National Teaching Fellowship winners announced

Five psychologists have been named among the 55 winners of this year's Advance HE National Teaching Fellowship Scheme. The prestigious award recognises higher education teachers who have made an outstanding impact on outcomes for students and on the teaching profession more broadly.

Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Professor of Equity in Psychology, Allán Laville (University of Reading), was encouraged to apply for the fellowship by friend and colleague Dr Eileen Hyder, who was the university's teaching excellence award lead. 'Through my own lived experiences, I am very passionate about Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) and ensuring that D&I is embedded throughout all my teaching and learning practice,' he said. 'I led national D&I conversations and co-led the creation of the D&I clinical vignette resource with the BPS Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner Training Committee between 2019-2021. My excellence in delivering sexual diversity teaching across psychological therapy programmes was recognised in being a finalist for the 2020 BPS and Oxford University Press Higher Education Psychology Teacher of the Year award.'

Laville has also recently led the University of Reading Decolonising the Curriculum Working Group which has been featured in Advance HE and Times Higher Education. His work in this area was also a finalist in the BPS and Oxford University Press Higher Education Psychology Teacher of the Year award in 2022.

We asked Laville whether his teaching and concept of 'teaching excellence' had changed during the Covid 19 pandemic. 'Absolutely! I have learnt much more about how to deliver excellent teaching online and how best to use the various online learning platforms. 

'For example, I think students (and myself!) need a greater variety of teaching methods when experiencing online teaching, which is much more prevalent now than before the pandemic. I think my in-person teaching has also improved as a result of fine-tuning my transferable teaching skills.'

Laville has developed teaching and research practice through student-staff partnerships and he is currently working with two student partners, Samiyah Khan and Lucy Upson on a study exploring the experiences and wellbeing of trainee psychological therapists, with an aim to create recommendations to improve national practice. 'This project has only been possible with input from Samiyah and Lucy and the funding from the University of Reading Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme.'

Laville is also co-developing an undergraduate psychology module with social psychology lecturer and University of Reading colleague, Dr Emma Pape. 'Emma and I are both very enthusiastic about diversifying and decolonising curricula and this new module is a great opportunity to support students in developing their critical thinking and approach to innovation.

'As someone who has approximately 30 years left before I retire, the fellowship supports me with future career ambitions… although I am in my 13th year of teaching in Higher Education, I feel a renewed sense of motivation to venture into new opportunities!'    

Dr Kimberley Hill, an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Psychology, (University of Northampton) has also been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship. Hill is a Chartered Psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychology Society.

Dr Hill said: 'I am delighted to be named as a National Teaching Fellow. I remain absolutely dedicated to creating safe, accessible, and inclusive educational contexts for staff and students while working with local schools and community groups to increase access into education.

'Partnership working remains essential to my practice and this recognition also reflects the dedication of all of those I have worked with to create change. There remains much to do, and I look forward to playing an ongoing role to enhance teaching and learning within the university, the Higher Education sector and more widely.'

Professor Sarah Stevenage (University of Southampton) said she had been inspired to apply to the scheme by the achievements of her predecessors. 'Perhaps my award may do the same for others, and if I can help in any way, I will. There are only 55 National Teaching Fellows this year, so it is a fiercely competitive process involving university sponsorship of an application which is then assessed by three reviewers before going for panel consideration. I think I started working on my application in September, and with support and mentorship, I submitted it in March, and I heard the news in July.'

Stevenage has previously been Head of Psychology and is currently Associate Dean for Education. She said these roles had given her the opportunity to develop impact and influence within the school, faculty and university. 'The fellowship reviewers noted my own personal teaching practice as contagiously enthusiastic, and external markers such as teaching prizes have reinforced the lovely comments that my students have made about my teaching. Ultimately, I think that my love of teaching, and my support of others who teach, was recognised by the reviewers.'

I asked Stevenage what the fellowship would mean for her and her career. 'I am hugely relieved that someone has looked at what I do and has said that it is good.  Next to the comments from students themselves, that means the world to me.

'Moving forward, I will now be steering further major strategic projects within my university, and the Fellowship gives me the confidence and credibility to step into these challenging roles in order to deliver change where change is needed.'

Speaking of her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stevenage said her concept of teaching excellence had not fundamentally changed. 'I believe in a creative and memorable teaching style together with clear, helpful feedback, and these things are enduring.

'However, I do think that the sector has become much more alert to the need to better serve all our students. So, we are now far more attuned to the need for accessibility and inclusivity in our teaching and our resources, and we have become far better at involving our students in the co-design of their student experience.

'In this regard, we have all been on a steep learning curve during and since the pandemic. In this sense, my philosophy around teaching hasn't changed but my delivery has, particularly in terms of digital resources and flexible delivery styles. In reflecting on this, it is a great shame that it took a pandemic for us to properly respond to the needs of all our students, but I am glad that we are now doing so.'

Dr Peter Leadbetter (Senior Lecturer in Medical Education at Edge Hill University) is a Chartered Psychologist and member of the Division of Academics, Teachers and Researchers in Psychology and the Division of Health Psychology. He said: 'To be recognised by my peers is an absolute honour and I am very grateful to receive this prestigious award. These awards highlight the impact teaching, meaningful role models, and a commitment to widening participation can make on outcomes for students and so it's particularly pleasing to be recognised for this at national level. I've been supported to excel by fantastic colleagues and students who have helped make this award possible.'

Dr Paul Joseph-Richard is a Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at Ulster University. He told Advance HE: 'I am deeply humbled and honoured to receive this prestigious award. It is an incredible honour, and it holds profound personal and professional significance for me. Professionally, it is a validation of my commitment to inclusive teaching and the impact I strive to make on the lives of the students that I teach. It reinforces my belief in the importance of employability-focused higher education as a transformative force in our society. Personally, it instils in me a sense of pride in the work I do. This recognition encourages me to continue pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the classroom and to share my knowledge and experiences with fellow educators, ultimately benefiting the next generation of leaders. Importantly, it reinforces my unwavering commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of all the students that I teach, and the broader field of higher education.' 

Dr Joseph-Richard told us: 'I have been doing some meaningful work on disability inclusion in Northern Ireland. I am committed to promoting employability among graduates with visible and non-visible disabilities and my work is at an initial stage at the moment.  I am able to see transformative changes in students' lives and that keeps me going.'