Team Tuesdays- Meet Steve, CPD Project for CESI

Name: Professor Steve Rutherford

Role at the University: Head of the Education Division in the School of Biosciences, and Academic Lead for the AdvanceHE Fellowship and CPD project for the CESI.

What is your role in the Digital Education Programme? Academic Lead for Working Group 2: Training, Support and CPD. I have been co-leading this working group with Bea Allen from the School of Mathematics.

Why did you want to be part of the Dig Ed Programme? I know how scary it was trying these sorts of online approaches for the first time, so wanted to try and ensure that things were made a bit easier for others. More importantly to me, I wanted to help people approach the monster of digital teaching with a clear idea of the pedagogy behind it, and to help people provide an engaging and effective learning experience for the students. The CPD element of the working group that I co-lead fits in closely to the learning and teaching CPD project that I am leading for the CESI.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the programme?
Working with a team of enthusiastic and dedicated colleagues and students, all of whom are giving up their time to support the project, has been a rewarding and enjoyable experience. People have been so generous with their time, volunteering to help design resources, record videos, or present webinars. We have such a positive and vibrant learning and teaching community at Cardiff, and it was wonderful to see what can be achieved when this community is mobilised. I think we should be very proud of what has been achieved over the summer, both within this project and in the individual Schools and Professional Services.

A fact about yourself?
I have a very large, very friendly (but rather smelly and stupid) dog called Culhwch. He’s an Otterhound, the most vulnerable breed of dog in the UK (there are more giant pandas in the world than Otterhounds). His other name is ‘The Great Intelligence’, because he isn’t (search for ‘The Great Intelligence’ on Facebook…). Otterhounds are an ancient British breed, bred for hunting otters (who were pests of fish stocks). Thankfully, otter hunting is no longer allowed, though ‘Hwch dislikes water and is afraid of anything that squeaks, so as an otter hunter he’s not exactly ideal. Culhwch was a character from one of the medieval Welsh tales in The Mabinogion. An everyday tale of boy meets girl, they fall in love, girl turns out to be the daughter of an evil giant who sets the boy a series of impossible tasks.

See more CESI team profiles on the blog’s team page

Enw: Yr Athro Steve Rutherford

Rôl yn y Brifysgol: Pennaeth yr Is-adran Addysg yn Ysgol y Biowyddorau, ac Arweinydd Academaidd ar gyfer prosiect Cymrodoriaeth AdvanceHE a DPP ar gyfer y CCAA.

Beth yw eich rôl yn y Rhaglen Addysg Ddigidol? Arweinydd Academaidd Gweithgor 2: Hyfforddiant, Cefnogaeth a DPP. Rwyf wedi bod yn cyd-arwain y gweithgor hwn gyda Bea Allen o’r Ysgol Mathemateg.

Pam oeddech chi am fod yn rhan o’r Rhaglen Addysg Ddigidol?
Rwy’n gwybod pa mor frawychus oedd rhoi cynnig ar y mathau hyn o ddulliau ar-lein am y tro cyntaf, felly roeddwn am geisio sicrhau bod pethau’n cael eu gwneud ychydig yn haws i eraill. Yn bwysicach fyth i mi, roeddwn i eisiau helpu pobl i brofi dysgu digidol gyda syniad clir o’r addysgeg y tu ôl iddo, ac i helpu pobl i ddarparu profiad dysgu deniadol ac effeithiol i’r myfyrwyr. Mae’r elfen DPP o’r gweithgor yr wyf yn ei chyd-arwain yn cyd-fynd yn agos â’r prosiect DPP dysgu ac addysgu yr wyf yn ei arwain ar gyfer y CCAA.

Beth ydych chi’n ei fwynhau fwyaf am fod yn rhan o’r rhaglen?
Mae gweithio gyda thîm o gydweithwyr a myfyrwyr brwdfrydig ac ymroddedig, pob un ohonynt yn rhoi o’u hamser i gefnogi’r prosiect, wedi bod yn brofiad gwerth chweil a difyr. Mae pobl wedi bod mor hael â’u hamser, yn gwirfoddoli i helpu i ddylunio adnoddau, recordio fideos, neu gyflwyno gweminarau. Mae gennym gymuned ddysgu ac addysgu mor gadarnhaol a bywiog yng Nghaerdydd, ac roedd yn hyfryd gweld beth y gellir ei gyflawni pan fydd y gymuned hon yn cael ei chyflogi. Rwy’n credu y dylem fod yn falch iawn o’r hyn a gyflawnwyd dros yr haf, o fewn y prosiect hwn ac yn yr Ysgolion a’r Gwasanaethau Proffesiynol unigol.

Ffaith amdanoch chi’ch hun?
Mae gen i gi mawr iawn, cyfeillgar iawn (sydd hefyd yn ddrewllyd a dwl) o’r enw Culhwch. Mae o’n Otterhound, y brîd ci mwyaf agored i niwed yn y DU (mae mwy o bandas enfawr yn y byd nag Otterhounds). Ei enw arall yw ‘The Great Intelligence’, oherwydd nid yw e (chwiliwch am ‘The Great Intelligence’ ar Facebook…). Mae dyfrgwn yn frid hynafol o Brydain, a fridiwyd am hela dyfrgwn (a oedd yn blâu stociau pysgod). Diolch byth, ni chaniateir hela dyfrgwn mwyach, er bod ‘Hwch yn casáu dŵr ac yn ofni unrhyw beth sy’n gwichian, felly fel heliwr dyfrgwn nid yw’n hollol ddelfrydol. Roedd Culhwch yn gymeriad o un o’r straeon Cymraeg canoloesol yn Y Mabinogion. Mae’r stori am fachgen sy’n cwrdd â merch, maen nhw’n cwympo mewn cariad, ac mae’r ferch yn troi allan i fod yn ferch i gawr drwg sy’n gosod cyfres o dasgau amhosibl i’r bachgen.

Edrychwch ar fwy o broffiliau tîm CCCA ar dudalen tîm y blog!