at my own pace and very insularly.

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Education was always viewed in my family as something to prioritise and grew up surrounded by teachers in the family and older cousins at university. It was always something I aspired to. Having a PhD and now lecturing I'm familiar with the university system and expectations and thoroughly enjoy teaching and researching. I love to learn new things, always have. Im a visual and audio learner - and take more time learning from reading and sometimes less is remembered. Currently my learning is impacted by work time commitments and am working out as I go how to fit in learning in a different format I previously have experienced.

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I completed a Bachelor of Commerce in December of 2008, like the vast majority of students I went straight to University after gradating High School. I have completed a few short courses since then, but see a challenge in getting back into learning and studying. I have worked within the education sector for the past few years, and have been at Curtin University for a little over a year. My role can be quite demanding at times and it is very rare that I finish work on time. This is a challenge as it means that I often lack energy, enthusiasm and focus to do things after work especially if it requires sitting in front of a computer.
From my previous educational experience, I like to research and gain as much information as possible on a topic.

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Barry - As I reflect on my learning history, I initially would not view myself as a learner. Learning is not something that came easy to me, I left school with poor grades. I soon realised that if I wanted to get a profession I would need to study at technical college (A UK term for TAFE), which is what I did. I was funded by my parents while undertaking my college studies and after two years of study I obtained my basic qualification that led to a job. While working away from home I continued on with my studies on a part-time basis for the next two years, to obtain further qualifications. Study still did not come easy to me, I get distracted easily, and loose concentration, I still do.Looking back I would never have believed that I would obtain the qualifications I have. I was never taught how to learn I was presented with information or places where I would need to locate information relevant to the subject matter, but the learning part was down to me. I fortunately realised that I would need to learn how to learn and put strategies into place to help me learn and also not to get distracted. The downside for me is that learning still does not come easy and is always a lengthy process, and as I am a details person I get stuck in the detail.

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Barry - As I reflect on my learning history, I initially would not view myself as a learner. Learning is not something that came easy to me, I left school with poor grades. I soon realised that if I wanted to get a profession I would need to study at technical college (A UK term for TAFE), which is what I did. I was funded by my parents while undertaking my college studies and after two years of study I obtained my basic qualification that led to a job. While working away from home I continued on with my studies on a part-time basis for the next two years, to obtain further qualifications. Study still did not come easy to me, I get distracted easily, and loose concentration, I still do.Looking back I would never have believed that I would obtain the qualifications I have. I was never taught how to learn I was presented with information or places where I would need to locate information relevant to the subject matter, but the learning part was down to me. I fortunately realised that I would need to learn how to learn and put strategies into place to help me learn and also not to get distracted. The downside for me is that learning still does not come easy and is always a lengthy process, and as I am a details person I get stuck in the detail.

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I would describe myself as a curious and engaged learner, who is easily motivated when interested in the subject and content at hand. My interest in learning and tertiary education came from watching my single mum complete her undergraduate degree and then her masters, while raising three kids. She was the first in her family to go to university and it was really a given and a natural progression that my siblings and I would follow suit. I finished my undergraduate degree 25 years ago and have not been back to uni since then. During that time, I have been working in the corporate space, have had 2 kids (aged 8 and 10) and now run my own business. My strength is that I have little to no tertiary experience, but loads of practical business and people experience which I am hoping brings fresh eyes and an open mind to learning.

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I describe myself as a life long learner. I constantly am actively engaged in my own learning path. From going back to university at age 40+ to now doing this Graduate Certificate course and an under graduate unit in Japanese. I have lived in Japan for more than 30 years. Have traveled extensively throughout Asia, and North America and have seen first handle what diversity brings to a group. I have managed very wide range of diverse individuals in my career. Three things limit my ability to learn. 1. The availability of information. 2. time 3. the capacity to absorb more knowledge.

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As someone with a PhD and now a university lecturer I have to acknowledge I have a high degree of university literacy - it's no doubt a significant advantage to know how systems work, how elements of assessments work etc.
As a Curtin member of staff I also have an existing knowledge of how to navigate systems such as Blackboard.

I am fortunate that when I am interested in something I can usually make progress in understanding it if I can the right support and resources.

On the other hand I also recognise limitations - attention to detail and patience are not strengths of mine!

I'm also relatively privileged - while I am among the first in my family to attend university and attended a pretty disadvantaged high school, I did not and don't face any real structural or systemic barriers when it comes to diversity.

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My involvement with learning is wrapped up in my experience in designing and deploying training to technology users in the corporate sector. I’m a tech geek surrounded by the latest gadgets and computer equipment. As a learner I respond better if I’m left to work things out myself, becoming familiar with a subject before forwarding my views. I’m sometimes flighty, prone to wandering in my interests only focusing when I find something that piques my interest which inevitably fall into the technology sphere. Consequently, my interest in topic of learning is in the mechanics of design especially where such mechanics can be supported by eLearning. Therefore, I see my contribution to this course as bringing a corporate perspective, perhaps a counterbalance to the education faculty mix of the class.

