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My cohort is predominantly mature-age graduate students from creative arts or humanities disciplines. Largely female, this cohort comes from an array of backgrounds and balances competing demands of study, family responsibilities, and employment. Notably, the scaffolded entry requirements of the nested programs mean the cohort are diverse learners with different skillsets and varying degrees of industry experience. The editing and publishing program operates entirely in a remote, asynchronous mode.

Across the span of 2022–2023, UniSQ editing and publishing students reported feeling disconnected from classmates and teaching staff, and from the publishing industry more broadly. Concerningly, UniSQ Academic Quality Unit reports showed considerable pre- and post-census attrition and a pattern of disengagement or poor progression in students. Believing engagement to be crucial for student success, I implemented two targeted strategies: the Editing and Publishing Community of Practice to foster student belonging and generate industry connections, and a Wellbeing-focused Student Response, to support students to success.

Limited by my students’ needs for a flexible learning environment (Ghandi et al. 2023) (V3), and motivated by the knowledge that mature-age learners with caring responsibilities are often excluded from work-integrated learning opportunities (Universities Australia 2019), I reframed my traditional teacher–student consultation commitments as social spaces (V2) for communal ‘coming together’ (K3). These sessions – hosted at varying and inherently flexible timeslots across the semester – were used to discuss industry insights, personal or professional challenges, curriculum, assessments, or to engage in rapport-building conversation (V4). Designed to empower students to become active learners in charge of their learning journey (V2, K1), I prepared informal discussion prompts that linked industry and theory to equip them with the tools to creatively problem-solve and critically challenge assumptions and biases. To foster industry links, I used these sessions (alongside other communication channels to ensure equal access for the class) to share industry insights, new, and events, and leveraged my professional connections to generate opportunities. I regard students as co-creators of learning and active participants in knowledge exchange (Dunne & Zandstra 2011) (V3) and the CoP model allowed for student-driven engagement and built discipline-specific capacity through mutual knowledge-sharing; prompted knowledge-seeking beyond the curriculum; and fostered belongingness within the editing and publishing community (K1).

Formal and informal feedback on the initiative remained positive and demonstrated students’ perceived value of the sessions: ‘Having real-life engagement was really valuable in getting a realistic understanding of the editing and publishing industry’ (UniSQ AQU 2024). The efficacy of embedding employability in the CoP was confirmed by students securing paid employment with industry partners, gaining professional membership of IPEd, and being invited to participate in industry committees/working parties, conferences, and research activities (V4, K3).

Interestingly, while the CoP initiative was designed to keep students engaged, the sessions provided a valuable tool for re-connecting disengaged students through organic relational engagement (Hickey & Riddle 2023; Owusu-Agyeman and Moroeroe 2023) (V3). In fact, actively engaged students showed an increased willingness for flexibility in scheduling to accommodate the needs of these disengaged students. The result was an evolving and accommodating online learning environment where diverse learners were included and celebrated (V2). This aligns with findings from Owusu-Agyeman and Moroeroe (2023) (V3), which reveal the intrinsic link between student engagement and relational communication between students, peers, and educators, and highlights the ‘importance of inter-relational culture and teacher relational competences to the behavioural and cognitive development of university students’ (p. 37).

The ongoing success of this implementation as a method of fostering engagement and inclusivity is evidenced through increased interpersonal relationships between students (V1), observance of improvements in group work outcomes – including an increased willingness to engage in group work – and evidence of knowledge-sharing occurring outside of the classroom proper (V2).

Reflecting on this method of enabling learning, I recognise my increasing understanding of pedagogical theory (K3) has allowed me to better integrate frameworks into my practice, as well as develop ways to extend successful strategies (K1, K2). Plans for 2025 include expanding the CoP to other MAEP subjects (V2) and collaborating with colleagues to support each other in co-delivering these sessions to reduce the overall workload and increase the sense of community and knowledge-sharing across the program more broadly (V5). I am also motivated to continue providing my students with meaningful learning experiences that equip them to be creative and critical thinkers, effective communicators, and ethical professionals who engage in safe and responsible practices (UniSQ Graduate Attributes Policy 2024). To achieve this, I have a responsibility to engage in ongoing research into best-practice editing that improves industry performance (A5), and to implement the findings of this research in my teaching praxis (A2, V4). This will develop graduates that both meet the UniSQ Graduate Attributes Policy and improve the standards of editing practice industry-wide (V4).

In this time, Camilla has demonstrated appropriate knowledge across all five areas of Core Knowledge, and she has exhibited a strong commitment to the five Professional Values. The two targeted strategies that Camilla has successfully designed, developed, and implemented in PUB5001 and PUB5002 are testament to her knowledge and skill in creating safe, inclusive, and justice-oriented learning experiences for all her students, regardless of age or ability.

As Camilla’s application demonstrates, the Editing and Publishing CoP initiative that she created reflects her ability to embed employability in curriculum and to link graduate skills with professional practice. Over a two-year period, Camilla has consistently engaged students in their learning by leveraging her own professional networks to strengthen the program’s industry connections and to foster in students a sense of social responsibility and belonging. As a result, Camilla’s teaching has had a significant impact on students’ professional learning, including their ability to navigate professional relationships and to articulate explicit career pathways. Impressively, this is evidenced not only by excellent course evaluations and unsolicited student feedback, but by the generation of tangible student outcomes, including co-publications in peer-reviewed journals, professional membership of IPEd, and even paid employment. Clearly, Camilla’s commitment to preparing editing and publishing students for the world of work is motivated by her acute understanding of the challenges and rewards of a non-linear career, and her ability to transform career development learning opportunities into a vibrant culture of student partnership.

