Virna Rossi

1. Tell us a little about your current job. What do you enjoy most?

I am the course leader for the PGCert in Creative Courses at Ravensbourne. I like the buzz of the place, it's small but very dynamic. I also like the fact that I can see the direct impact of the course on the quality of teaching and learning internally.

2. I see you have come some way from doing the MTeach. What would you say are the key things about the MTeach that have stayed with you ?

The MTeach made me grow professionally more than I can tell. The feeling of being part of a face-to-face and online community of learners and the blended mode delivery was very beneficial. And I have incorporated these elements in my course.

3. What did your dissertation/ practice based enquiry (PBE) explore? What did you find out and how did it influence you?

It was about the use of songs in learning and teaching Italian to adults. Although I am not teaching that subject now, my findings about the cultural aspect of songs were very enlightening. And I found the research process interesting. All the transferable skills I gained from it have allowed me to further engage with educational research.

4. How was the MTeach work different from School or other professional development courses (e.g. INSET)?

I felt that the blended mode in particular allowed much flexibility and choice to us participants, so I felt I owned the course.

5. The MTeach is for teachers only,. It often uses the sharing of participants classroom experiences/practice as a starting point. How did this work for you?

There is nothing more real than real teacher stories, it was a very formative aspect of the course. And again, this is an element I kept in my own PGCert teacher training course.

6. What is your next career move?

I would like my PGCert course to be truly innovative and inspirational, and to forge strong professional links with similar courses in London and elsewhere. And eventually this will be part of an MA here at Ravensbourne. I am also researching the use of Moodle to enhance students' collaboration, and I would like to publish the findings.