Abstract

Student retention remains a critical issue in higher education, ensuring students are supported to complete their studies and thus access skills and knowledge that can have a lifelong transformative impact (Nieuwoudt, 2021; TEQSA, 2020). Recognising that staff development is crucial to student success, this chapter explores the approaches of an academic development team at a regional Australian university with a unique student cohort, in enhancing student experience and retention through focused professional development (PD) workshops and resources for academic staff. The chapter reflects on the opportunities that support teaching staff to use evidence-based strategies to create a culture of best practice quality teaching.

The University of Newcastle (UON) has high proportions of equity and “equity-like” groups that are at higher risk of attrition (Crawford & Emery, 2021; Clarke et al., 2024), including 44.7% who are first-in-family students, 80.9% who have work commitments, and the highest number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students (4.9%) and students with a disability (18.1%) at an Australian University (University of Newcastle, 2024a).

The Education Development (ED) team’s pedagogical approach to academic development is modelled on Miller’s Pyramid (Miller, 1990; Cruess et al., 2016) and aligned to the UON Looking Ahead strategy (University of Newcastle, 2020). The ‘Know/Show/Do/Discover’ Framework prioritises practise and output, and putting knowledge into action. Focusing on retention, the team offers training on group work, belonging in the classroom post-COVID, and inclusivity and accessibility in teaching. Key components of ED’s professional development for educators include evidence-based training sessions, peer collaboration, and ongoing access to digital resources. The chapter also explores how the ‘Know/Show/Do/Discover’ Framework and its initiatives encourage reflective teaching practices and foster a sense of community among educators, promoting continuous learning and improvement.

Through reflective discussion on the approach to enhancing inclusivity through PD, the chapter provides insights into how other universities can replicate this approach, using staff development to create a more supportive (O’Shea et al., 2024, p. 107), accessible, and student-centred learning environment (Kerimbayev et al., 2023) that enhances retention.

Keywords

Academic development, continuing professional development (CPD), inclusivity, retention, reflective teaching, equity

Introduction

A myriad of challenges and developments are shaping the higher education (HE) sector, including generative artificial intelligence, a changing funding landscape, and a clear need to integrate digital delivery with on campus learning experiences in the wake of COVID-19. Students have been significantly impacted by these changes, and student retention is more critical than ever to ensure students are appropriately supported to complete their studies and thus access skills and knowledge that can have a lifelong transformative impact (Nieuwoudt, 2021). This chapter recognises that ongoing professional development of higher education teaching staff is critical to the success of students (Valiandes & Neophytou, 2017). It unpacks and examines the multiple approaches of an academic development team in supporting the professional development of educators, and the demonstrated value of academic development that appears in a variety of forms of evidence (Groen et al., 2023).

The University of Newcastle (UON) is a regional Australian university with high proportions of equity and “equity-like” groups that are at higher risk of attrition (Crawford & Emery, 2021; Clarke et al., 2024, pp. 7–8). Clarke et al. (2024) acknowledge “equity-like groups” as those who may not be officially recognised as disadvantaged by the Australian government, but whose members “face educational disadvantage due to a variety of factors, such as family background, socioeconomic status and/or personal circumstances” (p. 7). Almost half of UON undergraduate students are first-in-family (44.7%) and do not have familial support or context around university life or expectations. Research from O’Shea (2016, 2019) reveals first-generation university students (those whose parents did not attend higher education) often struggle to adapt to university due to a lack of familial experience and guidance. These students face challenges such as limited understanding of academic processes, unfamiliar institutional language, and an absence of knowledgeable support from their family about navigating university life. Without prior family connections to higher education, they can feel less prepared and more overwhelmed by the academic environment and its expectations.

Furthermore, almost a third (31.7%) of UON students have a mental illness or chronic health issue, and a significant proportion (18.1%) have identified with a disability (University of Newcastle, 2024a, p. 4). UON is first in NSW for social equity (University of Newcastle, 2025) and has multiple campus locations including Newcastle city, Callaghan, Central Coast, Port Macquarie, Sydney City, and Singapore. It is a university that proudly supports a significant proportion of students from low socioeconomic status (23.8%) (University of Newcastle, 2024a, p. 4) and Indigenous backgrounds (4.9%), (University of Newcastle, 2024a, p. 4). A high proportion (80.9%) have work commitments, approximately a third (33.1%) have community commitments, and 8.9% have family commitments, all of which are external factors that may impact their study. Further, 58.6% of UON commencing students are non-school leavers (University of Newcastle, 2024a, p. 4), meaning they are not entering university study immediately after completing secondary education.

