Working in conjunction with the staff development unit, the School of Dental Sciences has developed an online tool for recording professional teaching activity, and mapping it to the UK professional standards framework. The tool encourages reflective practice and collection of evidence to facilitate recognition by the HEA. The toolkit can be found at http://www.reflectiontoolkit.org and all new teaching staff are being encouraged to use it regularly.
Dr James Field, School of Dental Sciences
A short article documenting the Context Café method that Louisa uses to help first year dental students in their first week integrate and put into the context of Dentistry the courses they will receive over their first year has been published in the Medical Education Journal.
L Wakeling, N Jakubovics, S McHanwell, J Stewart. Medical education 50 (5), 578-57. Challenging the basic sciences ‘learn and forget’ culture
Congratulations to Lindsey Ferrie (BMS) who has been recognised for her excellence in teaching clinical pharmacology by the British Pharmacological Society. The Rang Prize rewards Lindsey for her outstanding commitment to the teaching of pharmacology in both her undergraduate and postgraduate teaching as well as her extensive and innovative outreach activities with primary, secondary and further education and the public over the last 8 years.
‘Dr Ferrie is incredibly passionate about supporting young people to develop their own scientific curiosities, raising their aspirations to study science in higher education. It is here that her enthusiasm for teaching Pharmacology has resulted in the development of some truly unique and exciting learning sessions’
Professor Ann Daly, ICM
August will see the launch of a new series of seminars designed to support and complement other teaching-focused sessions within the Faculty. Held on the last Wednesday of the month, between 3-4pm, the one hour session is designed to promote discussion with time to share ideas as well as challenge all our personal perspectives on teaching and educationally related activities. The idea is to cover, over the coming year, as broad a range of topics as possible – anything from delivery, organisation, innovation, management and institutional practices across anything related to teaching & learning, education, training and educational research.
The format will challenge formulaic ways of thinking by adopting an innovative interactive approach: after a short presentation from a knowledgeable speaker the session will be open for discussion and the broadest range of perspectives sought. The mechanisms by which this will be done will be revealed in the session! It should noisy. It should be engaging. It certainly won’t be boring. If you have a suggestion for what you would like to discuss or would like to offer your expert opinion … don’t wait to be asked, please get in touch.
The series is called ‘What I mean when I say…’. The first session will be held on the 31st August, focusing on a topic important to all on T&S contract – ‘Scholarship’.
Hope to see you there.
Dr Jane Stewart, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance and Enhancement), Jane.stewart@newcastle.ac.uk