Fay Short

Teaching Fellowship

Dr Fay Short was recently awarded a Bangor University Teaching Fellowship. Watch the video...

Personal Profile

Fay is a long-standing member of the School of Psychology community. She arrived at Bangor in 1999 after completing GCSEs at Prestatyn High School followed by A Levels in English, Theatre Studies, and Psychology at Yale College in Wrexham. She graduated from Bangor University in 2002 with a First Class Honours Degree (B.Sc.) in Psychology. She continued her studies at Bangor following funding capture from the ESRC. She completed a Masters (M.Sc.) in Psychological Research in 2003 and received her doctorate (Ph.D.) in Psychology in 2008. Following an ESRC funded post-doctorial research fellowship, Fay joined the School of Psychology as a Lecturer (Teaching and Scholarship). She is currently an active member of the Teaching Team dedicated to ensuring high quality teaching provision on the psychology degree program.

Fay is a keen traveller with an extensive bucket list of things yet to see and do: she has even created her own website to track her experiences and list her goals for the future! She has lived in North Wales for most of her life, and she has just completed an extensive house renovation project in an idyllic Welsh village with her husband (they had to live for twelve months in a tiny camper van to be onsite for the work!). She has a gorgeous collie called Austin, and one of her favourite activities is playing Frisbee with him on the beach.

Teaching Interests

Fay is dedicated to the art of teaching and has extensive training in this area. She has completed a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education for Post-Compulsory Education and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education for Higher Education. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Chartered Psychologist in the British Psychological Society Division of Teachers and Researchers in Psychology. She has also recently received the honour of an invitation to join the Academy of Teaching Fellows at Bangor University in recognition of her excellence in teaching.

Fay is an active member of the School of Psychology Teaching Team. She is the Head of Year One and the International Students Advisor for those registered as students in Psychology at Bangor University. In addition to these managerial roles, Fay is module organiser and lecturer for four different undergraduate modules across all three years of the degree program: first year module ‘Psychology as a Science’, second year modules ‘Social Psychology’ and ‘Cognitive Psychology’, and third year module ‘Counselling and Psychotherapy’. Fay also supervises students in their research for their final degree dissertation. Some of these students work in her virtual reality lab to explore how the body represents the brain and other students work in collaboration with local further education colleges to explore effective learning techniques.

Fay is dedicated to supporting the academic, social, and personal development of her students. As a member of the teaching team, she is a dedicated personal tutor for many first year undergraduates and available as an Emergency Tutor for all students through our Drop-In system. She is also an active counselling tutor and volunteers to support non-psychology students through the University Counselling Service.

Fay is involved in many extra-curricular activities: she has established a weekly psychology movie night and regularly organises student trips to national conferences. Against her better judgment, she has also been involved in several fundraising events – few will forget her magnificent Blues Brother performance of Everybody Needs Somebody alongside fellow Chipmunk Sister Tracey Lloyd!

In addition to her experience in Higher Education, Fay has trained to Teach English as a Foreign Language, and applied this training by volunteering to teach children and staff at an orphanage in Cambodia. In addition, she is an accredited Learning Coach with the Welsh National Assembly and has previously worked with disadvantaged and disengaged young people in her role as a Key Skills Tutor at Rhyl College. She has also worked in Secondary Schools and Colleges of Further Education in her previous role as an A Level tutor for both Psychology and Information Technology.

Research Interests

Fay conducts research in the field of body representation: both her PhD and Postdoctorial Fellowship involved the use of virtual reality to explore how the brain represents the body. She has a particular interest in the cognitive areas of action, attention, control, body schema, body image, and phantom limbs. She was last year presented with a Young Investigator Award by the American Psychological Association in honour of her research in this area.

Fay also conducts research in the field of education. She is currently collaborating with tutors in a local college of further education to develop effective feedback methods for A Level students. She has also recently submitted a grant application to pilot a Learning Advisor program for International Students within the School of Psychology.

Fay is also an active member of the School of Psychology Research Ethics and Governance Committee. This role involves regularly reviewing research applications to ensure that they comply with BPS and Institutional guidelines.

Other Interests

Fay has a strong interest in the field of counselling and psychotherapy. She has completed a Certificate in Counselling Skills, Practitioner Certificate in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Practitioner Diploma in Hypnotherapy, and Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Keen to continue with her professional development, she is currently pursuing a second Masters (M.A.) in Educational Studies with specific focus on Counselling in Higher Education. She is a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. She has previously worked as a youth worker and mentor for young people, volunteer counsellor for victims of sexual and physical abuse, and currently volunteers as a counsellor for the Bangor University Counselling Service.