Ricci Collins

Ricci teaches subjects across the BSL and Deaf Studies discipline. He focusses mostly on ab initio learners of BSL and the teaching of communities, cultures and identities in society, and sign language literatures. He also focuses on work placement opportunities for students and has recently taken on responsibility for supervising dissertation students.

As a Senior Lecturer, Ricci’s teaching remit is developing rapidly, and he has been a personal tutor for the last four years. He is fully committed to supporting students in a smooth transition into higher education and a successful and enjoyable degree journey. Having completed his first year of the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, he is currently undergoing studies towards a PhD.

Ricci is currently using his previous experience of supporting students in developing their employment potential to develop the employability skills of his students here. His expertise in this area is being used to embed employability skills into his teaching, particularly in relation to the work placement module, for which he has responsibility. He is passionate about concurrent teaching and learning practices and believes that this increases students’ employment prospects and gives them some insight into the world of work, preparing them for the transition to employment after graduation.

Ricci has been involved in several student exchanges and field trips, travelling abroad with our students to expose them to different sign languages and different Deaf cultures. Ricci’s experience has shown that, as a necessary addition to classroom learning, international trips broaden students’ knowledge and understanding of other languages and cultures, and teach them the importance of accepting and understanding diversity in Deaf communities. Ricci has also developed a keen interest in advancing technologies, particularly video technologies, for dissemination of information through sign language. He has recently been involved in an international Erasmus+ project, focussing on Deaf museums, and contributed to the SignTeach Online project, developing innovative ideas in the teaching of sign language online.