MIC Lecturers Shortlisted for National Forum Teaching Experts Award

Pictured: Anne Marie Morrin, MIC lecturer who has been shortlisted for a National Forum Teaching Experts Award.

Anne M Dolan, who has been shortlisted for a National Forum Teaching Experts Award, pictured at the launch of her book “You, Me and Diversity.” Picture: Don Moloney / Press 22

Two lecturers from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick have been shortlisted for the National Forum Teaching Experts Award 2015.  Anne Marie Morrin, Visual Arts Educator and Dr. Anne Dolan, lecturer in Primary Geography, MIC, were among the 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 have undergone a rigorous assessment process by an international Teaching Experts Panel.  A total of 35 nominations were received and the standard of submissions was testimony to the excellent work going on across higher education institutions.

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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 have established an interdisciplinary collaboration through an exploration of local landscapes using both a geographical and artistic lens. In the process, students explore and acknowledge the inter-relationship between Art and the world in which we live.

Speaking on 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”.

 Anne Marie Morrin, whose art work has been exhibited both nationally and locally, has over twenty years’ experience of working in a variety of educational and cultural settings  including, theatre, fashion, galleries, schools and community projects. This wide range of experience has afforded Anne Marie the skills to approach her teaching and art practice in a multidisciplinary manner.  Some recent research projects she was involved with include an Art /Science project entitled Particles or Waves (City of Culture 2014), Hall of Mirrors (Farleigh Gallery and Limerick City Gallery of Art) and The Studio Classrooms.

Anne Marie’s art practice is predominantly multi-media based; utilizing drawing, painting, collage and ceramics in tandem or alone in environments.  She chooses materials and methods based on which best conveys her message and allows her to experience integrated, intuitive connections. Memory, place and identity, are themes continue to explore in her studio. In much of her work, the act of remembering plays a dominant role in her emotional and artistic concerns, whether it is rooted in past events or current experiences.

 Dr. Anne Dolan lectures in Primary Geography at MIC 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 picturebooks for teaching social and justice issues. Her publications include You, Me and Diversity: Picturebooks for teaching development and intercultural education (Trentham Books and IOE Press, London). This book was granted a Silver Award by the Geographical Association in Britain and was shortlisted for the UKLA (United Kingdom Literacy Agency) Academic Book Award 2015.

On receipt of the nomination Anne said “I am delighted that this creative collaboration between geography and visual art has been recognised by the National Forum.

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”.

 Congratulating Ms. Morrin and Dr. Dolan Prof. Michael Hayes, President of MIC said; “Mary Immaculate College is committed to supporting the work of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning.  I warmly congratulate Anne Marie Morrin and Anne Dolan, both of whom are committed and innovative staff members, on this very significant recognition of their talents as teachers. This nomination is further evidence of the excellence in teaching in MIC and I commend all who were involved in the submission process”.

 Dr. Anne O’Keeffe, Director of Teaching and Learning at MIC also offered her congratulations saying “This is a major achievement for Anne and Anne Marie. It is a great honour for MIC to have two of its lecturers shortlisted in this national award. They have been shortlisted not just for their excellence but for their innovative practice and scholarship”

Anne Marie and Anne will be honoured for their achievement at a ceremony in Dublin Castle on 10th December and will go on to create national teaching exemplars.

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