Dr Cathy Gormley-Heenan

Dr Cathy Gormley-Heenan, lecturer in the School of Policy Studies, has been awarded a Distinguished Teaching Fellowship.

She joined the University in 2003, and since her initial appointment, Cathy has demonstrated a consistent enthusiasm for developing new approaches to teaching and learning within the School and Faculty, and for the dissemination of such approaches at School, Faculty and University level.

Cathy has been at the forefront of the use of e-learning as an innovative learning approach. She was one of the first members of teaching staff within the Faculty to begin to use computer assisted assessments or online class tests as a mode of assessment for students. Her lectures have included personalised video clips for students.

She has also pioneered the use of Audience Response Systems in class. These are small hand-held remote control devices which are distributed to students in class and are then used by students to actively participate through using the devices to answer questions and give opinions on controversial and ‘delicate’ political issues related to the topic under discussion. This innovation has improved attentiveness in class, helped engage passive listeners, enhanced knowledge retention, and confirmed student understanding of key points almost immediately.

These innovations, among others, have led to a number of different external grants and awards for Cathy. She has recently secured funding from the Higher Education Academy (HEA) to introduce digital archives, such as NewsFilm, to her teaching and to disseminate the development of such materials to the wider intellectual community in her subject area across the UK.

Cathy has already been honoured by two of the professional associations in her subject area of government and politics. Within the last year, she has been awarded the 'Political Studies Association's Bernard Crick Award for Outstanding Teaching (New Entrant Category)' 2007 and she was also commended in the European Political Science Network’s 2007 epsNet Innovative Teaching Award competition.

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young