Overview
Background
As I am a teaching-focussed academic, my research interests centre on teaching and learning. Specifically, I want to understand how undergraduate students learn in a conceptually challenging discipline like physiology. However, the primary purpose of any T&L research is not simply to improve our knowledge and disseminate findings, although that is important. Instead, the primary aim of our research must always be to improve student learning outcomes. It is essential not only that we do research in T&L, but that we also incorporate those research findings into our teaching and curriculum design, and encourage others to do so too. Currently my research is pursuing three major themes: (1) promotion of the metacognition of learning; (2) how we promote the development of undergraduate science students ‘scientific’ skills, encompassing science communication, scientific reasoning and critical thinking; and (3) innovations in assessment and feedback to support student learning.
Availability
- Associate Professor Kay Colthorpe is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Diploma, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Metacognition of learning
The current major focus of my research group is the promotion of metacognition of learning through the development and evaluation of ‘meta-learning’ assessment tasks. These tasks have enabled us to identify (i) the self-regulation of learning that undergraduate students perform; (ii) the relationships between the self-regulatory strategies used by students, learning outcomes and academic resilience; (iii) the conceptually challenging aspects of physiology and students’ approaches to dealing with those difficult concepts. Collectively, this work has been the basis of multiple honours and undergraduate research projects. The findings have been fed back into curriculum design, with meta-learning tasks now specifically designed as educational interventions, to prompt students to develop their metacognitive skills and to undertake more advanced forms of self-regulation.
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Scientific skill development
It is clear that undergraduate students need to develop a variety of skills to successfully complete their programs of study, to improve their employability and to develop into lifelong learners. For science students these include the information literacy skills that will allow them to develop the ability to access, manage and integrate multimodal information, the skills to create, understand and communicate scientifically reasoned arguments, and the critical thinking skills that enable them to become adept problem-solvers. I believe that inquiry-based laboratory classes are particularly vital to facilitate the development of students’ research and problem-solving skills. These classes are the basis for a number of aspects of my research. We have been extensively evaluating their impact, both overall and specifically, including the evaluation of undergraduate science students development of (i) scientific argument skills in oral presentations ; (ii) understanding of the nature of science; (iii) scientific literacy ; and (iv) use of evidence. My research group continues to examine these themes in ongoing research on inquiry-based laboratory classes.
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Assessment and feedback
Recently there has been strong impetus to encourage all students studying biomedical science to develop the attributes of scientific thinking, through the development of skills such as critical thinking, information literacy and problem-solving skills, and an ability to create and communicate scientific arguments. My research has focused on development and evaluation of innovative assessment tasks and feedback practices which both encourage and provide an evidence base for the achievement of those outcomes. My research has had a major focus on feedback, with a multi-faceted view on the ways in which feedback are provided (including from both academics and peers), the value of that feedback, and the students’ responses to feedback. This work has identified the type and nature of effective feedback, and has encompassed the extensive use of feedback analytics to identify patterns of effective feedback provision and use. In addition, the value of feedback to and from peers, and its contribution to the development of students’ abilities to critique their work and that of others has been investigated.
Works
Search Professor Kay Colthorpe’s works on UQ eSpace
2019
Journal Article
Effect of metacognitive prompts on undergraduate pharmacy students' self-regulated learning behavior
Colthorpe, Kay, Ogiji, Jennifer, Ainscough, Louise, Zimbardi, Kirsten and Anderson, Stephen (2019). Effect of metacognitive prompts on undergraduate pharmacy students' self-regulated learning behavior. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 83 (4) 6646, 6646. doi: 10.5688/ajpe6646
2019
Conference Publication
How authentic is it? Evaluating the products of an authentic assessment task
Colthorpe, Kay, Gray, Harrison, Ernst, Hardy and Ainscough, Louise (2019). How authentic is it? Evaluating the products of an authentic assessment task. International Conference on Higher Education Advances, Valencia, Spain, 26-28 June 2019. Valencia, Spain: Universitat Politècnica València. doi: 10.4995/head19.2019.9067
Featured
2019
Journal Article
How biomedical science students use their mobile devices for learning
Vasudeva, Sanjay, Colthorpe, Kay, Ernst, Hardy and Lam, Kai Wei (2019). How biomedical science students use their mobile devices for learning. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 11 (3), 38-54. doi: 10.4018/IJMBL.2019070103
2018
Journal Article
How do students deal with difficult physiological knowledge?
