1 April 2010
Research-based approach to teaching leads to national award
A postgraduate Psychology student from the University of Dundee has had her innovative approach to teaching recognised with an illustrious national award.
Mandy Yilmaz, who is in the final year of her PhD studies, has won the National Psychology Postgraduate Teaching Award 2010. The prize is given by the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network, and is open to all psychology postgraduates who teach on undergraduate, postgraduate, or continuing education courses in UK institutions of higher or further education.
She was nominated by 13 of her students, who recognised that she was 'not only a teacher, but a mentor, team leader, and friend'. She will receive prize money of £250, which she will use to take her student research team out for a meal. The award itself will be presented at a national conference later this year.
Mandy’s teaching methods supplement classroom-based learning with practical experiences of academic research. She says that the students got a lot out of being involved in the experiments that formed part of her PhD research in Developmental Psychology.
'I really enjoy teaching and love connecting with students,' she said. 'My approach to teaching is one which actively encourages the student to contribute to their own learning experience.
'When I decided how I wanted to approach my experiments, I realised it was a huge undertaking and so I recruited a team of student researchers. Whilst it’s not unusual for students to work alongside researchers, I wanted to make sure they got hands-on experience of conducting experiments and analysing data rather than just spending their time in the library.
'To qualify to be part of the team, they had to sit an interview, submit a piece of work and receive appraisals like they would in real employment. In return, they were given an excellent opportunity and this is reflected in their academic performance.
'The feedback from students is that reading about research in books is one thing, but to take part in studies that might one day feature in books itself gave them a real buzz and a better grounding in the subject.'
Mandy’s research into how young infants develop a sense of the self will shortly lead to articles in peer reviewed journals. She says she loves combining research with teaching, and that the award is a real honour for the whole department.
Announcing the award, the Psychology Network said that it was clear from the nominators’ enthusiastic descriptions that Mandy’s 'motivation, dedication, and leadership have made a significant impact on students and staff at the University of Dundee’s School of Psychology'.
Indeed, Mandy’s methods have proved so successful that the School has now adopted the model of student experience in research as part of their syllabus.
The Psychology Network is one of 24 discipline-based centres within the Higher Education Academy. It supports the teaching of psychology across the UK and works with students, staff, departments, professional bodies and overseas organisations to develop supportive networks and to improve the learning experience of psychology students in Higher Education. More information is available at www.psychology.heacademy.ac.uk/.
Mandy will be presented will her award at the 2010 Psychology Learning and Teaching (PLAT) conference, which will be held at Edinburgh Napier University between June 30th and July 2nd. Mandy will share some of her experiences and the initiatives will the conference audience.
Suzanne Zeedyk said, 'The students’ nomination makes clear what a powerful effect Mandy has had on their learning experience. Her positive approach pushes students to seek out new opportunities, to take risks, to celebrate successes.
'It is clear she has altered the career direction and self-confidence of any number of students. We have had a number of good Demonstrators in past years, but we have never had one who has impacted so significantly on students in all four year levels.'
Comments from Mandy’s students included:
'Mandy is generous with her time, empathetic, and at the same time always gives her honest opinion. She always pushes to bring the best out of people, engaging not only on a formal level, but on a personal level too. She truly embodies everything that an ideal teacher, and mentor, should be.'
'Mandy deserves this award for her exceptional teaching abilities both in her formal role as First Year Demonstrator and in her self-appointed role as coordinator of a large research team. Working for Mandy has genuinely been a life-altering experience and a privilege.'
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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