Vice Chancellor Teaching Awards 2007
Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics
School of Chemistry
Dr Andrew Hector
School of Civil Engineering and the Environment
Dr Malcolm Hudson
School of Electronics and Computer Science
Mr Julian Field
Dr Steve Gunn
School of Engineering Sciences
Professor Philippa Reed
School of Geography
Dr David Conradson
School of Mathematics
Dr Christine Currie
School of Ocean and Earth Sciences
Dr Jon Copley
School of Physics and Astronomy
Professor Richard Harley
Institute of Sound & Vibration Research
Dr Neil S Ferguson
Optoelectonics Research Centre
Professor Robert Eason
Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences
School of Art
Mr Tim Metcalf
School of Education
Ms Doreen Challen
School of Humanities
Dr John McGavin
Dr Joan Tumblety
School of Law
Mr Filippo Lorenzon
School of Management
Dr Ian Harwood
School of Social Sciences
Professor John Micklewright
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
School of Biological Sciences
Ms Katy Johnson
Health Care Innovation Unit
Ms Lesley O'Dell
School of Health Professions & Rehabilitation Sciences
Mrs Nicky Wilson
Ms Heidi Solheim
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Mr Mark Radcliffe
Mrs Di Carpenter
Dr Laetitia Zeeman
Dr Jo Brown
School of Psychology
Dr Itiel Dror
Dr Edward Redhead
Dr Richard Dudley
With : Miss Paula Engelbrecht
Miss Tamas Makany
Miss Katie Meadmore
VC Additional Award
School of Humanities
Dr Paul Cooper
Centre for Excellence in Inter Professional Learning in the Public Sector
These details are linked from the CETL: IPPS website
School of Health Professions & Rehabilitation Sciences
Dr Jo Adams
Mrs Maggie Donovan Hall
Dr Peter White
Mr Lee Price
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Ms Emma Böckle
Miss Anne Gale
Mrs Michelle Cowen
Student Services
Mrs Janet Skinner
Health Care Innovation Unit
Ms Claire Ashford
Profiles of Award Winners
Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics
Dr Andrew Hector
Andrew Hector gained a BSc at Imperial College and a PhD at UCL before moving to Southampton as a postdoctoral fellow in 1995. He has been a Royal Society University Research Fellow since 2000 and was appointed to a lectureship in 2006.
Andrew was nominated for a VC's teaching award for his commitment to teaching and willingness to take on significantly more teaching duties than are normally expected of a research fellow. This has included redesigning aspects of a 1st year core course, delivery of courses at all undergraduate levels, development of postgraduate units and enthusiastic supervision of project students. He has also participated in ancillary activities such as skills courses and a popular schools demonstration lecture, aspects of which have now been incorporated into other outreach activities.
School of Civil Engineering and the Environment
Dr Malcolm Hudson
Dr Malcolm Hudson was a mature graduate in environmental sciences in 1995. He subsequently completed a PhD examining human impacts on coastal ecosystems in 2001, which was completed while working part-time as a teaching Fellow. He is now a member of the School of Civil Engineering and the Environment. He has developed a series of teaching techniques aimed at making the learning process more active and effective. He uses workshop sessions to develop skills and has developed ‘internet seminars’ for final year undergraduates. These are student-led discussions which form the basis of a coursework assessment in this module, and enable students to engage with each other and share knowledge on several issues concurrently, but using entirely sourced material for their arguments. He believes that the learning experience is always likely to be more effective if it interesting- fun, even; and that opportunities should always be taken get away from traditional lecture/seminar approaches if the learning outcomes can be better achieved. He also believes strongly that the best students can produce research of high quality, and has worked with two recent graduates in getting papers based on their dissertations accepted in international journals.
