Catherine Seeds

I joined SRUC in 2012 following job roles in E-Learning Development in IT Sector, Nature Conservation, Ranger Service Management and Community Project Management.
I started as a lecturer in Countryside Management with a focus on teaching and co-ordinating wildlife conservation-based modules. My role has subsequently expanded taking on further responsibilities such as Undergraduate and MSc Year Tutor, and my current role as Programme Team Leader for Wildlife and Conservation Management. The role includes the aforementioned with the addition of managing a core group of teaching and research staff, strategically developing the programme, recruitment and management of the student experience on the programme.
I have a keen interest in pedagogy with a focus on the student experience, digital enhanced teaching and technology enhanced quality processes. I have undertaken a Post Graduate studies in Higher Education and currently hold a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE), have recently undertaken the Advanced Leadership Programme and am submitting for Senior Fellowship.

Most recently in 2021 I was nominated for the THE Most Innovative Teacher Award - this was for work on using virtual field trips to support teaching during covid.

I currently teach on the Wildlife and Conservation Management programme within the Integrated Land Management Department. My teaching centres on the following core subjects:  biodiversity conservation, habitat management, species identification, education for sustainable development, community project management, conservation site management and marine ecology. 

As a senior member of the teaching team I am also involved in the development of the programme, in 2019-20 this involved leading on the programme wide evaluation process and revalidation with awarding bodies: SQA and University of Glasgow resulting in the new Wildlife and Conservation Management programme which will meet the needs of future students and aligned with industry needs. 

I also support the Centre for Enhanced Learning and Teaching by supporting teaching development activites such as peer observations and digital learning mentoring. 

I have a keen interest in a number of areas which have both a subject and pedagogic focus. 

Within the Conservation subject area I am keen to expand my research focus into landscape scale conservation, ecological restoration and the use of techniques such as habitat networking and drone enhanced data collection. 

From a pedagogic perspective I am interested in technology enhanced approaches to improve contemporary learner engagement in subjects for example the use of augmented reality for theory pre-learning and more widely whether gamification can support pragmatic experiential learning within my subject area. I have been actively involved in supporting peers,  presenting on a number of occasions at the SRUC Learning and Teaching conference. An example of such;  "experiences of flipped learning approaches with level 10 learner". 

Most recently in 2021 I was nominated for the THE Most Innovative Teacher Award - this was for work on using virtual field trips to support teaching during covid. This continues to expand, offering opportunities to explore the use of virtual and augmented reality for learning and practical application in conservation scenarios.