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18 May 2010 |
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 Major
Review prize winners
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• Dev
Gangjee
Dev
joined LSE as a lecturer in the Department of Law in 2005 after graduating
from the National Law School of India in Bangalore and completing his PhD at the University of Oxford. He is an enthusiastic
teacher, giving his students ample opportunity to question and challenge the
issues, and finds teaching to be most enjoyable when he sees his students achieve
that 'light bulb' moment when they start to play around with an idea and
take ownership.
Dev
uses an array of materials to engage his students, from You Tube to
newspaper clippings. He sees close links between his teaching and research
activities and
shares his work with his students, explaining how he approaches his
research and the questions his work raises
Dev
considers good course and session design to be key to successful teaching.
He stresses that time needs to be invested in planning for lessons but
this is all worthwhile when you see students start to take
responsibility for their own learning.
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• Denisa
Kostovicova
Denisa studied at the Central European University in Prague and Cambridge University
before coming to LSE in 2002
as a postdoctoral researcher. She was appointed
a lecturer in global politics in LSE's Government Department in 2005.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of teaching, she finds, is seeing her students
develop their own interests during their time on the course. She sees her
role as being one to support students in developing not only the content knowledge, but the writing and
reading skills that will enable them to engage in the materials at the
deepest level.
Denisa aims to create a collegiate atmosphere in her classes. She uses a variety of teaching activities
in her session and ensures that she gives students individual feedback. She views research and teaching as being closely
linked, and is keen to involve students in on-going research
projects, viewing students as collegiate researchers who can bring their own
voice and contributions to the latest discussions. Denisa considers
successful teaching to be about enjoying all aspects of your job and being
respectful of students. She was
nominated by students for a Teaching Excellence Award last year.
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• George
Lawson
George took up a lectureship in LSE's Department of International
Relations in 2007 having completed his PhD at the School. He had teaching responsibilities both
during his study and in his postdoctoral position at LSE and at
Goldsmiths, where he also had responsibility for teaching and designing
courses to a very diverse student cohort.
George enjoys the fact that his students are smart
individuals and encourages them to share their range of experiences and to learn from each other. He aims to share his enthusiasm for International Relations and
to get his students to examine their thinking through the IR lenses available
and to be aware that there is more than one way to view a topic.
George emphasises the importance of ensuring that course materials are up to
date and often contextualises the content with recommendations of
exhibitions and articles for students to visit or read. He views his
teaching and research as complimentary practices, both being
intellectual focused on learning. His advice to new
teaching colleagues would be to be yourself and to not to be afraid to
innovate.
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• Andrea
Mennicken
Andrea studied sociology at Bielefeld University, Germany, before
coming to LSE where she took up her lectureship in 2005 having completed
a masters and PhD in accounting at the School.
She says that one of the most satisfying
aspects of teaching is watching her students learn that accounting is
not just about tools but that it is a discipline that can influence
behaviours on local, national and international levels.
Andrea uses a wide range of approaches to contextualise the course,
including using live data from company accounts, audit reports and websites.
She has introduced a number of innovations to support her students such as
an essay writing skills session, and
emphasises that a strong team-based approach with colleagues has ensured
a positive experience for both teachers and students.
Andrea's advice to new teaching colleagues would be to play to your
strengths and get as much feedback as possible through teaching
observations, taking the PGCert in Higher Education and conversations with
peers. She highlights the importance of seeing teaching as more than a
one-way transmission of information and highlights that entering into
dialogue with students is key to helping them develop their learning and
critical skills.
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• Gerard
Padro
Gerard studied economics in Barcelona before completing an MSc at LSE
in 2001. He then went to MIT where he completed his PhD in 2005 and
became an assistant professor at Stanford Business School before taking
up his lectureship at LSE in 2007.