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I have prior study experience which has made me feel that I am a successful learner and encouraged me to develop high academic self-esteem. I have a demanding work load as I am teaching full time and I also volunteer to teach one day per week. My linguistic and environmental background is conducive to learning in English. I am the only sibling who has completed a degree and only one in my immediate family to complete postgraduate study at a Master’s level. My cultural assumptions encourage critical and open discussion.

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I come from a long line of educators, on both sides of my family. My mother is a (now retired) primary school principal who worked very hard to attain the position. She was working towards her Masters of Education whilst being a single mother of three children under the age of 4. This has been a work ethic that I have always tried to emulate. My eldest sister has her PhD, and my other sister is an archaeologist living and working in Crete. Given my family’s educational background, I am very familiar with tertiary education and took it as a given that I would attend university myself. I have a BA (Honours), and intend to complete a Masters in Creative Writing and a Doctorate of Creative Arts over the next 5 years (I am passionate about literature and creative writing). I am 31, and my son just turned 1 this past Monday. I am lucky enough to have a very supportive partner (who is also studying), and my mother provides childcare while I am at work and studying. However, as my son’s sleeping patterns are still very unstable, I don’t get much sleep so there are many demands on my time and energy.

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I am a mature-aged student with a long gap between my undergraduate and postgraduate study, having re-entered the system in 2015. I would describe myself as a ‘typical’ student as many of my family members have tertiary qualifications. I have a husband and two teenage sons, lecture part time and work as a consultant historian, so juggling commitments is a familiar concept and limitation. As I have recently returned to study and worked in a few universities as a casual staff member over the last 2 years I hope this makes me more attuned to students’ needs and the need to prevent the feeling of being overwhelmed in unfamiliar territory.

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I left school when i was 14 and then entered higher education to do teaching when I was 22. I was the first in my family (and still am) to enter university and complete a degree. At the time, I was not what you would consider the norm and I most certainly not prepared in the formal sense for a university education given my very limited formal schooling. I spent ten years teaching in the Japanese university sector and then about that again in a Center for University Teaching and Learning. I've learned a lot about diversity in through those experiences. I've also learned a lot about my self as a learner. As a learner I am very self-directed and I am very audio orientated. I just love good lectures and totally disagree with the proposition that the lecture is dead. But my preferred mode of learning is not for everyone and my journey, experience and knowledge of learning means that I understand and appreciate more differentiated and social forms of learning.

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The thing that is unique about me is that I haven't studied for over 18 years, and so much has changed since then, so as well as getting back into study mode, I am still learning how to do everything on line. I did my Bachelor as a mature age student while my three children were growing up, and didn't graduate till I was 39. I will hopefully bring some very different perspectives to this group as I think I am the only member who is working with young children. One of the factors that is impacting my ability to engage is my lack of I.T. and online experience. I am still trying to work out what I need to write, and where to write it and how to write it. To be honest I am also feeling a little overwhelmed with some of the tertiary and life experiences most of my colleagues seem to have, compared to myself, but as this module is about diversity I might just fit right in!

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Sharon Smart - My brother and I are the first generation to have received a tertiary education, therefore, learning in higher education was unfamiliar to me when I commenced undergraduate studies 24 years ago.  When I reflect on my best learning moments, have been when I have engaged in authentic learning experiences.  Luckily I work in a practical and clinical profession, and during my bachelor training clinical practicums were integrated with theoretical content.  My uniqueness in the class is that (I think) I am the only Curtin staff member in the class, so I have familiarity with the systems with which to learn unit content and materials.  However, I have not experienced a diverse and range of university systems unlike peers in this unit.  Some of the factors that impact my engagement in learning is family commitments and finding dedicated time between raising two school age children, extra-curricular activities, and balancing working as a teaching and research academic and clinical work in speech pathology. 

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Sharon Smart - My brother and I are the first generation to have received a tertiary education, therefore, learning in higher education was unfamiliar to me when I commenced undergraduate studies 24 years ago.  When I reflect on my best learning moments, have been when I have engaged in authentic learning experiences.  Luckily I work in a practical and clinical profession, and during my bachelor training clinical practicums were integrated with theoretical content.  My uniqueness in the class is that (I think) I am the only Curtin staff member in the class, so I have familiarity with the systems with which to learn unit content and materials.  However, I have not experienced a diverse and range of university systems unlike peers in this unit.  Some of the factors that impact my engagement in learning is family commitments and finding dedicated time between raising two school age children, extra-curricular activities, and balancing working as a teaching and research academic and clinical work in speech pathology. 

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Looking back, I had a wide range of teaching in Africa, often starting with learning where students were and how to help them with skills to learn and produce in new environments (the ‘hidden curriculum’), whether adults newly-literate in a vernacular language and unfamiliar with school skills, or Masters students working in French needing to do research and write theses whose educational history had discouraged discovery, questioning and evaluation.  Similarly, 13 years after my last formal study I’m now learning how to learn online, and keeping notes of what has not been clear to me in the process in case I can later help others on similar pathways.