Teaching Excellence Award Winners 2014
The Proctor’s Award was launched in 2014 as a collaboration between the Students’ Association and the Proctor’s Office. The award looks to recognise and reward commitments made by students, particularly class representatives and School Presidents, in enhancing learning and teaching. You can find further information about the award and this year’s winner here.
Dr Alun Hughes
Alun Hughes was nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award for his dedication and passion for teaching, as well as his use of a wide range of teaching methods to improve student learning. The nomination from the School of Medicine mentioned Alun’s overall enthusiasm and commitment to enhancing the student experience, which is evident from the excellent student feedback received. The School also highlighted what an effective teacher and popular teaching Alun is.
The judging panel were interested in learning about Alun’s conception of outreach activities including “Skeptics in the Pub.” Alun has incorporated many elements of this in to his teaching, enhancing the student experience across a range of teaching formats including practical laboratories, lectures and self-guided studies.
Dr Rebecca Sweetman
Rebecca Sweetman was nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award for her commitment to successful teaching over many years, along with her passion for innovative teaching and assessment methods. The School of Classics mentioned the excellent student feedback she received which described her inspirational and enthusiastic approach to teaching. Rebecca organises an annual 12 day field trip to Greece as part of module AN4127, so that students can experience on-site teaching. This proves to be extremely popular with students and is a clear example of her innovative teaching methods.
The judging panel particularly were particularly impressed by Rebecca’s collaboration with the School of Computer Science and CAPOD to develop online resources and learning tools. The results of this collaborative work have been adopted out with the University including virtual reconstructions of archaeological sites which is now being adopted by Historic Scotland.
Dr Petr Kilian
Petr Kilian was nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award for his outstanding teaching in the classroom. The nomination from his School spoke of his determination to engage with students and challenge them to learn through innovative teaching and assessment methods.
The panel were particularly interested in Petr’s approach to oral assessment of experiments and also his encouragement of self-directed learning through the target molecule final experiment.Petr includes a live demonstration in every lecture which has proved to engage and enthuse his students. Students have described his lectures are a ‘must attend’ part of their week and the overall feedback received for his modules has been outstanding.
Dr Chris Jones
Dr Chris Jones is a Senior Lecturer in the School of English.
Chris Jones was selected as a winner of a Teaching Excellence Award for his consistent record of excellence in lecturing at Sub-Honours level in particular and also for his involvement in teaching innovation. The nomination from the School of English mentioned his intellectually stimulating teaching in the classroom, especially in creative writing practices, and also the excellent student feedback for his modules.
Chris has also been responsible for setting up a number of new modules. In particular, the judging panel were impressed by his idea for the creation of the Great Ideas modules. He was involved in the planning and design group, and became the first course coordinator of ID1004, organising a team of 6 postgraduate tutors and around 16 lecturers from over 10 schools across both faculties.