Professor David Dewhurst

Notes

David Dewhurst has a BSc and PhD in Physiology from the University of Sheffield. As Director of Educational Information Services in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine he has College-wide responsibility for educational technology issues and as Director of the Learning Technology Section he has academic and strategic leadership responsibility for the College’s academic support services including operational, staff and budgetary management of ~30 mostly academic-related grade staff. The work of LTS in supporting teaching and learning was recognised nationally by the Section being awarded one of the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education (2005) for ‘The Virtual Hospital Online – transforming medical and veterinary education’ (www.royalanniversarytrust.org.uk/index.php?article_id=34).

From 2003-2006 he was Assistant Principal with University-wide responsibility for strategic planning and policy development in e-learning and e-health

Before coming to Edinburgh in February 1999 he was Professor of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Health & Social Care at Leeds Metropolitan University where he managed a courseware development project for over 12 years which produced over 30 computer-based learning programs in physiology and pharmacology (all of which are distributed by Sheffield BioScience Programs). He is deputy Chair of the IUPHAR (International Union of Pharmacologists) Teaching Committee, and a long-time member of the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) Education sub-committee and the BPS pharma-CAL-ogy Steering Group.

Research Interests

Using technology to support teaching and learning in medicine and health sciences

• development and evaluation of educational software to support medical, biomedical and healthcare sciences learning and teaching.
• development and evaluation of technology-based alternatives to using animals in teaching in HE.
• using technology to support teaching & learning in pharmacology.
• development and evaluation of educational technology platforms and toolsets including Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), content-authoring tools, learning object repositories and game-informed, scenario-based learning.

Research Funding >£1.4 m in period August 2008 – July 2010

Currently P.I. on four major projects

Supervise 1 Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Currently supervise two PhD students working in the innovative area of game-informed learning and furthering the University’s reputation as a leader in e-learning and e-learning in medical education.

Research and Development Funding

• £439,024 eLiCE: e-learning in clinical education – Scottish Government International Development Fund (Malawi) (PI) April 2010 – March 2013. Note that this includes funding of £20,000 each from Johnson & Johnson Medical Ltd. and The Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.
• €38,000 Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation (Switzerland) to support the replacement of animal use in teaching in Eastern European universities (P.I. and co-applicant with Prof Z Kojic, University of Belgrade, Serbia), 2010-2011.
• £71,294 The Lord Dowding Fund ‘ ReCAL3 - enhancing the impact of computer-based educational alternatives on animal use in teaching biomedical sciences’ (PI) January 2010 – August 2011.
• £40,000 The Lord Dowding Fund ‘Survey of European universities use of animals in teaching’ (PI) October 2009 – September 2010.
• £24,000 NHS Education Scotland ‘Decontamination Education for Dental Teams’ co-PI with Irene Black Jan 2009- Jan 2010
• €41,400 Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation (Switzerland) to run a workshop in Belgrade, Serbia with the aim of replacing animal use in teaching in Eastern European universities (PI), 2008-09.
• £397,643 ‘Lifelong Medical Education Online’ – Scottish Government International Development Fund (Malawi) (PI) October 2008 – September 2011.
• £50,000 NHS Education Scotland May 2008 – April 2009 for e-learning contribution to development of Stroke Training and Awareness Resources (STARS) for nurses in Acute Stroke Units.
• £40,000 NHS Education Scotland May 2007 – April 2008 for e-learning contribution to Stroke Training and Awareness Resources (STAR’s) project.
• £147,503 The Lord Dowding Fund Feb 2007- Jan 2010: ReCAL2 - enhancing the impact of computer-based educational alternatives on animal use in biomedical sciences.
• £176,000 Scottish Executive International Development Fund 2006 - 2008: Using E-Learning to Build Capacity for Health Care Professional Education in Malawi
• The Lord Dowding Fund to support a project ‘A reusable learning objects approach to stimulating the use of alternatives in higher education ­ a sustainable technology for the 21st Century’. £105, 564 over three years, 2004-2007 (PI).
• The Joint Infrastructure Systems Committee (JISC) Exchange for Learning Programme (X4L) Strand A­ ‘ACETS’ £197,401 over three years, 2002 ­2005 (PI). Joint application (Edinburgh lead site) with universities of Cambridge, Newcastle (LTSN-01), Birmingham and Suffolk College and Edinburgh Telford College.

Publications

He has published over 200 research papers in e-learning, and over 40 computer-assisted learning programs.

