Ms Sarah Jane Dickenson

National Teaching Fellow 2010 Sarah Jane is a passionate believer in using drama to enable students to become critical thinkers in a practical community context. She uses plays as catalysts for community projects. In all the work she does, she strives to provide learning opportunities for students in often challenging but ultimately enriching environments. Crucial to her work is the use of drama to enable students and the public, both here and abroad, to reflect on the way life is and more importantly how it could be. Sarah Jane's work goes into prisons, schools, theatres, other universities, and is used by special interest groups both in the UK and abroad. Sarah Jane has established a scriptwriting culture within her department which is now bearing fruition with past graduates succeeding as playwrights and screenwriters, as evidenced in the following: "I took a module by Sarah Jane, and its impact still lingers with me today, both in the creative choices I make, and also in my career. I'm now a full time playwright". [Ex student] Sarah Jane is Deputy Dean of the largest Faculty in the University. Her skills as an effective communicator have helped her move the Faculty on considerably in relation to learning and teaching matters. As a colleague notes: "Sarah Jane has excellent people skills and really knows how to motivate busy and tired colleagues." Sarah Jane's expertise is being sought beyond the UK at an international level. She was selected to take part in the prestigious Goethe-Institut After the Fall project to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The project invited dramatists from all over Europe to write plays. Seven of the plays were chosen to appear at the culminating festival in Germany and Sarah Jane's play was one chosen. Her production was unique among all the plays as it was aimed at young people.