The BioSciences Educator Blog – BRITE Ideas

Dr Emile van Lieshout, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne Have you ever cheated on a test? I did once in high school and was caught by my patrolling physics teacher. Why did I cheat? Characteristically, I had left studying until too late and couldn’t suffer the indignity of a mark that reflected that. […]

Oliver Thomas, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne The increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) generated essays in tertiary education is a cause for concern. These essays are often of a poor quality and can contain plagiarism. AI generated essays also have the potential to be used for contract cheating, which is a serious […]

Jen Martin, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne Have you ever felt like a fraud? That you don’t belong? That you aren’t experienced or smart enough to be doing what you’re doing? Join the club! Feeling like a phoney To others you come across as confident, accomplished and kicking lots of goals. But on […]

Dr Rebecca Hull, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne Field trips represent the pinnacle of learning for budding field scientists. Students keenly await learning experiences outdoors, where they can apply knowledge and skills acquired from lectures and laboratory-based learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many educators to rapidly redesign the hands-on or field components […]

Dr Hayley Bugeja, (edited by Dr Daniel Andrews) School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne What is the value of an exam? Does this value remain if run in an online setting? Even without considering the move to online exams, it’s time to question what purpose exams serve in today’s digital world, where information is […]

Dr Daniel Czech, (edited by Dr Daniel Andrews) School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne In a world where we’re increasingly reliant on digital tools in higher education, is the one we rely on most fit for purpose? Perhaps it’s time to supplement the student-facing learning management system (LMS) with an equivalent teacher-facing system, to […]

Dr Jennifer Fox , (edited by Dr Daniel Andrews) School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne The deadline has passed. Your students have submitted their assignments – many of them only minutes before the cut-off! As you begin to read their assignments, it becomes increasing obvious that many students haven’t looked at the marking criteria. […]

Dr Brian Kearney , (edited by Dr Daniel Andrews) School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne Universities are often thought of as open & progressive, but there is still work to be done. What strategies can we use to help reduce the stress on LGBTIQA+ students within the learning community? Being “Out” in Higher Education […]

Dr Bhawana Bhatta Kaudal, (edited by Dr Daniel Andrews) School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne As an assessment due date approaches, stress levels reach boiling point for many University students. But why do assessment tasks induce so much stress? And how could educators attempt to reduce assessment related stress? Assessment induced stress Assessment related […]

Krista Paterson, (edited by Dr Daniel Andrews) School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne If you suspected a colleague or student was showing signs of a mental health illness would you know what to do next? Physical first aid is accepted as essential in our workplaces but assistance for mental health matters is far harder […]

Dr. Lara Grollo, (edited by Dr Daniel Andrews) The University of Melbourne. COVID’s impact on the higher education industry has been massive, but are some of the COVID enforced changes here to stay? Traditionally Universities were a place where students came to be transformed into critical citizens. But tertiary education in Australia has now become […]

Dr. Daniel Andrews, The University of Melbourne. While it’s not an educational buzz word, there is nothing more important to a course than the course structure! We all want the best educational outcomes for our students but there may be a component of your course that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. The course structure. […]

Dr. Daniel Andrews, The University of Melbourne. We’re living in the era of technological advancement but are educational technologies actually enhancing student learning? As more and more facets of our lives become increasingly dependent on technology, it is only logical that we would look to technology to improve the educational experiences that we offered to […]

Dr. Daniel Andrews, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne. Do your students rely on memorising facts and figures to pass the exam? Perhaps they need to learn how to learn more effectively. And you can help! Many first-year students begin their university journey with a reality check. They quickly realise that they need to […]