Given all these contextual elements for UON, proactive support through focused professional development (PD) workshops and resources for teaching academic staff is particularly crucial for student retention, and for enhancing the student experience at UON. The UON Student Success Strategy (University of Newcastle, 2024a) notes that “the University is a sector leader in providing pathways to higher education for students from diverse backgrounds. Many of our students come to the University with competing priorities including work, family, and community responsibilities and require flexible access to support” (p. 1). To effectively support all students at UON and respond to the potential barriers many UON students may face, the academic development team at UON, called the Education Development (ED) team, integrates an understanding of who our students are into all forms of professional development for the benefit of student engagement, enhancing pedagogy, and retention. This approach recognises the ‘average’ UON student does not fit the ‘average’ profile of students at many other institutions across Australia. By embedding an action-based retention focus into professional development, as well as targeted retention workshops and resources, the ED team enables UON teaching staff to enhance, support, and enable student success and retention across the university.

The changing context of educator needs also requires consideration. As HE moves away from a traditional didactic model, educators must be far more self-reflective and consider how to ensure students are engaged and thus more likely to continue their university education. However, staff can be resistant to this change, and as such the professional development that educators engage with must be cognisant and supportive of this context to enhance staff uptake. This chapter engages in a reflective discussion on the various approaches taken to enhancing inclusivity through professional development, including retention-focused and enabled workshops; digital resources; online training modules; early-career development programs; and supporting a community of practice. We discuss how the ED team at UON is using teaching staff development opportunities to create a more supportive, accessible, and student-centred learning environment, one that enhances retention (O’Shea et al., 2024). The approach taken to PD also benefits the staff educator experience and considers how to increase staff receptivity to new dimensions of the student experience. The chapter offers insights on how other universities may replicate this approach.

Academic development and student success

Several key connections between academic development and student success can be found in recent research. Clinkenbeard and Ultan (2024) found that teaching staff need “ongoing support and education to effectively implement active learning strategies that address issues such as equitable participation, to ensure all students meet their learning objectives” (p. 374). Their research emphasises that academic development for student success is most effective when the PD supports an inclusive and student-centred approach to teaching and learning (Clinkenbeard & Ultan, 2024). Their work in mathematics and statistics courses demonstrated an increase in student participation and in success rates. Similarly, Ambon et al. (2024) stress the holistic value of continuing professional development (CPD) in education for staff and students, arguing

it is impossible to overstate the importance of CPD in the field of education. It acts as a catalyst for the development of an innovative and continuous improvement culture in teaching practices, in addition to being a means of keeping teacher expertise and skills up to date. Participating in CPD makes teachers more capable of putting evidence-based practices into practice, adapting to shifting learning environments, and successfully meeting the requirements of students from various backgrounds. As a result, CPD plays a critical role in fostering teacher self-efficacy, work satisfaction, and ultimately academic success for students. (pp. 3838–9)

Reporting on their exploratory analyses using observation data of classrooms, Park and Xu (2022) revealed

a positive association between ALPD [Active Learning Professional Development] and active learning teaching practices, providing suggestive evidence that the impact on students’ outcomes may be driven by instructors’ implementation of active learning approaches. Indeed, the magnitude of the effect on field persistence estimated in the present study corresponds to other studies that examined the relationship between active learning opportunities and downstream persistence outcomes. (p. 59)

There is ever-growing pressure on academic developers to provide evidence of the effectiveness of their work and demonstrate that investment into educational development is valuable to staff and students. This chapter adds to research that aims to establish connections between faculty participation in academic development programs, subsequent changes in teaching approaches, and enhanced student learning outcomes (Condon et al., 2016).

Education Development

The Learning Design and Teaching Innovation (LDTI) ED team is currently comprised of four staff (a Manager, a Lead role, an Awards and Programs role, and an Officer). The team has been in place at UON since late 2021. The ED team offers professional development opportunities for educators in teaching and learning, supporting academic teaching staff to provide innovative and engaging learning experiences in a changing and complex learning environment. This support includes offering workshops, consultations, training, and resources on all aspects of teaching and learning skill enhancement, including pedagogical and curriculum development.

ED’s pedagogical approach to professional development is modelled on Miller’s Pyramid (Miller, 1990). The ‘Know/Show/Do/Discover’ Framework (see Figure 19.1) prioritises practise and output, putting knowledge into action. Originally designed as a competency framework for assessment in medical education, Miller’s Pyramid has been extended to provide a structured, supported approach to acquiring and demonstrating knowledge that has been widely adopted outside of medicine (Cruess et al., 2016).

