Emeritus Professor Gordon Sanson is a research biologist specializing in cross-disciplinary aspects of animal nutrition. His research experience influenced his approach to education where students are too often overwhelmed with detail but are not provided with the skills to extract meaning, deficiencies aggravated by exponential growth of knowledge. As Head of his School at Monash University, Australia, he developed cutting edge laboratories with industry partners that resulted in a Business and Higher Education Award in addition to a federal award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning. As the Founding Director of the eEducation Centre he focused on the integration of pedagogy, space and technology resulting in further industry awards. He was a founder of a state-funded middle level science school that was uniquely integrated with the university and is his most satisfying achievement. He believes that while society is undergoing transformational change driven by data the education sector is inherently conservative and even resistant to change. He is concerned that much of the technological change being seen in the education sector is being driven by what can be done, rather than what needs to be done. Consequently he sponsored the development of MeTL, a software and middleware system supporting data driven learning in a collaborative space, which is built on pedagogical principles rather than on technological opportunity. Since his retirement from Monash he has continued to work with the architects of MeTL in a liaison role with Saint Leo University as part of its education innovation program.

URLs:

  1. Saint Leo University Teaching and Learning Innovation
    https://tali.saintleo.edu/innovation/
  2. Stackable Regiments (the company developing the open source software MeTL created at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia)(MeTL stands for Monash “e” Teaching and Learning)
    https://stackableregiments.github.io/analyticalmetlx/index.html

 

Favorite quote:

“There’s no use trying,” said Alice: “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age I always did it for half an hour a day. Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

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