Background
Biomedical science is a content-heavy discipline to learn. As a consequence, many biomedical science courses prioritise assessment that examines this content, leaving less room for the development of softer skills, such as reflection (1). This talk will introduce meta-learning tasks: low-stakes, open-ended reflective questions that prompt students to think deeply about their approach to study, the skills they are developing, and their professional identity (2). This talk aims to help participants explore how meta-learning tasks could be adapted to suit their own teaching context.
Methods
Meta-learning tasks have been embedded into a dozen biomedical science courses at the University of Queensland for students enrolled in a variety of degrees, from science to allied health, since 2013. Examples will be shared to demonstrate how meta-learning questions can be tailored to different contexts, such as prompting first-year students to explore new study strategies, and encouraging later-year students to consider their professional identity. Participants will be shown how student responses were thematically analysed (3) to identify these patterns.
Results
Across these contexts, the majority of students (85%) reported that meta-learning tasks had a positive impact on their learning (2). Their responses provided rich insights that allowed educators to better understand students' study behaviours, learning hindrances, and professional aspirations. These insights have directly informed curriculum changes, including the introduction of learning workshops for a first-year course and profession-specific streams in a later-year course.
Conclusion
Meta-learning tasks offer a flexible, low-stakes tool for embedding reflection within content-heavy biomedical science curricula. Participants will leave this talk with practical strategies for designing and adapting meta-learning tasks to suit their own teaching context, and for using student responses to inform their own curriculum development.