DrMichael Wheeler

I teach physical activity and health, and science communication using an authentic-learning approach. My aim is to make the purpose of each teaching activity explicit, align assessment with professional practice, and give students repeated opportunities to practise, receive feedback and improve. I completed a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching with first-class honours, and my teaching is informed by constructive alignment, student agency and structured peer feedback.

Across Deakin and the University of Melbourne, I have taught more than 1,000 students and coordinated units at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. At Deakin, I chair HSE212 Physical Activity Promotion and Evaluation for approximately 650 students across Burwood, Geelong and online, and teach a science-communication component in HSE706 Research in Clinical Exercise Physiology.

My teaching draws directly on my practice as a researcher and science communicator. I use current research, podcast interviews and real-world communication tasks to connect curriculum with students’ degrees and future careers. I have contributed to scholarship in this area through two peer-reviewed chapters in Teaching Science Students to Communicate and a national Australian Council of Deans of Science funded project on communication and AI-related skills in the STEM workforce.