A new hub-and-spoke biology curriculum designed around interdisciplinary laboratory practical sessions to enhance student employability
Gal Winter A * , Natkunam Ketheesan A and Nicholas M. Andronicos AA School of Science and Technology, The University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
Gal Winter is a Senior Lecturer and Discipline lead in Biomedical Science at the University of New England. Her research is focused on understanding the microbiome of humans and plants and its contribution to health. She is particularly interested in the gut–brain axis and the connections between microbiome, food and mood. Gal is a passionate educator. In 2021, she has founded a community outreach initiative called ‘Gal’s Kitchen Culture’, an endeavour aimed at providing community hands-on education on cooking and healthy eating. After obtaining her BSc and MSc in Food Science and Biochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Gal moved from Israel to Australia to complete a PhD at the Australian Wine Research Institute, followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship at The University of Queensland. |
Natkunam Ketheesan is a Professor in Biomedical Science (Infection & Immunity) at the University of New England, Australia. After obtaining his undergraduate education at the Vinnitsa State Medical University (Ukraine), he went on to complete his MSc in Clinical Immunology and PhD at the University of Leeds (UK). After holding combined teaching and research academic positions at the University of Leeds, The University of Western Australia, The University of Queensland and at James Cook University, he joined UNE in 2018. Dr Ketheesan’s research focus is on investigating the immune interactions between selected bacterial pathogens and the human host. As a passionate educator, he contributes to the development of innovative modes of curriculum delivery both in Australia and overseas. |
Nicholas Andronicos is an Associate Professor at the University of New England, Australia. He graduated with a Doctorate in Biological Sciences from the University of Wollongong (Australia). Nick did his first post doc at the Scripps Research Institute (California, USA) and was a research scientist at CSIRO, Australia. He currently teaches molecular genetics, biochemistry and immunology in biomedical sciences and medicine. Nick is a molecular immunologist who conducts biotechnological research as well as the development of veterinary vaccines. Finally, Nick leads an online education development team to enhance University of New England leadership in the online educational space and is currently leading the curriculum redesign hub-and-spoke lab skills initiatives. |
Microbiology Australia 44(3) 131-135 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA23039
Submitted: 3 April 2023 Accepted: 29 May 2023 Published: 23 June 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
A new hub-and-spoke (H&S) model for restructuring the traditional biological science curriculum is presented here. The H&S model emphasises the integration of sub-disciplines of biology and the integration of biology with other scientific disciplines. In this model, traditional undergraduate courses that include both theory and a stand-alone laboratory component are replaced with discovery-based research courses that act as the hub, servicing discipline-specific theory-only courses, which act as the spoke. The hub course includes an immersive laboratory experience, aimed to integrate all the spoke components that the hub unit serves. The H&S model also offers an opportunity to develop a new framework that will support active pedagogies such as inquiry-based and open-ended problem-based learning, where students work in groups to solve challenging problems and build their capacity to design and implement approaches to undertake their own investigation, thus enhancing students critical thinking as well as generic skills. Overall, this model offers higher interdisciplinary biological laboratory skills, and an integrative understanding of scientific projects thus enhancing the graduate’s employability. This curriculum model may be easily adapted for other branches of science, given the interdisciplinary nature of all sciences and the R&D innovation sector.
Keywords: biological science, biomedical, curriculum, laboratory skills, multidisciplinary education, practical skills.
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