Dr Williams, who is based in the Wolfson School, has been nominated for the New Educator category, which recognises ‘an exceptional woman who has developed an innovative approach to education or training, working at any level or in any sphere to overcome a challenge created by the Covid-19 pandemic’.
Sheryl was nominated twice for the award. Firstly, by Professor Will Whittow for the support her team provided to colleagues during Covid-19 (in the form of training, external workshops and best practice guides) as they transitioned to online teaching. Professor Whittow also wanted Sheryl to be recognised for her collaborative work designing and developing remote lab activities which were an invaluable asset to student learning during the pandemic.
Furthermore, Sheryl was nominated by Mr G Douglas for the weekly online class she runs, which supports children from multiple countries – including the UK, Jamaica, Canada and the USA – with school-level maths.
Talking about the news, Sheryl said: “It is an honour and also a delight that my work has been both recognised and appreciated. I see this as recognition for the tremendous support that our team provided for the School in helping academics successfully manage the abrupt change to online delivery due to the pandemic. Our effective strategies were also adopted by colleagues in other Schools to support their practice and that of their students.
“It has also been hugely rewarding to see our remote labs become invaluable to student learning, and to receive immensely positive feedback from our students about how much they have learned through their use.”
Professor Whittow added: “Sheryl and her amazing team worked incredibly hard during the pandemic to teach academics how to teach remotely and in dual mode. This is an unenviable task as academics tend to resist change. Despite the intense workload, she was upbeat and positive the whole time.”
The winners are due to be announced at an award ceremony in March in London. More information about the Covid Unsung Heroes Awards can be found here.