In adapting Miller’s Pyramid, the ED team understands the necessity of complex and varied approaches to learning and informal assessment of skills and knowledge acquisition. The original Miller’s Pyramid recommends a pyramid structure, with lower levels of “Knows,” “Knows How,” leading to “Shows How,” and “Does” (Miller, 1990, p. 563) (or, as others have suggested, “Is” [Cruess et al., 2016]). The ED team utilises an adapted version of this structure in their approach to PD, through a variety of self-directed, participant-based, passive, and active forms of PD such as resources and workshops. ‘Know’, or understanding ideas and concepts, asks staff to demonstrate foundational knowledge of a subject. This is largely enacted as either a preliminary step before further engagement and development through active learning, such as pre-workshop learning including videos or readings, or as resources for staff to engage with as needed. ‘Show’ includes the application of that knowledge, where participants will actively engage in or otherwise demonstrate the skill or knowledge – for instance, by reviewing and discussing assessment rubrics during a workshop after initial guidance and progression from the knowledge acquisition stage of ‘Know’, where they are introduced to theory and best practice in rubric design. ‘Do’ extends this work into practical application and integration into real-world practice by incorporating it into the curriculum, classroom, or teaching practice. This may entail immediate application, or developing a plan to integrate the work, potentially with additional support from the LDTI unit, engaging and applying the incorporation of CPD where necessary. ‘Discover’, as seen in Figure 19.1, is pictured as running alongside the full range of the pyramid, indicating its intersectional nature. ‘Discover’ encompasses self-directed resources and training modules that may span the breadth of ‘Know-Do’, and asks participants to engage actively in their own learning in a time and capacity that suits them. Depending on the needs of staff and the specific area of PD addressed, the PD may remain in 1–2 levels of the adapted framework, or staff may progress between 3–4 as required. The Know/Show/Do/Discover Framework also facilitates community-building and peer support, as staff are afforded opportunities for collaborative learning and sharing of experiences, successes, and challenges.

The ED team also provide ongoing support for a community of practice (CoP) focused on teaching and learning, the Educator Network (tEN). tEN has over 600 members, almost a quarter of current full-time equivalent staff supporting enrolled students. The team supports and runs twice-yearly Educator Network Showcases for teaching staff to demonstrate and discuss pedagogy and practice with the CoP. The ED team and tEN acknowledge the value of peer networks (Liebech-Lien, 2020), recognising that educators often learn best from one another, and that a supportive community can drive innovation and excellence in ways that isolated professional development cannot. As such the work the ED team does via tEN emphasises a holistic approach to professional development, for the benefit of staff, students, and retention. The ED team builds all PD opportunities from a foundation of equity and inclusivity (Schleicher, 2014), prioritising inclusive pedagogies to ensure that the benefits of improved teaching practices enhance the teaching and learning experience of all students. The ED team’s work and tEN’s principles are also closely aligned with UON’s strategic goals and the specific needs of the student demographic to ensure that activities are not just theoretically sound but practically relevant and impactful for staff and students within the unique context of UON.

Staff engagement and resistance

Academic teaching staff may be resistant to shifts in the HE landscape that necessitate a change to their pedagogical approach and delivery (McCrickerd, 2012). To address issues around student retention, staff must recognise the changing context in HE and students’ needs, and the consistent results of internal student surveys indicating students would like more active engagement in class, and clearer information around assessment and course work. Self-reflective development is critical to facilitate a teaching and learning environment that enables student success, and as such, educators need to be willing to actively engage in this process.

Similarly, academic staff may approach professional development with trepidation. Engaging in professional development can include acknowledging a vulnerability in the need for upskilling or increasing knowledge, which can challenge the cultural expectations of the ‘expert’ in the university environment. Additionally, McCrickerd suggests staff may regard teaching as an innate skill, hypothesising that “faculty members who view teaching ability as a gift or talent are unlikely to alter practice for fear of reaching the limit of their gift or talent” (2012, p. 57).

Bearing this context in mind, the ED team aims to create an environment that supports teaching staff as learners. The ED team recognises the value educators bring to collaborative professional development, acknowledging their rich and diverse experiences and encouraging collaborative dialogue and peer mentorship. The team encourages staff to potentially step out of their comfort zone and effectively take risks in enhancing their teaching and learning practice through professional development – to experiment, reflect, reiterate, and report back to their peers on their failures, challenges, and successes. This approach counters the “psychologically easier path of not changing” (McCrickerd, 2012, p. 57), encouraging staff to see themselves as they do their learners: on a journey of continual development. In considering the vulnerability of the learning experience, which may not always be a linear pathway of progression, the team adopts McCrickerd’s recommendation to “support each individual—support that does not depend on the individual’s continual success and, in fact, which embraces failures that are the result of considered risk taking” (2012, p. 57).

