An interdisciplinary sleep and circadian online course for first-year undergraduates

2018 Focused Projects Grant – Educational

Yu Sun Bin, PhD
University of Sydney

Key Project Outcomes

With combined funding from the AASM Foundation and the University of Sydney, our team created a new online course for undergraduate students. OLET1510 Sleep and Circadian Rhythms introduces students to how these biological systems impact health, performance, and society. The support from the AASM Foundation has facilitated dedicated time on this educational project and this has resulted in a clear course design with high-quality content.

A unique feature of the course are the interdisciplinary perspectives, which feature academics from engineering, biology, public health, physics, psychology, and medicine. These perspectives serve to highlight diverse career pathways open to students and the value of all disciplines in contributing to our collective knowledge and understanding. Currently in its first year, the course has attracted over 500 students from undergraduate degrees in science, arts, commerce, economics, vet science, and health.

Going ahead, we will evaluate the course formally so that we can continue to improve it in future iterations. We will gather feedback from students on the quality of teaching and how it has contributed to their knowledge and understanding. We also aim to follow up students to see if the course has had long-term impact and improved students’ sleep and circadian health.