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Getting a Higher Education Academy Fellowship as Head of Department: Prof. Gesine Manuwald
Professor Gesine Manuwald is Head of UCL Greek & Latin and is a UCL Arena Senior Fellow.
8 February 2017
What is your role and which Arena Pathway did you follow?
I am a Professor of Latin and have been Head of Department for UCL Greek and Latin since 2012.
I teach BA and MA modules on Latin language and literature and am responsible for PhD supervision on Republican and early Imperial Roman literature.
I joined UCL Arena Open.
What was your motivation?
I was previously involved with UCL Arena as an assessor; so even before applying myself, I could see the requirements and benefits of submitting an application. I knew it would be a good opportunity to reflect on how I teach.
What was the most useful element?
Being able to holistically review my teaching.
Previously, I had mainly reflected on others’ teaching through peer observation or mentoring. The Arena process was useful in giving me a chance to think about how I teach and what impact it has had.
During my time as an assessor, I was able to see the variety of teaching from staff across UCL and how the ideas they used, if not the practice itself, might be adopted by different disciplines.
How has it changed your teaching?
The process of reflection has been useful in departmental discussions about teaching and the potential of different approaches to teaching our own curriculum.
What would you say to someone considering working towards a UCL Arena/Higher Education Academy Fellowship?
It depends on the stage they are at in their career.
For staff new to teaching it can encourage continued theoretical reflection right from the start, and there is of course the benefit of a formally recognised teaching qualification.
For those more senior, it is a chance to think ‘what have I done so far?’ through engaging with colleagues and constantly changing pedagogical literature.