News

National award for outstanding work

Published 30 July 2012

A University of Brighton academic has won one of the country's highest awards in the field of teaching.

Dr Jane Morris, deputy head of the School of Health Professions, is one of only 55 academic staff in England and Northern Ireland to be selected by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) as a National Teaching Fellow for 2012.

The fellowship scheme recognises and rewards teachers and learning support staff in higher education for excellence in teaching. Recipients were chosen from hundreds of nominations and each receives an award of £10,000 to be used to support further developments to enhance lifelong learning.

Dr Morris, who is also professional head of the physiotherapy division and the lead for practice education in the School of Health Professions, plays a key role which extends across physiotherapy, podiatry and occupational therapy.

Dr Lynne Caladine, head of the School of Health Professions, said: "Since the start of her career as a health professional, Jane has developed a passion for the value of practice-based education which has fuelled her commitment to transforming the student learning experience in practice-based settings."

"Placement learning forms a vital third of all health professions programmes and Jane identified this as a sometimes neglected area of learning and teaching in higher education. She has taken a two-way approach to addressing the challenges, by empowering students' sense of control and engagement with their practice tutors and through designing and leading courses and support systems for over 300 practitioners to foster development of their own teaching and assessment skills."

"Jane's extensive experience and deep interest in practice education has led to the development and leadership of courses for practice-based educators, such as the inter-professional Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Education. She has worked relentlessly for over 20 years to ensure that students experience higher-quality learning, and in recognition of her teaching was awarded a Teaching Excellence Award in 2005 by the university. Her doctoral work explored the complexities of practice educators' feedback to students and her recommendations for improvement are expected to lead to some changes in professional practice."

"Jane is renowned for providing a supportive, yet challenging learning environment, promoting open communication and student-centred approaches to enable them to be active in their learning." Dr Morris said: "I feel very proud to have been awarded a fellowship. This recognition would not have been possible without the support I have received from my colleagues and friends within the school, the Faculty of Health and Social Science, and across the university. I look forward to working closely with the Higher Education Academy and to continuing with my commitment to enhancing practice based learning opportunities for students and their practice educators."

Following two terms of office as chair of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy's practice education forum, Dr Morris now chairs the National Association of Educators in Practice (NAEP), whose aim is to ensure that professional education is grounded in practice by providing the best possible support network for educators in practice across all health and social care professions.

Jane also leads the school's applied pedagogic group to support research to foster evidence-based learning and teaching approaches across the curriculum. Her own research focuses on learning and teaching in practice settings and includes facilitation of learning, peer assisted models of practice education, inter-professional learning in practice settings and formative assessment during placements.

Dr Caladine added: "I am delighted to hear of Jane’s well deserved success. She is an inspirational facilitator whose truly student-centred approach to learning and teaching is built on extensive experience and a sound research base."

Funded by Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, the fellows will receive their awards at a ceremony in London on 10 October.