Who am I?

Name: Paul Smith

Role: Senior Lecturer (Chemistry)

Fact:

I have post-doctoral research experience in different countries including the UK, New Zealand and Australia. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a core member of the Faculty Teaching Excellence Working Group and the Faculty Learning and Teaching Forum at Manchester Metropolitan University.

What do I teach?

My teaching background consists of key topics within inorganic chemistry and theinnovative use of technology in learning and teaching.I was shortlisted for outstanding innovation in teaching during the Manchester Met Students Union Teaching Awards in May 2016.I have been teaching at Manchester Met for 21 years across all levels of core units.

Research Interests

My educational research has explored the use of technology to enhance the student learning experience, using screencasts, adaptive learning software and interactive game-based quizzes as part of the flipped classroom approach to teaching. My subject research concerns co-ordination chemistry relevant to d-transition metals and I have background in organometallic and bioinorganic chemistry. My areas of interest are the synthesis and study of di-metal-thiolate complexes, which mimic the bridging metal-sulphur interactions present at the active sites of some metalloproteins and metal chemistry relevant to the catalytic sites in mononuclear molybdenum pterin enzymes.

Words of wisdom

I try to enjoy my teaching as much as possible and my classes are less about the transition of information. I am always looking for new ways to include students to encourage active learning and provide a learner-centred experience to help and involve as much as possible.

Publications

·Synthesis and structures of mono and binuclear nickel(II) thiolate complexes of a dicompartmental pseudo-macrocycle with N(imine)₂S₂and N(oxime)₂S₂metal-binding sites. Claudio Mendicute Fierro, Paul D. Smith, Peter N. Horton, Michael B. Hursthouse and Mark E. Light. Inorganica Chimica Acta, 368 (2011), 257-262.

·Oxosulfido-Mo(V) Compounds: First Isolation and Unambiguous Characterization of an Extended Series Doonan, Christian; Gourlay, Craig; Nielsen, David; Ng, Victor; Smith, Paul; Evans, David; George, Graham; White, Jonathan; Young, Charles. Inorganic Chemistry, 54 (2015) 6386–6396.

·Screencasting as a means of Enhancing the Student Learning Experience. Paul D Smith. Learning and Teaching in Action (2015), 10 (1), 59-74.

·Flipped lectures in chemistry using personal response systems and peer instruction. Paul D Smith. Proceedings of EDULEARN16 Conference, 180 (2016), ISBN: 978-84-608-8860-4.

·Personalized education in chemistry using CogBooks adaptive learning technology. Paul D. Smith.Proceedings of INTED2017 Conference, pp2223-2232 (2017), ISBN: 978-84-617-8491-2.

Manchester Met full-time employee and will support a proportion of teaching at Manchester Metropolitan Joint Institute, Hubei University.