Gerard finds the enthusiasm and motivation of his students to be the most
enjoyable aspect of teaching and finds that by sharing his interest for his
subjects this is reciprocated in his classes. Gerard ensures that there is a
healthy balance of interactivity and makes good use of humour to bring the
sessions alive and enhance student learning. He uses current research to
contextualise the learning and isn't afraid to use quirky examples to grab
students' attention.
Gerard would advise those new to teaching to ensure that they prepare
their teaching very well from the outset, detailing what the whole course
will consist of rather than preparing week to week. Although this may take
time upfront, he believes that in the long run, this will save time as well
as ensure a coherent course for both the teacher and student, enabling the
teacher to make links between past and future sessions as they are already
planned.
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• Richard
Perkins
Richard studied at Oxford before completing his PhD at Cambridge. He
came to LSE first as a postdoc, before taking on substantial teaching
responsibilities at Plymouth and rejoining LSE in 2006.
Richard aims to create an active learning environment
that will enable students to become self-confident scholars and develop the research skills appropriate to the discipline.
He aims for a 'less is more' approach, encouraging his students to challenge orthodoxy, to start
thinking critically about the world and to realise that there are multiple
perspectives on how one can view the world. He is not afraid to experiment
with new approaches to teaching, even if they don't always work, but stresses that it is important
to ensure coherent linkages between programmes, courses, lectures and
classes.
Richard sees his teaching and research as being closely linked and often
uses his own work to illustrate classes. He emphasises the importance
of working with students in sessions.
He talks with his students about his approach, explaining why, what and
how he’s teaching and also examines the nuances of the disciplinary ways of
demonstrating intellectual skills and capabilities.
Richard sees his role as more than just delivering the content of the
course – it is also about supporting students in developing their writing
and critical reading skills.
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• Charlie
Webb
Charlie joined the Department of Law as a lecturer in 2006 having completed his PhD at
LSE in 2002 and working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He has a strong commitment to a 'less is more' approach to higher
education, focusing his efforts on developing students' intellectual
capabilities and curiosities and aiming to motivate them to engage in
areas that they aren't immediately interested in.
His own experience as a student has shaped his approach to teaching and
he especially enjoys seeing his students develop their critical thinking and
reasoning skills. He encourages his students to debate, using open ended questions to
stimulate them to think like lawyers rather than just memorising
information, giving them the space to
see law as a vehicle for arguing cases, not just as a set of regulations.
Charlie talks enthusiastically about the need for teachers to
ensure that they balance breadth and depth in lessons. He sees his
teaching and research work as being closely linked and often shares how he
thinks as a researcher with students.
He feels that
there is a strong collegiality in his department that enables good
conversations to be had about teaching and the sharing of good practice.
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 LSE
Teaching Excellence awards
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Each year the LSE Students’ Union invites students to nominate the
teachers that have encouraged and inspired them. This year, students were
asked to give particular consideration to those teachers that had been
particular active in providing feedback. There were 27 nominations this year
for staff from 15 different departments/institutes. Several of the staff
nominated have already received teaching prizes through Major Review or the
Departmental Class Teacher prize schemes – and are demonstrating that they
continue to do a great job.
The five winners are:
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• Dr Mathijs Pelkmans, Department of Anthropology
Mathijs was nominated by students from four undergraduate courses to which
he has contributed in the past two years.
"He has always corrected me when the point I raise is weak or
irrelevant but in a way that makes it feel more like a dialogue than a
top-down judgement.”
“Thanks to his feedback I have learned how to strengthen my arguments,
draw connections and develop critical and balanced analysis.”
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• Charlotte Peevers, Department of Law
Charlotte was nominated by students from the undergraduate law course she
teaches.
“Her essay assessment system provides refreshing clarity, covers
every issue and has genuinely improved the standard of my writing
throughout the year. “
“there is a well-established system to keep in touch with us before and
after class. Ms Peevers’ feedback goes beyond general comments and sets out
very well how an essay can be improved in terms of both substance and
style.”
