Teaching (selection)

My teaching philosophy starts from the premise that all students and myself need to feel known – we need to build networks amongst ourselves first. Once we know each other, students can start to think about what it is they want to learn in the course. Why are they there? Knowledge, skills, networks, having a good time, intellectual growth, are all good reasons to go to uni. Once the learning goals are clear, we design a pathway towards that goal. What do students need to do to get there? What do they need from me and from each other? How can we get that organised?

This semester I teach the following courses in the School of Property, Construction and Project Management at RMIT University:

"100 Memorial Drive apartment building" by chris.rycroft is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Introduction to Property

This course aims to provide a knowledge foundation of the property sector and the skills gained here will assist all students studying in the property, construction, and project management disciplines. With a focus on housing, the course is designed to introduce the various facets of property, such as market forces, legal framework, and urban planning, enabling you to gain insight into how property decisions are made.

The course is designed with the assumption you do not have prior knowledge of this sector. To reinforce the concepts presented, we consider the process, and due diligence an investor would take when acquiring a residential property as an investment asset.

Research Project for Bachelor (Honours) Property

These courses build on Research Methods for the Built Environment. Students further develop and apply their understanding of the research process, including the research methodology, and they expand their knowledge of their research topic, which includes knowledge of the related theories, methodologies and empirical findings.

In the first semester, students fully develop their research topic and draft a research plan, drawing upon published literature. In the second semester students write their full honours thesis for graduation.

Research Data Management, by Janneke Staaks, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Research Data Management, by Janneke Staaks, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0


Research Design and Methods

When I see a large quantitative dataset or interview data, I feel like a child in a sweet shop! The endless possibilities to get answers to all these questions… I want to share my love for data with my students. The backbone of every research project is the research design, without a good design and appropriate methodology the project collapses. At the end of this course, students can write a high quality research proposal which will help them find the answers they are looking for.