Bangor University’s commitment to excellence in teaching is manifested through its partnership with AdvanceHE and accredited CPD (Continued Professional Development) recognition programme. Academics and educators demonstrate that they meet the criteria of the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) for teaching and supporting learning in higher education. Cameron Gray has recently achieved a Senior Fellow status. As stated in the AdvanceHE criteria, she has demonstrated “a thorough understanding of effective approaches to teaching and learning support as a key contribution to high quality student learning.”
Cameron was interviewed by Professor Jonathan Roberts (Director of Impact and Engagement) on her recent achievement.
Dr Cameron Gray outside the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering building
“I am honoured to have been awarded a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) this summer. This level not only rewards a continued commitment to improvement in teaching, but specifically examines sharing of best practice and mentoring of others. Bangor's programme encourages reflective practice at every level, and only by critically examining past efforts can we retain the beneficial and improve that which did not work as well as hoped.”
How did the pandemic change your teaching methods?
The recent pandemic has changed the way that many academics have approached their teaching. Moving from traditional teaching methods to online methods. Many people had to change their ways of teaching, what did you do?
In my teaching, I have been using the philosophy of Scaffolded Constructivism. Where I provide structures, techniques, and information (scaffolds) that provide students with enough support, especially at the start of learning a new topic. This encourages the students to engage with the topic and actively take responsibility for their own learning process. In addition, during the pandemic, I was able to help other academics. We worked well together as a team, and I was able to help some of my colleagues with their technical challenges. It was a team effort that ensured success of the curriculum and in turn increased student success.
With the pandemic, we have all faced challenging times. During the pandemic we had limited opportunity for collaboration - making it more important to share techniques and experiences. As with all schools, during the pandemic, we moved from traditional delivery to online delivery. But this gave us a huge chance to innovate in our teaching, and people to develop their technical skills.”
And finally..
Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues and mentors for helping me develop as an educator, and specifically to Dr. Caroline Bowman and her team of reviewers, all of whom made this award possible. Thank you!