Professor Mark Woolford

National Teaching Fellow 2013 Professor Mark Woolford has been involved in education in dentistry since 1984. He has worked at a number of dental schools around the UK, obtaining his PhD at the University of Dundee before returning to London to take up a post at what was to become (in 2000) King's College London Dental School. Since 2007 Mark has been the Director of Education at King's College London Dental Institute, the largest Dental School in the UK, graduating 20% of the UK dentist workforce and providing the largest amount of postgraduate education of any UK Dental School. Due to his passion for maximum participation he has provided the widest entry opportunities within a five-year programme, including four-year and three-year pathways. Due to a personal interest in widening participation he has introduced an enhanced support programme for excellent applicants who may never have considered dentistry as a career. Although he has a high administrative and clinical workload students are the most important elements of his work. One student wrote: "Myself and (my partner) are very much indebted to you for all your help and understanding throughout...In the meanwhile though, I would like to thank you, 'one of the unsung heroes,' for everything you have done for us." Mark has won a number of accolades both within College and internationally for the quality of his teaching and level of care for students and their learning. He was promoted to Professor of Education in Dentistry in 2012, in part in recognition of his excellence in provision of teaching and learning at King's. Mark is also an honorary consultant in restorative dentistry. This clinical commitment ensuring his teaching is not just based on theory, but also on practical ability. The use of research to inform practice is an important part of his work and he has a specific interest in the contribution and specific challenges of mature students within the dental programme: this work led to the award of an MA in Academic Practice in 2010. He has produced a number of publications on pedagogic issues.