Teaching and Learning
Our great educators organised the following events for lecturers and students:
- Associate Professor Jenny Hayes in the news with innovative teaching methods
- Dr Amber Willems-Jones and Ms Joanne Russell demonstration of the Smart Sparrow Learning Innovation Summit
- Dr Amber Willems-Jones, Rosa McCarty, Angelina Fong and Angela Wenjing Hu presented a SBS Demonstrator Professional Development workshop
- Tsinghua Winter Camp 26 June - 7 July 2017
Associate Professor Jenny Hayes in the news with innovative teaching methods
Under the headline "Grin and bare it for science", Lucie van den Berg's article on Associate Professor Jenny Hayes unorthodox teaching methods made for interesting reading in the Herald Sun 01 May 2017. This item also appeared on the School's newsfeed (http://biomedicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/news-and-events/grin-and-bare-it-for-science).
Dr Charles Sevigny winner of the 2017 University’s David White Award for Teaching Excellence
Our congratulations to Charles on receiving this award and being selected as the University's nominee for the Australian Awards for Teaching Excellence.
Dr Amber Willems-Jones and Ms Joanne Russell demonstration of the Smart Sparrow Learning Innovation Summit
On July 21, Amber Willems-Jones and Joanne Russell presented a ‘show and tell’ demonstration at the Learning Innovation Summit 2017, showcasing the development of the SBS school-wide scientific writing module and the implementation of the demonstrator training module for grading scientific reports.
The Summit, hosted by Deakin University and Smart Sparrow, focussed on how technological innovations have transformed education: fresh solutions to old problems.
Dr Amber Willems-Jones, Rosa McCarty, Angelina Fong and Angela Wenjing Hu presented a SBS Demonstrator Professional Development workshop
On July 20, Amber Willems-Jones (BCM), Rosa McCarty (P&T), Angelina Fong (PHYS) and Angela Wenjing Hu (BCM) held the first abridged ‘SBS Demonstrator PD’ workshop.
What was included? A 45-min information session covering ‘the role of demonstrator’, an outline of Bloom’s taxonomy, using the Socratic questioning technique and effective strategies to respond to students. Plus a collaborative ‘Jigsaw’ activity discussing the benefits/challenges of six key microskills relevant to teaching.
Who came? 28 demonstrators from three SBS departments: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Physiology, and Pharmacology & Therapeutics
What did the demonstrators think? “I learnt some new ways of approaching scenarios by talking to other demonstrators”; “[I learnt] the interconnectedness of various skills used in teaching”,
“It provided us with tools that I just wasn't aware of so now I can be more effective as a moderator of knowledge”
What next? An extended workshop will be rolled out annually school-wide from 2018.
Tsinghua Winter Camp 26 June - 7 July 2017
Together with the Faculty of Science the school recently ran a winter camp for Tsinghua students funded by the University International Research and Research Training Fund. The school hosted 12 students from Tsinghua University, School of Pharmaceutical Science and School of Medicine. During their two week stay, the students visited facilities in the Parkville precinct and were given presentations that challenged them to consider the health effects of environmental issues and disasters. Their final presentations drew insightful comparisons on the relative importance of bush fires and industrialisation on air quality and lung health, susceptibility to infection and the prevalence of cancer, in Australia and China. The students enjoyed their Great Ocean Road trip and exploring what Melbourne has to offer as they contemplated their further studies, that may involve an M(Res) or PhD degree from the University of Melbourne. Thank you to all staff and students who engaged with the visiting Tsinghua students and helped make their stay a pleasant one.