This is how I teach

How would you describe your approach to teaching/your teaching philosophy?

My approach to teaching focusses on creating an inclusive, compassionate, and collaborative learning experience. It is focused around engaging students, meeting them where they are, and keeping central the concepts of equity, inclusion, and collaboration.

With this in mind, I aim to have my students enjoying their classes and feeling comfortable to engage collaboratively with me and with their peers when attending. Although University should be a place where intellectual challenge and critical thinking take place, students should never feel threatened, uncomfortable, or afraid to speak up. One of my goals in teaching is therefore to provide a context where students feel valued and genuinely encouraged to develop their ideas and learn. Especially given the diversity of students I teach, I aim to be approachable, friendly, and open in my teaching roles, so that students feel comfortable asking questions or discussing ideas. I’m also very mindful that (as with everyone!) students have complex lives encompassing and going beyond their studies, so I try to always be compassionate in my responses to them.

Particularly in my teaching around the sociology of health, I try to work from students’ own perspectives and experiences to build their critical thinking about health. I share my own experiences, and draw on current events and culture, to help students engage with content.  I also focus on motivating students by conveying my own enthusiasm and excitement about what I am teaching. Nothing discourages students like a teacher who seems uninterested in their own material, and I aim to create the opposite effect!

What do you like most about teaching in your discipline?

Students often come to Public Health not really understanding what it is or why it matters. Many of them have other careers in mind and may be completing a public health course to fill a gap in their study program. What I love is sharing my enthusiasm for the discipline with students and supporting them to see the connections between health and society. Helping them discover that health is not just about individual biology or behaviours but that is connected to our social structures can be challenging, but is also incredibly rewarding.

I also love working across the diversity of the students we teach in Health and Medical Sciences, and in Public Health. One of my undergraduate courses was taken by students in 10 different degree programs this year! The range of backgrounds and perspectives makes collaboration and discussion in class incredibly engaging and more reflective of other contexts outside of the University.

How does your teaching help prepare students for their future?

The courses I teach give students practical skills they can use in future careers in public health or other health professions, such as building their understanding of health promotion and program evaluation, but I also aim to support students to develop their critical thinking skills in relation to health and social issues. In my teaching, one goal is to help students reflect on the diversity of perspectives that exist about any particular issue or experience, so they can move beyond their own assumptions and be inclusive of different communities and cultural views in their future careers.

In my teaching, one goal is to help students reflect on the diversity of perspectives that exist about any particular issue or experience, so they can move beyond their own assumptions and be inclusive of different communities and cultural views in their future careers.Dr Shona Crabb

What is your favourite way to use technology to enhance learning? 

I particularly like when technology can be used to make learning more inclusive. This can mean using quizzes or polls in class, such as with Mentimeter, to enable students to engage actively with content, even if speaking up is not comfortable for them. It can also mean supporting students to pre-record presentations, rather than presenting live. Using technology to deliver core content in different ways can also make it more accessible to a diverse range of learners. Although I am certainly no expert in this space, it’s exciting to continue to learn about all the ways technology can enhance learning.