The Education Awards 2024
The Education Awards celebrate excellent practice in learning and teaching. Find out about the award categories for staff and students, and submit your nomination.
On this page:
Overview
The Education Awards recognise and celebrate excellent practice in learning and teaching. The awards are run by Elevate.
Nominations have now closed. All nominees will receive a certificate of recognition and winners will be announced at the Education Awards celebration event on Wednesday 8 May.
Award categories
Nominations for awards can be made by staff or students.
Staff awards
- Teaching Practice (seven awards: five Faculty Awards, one Extra-Faculty Award, and one overall winner)
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Staff whose approach to teaching, assessment and feedback has had a significant impact on inspiring student learning.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- integrating research into their teaching
- using creative / inspiring activities to engage students in learning
- designing innovative assessments
- adopting effective approaches to student feedback
- creating an inclusive learning environment
There will be a total of seven awards for teaching practice. This will consist of five Faculty specific awards, one Extra-Faculty award (eg for teaching practice in Apprenticeships, University-wide professional services etc), and one overall award. The overall award will be selected from the winners of the Faculty / Extra-Faculty categories.
- GTA Teaching Practice (PGR students who teach)
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Graduate Teaching Assistants whose approach to teaching, assessment and feedback has had a significant impact on inspiring student learning.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- integrating research into their teaching
- using creative / inspiring activities to engage students in learning
- adopting effective approaches to student feedback
- creating an inclusive learning environment
- Leadership in Education
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Staff who have worked effectively with others to influence and bring about change in education. The leadership demonstrated in this award can be of a formal or informal nature.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- leadership of a department, faculty, University working group through a period of significant change
- leadership around a particular aspect of learning and teaching such as employability, assessment, inclusion, digital learning
- Inclusivity, Diversity and Community in Education
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Staff who have played an important role in creating inclusive learning environments and have established effective learning communities where all students feel valued and included.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- encouraging others to think critically about issues of inclusivity and diversity within education
- ensuring that learning activities are accessible and inclusive and individual student needs are provided for effectively
- developing inclusive assessment and feedback practice
- taking a proactive approach to decolonising the curriculum
- establishing activities that foster a sense of belonging among students
- setting up networks / activities to build community among staff or students or bot
- Peer Teaching and Mentoring
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Staff who have provided peer teaching and/or mentoring which has had a significant impact on student or staff learning.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- staff providing learning and teaching training and support for their peers
- staff acting as mentors for other staff to support development in learning and teaching
- Doctoral Supervision
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Staff who offer supervision, formal or informal, that has had a significant impact on supporting doctoral students towards becoming independent researchers
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- providing ongoing constructive feedback on doctoral work
- encouraging students to engage with wider research opportunities
- supporting the well-being and mental health of doctoral students
- Personal and Academic Tutoring
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Staff who provide ongoing academic support that has had a significant impact on students being able to engage with their learning as well as their academic and personal development.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- developing positive and effective relationships with tutees
- providing individualised guidance to tutees
- providing effective signposting to additional support where needed
- supporting student transitions into and throughout the programme
- Supporting Education
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Staff who do not have a direct teaching role but whose support has had a significant impact on students being able to get the most from their programme of study.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- supporting students with administrative and technical tasks relating to their studies
- managing the administrative and technical aspects of education
- providing training and support to students or staff around skills not directly linked to subject content
- supporting the well-being and mental health of students
- Digital Experience
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Staff who have used digital learning tools, methods and approaches to effectively support and enhance students’ learning.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- developing digital activities that engage and support students with their learning
- fostering the development of a community of learners using online tools and platforms
- promoting digital literacy and inclusion
- Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
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Staff who have made a significant contribution to embedding education for sustainable development within their curricula.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- identifying opportunities to embed education for sustainable development within the curriculum
- consulting students and staff about embedding education for sustainable development in the curriculum
- developing approaches to teaching students about sustainability
- producing resources and activities for teaching students about sustainability
- Employability
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This category is for staff who provide opportunities for students to define, develop and reflect on the skills and attributes that they will need beyond university. This could include (but is not limited to)
- identifying and communicating skills using the Sheffield Graduate Attribute framework within the curriculum, including through engagement with employers
- encouraging self-reflection and use of mySkills
- creating authentic assessments that mirror real-life working environments
- providing work-related experiences or placements and other opportunities related to knowledge exchange in learning and teaching
In your nomination, you’ll need to show how the person you’re nominating supports students to develop the skills, values and attributes that will prepare them for their future careers and enable them to make a positive contribution to the world beyond university.
Staff and student award
- Student-Staff Partnership and Co-production in Education
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Staff and students who have worked effectively in partnership with each other on an aspect of education.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- co-production of a learning resource, guidance for staff or students, assessment criteria etc
- partnership working to bring about a change within a programme or student support
- staff and students working together on an educational development project
- implementing and evaluating mechanisms or approaches to support effective student staff partnership working
Student awards
- Inclusivity, Diversity and Community in Education
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Students who have helped create inclusive learning environments and have established effective learning communities where all students feel valued and included.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- encouraging others to think critically about issues of inclusivity and diversity within education
- helping staff to ensure that learning activities are accessible and inclusive and individual student needs are provided for effectively
- taking a proactive approach to decolonising the curriculum
- establishing activities that foster a sense of belonging among students
- setting up networks / activities to build community among staff or students or both
- Peer Teaching and Mentoring
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Students who have provided peer teaching and/or mentoring which has had a significant impact on student or staff learning.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- students providing learning and teaching training and support for their peers
- students acting as mentors for other students to support development in learning and teaching
- Student Academic Representation
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Academic student representatives who have worked effectively in their departments to represent the views of their peers and inform or bring about change.
This could include (but isn’t limited to)
- acting as a champion for student issues in the department
- effective liaison between students, the department and the Students’ Union
- working with the department to bring about change to the student academic experience
How will nominations be judged?
To select the overall winner for each category, the awards panel will focus on:
- The extent to which the nominated practice is relevant to the award category
- The extent to which the nominee demonstrates pedagogical excellence in their practice
- The extent of impact that the nominee has had on student learning and education within the criteria for the award category. This impact could be direct (immediate impact on student learning) or indirect (supporting others or developing systems to have an impact on student on learning). It could also be wide (impact on a whole cohort) or more personal (impact on an individual student or small group of students)
- The extent to which the practice described in the nomination could be considered best practice and would be beneficial for others in similar positions to learn from
Sharing good practice
Colleagues whose good practice was highlighted through the nomination process will be invited to share their work through Elevate. Depending on the nomination, this could include written case studies, blog posts, and showcase or networking events.
Find out more about how Elevate shares good practice (Staff hub login required)