Excellence in teaching

The Excellence in Teaching Column which appeared as a regular feature in Campus News last year will now be published as a regular feature in Issues of Teaching and Learning.

The University`s award for Innovation in Teaching recognises new and significant educational approaches being employed on campus. Dr Sue Dyson of the Department of Anatomy and Human Biology received this award in 1995 for redesigning and executing an Investigative Human Biology course to enable third year students to fulfil the community and academic vision of an "educated graduate". Such graduates not only possess discipline-specific knowledge and understanding, but also the capacity to evaluate their own learning, to communicate what they know, the ability to interact with people from different backgrounds and generic problem solving skills (Crebin, 1994).

The Investigative Human Biology Course - the requisite core unit for 3rd year Science students who are majoring in Anatomy and Human Biology - aims to develop such knowledge, values and capabilities. Furthermore, the course seeks to promote student inquiry, enhance interest and actively develop skills in the investigative process. While traditional course units provide information content and analysis, an emphasis is placed in this course on the important role that scientists will take as evaluators and communicators within both the academic and broader community.

Development of the course involved establishment of a set of 9 interlocking modules which enable students to gain professional, investigative and life-long skills. The modules are: Presentation Skills, Information Technology, Experimental Design, Experimental Evaluation, Ethics and the Scientist, Current Topics in Human Biology, Guest Investigator Series, History and Philosophy of Science, and Research Investigations.

These modules incorporate a wide range of student activities including discussions on current and hypothetical issues, collaborative learning situations, group research projects, reflective practice, application of information technology, report writing, development of evaluation criteria and oral presentations. Scholarly input takes various forms, including interaction with professional role models, sessions from outside experts who are able to provide specific skills as well as more traditional lectures and videos. Written resource materials are deliberately maintained as separate handouts to permit regular updating, thus allowing continuous evolution of the course and immediate responsivity to current issues. In some modules, this approach ensures that new material is not viewed until students have had the opportunity to formulate and discuss their own ideas. Assessment is continuous and based on a test of understanding, class and project work, presentations and a final exam. This approach provides guidance, feedback and ongoing motivation for students and academics.

A strength of the course lies in its having a design which focuses on process and principles rather than on subject content. While specific content is used to illustrate and enhance the unit, the design could readily be adapted to other disciplinary areas to achieve the same outcomes.

While Dr Dyson has coordinated this course since 1990, she unhesitatingly acknowledges the significant contributions of Dr Jan Meyer, Dr Nina Jablonski, Associate Professor Neville Bruce, Dr Stuart Bunt, participating students, and Dr Geoff Cooper (Student Support Services), Mr Scott Nicholls - (Biological Sciences Library) and Dr Jane den Hollander and David Hales (Careers Counselling).

• Crebin W and the CAUT project team (1994) "Teaching in higher education for active and lifelong learning".