Schoolof Electronics and Computer Science
Mr Julian Field & Dr Steve Gunn
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School of Engineering Sciences
Professor Philippa Reed
I am a Professor in Structural Materials in the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Southampton. I graduated with a BA (Hons) in Materials Science and Metallurgy from Cambridge University in 1985, where I also obtained my Ph.D. on brittle failure in nuclear pressure vessel steels. Subsequent post-doctoral research at Cambridge investigated fatigue failure of aerospace turbine disc materials, I then spent six months at Oxford University as a SERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow before joining the Department of Engineering Materials in 1992 as a lecturer. I was Head of the Materials Research Group between October 2002 and July 2004, and am now the Director of Graduate School in SES and currently Chair of the Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Group at the University.
My interests in e-learning techniques stem from early experiences as an OU tutor. I have developed a range of web-based teaching support for Materials courses at Southampton University. The main benefit of such packages is as part of an integrated teaching approach, where several different forms of teaching (e.g. large groups, small groups, individual work, face-to-face teaching, web based resources etc) are used together. I have used the Blackboard system to integrate these various packages, including research into virtual tutorials, quizzes, and use of discussion boards by my students. In a big course (200+ students) like Part 1 Materials, offering students formative assessment opportunities through web-based teaching materials, allows them to go through tricky concepts at their own pace, whilst receiving feedback on their progress. Another innovative use of Blackboard has been in creating a detailed resource for postgraduate students in SES, so that training materials, administrative information, advice on research degree milestones etc can all be accessed from one place.
Dr David Conradson
David Conradson graduated with BSc (Hons) and MSc from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and with a PhD from the University of Bristol. He was appointed to a Lectureship in Human Geography at the University of Southampton in 1999 and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2007.
David was nominated for the Teaching Award in Geography on the basis of his third year Welfare and Wellbeing course, which explores the geographical dimensions of material and psychosocial wellbeing amongst populations in developed world settings. The award recognised his efforts to develop a research-led model of teaching, in which the process of critical enquiry was demonstrated in the classroom. In particular, online datasets and streamed video resources were used to illustrate processes of analysis and engagement with public debate. The aim was to foster a collective thinking and interaction space, motivating students to undertake independent study after the lecture.
Within his teaching David seeks to promote learning by providing opportunities for the expression and development of students’ views and ideas, and through constructive feedback.
Dr Christine Currie
Christine Currie works as a lecturer in Operational Research (OR) in the School of Mathematics, teaching mainly on the very successful MSc courses in OR and OR with Finance. She has been with the University of Southampton since 2001, first as an MSc student, then as a PhD student and has been a lecturer in the School of Mathematics for the past 3 years. Her research focuses on real life uses of mathematics – pricing airline tickets and modeling the spread of tuberculosis in Africa being two of her most active areas of work. When not in the office she’s usually running or orienteering and spends a lot of time coaching orienteering to local juniors. Christine is currently on maternity leave, due back in May 2008
School of Ocean and Earth Sciences
Dr Jon Copley
Jon Copley graduated with a BSc(Hons) in Zoology from the University of Sheffield in 1992 and obtained an MSc and PhD in Oceanography from the University of Southampton by 1998. Following two years as a reporter and news editor at New Scientist magazine, he was appointed as a Teaching Fellow in the School of Ocean & Earth Science (SOES) in 2000, becoming a Lecturer in Marine Ecology in 2007.
Jon was nominated for the Teaching Award in SOES for educational excellence and innovative use of new media in teaching. One of his modules has consistently received outstanding scores in student evaluations, while his programme of key skills development for Masters students contributed to excellent exit questionnaire scores for their research skill training. He has also pioneered the educational use of audio and video podcasts in SOES and conducted pedagogical research into student use of these materials, publishing his results in the journal Innovations in Education and Teaching International.
Jon regards teaching and research as synergistic activities, each informing the other. Within his teaching, he tries to convey material through a wide range of media and experiences and create opportunities for students to learn how to think.