Education Development and retention

ED adopts a holistic approach with targeted professional development to upskill and support teaching staff to enhance inclusivity and retention. By incorporating consideration and awareness of UON’s specific student cohort, and discussion around retention, ED reminds teaching staff that retention is not restricted to one aspect of their professional development and teaching practice, but rather pertains to all components of the teaching and learning experience. The ED team purposefully introduces these aspects for new teaching staff from their first engagement with UON. New academic staff (with a contract over one year) are required to attend a teacher welcome program called the ‘New Faculty Orientation’ (NFO) upon commencement. NFO is run twice yearly by the ED team; this enables staff who commence during the year to also receive the training in a timely fashion. NFO is run over three half days; the sessions include topics such as active learning and engagement, understanding students at UON, an introduction to the Indigenous education unit (the Wollotuka Institute), and an introduction to pedagogical theories and approaches in higher education, among others. Staff explore the unique demographics of UON students, the challenges and successes they experience, and strategies and skills to support them. These sessions employ a strengths-based approach, avoiding deficit-based languages or approaches, and instead recognising the systemic barriers that can exist in higher education, and privileging the unique experiences and perspectives students bring to the classroom.

The ED team integrates discussion and modelling of pedagogically sound retention strategies and inclusivity across all workshops. While the team facilitates specific retention-focused workshops and resources, they ensure it is not presented in isolation, but rather it is approached holistically. This approach recognises there is no ‘simple or easy fix’ to the retention issues commonly encountered at universities. Instead, the approach enables a mindset shift for staff, which is then strengthened by further ongoing PD. One aspect of this approach is enacted through the purposeful design of inclusive PD. This has the twofold benefit of ensuring inclusive spaces for PD for teaching staff, as well as modelling inclusive practices for teaching and learning to support learners. The ED team has incorporated inclusive support mechanisms into workshops, including: sensory toys; always offering simultaneous online and face-to-face options for live sessions, which are then recorded and distributed; and a range of delivery options, such as live or asynchronous sessions, videos, audio recordings, and written resources. When registering for sessions, staff are provided with the option to register any additional accessibility requirements, which are promptly actioned. Additionally, ED emphasises the student voice and experience, exploring what students want and need, and encouraging staff to be adaptive to challenging new environments to ensure inclusivity in the classroom. This focus on inclusive practice in education has included collaborations with the Pathways and Academic Learning Support centre (PALS) to design and deliver a workshop and resources on inclusive practice in teaching; these resources have been developed into an interactive online module for staff which is designed with UDL principles, and is self-paced and self-enrollable.

Student engagement and active learning are highlighted as a central component to supporting student retention. Burke writes: “the literature is clear that student engagement during the higher education experience leads to higher student retention rates and increased institutional commitment” (2019, p. 12). As such, workshops on active learning, and reflective practice in active learning directly address retention strategies. ED regularly designs ‘Show’ and ‘Do’ sessions that incorporate active learning for participants, ensuring a balanced variety of learning modes and opportunities for reflection and action, modelling best practice. The ED team highlights reflective teaching practices as a contributor to supporting and enhancing retention (Hempel et al., 2020), modelling best practice and incorporating opportunities for scaffolded reflection into workshops; they also facilitate specific workshops and resources on reflective teaching practice and reflective practice in active learning.

Targeted retention-based workshops include ‘Strategies for Retention’. This workshop, run multiple times in the lead up to the student census date (when risk of attrition spikes) in order to capture as many staff as possible, is adapted as needed, and has been delivered as institution-wide workshops, and tailored or discipline-specific workshops that are cognisant of the unique UON student cohort. They have also been adapted as appropriate to the staff’s level of experience, recognising that the possible actions and responsibilities in relation to retention differs between course coordinators and tutors new to teaching – but emphasising that anyone, regardless of role or level of experience, can contribute to a supportive student learning environment that enhances retention. The foundational retention session details retention strategies for teaching staff. It provides a background to the importance of student retention, a framework of key themes in student retention with related teaching strategies, and an overview of relevant analytics and student communications tools in Canvas and Panopto. Given the focus on both pedagogy and educational technology in the virtual learning environment, the session – generally one hour in runtime – is cofacilitated by a member of the ED team and a member of the Learning Technology Support team, also from the LDTI unit.