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• Dr Anthony Cornford, Department of Management,
Information Systems and Innovation Group
Tony was nominated by his doctoral students, several of whom had also been
taught by him when they did their masters.
Tony "strikes a balance between providing a very detailed and critical
assessment of student work and being very encouraging.. which nurtures my
confidence as a researcher and writer.“
“I have always found his feedback constructive, his interventions
illuminating and his time generously given.”
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• Dr John Gledhill, Department of Government
John was nominated by his MSc students.
“My only professor to provide a cohesive, lengthy feedback statement. He
has read and interpreted my work in ways that have left me able to improve
and further essays and exams.”
“In addition to an indicative mark I get a long review of the essay’s
strengths and weaknesses focusing particularly on what elements would have
made the essay better.”
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• Dr Wendy Sigle-Rushton, Department of Social Policy
Wendy was nominated by her MSc students.
“She has structured her course in such a way that students are able to
receive meaningful, honest feedback on their seminar presentations.”
“Wendy was perfect at making us engage and develop our awareness of where
our work could be improved in a way that was accessible, intelligent and
constructive.”
Given the focus on feedback this year, it is great to see what the
students particularly value from their teachers on this dimension.
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 Departmental
class teacher prizes
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Each year, TLC invites all departments to recognise the special
contribution made to teaching by Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and
guest teachers. The following people have been awarded these
departmental class teacher prizes.
The awards are based on the result of student feedback surveys, feedback
from the lecturers responsible for the courses in departments that employ
GTAs and guest teachers and other informal feedback available locally.
Congratulations to:
- Thiago Neto, Accounting
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Indira Arumugam, Anthropology
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Max Bolt, Anthropology
- Elizabeth Frantz, Anthropology
- Daniel Roberts, Anthropology
- Edward Balke, DESTIN
- Peter Cirenza, Economic History
- Jason Garred, Economics
- Kyle Ingram, Employment Relations and Organisational Behaviour
- Kelly Basile, European Institute
- Natasha Barrass, Gender Institute
- Maria Do Mar Pereira, Gender Institute
- Alice Evans, Geography and Environment
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Katjana Gattermann, Government
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Robert Schertzer, Government
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Altin Sunay, Government
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Matthew Whiting, Government
- Vanni Pettina, International History
- Robert Craig, Law
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Nayat Horozoglu, Management
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Anastasia Kouvela, Management
- Jill Nurse, Managerial Economics and Strategy Group
- Nicholas Cron, Mathematics
- Ioannis Kouletsis, Mathematics
- Derek Wan, Mathematics
- Max Hanska-Ahy, Media and Communications
- Christopher Gandrud, Methodology Institute
- Mohammad Sartawi, Methodology Institute
- Michele Milofsky, Philosophy
- Mischa Van-Den-Brandhof, Philosophy
- Peter Manning, Sociology
- Malvina Marchese, Statistics
Some departments have not yet decided on their prize winners so this list
will grow!
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• Runner-up
prizes go to
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Abhisek Banerjee, Economics
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Jon De Quidt, Economics
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Jaime Diaz, Economics
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Joachim Groeger, Economics
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Abhimanyu Gupta, Economics
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Gianni La Cava, Economics
- Iain Long, Economics
- Malvina Marchese, Economics
- Marek Waskiewicz, Economics
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 60
Second Interview
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• with....Dr Liz Barnett
I am director of the Teaching and
Learning Centre and have been at
LSE for 12 years. This is the
second phase of my life at LSE -
I did my PhD here under the
legendary Hilde Himmelweit in
the Institute for Social
Psychology. I spent the first
half of my career working in
international health - and
moved into my current line of
work when my daughter became too
big to put in a suitcase! I can
say that LSE has 'grown on me'
but I do understand why some
students find it a tricky place
to thrive. I have great respect
for academic colleagues in the
School - many of you are superb
teachers and top class
researchers. This issue of Staff
News celebrates your successes
in teaching - congratulations to
all the Teaching Prize Winners!
