Ursula Curwen – Learning and Teaching Fellow

I work as part of the team within the Department for Social and Psychological Sciences as Programme Leader for the BA Childhood and Youth Studies, teaching on several modules and act as a personal tutor. I have leadership responsibility for modules within the degree across the three undergraduate levels. Since my arrival at Edge Hill in 2007 I have been actively involved in Open Day and Taster Day presentations and have established links with the Student Support services and the Students Union in order to support and enhance the student experience and improve retention.  I am one of a small team working to develop the student peer mentoring provision within the University. I have also provided informal support to colleagues in working with learning technology and am currently working with a small group of associate tutors to enhance their tutoring skills.

I believe that accessibility of learning materials is a key component in the retention process. During my time with the Open University I worked on the writing and development of distance learning materials in a blended written/web based format as part of the recently established Youth Justice team. As a professionally qualified Youth and Community Worker I have experience of teaching within the Youth and Community programme at John Moores University (JMU). My particular areas of teaching included fieldwork placements preparation and supervision. The majority of candidates within the JMU programme were ‘non standard’ entry students and I am well aware of the issues raised by the inclusion of such candidates. I see blended and in particular access to online content as a strong supporter of learners building around alternate commitments. I also have experience in telephone based guidance and mentoring. I am currently in the process of developing and validating a new M level course for professional qualification and development of Youth and Community workers at Edge Hill. I have a particular interest in online learning and am building my experience in this area.

My professional Youth and Community Work experience has taken place in a range of settings. This was within traditional youth centres with Lancashire County Council and pioneering new areas such as work within FE at Wirral Metropolitan College working to increase and maintain participation within training courses in the early 1990's. My role has included the performance management and supervision of both full and part time staff and supporting teaching staff in working with hard to reach young people with specific targets around support and retention of students. As a practitioner I welcomed trainee Youth and Community Workers to placements within my team. I was the first worker outside Greater London to be specifically employed to facilitate work with Lesbian and Gay young people winning a national award for work with this group. I have led residential experiences within the UK and overseas from planning to realisation. I have worked with young offenders, young people excluded from school (Prince’s Trust XL5 Programme), young women’s projects and youth theatre with one group participating in an international drama event at the Liverpool Playhouse. For some five years I worked as a summer volunteer doing play scheme work with Pax Christi in Northern Ireland and was part of the team, which trained and selected volunteers over a three year period. I worked in various arts media including performance and drama such as theatre in education with the Groundwork Trust and with a small independent theatre company touring to schools in the Greater Manchester area as a volunteer/trainee with BBC Radio Manchester Community Broadcast Unit and have taken part in the Ear Candy initiative with Radio 4 working as a writer and performer. I have an active involvement with the Windows Writing Project for the last 25 years as trustee, treasurer, management committee chair and artist.  My Masters degree is in Writing Studies.

My teaching aims to link theory to practice and to reflect a participative and experiential learning perspective. In order to continue my professional development I have gained a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education and Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. I have a passionate belief that quality training should be provided to all those who wish to access it.