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Ms Susan Starkings

National Teaching Fellow 2006 Dr Susan Starkings is Head of Skills for Learning within the Centre for Learning Support and Development at London South Bank University (LSBU). She has taught for the past 26 years in schools, further and higher education. Her expertise lies both in her academic field of Mathematics and Statistics and in developing cross-disciplinary support for basic skills for students from nontraditional backgrounds. She has also taught for the Open University and was a visiting lecturer in Finland, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Year
2006
Institution
London South Bank University
Job Title
Head of Skills Unit, LDC
National Teaching Fellow 2006 Dr Susan Starkings is Head of Skills for Learning within the Centre for Learning Support and Development at London South Bank University (LSBU). She has taught for the past 26 years in schools, further and higher education. Her expertise lies both in her academic field of Mathematics and Statistics and in developing cross-disciplinary support for basic skills for students from nontraditional backgrounds. She has also taught for the Open University and was a visiting lecturer in Finland, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. In the Skills Unit, a comprehensive support service accessed by approximately 2,000 students annually, she manages a team of academic staff to provide extra-curricular support in Mathematics, Statistics, English Language, Study Skills and Communications. LSBU has a diverse student population, most of whom do not enter university via a traditional route; in 1997 Sue set up the Fast Track programme to enrol and support students from non-traditional backgrounds and to ensure their success. Her outstanding success is demonstrated by dramatically improved progression rates, particularly in Mathematics and Statistics. Her expertise in teaching Mathematics and Statistics to mature and non-traditional students has led to a number of invitations to advise other institutions on teaching these groups. For example, she produced a series of selfhelp worksheets in mathematics to enable student nurses to understand the mathematics required for their studies. Collaboration with organisations such as the MSOR (the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research) and the Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) has enabled her experiences, expertise and inspiration to be shared so that teaching and learning for both staff and students can be enhanced. Her excellence in teaching has been recognised with her appointment as the Guy Lecturer for 2006 by the Royal Statistical Society.  She was also awarded a Life Changers Award from the Universities and College Union in 2008.

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