The ED team has also created a suite of resources to support staff in understanding and applying strategies for student retention. These address the foundations and key principles of retention, such as enhancing belonging, minimising workload stress, intellectual engagement, and feeling supported (Naylor et al., 2018). TEQSA have identified examples of good practice in retention as creating “a sense of connectedness to the institution at which they [students] are studying and how well different student backgrounds are catered for” (TEQSA, 2020, p. 7).

Resources created and maintained by the ED team also include templates for a variety of emails to contact students, and a timeline that highlights ‘pain points’ in a semester or trimester where students are at increased risk of attrition. The suite of resources includes dedicated guides for all modes of teaching delivery to address the differences in student experiences and needs across teaching modes. These forms of PD led to a collaboration with a university-wide retention strategy and initiatives, the Student Success Strategy and associated Student Retention Plan. The team consulted with multiple teams across the institution to ensure approaches were aligned and have been invited to deliver retention sessions to targeted groups of educators across the university to increase impact.

The ED team also incorporate PD on retention in asynchronous learning, such as in several online learning modules, ‘Training for Tutors and Demonstrators’, ‘Teaching Online and Blended at UON’, as well as the ‘Academic Career Preparation Pathway’ (a scholarship programme developing postgraduate students for academic careers). All these PD opportunities have been developed by the ED team with embedded retention strategies. The purpose of the Teaching Online and Blended at UON training module is to upskill all staff in online and digital pedagogies, introduce and enhance online and blended teaching, and ensure students have the option of high-quality and engaging online learning, reflecting a UON cohort that benefits from and has indicated a desire for flexible online study options. Online students are at higher risk of attrition (Stone, 2017) and staff face additional challenges in identifying students at risk due to the potential for isolation (Stone, 2017) in online or blended learning, particularly if asynchronous. As such, the ED team ensured the professional development delivered in the module addressed strategies for retention, with a focus on actively enhancing belonging, minimising workload stress, building in teacher presence, intellectual engagement, and feeling supported in an online or blended learning environment, detailed by Naylor et al. (2018) as the four most common reasons that impact retention. They also ensured the training is contextualised for the unique and diverse UON student cohort.

The holistic approach the ED takes to professional development is similarly evidenced in the module ‘Training for Tutors and Demonstrators’. This recently designed module supports and offers resources to a different but still potentially vulnerable cohort, sessional teaching staff. This group of educators are often new to teaching in higher education. Therefore, the ED team have considered what actions are possible, or appropriate, for tutors and demonstrators, who often have the most immediate or direct interactions with students yet may not have the authority to make larger decisions around course design and delivery. The training module reinforces points of connection for staff, introducing them to support services across the university, and emphasising that retention and student support is a collaborative, cross-institutional effort. This affirms to sessional staff that they play an important and valued role in student engagement, support, and retention, while ensuring they do not feel unintentional pressure to support students beyond their remit.

Another asynchronous PD learning opportunity the ED team offers (via an institutional scholarship) is the Academic Career Preparation (ACP) pathway. The ACP pathway is an academic training opportunity taken in conjunction with a PhD. Admission is via a competitive process and is only open to the PhD candidates who have already been successful in acquiring an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (University of Newcastle, 2024b). Given the focus on a demographic at the start of their academic careers – who, as part of the program, engage in 100 hours of teaching practice – it is imperative to embed an understanding of the value of retention, and pedagogical strategies to support student retention. The ED team has emphasised retention strategies in modules addressing active learning, student support, and small and large group learning, through learning activities, assessment tasks, general content, and reflective practice. They have integrated inclusive practice through a diversity of learning materials, and a focus on reflection in teaching that encourages participants to consider their own experiences and ideologies and the broader student cohort.

Education Development, professional development, and tEN

The ED team’s support and integration of retention strategies into professional development at UON extends to the work enacted with the Educator Network (tEN). tEN is UON institution-wide teaching and learning community of practice. By supporting the work of tEN, the ED team is able to expand its reach and impact on retention. Pivotal support of tEN by the ED team includes the scheduling, booking, and running of the bi-annual teaching and learning showcases. tEN showcase themes are reflective of contemporary HE issues covering topics such as: inclusivity, retention, communities of practice, scholarship of teaching and learning, student experience, and assessment and feedback.

