Narelle has extensive experience in professional and practice-based education both in university and workplace contexts. This experience encompasses work as a clinical educator, workplace learning coordinator, lecturer and program lead and academic advisor around practice-based education pedagogy. Narelle has taught in a range of discipline specific and inter-professional subjects at pre-registration and post graduate levels, as well as in face to face and online modes. At the heart of Narelle’s learning and teaching activities is her desire to assist people (students and academics) to reach their full potential through the development of authentic relationships.

Innovations in teaching

Narelle developed and implemented an innovative photo-elicitation teaching strategy into her post graduate teaching in the Graduate Certificate of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. This strategy enhanced student engagement with and understanding of course content. Narelle facilitated a workshop on the implementation of this strategy at the Higher Education Academy Conference 2017 at Manchester.

Teaching awards

2016 Division of Student Learning Award for Academic and Leadership Excellence (Team Award)

2015 Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy United Kingdom

2015 Division of Student Learning Leadership Award for Excellence in Professional and Practice-Based Education

2005 School of Community Health Excellence in Clinical Education Award

Narelle's research interests include professional practice, professional practice capabilities, practice-based education, workplace learning and development of professional practice capabilities. Narelle is particularly interested in qualitative research methods such as hermeneutics and using creative research and teaching strategies (e.g. visual methods) to develop new understandings and enhance student learning.

Narelle’s doctoral research, which explored the influence of context on physiotherapy students’ clinical learning, has broken new ground in the field of workplace learning. Narelle’s use of photo-elicitation as a text construction strategy has contributed to the field of visual research methodology and provided a spring board for further research deepening understanding of photo-elicitation as a powerful learning and teaching strategy.

Narelle’s current research projects include:

• Ethical experiential learning in health
• Inter-professional assessment of health professional students
• Empowering curriculum transformation amongst higher education teaching staff
• Workplace learning supervisors’ perspectives of preparing allied health students for evidence-based practice

Narelle is also currently supervising several PhD students across a range of areas including:

• the nature of clinical decision making by clinical dietitians in acute care contexts;
• educational dimensions of nurse management;
• enhancing inter-professional education within CSU;
• exploring the nature of relational practices in mental health play therapy;
• resident veterinarians as clinical teachers;
• and nutritional literacy in health professionals.

Refereed Publications

Patton, N., Higgs, J. & Smith, M. (2018) Clinical learning spaces: Crucibles for Practice Development. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 10 January, p.1-11.

Patton, N. & Sutton, K. (2017) Leadership from within: Empowering curriculum transformation amongst higher education teaching staff. Research and Development in Higher Education: Curriculum Transformation (40), 282-291.

Grace, S., Innes, E., Patton, N. & Stockhausen (2017) A systematic review of experiential learning in medicine, nursing and allied health education. Nurse Education Today (51), 23-33.

Grace, S., Innes, E., Stockhausen, L. & Patton, N. (2015). FEELing better: Developing a framework for ethical experiential learning [Abstract]. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 62(Suppl.1), 112.

Patton, N., Higgs, J. & Smith, M (2013) Using theories of learning in workplaces to enhance physiotherapy clinical education. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice (29), 493-503.

Co-Edited Books

Patton, N., Higgs, J. & Smith, M. (2018). Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Higgs, J., Croker, A., Tasker, D., Hummell, J., & Patton, N. (2014) Health Practice Relationships. Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Sense.

Book Chapters

Vo, R., Smith, M., & Patton, N. (in press) Clinical reasoning in dietetics. In J. Higgs, G. Jenson, S. Loftus, & N. Christensen (Eds.), Clinical reasoning in the health professions (pp. xx) Sydney, Elsevier.

Christensen, N. & Patton, N. (in press) Pedagogies for teaching and learning clinical reasoning. In J. Higgs, G. Jenson, S. Loftus, & N. Christensen (Eds.), Clinical reasoning in the health professions (pp. xx) Sydney, Elsevier.

Patton, N., & Higgs, J. (2018). Professional practice. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 3-14). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Higgs, J., & Patton, N. (2018). Professional practice capability. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 15-30). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N. (2018). Using practice and workplace learning theories to enhance clinical learning spaces. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 61-68). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N. (2018). Enacting the study. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 97-112). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N. (2018). Using visual representations to enhance clinical workplace learning. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 113-120). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N. (2018). Clinical learning spaces: Dimensions and character. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 121-134). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N. (2018). A crucible model for understanding learning in clinical workplace spaces. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 135-148). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N., & Smith, M. (2018). Exploring the range of clinical learning spaces. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 151-164). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N., & Kinsella, E. A. (2018). Reflective spaces: Nurturing reflective practice during workplace learning. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 165-172). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N., & Newton, B. (2018). Developing capability for empathic practice. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 183-190). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Jensen, G., & Patton, N. (2018). Developing capability for ethical courage in clinical workplaces. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 191-198). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Lindner, C., & Patton, N. (2018). Being a clinical educator. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 199-210). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N., & Higgs, J. (2018). The crucible model as a tool for student preparation for clinical workplace learning. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 211-222). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N., & Higgs, J. (2018). The crucible model underpinning holistic clinical educator professional development. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 223-234). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N., & Leahy, B. (2018). Transformational learning for capability in the workplace. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 245-256). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N. (2018). Assessing professional practice capabilities. In N. Patton, J. Higgs, & M. Smith (Eds.), Developing practice capability: Transforming workplace learning (pp. 257-269). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Sense.

