National Teaching Fellowship Scheme - Higher Education Academy

Kim Russell
Senior Lecturer in Midwifery and Women’s Health
University of Worcester
Kim Russell trained as a midwife at Worcester Royal Infirmary and worked as a clinical midwife for 14
years before moving into higher education to teach on the first Midwifery degree programme at the
University. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, member of the Doctoral Midwife Research
Society and past member of the Royal College of Midwives Education and Research Committee.
Kim is best known for championing natural child birth and organising an annual national birth
conference, which brings together academics, practitioners, managers, service users and student
midwifes to discuss evidence-based practice. Her teaching of natural birth is based on the creation of
authentic learning experiences in the belief that learning through active enquiry and reflection helps
students gain capability and confidence. She believes that these approaches promote meaningful
interaction with learners and the attainment of skills and attributes which support evidence-based
midwifery practice.
During her HE career Kim has also been involved in a number of curriculum development
innovations. During a recent revalidation of the BSc (Hons) Midwifery programme she helped
introduce a new course structure to make lecturers more visible in clinical practice and increase
opportunities for one-to-one student support and practice teaching.
Being actively involved in educational development activities across the University as a tutor on the
Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in HE, Kim has led learning and teaching projects,
facilitated special interest groups and mentored new lecturers. Educational development allows her
to share her passion for teaching and learning with academic staff and promote professional values
which foster personal reflection and a desire for continual improvement. The handbook Preparing to
Teach at the University of Worcester (Russell et al, 2010) was written to help new lecturers provide
undergraduates with transformative learning experiences.
Dr Ian Scott, a National Teaching Fellow, and head of Worcester’s Academic Development and
Practice Unit, (ADPU) said of Kim:
“She has an unparalleled ability to engage both academic and students alike…It is difficult not to be
impressed by Kim’s dedication and capability as a developer of others.”
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