Educator engagement with tEN demonstrates their interest and willingness to participate in collaborative opportunities for PD. During showcases and other tEN events, educators and professional staff such as learning designers (LDs) share their experiences and experiments in teaching and learning, presented in a manner to both gather feedback from other educators and staff across the institution, and share knowledge. This is largely presented under an ‘in progress’ lens, as staff share challenges in teaching and learning, and potential strategies to overcome these. The nature of these events encourages continual engagement in the reflective process for presenters and learners through ongoing dialogue and discussions. By attending, staff aim to learn from their peers and share new, innovative developments for best practice.

The ED team also supports tEN in facilitating a partnership with Advance Higher Education (AHE) to enable staff to apply for fellowships and recognition through AHE as part of their CPD. AHE fellowship “demonstrates a commitment to professionalism and provides recognition of practice, impact and leadership in teaching and learning” (Advance HE, 2025, n.p.), with applicants preparing a reflective account of practice exploring how they have met the UK Professional Standards Framework (2023) criteria. Criteria focus on core aspects that relate to retention, including “respect individual learners and diverse groups of learners”; “promote engagement in learning and equity of opportunity for all to reach their potential”; and “support and guide learners” (Advance HE, 2023, p. 5). The ED team utilises the framework when designing professional development, aligning their practice, as well as supporting staff to apply for fellowships and adopt the framework in their teaching and learning. AHE is another example of the ED team’s emphasis on inclusivity, reflective practice, and community, understanding that these components contribute to student retention (TEQSA, 2020). The ED team facilitates workshops, resources, writing circles, and community building activities for existing and potential fellows, supporting them throughout the application journey. The ED team consults with applicants and reviews draft applications, providing supportive feedback to enable staff to submit applications, with, to date, over 80 successful fellows across all levels of fellowship. The team finds multiple benefits in this process – not only the recognition for staff on their work, but the opportunity to actively engage in reflection on teaching, and how they are supporting students to reach their potential in higher education. The ED team run AHE community events which encourage staff to share their experiences and strategies for enhancing and supporting teaching and learning at UON, with existing fellows encouraged to adopt mentorship roles for potential applicants.

Impact and reflection

The ED team engages with a number of measures of impact to determine the success of initiatives, but also to gauge where the team can improve on the professional development opportunities available for all staff at the institution. One measure is post-engagement surveys. The team offers a short eight-question survey to all staff that attend their workshops and sessions. Feedback on the retention sessions the ED team runs has been overwhelmingly positive. 92% of participants either agree or strongly agree that the session was relevant to their needs, 92% felt the session was informative and engaging, and 87% indicated the session provided them with knowledge or tools they can apply in their teaching practice. In written feedback to an open response question, participants praised the retention sessions for being concise, informative, and holistic in their coverage of retention, and explanation of retention’s importance, impacts, and mitigation strategies for staff. They commented on the value of the practical demonstrations of LMS analytics tools, timeline features, and the draft email templates provided. The interactive nature of the session was also appreciated, with participants indicating they enjoyed the ample opportunities to ask questions and receive clear guidance. Attendees highlighted the value of learning how to access student engagement data to identify and proactively support students who may need additional assistance.

Another metric of impact is the number of participants engaging in workshops and enrolments, and completions of the online modules. The number of participants engaging with the ED workshops has grown in the past four years with over 4000 attendees engaging with ED workshops. The team has also expanded the number and types of sessions available each year: for example, the retention workshop has expanded and compressed versions. For the online learning modules designed and delivered by the ED team, 113 participants completed all ACP pathway modules over the past four years (2020-2024). This is significant as the ACP pathway participants often have minimal teaching experience, and as Bruck et al. have shown, “teaching of first year students is often managed by the least experienced academics, this transitional year is likely to be critical for both the short term retention of students and the longer term establishment of students’ core attitudinal orientations to learning” (2001, p. 80).

An additional indicator of impact is the unsolicited feedback from UON staff that the ED team often receives. Recently the team were emailed by a staff member who had been supported through their AHE fellowship application. This feedback included very supportive statements about their experience with the ED team. They were delighted with the recognition of an AHE fellowship and also commented that, because the process was very constructive, they learnt a lot during the application preparation, which they believe will pay forward into their future teaching, and their students’ learning.

TEQSA detail in their Good Practice Note: Improving retention and completion of students in Australian higher education,

depending on a student’s background, preparedness, and personality, higher education study can be especially stressful and alienating. Strayhorn (2018) emphasises that a ‘sense of belonging’ or connectedness, with its reliance on reciprocal relationships, is a basic human need which is central to success in higher education and can be both protective and motivating. (2020, p. 23)

The ED team framework and its initiatives encourage reflective teaching practices and foster a sense of community among educators, promoting continuous learning and improvement.

