College of Nursing welcomes international leaders in educational advancement for lecture series

The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Nursing will welcome two leaders in the advancement and development of higher education online learning and research. Maria Northcote, Ph.D., associate professor in the Faculty of Education, Business, and Science Department of Avondale College of Higher Education and Jack Seddon, Ph.D.(c), Faculty of Education and Arts at Edith Cowen University, will present on various higher education topics Monday, Sept. 29, Tuesday, Sept. 30, and Wednesday Oct. 1 in the Health Professions Education Building (HPEB) on the Texas A&M Health Science Center campus.

The College of Nursing is hosting these lectures as part of a larger initiative of integrating research into teaching practice and developing ways to enhance the education and preparation of health care professionals to improve the delivery of patient care.

The presentations are created to share information across educational fields of higher education, not just those of health care professionals, and the College of Nursing hopes that educators across Texas A&M University will attend and join in the discussion.

“Today’s educational professionals are feeling the ever-increasing pressure of delivering meaningful instruction to students through new and innovative ways. Additionally, the expectation is that these new approaches will result in improved outcomes that foster student success and all at a rapid pace to reach more students,” said Kevin Gosselin, Ph.D., assistant dean for research and evidence-based practice at the Texas A&M College of Nursing. “These challenges leave little time to consider how we teach and develop as educators.”

Maria Northcote, associate professor in the Faculty of Education, Business, and Science Department at Avondale College of Higher Education is an experienced higher education teacher and researcher. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education students in the areas of mathematics education, research methodology and assessment. Maria provides leadership at Avondale in the area of professional development of academic staff focusing on their online teaching skills.

Jack Seddon has worked as a university lecturer and a researcher in online education. During his doctoral studies he investigated the role of reflection in the development of new tertiary teachers’ conceptions of teaching. Using an online tool he developed as part of his study, the Reflective Practice Website, Jack’s study tracked the way new tertiary teachers engaged in reflective practices and the effects this had on their conceptions of teaching.

“Maria Northcote and Jack Seddon’s research focuses on reflection and the professional development of educators with the aim of promoting beneficial outcomes for both educators and the students that they serve,” Gosselin added. “We welcome anyone who is interested to attend.”

Please contact the Texas A&M College of Nursing for more information: 979-436-0132

Lecture times:

Monday, Sept 29
3 – 4 p.m., HPEB LL11A , “The higher education context in Australia” by Maria Northcote
4 – 5 p.m., HPEB LL11A, “Role of reflection in higher education teaching” by Jack Seddon

Tuesday, Sept 30
1 p.m. – 2 p.m., HPEB LL38, “Online and face-to-face professional development: Lessons from facilitating online and face-to-face professional development for teaching staff” by Maria Northcote and Jack Seddon
2:15 pm.- 4:15 pm., HPEB LL38, “Online learning and teaching”

Wednesday, Oct 1
3 – 4 p.m., HPEB LL11A, “Identified threshold concepts in online teaching: Report from a five-year multiphase project” by Maria Northcote and Kevin Gosselin.