Scott is a Associate Professor in the School of Anatomy and was recently nominated by the University to apply for the Advance HE, National Teaching Fellowship scheme in 2026.
My high school biology teacher once told me that asking questions was my superpower – though she warned it wouldn’t always win me friends. She was right on both counts. Curiosity can be uncomfortable, but it’s also the engine of discovery, reflection, and change. That lesson has stayed with me throughout my academic journey and now sits at the heart of my approach to teaching, learning, and leadership.
I began my career firmly rooted in positivism. Trained as a forensic anthropologist, I was educated to value precision, measurement, and evidence — the clean logic of “proof.” When I moved into academia, this scientific mindset initially shaped my teaching: accuracy mattered above all else. But over time, particularly through my engagement with pedagogy and inclusivity, I came to realise that knowledge is not only something we find but something we construct. The bodies we study, the systems we teach, and the professions our students enter are all shaped by cultural context, power, and perspective.
This shift — from proof to perspective — fundamentally changed how I teach anatomy. Moving beyond static structure, I see anatomy as a living and dynamic subject that connects people, identities, and experiences. My aim is to help students develop not just technical expertise, but critical empathy: the ability to question how anatomical knowledge is produced, represented, and applied. This social constructivist approach places students as active participants in knowledge creation, using dialogue, reflection, and shared experience to deepen learning.
Much of my work now focuses on creating inclusive teaching and assessment that reflects these principles. As School Education Director and Programme Director, I have led initiatives that make learning and evaluation more authentic, equitable, and developmental. For example, the School of Anatomy’s co-created Assessment Feedback and Support Policy replaced a one-size-fits-all model with a system that prioritises dialogue and growth. It now underpins 21 units across five programmes, affecting over 300 students each year. Complementing this, our Principles of Practical Teaching framework — developed collaboratively after the pandemic — rethinks how we design and deliver engaging hands-on learning across more than 800 hours of practical teaching in 10 programmes.
These reforms are about more than efficiency; they are about fairness and belonging. Inclusive and authentic teaching invites students to demonstrate not only what they know, but how they think, apply, and evolve — mirroring the realities of scientific and professional practice. The impact has been visible in student feedback and staff adoption: colleagues report greater confidence in designing inclusive learning experiences, and students describe feeling more connected to their studies and to one another.
My commitment to inclusion extends well beyond Bristol. I am a co-founder of the Anatomy Collective for Equality (ACE), which brings together professionals and commercial partners across the discipline to co-create inclusive teaching and assessment practices. I also serve as Deputy Chair of the Anatomical Society’s EDI Committee and contributed to national guidance on active inclusion for the Medical Schools Council. These collaborations have created a growing community of educators committed to re-imagining how anatomy is taught — one where diversity, equity, and critical thinking are integral, not peripheral.
Being nominated for the National Teaching Fellowship has offered me a rare chance to pause and reflect. My journey from forensic science into education has strengthened my belief that curiosity, criticality, and compassion belong together — that learning is at its most powerful when it values both understanding and humanity. Asking questions may not always win friends, but it can build understanding, inspire change, and, at its best, transform education itself.
