Intrigued by Shadowing and Flipping? Professor Bernie Morley explains ....
Recently Professor Bernie Morley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning & Teaching), spent the day
shadowing Cristina Dumitru, a third year Pharmacy student, originally from Romania.
Designed to provide University staff with an insight into the daily lives of students,
Professor Morley has elected to participate in the Student Shadowing project every semester.
Professor Morley said:
'I found my first experience of shadowing extremely informative so decided to participate on
a regular basis. Through this process, I gain first hand insight into the challenges and issues of
being a student here and it helps me think about how we can continue to enhance the experience of
our students overall.'
Professor Morley joined Cristina for two workshops covering dissertations and clinical
therapeutics and, as part of this study time, found himself experiencing a 'flipped' lecture. A
'flipped' lecture involves inverting the traditional way of teaching by delivering content outside
the classroom.
Professor Morley explained further:
' The key feature of a flipped lecture or classroom is that the material is provided and
studied before face-to-face contact time which then enables the students to use their lecture time
to explore concepts in a much more interactive and meaningful way as a group. It was fascinating to
join this lecture and witness the increased participation of the students compared with that of a
traditional lecture.'
Cristina, who is studying for a career in the pharmaceutical industry and takes an active
role in University life as an Academic Representative for her course, commented:
'Spending the day with a member of the University's senior management team was really
interesting. I was very unsure what to expect and felt a little intimidated at the idea of
shadowing with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, however, I very much enjoyed talking to Professor Morley
and explaining how I manage my study and other university activities and found the day lots of fun.
I think it's very positive that our senior managers want to really understand student life. I am
looking forward to learning more about Professor Morley's role when I shadow him later in the
month.'
Building on last year's success with the
Shadowing
project, the Learning & Teaching Enhancement Office is continuing to run the project
through this academic year. Additionally, a new project focusing on the
'flipping'
concept has recently been launched by the Academic Staff Development Team in LTEO.
Contact us if you are interested in finding
out more about either the Flipping or Shadowing projects and would like to get involved.
