After completing a BEd Primary course, specialising in primary science, at Cardiff, I embarked on an exciting teaching career in a Key Stage Two school in East London. I became the Science Lead and an ‘Advanced Skills Teacher’ and in 2003 was offered the part time position of PGCE Tutor in primary Science at the Urban Learning Foundation in London. Having the opportunity to teach children in school and then reflect on the teaching and learning whilst teaching PGCE students was fascinating and I developed a keen interest in teacher education. I joined the Primary Science team at the University of Gloucestershire in 2010 and have enjoyed a decade of teacher education that has enabled me to not only develop my academic profile but to learn with and from the student teachers on our programmes. My passions include dialogic teaching (the focus of my Masters dissertation), teachers’ questioning (we support out science specialists in action research in this area) and PSHE (I have recently written a chapter, with a focus on helping children to develop empathy in the team’s ‘Teaching the Primary Curriculum’ book). I am particularly passionate about the power of Philosophy for Children and am delighted to be taking the Sapere Trainer Pathway in 2020, which will enable me to provide our students and partner schools with accredited training and certification that will prepare them as facilitators of philosophical enquiry.
Association for Science Education (ASE)
The Society for the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education (SAPERE)
I teach primary science , PSHE and P4C on our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
I also teach P4C on the BA Education Studies on Early Childhood StudiesTeachers' questions
Dialogic Teaching