NTFS 2014

Guidelines for personal profiles and photographs

Please note: all nominees must submit a personal profile with their submission to the NTFS. However, only successful nominees will be asked to send a revised version of their profile and to submit photographs.

Deadline for submission of personal profiles

1. All nominees to the NTFS are required to submit a 350 word profile with their nomination documents (see para. 27 of NTFS 2014 Awards Guidelines) on Tuesday 14 January 2014. Please follow the suggestions for style and content under the section Content of Personal Profiles.

2. Please note that personal profiles will not be assessed as part of the nomination but are a required component for a complete submission to the NTFS.

Deadline for submission of revised personal profiles and photographs for successful nominees

3. The press office of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) will review profile submissions of all successful nominees and provide them with suggestions for revision on or after the 22 May 2014.

4. All successful nominees will be asked to:- Submit at least three high quality photos- Review their 350 word profile in line with the suggestions made by the press

office and submit a final version.

Revised personal profiles and photographs of successful nominees must be received by the HEA at

pressoffice@heacademy.ac.uk by 12.00 noon on Thursday 29 May 2014.

Overview of deadlines

Thursday 22 May 2014 – nominees will be informed of outcome. Revised profiles and photos will be requested from successful nominees

Thursday 29 May 2014 – deadline for revised profiles and photos to be returned to the HEA

Thursday 12 June 2014 – announcement of NTFS 2014 National Teaching Fellows and publication of profiles on HEA website

Personal Profiles

Background

5. The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme is a high profile initiative that regularly attracts media attention and coverage, particularly around the time that the winners

are announced (see personal profile examples). The press office of the HEA coordinates this activity, in conjunction with the press offices at the institutions of the winning nominees. This press coverage is of benefit to the winners, in terms of career profile and raising awareness of their pedagogic work, and also gives the winners’ institutions a good deal of positive publicity. We are seeking to clarify this process for the benefit of everyone involved and are therefore asking for your help.

6. In all of our communications about National Teaching Fellows it is our primary concern that we accurately and effectively reflect their work and, in particular, their approach to learning and teaching. Clearly nominees know their work better than anyone else, and we are therefore asking you to write a short personal profile which can be used in external communications by the HEA press office and the press offices of the relevant institutions. The HEA will find this useful in responding to media enquiries and also in approaching the press for coverage, for use on the HEA website, and for use in the NTFS brochure which is produced for the Awards Ceremony. Institutional press offices may have other uses for the profiles; you may wish to check details with them.

7. We appreciate that you may not be accustomed to writing in this style and we have therefore compiled the guidelines below to help you. We enclose examples of profiles from previous years written by the HEA press office and edited by the winners involved (with the kind permission of Dr Laura Ritchie and Dr Charles Buckley). We will also be advising the HEI press offices that this is a requirement of NTFS submission and that they may therefore be called upon for guidance. Please also contact the HEA (pressoffice@heacademy.ac.uk) 01904 717500 with any queries.

8. We trust that this process may assist you in reflecting on and refining the core content of your submission to the Scheme – to consider what makes you and your work distinctive and to reflect on relevant achievements.

Content

9. The personal profiles should be no longer than 350 words.

10. As you can see from the personal profile examples, the style and order of the content may vary but they must all contain:

- Name of nominee- Job title- Department- Institution

11. The main body of the text should give brief highlights of your teaching career with examples of your teaching practice and/or pedagogic achievements. It is impossible to summarise an entire teaching career in 350 words and it is not appropriate for the purposes of the profile. Nominees should therefore be selective.

12. Statements that are backed up by examples or quotes make the text lively and clarify what you are trying to say. For example:“As a musician Laura spans genres, performing both as a classical cello soloist with the University Orchestra and as a member of the pop group The Mummers. She brings students into professional practice, involving them in projects such as appearing in a music video with The Mummers and in large-scale Cello Weekend events at the University, involving practitioners and students from across the country.”

“One international student said “[Dr Buckley’s] teaching was truly inspirational and easy to follow. Although the concept of grounded theory previously seemed abstract to us, we now have a much clearer understanding of the subject.””

13. When considering who you are writing for, remember that although the readership will be largely from an academic or academic-related background, they will mostly have different discipline background to you and so you should avoid jargon and unnecessary acronyms.

14. Plans for future teaching innovations can also be an interesting part of the profile.

Photographs

15. Nominees are require to provide a minimum of three high quality photographs to accompany the personal profiles for press and publicity purposes, as described in section 7 and 8 of these guidelines.

