Dr Liz Mellor

National Teaching Fellow 2015 With her enthusiastic and passionate commitment for music, Dr Liz Mellor supports and inspires students not only to achieve their own goals, but also to reach out to others, so that they too can aspire, believe and achieve their own potential. Liz's teaching is underpinned by her research which includes aesthetic development in music education (the subject of her PhD thesis), assessment, creativity, composition, student voice, inclusive leadership and employability. She was awarded a Research Fellowship for Singing, Health and Wellbeing within the Collaboration for Creativity Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. This supported students to work in a range of community settings, for example, in schools, within the NHS and within 'CONVERGE', for mental health service users at York St John University (YSJU). Through successful funding applications in learning and teaching development, Liz has a sustained record of working with student researchers to develop their understanding of inclusive leadership in singing, instrumental ensembles and composing, and to develop their professional identity through e-portfolio asessment in music. She was awarded one of the first Excellent People Awards at YSJU in 2012. Liz's unique perspective, developed through her continuing professional development in education and therapy, brings a depth of understanding to her work. As Professor Graham Welch (Institute of Education, University of London) says: "I am impressed that Liz has continued to put issues related to effective pedagogy at the centre of her work €œ both as a teacher and a researcher. She is keenly interested in addressing the needs of the learners holistically, focusing on the person as well as their relationship with the study area. Her work on arts and health is very significant and she has demonstrated an excellent ability to support interdisciplinary research-based teaching." Since 2001, Liz has led on the Unit of Assessment in Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts across three successive Research Assessment Exercises which recently demonstrated world class impact of an applied narrative. In 2014 she established the International Centre for Community Music (ICCM) within YSJU.