Cardiff Met Lecturer Awarded Prestigious Teaching Award

A School of Education Senior Lecturer has been awarded the Design and Technology Association Excellence Award for Teacher Training. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Jason Davies has been the programme leader for PGCE Secondary DT since 2004 and ensures that students are fully supported throughout their PGCE course. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Jason, from Bridgend, also lectures on the PGCE Primary programme and was previously the second year tutor on the BA (Hons) Primary course with responsibility for leading DT as a specialist area within the Foundation Phase/KS1 and KS2. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

His efforts have been consistently identified by external examiners as a strong element of the course and he was nominated for the award by fellow Cardiff Met lecturer Colin Browning. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Jason said: “This has come as such a surprise, but is obviously great to be recognised. I thoroughly enjoy my work and it is a privilege to go into schools and work with students in both primary and secondary sectors. I enjoy promoting the subject and encouraging teachers to work together.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

was Awards were presented by Mark Miodownik (Professor of Materials Science at UCL and BBC presenter) and Lesley Morris (D&T Association Chair) at the Excellence Awards dinner at the Institution of Engineering Technology in London. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Jason’s subject knowledge was recognised as excellent – the course, under his leadership has maintained a consistently high pass rate and a high proportion of students successfully secure a teaching position upon completion of the course. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

He is also a tutor and mentor to students and teachers who are completing their M level qualification. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

He has also further developed opportunities for the transition of DT by working closely with primary schools and their local secondary school throughout South Wales. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

He continues to maintain his external examiner knowledge by setting A level questions and marking design papers for Oxford Cambridge and RSA examining board. He also continues to teach in a secondary school to support his role in ITE. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

He has arranged a ‘Teach Meet’ event in conjunction with Art and Design teachers, Cardiff School of Art and Design and FabLab Cardiff, which will be held at the University on Thursday and focusses on supporting and developing creativity in secondary schools. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Jason, who recently project led the development of a digital literacy metric for KS4 and beyond for the Welsh Government,
said: “The aim is to focus on Continuing Professional Development, the future of creative education and how we can support this process through the university and the facilities available here. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The development of the new Art and Design block at our Llandaff campus has given us the opportunity to be a central hub for the development of teachers’ skills and knowledge. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We believe we can create a centre for teachers to meet, share information and identify potential resources and courses for development. This is the first meeting and we hope you will attend so we can begin to create a group of teachers who will be able to share skills, experience and ideas in an open forum.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​