As Bruck et al. and others note, “positive learning environments have been demonstrated to enhance student satisfaction, engagement with learning, and academic achievement” (Bruck et al., 2001, p. 79). The initiatives outlined in this chapter reveal how staff development has been used to create a more supportive, accessible, and student-centred learning environment to enhance retention at UON (O’Shea et al., 2024).

Awards are another clear measure of impact. In 2024 and 2025 the ED team were one of the finalists for the internationally recognised CAULLT Academic Development Award, which acknowledges outstanding academic development practices across Australasia that support principles of good teaching and learning, and demonstrate innovation and clear impact on educators. The ED team was also the UON Academic Division Excellence Awards Winner for Learning and Teaching Impact in 2024.

Not all staff are enabled or willing to engage in professional development; as McCrickerd notes, “much of the literature discussing faculty development and faculty members’ willingness to improve teaching practices notes faculty members either ‘resisting’ or ‘lacking motivation to’ change” (2012, p. 56). In NSW, Australia there is a New South Wales Education Standards Authority requirement to complete 100 hours of CPD per year to remain accredited as a practicing Primary or Secondary school teacher. However, there is no such equivalent for higher education teachers, and often HE educators do not foresee a potential gain from completing further PD after the first few years of teaching. The potential resistance or ambivalence towards PD by staff was highlighted by an educator at UON attending the first of their required NFO sessions, who shared:

I just wanted to say that yesterday’s session was great […] I wasn’t expecting much since I’ve been teaching for many years, but I actually found it very informative. I picked up some new ‘tricks’ to help keep my students engaged. It was also valuable to hear different perspectives and experiences from staff across various disciplines. I also learned about some of the support tools offered by the LDTI team, which I wasn’t aware of before. Looking forward to tomorrow’s session! (Personal correspondence, 2025)

This positive reflection highlights the personal and professional growth the ED team enables through tailored PD.

The authors wish to note that the relationship between academic development and student success is not strictly linear. Much of the work in academic development that contributes to enhancing student retention is scaffolded, and, oftentimes, invisible. We acknowledge that student success is also influenced by the virtual learning environments and the institutional support systems available; these combine with how academic development translates to student success. Effective educational approaches to academic development recognise that it is most impactful when integrated with other contextual elements within the higher education setting.

Conclusion

Student retention remains critical across all higher education. This chapter explores how the ED team, a small academic development team (3.5 FTE) at a regional Australian university, enhances student retention through targeted professional development for teaching staff. The holistic approach with targeted professional development to upskill and support staff focuses on enhancing inclusivity and improving retention to serve diverse equity groups at risk of attrition. The Education Development team’s approach in engaging the ‘Know/Show/Do/Discover’ Framework (adapted from Miller’s Pyramid) and aligning with university strategies, enables success and creates professional development opportunities that prioritise putting knowledge into action. The professional development offered by the ED team focuses on enhancing inclusivity and improving accessibility in teaching to support and enhance retention for all students at the University of Newcastle. Key components include evidence-based training sessions, peer collaboration, and digital resource access. The framework encourages reflective teaching practices and fosters community among educators, promoting continuous improvement. Through reflective discussion, this chapter offers insights for other universities seeking to replicate this approach, using staff development to create supportive, accessible professional learning that enhances student retention and success. The authors hope other institutions can also implement some, or all, of the strategies outlined in this chapter, and adapt them to their student cohort to ensure greater outreach of the impact of higher education, ensuring students complete studies that can transform their lives, and support them as lifelong learners.

References

Advance HE. (2025). Recognition for your teaching excellence. https://advance-he.ac.uk/teaching-learning/recognition-your-teaching-excellence

Advance HE. (2023, January 31). Professional standards framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education 2023. https://advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/professional-standards-framework-teaching-and-supporting-learning-higher-education-0

Ambon, J., Alias, B., Komariah, A., & Mansor, A. (2024). The impact of continuous professional development on teaching quality: A systematic review. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education. 13(6), 3838–3847. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v13i6.30427

Bruck, D., Hallett, R., Hood, B., Macdonald, I., & Moore, S. (2001). Enhancing student satisfaction in higher education: The creation of staff teaching communities. Australian Educational Researcher, 28(2), 78–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03549792

Burke, A. (2019). Student retention models in higher education: A literature review. College and University, 94(2), 12–21.

