Professor David Smith

National Teaching Fellow 2013 Engagement, outreach and building communities of active learners and educators lie at the heart of Professor David Smith's educational practice. A wide range of innovative approaches have been used to engage student learning, not only at the University of York, where he has pioneered active-learning techniques in lectures, but also nationally and internationally. Over the past 10 years he has engaged with more than 30,000 A-level students, in highly interactive lectures. Furthermore, by developing a YouTube channel (ProfessorDaveatYork) he has engaged with a global audience. By empowering his students to make their own YouTube videos as part of an innovative module, he has enabled them to become global educators in their own right. In leadership positions, Dave has played a key role influencing colleagues and ensuring that innovation remains embedded at the heart of his own highly successful Department of Chemistry. He has also delivered seminars, training courses and written peer-reviewed papers with the goal of influencing academics in other institutions to experiment with some of his innovative methods. By careful reflection, through listening to students, engaging with colleagues and educationalists, and using social media such as Twitter in an active manner to become an influential member of a broader academic community, Dave has enhanced the quality of his own educational practice. As such, Dave is a rare academic, a highly successful researcher, who is fully engaged as an active member of the broader academic community, and for the past 13 years has been leading innovative approaches to enhance student learning and engagement.