The University is delighted to share that Sarah Williamson from the School of Education and Professional Development has recently been shortlisted in the “Most Innovative Teacher of the Year” category of the Times Higher Education Awards 2018.

The University has a history of success at these prestigious awards, which are often described as the "Oscars of higher education."

Sarah’s extraordinary and imaginative teaching leaves a powerful impression on students and colleagues, and her nomination comes following recent testimonials from students training to teach in the lifelong learning sector:

“I have learnt how to teach from you – not just by what you tell us – but every time I watch you teach. You have been the best role model I could have wished for. This course has changed my life for the better.”

“You’ve been a really inspirational tutor. One of the best decisions I ever made was coming on this course.”

“I don’t think we could have had a better PGCE experience or teacher. Every day she was dedicated to making each session with us as interesting, engaging and as fun as possible, which is a brilliant quality to have and difficult to do consistently in my opinion.”

Sarah’s teaching goes beyond the traditional classroom and is described as “immersive, sensual and experiential and profoundly challenging intellectually”.  She teaches through the arts, using imagery, art techniques, poetry, music, storytelling and performance as part of a socially-engaged pedagogy to develop her students’ professional depth and critical awareness of the world and society. Inside, Sarah creates classroom ‘cabinets of curiosity’ with eclectic displays and artefacts and object-based learning activity. She also teaches outside the classroom drawing upon the landscape and environment, and recently demonstrating this is in a masterclass for University staff.

The work that Sarah does has also reached thousands of people through the Pop-Up Art Schools she sets up in various settings including schools, art galleries and at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.  Those who attend find or recapture their creative selves, and from working collaboratively to provide informal education through the arts for the University’s local and regional community, her students learn how art contributes to  the well-being of individuals and can be democratised.

Scholarship and research underpin Sarah’s teaching, and she is an invited member of an international team of teacher-researchers funded by the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council to develop pedagogic and research practice in museums and galleries.

The winners will be announced on Thursday 29 November at the awards dinner and ceremony in London. It promises to be a spectacular event with a celebrity host and well over 1000 guests in attendance including politicians, senior sector figures, and academic and professional university staff from all corners of the UK.