Teaching context and philosophy

I am a Lecturer in Health Data Science, convening biostatistics courses in the School of Population Health for both undergraduate (PHCM2002 Biostatistics core course) and postgraduate (PHCM9517 Advanced Biostatistics and Statistical Computing elective course) students. I also mentor higher degree by research (HDR) students with respect to their application of statistical methods.

I remember what it’s like to be a student. New concepts can seem very abstract and difficult to connect when you start out with a context scaffold that is structurally weak. At the same time I know that not all students are like me, they have different motivations and reasons to learn and differ in the ways they like to receive and process new information.

My teaching philosophy considers the student as an individual and takes a student-centred approach. I create equitable learning opportunities across the different modes of delivery offered – face to face, synchronous online and asynchronous online. The challenge is to develop a sustainable teaching practice that meets the students where they are at and scaffolds their learning. I approach this challenge by implementing both small and large changes in the courses I teach through an iterative process of reflection and refinement. I apply the concepts of backward design to align learning outcomes with assessment and learning activities. I apply a learning through assessment approach to all assessable tasks to give students the best possible chance of success. I also practice Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TiLT) so that students understand how the learning activities connect with real-world application of biostatistics.