Spotlight On… teaching
This month our recent teaching award recipients, Dr Kevin Gillan and Dr Hannah Cobb, talk about their awards, roles, off-duty reading and inspirations. Kevin, Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences, received a Teacher of the Year award at the Distinguished Achievement Awards, and Hannah, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, won a Teaching Excellence Award.
You’ve both recently received awards for your teaching. Please can you tell us a little about your award and what it means to you to be recognised in this way?
Hannah: I have been researching the areas of pedagogy and diversity in archaeology almost since the start of my teaching career, as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA), in 2004. Through this work I have been responsible for developing tools such as the Archaeology Skills Passport, which promote reflexivity in the learning process, and working on methods of training which aim to empower students as researchers, and foreground diverse voices in the archaeological process. My award reflects this cumulative work and it means so much to me to see this recognised. I fall between the gaps of neatly defined research, and in the REF-driven culture of British higher education, pedagogic research and teaching innovation often seem to be viewed less important. However this award shows that this work is valued, and this is a very heart-warming feeling. Plus, I am in the tricky final stages of writing a book on my work, so this award gives me a great morale boost to get it done, and will provide a small amount of funding to allow me to present my work at conferences too.
Kevin: I received a Distinguished Achievement Medal for teaching, and was delighted to discover that it is indeed a medal! (Not a wearable one, but a great hunk of brass embossed with the image of Marie Stopes.) My nomination referred to a new course, Global Social Challenges, in which I have been encouraging first-year social science students to commit public sociology. Practically, this meant writing punchy but evidence-based blog posts on the course themes. Students covered climate change, migration, radicalisation, ageing societies and much more with great gusto and some really quality. The background motivations are twofold. First, the notion at the heart of public sociology is that the social sciences have something distinctive to offer debate on all of the biggest challenges and I am keen for students to recognise that from day one. Second, in an era of endless overload of information and ‘post-truth politics’ I am keen to encourage in our students to contribute in an evidence-based, reasoned manner. This has always been core to scholarly work, of course, but its value is sometimes overlooked in the digital public sphere.
What was the best piece of advice you received at the start of your career which helped your teaching?
Kevin: Speak more slowly!
Hannah: At the start of my career I worked as a Research Assistant for the Higher Education Academy's History, Classics and Archaeology subject centre. This was a really inspirational place to work and I gained so much insight from the role which has (and continues to) inform my teaching. However a project called "Inclusive, Accessible Archaeology" provided some of the most foundational advice for me; this project advocated challenging normative expectations about student skill sets, recognising instead the value that diversity in skills brings to the way we learn and practice as archaeologists. This notion is foundational to my own teaching ethos and my pedagogic research.
What do you find most rewarding about your role as Senior Lecturer?
Hannah: I find this really hard to answer because I find so much of my role rewarding! In particular I think this is hard to answer because what is rewarding happens at different temporal scales. It's always exciting and rewarding in the moment, for example, when you try new teaching methods and they work well and generate a real buzz in the lecture theatre or seminar. But equally it’s really rewarding to see students develop over the trajectory of their degree and postgraduate studies and to know you played a part.
Kevin: Moments where it is possible to witness a student’s intellectual development are rewarding, especially when they are opening up their horizons to new ideas, theories or even whole disciplines. Hearing an occasional, enthusiastic “I’ve never thought of it like that before” can be powerful.
Kevin, what’s the most recent book you read – did you enjoy it and would you recommend it?
For off-duty reading I like the escapism of sci-fi novels. I recently read Ann Leckie’s Provenance, the last in a wonderful trilogy. Like many genres, sci-fi involves a lot of recycling of ideas and genuine originality is harder to come by, but Leckie is marvellously creative. Sci-fi fans should start with Ancillary Justice. (For non-fans, look elsewhere - this isn’t likely to convert you!)
Hannah, who most inspires you and why?
I am currently SALC Assistant Director (AD) for eLearning, Flexible Honours and Teaching Innovation and as a result I encounter students and colleagues on a daily basis who inspire me. As I said above, often it can seem like research dominates everything in HE, but the AD role has been a real eye opener to how many people really care about and are working to innovate in teaching, often behind the scenes; from learning technologists to lecturers, to Professional Services colleagues managing the administration and bureaucracy of teaching, to those supporting students in self-directive study groups, Disability Advisory and Support Service, counselling and careers. I know this all sounds a bit earnest and cheesy, but these are the people who continually inspire me and, as a result, who it is an absolute pleasure to work with.