Focus: This showcase describes how a cross-disciplinary Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) intervention was used to improve student engagement in learning histology.

Background/context: Histology is foundational to biomedical education but is a challenging subject for novice students. Given its visual nature, we trialled a VTS activity known to improve visual literacy in students (Housen, 2002), including in medical programmes (Cerqueira et al, 2023). VTS involves viewing and guided discussion of art. We hypothesised that the observational and problem-solving skills involved in interpreting artwork could be applied to students’ exploration of digital histology images.

Description: We embedded a VTS activity into histology practicals in a 3rd-year endocrinology course (2021-2023). An experienced facilitator guided students through a ~20-minute session exploring never-before-seen artwork.

Method: Student descriptions of histology images viewed immediately pre- and post-intervention were scored for observational richness. Inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to evaluate student responses to open-ended questions asking whether VTS influenced how they viewed microscopic images. Practical report marks were compared with those from 2019.

Evidence: While there was no significant effect of VTS on scores for observational richness or practical report marks, >50% of students felt that VTS changed how they viewed histology images and improved their observational skills. Others expressed their belief that art and histology were not interchangeable due to art being subjective and histology having ‘right’ answers, while ~15% of students had mixed views.

Contribution: Many students provided rich responses, expressing enjoyment of this “outside the box” approach to tackling the ambiguities and visual details inherent in learning histology. We provide evidence that VTS can improve the student experience and explore its applicability to other teaching contexts requiring tolerance for ambiguity and development of observational and communication skills.

Engagement: This showcase will provide an opportunity to participate in a ‘mini’ VTS activity.

Focus:
Informed by their recent research, practitioners from Australia and Canada will showcase how storytelling assessments can be successfully implemented in higher education.
Background/context:
While storytelling often relies on teachers telling their own stories to engage students, it is less common for teachers to encourage students to use their own stories for learning and within assessments.
Description:
The study aimed to answer the following research questions:
1. How is storytelling used in a Higher Education academic context?
2. What formats do storytelling assessment tasks take in different disciplines?
3. How can storytelling be used more widely?

Methods:
A scoping literature was conducted to identify storytelling practices and practitioners from different disciplines and contexts. An online survey was sent to these identified practitioners and invited to take part in a semi-structured interview. A process informed by the Communicative Action Theory within Phenomenological Methodology was used by the researchers to explore the qualitative data collected from the participants about various ways and reasons for using storytelling assessments. This process enabled the researchers to focus on the differences between storytelling conceptualisations and use through collective interpretations of the data by the researchers.

Evidence:
Initial results indicate diversity in use and focus of storytelling assessments in higher education. Not all storytelling assessments are integrated within courses with clear alignment, many deliberately choosing to focus on the so-called ‘hidden curriculum’. The reasons for this are also very diverse however some disciplines indicate a requirement to align with industry expectations. A common thread however tends to revolve around students’ engagement, belonging and inclusion.

Contribution:
This presentation will benefit other educators interested storytelling assessments to improve students’ sense of belonging, engagement, and inclusion.
Engagement:
Audience engagement through provocations captured via technology tools and conversations about storytelling assessments in higher education.

Focus: This presentation highlights a revamp of second-year undergraduate biochemistry labs, connecting theory and application through case-based learning. The new approach encourages collaborative problem-solving and teamwork among students.
Background/context: Drawing from the literature on active learning and case-based approaches (Murthy, Thompson, & Hungwe, 2014; Kulak & Newton, 2014), this initiative aims to help students understand the real-life applications of biochemistry, addressing the confusion often caused by disconnected traditional undergraduate labs.
Description: The redesigned program immerses students in a case study of an individual at risk of metabolic syndrome. Through weekly experiments and collaborative analysis, students diagnose potential metabolic disorders, with each lab building on the last using samples from the same individual. This continuity fosters engagement and cohesion between labs. Given students' common struggles with teamwork, this initiative uniquely incorporates an evidence-based program (Riebe, Girardi, & Whitsed, 2016) to teach students how to work effectively in teams.
Method: The effectiveness of the lab program is assessed through thematic analysis of weekly student reflections and an end-of-term questionnaire that assesses various aspects of learning using a Likert scale.
Evidence: The qualitative findings show that students are more engaged and achieve better results when mastering skills collaboratively. They understand biochemistry concepts better and exhibit improved problem-solving and teamwork skills. Survey results indicate that 92% of 66 students found the lab program helpful in connecting content to real life.
Contribution: This initiative studies the effectiveness of active learning in science education by blending theory, practical application, and teamwork. The redesigned approach serves as a guide for solving real-world problems.
Engagement: During the presentation, the audience will work together to diagnose an individual with metabolic syndrome. The audience is encouraged to think about how adding collaborative problem-solving and case-based learning can improve student engagement and the practical use of theoretical knowledge in their fields.