About Maria Dawson
I studied Business and Computing at the University of Sunderland and gained a master's in Management of IT.
I have undertaken postgraduate research in Intelligent Control of Mind Interfaces and completed a Teaching and Learning Certificate in Higher Education. I have completed a two-year Teaching Fellowship on eLearning and have achieved the status of Fellow of The Higher Education Academy.
With over 18 years of expertise in academic practice, I have a sound track record in teaching and development of both modules and courses at foundation and undergraduate levels.
My expertise also includes undergraduate programme management, monitoring and reporting at Faculty level, developing articulation and progression agreements for the on-campus recruitment of international students and managing the Study Abroad/Exchange and Erasmus programme at the University.
Teaching and supervision
My current module leadership and teaching responsibilities involve:
- LLS120 Introduction to Independent Study in HE
- LLS220 Continuing Independent Study in HE
- LLS320/340 Advanced Independent Study in HE/Advanced Independent Study in HE (including supervision of projects).
Interests
My interests are focused around graduate employability.
Research
My research interests are in graduate employability. I am particularly interested in assisting learners to recognise that employability is about how HE develops them as critical, reflective, empowered learners and not to mistake employability with employment. I am therefore investigating self-regulation assessment as a means for raising self-awareness, increasing academic achievement and raising aspirations for the future. I am interested in the pedagogy of personalised learning; hence, my research involves developing learning activities in pedagogical settings and exploring different teaching approaches.
My research has been mentioned in the Northern Echo, 2014, where Dan Hawes, Co-founder and Marketing Director at Graduate Recruitment Bureau, commented on this research: “It’s great to see the University of Sunderland helping their students bridge the gap between student and work life. It’s a massive transition and shouldn’t be underestimated. Boosting confidence, building skills and removing myths will indeed be beneficial to graduates and employers alike.”
The outcomes of my research have been presented at international conferences, published and contributed towards the REF2014 (see Publications section).
I have also designed a short course and module at foundation level to establish a pathway to guide learners into making informed choices on their progression from further education to higher education and also reflect upon their career options. The short course contributed to the University’s ground breaking initiatives to engage with anyone who wants to go into HE but did not get the qualifications they needed while at school for which they won the 2013 Access to HE Provider of the Year Award (Northern Echo, September 2013).
Areas of expertise
- Teaching and learning pedagogical strategies
- Curriculum design
- Development and delivery
- Module and programme management (for both Home/EU and International students).
Further information
- Research Excellence Framework 2014: the outcomes of my research have been presented at international conferences, published and contributed towards the REF2014
- Higher Education Provider of the Year 2013 Award: research on students' understanding of the notion of 'employability' informed the development of a ten-credit module called 'Step Up to HE', aimed to ease the transition from Further to Higher Education. The research findings were presented at EDULEARN13 and ICERI2013
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Teaching and Learning Fellowship on eLearning.
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