Finished applying for a job last night. It’s the sort of position that if you asked me to design my dream job it would be very close to this. It’s only part-time, but it is all about teaching MSc-level biostatistics to a mix of clinicians wishing to upskill and recent graduates looking to enter the workforce with additional training that leads to a qualification.

I thought back to all my teaching experiences across QUT, LSHTM and Booking.com. Far from the Nürnberger funnel model of pouring knowledge into the heads of students, learning happens when everyone is challenged to go further than their current capabilities (Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development). Teaching requires an environment in which everyone is called to contribute based on their own expertise and interests under the stewardship of a capable teacher whose aim is to foster curiosity, creativity and excellence, rather than stroke one’s own ego about how much cleverer they are than their students.

I’ve learned a lot from colleagues who I worked with on a variety of subjects/topics, whether co-coordinators, teaching assistants, students, faculty committees, students, my own teachers, or the teaching team of the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching at LSHTM. Fingers crossed for the chance to put all that learning to good use with the next generation of Australian biostatisticians.