Enhancing student engagement through neuroscience outreach and curriculum innovation

I am the NSW State Coordinator of the Australian Brain Bee Challenge (ABBC), a national initiative aimed at inspiring Year 10 students to engage with neuroscience. Each year, approximately 3000 students from around 200 high schools across Australia and New Zealand participate, with around 600 students from 40 NSW schools competing under my coordination. So far, we have had three NSW Champions go on and win the International Brain Bee Challenge. I have led the NSW State competition at UNSW’s School of Biomedical Sciences since 2017, in collaboration with the School of Psychology, FoS, and the Museum of Human Disease. The competition not only promotes neuroscience education but also showcases UNSW’s strengths in neuroscience and psychology. A tangible example of its impact is the 2019 NSW Champion, who chose to study a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) at UNSW, majoring in Neuroscience. In my 2023 NEUR2201 class, this student shared that his decision was directly influenced by the quality of the programs and the enthusiasm of the staff he met during the ABBC. In my Coordinator role, I also collaborate with the other State coordinators, the National coordinator, and Education Perfect (EP) staff. I have led curriculum development on the sensory neuroscience theme, now available to students at both State and National levels. Feedback collected by EP shows that the redesigned learning outcomes, activities, and formative assessments have significantly enhance student engagement and learning. This work reflects my commitment to community outreach, science education and leadership in curriculum innovation, core values that I bring to my teaching practice.