Vice-Chancellor's Education Awards 2020

Project summary

Classics in Communities promotes and encourages the teaching of Latin and Ancient Greek at primary and early secondary level in UK state schools. Bringing together primary, secondary, and HE level teachers; the project helps to create and develop sustainable networks of educators committed to sharing their knowledge and expertise. The project is founded on two key principles: training and research.

The team provides information and guidance about teaching approaches and methods, classroom resources, and other support to introduce the teaching of Latin and/or Ancient Greek in schools. They run training days that cover the basics of Latin and Greek and consider how these ancient languages can be taught successfully as part of the 21st Century languages curriculum.

Classics in Communities is also conducting a research study to investigate the impact that learning classical languages has on children's cognitive development. This study began in 2015 and publication is due in 2021.

Judges' comment

"This was a very persuasive entry, which clearly demonstrates how workshops for school teachers have succeeded in developing skills in teaching Classics. It demonstrates a positive impact and the panel commend the research which allows for this impact to be tracked and monitored. Congratulations to the team on the successful collaboration between staff at Oxford, including colleagues within the Ashmolean Museum, and schools."

Project members

Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson, Research Fellow in Classics Education, Faculty of Classics 

Dr Mai Musie, Public Engagement Manager, Bodleian Libraries 

Emma Searle, Administrator and PhD student, Faculty of Classics

Clare Cory, Education Officer - Secondary and Young People, Ashmolean Museum

Dr Thomas Mannack, Reader in Classical Iconography, Faculty of Classics

SmashMedicine is an evidence-based educational technology platform that allows students, doctors and faculties to collaborate and produce high-quality content in the form of multiple choice questions. Combining multiple learning modalities with artificial intelligency and gamification, the team enhances the student experience by making learning fun. The project aims to improve student wellbeing by giving positive online feedback and integrating humour to reduce stress and anxiety. 

By using CrowdSourced learning, students can learn from each other as well as the faculty. This collaborative, student-centric approach promotes deep learning and broadens student differential diagnostic libraries. The generated content can be used to provide students with high-quality formative material, a problem regularly encountered by faculties. SmashMedicine also provides doctors with a useful tool to continue their professional development. 

The SmashConcept not only applies to medicine but can enhance the student experience across a number of different subjects in Oxford and beyond. 

SmashMedicine is being accelerated by the Oxford Foundry’s L.E.V8 Accelerator and OXFO Covid-19 Action Plan.

Judges' comment

"The team are to be congratulated for this ambitious, international project, which has immense potential for extension across other knowledge-intensive subjects, such as engineering. The collaboration between colleagues at Oxford and internationally, for example with the Medical School in Barcelona, is a particular strength. The panel hopes that in time the team might consider preparing a submission for national awards, such at Advance HE’s Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence (CATE)."

Project members

Dr Benjamin Harris, Lecturer St Anne's College
Mr Matteo Di Giovannantonio, DPhil Candidate in Oncology, University of Oxford
Professor Mark Middleton, Head of Department of Oncology, University of Oxford and Director of the Oxford Cancer Research UK Centre
Dr Kenneth Fleming, Ex-head of the Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Emeritus Fellow of Green Templeton College and International Director, Royal College of Pathologists
Professor David Harris, Emeritus Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford
Alex Feyler, Manager at Oxford Foundry, University of Oxford
Rosie Freer, Graduate Medical Student, University of Oxford
Marek Sklenka, BA candidate in Physics, University of Oxford
Professor Antoni Trilla, Dean of the Medical School, Universitat de Barcelona
Professor Carlos Robalo Cordeiro, Dean of the Medical School, Universidade de Coimbra
Professor Pierre Gillois, Professor of Blended Learning, Université Grenoble Alpes

Project summary

Voices in the Gallery is a joint project with students from Oxford Spires Academy and the Ashmolean Museum to explore new ways to share a range of voices and viewpoints about objects in the Ancient Near East.

This project resulted in a co-created a set of films made with young people from Eritrea, South Sudan and Syria, all students from Oxford Spires Academy.

Ashmolean Voices In The Gallery by Ian Wallman Photography

The films explore how ancient objects have different meanings which resonate across time and place. Using audio recordings from conversations shared during museum and school visits, they explore the shared learning between students and a curator around objects from the Ancient Near East collection.

The films reveal new voices and viewpoints from diverse backgrounds, giving visitors new and surprising insights into the contemporary relevance of ancient objects. Through this project the Museum discovered innovative and new ways of working and the students were given a sense of belonging at the heart of the Museum and have films in which they take great pride. The results were shared widely by BBC Radio Oxford, at school and on the Museum's website. 

 Ian Wallman photography

Judges' comments

"High quality outputs including the broadcast standard video, interview and photography set this entry apart. In particular making powerful use of learners and staff as co-creators, genuinely changing the way the museum’s objects are exhibited. The panel feels there is wide applicability for this project’s approach across the museum sector, and hope that the team might consider sharing their work widely in the future."

Ian Wallman Photography

Project members

Clare Cory, Learning Officer: Secondary & Young People, Ashmolean Museum

Paul Collins, Jaleh Hearn Curator of Ancient Near East in the Department of Antiquities at the Ashmolean 

Students from Oxford Spires Academy, co-creators of content

Flora Fergusson, Teacher, Oxford Spires Academy 

Melanie Tuck, Teacher, Oxford Spires Academy

Elaine Austin, Teacher, Oxford Spires Academy

Penny Boreham, Radio and Video Producer 

Ian Wallman, Photographer 

Simon Owen, Video Editor