The Media School

Media School staff win BU awards for student learning

17 December 2009

Roman Gerodimos and Dr Lian Zhu were recognised for their development and introduction of special assessment techniques

Four members of the Media School academic staff were amongst the winners of Bournemouth University Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, presented by Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran.

The annual awards acknowledge teams and staff members who have made an outstanding contribution to the quality of student learning at the university in and are judged by expert panels.

Roman Gerodimos and Dr Lian Zhu were recognised for their development and introduction of special assessment techniques in the teaching of media theory to first year students. As a result of their innovation, students' performance on these studies has improved considerably and there have been beneficial follow-on effects in students' long term academic development.

Sofronis Efstathiou's initiative in creating a collaborative work environment for computer animation students was appreciated in the awards. His citation said that the "collaborative work environment allows staff and students to communicate ideas, decisions and feedback to one another in an efficient and applicable manner" in a manner similar to the computer animation, effects and games industries in which so many BU graduates work.

The introduction of "peer formative assessment" through which students comment on each other's draft assignments before submission was the subject of Dr Tom Watson's award. His research amongst students had found that it positively improved both reflective thinking and the written quality of assignments.

"Not only is the Media School the UK's leading centre for professional studies in communication and media and a rapidly developing force in research, but it is also constantly innovative in its teaching and support for student learning," commented the Media School's Dean, Stephen Jukes. As well as 11 staff being recognised with BU awards in the past two years, the Media School is home to the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice, which is the national centre for excellence in learning and teaching for these disciplines.