School of Physics and Astronomy
Professor Richard Harley
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Institute of Sound & Vibration Research
Dr Neil S Ferguson
A Southampton graduate (Maths) and post-graduate (PhD ISVR), I was appointed British Aerospace Lecturer in Structural Dynamics in 1986. This period lasted 8 years, combining juggling the external demands of the sponsor, my teaching commitments and research. Subsequently I was an industrial lecturer till 1997, when I became the Undergraduate Programmes Organiser. An eventful period of 10 years followed, fulfilling administration requirements (including QA inspection and external IMechE and IOA accreditation) and maintaining a coherent programme in addition to my teaching and research.
Personal experiences have steered my approaches to teaching, with awareness that for students it is a lifetime experience. In this sense I have tried to be student focused. Work has been needed to ensure that the learning should be enjoyable, structured and useful; maintaining practical design and laboratory elements. External design projects and visits have also been essential, so giving opportunities for students to experience the application of the discipline. Feedback and personal student support has similarly been a significant activity, providing advice and counselling in many circumstances to ensure progression and attainment at the highest possible outcomes. Ultimately having seen our graduates becoming successful and established in acoustics and engineering has been very rewarding.
Optoelectonics Research Centre
Professor Robert Eason
Rob Eason obtained a BSc in Applied Physics from University College London in 1975, and a DPhil from the University of York in 1981. After a four-year period at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, he was appointed as a ‘new-blood’ lecturer at the University of Essex in 1984. He subsequently joined the University of Southampton in 1988 where he has been lecturer, senior lecturer, Reader and in 2000 was appointed to a personal chair.
Rob works within the research-only ORC, but has also taught undergraduates within the schools of Physics and Astronomy and ECS for almost 20 years. He has been involved in many areas of learning and teaching, quality reviews and enhancement, and Faculty teaching committees. In 2001 he was awarded a Royal Society and British Association Millennium Fellowship for his outreach activities in promoting science to school children, an activity he then continued via an EPSRC Public Understanding of Science grant.
Since 2003, Rob has been chair of the ORC Graduate School Board, which oversees all postgraduate research matters, from recruitment to graduation, and was made Deputy Head of School (Education) in 2006. He receives consistently high ratings in UG student feedback questionnaires, and this year scored a 5/5 rating from the of 23 ORC postgraduate students.
Rob’s teaching includes: 1 minute summaries at the start of each lecture, quiz introduction / wake-up questions, throwing out questions to the class, ask your neighbour, examples in class, demonstrations, fill-in-the-gaps notes, use of CHALK on the board ( NO powerpoint), always 2 revision lectures, use of humour when appropriate, good class control, use of current materials outside the textbook, supply of all diagrams used available on the web, one lecture going through last years exam paper and answers.
Faculty of Law, Art and Social Sciences
Mr Tim Metcalf
Currently I hold the position of a 0.6 lecturer on the BA Graphic Arts course. I have gained six years lecturing experience since concluding my Masters Degree from Central Saint Martins in 2000. During this period of teaching I have kept a successful graphic design practice which I run from my studio in London’s W1. Within my teaching I have taught a number of students who have won awards at the international Design and Art Directors Guild and Young Creatives’ Network competitions. The ward was mainly for my contribution to the launch of the course and my participation on the Analogue and Digital Practices lecture series.
Ms Doreen Challen
Having studied psychology at the University of Edinburgh, I went on to take a PGCE in primary education in Bangor, Wales. I then taught across the primary age range in Scotland and England before becoming a local authority literacy consultant in 1996, moving to the University in 2000. Most of my subsequent work has been in postgraduate initial teacher education, specialising in English. Although my previous roles taught me much about ‘what works’ in teaching and learning - much of which is transferable across ages and audiences – I came to the view that a missing link, for many teachers, was the theoretical underpinning that promotes coherent and principled practice. To help our students appreciate the relevance and importance of this, I design active sequences of learning which blend collaborative tasks, discussion and critical reflection with insights from theory and research in ways which engage and challenge students. In so doing, I try to model consistently the positive, enthusiastic attitudes and empowering view of education which I hope these new teachers will import into their own ways of working. I am pleased that my nomination by students indicates an understanding and appreciation of this approach.
