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Staff profile

Overview

Susan Scrafton

Assistant Professor (Education)

Affiliations
AffiliationTelephone
Assistant Professor (Education) in the Durham Centre for Academic Development (DCAD)
Assistant Professor in the Foundation Centre40171

Biography

Susan returned to education as a mature student after working for many years as a psychiatric nurse. Following the successful completion of A levels amongst a class of teenagers, she graduated from Durham University in 2002 with a BSc (1st class hons) in Applied Psychology. A PGCE with Nottingham University followed and Susan then spent a year teaching in local primary schools. After securing funding from the Wolfson Research Institute, she returned to Durham University in 2004 to study for a PhD in Psychology, which involved experimental investigations into pragmatic inferences. During her PhD she was also awarded a Durham University Postgraduate Teaching Fellowship, which involved teaching A level Psychology in a local school. Susan joined the Foundation Centre in 2008 as a Widening Participation Facilitator with responsibility for developing a widening access route into medicine for local students. She devised the innovative Gateway to Medicine pre-entry programme of activities; work which was recognised in 2012 at the university's annual 'Celebrating Excellence' event. Susan is now an Assistant Professor (Teaching) with the Foundation Programme, teaching Psychology to a wide range of students, as well as continuing her outreach work. She became a Fellow of the HEA in 2012 and her current scholarship involves the development of initiatives relating to assessment and feeback to scaffold learning and facilitate the coconstruction of knowledge through collaboration. She has recently taking on the role of Admissions Lead for the Foundation Programme, and is passionate about widening access to HE for underrepresnted groups. 

Research interests

  • Assessment and Feedback
  • Scalar Implicature