Dr Oladayo Folasire Innovating Biomedical Teaching through Authentic, Active Learning and Student Satisfaction

Teaching Portfolio

Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine Bond University, July 2025

Purpose Statement

This portfolio showcases the sustained excellence and ongoing development of my teaching practice, beginning with my appointment as a Lab Demonstrator in 2012 and continuing through my current role as a Senior Teaching Fellow since 2020. It serves both as a comprehensive record of my teaching achievements and as a reflection of my future aspirations and commitment to ongoing professional growth.

Teaching Responsibilities

As a committed and enthusiastic member of the Biomedical Science team within the Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, I take pride in leading and delivering a diverse range of subjects across our undergraduate Biomedical Science and Health Sciences programs. My contributions extend to both coursework and research supervision within the Honours and postgraduate programs, where I am actively involved in mentoring emerging scholars. Additionally, I play a key role in the delivery of core medicine content—including Physiology, Biochemistry, and Spirometry—to students in Years 1 and 2 of the Medical program. The table below highlights my recent teaching responsibilities, reflecting the breadth and depth of my academic engagement.

Teaching Philosophy

Since 2012, I have been actively involved in teaching at Bond University—beginning as a tutor and later transitioning into an academic educator. During my PhD studies at Bond, I was given the opportunity to teach across a range of undergraduate programs, including Medicine, Biomedical Science, and Health Sciences. I have always been passionate and enthusiastic about sharing knowledge with students, using a variety of authentic teaching methods that incorporate technology and gamified tools such as Kahoot, Poll Everywhere, and Socrative.

In the early stages of my teaching journey, I reflected on my own university experience and the teaching approaches that motivated me to learn. These personal insights initially shaped my teaching philosophy. Over time, I have developed a learner-centred approach that aims to create a safe, flexible, and inclusive learning environment. My goal is to support students in achieving their academic potential while fostering critical thinking and the practical application of theoretical knowledge.

From the outset of each semester, I set clear expectations and communicate my belief in each student’s potential for success. I also make it a priority to understand the specific needs of each cohort, allowing me to adapt my strategies to promote active and authentic learning.

Active Learning Strategies: A Structured Approach

Active learning engages students as participants in the learning process rather than passive recipients of information. I implement several structured strategies across key components of active learning:

1. Authentic Connection

Establishing meaningful connections between students and the subject matter is foundational. By linking theoretical content to real-world experiences, students become more invested and are better able to apply their knowledge. I frequently draw on students’ prior experiences and incorporate case studies and problem-based learning to enhance relevance and engagement.

2. Staying on Task: Scaffolding and the Big Picture

To maintain focus, I use scaffolding techniques—providing structured guidance through prompts, visuals, or step-by-step activities. This support is gradually reduced as students gain confidence. I ensure students understand both the immediate task and how it fits into the broader course objectives, fostering a clear sense of progression.

3. Class Discussions: Sharing and Building Knowledge

Facilitated discussions allow students to articulate ideas, challenge perspectives, and learn collaboratively. These discussions foster a sense of belonging and accountability, encourage critical thinking, and help students develop a deeper understanding of content through peer exchange and instructor feedback.

4. Cold Calling, Think-Pair-Share, and No Opt-Out

I regularly use techniques like cold calling, think-pair-share, and "no opt-out" participation to create an inclusive and interactive classroom environment. These strategies encourage all students to stay engaged, prepare in advance, and feel that their contributions are valued.

5. Whole-Class Reading and Formative Quizzing

Whole-class reading promotes active engagement and shared responsibility for learning. I also use frequent low-stakes quizzes to reinforce key concepts, check for understanding, and guide students toward areas that require further attention.

6. Closing Lessons with Intention

The final moments of a lesson are used to consolidate learning. I summarize key concepts, revisit how they relate to real-world applications, and encourage reflective thinking. This deliberate closure supports memory retention and provides continuity into the next lesson.

7. Formative Assessments and Feedback

Formative testing is used not just to assess knowledge, but as a learning tool. I provide timely, constructive feedback and help students reflect on their performance to foster a growth mindset and encourage continuous improvement.

I believe that effective teaching is rooted in creating meaningful learning experiences that empower students to take ownership of their development. Through a structured, research-informed approach to active learning, I strive to cultivate an environment where students are engaged, motivated, and equipped to apply their knowledge both academically and in real-life settings.

Student feedback on my approaches

Ola's dedication to our learning has made a lasting impression on many of us. From the beginning, he showed a genuine passion for teaching and a deep understanding of the subject matter. His ability to explain complex topics clearly and relate them to real-life scenarios helped us not just learn but truly connect with the content. Whether in labs, forums, or tutorials, his energy and enthusiasm made the sessions feel engaging and welcoming. Many of us found His explanations and diagrams incredibly helpful in breaking down difficult ideas, and the recaps each week helped tie everything together, giving us a clearer picture of how each topic fit into the bigger picture.

We appreciated how Ola used diverse teaching methods—like Kahoot quizzes, role-playing, Socrative questions, and drawing on the whiteboard—to make learning interactive and enjoyable. These creative techniques made sessions fun while helping us retain important concepts. Ola's use of stories and personal experiences made content memorable, and his sense of humour brought a lightness that helped us stay motivated and interested, even when the content was dense or challenging.

