by Alan Jacques
TWO Mary Immaculate College lecturers have been shortlisted for the National Forum Teaching Experts Award 2015.
Visual Arts educator Anne Marie Morrin and lecturer in Primary Geography Dr Anne Dolan were among 20 nominees shortlisted for the first year of the awards.
The National Teaching Expert Awards aim to identify expert teachers who are models for excellence in teaching and whose knowledge about learning impact is strong and evidence based. Nominations for teaching experts submitted by their institutions underwent a rigorous assessment process by an international teaching experts panel.
Anne Marie and Anne’s nomination was based on their innovative interdisciplinary work with third year B.Ed. students from Visual Art and Primary Geography. They established an interdisciplinary collaboration through an exploration of local landscapes using both a geographical and artistic lens.
Anne Marie Morrin, whose artwork has been exhibited both nationally and locally, has over 20 years’ experience of working in a variety of educational and cultural settings including, theatre, fashion, galleries, schools and community projects.
Commenting about her nomination Anne Marie said, “I was delighted to hear that both Anne and myself were shortlisted for the National Forum Teaching Experts Awards as this is a really exciting opportunity for us to open up our practice.”
“The focus of ecology, art practice and education has opened up possibilities for learners to engage with new ways of thinking and doing. Situating students in learning environments that reignite their own sense of curiosity should transfer into a more creative teaching and learning experience for all involved,” she explained.
Dr Anne Dolan lectures in Primary Geography at Mary Immaculate College where her research focuses on outdoor learning, children’s concepts of place and creative approaches to geography. She is one of the leading experts on the use of picture books for teaching social and justice issues.
“Our practice and scholarship to date, in two disparate disciplines have brought us together to design an engaging and creative pedagogical approach which generates a range of synergies between art and geography through student collaboration, creative conversations and outdoor experiences,” said Anne.
The two Mary Immaculate College lecturers will be honoured for their achievement at a ceremony in Dublin Castle on December 10 and will go on to create national teaching exemplars.
