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The background and experience of neuroscience teachers in Australian universities: A cross-sectional survey

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dc.contributor.authorTodd, G.
dc.contributor.authorKreilaus, F.
dc.contributor.authorLonergan, A.S.
dc.contributor.authorCameron, M.S.
dc.contributor.authorDouble, K.L.
dc.contributor.editorVallespin, M.R.D.
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionData source: supporting information, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311252
dc.description.abstractNeuroscience is an academic discipline taught within a broad range of university degrees and programs. The expertise and experience of neuroscience teaching staff contribute to the student’s learning experience and knowledge acquisition. We undertook a survey to characterize the neuroscience teaching workforce and practices in Australian universities, and to investigate access to and deficiencies in neuroscience teaching resources and training. Two hundred neuroscience teaching staff completed our anonymous online survey. The responses indicated that neuroscience is primarily being delivered by highly qualified (86% with doctoral degrees, 27% with formal qualifications in tertiary teaching), research-active (45% were recently primary supervisors of research students) teaching academics with secure employment (77% in full-time continuing positions). There were more females (61.5%) than males (38.5%) in the sample and most respondents taught neuroscience to students enrolled in a range of degrees/programs. Most survey respondents could access an anatomy laboratory for teaching (87%) but access to specialised online resources, such as augmented reality presentations, customised game-based learning approaches, and/or online brain atlases, was limited. Most survey respondents reported they would benefit from increased access to neuroscience teaching resources and/or peer-tested teaching materials (80%), an informal network of Australian neuroscience teaching peers (64%), and/or training workshops on neuroscience teaching (59%). Approximately half of survey respondents supported the creation of national guidelines for neuroscience teaching curricula. The survey results identify specific gaps in teacher training and resources and inform the development of strategies to support tertiary teachers of neuroscience and student learning.
dc.identifier.citationPLoS ONE, 2024; 19(10):1-16
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0311252
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11541.2/40311
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.rightsCopyright 2024 The Authors (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Access Condition Notes: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311252
dc.subjectneuroscience teachers
dc.subjectAustralian universities
dc.titleThe background and experience of neuroscience teachers in Australian universities: A cross-sectional survey
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished
ror.fileinfo12292989800001831 13292989790001831 journal.pone.0311252
ror.mmsid9916906924701831

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