Dynamic Learning Environment

The Department of Pathology places enormous emphasis on student engagement and critical thinking when engaging with learning material. As a Casual Academic I am given enormous flexibility in the manner I conduct my lessons with the contigency that all learning outcomes of each topic are addressed. Frequently, our classes are structured in 'Research Teams" where each group is assigned a question and must work cohesively to generate an effective response which they will share with the rest of the class.  I take responsibility for ensuring the students are confident in expressing their ideas,. To achieve this, during their learning time, I will individually address the groups and provide them feedback for their responses before they present to their peers. This helps ensure the students are engaged and develop conviction for the information they are conveying. Students also have the opportunity to make suggestions regarding the information presented by their peers, this is beneficial as each class often has a diverse background of students and giving them a safe and respectful platform to share their ideas can help them integrate their learning and leave their comfort zone. We often use a combination of Microsoft Teams and shared online documents which the students can review following the class to assist them in revising for their assessments. It also gives them time to reflect on how they could expand upon their responses following our scheduled sessions.