Ruth Margaret Matheson

National Teaching Fellow 2012 Ruth Matheson's teaching philosophy is driven by her background in occupational therapy. She has a strong belief in person-centredness, the ability of all individuals to learn and be creative and the importance of meaningful activity to stimulate curiosity and interest. Ruth began her teaching career in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Cardiff University in 1997 and in 2008 took up the position of Senior Lecturer in Academic Development at Cardiff Metropolitan University. In 2010 she received a University of Wales' Teaching Fellowship. One student commented: "Ruth is an extremely dynamic lecturer whose critical thought processes and logical reasoning skills enable a deep level of student learning and understanding." She has made a major contribution to actively promoting partnership working with students and staff to enhance curriculum design, capture the student voice and action pedagogic development with programme teams. A staff member commented: "Ruth brings an enthusiasm, dedication and clarity of vision to the projects she is involved with that are crucial to their effective and efficient delivery, and all the way through functions almost as a covert facilitator so that you could be forgiven for thinking that you did it on your own. The reality is that she is a key driving force whose skills, knowledge, experience and clarity of purpose consistently raises standards and delivers results." Ruth's role also includes the promotion and execution of Cardiff Metropolitan's continuing professional development scheme, enabling staff to be recognised for their teaching and supporting learning. Ruth teaches on the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education, advancing pedagogic practice in academic and support staff. Ruth is passionate about the progression of problem-based learning, developing an on-line community of practice, together with editing and contributing to a book on problem-based learning in health and social care. She continues to maintain a key role within the promotion of learning and teaching within occupational therapy education. Currently she is exploring the use of experiential learning prior to and within induction to engage students, promote professional socialisation and develop employability awareness.