Change One Thing Challenge
The Change One Thing Challenge celebrates the power of small changes.
Do you have a great idea that has improved student learning?
If so, you are invited to participate in the Change One Thing Challenge, inspired by Dalhousie University. This is a low-risk, high-reward opportunity to showcase your innovation and receive a grant for your professional development.
Join us in shaping the future of education—one change at a time.
View the gallery of grant recipients.
“And that is how change happens. One gesture.
One person. One moment at a time.”
— Libba Bray
Applications will open
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What is it?
The Change One Thing Challenge differs from typical seed grants. Instead of starting with an idea and seeking funding, we celebrate the small-scale changes that educators like you have already implemented and that make a difference. It can be anything that enhances student learning or their experience, and that you have developed or implemented in the last two years. Examples could include:
- Collaborative assignments and projects
- Peer feedback models
- Undergraduate research experiences
- Service, community, work, or place-based learning
- Capstone projects
- Experiential or inquiry-based learning
- Technology-enhanced engagement, feedback, or assessment
What are the benefits?
We’ll be giving out 30 grants of $1,000 each in 2025.
Selected submissions receive:
- A grant of $1,000 for conferences or professional learning of your choice, e.g., workshops, online courses, conference fees or subscriptions, etc.
- Recognition on TeachWell Digital. Your idea may be captured as a case study in teaching for others to learn from.
How to apply?
Once available, the application form with ask you to tell us about the rationale, impact, evidence, and inspiration of your idea.
Stay tuned for the next application round!
Applications for 2025 will open in January 2025.
2024 grant recipients
Heartfelt congratulations to our Change One Thing Challenge 2024 award recipients!
Dr Abhinaw Sai Erri Pradeep
Faculty of Engineering
Abhinaw introduced an ‘improvement pledge’ in postgraduate engineering course on research implementation and dissemination, fostering among students personal growth in presentation skills and stakeholder engagement, and culminating in a rich, collaborative discussion board.
Richelle Hewin
BUSINESS SCHOOL
Drawing from Second Language Acquisition techniques, Richelle crafted a novel approach to enhance business communication among her non-native English speakers. Utilising Zoom transcriptions and recordings of her own script presentations, she provided a native English benchmark, enabling students to refine their pronunciation by modelling it after hers, and so bolstering their verbal skills for business proficiency.
Associate Professor David Moreau
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
David spearheaded the creation of dynamic, interactive visualisations to demystify statistical concepts for psychology students. His user-friendly Shiny apps in R, praised for inclusivity and supporting diverse learning styles within a culturally responsive framework, have been adopted in multiple courses.
View David’s profile page
Associate Professor Marian Macken
FACULTY OF CREATIVE ARTS AND INDUSTRIES
Marian has reimagined an undergraduate course on architectural media by incorporating the body as a measure for space. Her innovative full-scale drawing exercises actively involve students’ physical presence, deepening their understanding of spatial concepts and transforming architectural drawing into a dynamic learning process.
Dr Sara Buttsworth
FACULTY OF ARTS
Sara introduced an icebreaker that doubles as a theoretical framework application, engaging students with ‘moral panic’ concepts through collaborative exercises, fostering interactive learning, systematic thinking, and – lots of laughing.
View Sara’s profile page
Dr Sonia Fonua
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
Sonia has revitalised ENVSCI 303, emphasising relational learning and active engagement. Her shift from policy briefs to teamwork and discussion assessments has led to better attendance and student performance, fostering critical thinking in environmental communication within a collaborative learning space.
View Sonia’s profile page
Dr Subeh Chowdhury
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Subeh enhanced the transport curriculum with experiential on-site learning, where students apply design and CPTED principles to improve campus transport safety. This project sharpened their practical skills and teamwork, equipping them for real-world professional practices.
View Subeh’s profile page
Dr Asma Shakil
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
Asma redefined the computer science capstone course by incorporating real-world client projects and a public showcase of developed software, boosting student engagement and employability. The course now emphasizes creative collaboration and industry networking. Additionally, to inspire excellence, high-performing student teams get awarded at the event.
View Asma’s profile page
Dr Thomas Loho
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
In CHEMMAT 121, Thomas introduced ‘Material Matters,’ an assignment that connects theory to daily objects. Students photograph items, analyzing their properties, which fosters active learning and highlights materials science’s everyday relevance.
View Thomas’ profile page
Dr Andrea Kolb
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Andrea’s educational initiative in the Chemical & Materials Engineering program creatively uses Gen-AI for text-to-image transformation, bolstering students’ employability skills. Engaging in psychometric assessments and 3D prototype creation, students enhance their creativity and gear up for real-world engineering challenges, encouraging practical application and ethical AI usage.
Cynthia Orr
FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORK
Cynthia enhanced her Children’s Literature course by integrating Perusall tasks, making discussions graded and interactive. This method increased student engagement with literary theories and texts, and with personalized feedback, it improved dialogue and raised submission scores.
Nikki Chamberlain
AUCKLAND LAW SCHOOL
Nikki refreshed the Law of Family Property class by introducing a practical client consultation exercise, where she role-played the client in 15-minute Zoom sessions. This engaging assessment allowed students to practice legal advising in a realistic setting, enhancing their analytical skills and preparing them for their future careers with a personal touch.
View Nikki’s profile page
Dr Marie-Anne Thelen
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
Marie-Anne crafted an assignment for exchange chemistry students from China, aimed at applying New Zealand’s health and safety standards in practical lab work. This enhances their English language skills, preparing them for their final semester at the University of Auckland and ensuring they are ready for the laboratory environment.
Dr Priyanka Dhopade
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Priyanka enriched her thermofluids lectures with YouTube videos featuring a spectrum of presenters, fostering inclusivity and offering students a variety of role models. This approach not only broadens understanding but also addresses the underrepresentation in engineering, inspiring students of all backgrounds.
Kevin Jia
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Kevin transformed the ENGSCI 263 course by adding a practical PowerBI component, giving students the chance to develop their data visualization abilities through an interactive dashboard project. This has not only improved the course’s logistics optimization project with valuable feedback but has also equipped students with a practical set of skills, increasing their job prospects.
View Kevin’s profile page
Elizabeth Oliphant, Dr Sara Hanning, Dr Trudi Aspen
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
Elizabeth, Sara, and Trudi have enhanced PHARMACY 702 by introducing an interactive session with university and clinical multidisciplinary staff. This collaboration lets students actively participate in medicine administration and nutritional product tasting, deepening their practical understanding of the subject.
View Sara’s profile page
View Trudi’s profile page
See also
Previous award recipients
Page updated 15/05/2024 (minor edit)