Dr Alison Hill - 2022 Excellence in Higher Education Prize winner

Dr Alison Hill CChem M欧美AV

Winner: 2022 Excellence in Higher Education Prize

University of Exeter

For inspirational teaching and making a positive difference in curriculum design, implementation, assessment and to the wider community.

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Alison has pioneered, with colleague Professor Nic Harmer, a method to create unique exam papers for students so that in an open book online exam, every student has a different answer, also making corresponding answer files for the marker to use. This approach discourages students from sharing their answers.

Alison has created resources to help students with the mathematics and data processing skills that they need to succeed in chemistry and biochemistry. She also has created an online tool that allows students to process their data, which provides instant feedback and can even solve a step if they get stuck.

Alison Hill is a Senior Lecturer teaching Chemistry and Biochemistry in the Department of Biosciences at the University of Exeter. She is a Senior Fellow of the HEA, and was an inaugural Fellow of the Exeter Education Incubator. Alison has pioneered the use of R-generated unique datasets to ensure fair and robust examinations and coursework in an online environment. This project was presented at the Westminster Higher Education Forum Conference on Tackling Cheating in Higher Education. She has created bespoke interactive online resources to improve academic outcomes of her students, including a Smart Worksheet with LearnSci to improve students' competence and confidence in mathematical and data processing skills. Alison was a finalist in the LearnSci Teaching Innovation Awards 2021.

Alison obtained her BSc in Natural Sciences from the Australian National University in 1989 and moved to the UK to undertake a PhD with Prof Jim Staunton FRS at the University of Cambridge. After postdoctoral research with Prof David Cane at Brown University, she began her independent academic career in 1995 as a Lecturer in Chemistry at Kings College London. Alison moved to the University of Exeter in 2001 and switched to an Education and Scholarship position in 2006.

Alison has mentored colleagues from across the University of Exeter to successfully complete their applications for Fellow and Senior Fellow of the HEA; she is also a regular assessor on panels. She is a MSc Programme Director, Senior Tutor, the flexible working and career breaks lead for her Department’s Athena Swan Committee, a mental first aider, and an Autism Champion.

Chemistry education requires problem solving, mathematics, and critical thinking, all of which are transferable to many professions, but it has the added bonus of the lab experiments which are so much fun!

Q&A

How did you first become interested in chemistry or science?

My dad was a maths teacher and I have always been interested in maths and science. I was very fortunate to have excellent science teachers at school, but it was in my first year of university that I decided to become a chemist. The labs were so much fun and the lecturers so inspiring.

Who or what inspired you to have a role in education?

I was fortunate to be taught by some truly inspirational people. My undergraduate project supervisor, Professor Jack Elix, was a brilliant lecturer and taught organic chemistry clearly and in such an engaging way. He introduced me to biosynthesis and I left Australia to join Professor Jim Staunton's lab to study polyketide biosynthesis. Both he and Professor David Cane (where I did my postdoc research) were amazing and innovative scientists with real vision but were also excellent and inspiring teachers.

What motivates you?

My students and my children. I want to show them that it is possible to combine a demanding job with raising a family. I also love talking about chemistry!

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

To grab all opportunities with both hands and see where it takes you. There are many issues where chemists can make a real difference, such as drug discovery and decarbonising the world, to name just two areas.

How have your students inspired you?

I love teaching and one of the most fun parts of my job is supervising final year undergraduate projects. I let the students create their own projects to ensure they are really invested and interested. This means that we learn together and I am amazed at how creative their projects can be.

Why is chemistry education important?

Chemistry underpins everything and understanding it is essential to tackling global challenges such as climate change and antimicrobial resistance. Chemistry education requires problem solving, mathematics, and critical thinking, all of which are transferable to many professions, but it has the added bonus of the lab experiments which are so much fun!

What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?

Becoming an Exeter Education Incubator Fellow and creating resources to support my students and ensure that all of them can succeed no matter what their academic background. That project funded the Smart Worksheet and gave me the confidence to develop unique datasets (with my colleague Professor Nic Harmer) for online assessments during the pandemic.

What has been a challenge for you (either personally or in your career)?

Combining work with raising my family has been really challenging and I have benefitted from the University of Exeter’s flexible working policy. I worked part-time from 2001 until 2020 so that I could do both and I have been able to increase my hours as the children grew. I finally went full time again when my youngest child finished school.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science education?

I think you can achieve so much more working collaboratively than as an individual. Having collaborators to bounce ideas off leads to a better project and makes everything much more fun, especially when it comes to writing (which I find the most challenging part). The unique datasets project was a true collaboration and was much more than the sum of the parts.

Who or what has supported you in your career as an educator?

I have been fortunate to have some very good chemistry friends who have mentored and supported me since I moved onto the education track. I have also benefitted from the University of Exeter's support of innovative teaching through the Exeter Education Incubator, and being able to collaborate with colleagues who share an interest in innovative practice.