Teaching and learning can be thought of as a conversation, not limited to what happens in the classroom and formal study. I aim to engage students in conversations about health informatics so that they are able to practice what they learn in pursuit of improving health outcomes in any health service where they work. My teaching goal is the development of a national health informatics professional workforce.
My teaching objectives are to:
- Incorporate health informatics in undergraduate health sciences and medical programmes to enable clinicians and other healthcare professionals to appropriately and safely use health informatics principles in everyday practice
- Engage students in learning about health informatics to deepen their understanding of its use in their work, and support further development of health informatics practices to improve the delivery and use of health services
- Develop thoughtful health informatics professionals who add value to the health sector, e.g. creating innovative technologies.
There’s nothing like a good conversation, where people exchange and explore ideas, challenge one another’s thinking, contradict one another, or explore ways to gain a shared understanding of what they are thinking about. The moment when an insight arrives is hugely creative; we explore different facets of the insight, or let that insight rest in our minds to mature into deep understanding. That’s what teaching and learning are all about for me. Saying something out loud or writing it down or depicting it in a picture changes what you think you know. Reading, writing, talking, participating in life, seeing something in a new light, gaining new insights – these are the basic elements of learning.
Blended learning in and outside the classroom and formal learning situations
Blended learning is integral to my teaching approach. In my courses you will see the ‘traditional’ reading list, lectures, assessments, and opportunities for students to meet with me for conversations, in-person and online. Classroom conversations continue in a designated social medium where students converse with one another about readings, definitions, and aspects of the course material, applying their learning at work (where appropriate), and in their assignments. We (students, practitioners, alumni, and I) continue the conversation after students have completed their courses, as I mentor them while they search for jobs or decide on postgraduate research topics. Online and in-person discussions and conversations with guest lecturers are used to scaffold student learning in and out of the classroom.
Beyond the classroom
It is really important to me that students are able to apply their learning in the ‘real world’, i.e. authentic learning. Teaching and learning are part of a creative process within the context of a conversation that never ends, i.e. life-long learning. The participants, subject matter, mode of delivery and assessment, may change but the conversation will continue. I have formed a network of health informaticians on our joint lifelong journey of learning about our field and our world.
My teaching is an expression of what we are doing now in the discipline and what I hope the future holds for us as a profession.
Day by Day 