News

Teaching excellence rewarded

The first members of staff to be awarded the University’s Excellence in Teaching Award (ETA) have been announced.

ETA recognises staff who make an outstanding contribution to the student learning experience in three areas: individual excellence; raising the profile of excellence; and, developing excellence. Each year, five individual awards of £1,000 and a group award of £5,000 are awarded. The fund is allocated to the relevant Department to support the member of staff’s professional development and learning and teaching activities.

This years' winners were:
Dr Lara Alcock, formerly of Mathematical Sciences, who will be continuing her success at Loughborough University
Dr Caroline Angus from Biological Sciences, for the depth and breadth of her learning and teaching activities and innovations, many of which have had a University-wide impact.
Tracey Burge from Health and Human Sciences, for her involvement in designing and delivering new courses and embedding e-learning technologies.
Dr Dominic Micklewright from Biological Sciences, for his work on online formative testing, feedback, PDP, and his burgeoning national profile.
Dr Tim Rakow from Psychology, for his work on student engagement and raising aspirations.

The group award went to Tracy Maule and the Education Studies Team at South East Essex College for commitment to supporting the student learning experience and for forging effective links with the regional community.

The application and selection process for ETA is aligned with the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme and it is hoped that applicants will work with the Learning and Teaching Unit towards submitting an application for the national award. The next call for applications will be in May 2008.

Life skills

Latin American Studies students have made the most of their year abroad before their final year back in Essex.

As well as studying in universities in Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil, the students headed off to work in rural communities during the second half of the year.

Professor Valerie Fraser, Director of the Centre for Latin American Studies, said: 'Their year in Latin America provides students with much more than marks on a grid. They gain language and research skills, work experience, knowledge of another culture, and, because things don't always go smoothly, self-knowledge and self-reliance as well as lots of special memories.'

Student Richard McLaughlin worked with Permaculture, a sustainable agriculture non-governmental organisation in El Salvador, helping rural communities design and build water tanks, composting toilets and solar-powered electricity systems.

Jessica Dennehy took on the daunting task of working with young offenders in a remand home in La Paz. She said: 'The first lecture I went to in Argentina it took me half an hour to realise I was in the wrong place due to my limited Spanish, ten months on and I was interpreting for an Englishman giving a talk to young offenders in La Paz.'

Ruth Kibble's work in the Dominican Republic, included organising theatre workshops with communities on the border with Haiti and interpreting for an African delegation to a UN conference in Santo Domingo.

During their year abroad students also undertake research for their final year dissertation and this year's topics range from land reform in Bolivia to the question of what 'fair trade' really does mean.

Improved crossing for Clingoe Hill

This winter should be the last time that students, staff and the local community need to use the Clingoe Hill underpass.

Following the deaths of two student pedestrians on Clingoe Hill in the 12 months until April this year, the University, the Students' Union and the Highways Agency initiated a number of measures to improve road safety in this area.

Essex County Council officers have now submitted a revised design for the A133 entrance to the planned Research Park, which incorporates a junction with traffic lights that meets highways safety and capacity requirements.

The design includes a pedestrian/cyclist crossing for the A133 which will be located close to the point where Boundary Road meets the A133. Pedestrians and cyclists heading to the town will be directed along Elmstead Road and those passing toward Greenstead and northern Colchester will go via the northern side of the highway.

The speed limit on the A133 St Andrews Road between Greenstead roundabout and Wivenhoe Park corner is likely to be reduced to 50 mph. This has gone out to public consultation and the period for objections has ended.

In the meantime the Highways Agency has been looking at ways to improve the underpass, including introducing safety measures such as guardrails, better steps on the southern side, signs and shrub clearance. The problem of the underpass flooding has been reduced by clearing the outlet and a more regular de-siltation of the water course is proposed. However, the underpass is designed primarily as a culvert for the highway and during periods of excessive rainfall, the excess run-off will inevitably flood over the footway.

Also in the printed December edition of Wyvern:

• University experts aid entrepreneurs
• Southend ministerial visit
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