Colthorpe, Kay Louise, Abe, Haruna and Ainscough, Louise (2018). How do students deal with difficult physiological knowledge?. Advances in Physiology Education, 42 (4), 555-564. doi: 10.1152/advan.00102.2018
2018
Journal Article
Online instructional anatomy videos: student usage, self-efficacy, and performance in upper limb regional anatomy assessment
Langfield, Tracey, Colthorpe, Kay and Ainscough, Louise (2018). Online instructional anatomy videos: student usage, self-efficacy, and performance in upper limb regional anatomy assessment. Anatomical Sciences Education, 11 (5), 461-470. doi: 10.1002/ase.1756
Featured
2018
Journal Article
CLIPS (Communication Learning in Practice for Scientists): a new online resource leverages assessment to help students and academics improve science communication
Rowland, Susan, Hardy, James, Colthorpe, Kay, Pedwell, Rhianna and Kuchel, Louise (2018). CLIPS (Communication Learning in Practice for Scientists): a new online resource leverages assessment to help students and academics improve science communication. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, 19 (1) 1466. doi: 10.1128/jmbe.v19i1.1466
Featured
2017
Journal Article
Prompting undergraduate students’ metacognition of learning: implementing ‘meta-learning’ assessment tasks in the biomedical sciences
Colthorpe, Kay, Sharifirad, Tania, Ainscough, Louise, Anderson, Stephen and Zimbardi, Kirsten (2017). Prompting undergraduate students’ metacognition of learning: implementing ‘meta-learning’ assessment tasks in the biomedical sciences. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 43 (2), 272-285. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2017.1334872
2017
Journal Article
Learning hindrances and self-regulated learning strategies reported by undergraduate students: identifying characteristics of resilient students
Ainscough, Louise, Stewart, Ellen, Colthorpe, Kay and Zimbardi, Kirsten (2017). Learning hindrances and self-regulated learning strategies reported by undergraduate students: identifying characteristics of resilient students. Studies in Higher Education, 43 (12), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2017.1315085
Featured
2017
Journal Article
Assessing students' ability to critically evaluate evidence in an inquiry-based undergraduate laboratory course
Colthorpe, Kay, Abraha, Hyab Mehari, Zimbardi, Kirsten, Ainscough, Louise, Spiers, Jereme G. , Chen, Hsiao-Jou and Lavidis, Nickolas A. (2017). Assessing students' ability to critically evaluate evidence in an inquiry-based undergraduate laboratory course. Advances in Physiology Education, 41 (1), 154-162. doi: 10.1152/advan.00118.2016
Featured
2017
Conference Publication
Student-initiated mobile learning in higher education
Vasudeva, Sanjay, Colthorpe, Kay and Ernst, Hardy (2017). Student-initiated mobile learning in higher education. 16th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning, mLearn 2017, Larnaca, Cyprus, October 30-1, 2017. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. doi: 10.1145/3136907.3136914
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Changes in biology self-efficacy during a first-year university course
Ainscough, Louise, Foulis, Eden, Colthorpe, Kay, Zimbardi, Kirsten, Robertson-Dean, Melanie, Chunduri, Prasad and Lluka, Lesley (2016). Changes in biology self-efficacy during a first-year university course. CBE Life Sciences Education, 15 (2) 19, 19.1-19.12. doi: 10.1187/cbe.15-04-0092
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Are they using my feedback? The extent of students’ feedback use has a large impact on subsequent academic performance
Zimbardi, Kirsten, Colthorpe, Kay, Dekker, Andrew, Engstrom, Craig, Bugarcic, Andrea, Worthy, Peter, Victor, Ruban, Chunduri, Prasad, Lluka, Lesley and Long, Phil (2016). Are they using my feedback? The extent of students’ feedback use has a large impact on subsequent academic performance. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42 (4), 1-20. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2016.1174187
Featured
2015
Journal Article
Using inquiry-based practicals to promote students’ critical evaluation of the scientific literature and maturation of their understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge
Zimbardi, Kirsten, Loyle-Langholz, Anne, Kibedi, Judit and Colthorpe, Kay (2015). Using inquiry-based practicals to promote students’ critical evaluation of the scientific literature and maturation of their understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 23 (5), 91-103.
