Dr Georgina Blakeley has worked at both The Open University (OU) and the University of Huddersfield, focusing on inclusive pedagogy to ensure that students who would not ordinarily access higher education can fulfil their potential. In 2019 she won the European Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Social Sciences and Humanities having been nominated by staff and students at Huddersfield and the OU. This international recognition followed on from being shortlisted for the UK Times Higher Education Awards in the ‘Most Innovative Teacher of the Year’ category and an OU Teaching Award for Innovation in Teaching in 2017. These three awards testify to Georgina’s leadership in transforming students’ learning through inclusive pedagogy and support.
At the OU (2006-2019) she led the design and delivery of interdisciplinary Social Science entry-level modules taken by 6,000 students annually. Approximately 40% of entry-level students have low/no prior educational qualifications and/or low socio-economic status and 20% declare a disability. This demographic required inclusive teaching to enable all students to fulfil their potential by ensuring students’ different learning needs were met and barriers preventing their learning were removed. This was achieved through:
- Pedagogy: designing bespoke online activities to foster students’ skills as active learners.
- Technology: creating original animations to teach students to think as social scientists.
- Learning Analytics: using Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) engagement data to support students through production of a Quick Start Guide and pro-active mid-module telephone call support.
Through building empowered teams of staff, her pedagogic leadership impacted on the following areas across the OU and internationally: changing policy and practice in entry-level modules; enhancing the performance of Student Support Teams and promoting public pedagogy.
In July 2019, Georgina returned to Huddersfield University with the aim of adapting what she had learned about inclusive distance-learning pedagogy and support mechanisms from the OU to a campus university context. As Director of Teaching and Learning, Georgina is focusing on inclusive pedagogy and support to achieve Huddersfield University’s teaching and learning strategy which focuses on social justice through its aim of achieving zero differential attainment by 2025.