Pedagogic Champions

Teaching in secondary, special, further and higher education (UK and overseas) with a sustained emphasis on developing inclusive learning and teaching practice and complementary learning development has formed a strong foundation for Louise’s current role as Library and Learning Services (LLS) Head of Learning Development and Support. This role is responsible for LLS learning and academic skills support available to all De Montfort University (DMU) students and staff.

Louise’s work has achieved external recognition, twice shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Awards and winner of DMU’s ‘Oscar Awards’. She is a DMU Teacher Fellow and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dr Annette Crisp is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a CATE award winner and the Pedagogic Champion for Arts Design and Humanities (ADH).

As the Associate Professor Quality in ADH, her role within the faculty is to provide support for staff in order to facilitate the development, delivery, and assessment of good quality higher education working within universal standards of quality and good practice. This enables her to review and disseminate developments associated with innovation in pedagogy as well as content within the faculty.

For a number of years prior to her current role Dr Crisp would be found working as a programme leader and senior lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.

Initially working as a distance learning manager in Pharmacy, Dr Crisp was subsequently appointed as Faculty Manager to the old faculty of Applied Sciences. Reinventing herself as a lecturer as a result of changes to university structures, Annette worked in Psychology and Criminal Justice as a senior lecturer running a number of cross-disciplinary modules. Finally, as a Criminologist she worked full time with the department of criminology and criminal justice.

This led to her involvement in the development and leadership of the IPLDP foundation degree and top up degree policing programmes in collaboration with local Police organisations - the first police/academic degree programmes in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

As a result of her teaching experiences, Annette continued to develop her interest in trans-disciplinary learning which led to her work with the Crash-Ed team, engagement with widening participation and other inter faculty teaching initiatives uniquely using for example the 'Cube' virtual space for assessment purposes. In addition to trans-disciplinary education, Annette has worked extensively to promote the pedagogical worth of the use of avatars and practice-based virtual scenarios in higher education and collaborative learning. She very much looks forward to supporting staff across the university to develop their pedagogical endeavours and develop new ways to facilitate learning.

Kevin Merry is the lead for academic development at DMU and a DMU Teacher Fellow. An award-winning teacher, Kevin has received accolades for his pioneering approach to online learning via flipped classroom approaches and has become internationally renowned for his work on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Specifically, Kevin has developed a unique approach to embedding UDL into modules and courses using his own 'Cheese-Sandwich' pedagogy which fuses Bloom's Learning for Mastery approach and Constructive Alignment alongside the principles of UDL. The result is a technology enhanced learning experience within which learners are supported to become purposeful and motivated, knowledgeable, and resourceful and strategic and goal oriented - the true 'expert learner'.

Nikki Welyczko is an Associate Professor and Associate Head of School in the Leicester School of Nursing and Midwifery at DMU. As a key member of the faculty’s leadership team, Nikki works closely with the Head of School in providing strategic direction and academic leadership for the school, making a significant contribution to university and faculty priorities.

She is a university Teacher Fellow and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Nikki chairs the School Learning and Teaching Group (SLTG), the Pre and Post Registration Programme Management Boards and is Deputy Chair Nursing and Midwifery Single Tier Assessment Board. A key focus of Nikki’s role is on quality and the continuing development of innovative learning, teaching and assessment activities across the school, faculty and university. She also represents the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (HLS) at the University Learning and Teaching Committee (ULTC) as a Teaching and Learning Champion.

During the fourteen years Nikki has worked at DMU, she has held a number of key school and faculty leadership roles. She has experience of module, programme and senior academic leadership and has been involved in the development and design of innovative curricula that enhances learning and teaching and ensures optimum student experience. She is an experienced external examiner, a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) quality reviewer and has also fulfilled the role of external advisor/panel member on multiple occasions for other HEIs. Nikki is an academic reviewer for several nursing publications and publishes regularly for Gastrointestinal Nursing and the Journal of Kidney Care. She is a member of the Nursing Standard’s Art a Science Advisory Panel and networks nationally with a range of academics and senior clinical practitioners advising about publishing content. Nikki is currently undertaking a PhD exploring resilience in UK pre-registration nursing students.

Ellen is a Senior Lecturer in Cinema and Television History and the Programme Leader for Film Studies. As well as being a CAI Pedagogic Champion, she is also a Faculty Teaching and Learning Champion on the University Learning & Teaching Committee.

In addition to work Ellen does on student and public outreach and pedagogic best practice on her programme and within in her faculty, she has also published discipline-specific work on this topic. Ellen is at her happiest in a classroom. Having been the first person in her family to go to university, she is passionate about the empowering and transformative potential of education and is keen to be as inclusive, engaging and approachable an educator as she can possibly be.

Senior Lecturer Neil has been teaching both in higher education and private sector in excess of 12 years. Teaching on both professional and academic courses, he strives to ensure those learning gain the knowledge required to complete their studies and progress into valuable careers. Neil is also the faculty Teaching & Learning Champion and working towards ensuring pedagogy is influenced in a way which will ensure longevity of learning for all students, regardless of their learning styles.