In addition, Camilla’s proven track record of providing effective mentorship and pastoral care to editing and publishing students exemplifies her ability to facilitate resilience, growth, and change in her students, especially during times of crisis and adversity. Camilla’s wellbeing student response strategy has effectively reconceptualised self-care as both an ethical responsibility and an institutional duty—an achievement that has come to the attention of her peers, various industry stakeholders, and more senior academic staff. Again, her demonstrated ability to support student wellbeing is evidenced by the fact that she embraces teaching as an evidenced-informed activity; her practice is richly informed by trauma-informed pedagogy, and inclusivity and diversity literature. Again, this has yielded significant impacts and results by improving retention and progression in both PUB5001 and PUB5002, and by re-engaging several assisted and at-risk students, all of whom have either graduated from their degrees or continued with further study. 

Finally, Camilla’s commitment to reflecting on her teaching practice, as evidenced in her application and in the targeted interventions that she has successfully delivered, demonstrates her broader understanding of effective approaches to teaching and learning in higher education. Camilla’s passion for relationship-based learning, and her commitment to transformative learning that is modelled on trauma-informed principles, privileges collaboration over competition, and community over individual ambition. Her work in this space is commendable and, without doubt, fulfills the requirements for this application.

In a practical sense, this allowed me to actively work to re-engage students identified as disengaged through an individualised approach that leveraged inclusive teaching practices (K1) such as universal curriculum design (CAST 2024) (V3); appropriate and flexible adjustments to delivery and assessment (Dunbar-Morris 2024); and partnership with support services available at my university and within the broader community. I demonstrated empathy (Howlett 2022; Wu et al. 2022) (V3) for the challenges my students may encounter – especially pertinent given their regionality (Universities Australia 2019) – and reiterated that it was my responsibility to provide them with the tools needed to successfully achieve learning outcomes.

For example:

Student A disclosed experiencing domestic violence and barriers to study success. In response, I adjusted deliverables, provided targeted academic advice (K2), improved connection and belongingness through the CoP, and arranged referrals to university/community support networks. As a result, the student relocated, registered with disability services to ensure appropriate support across all enrolled subjects, and successfully graduated the GCEP with distinction. The student matriculated into the GDPU and remains active in the program community. At the close of session, the student emailed: ‘I wanted to say a huge thank you for your support this semester. I really feel that you’ve gone above and beyond for me … I’m feeling a lot more prepared to enjoy and make the most of next semester … You’ve really encouraged me to believe in my own ability to do this course …’ (personal comms, June 2024)

Student B had historical progression issues (2+ years), with a pattern of disengagement unmitigated by previous re-engagement strategies (K3). In response, I proactively contacted the student during Week 1 to ask what adjustments would support them to success (V1, V2, K2), understanding that a student partnership approach to learning and teaching could positively impact the student’s motivation, engagement, and classroom satisfaction; build identity; and improve outcomes (Cook-Sather et al. 2014; Crawford et al. 2015) (V3). The student disclosed an anxiety disorder that reduced their ability to engage in groupwork, and their fear of (and continued) failure made them feel unworthy of assistance – aligning with Barnett’s (2007) (V3) three connected fears affecting student capacity to learn (K1). I established relational rapport by displaying empathy and expressed an understanding of mental health challenges. Having created a space for safe communication, we identified accommodations and supports (K2) and, together, a guiding ethos for our interactions (V1, V2) that conceptualised ‘do your best’ as not intrinsically quantified by ideal conditions. The student graduated the GCEP with distinction and matriculated into the GDPU.

By moving beyond explicit teaching strategies and into equipping students with the skills to be active, autonomous and – importantly – confident learners (K2), I witnessed these two students develop self-efficacy, resilience, and the ability to regulate external impacts on their study and persist through adversity. The positive impact of this strategy on the cohort more broadly is visible in comments such as ‘Thanks for all your encouragement and support throughout the course’, ‘I THANK YOU for encouraging and enabling me to finish both courses. I hope to have you again through this program’, and ‘Thank you for making this such a welcoming space’ (PUB5001/5002 student email comms 2024).

Reflecting on the challenges and outcomes of this strategy has allowed me to recognise that I am learning to better accommodate diverse needs and learning styles in my classrooms (K3). While my teaching has developed organically and authentically, I now understand that my praxis is underpinned by a social constructivist philosophy (Van Bergen & Parsell 2019) that embeds trauma-informed principles (Carello & Butler 2015) in the classroom through universal design (CAST 2024), student partnership (Hill et al. 2019), and responsive and responsible classroom citizenship (K1, K2, K3, V1, V3).

The positive outcomes of these two strategies – and my teaching practices more broadly – on my subjects have been quantifiable improvements in student outcomes illustrated by improved grade distribution, course completion rates, and retention/progression, with the program’s two introductory subjects achieving their highest course satisfaction ratings and retention scores to date (UniSQ AQU 2024) (K5). Formal and informal feedback continues to demonstrate high student satisfaction, and observance of student relations shows improved connection, academic partnership, and bolstered morale (K3).