“Why Integrity, Intention and a Framework for T&L Are Essential for Educators”
Published on Future Campus, the article by A/Prof Angelina Yin Fong (Dept of Anatomy & Physiology), and UniMelb colleagues, emphasises the need to return to the foundational questions of teaching.
Image: A/Prof Angelina Fong, Educator, Teaching & Learning Specialist & Researcher in DAP
In a higher education landscape increasingly shaped by learning outcomes, graduate capabilities, metrics, platforms, and compliance, the foundational questions of teaching can easily fall from view. As the authors A/Prof Angelina Yin Fong and UniMelb colleagues, Dr Nira Rahman and A/Prof Kwang Meng Cham emphasise, we must return to core inquiries of How do we teach? Why do we teach the way we do? And how might we teach and learn better together?
The article highlights the critical role of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). SoTL reframes teaching as scholarly, ethical and relational work. It transforms and "invites educators to examine their practice, attend closely to student experiences, and share insights that strengthen learning beyond individual classrooms."
By approaching teaching through SoTL, educators examine assumptions, attend closely to student experiences, and make deliberate choices that transform everyday classroom decisions into opportunities for insight, connection, and meaningful learning.
Today’s classrooms are increasingly diverse, global, physical and digital spaces and more complex than ever. At the same time, educators are navigating administrative and performance pressures. In these contexts, the authors argue, teaching can become “reactive or procedural driven by efficiency and compliance rather than purpose, care, or connection."
"Engaging with SoTL...teaching is once again aligned with intention and integrity, grounded in both values and evidence," A/Prof Fong and co-authors write.
This article was originally published in Future Campus on 3 February 2026.