Teaching & Learning Lead for the School of Film, Media & Performing Arts, PhD student
Ruth Torr is the Teaching & Learning Lead for the School of Film, Media & Performing Arts. She has previously been the Programme Director for our Acting and Music degree courses at UCA Farnham. She lectured at Middlesex University for 11 years and was recognised by the University for teaching excellence and awarded the role of teaching fellow. She has recently been awarded the HEA Senior Fellowship.
Bio
Ruth has significant experience of curriculum development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels within drama, performing arts and dance departments.
She read BA (Hons) Drama and Dance at the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, following a European tour of her devised physical theatre piece. Ruth then spent time with Temba Theatre Company, and completed her MA Dance Studies, focusing on choreography and anthropology.
As well as being an experienced theatre maker, Ruth also holds professional experience of arts policy and funding, having worked for Arts Council England on project applications, and supporting theatre makers in realising their plans. She continued to perform (previously as an actor with the English National Opera) and make her own work, through her own company and as a director/collaborator on other projects. She is currently studying for her PhD based around using playful pedagogies in Performing Arts.
PhD studies
Ruth comes to her doctoral research as a mature leader in Higher Education, wanting to understand more about some of the assumptions we take for granted when teaching such as could our learning events be more stimulating for students? And, if so, how could we make learning events more dynamic? Ruth trained as a dancer and theatre maker and wants to find out if some of the playful teaching styles, used in performing arts, promote advanced learning. Ruth is using Bloom’s taxonomy (1951), and especially the idea of synthesis, as a starting point for characterising excellent learning and she will be using case studies to illustrate her argument. Ruth says:
Some people think it is rather late to be starting doctoral research as I am more than 2/3 through my academic career but I am really enjoying it! There are plenty of events and activities so I feel part of a community of researchers and the staff are really supportive. I hope I am bringing some playfulness (and experience) to the process.