Dr John McGavin
My MA and PhD in Medieval Studies are from Edinburgh, and medieval theatre is my core interest. Southampton was my first appointment, and I remain as excited about teaching at university as I was on the train home from the interview. The study of medieval literature and culture will not cure or feed someone or build wells. But I hope I got the award for helping students to understand and enjoy what it can contribute, and to discover their own abilities through studying it. (If you want to know more, why not come along?)
My parents were both teachers, and I have learned from wonderful teachers, some of whom are also colleagues, but my own attitude to education, from both teaching and learning points of view, is that it expresses human beings’ love and respect for each other, and if we remember that, we cannot be misled by whatever political metaphors are fashionable for describing it. From that also come enthusiasm, which students need to see in the teacher, and a readiness to change approach, if necessary. Southampton’s high reputation in medieval studies has been established over 30-40 years. It has been a privilege to be part of that effort.
Dr Joan Tumblety
I graduated with a BA (Hons) in History and English from the University of Western Australia before embarking on my doctoral work at the University of Cambridge. I have taught in the UK ever since, starting out in my career at Lancaster University and then moving to History at the University of Southampton where I have taught since 1996. I am principally a cultural historian, and my current research project is an exploration of the place (and political uses) of physical culture in France in the 1920s and 1930s.
I have always felt a strong ethical and professional commitment to teaching and to my students, which perhaps in part grew out of an awareness of the difference that engaged teaching made to me when I was a student. I particularly like consulting with students individually on their research essays, and trying to encourage them to produce their best work. I regard myself as a supportive and enthusiastic teacher rather than an innovative one, but I have been involved in the implementation of History's new curriculum, introduced after 2001. For example, I have played a central role in teaching historiography - the history and philosophy of our own discipline - to our first-year students, and I think it's important to communicate to them the difference that thinking historiographically should make to their own development as historians.
I have also been responsible for developing the induction programme for the second-years on our innovative Group Project course, which encourages students not only to work in teams but also to engage in debates around public history, and to present their research to a non-academic audience. I have also introduced an element of role play into my teaching, initially in connection with an LTSN grant that I shared with my colleague Trish Skinner. I have found that this alternative seminar format, in which each student is asked to research and represent the ideas of a different historical figure, can be effective in humanising complex phenomena, allowing closer engagement with primary sources and encouraging students to intellectualise past human action.
Mr Filippo Lorenzon
Filippo is a Lecturer in the School of Law and a Member of the Institute of Maritime Law of the University of Southampton. He has a LL.D. (Trieste, Italy) and a LL.M. (Soton). He is qualified as an Avvocato in Italy and as a Solicitor in England and Wales. He is currently teaching commercial and maritime law at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Filippo has introduced in his teaching what he calls “file-based case studies” specifically devised to meet law students’ needs and simulate legal practice. Instead of receiving a tutorial sheet with a summary of facts, the students find on BLACKBOARD a fact sheet or a letter from an imaginary client and a number of documents (contracts, receipts, reports, letters…) especially tailored for the tutorial. These complex tutorial sheets actually imitate a real life file (hence the name “file-based”) and are usually welcomed with enthusiasm by the students. The aim is clearly twofold: first, students get to know these documents and the law behind their wording in a quite detailed manner; and – more importantly – they develop practical legal skills which will be tested during the vacation schemes or mini pupillages they will start during the summer.
Dr Ian Harwood
After working for ten years as a project manager in industry, I came to Southampton in 1998 to do a PhD which looked at risk management during mergers and acquisitions. I then took a lectureship within the School of Management and my current teaching responsibilities include: 'Introduction to Management' (Level HE1 - 300 students), 'Project Management' (Level HE3 - 120 students) and 'Research Methods' (Level M - 150 students).
