Clara Dawson (School of Arts, Languages & Cultures)

Clara’s approach to “Embodied Humanities” combines teaching practices which support mental health, different learning styles and skills, and creative assessments. It supports improvement in the themes of Inclusive Education by focusing on mental health and Assessment by developing innovative creative assessment methods that support students to act as partners with local heritage organisations. This “Embodied Humanities” approach pro-actively supports diversity in student learning requirements, particularly in a context where mental health and neurodiversity can make the classroom intimidating and attendance is an ongoing issue. By engaging students in somatic and physical practices, anxiety about attending and speaking in class are alleviated. This ranges from nature walks, outdoor visits to The Firs, museum visits within Manchester to handle objects, and classroom activities such as scrapbooking and crafting designed to bring mindfulness and take pressure off students who find contributing to verbal discussions difficult and enabling all students to act as partners in classroom learning.

Clara has also developed the use of podcast assessments, which, unlike the more traditional classroom presentation, supports verbal skills but in a less intimidating way, because it is recorded rather than presented live to an audience (a peak anxiety point for many students). A training session with a professional podcast producer increases employability skills and gives the students a digital product which they can share online. The podcasts enable students to apply decolonising methods to a ‘real-world’ scenario and present their ideas to an audience beyond the academy, acting as partners in knowledge creation.