Dawne Irving-Bell, PhD, is a Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow (Reader) with extensive experience of working in secondary, further and Higher Education settings.

As a teacher, Dawne is passionate about inspiring students, enabling them to achieve their full potential. Dawne’s experiences shape her values and she believes that effective learning is cultivated from positive relationships with students, which starts with excellent teaching. With students at the heart of her practice she creates ‘conversational’ environments where mutual respect nurtures the spirit as well as the mind, engaging learning opportunities that help all students to reach their potential.

Dawne is dedicated to raising the profile of SoTL and passionate about creating opportunities for others. She established and leads The National Teaching Repository, a platform where colleagues can share interventions that lead to real improvements in teaching and learning in a way that secures recognition for their practice, making it citable, sharable and discoverable.

Dawne is a member of The Centre for Higher Education Research and Evaluation at Lancaster University and her research interests include the formation of learner identity, with a particular focus on STEM subject disciplines. The Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoTL), and pedagogical approaches to learning and teaching, including the use of technology (and social media) to engage and enhance learning.

She also enjoys lecturing on visual thinking and advocates for technology and design education, for which she recently received a National Award sponsored by The James Dyson Foundation and The Royal Academy of Engineers from her subject association in recognition of her outstanding contribution to re-shaping design and technology teacher education.  

Dawne is a member of The Staff and Educational Development Association’s (SEDA) Conference and Events Committee, the Scientific Committee for EuroSoTL, and Network Lead for the AdvanceHE Connect Social Media for Learning Group. She edits the Journal of Social Media for Learning and following an invitation from the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning's (ISSOTL) to join an international Collaborative Writing Group, Dawne has recently been appointed to their Recognition Committee where she overseas developments of the associations Special Interest Groups (SIGs).

Dawne leads on her University’s Graduate Teaching Assistant Teaching in Higher Education Programme, and the PGCert in Teaching in Higher Education Developing Practice through Pedagogic Research Module. Dawne is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), and proud to be a member of the team who recently secured a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence.

In her current position Dawne chairs institutional enquiries and leads on university-wide strategies to enhance the student learning experience, including Personal Tutoring, Induction and Transitions. 

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8943-9559

Email: belld@edgehill.ac.uk