Dr Gabriele Neher

National Teaching Fellow 2015 Dr Gabriele Neher is a non-British art historian with a passion for modes of language. For her, being originally someone who lacked the language and social literacy to 'fit' into the university context, and needing to find the codes of language to express herself both socially and academically, had a profound impact on her own pedagogy. Gabriele experienced first-hand how important it was to make a successful transition from school into university and as a result has striven in her own teaching to create a context for her students within which to adapt and succeed. At the core of how she teaches is therefore student support, and in particular, student support with a view towards inclusivity, enabling a student, regardless of their background, to work towards attaining their academic as well as citizenship potential. For Gabriele, being an art historian gives her the disciplinary training to work with a range of models of communications, from the verbal to the non-visual, and her research is especially concerned with models of self-fashioning and expressing social hierarchies, predominantly during the European Renaissance, c. 1400-1600. Her teaching philosophy builds on this fundamental interest in expression and signification and underpins her work both inside and outside the classroom. In fact, her interests in modes of communication led to a concern with deep and relevant learning through doing €œ something she keeps experimenting with in her own teaching. Gabriele has developed a model of peer mentoring that helps students to make the transition into university, which allows them to become more active learners. In turn, the mentees transform into the mentor, a process that allows them to take the lead in helping others, and 'giving back'. Students not only become more active learners but also more actively engaged with their university and society in a wider sense, which is, of course, only the beginning of a journey that turns students into lifelong learners. @gabrieleneher