Clarke, S. L., Frawley J. K., Kalman, E., Denham, R., Miller, B., Martin, R., Bridgeman, A. J., O’Shea, S., & Liu, D.Y.T. (2024). Green Guide: Enhancing the learning experiences of students from equity backgrounds. The University of Sydney. https://doi.org/10.25910/cdd2-ef89

Clinkenbeard, J., & Ultan, S. (2024). Increasing student success in mathematics and statistics through sustainable faculty professional development. International Journal of Studies in Education and Science, 5(4), 374–389. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijses.105

Condon, W., Iverson, E. R., Manduca, C. A., Rutz, C., Willett, G., Huber, M. T., & Haswell, R. (2016). Faculty development and student learning: Assessing the connections. Indiana University Press. https://doi.org/10.2979/11127.0

Crawford, N., & Emery, S. (2021). “Shining a light” on mature-aged students in, and from, regional and remote Australia. Student Success. 12(2), 18–27. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.1919

Cruess R. L., Cruess S. R., & Steinert Y. (2016). Amending Miller’s Pyramid to include professional identity formation. Academic Medicine, 91(2),180 –5. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000913

Groen, J., Hoessler, C., Ives, C., Bamber, V., Laverty, C., & Kolomitro, K. (2023). Evidencing the value of educational development: Charting a course on the waves and winds of change. To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, 42(2), 3. https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.1715

Hempel, B., Kiehlbaugh, K., & Blowers, P. (2020). Scalable and practical teaching practices faculty can deploy to increase retention: A faculty cookbook for increasing student success. Education for Chemical Engineers, 33, 45–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2020.07.004.

Kerimbayev, N., Umirzakova, Z., Shadiev, R., & Jotsov, V. (2023). A student-centered approach using modern technologies in distance learning: A systematic review of the literature. Smart Learning Environments, 10, Article 61. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-023-00280-8

Liebech-Lien, B. (2023). Developing a community of practice for teachers’ learning and implementation of cooperative learning. In R. M. Gillies, B. Millis, & N. Davidson (Eds.), Contemporary global perspectives on cooperative learning: Applications across educational contexts, (pp. 170–181). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003268192-16

McCrickerd, J. (2012). Understanding and reducing faculty reluctance to improve teaching. College Teaching, 60(2), 56–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2011.633287

Miller, G. E. (1990). The assessment of clinical skills/competence/performance. Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 65(9). https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-199009000-00045

Naylor, R., Baik, C., & Arkoudis, S. (2018). Identifying attrition risk based on the first year experience. Higher Education Research and Development, 37(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1370438

Nieuwoudt, J. E. (2021). Psychological distress among students in enabling education: An exploratory study. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 61(1), 6–25.

O’Shea, S. (2016). Supporting and engaging students who are the first in their families to attend university: A practise paper. The All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 8(2), 289-1–289-15. https://doi.org/10.62707/aishej.v8i2.289

O’Shea, S. (2019). ‘Mind the Gap!’ Exploring the post-graduation outcomes and employment mobility of individuals who are first in their family to complete a university degree. Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success. https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/sarah-oshea-research-fellowshipliterature-review/

O’Shea, S., May, J., Stone, C., & Delahunty, J. (2024). First-in-family students, university experience and family Life: Motivations, transitions and participation. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34451-0

Park, E. S., & Xu, D. (2022). The effect of active learning professional development training on college students’ academic outcomes. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 17(1), 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2022.2151954

Schleicher, A. (2014). Equity, excellence and inclusiveness in education: Policy lessons from around the world. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264214033-en

Stone, C. (2017). Opportunity through online learning: Improving student access, participant and success in higher education. NCSEHE and The University of Newcastle. CathyStone_EQUITY-FELLOWSHIP-FINAL-REPORT-1.pdf

Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). (2020). Good Practice Note: Improving retention and completion of students in Australian higher education. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. https://www.teqsa.gov.au/guides-resources/retention

University of Newcastle. (n.d.). Learning Design and Teaching Innovation. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/current-staff/teaching-and-research/teaching-resources/ldti/education-development

University of Newcastle. (2020). Looking Ahead Strategy: The University of Newcastle Strategic Plan. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/our-uni/strategic-plan

University of Newcastle. (2024a). Student Success Strategy 2024/2025. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/771015/Student-Success-Strategy.pdf

University of Newcastle. (2024b). Guidelines: Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarships – Academic Pathway Scheme. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/942332/Guidelines-APS.pdf

University of Newcastle. (2025). Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/our-uni/equity-diversity-inclusion

Valiandes, S., & Neophytou, L. (2017). Teachers’ professional development for differentiated instruction in mixed-ability classrooms: Investigating the impact of a development program on teachers’ professional learning and on students’ achievement. Teacher Development, 22(1), 123–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2017.1338196