2025 Learning and Teaching Conference

Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th October 2025

Learning Together, Teaching Together

Plenary sessions

9.00 – 9.30

Conference registration 

The Forum, Melbourne Connect (The Superfloor, 700 Swanston St, Carlton)

9.30 – 9.40

Welcome

Professor Mike McGuckin, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and Professor Elizabeth Molloy, Deputy Dean Education, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
The Forum, Melbourne Connect (The Superfloor, 700 Swanston St, Carlton)        
9.40 – 10.40

Keynote: Illuminating journeys: Navigating pathways in the scholarship of teaching and learning
Professor Denise Stockley, Scholar in Higher Education, Queen’s University, Canada

Assistant Professor Melanie Hamilton, Director, The Jane and Ron Gramham Centre for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Associate Faculty member of the College of Graduate and Post-Graduate Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Chair: Dr Justin Bilszta, Senior Lecturer in Medical Education. Dept of Medical Education, The University of Melbourne.
(Full speaker details
)

The Forum, Melbourne Connect (The Superfloor, 700 Swanston St, Carlton)

Learn together with two international leaders in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), Professor Denise Stockley and Assistant Professor Melanie (Mel) Hamilton. In this special paired keynote, Denise and Mel will shine light on selected moments from their journeys in SoTL. These are journeys which began in their respective disciplines of educational psychology and nursing and have since expanded to include interdisciplinary collaborations, development of a master's and PhD program in SoTL, development of a national centre for SoTL, leadership of national and international societies for SoTL.

A guiding passion of Denise and Mel has been that of deprivatising and demystifying the scholarship of teaching and learning. Denise and Mel will illuminate some of the many ways they have elevated and supported SoTL as a central priority for university educators, researchers, students, leaders and the communities with whom they engage. Denise and Mel’s good friend, Dr Justin Bilszta, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Medical Education, will then join the discussion and extend conversation about how we can best support engagement in SoTL to inform impacts from the most proximate and personal to those that cross disciplines, institutions and nations.

10.40 – 11.00

Morning tea

The Lab and Launch Pad, Melbourne Connect

Day 1 presentation abstracts

Concurrent sessions: morning

 

Lived experience co-design
Launch Pad and Lab
Chair, Dr Debra Virtue

Student experience and person-centred care
Forum 1 (East)
Chair, Dr Kylie Fitzgerald

Learning in communities
Forum  2 (Middle)
Chair, A/Prof Saw Hoon Kim

Innovative learning and assessment
Forum 3 (West)
Chair, Dr David Gallant

Interprofessional education and feedback workshops
Meeting Room 1  &  2
Chair, Dr Vivian Romero

Simulation
The Validitron
Chair, Dr David Kelly

11.00 – 11.20

Workshop
(11.00 – 12.00)
Curriculum co-design gives people with disability a voice in guiding health professional education
Emma Ascher, Tess McCarty, Tarli Sali, Colin Hiscoe AM, Lisa Brumtis, Victoria Cini, Anat Bigos, Michelle Wilcox, Jane Rosengrave, Donya Eghrari, Carolyn Cracknell, Joanne Bolton

Learning together: Discover how a creative workshop is transforming person-centred care for students
Ms Denise Ho, Dr Min Jung Yoo, Dr Skye Kinder, Ms Lisa Wright, Ms Carolyn Cracknell, A/Prof Lee Allen
Presentation slides

Learning together in place: Rural healthcare's collaborative advantage
Keryn Wright

Incorporating student voice into the creation of AI-driven virtual patients
Mr Patrick Bowers, Dr Jey Han Lau, Dr Lin Tian, A/Prof Kelley Graydon, Dr Tracii Ryan, Prof Dani Tomlin
Presentation slides

Workshop
(11.00 – 11.30)
Map first, belong fast: Drawing Aurora together
Ms Claire Mustchin, Mr Campbell McKay

The great escape: The future of healthcare – digital health escape room simulations
Dr Sat Dushyanthen, A/Prof Vivienne Mak

11.20 –11.40

Session continues

Trauma informed clinical practice skill discovery
A/Prof Lee Allen, Dr Skye Kinder, Dr MJ Yoo, Simone Stahli Quinn
Presentation slides

Generative AI can explain a synapse - can it replace one? Choosing between deep learning and shallow learning
Jennifer Zhu, A/Prof Angelina Fong, A/Prof Saw Hoon Lim
Presentation slides

Interprofessional education initiatives to teach advocacy in health professions programs: a narrative review
Dr Jessica Lees, Mr Flynn Halliwell, A/Prof Melissa Russell, A/Prof Louisa Ng, Dr Jayne Lysk, Prof Fiona Dobson

Session continues

Workshop
(11.30 – 12.00)
Feedback to innovation: transforming teaching
A/Prof Femke Buisman-Pijlman, Aimee Grieve, Leonie Slavin

