Dr Fiona Copland

National Teaching Fellow 2012 Fiona Copland is Course Director for a portfolio of MSc programmes by distance learning in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) by distance learning. The programme's advocate situated learning and require course participants to develop action research projects in order to investigate their own contexts. This innovative and emancipatory approach puts course participants at the centre of their own learning, showing them it is the course tutors who are at a distance from the students, rather than the other way around. Throughout her career Fiona has had roles which have allowed her to focus on the classroom and to develop creative and stimulating learning environments. She worked as a teacher of English as a foreign/second language to children and adults for many years in Nigeria (Voluntary Services Overseas), Hong Kong and Japan (British Council). On returning to the UK, she worked as a teacher educator in TESOL, developing the curricula for, and directing programmes at, Level 4 and Level 7. She took a loop input approach to training in which content was delivered through pedagogies appropriate to the second language classroom. One trainee teacher commented: "She practised what she preached... Fiona continues to be my blueprint for how [training] should be done." Fiona contributes to Aston's Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice, a teaching qualification which lecturers from a variety of backgrounds attend. She believes in the power of individual teachers, in whatever sector or country, to develop excellence through critical reflection. Her work on this programme has been praised by participants and by other contributors: "It is not only her teaching style which is inspirational, but also her ability to bring real cultural change to the University by changing attitudes to curriculum design and assessment". Professor Helen Higson, Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor Fiona has presented at national and international conferences on learning and teaching and is often asked to give talks in this area at seminars. She has also published in learning and teaching on feedback conferences in teacher education, distance education and international students' experiences.