Patton, N. (2017) Driving change: Students shaping and re-shaping work-integrated learning spaces. In Bowen, T. & Drysdale, M. T. B. (Eds.), Work-integrated Learning in the 21st Century: Global Perspectives on the Future, (163-176) (International Perspectives on Education and Society, V32), Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited.

Patton, N. (2016) Students using story telling for learning to practice together. In A. Croker, J. Higgs, & F. Trede (Eds), Collaborating in Healthcare (pp. 245-252). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N. & Simpson, M.D. (2016) Co-writing discourse through practice and theory. In J. Higgs & F. Trede (Eds), Professional Practice Marginalia (pp. 11-16) Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N. & Fish, D. (2016) Appreciating practice In J. Higgs & F. Trede (Eds), Professional Practice Marginalia (pp. 55-64) Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N. (2016) A praxis perspective: Musings on the works of Kemmis and Wilkinson In J. Higgs & F. Trede (Eds), Professional Practice Marginalia (pp. 37-46) Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Taylor, P. & Patton, N. (2016) Practice communities and practice leaders In J. Higgs & F. Trede (Eds), Professional Practice Marginalia (pp. 213-222) Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N. & Simpson, M.D. (2016) Harmonising discourse through workplace learning In J. Higgs & F. Trede (Eds), Professional Practice Marginalia (233-240) Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Bowles, W., & Patton, N. (2014). Expectations and responsibilities. In J. Higgs, A. Croker, D. Tasker, J. Hummell & N. Patton (Eds.), Health practice relationships (pp. 101-108). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Higgs, J., & Patton, N. (2014). Professional practice. In J. Higgs, A. Croker, D. Tasker, J. Hummell & N. Patton (Eds.), Health practice relationships (pp. 9-16). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N., & Nicholls, D. (2014). Access, agency and abilities. In J. Higgs, A. Croker, D. Tasker, J. Hummell & N. Patton (Eds.), Health practice relationships (pp. 93-100). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N., & Higgs, J. (2014). Implications for health professional education. In J. Higgs, A. Croker, D. Tasker, J. Hummell & N. Patton (Eds.), Health practice relationships (pp. 237-244). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N., Higgs, J., & Smith, M. (2014). Relationships in clinical education. In J. Higgs, A. Croker, D. Tasker, J. Hummell & N. Patton (Eds.), Health practice relationships (pp. 135-142). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Tasker, D., Croker, A., & Patton, N., & Higgs, J. (2014). Health practice and relationships. In J. Higgs, A. Croker, D. Tasker, J. Hummell & N. Patton (Eds.), Health practice relationships (pp. 221-228). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Simpson, M.D., & Patton, N. (2013). Making the most of workplace learning. In S. Loftus, T. Gerzina, J. Higgs, M. Smith & E. Duffy (Eds.), Educating health professionals: Becoming a university teacher (pp.199-210). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Simpson, M.D., Patton, N., Higgs, J., & Swirski, T. (2013). Workplace learning in rural and remote areas: Pursuing innovative approaches. In S. Loftus, T. Gerzina, J. Higgs, M. Smith & E. Duffy (Eds.), Educating health professionals: Becoming a university teacher (pp. 211-222). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N., & Simpson, M. (2012). Giving effective presentations in class. In J. Higgs, R. Ajjawi, L. McAllister, F. Trede & S. Loftus (Eds.), Communicating in the health sciences (3rd ed., pp. 113-120). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.

Simpson, M., & Patton, N. (2012). Leadership in health practice. In J. Higgs, R. Ajjawi, L. McAllister, F. Trede & S. Loftus (Eds.), Communicating in the health sciences (3rd ed., pp. 299-306). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.

Smith, M., Finlay, N., Schultz, D., Patton, N. & Walker, A. (2012). Navigating WPL challenges: Educating placement supervisors. In J Higgs, D. Sheehan, J. Baldry Currens, W. Letts & G.M. Jenson (Eds), Realising exemplary practice-based education (pp. 211-222). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Patton, N., Higgs, J., & Smith, M. (2011). Envisioning Visual Research Strategies. In J. Higgs, A. Titchen, D. Horsfall & D. Bridges (Eds.), Creative spaces for qualitative researching: Living research. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense, pp. 115-124.

Patton, N. Higgs, J., & Smith, M. (2009). Imagining and imaging: creativity in qualitative research. In J. Higgs, D. Horsfall & S. Grace (Eds.), Writing Qualitative Research on Practice (pp. 183-193). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.

Ajjawi, R., & Patton, N. (2009). Physiotherapists as communicators and educators. In J. Higgs, M. Smith, G. Webb, M. Skinner & A. Croker (Eds.), Contexts of Physiotherapy Practice (pp. 231-245). Sydney: Elsevier