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Dr Gina Wisker, BA, MA, PhD

Dr Gina Wisker, BA, MA, PhD Image

University of Gibraltar:

Research Fellow
Lecturers & Tutors
Research
Education

Research Background

Dr Gina Wisker is an Associate Professor at the International Centre for Higher Education Management, University of Bath where she supervises doctoral students and she is Professor 11 at the University of the Arctic, Tromso, Norway where she contributes to Postgraduate supervisor development. Gina is also Professor Emeritus of Higher Education and Contemporary Literature at the University of Brighton where she was Head of Centre for Learning and Teaching for 14 years. Gina has been teaching literature courses at ICE since 1980 and has taught in Adult and Higher Education on literature and education courses for over 30 years. She was appointed as a Research Fellow at the University of Gibraltar in 2020.

Dr Wisker believes in bringing research and experience together and teaches interactively using a mixture of lectures and small group discussion, encouraging collaboration. She enjoys working with adult students for the refreshing, engaged responses and the opportunity to construct understanding and enjoyment in literature, together in discussion.

Dr Wisker is Chief Editor of the journal “Innovations in Education and Teaching International”, online poetry magazine “Spokes” and online dark fantasy journal “Dissections”. She also reviews for a number of literary and educational journals.

Dr Wisker is a qualified teacher (QTS) and holds an Advanced Diploma in teaching and course development in HE, Advance HE Principal Fellowship, a National Teaching Fellowship. She is passionate about teaching, integrating research and professional practice into teaching, learning and assessment practices. She is also a long established practising teacher of undergraduate literature students, contributing to MA literature creative writing and humanities research methods.

Dr Wisker is an active educational developer maintaining a senior fellowship of SEDA through annual triad reporting of CPD (an annual CPD development event) and supporting the CPD of others through mentoring and assessing the SEDA senior fellowship route. She has gained and contributed to CPD through supporting and judging HE research and development project bids for SEDA and SRHE, attending and running seminars and workshops for SRHE and SEDA, and HELTASA in South Africa. Dr Wisker’s research feeds into and underpins impact in Higher Education and contemporary literature (the latter for undergraduates). Her research has led to teaching third year undergraduates on the ‘Womens writing and feminist theory’ module, and the ‘Gothic’ module (English) for which she is a researcher and publishes regularly. Dr Wisker also has contributed to publishing the Creative Writing masters, and teaches writing and publishing in workshops for academic staff and postgraduates.

Research Interests

Dr Wisker specialises in 20th and 21st century writing, Gothic, postcolonial and women’s writing, and in teaching, learning and assessment- particularly postgraduate research and supervision. She runs courses on writing for academic publication in South African universities and on postgraduate supervision in the UK, South Africa and Sweden.

Dr Wisker has a varied and well established list of awards and highly regarded projects such as:

– Established and co-lead a research group on higher education research (higher education pedagogies and policies) with Rachel Masika (and was with Carol Robinson) with one curent completing  research project (publishing stage). It uses a students as partners and co- researchers model, with BAME and WP students, was funded by the ESRC and NRF, ‘Negotiating the transition from rurality to higher education in Southern Africa’. This has led to Dr Wisker co-researching and now writing alongside colleagues from University of Johannesburg, Rhodes, Fort Hare  and University of Bristol.

– Another completing project, 2017-2019 involving working with students as co-researchers is the HEFCE Changing Mindsets project addressing negative mindsets related to BAME students. Dr Gina Wisker is  currently involved in an, initially GCRF startup funded now towards a BA Writing Skills funded, international contemporary womens writing project ‘Writing South Asian women’ (for BAME early career researchers/students in India and Pakistan, led by Teeside).

Selected Publications

Wisker , G. (2020). ‘Diversity, hybridity and new revelations in conceptual threshold crossings in cross and interdisciplinary research learning’. In  Land R.,Timmermans J., Wuetherick B,(eds)  Threshold concepts on the edge, Rotterdam Netherlands, Sense,

Wisker, G. (2019). ‘Developing Research Skills in and through the Research Thesis or Dissertation’, in Mari  Murtonnen  and  Kieran Balloo(eds) Development of Scientific Thinking in Higher Education: The Role of Research Skills and Evidence-Based Thinking.London Palgrave Macmillan

Wisker , G. (2019). ‘Frameworks and Freedoms: Supervising Research Learning and the Undergraduate Dissertation’ in Journal of University  learning and Teaching Practice 

Wisker , G. (2018). Troublesome and transformative: exploring conceptual threshold crossings in doctoral projects engaged with real world problems in professional practice, Savin-Baden, M.,Toombs, G., Threshold concepts in problem-based learning, London, UK, Bloomsbury,

Wisker, G. ( 2018). Different Journeys: Supervisor Perspectives on Disciplinary Conceptual Threshold Crossings in Doctoral Learning In : Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning. 6, 2

Wisker , G., Robinson, G.  & Bengsten, S. (2017). Penumbra: Doctoral support as drama: From the ‘lightside’ to the ‘darkside’. From front of house to trapdoors and recesses, Innovations in Education and Teaching International , 54(6), Taylor and Francis,

Wisker, G. (2017).  Helping students demonstrate mastery of doctoral threshold concepts, Carter, S. & Laurs, D., Developing research writing: a handbook for supervisors and advisers, London, Routledge, 173-178

Wisker , G.( 2017).  Creating a positive environment for widening participation: a taxonomy for socially just higher education policy and practice, Higher Education Review,49(2), Tyrrell Burgess associates., 56-84

Wisker , G (2016). ‘Agency and Articulation in Doctoral Writing: Building the Messy Research Journey into a Well-Constructed Thesis’, in Cecile Badenhorst, Cally Guerin, Research literacies and writing pedagogies for masters and doctoral writers, Leiden, Boston, Brill, 184-201

Wisker,G. and Robinson , G (2016). ‘Supervisor wellbeing and identity: challenges and strategies’ International Journal of Researcher Development Vol. 7, No. 2 www.emeraldinsight.com/2048-8696.htm

Full Publications List