WATE 25 Arts winners

Winner - Zhiqiong Chen​ (School of Modern Languages and Cultures)​

My teaching has continuously evolved through student feedback, academic research, and years of teaching experience, with the teaching philosophy of creating an inclusive learning environment that is student-centred, fosters active learning and creates opportunities for learners to apply their knowledge to real-world contexts. I thoroughly enjoy interacting with learners and supporting them in achieving their goals, which brings me great fulfilment. I believe that there is always room for improvement, as there is no such thing as 'perfect,' only 'better.' Therefore, I will continue to strive in my teaching journey.

About Zhiqiong

​Zhiqiong Chen is an Assistant Professor at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. Whilst focusing on teaching, she is interested in research on language teaching methodology, blended learning, and student engagement. She has also been an Associate Lecturer, consultant, and learner advisor at the Open University.

Highly Commended - Ian Farnell (SCAPVC)

Blending reflective writing, visual evidence and student-generated material, my statement documents how I have attained excellence in teaching by fostering student engagement. Through the introduction of new core and optional undergraduate modules, I have addressed curricular gaps and enabled students to strengthen their skills as scholars and citizens. Drawing on a highly personable teaching style, I have embedded engagement in the classroom through creative exercises, fieldwork opportunities and student-devised assessments. Finally, through module feedback and individual discussions, I have sought to learn from students, granting them agency over their learning and growing my teaching for future cohorts.

About Ian

Ian is a Teaching Fellow in Theatre and Performance Studies, where he convenes modules on theatre and nature, playwriting, academic skills, and theatre in its sociopolitical contexts. He previously won the WATE (Postgraduates who Teach) in 2022 and was Highly Commended in the 2024 Arts Faculty category.

Commended - Zhong Zheng​ (School of Modern Languages and Cultures)

With fifteen years of experience teaching Chinese at the University of Warwick, I have embraced a student-centred approach, creating an inclusive, adaptable, and culturally rich learning environment. Through differentiated instruction, inquiry-based learning, and task-oriented teaching, I look to inspire students to take initiative and develop creativity. I place equal emphasis on academic development and emotional support, giving students agency to participate in course design and how their work is assessed to build confidence and resilience. I strive to turn learning challenges into opportunities to grow, nurturing learners with cultural awareness and lifelong learning skills.

About Zhong

Zhong is a university Chinese instructor with over a decade of experience teaching Chinese as a foreign language. She specializes in all levels, from beginner to advanced, and has expertise in intercultural communication and curriculum design, striving to make Chinese language and culture accessible, engaging, and meaningful for learners.

Postgraduates who teach award: Arts Faculty

Winner - ​Louisa Toxvaerd Munch ​(English and Comparative Literary Studies)

My aim is not only to foster academic excellence but to allow my students to find agency in critical thinking and feel empowered in understanding the world around them. Critical pedagogy has never been more vital and in teaching to cultivate a sense of community where we can openly discuss and challenge ideas, the classroom becomes a transformative place that transgresses boundaries and shapes the way we see the world. Empathy will always be at the centre of my classroom, and it has been an honour to watch my students grow in confidence as I have too. ​

About Louisa

Louisa is a third year PhD student and GTA in the English department whose research focuses on nostalgia in contemporary politics and its impact on critical thinking. She ​teaches and writes on critical theory and has worked with the professional services team as the Widening Participation Officer for the department.

Winner - ​Nora Wardell​ (Theatre and Performance Studies)​

My teaching practice meets the WATE criteria by cultivating an open, creative and collaborative learning environment that centres the needs of students and empowers them to be active participants in their own learning. I embed excellence in my teaching practice by encouraging the use of creative processes as methods of enquiry. My aim is to offer students the creative tools from which to critically interrogate the world around them and create experimental theatrical work that responds socially, politically, and ecologically to the challenges of the 21st century.

About Nora

​Nora Wardell is a practice-as-research PhD student in Theatre and Performance Studies, in her second year, studying part-time. She is also a theatre director and artistic director of Surrogate Productions, an Edinburgh-based touring theatre company founded in 2019, dedicated to sharing international voices and new theatrical forms.

Commended - Mark Gorham​ (English and Comparative Literary Studies)

Overall, my teaching facilitates confidence; I am yet to have a seminar in which a student does not have their individual say. Because of this, seminars are spontaneous, resulting in an energetic and lively space where views are both challenged and respected. I am prepared to respond to my students’ dynamic ideas as I undertake in-depth lesson preparation by studying multiple secondary sources on the primary texts – this enables me to create a sense of freedom in the classroom without worrying about being underprepared. I believe my self-assurance provides a steady example for students who subsequently feel ready to join in.

About Mark

Mark is a third year PhD student in the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies. His research focuses on the role of ideology in the British Empire, and how an examination of Gothic literature’s good/evil binary helps expose this ideological functioning.

Commended - Wenfu Zhang (Global Sustainable Development)

Inspired by Paulo Freire’s vision of dialogic, experiential learning, I transform the classroom into a dynamic space of co-creation, critical inquiry, and intellectual risk-taking. Through immersive role-play, simulations, and data-narrative integration, I empower students to engage both emotionally and analytically with pressing global issues in an increasingly fragmented world, including social inequality, global gender dividing, and the evolving migration crisis. Grounded in my personal journey as a migrant student, entrepreneur, and scholar transitioning from China to the UK, my pedagogy is rooted in experiential learning. Drawing on David Kolb’s model, I guide students through cycles of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. In an era where education is increasingly dominated by algorithmic logic, I champion a liberatory approach—dialogical, curiosity-driven, and profoundly human-centred.

About Wenfu

Wenfu is the longest-serving teaching tutor at GSD. His research explores mobility capital and regulatory arbitrage of elite migrant entrepreneurship. With extensive teaching experience and multiple international invited talks and presentation, he is also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK.