Dr Pedro Barra
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education
- Department of Applied and Human Sciences
- School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry
- Penrhyn Road
School Director of Learning and Teaching & Associate Professor
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
Associate Professor at Kingston University's School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, recently appointed as School Director of Learning and Teaching (January 2025).
I hold a BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics, MSc in Clinical Nutrition and Immunology, PhD in Nutrition Studies, and am a Registered Nutritionist (Nutrition Science) with the Association for Nutrition.
Since joining Kingston in 2007, I've lectured on the BSc Nutrition programme and have been its course leader since 2016.
I completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (2009), became an Associate Professor (2014), and achieved Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2015).
I am interested in technology-enhanced learning and how it can be used to create better learning, teaching and assessment experiences for both students and academic staff. This expertise led to my previous appointments as Faculty Blended Learning Leader and Acting Associate Head of eLearning.
My governance experience includes representing the faculty on Academic Council since 2014, serving on the Board of Governors (2022-2025), acting as Faculty Research Ethics Lead (2019-2025), and my current role as Chair of the University Research Ethics Committee (April 2025).
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (Kingston University)
- PhD (health/nutrition related) (University of Surrey)
- MSc Clinical Nutrition & Immunology (University of Surrey Roehampton)
- BSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics (University of Porto, Portugal)
Domains
My students know me for my love of data and numbers. I am always looking for ways to improve their learning experience, which often includes using technology, e.g., personal response systems, online noticeboards, working collaboratively on shared online pages, and screencasting. I make use of these technologies to support teaching and assessment.
My most recent projects involve exploring the use of collaborative exams (also called two-stage exams), collaborating with colleagues on incorporating reflection on feedback in nutrition assignments (three components namely 1. Self-Assessment Component, 2. Feedback Dialogue Component and 3. Reflection on past feedback and feed-forward Component) and the value of communities of practice (making use of Padlet).
I disseminate work across the University to colleagues and on sector learning and teaching events such as Horizons in STEM Higher Education (2022) and Royal Society of Biology Inclusive Pedagogies and Reducing Awarding Gaps Conference (2023).
At present, I am particularly interested on how to use artificial intelligence, specifically large language models, to enhance teaching, learning, and assessment practices in Higher Education.
I was awarded Kingston University's Provost Award in June 2024, in recognition of my dedication to enhancing the teaching profession and supporting colleagues around artificial intelligence.
Courses taught
As School Director of Learning and Teaching, since January 2025, I provide leadership and strategic direction and oversee learning, teaching and assessment within my School, in consultation and collaboration with the Head of School and Heads of Department.
I am the Course Leader for the BSc (Hons) Nutrition (Human Nutrition) and was the Faculty Research Ethics Lead for my faculty (Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education) between November 2019 and February 2025.
I am the Chair of Kingston University's Research Ethics Committee (since August 2025). I represent my faculty on the Academic Council and served on the Board of Governors for the University (September 2022 to April 2025).