• Signature pedagogies are the precise forms of teaching and learning that define the fundamental educational framework that prepares students for a particular profession.  They are the units of educational inheritance of the professions.  But if they are to be a true unit of educational inheritance, they should continue to evolve and change to allow the professions to adapt to an ever changing world in which they are based.  However this is not always the case.
• Using a SoTL based approached my research interests are in mapping the existing signature pedagogies for the life sciences in medical education onto the teaching for understanding (TfU) framework.  This approach allows the design of new signature pedagogies that map fully onto the TfU framework and are subject to a process of "educational natural selection".  The impact of these changes in the context of fitness to practice is being assessed as students move through their medical education. 

Current Research Projects:

• "The role of Anatomy in preparing students for Surgery:  New approaches to integrate basic surgical skills into the early years of a medical program."
• "Design and development of signature pedagogies that are subject to "educational natural selection" within the Teaching for Understanding Framework.                                                                                                             
• ""Anatomy Education for the YouTube Generation"- the impact of social media in blended learning."

Current Team Members:

• Dr. Ahmad Hassan Sheikh MBBS:       MD (2013 to present)
• Orla Duggan BSc Physio MCSP:         MSc (2015 to present)

TEACHING CONTRIBUTIONS

Undergraduate teaching:

• I deliver Neuroscience lectures across the BSc Neuroscience program in UCC.  This include lectures of 3rd and 4th years in this program on various modules with titles:

  • AN3001 - Research Methodology in Neuroscience and Biomedical Science

  • AN3003 - Neurobiology of Regulatory Systems

  • AN3011 - Library Project in Neuroscience

  • AN3012 - Human Nervous System

  • AN3013 - Neurobiology of Disease

  • AN4008 - Developmental Neurobiology

  • AN4010 - Research Project in Neuroscience

  • AN4013 - Advanced Topics in Neuroscience

  • AN4014 - Cellular and Molecular Neuroscienc

Graduate Teaching:

• I deliver an array of Anatomy and Neuroscience lectures and cadaveric based practical sessions across years 1 and 2 of the graduate entry to medicine in UCC.

• GM1001 – Fundamentals of Medicine I – includes regional and topographical as well as PNS structure and development and diagnostic uses in clinical medicine.

• GM1003 Fundamentals of Medicine III – includes lectures on the neuroendocrine regulation and its relationship to clinical presentation and diagnosis.

• GM2001 Fundamentals of Medicine IV – neuroanatomical and neurophysiological correlates of brain disorders in clinical medicine.

Post-Graduate Teaching:

• I deliver lectures on “Advanced Topics in Neuroscience” to the following taught MSc programs in UCC including the MSc in Applied Science Biotechnology (Course Code: CKR01) and the MSc in Molecular Cell Biology with BioInnovation (Course Code: CKR44).

Problem-Based Learning:

• Have acted as a facilitator for 6 years for weekly, case-based small group sessions as part of the GEM program in UCC.  This has involved designing and using clinical cases to frame a “problem” in clinical medicine and neurology.

Research Project supervision:

• I supervise the final year laboratory research projects each year for 2-3students in the BSc Neuroscience (AN4010), and occasionally for intercalated BSc in Anatomy or Neuroscience (AN4011).  I also supervise Masters-level laboratory research projects for the MSc Molecular Cell Biology with Innovation (ML6001) and MSc in Biotechnology (BT6002) as well as teaching on these courses.

 Module Coordination:

• I am module coordinator for “GM1002-Fundamentals of Medicine II” which is essentially the largest component of the Year 1 graduate entry to medicine (GEM) program, from January to April.  This involves ensuring the horizontal integration of teaching from five contributing departments:  Anatomy/Neuroscience, Pathology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Physiology and well as coordinating the weekly Problem-Based Learning activities of the GEM student during this time.