What advice would you give to a
new academic?
Get out and meet people. LSE is
full of spectacular characters!
Go and watch them at work - see
them teaching, talk to them in
the SDR, check out 'Experts' and
see where you can make your
connections.
What do you think makes for a
good teacher?
All sorts - there is no one
'model'. But high on the list
would be loving your own area of
expertise, enjoying working with
students, being committed to
their development, and the
ability to talk about ideas in a
structured yet exciting way.
What was the best kind of
feedback you ever had as a
student?
To be truthful...'You've passed'
for my first driving test. But I
also really appreciated one of
my tutors at university. First
time round I handed in a piece
on the Green Revolution in India
and got a terrible mark
(economics turned out to be not
one of my strengths). But he
talked me through it, encouraged
me to re-write it and
subsequently spurred me on to
research ideas for myself. It
was the start of loving to
study. School had never quite
done that for me, but university
most certainly did!
What's the best place to study
at LSE?
I love the new 'open' spaces in
the NAB - great for impromptu
groups. And the Shaw Library
(and its roof terrace) are good
spots for quiet contemplation.
Where do you do your best
thinking?
Probably on my scooter (aka super
Harley) between LSE and home in
north London.
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 Notices
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• New
academic induction programme 2010
This
year's programme for new academic staff will take place from 7-14 September.
Staff already in post may be particularly interested in the following
sessions:
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Facing the Media: Wednesday 8 September
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PhD supervision: Tuesday 14 September
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Sessions on the 9, 10 and 13 will address different aspects of teaching
and learning, including lecturing, running classes and seminars,
managing Graduate Teaching Assistants, academic advising, using
technology in teaching and an introduction to the LSE
Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCCertHE).
If you
are interested in attending any of these events, please contact
TLC@lse.ac.uk to request a timetable
which will be ready by the end of June.
All
departments are asked to alert TLC to any new staff who will be joining the
School who will be contacted directly with an invitation to the programme.
This will be the second year that new staff joining the School with limited
teaching experience will be expected to enrol on the LSE
PGCCertHE.
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• Graduate Teaching Assistants' training
Each year, TLC runs several sessions for new GTAs and guest teachers.
The first of these will be a session for new class teachers in the
Department of Government on Tuesday 29 June. Other sessions will be held
between 21 September and 8 October.
Any research students who are hoping to teach next academic session
should contact TLC@lse.ac.uk to register
their interest and receive the application form to sign up for these
sessions. New GTAs with no previous experience of teaching in higher
education are required to attend these sessions.
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• Teaching and Learning
Innovations Funding
Do you have a good idea on how to improve feedback to students or
help them study more effectively? Do you want to try out new techniques
or resources in your teaching? Would some 'seed funding' help you take
things forward? If so, please contact Liz Barnett at
l.barnett@lse.ac.uk to discuss
ideas.
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• Teaching
and Learning Centre Knowledge Transfer
workshops
Making Television Interviews Work for You
Tuesday 25 May 2019, 9:30am - 4pm (coffee at 9am), October Gallery Club
Room|
This is a one-day workshop aimed at understanding what interviewers want
in different formats and how to meet or parry those expectations. It builds
on the 'Face The Media' training offered at induction and covers turning an
academic position into an opinionated expert view; how to take control of an
interview; how to get your message across effectively; how to work panel
situations to advantage; and how to enhance your versatility.
More
How to Communicate with the Corporate World
Date and venue to be confirmed soon
This one-day workshop aims to develop workable models of engagement with
potential partners in industry and elsewhere. Led by trainers with extensive
experience in the corporate sector, it will engage you in a simulated
marketplace of ideas where you pitch and react, and replicate
interview/encounter situations with potential new partners. The idea is to
identify specific parts of the academic process that successfully transpose
across different professions.
More |
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