Getting to know the IATL Team - Dr Heather Meyer
What is your role and what are you responsible for?
I’m IATL’s Director of Education, where I have a range of responsibilities associated with the academic provision of our portfolio of multi-/inter-/transdisciplinary modules for undergraduate and postgraduate students. My role involves managing the implementation of key aims in our IATL strategy, with a specific focus on the research-infused curriculum, enterprise-infused curriculum, and innovation in inclusive, alternative assessment programmes. In my role, I also work as the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
So, my role oversees our UG/PG curricular offering which focuses on pedagogical innovation and therefore involves developing exciting teaching and learning approaches that allow students at Warwick to generate and act on curiosities, to thrive and flourish regardless of disciplinary background, and to experience (radical) student-led learning and assessment formats that supplement their existing disciplinary excellence. To offer all Warwick students an opportunity to take an optional module with us at some point on their learning journey at University, it involves a lot of teamwork, collaboration, experimentation, and learning with and from colleagues across the three Faculties at our university – and this is probably my favourite part of my job.
What did you do in your previous role?
I started at Warwick in 2020 as a Teaching Fellow in Assessment at IATL – and in this role, I focused primarily on innovation in multi-/inter-/transdisciplinary assessment. It involved exploring ways to comprehensively evaluate student work in interdisciplinary and alternative assessment, by developing tools to minimise disciplinary bias, ensure inclusivity and equity in assessment programme design, and create feedback and evaluation processes that are compassionate and transparent for students and staff involved. This is work I continue developing in my current role.
Prior to coming to Warwick, I worked in Further Education, at Oxford Brookes University and the University of Southampton.
What are you most looking forward to about your role?
I am so grateful to be in a position where I can continue to innovate (and support innovation) in teaching and learning in HE - to create opportunities for students to supplement their studies in interesting ways through an IATL experience, and to build networks so that as many colleagues as possible around our University can engage with this exciting, change-making space as well.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love to exercise, tinker around in my flower garden, and play football with my son.
If you could teleport anywhere right now, where would you go?
Right now, I would teleport myself into a single scull on Lake Fernan, Coeur d’Alene Idaho for an early morning row.
Cats or dogs? Tea or coffee? City or countryside?
Cats! Coffee! Countryside!
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
I would tell my 18-year-old self to take Prof. Elena Riva’s Understanding WellbeingLink opens in a new window module!