Exploring the XR enhanced OSCE: Live demonstration
A/Prof Thomas Cochrane, Philippa Marriott

11.40 – 12.00

Session continues

Amplifying awareness: A pilot of audiology students teaching oral health students about hearing loss
Mr Patrick Bowers, Dr Peter Carew, Ms Yvonne Zhang, Ms Stephanie Chang and Ms Sophie McKenna
Full speaker details
Presentation slides

Structured interdisciplinary clinical placements abroad: reflections on healthcare education
Dr Andrew Huhtanen, Dr Lauren Story
Presentation slides

Integrated learning: co-teaching clinical skills in speech pathology
Dr Jessica Boyce, Dr Ruth Braden
Presentation slides

Session continues

Bringing audiology students together to learn as near-peers in online patient simulations
A/Prof. Kelley Graydon, Mr Patrick Bowers, Dr. Zoe McNeice
Presentation slides

Concurrent sessions: afternoon

 

Transforming performance anxiety into clinical excellence
Launch Pad & Lab
Chair, Dr Debra Virtue

Lightning talks and near peer learning
Forum 1 (East)
Chair, Dr Kylie Fitzgerald

Wellbeing
Forum 2 (Middle)
Chair, A/Prof Saw Hoon Kim

Inclusive education and assessment
Forum 3 (West)
Chair, Dr David Gallant

Student experience; lived experience
Meeting Room 1 & 2
Chair, Dr Vivian Romero

Simulation
The Validitron
Chair, Dr David Kelly

12.00 – 12.20

Workshop
(12.00 – 1.00)
The ‘centering’ solution: transforming performance anxiety into clinical excellence
Dr Peter Carew, Mr Patrick Bowers, A/Prof Margaret Osborne

Lightning talks
(12.00 – 12.30)
Reflecting on reflective practice

Mrs Rachael Lim
Presentation slides
Is innovation a dirty word in health professions education?
Dr Michael Poulton
Presentation slides
Forging alliances: challenging faculty placement partnerships in educational provision
A/Prof Lisa Cheshire
Full speaker details
Presentation slides

Implementing a new authentic group assessment to foster peer connection and collaborative learning
Dr Daniel Clarke, Prof Jason Mackenzie, Prof Karena Waller
Presentation slides

Embedding viva voce into ePortfolio assessment to foster authentic and inclusive assessment design
Dr Jessica Lees, Dr Tandy Hastings-Ison

QILT unpacked: What contributes to first year students’ overall experience?  
Dr Abi Brooker, Mr David Cui
Presentation slides

AI-powered patient simulation: advancing education in the digital era
Dr Kim Allison, Dr Chris Honig, A/Prof Mark Merolli
Presentation slides

12.20 – 12.40

Session continues

Workshop
(12.30 – 1.00)
Implementing near-peer learning into your curriculum?

Dr Madeline Townsend, Dr Katharine Dal Santo, Ms Julie Owen, Dr André Priede, Dr Amy Thompson
Presentation slides

Insights from a rural interprofessional learning experience-discussing mental health in older adults
Ms Denise Ho, Ms Carolyn Cracknell, Ms Paula Collins, Ms Rosie Nicholson, Ms Ana Lopez Flores, Dr Deb Virtue, Ms Kylie Erben, Ms Victoria Rayner, Ms Keryn Wright
Presentation slides

DASH: The creation of a bespoke assessment platform at the Melbourne Dental School
A/Prof Clare McNally, Suhrid Gupta, Kunal Patel, Kate Reid
Presentation slides

Conversations that matter: Learning and teaching with lived experience
Dr Meg Keage, Ms Kathryn Mckinley, Ms Ruth Townsend, Prof Phil Candy, Ms Mary-Anne Candy, Beck Libson
Presentation slides

Introducing the Validitron Clinical Simulation Lab for digital health: Interactive tour and demonstration
Dr Kit Huckvale, Dr Olivia Metcalf

12.40 – 1.00

Session continues

Workshop
(12.30 – 1.00)
Implementing near-peer learning into your curriculum?
Session continues

Building solid ground: A framework for postgraduate mental health and wellbeing
Dr Elaina Kefalianos, Ms Sarah Scholz, Dr Abi Brooker, A/Prof Lisa Chesire, Ms Rachel Liang, Dr Madelyne Hudson-Buhagiar, Ms Danielle Clayman
Presentation slides

Redefining inherent requirements: a cornerstone for inclusive health professional education
A/Prof Lisa Cheshire, Prof Anna Ryan
Presentation slides

Learning together to address weight stigma: a global classroom initiative in physiotherapy education
Dr Kim Allison, Dr Free Coulston
Presentation slides

Lunch
1.00 – 2.00, The Lab and Launch Pad, Melbourne Connect

27 October – 28 October 2025, The University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus
Contacts: Tim Beaumont | timothy.beaumont@unimelb.edu.au  Dr Abi Brooker | brookera@unimelb.edu.au