Publications 2008-2010

1. Begg, M., Dewhurst, D. & Ross, M. (2009) Game informed virtual patients: catalysts for online learning communities and professional development of clinical educators. Invited book chapter J.O. Lindberg and A. D. Olofsson (eds) ‘Online Learning Communities and Teacher Professional Development: Methods for Improved Education Delivery’
2. Kojic, Z. Z. & Dewhurst, D.G. (2009) Impact of introducing computer-based alternatives to using animals in teaching physiology and pharmacology at Balkan universities – a pilot study. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals (ATLA) 37, 547–556.
3. Dewhurst, D., Borgstein, E., Grant, L. & Begg, M. (2009) Online Virtual Patients – a driver for change in Medical and Healthcare Professional Education in developing countries? Medical Teacher Special Issue on Virtual Patients Volume 31 Issue 8, pp 721-724
4. Begg, M., Ellaway, R., Dewhurst, D. & McLeod, H. (2008) Logos and Mythos: the political dilemmas of Web 2.0 in an accreditation-driven educational environment. Invited chapter submitted for consideration to R. Land & S. Bayne to Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice (Sense Publishers, Rotterdam).
5. Dewhurst, D. (2008) Is it possible to meet the learning objectives of undergraduate pharmacology classes with non-animal models? Alternatives to Animal Testing and Experimentation (AATEX) Vol 14: Special Issue, 207-212 Proc. 6th World Congress on Alternatives & Animal Use in the Life Sciences August 21-25, 2007, Tokyo, Japan.
6. Dewhurst, D., Cromar, S. & Ellaway, R. (2008) A new model for developing computer-based alternatives to using animals in tertiary education. Alternatives to Animal Testing and Experimentation (AATEX) Vol 14: Special Issue, 239-242 Proc. 6th World Congress on Alternatives & Animal Use in the Life Sciences August 21-25, 2007, Tokyo, Japan.

Conference Proceedings -

7. Dewhurst, D., & Chimalizeni, Y. (2008) Collaborative Development of Online Virtual Patients for Medical and Healthcare Professional Education in Malawi. 3 pages, Abstracts Book, eLearning Africa: 3rd International Conference on ICT for Development, Education & Training. AICC, Accra, Ghana 28-30 May 2008.
8. Begg, M. & Dewhurst, D. (2008) Using e- and game-informed learning to develop new teaching and learningapproaches to clinical education in Malawi. Abstract Book, Association of Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Conference, Prague, Czech Republic August 2008.
9. Edgar, S., Begg, M., Maran, N. & Dewhurst, D. (2009) Improving psychological fidelity in scenario-based patient simulation for medical undergraduates. Abstract Book, Association of Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Conference, Malaga, Spain. August 2009.
10. Willder, J., Begg, M. & Dewhurst, D. (2009) Labyrinth and the Liminal Student. Abstract Book, Association of Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Conference, Malaga, Spain. August 2009.
11. Dewhurst (2009) Computer-based replacement alternatives in university education - animal free teaching. Abstract book “Ahimsa and animal alternatives – the implications and benefits of teaching humane science”; Gandhi-Gruber-Doerenkamp Cener (MGDC) for Alternatives to the Use of Animals in Life Science Education. Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India, 2nd October 2009.
12. Kojić Z, Ille T, Dewhurst D. (2009) Impact of Introducing e-Learning in Teaching Physiology and Pharmacology at Balkan Universities – a Pilot Study. Proceedings of the 2nd Congress of Physiological Sciences of Serbia, September 17-20, 2009, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kragujevac, P109.
13. Dewhurst, D.G. (2010) Innovations in Pharmacology Teaching. Proceeds of the 6th Annual Hellenic Society of Pharmacology (in press).
14. White, P. & Dewhurst, D. (2010) e-Learning and e-Assessment in pharmacology (Workshop Session Pharmacology education for a sustainable future. Conference Proceedings WorldPharma 2010 Copenhagen, Denmark July 2010 (accepted)
15. Dewhurst, D. & White, P. (2010) e-Learning and e-Assessment in Pharmacology. Pre-conference (WorldPharma) Satellite Symposium: Effective Teaching of Responsible Pharmacologists for a safer tomorrow. Copenhagen, Denmark July 2010 (accepted).
16. Kojic Z. & Dewhurst D. (2010) An analysis of the current use of animals in teaching physiology and pharmacology in Eastern Europe Universities. Pre-conference (WorldPharma) Satellite Symposium: Effective Teaching of Responsible Pharmacologists for a safer tomorrow. Copenhagen, Denmark July 2010 (accepted).
17. Forgie A. H., Harrison J. A., Dewhurst D., Begg, M. and Rennie J. S. (2010) The Development Of A Collaborative Learning Environment Online (CLEO) In Scottish Dental Education. Conference Proceedings of the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) Amsterdam, The Netherlands, August 2010 (accepted).