Partnering to create resources: 

To encourage dialogue and application to the student’s future profession, I provide opportunities for teams to contribute to the course and their peer’s learning. Students peer teach, review, and develop resources for their cohort. This empowers students to use their conceptual understanding of the discipline and apply this to functional and clinical contexts. The success of this innovative approach on student learning is demonstrated by this reflective journal entry: ‘…This task has put us in the place of the lecturer – we have had to think about how to present our cases so that the class will understand and learn from the case. I am surprised at how much I have learnt by reflecting on our team assignment and class work’ (Student, ANAT2451, 2015). 

Virtual Anatomy Adaptive Tutorials (V-AnATs): 

Cadaveric specimens are one of the best tools for learning anatomy. However, student access to this is limited to their laboratory sessions. To enable more flexible ‘access’ to cadaveric resources, I pioneered the development and use of the SmartSparrow platform for V-AnATs in 2012. In these, I used high-quality cadaveric images (enabling flexible access), and model application of conceptual knowledge and critical thinking through the use of clinical scenarios and problem solving. I also incorporated immediate and individualised feedback that adapts based on a students’ response to questions. As I developed and implemented these online tutorials, I used face-to-face time innovatively for collaborative learning experiences.  For my blended courses, I designed a suite of V‐AnATs that: fully aligns with learning outcomes for each course; and support each of the learning activities. These tutorials are now fully embedded in the courses and form part of the online learning activities and assessment (formative and summative).  These resources are used by colleagues for other UNSW courses  where it has impacted a large number of students in just three years, as well as in courses at Macquarie University, Western Sydney University and University of Queensland.  I have also contributed these to the BEST Network through which they have had more than 60 adoptions globally. 

Online activities help me identify struggling students, and through one‐to-one sessions I help them overcome barriers to learning. Students tell me they highly value this intervention. It is also very effective in ensuring the course achieves a high performance level: ‘I really appreciate that you noticed when I wasn't coping. Your suggestions on how to cope made the biggest difference to me. I would have given up otherwise.’ (in a card from an ANAT3141 student following a meeting I initiated after review of the online engagement and formative assessments, 2014).