Featured
2015
Journal Article
The roles of mentoring and motivation in student teaching assistant interactions and in improving experience in first-Year biology laboratory classes
Good, Jonathon, Colthorpe, Kay, Zimbardi, Kirsten and Kafer, Georgia (2015). The roles of mentoring and motivation in student teaching assistant interactions and in improving experience in first-Year biology laboratory classes. Journal of College Science Teaching, 44 (4), 88-98. doi: 10.2505/4/jcst15_044_04_88
Featured
2015
Journal Article
Know thy student! Combining learning analytics and critical reflections to develop a targeted intervention for promoting self-regulated learning
Colthorpe, Kay, Zimbardi, Kirsten, Ainscough, Louise and Anderson, Stephen (2015). Know thy student! Combining learning analytics and critical reflections to develop a targeted intervention for promoting self-regulated learning. Journal of Learning Analytics, 2 (1), 134-155. doi: 10.18608/jla.2015.21.7
Featured
2015
Journal Article
Progressive development of scientific literacy through assessment in inquiry-based biomedical science curricula
Colthorpe, Kay, Zimbardi, Kirsten, Bugarcic, Andrea and Smith, Aaron (2015). Progressive development of scientific literacy through assessment in inquiry-based biomedical science curricula. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 23 (5), 52-64.
Featured
2014
Journal Article
The development of undergraduate science students’ scientific argument skills in oral presentations
Bugarcic, Andrea, Colthorpe, Kay, Farrand, Kirsten, Su, Hing Wee and Jackson, Kelly (2014). The development of undergraduate science students’ scientific argument skills in oral presentations. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematice Education, 22 (5), 43-60.
Featured
2014
Journal Article
Peer feedback enhances a "journal club" for undergraduate science students that develops oral communication and critical evaluation skills
Colthorpe, Kay, Chen, Xuebin and Zimbardi, Kirsten (2014). Peer feedback enhances a "journal club" for undergraduate science students that develops oral communication and critical evaluation skills. Journal of Learning Design, 7 (2), 105-119. doi: 10.5204/jld.v7i2.198
Featured
2013
Journal Article
A set of vertically integrated inquiry-based practical curricula that develop scientific thinking skills for large cohorts of undergraduate students
Zimbardi, Kirsten, Bugarcic, Andrea, Colthorpe, Kay, Good, Jonathon P. and Lluka, Lesley (2013). A set of vertically integrated inquiry-based practical curricula that develop scientific thinking skills for large cohorts of undergraduate students. Advances In Physiology Education, 37 (4), 303-315. doi: 10.1152/advan.00082.2012
Featured
2013
Book
Threshold learning outcome 4: communication
Colthorpe, Kay, Rowland, Susan and Leach, Joan (2013). Threshold learning outcome 4: communication. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT).
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Kay Colthorpe is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Current projects in the Biomedical Education Research Group include:
- Student learning in the sciences - How do science students learn? How can this learning be facilitated, improved and made more efficient?
- How do students deal with difficult concepts in biomedical science? What makes those concepts difficult to learn?
- Enhancing study strategies and learning: evaluating how students regulate their learning and the value of meta-learning tasks for improving learning?
- Developing self-evaluation: student’s ability to self-evaluate is critical to academic success. Can we enhance the process of self-evaluation through collaborative tasks?
- Development of professional identity in biomedical science students
- Graduate destinations and employability of biomedical science students
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Current projects in the Biomedical Education Research Group include:
- Student learning in the sciences - How do science students learn? How can this learning be facilitated, improved and made more efficient?
- How do students deal with difficult concepts in biomedical science? What makes those concepts difficult to learn?
- Enhancing study strategies and learning: evaluating how students regulate their learning and the value of meta-learning tasks for improving learning?
- Developing self-evaluation: student’s ability to self-evaluate is critical to academic success. Can we enhance the process of self-evaluation through collaborative tasks?
- Development of professional identity in biomedical science students
- Graduate destinations and employability of biomedical science students
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Developing Professional Identity of Biomedical Science Students
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Louise Ainscough, Dr Lisa Akison
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Doctor Philosophy
The diagnostic assessment of critical thinking to inform teaching design
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Stephanie Macmahon
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Improving learning experience on the adaptive learning platforms through learning analytics and student feedback
Principal Advisor
Media
Enquiries
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