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Helen King Consultancy
I have extensive experience in discipline-based educational (faculty) development at a national level in the UK and also work closely with the UK's Higher Education Academy and the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA). My personal research / development interests are within Geoscience Education ('Geocognition'), however, I'm available to work in any subject area or generically. More information about me is provided below including my full CV (résumé); for a quick overview see my Summary CV. Take a look at my blog to see where I've been and what personal projects and research I'm currently working on (including presentation downloads).
About Me I have been working in learning and teaching (educational / academic / faculty) development in UK higher education since 1996. Through my various roles I have gained extensive experience of large and small-scale project management, evaluation, facilitation and resource development. Being awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2006 acknowledged my role in leading discipline-based educational development across the UK and internationally. My commitment to enhancing the student learning experience is evidenced through the wide variety of successful departmental, faculty, institutional, national and international initiatives that I have instigated and managed. Now working as an independent consultant, I have the time and space to dedicate my enthusiasm, commitment and professionalism to support the work of others in enhancing higher education. Helen's CV: if you want the full details, my CV (résumé) can be viewed here, it’s quite long but comprehensive and up -to-date. My National Teaching Fellowship application from 2006 provides some more details on the various activities I undertook over the first 10 years of my career. I’ve produced a wide variety of publications , given a large number of presentations / workshops and successfully bid for many learning and teaching-related projects: a full record of all of these can be found in my CV. A list of those most recent can be found in Educational Development and Geocognition sections of this website. From 1996 - 2007 I was based in UK universities. Following a move to the US with my husband, I am now working as an independent consultant near Alexandria, north Virginia (about 12 miles south of Washington DC). Thanks to the wonders of the internet I am able to continue working with UK-based clients as well as developing new perspectives from this side of the pond.
A Brief History of My Career I fell in to educational development almost by chance after completing my PhD in Geophysics / Geochemistry at Liverpool University. The job of Manager was advertised for an FDTL (Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning)-funded project on Earth Science Staff Development based at the University of Southampton. I’d been involved in the postgraduate society and on the Board of Graduate Studies at Liverpool and through this, and my personal experiences of undergraduate and postgraduate education, I had an interest in how subjects were taught / students were supported. Undertaking the role of Manager (and sole full-time employee) of the project was a fantastic learning experience. As well as developing new knowledge and skills (and seeing higher education from the other side) I discovered that I had a flair for organising, multi-tasking, facilitation, putting together resources, getting colleagues on board and all the other elements involved in running a UK-wide learning and teaching project. Not only was I good at it but I also really enjoyed this new vocation. As well as running the project, I also became involved with activities at the University, including instigating and taking on the role of Faculty of Science Learning and Teaching Co-ordinator: Helen used her initiative and vision to define the [Faculty] post as a mechanism for auditing, showcasing and sharing good practice. In doing this she had a profound impact on subsequent strategy adopted to integrate and manage learning and teaching across the University [of Southampton]. There are now twelve L & T Coordinators shared across and hosted within twenty-one Schools. (Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton). As the FDTL project came to an end in 1999, the discipline-based Subject Centres (then part of the Learning and Teaching Support Network: LTSN) were introduced. I was involved in writing the bid for the Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences Subject Centre (having by this time developed a credibility amongst colleagues in the other FDTL projects in these disciplines and the professional bodies that were involved in the development of this collaborative bid). I was appointed Subject Centre Manager and moved to Plymouth in May 2000 where I stayed for 7 years, during which time I was promoted to Assistant Director. I loved working with the Subject Centre, not least due to its fabulous location in the southwest (a great base for surfing, walking on Dartmoor, playing rugby and running: all of which I did whenever I wasn’t travelling around the UK with work). Being within a strong, supportive team was a great experience and, as well as the basic management roles (team management, finance, reporting and planning), I had lots of scope for developing my own areas of interest including student employability and staff professional development. I also too the opportunity to network with colleagues in the UK and internationally both in geoscience education (e.g. through the Committee of Heads of University Geoscience Departments; the US-based National Association of Geoscience Teachers, NAGT; and the International Geoscience Education Organisation, IGEO) and in more general educational development (such as the Staff and Educational Development Association, SEDA; the Higher Education Research & Development Society of Australasia, HERDSA; and the International Consortium for Educational Development, ICED). I very much value Helen’s contribution to the International Geoscience Education Organisation. She has been at the forefront of the initiative to promote quality research into the teaching and learning of geoscience and in co-convening the workshops at GeoSciEdIV in Calgary and IGC in Florence with her I have been impressed by her ability to bring people together and encourage them to participate at the highest level. (Chair: International Geoscience Education Organisation). I have been involved with and influenced by Helen’s passion, commitment and drive for many aspects of geoscience education over many years. Her frequent visits to conferences and workshops has illustrated her desire to improve learning outcomes far more widely than the UK. Helen has been an excellent ambassador for the UK’s commitment to quality in tertiary education and for improvements in professional practice. (Head of School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia). In 2007 my husband, Dave, was posted to the US (just outside Washington DC) for a few years and, not wishing to miss out on a chance to actually live with him (due to the nature of our careers we’d been living separately in Bristol and Plymouth), I came along too. I’m now working as an independent consultant based at our home in north Virginia. As well as undertaking activities for clients I’m also pursuing my own interests related to Geoscience education and research into educational development. I’m also really interested in supporting people in planning their own professional development. There are loads of development opportunities for staff in higher education (whatever their role), including formal workshops, conferences and courses as well as non-formal activities such as reading, chatting to colleagues over coffee / cake and learning on the job. However, in my experience, there is little support to help staff identify their needs and to plan their development activities. I have run several workshops on this theme and my current work in this area is through my role as Programme Leader for SEDA's Supporting Educational Change portfolio development module. I have attended workshops Helen has led, at a number of national conferences. In fact, if I see Helen’s name on the programme I know it will be a great session. She is very skilled at engaging a diverse audience and I always come away better informed and, importantly, with ideas for developing our own practice. I have a huge respect for her work, for her willingness to share that with others and for the way she encourages others to do the same. I have learnt a lot from her, I think she has special talents in supporting the supporters of learning. (Director of Learning Development, Liverpool John Moores University).
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