The VC Teaching Award mainly recognised the work I have been doing with my first year undergraduate unit (Introduction to Management) where I have acted upon student feedback over the last five years with a resultant year-on-year increase in student evaluation scores
('continuous improvement' to use the management jargon). Managing such a large group (c.300 students) is always a challenge and I find that clear and timely communication is one key to success. I make good use of the Blackboard VLE (beyond just posting lecture notes) and I also use Perception Questionmark for formative and summative tests. More recently, I have experimented with 'virtual' tutorials followed by a lively (student-led) debate via the forums on Blackboard over the period of a week. This kind of activity was well received by the students.
I completed the PCAP in 2003 which really gave me a broader understanding of the learning process. I think the main lesson for me is to constantly strive to keep the subject relevant to the changing body of students and don't be afraid to try new modes of delivery, assessment or feedback.
Professor John Micklewright
I graduated from Exeter with a BA in Economics and Geography and then did a PhD at the LSE. After three years as post-doc fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, I became Lecturer in Economics at Queen Mary, University of London. I spent 1989-96 on leave at the European University Institute, Florence, being promoted to Reader and then Professor while away. I then worked for the UN (in a UNICEF research centre), before joining Southampton as Professor of Social Statistics in 2002.
I was nominated for the VC's award for my work in developing large undergraduate 'service' units in statistics, especially the first year unit, 'Introduction to Quantitative Methods' (STAT1003). This is taken by over 300 students from across the School of Social Sciences and elsewhere. The vast majority resent it, so there is a big resistance to learning to overcome. I think the key is to be very enthusiastic at all times, to relate the material as much as possible to events happening currently in the real world (e.g. a possible election, the Iraq war, concerns about immigration etc), and to provide extensive on-line self-learning material.
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Ms Katy Johnson
During my time at Southampton I have been a Student, a graduate student and lecturer; and have enjoyed all three. I was drawn to Southampton as an undergraduate by the course on offer and in particular the Spanish field course which I now have the pleasure of teaching on. I stayed to do my PhD at Southampton, which I have recently submitted and am waiting to be viva'd on. During the writing up period, I was given the opportunity to co-ordinate a third year undergrad module entitled, "Biodiversity and Conservation", for which I won my award. This module is one I had previously taken as an undergraduate and had enjoyed a lot. I was given a lot of ley-way to alter both the content and course work requirements of the course, and I think these alterations made the course stand out from many of the others available. I changed the coursework by introducing position papers rather than essays, which made the students think about how the science they were discussing was perceived by wider society. I also had discussion workshops in place of poster presentations. Discussion workshops were useful as they got the students discuss the central issues this course covered in a way that reinforced their knowledge gained from the lectures in time for the final exam.
None of these alterations would have been possible without the help and support of Dr Patrick Doncaster. Both the students taking the course and the lectures teaching on it enjoyed the new course format and the feed back was really good. I have really enjoyed my time at Southampton and am really grateful for all the opportunities that it has given to me over the last seven years.
Ms Lesley O'Dell
I worked for Southampton City Primary Care Trust within children and families and during this time I moved from a clinical to an educational role, supporting the workforce development. In 2004 I was asked to work with the team in the Health Care Innovation Unit, to develop in partnership with the Trust, a Child & Family Pathway for the Foundation Degree in Health & Social Care. This made available to me an excellent opportunity to develop an accredited programme that would be responsive to the needs of clients within Child and Family Services. In 2006 I left the NHS and continued to work with the Health Care Innovation Unit.
I was nominated for the Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Award for my involvement in the development of the new Associate Practitioner role within Child & Family Services. This team taught programme integrates theoretical knowledge, which is delivered alongside the students’ own experiential learning within practice placements. The partnership working has been the platform to develop the role within the health and social care sector.
I have absolutely enjoyed nurturing and supporting the students, watching their confidence and intellectual skills grow, not only with their own roles, but also within the developing role of the Associate Practitioner in their practice placements.