He is always approachable and made himself available outside of class. When we had questions or needed extra support, he never hesitated to give his time and answer thoughtfully. Ola's patience and encouragement gave many of us the confidence to ask more questions and engage more deeply in class. Ola always checked in with us—during breaks, through forum discussions, or in follow-up consultations—and made sure everyone was supported. You created a safe, inclusive environment where we felt comfortable to contribute and learn at our own pace.

Ola structured and consistent approach helped us stay focused throughout the semester. By starting each session with a recap and ending with reflections or summary discussions, Ola helped reinforce what we were learning. He communicated expectations clearly and marked assessments fairly, in line with what he had outlined. This transparency helped us know what to aim for, and his guidance throughout assessments made the process less stressful and more constructive.

We also noticed his efforts to connect the curriculum with broader themes, like humanitarian thinking and understanding cultural contexts. For example, including elements of Australian culture in workshops helped us feel more connected to the material and the learning environment. These thoughtful touches went a long way in making us feel seen and respected, and they helped broaden our perspective as learners.

Some of us may not have had many direct interactions with Ola, but even from those limited moments, it was clear that he brought passion and warmth to your teaching. He treated us with kindness, patience, and respect, and his efforts did not go unnoticed. Whether it was in labs, group learning or forums, his consistent engagement and love for the subject helped us stay engaged, even when we felt unsure.

Ola, thank you for being such a committed, compassionate, and inspiring educator. You not only taught us the content—we felt that you genuinely cared about our learning and our success. Many of us leave your classes feeling more confident, more curious, and more connected to the work we’re doing. You’ve made learning something to look forward to, and that’s a gift we’ll carry forward.

Recent Innovative Approaches- In Class Check Points

Recent innovative approaches - Cross word - In Class Check Points -

Feedback on paper based games: Ola’s teaching is consistently engaging and effective, using a variety of techniques to enhance understanding. Visual aids like diagrams, memes, and crossword puzzles make complex content more accessible and enjoyable. Interactive activities such as mini-games encourage active participation and reinforce learning in a fun, memorable way. His creative approach keeps sessions lively while helping core concepts stick.

Recent innovative approaches - Recap videos

Feedback on recap Videos: Ola’s enthusiastic teaching style, engaging weekly recaps, and ability to connect content across weeks helped students see the bigger picture and stay motivated. His use of recap stories without notes was both impressive and memorable. Additionally, the availability of extra learning resources such as recap videos and practice questions supported deeper understanding, especially for complex concepts not fully explored in class.

Group Learning

As an undergraduate student, I spent countless hours in the library and during personal study sessions reviewing past exam papers, trying to identify patterns in the questions to guide my exam preparation. Despite the time and effort invested, this approach often felt unfocused and misdirected. Written assessments, in particular, seemed more like a test of our ability to avoid being caught out than an opportunity to showcase our understanding. Unfortunately, these challenges around exams and assessment remain largely unchanged—students are still often driven by assessment rather than by learning itself.

To address this issue, I restructured group learning activities in Biochemistry 2: Principles of Human Structure and Function, as well as the latter part of the Global Health Issues tutorials, to better align with students’ learning needs and to demystify the assessment process. I emphasize the importance of students being able to identify their own gaps in understanding. Through regular learning checks, students are encouraged to seek support during these student-led group sessions.

I incorporate a variety of tools to support learning and assessment preparation, including Kahoot, Poll Everywhere, Socrative, and paper-based activities like crossword puzzles—all of which are aligned with the content outlines and learning objectives. These sessions also dedicate time to examining the structure of exam questions and developing strategies for interpreting them. This targeted approach has helped students enter mid semester exams and final exams with greater clarity and confidence.

Feedback on group Learning sessions : The group learning sessions were highly effective, especially with the use of role-playing, which provided a visual and practical way to understand the content.

eTEVAL/ SSAFS Educator Scores

Over the years, student feedback has consistently affirmed the impact and effectiveness of my teaching approach. As illustrated in the figures above, students frequently described my sessions as engaging, enthusiastic, clear, and supportive, with particular emphasis on my ability to explain complex topics in an easy-to-understand manner. Feedback also highlights strong communication, fairness in assessment, and a highly approachable and inclusive teaching style.

These comments span several subjects, including Medical Biochemistry, Human Organ Systems, and Global Health Issues, and reflect my ongoing efforts to foster active, student-centered learning environments. Many students have noted that I helped them connect theoretical knowledge to real-world application through storytelling, gamification, and personal check-ins.

Importantly, the average eTEVAL/SSAF scores across this period were consistently above the Faculty average, evidencing the sustained quality and positive impact of my teaching practices on student experience and learning outcomes.

Teaching Philosophy

Student Feedback on teaching philosophy: Ola’s teaching style is engaging, inclusive, and deeply impactful. His ability to consistently highlight the big picture before breaking down complex topics made learning feel structured and meaningful. He explains difficult concepts clearly, uses visual aids like board drawings effectively, and creates a warm, approachable environment where no question feels too small. His enthusiasm, sense of humour, and weekly recaps through storytelling not only deepened our understanding but made each session enjoyable. Ola’s genuine passion for teaching and his encouragement to think beyond the curriculum—toward humanitarian perspectives—kept us motivated. He goes above and beyond, offering extra help outside class and remembering students by name, which made us feel valued and supported throughout the subject.

SoTL Outcomes: Publications and Conference Presentations

1. Proceedings of The Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (2023)
2. Australian Biochemist (2023)