ARU Blogs — Deborah McMillan

Hi, my name is Deborah McMillan. I have recently commenced on my PhD journey and joined the team at the Centre for Innovation in Higher Education (CIHE). I will be exploring learning gain, specifically looking at team-based learning and the potential impact this may have on improving students chances of securing graduate employment after completing their studies. Team-based learning is one of several active learning approaches that seeks to ensure the student is more than just a ‘passive recipient of knowledge’ and can contextualise what they have learnt.

My background is in health care, where I have worked for several years. I have qualifications in nursing and public health. The area of educational research is new to me. However, I am excited about exploring this area. In my working life, I have worked alongside several graduates and postgraduates and I have always been curious as to why these individuals are not always working in what are considered to be ‘graduate job roles’. I am looking forward to investigating this, and to the new challenges and opportunities along my PhD journey.

Deborah's first blog will follow soon.