16. The photographs should be high resolution (300dpi) colour images. Ideally, these would be a selection of portraits (with you facing camera) and images of you in your teaching environment (with and without students/colleagues). All photographs should be free from any copyright restrictions, have consent of all identifiable persons for their use, and not require the acknowledgement of photographers.

17. Please see the sample NTFS photographs below for an indication of the types of photographs required. If you have any queries regarding the photographs please contact ntfsindividual@heacademy.ac.uk

Submission of revised personal profiles and photographs for successful nominees

18. As the nominee, you are responsible for sending in your revised profile and photographs to the HEA via email at pressoffice@heacademy.ac.uk clearly marked with your full name and institution, by noon on Thursday 29 May 2014. If you wish to send these via post, please put them on a CD or data-stick clearly marked with your full name and institution and send to: NTFS Team, The Higher Education Academy, Innovation Way, York Science Park, Heslington, York, YO10 5BR.

Personal Profile – example 1

Dr Laura RitchieUniversity of Chichester

Dr Laura Ritchie is a leading member of the University of Chichester’s growing music department. As a vibrant teacher, researcher, performer and learner, she enables her students to realise their goals through positive achievement. Laura has developed unique Instrumental and Vocal Teaching (IVT) programmes within the music curriculum. The Foundation Degree in IVT launched in 2005 was the first of its type in the country, with placement experience embedded throughout the learning. Students develop practical skills in a variety of settings, from school classrooms to private teaching both on and off campus, gaining confidence and experience alongside their own solo performance training. The BA with IVT remains a popular part of the music provision, and this coming academic year marks the launch of two distinct courses, the BMus with Instrumental Teaching and the BMus with Vocal Teaching. She also co-authored and coordinates the MA in Performance.

Laura’s teaching is heavily influenced by her research into students’ thoughts and beliefs about learning and performing. Her doctoral research, completed at the Royal College of Music, was carried out through the Centre for Performance Science and investigated musical self-efficacy beliefs (self-belief in one’s capabilities to do a particular task) and developed new questionnaires to study self-efficacy for learning music and self-efficacy for performing music. Laura’s studies have extended to include school children who are at the beginning of their learning journey. Self-regulated learning and skills acquisition have also played an important part in her research to understand how students develop into professionals.

As a musician Laura spans genres, performing both as a classical cello soloist with the University Orchestra and as a member of the pop group The Mummers. She brings students into professional practice, involving them in projects such as appearing in a music video with The Mummers and in large-scale Cello Weekend events at the University, involving practitioners and students from across the country. Her enthusiasm is contagious and inspires staff and students alike to join her in achieving beyond their dreams.

Personal Profile – example 2

Dr Charles BuckleyBangor University

Dr Charles Buckley’s approach to learning and teaching has been influenced by his varied career background including being a police constable, holiday representative and primary school teacher. This has developed his knack for relating to people and he leads on developing inclusivity in all aspects of teaching. He works closely with colleagues at Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to support staff at Bangor and other higher education institutions across Wales to study though their preferred language. A colleague from y Coleg remarked:

“Charles' pioneering work at Bangor has been the catalyst for other universities to become similarly involved. Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol is extremely grateful for his vision and perseverance.”

Charles has vast experience in working with international students and uses a number of approaches to integrating research with teaching. One international student at Bangor said:

“Your teaching was truly inspirational and easy to follow. Although the concept of grounded theory previously seemed abstract to us, we now have a much clearer understanding of the subject.”

With a background in teaching and competing in sport, Charles understands the importance of working with teams and has supported a unique collaborative model for the PGCertHE at Bangor which operates with four other universities across Wales. He supports the work of the Staff and Educational Development Association and works with the Publications and Scholarship, Research and Evaluation committees. He has delivered workshops on diverse aspects of learning and teaching in higher education in the UK and Saudi Arabia. He has extensive experience of acting as an external examiner in many universities and has contributed to the validation of degrees and awards in the UK and Ireland.

Charles has a range of research interests and has conducted phenomenographic research with children and students to develop and share an understanding of individual difference and how this can be used to inform educators. He has particular interest in grounded theory, the use of diagrams in research and teaching, internationalisation, linking research with teaching and the academic identities of staff in university.

NTFS PHOTOSHigh resolution (300dpi) colour images are required for publicity and press use. Ideally, these would be a selection of portraits (with you facing camera) and images of you in your teaching environment (with and without students/colleagues). Please clearly label photographs with your first and last name.