Veterinary education research
Our education team aim to help our faculty to deliver best practice teaching and learning, support independent learners and deliver online education. The team is linked to the university's higher education group through the MA modules in veterinary education, Graduate Certificate training and the development of a pedagogical research focus.
Our research interests lie in developing veterinary professionalism, with a focus on easing the transition our students make from university to practice.
Clinical skills
There are a range of clinical skills that a veterinary graduate is required to attain in order to achieve the ‘Day 1’ competencies considered essential by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. A proficiency in these skills is fundamental to the welfare of the patient, to employer satisfaction and to graduate contentment and self-confidence.
Communications and professionalism
There are a range of non-technical or professional competences that a veterinary graduate is required to demonstrate in order to practise safely and successfully in the profession. These competences include communication skills, business skills, information literacy and other topics which relate to professional knowledge and skills. Educational research in this area is centred on designing and assessing methods which help veterinary students to develop these competences.
Technology enhanced learning
Technology is being increasingly used within higher education, whether it’s through the digitisation of content, use of multimedia, use of mobile devices or virtualisation and gamification of learning. These technologies are proving especially popular in medical and veterinary education due to the high demands on students. Educational research in this area is focusing on the benefits and costs of implementing these technologies, the impacts and affects these technologies have on student learning and the optimal ways to integrate them.