07.03.2013
Winner of 2013 FAOBMB Education Award: Associate Professor Janet Macaulay (Australia)
The winner of 2013 FAOBMB Education Award is Associate Professor Janet Macaulay from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Professor Janet Macaulay
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
In the Monash Medical program Janet has played a leadership role in curriculum development, review and integration of the basic science component (incorporating Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) across multiple campuses to achieve a curriculum that develops motivated, independent learners. Another of Janet’s interests is the implementation of a laboratory skills development framework for students majoring in Biochemistry which is an ongoing project to improve the technical skills of students majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Also of particular interest to Janet is the use of assessment to enable improved student outcomes and to cater to diverse student cohorts. Janet was accepted as a scholar at the Harvard-Macy Systems Approach to Assessment course and her assessment protocols have been included in assessment websites and peer reviewed journal articles.
Janet employs a range of innovative approaches to improve the learning environment, curriculum design and assessment practices to ensure that they are student-centred, flexible and provide the highest quality education to her students. Janet’s contribution to teaching and learning have been recognized by the award of the 2008 Monash University, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education and the 2010 Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Invitrogen Education Award. Some particular examples of the translation of innovations into practice by Janet include the development of a Nutritional Biochemistry unit which created a student-centred, blended learning experience enabled by contextualized case based learning which led to highly engaged and motivated students and alleviated the preconceived view held by many students that biochemistry is a ‘hard’ subject. Janet also led the development of an innovative team based interdisciplinary learning program in the Medical course which requires the application of biochemical knowledge to clinical medicine and encourages creativity. The program has been shown to engage students in active learning and develop deep approaches to learning. Through the development and introduction of multimedia-based learning tools Janet has been able to promote student learning by contextualised interactive tutorials, case studies and associated assessments which are incorporated into blended learning approaches and are used by over 1000 students per year at Monash University.
Janet is an education focused academic and Director of Undergraduate Education in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University, Australia. She is engaged in the development, delivery and research of biochemical education in the context of Science, Health and Medical courses with the aim of empowering students to become active independent learners.
