This blog brings together posts about all aspects of teaching, learning and the student experience encountered by staff and students at the University of Nottingham. The purpose of these posts is to share best practice from a range of different disciplines, encompassing everything from Art History to Zoology, and to generate discussion.
The idea behind calling it “teaching buzz” is that we are all busy teaching, which often leaves very little time to actually connect with colleagues and talk about what we do – so the buzz relates to the conversation and the bee-like nature of academic life!
Contributors are drawn from all disciplines represented across the University, and opinions are the contributors own. If you would like to contribute to this blog, either contact us directly, or use the contact form below.
The Editors
Dr Liz Mossop (@mossposs)
Liz Mossop
I am a veterinary surgeon by trade and came to academia through opportunity. I always loved the teaching side of my job in practice and the opening of the new veterinary school at Nottingham was something I was keen to be involved in. I was employed as a University Teacher in 2006 and have progressed through with a PhD in education on the way – I am now Associate Professor of Veterinary Education and look after the Teaching, Learning and Assessment in the school.
Teaching is what I love most about my role. I teach across a wide range of subjects and most of my curriculum development has been in teaching professionalism and professional skills. I am particularly interested in how we develop students to become “good vets” – vets who have more than just clinical knowledge and are able to work effectively with others, communicate well with their clients and understand the nature of veterinary businesses and how to manage the sometimes conflicting interests of making profit and treating animals.
I’ve been involved in lots of educational research, not least my PhD, but also projects on areas like workplace learning, assessment sharing, WikiVet, OER, Twitter in education…and a few more! I am not quite as decorated as Gaby (see below!) but I do have two Lord Dearing awards!
Gabriele Neher
Dr Gabriele Neher (@gabrieleneher)
I am a lecturer in Renaissance Art History at the University, Fellow of the HEA, and passionate about my teaching. Italian Renaissance Art, especially Venice and the Veneto are my prime research areas; I also teach some of my module options on this area. Other teaching expertise includes space and gender, and I am increasingly looking at some of the great houses in Nottinghamshire, especially Wollaton Hall, Thoresby and Burghley House to get a sense of centre and periphery debates.
Wherever possible, I like to involve my students in projects, from Camping at Thoresby, to volunteering in local schools, to climbing scaffolding. Art historians are a versatile lot, and taking students out of the classroom is the best way to demonstrate this!
As a professional academic, I have an interest in teaching development and like experimenting with technology. in recent years, I have especially focused on developing peer mentoring structures within my Department, and it has been a pleasure to see these schemes rolled out across much more widely across the University of Nottingham as a whole. Click here for a presentation on this HEA- funded work that explains a bit more about the scheme.
This work has also been recognised through a range of teaching awards at my institution including three Lord Dearing Awards for Teaching and Learning (2000; 2009; 2013), a Student Oscar (2011) and a Chancellor Award (2012). Most recently, I have been awarded an honour I am especially proud of, and that is to be named as one of the University of Nottingham’s 100 Heroes.
As a lecturer, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to pass on my subject- specific enthusiasm for all things Renaissance to my students, and I also try and work on the many weird and wonderful skills a professional academic and art historian develops in their working life. Much to my astonishment, I have found that I can use social media very effectively for my teaching, so like all academics, my biography is a wonderful mix of diverse skills. I like it that way.
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