National Teaching Fellowship Scheme - Higher Education Academy

National Teaching Fellows 2012
Nicky Reid
Head of the Money Doctors Service, Student Affairs
University of Roehampton
In her relatively short time at Roehampton, Nicky Reid has had a major influence on many aspects of
her specialist area and on the colleagues who work alongside her; from instigating change through her
work on delivering and teaching personal finance education, to introducing exciting new technologies
which have benefited both staff and students.
Nicky is particularly imaginative in her use of resources and new technologies. She believes that
emerging technologies in the area of social collaborative networking (Wikis, blogs, podcasts and video
podcasts) provide a host of learning opportunities for students both on and off campus. Combining
face-to-face classroom-based learning with online collaborative learning provides a truly personalised
student learning environment which is accessible at any time.
Reciprocally, she has listened to and learned from her own students. When they suggested a dedicated
student money page on Facebook, it led her to develop a project which explores why and how students
are choosing to learn with social media and how the academic community should respond.
Nicky’s philosophy is to foster the development of a learning environment for all her students where
they feel supported and safe, enabling them to encourage each other as they build their own learning
community. Nicky said:
“I see my role and input as providing a ‘scaffold’ for students to develop their own thinking, enabling
them to move on to the next stage of their lives.”
Nicky is always in great demand, both within her own institution, where she runs university-wide
workshops as well as individual and tailor-made sessions for staff and students, and nationally, giving
presentations to colleagues at major conferences and events across the UK.
Colleagues and students are also highly supportive of Nicky’s work. A former student said:
“Nicky Reid is the most awesome member of staff at Roehampton. She is the reason I stayed and it’s
as simple as that!”
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