Rate My Professor Sean Dyde

Dr Sean Dyde serves as a Lecturer in Enabling Programs (Teaching Focused) within the Tertiary Enabling Program at La Trobe University. He coordinates a range of foundational subjects aimed at preparing enabling students for university study, including Foundation Algebra (LTU0005), Foundation Statistics (LTU0006), Thinking Scientifically (LTU0010), World Changing Science (LTU0012), Critical Inquiry (EDU0CT4), and Mathematical Communication (EDU0ST3). These Year Level 0 courses develop essential skills in mathematics, statistics, scientific thinking, and critical analysis. In 2025, Dr Dyde was a key member of La Trobe's Tertiary Preparation Program team, comprising Associate Professor Emmaline Bexley, Dr Jelena Medan, Hayley May, Dr Mohammad Al Bayer, and Dr Lamya El Ayoubi, which received recognition for teaching excellence in equity. This accolade highlights his contributions to supporting diverse student cohorts through innovative preparatory education.

Dr Dyde earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2014, with a thesis entitled 'Brains, minds and nerves in British medicine and physiology, 1764–1852.' His doctoral work examined the evolution of concepts related to the brain, mind, and nervous system in British medical and physiological discourse during the late Enlightenment era. After completing his doctorate, he held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. He later served as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, where he contributed to the 'Making Biological Minds' project under Professor Gregory Radick. Dr Dyde's research focuses on the history of medicine and physiology in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain. Key publications include 'Cullen, a Cautionary Tale' in Medical History (2015), which critiques the enduring influence and pitfalls of William Cullen's pathological framework, and 'George Combe and common sense' in The British Journal for the History of Science (2015), exploring phrenologist George Combe's integration of common sense philosophy with craniology. His scholarship bridges historical analysis of scientific thought with practical applications in contemporary higher education pedagogy.