School of Health Professions & Rehabilitation Sciences
Mrs Nicky Wilson & Ms Heidi Solheim
Nicky Wilson has been a lecturer in physiotherapy at the School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences since 2001. In addition she undertakes a clinical specialist physiotherapist role at Southampton City PCT with patients with neuromusculoskeletal disorders. She has experience of educating undergraduate and postgraduate physiotherapists in clinical placements as well as within higher education.
Heidi Solheim joined the school as web and learning resources officer in 2004 and works closely with staff across all programmes to find appropriate solutions for a more flexible and student centred learning.
Nicky and Heidi were nominated for this award for their contribution to the teaching of neuromusculoskeletal physiotherapy within the BSc physiotherapy programme. They designed, developed and implemented a variety of web based resources and activities which were then embedded into this core unit of study to enhance the students learning, specifically of psychomotor skills essential for the effective management of neuromusculoskeletal disorders.
Miss Jenny Field & Dr Angela Fenwick & Ms Lisa Porges With: - Dr Paul Townsend, Dr Chris McCormickm, Dr Rohan Lewis, Dr Mannicam Thavarajah, Dr Avan Aihie-Sayer, Miss Vicky Yorath, Ms Claire Bruning, Mr Tom Geldart, Dr John Duffy, Mrs Lesley Millard, Mrs Claire Townsend, Dr Ben Marshall & Dr David Morgan
This team includes members with a wide variety of expertise. Thus a general practitioner, an educationalist with a social science background and an administrator worked together in the initial development of the programme. We have since been joined by further clerical support staff, an anatomist, three scientists with a research background, NHS consultants in elderly care, oncology and chest medicine, a staff development consultant and other clinical teachers with either medical or nursing backgrounds.
The team has been responsible for developing and delivering the new four year graduate entry BM programme, in the first two years of which all learning is structured around clinical topics, and students learn in small groups, using ‘trigger materials’, relevant clinical experience and a small number of lectures to achieve stated learning outcomes. Facilitators for the small groups have been recruited mainly from researchers in the School of Medicine.
The curriculum has been developed with the aim of linking learning with future practice, focusing on concepts rather than facts, and encouraging a questioning approach. We have been lucky to work with a relatively small student intake of 40 students annually, and believe that working closely together as a team with diverse talents has proved supportive for both teachers and students.
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Mr Mark Radcliffe & Mrs Di Carpenter & Dr Laetitia Zeeman & Dr Jo Brown
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School of Psychology
Dr Itiel Dror & Dr Edward Redhead & Dr Richard Dudley With : Miss Paula Engelbrecht, Miss Tamas Makany & Miss Katie Meadmore
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VC Additional Award
School of Humanities
Dr Paul Cooper
I am Coordinator of Learning and Teaching in the School of Humanities at the University of Southampton. Prior to entering higher education, I worked for 12 years in industry including six years at director level. I am a qualified teacher with research interests in students' experiences of education, which topic was the focus of my doctoral thesis. I believe that a fuller understanding of the ‘student experience’ will be crucial for any institution aspiring to success in an increasingly competitive and marketised higher education sector.
In 2001-02, I was the proponent and originator of a survey instrument designed to collect quantitative and qualitative data from final-year UG students. This extremely successful exercise is the direct ancestor of the current University-wide UG SEQ. It can be argued with some conviction that our foresight in developing, implementing and responding to SEQ paved the way for the University’s strong performance in the more recent NSS.
Also in 2001-02, along with Ray d’Inverno, I was the co-originator in the University of the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme (UAS). My specific contribution to UAS comprised devising the pre-placement training and guidance for students, the nature of the on-unit support, and the assessment profile for the unit. I am also the author of two articles in international teacher education journals, which describe and evaluate the ‘Southampton model’ of the UAS. This initiative has become firmly established and successful at the national level, with many of the 90 or so university departments in over 30 HEIs, including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial, now emulating much of the ‘Southampton model’. Southampton itself has well in excess of 100 students from 9 of its schools registered for the UAS in the current academic year.
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