Academic Tutor
I am an experienced mentor with a history of supporting and training PGCE at Northumbria University and undergraduate students on their school based placements within my area of expertise in art, design and technology and more recently within early years and primary at University of Sunderland.
I have worked as a freelance education consultant and was involved in developing education resources at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.
I am also passionate about learning outside of the classroom and utilising the wealth of educational resources in our many museums and galleries in the North East. I have travelled widely and am particularly interested in the Nordic education system following two educational visits to Swedish schools and the Nordic Network Conferences.
Research
My master's thesis was a piece of practitioner research carried out while teaching in a SEND school in the North East. I devised a new programme which combined an evidence-based mindfulness programme with an expressive arts short course to 16 year olds with a variety of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
I am particularly interested in the role that creativity and the arts play in our current educational system on attentional functioning and metacognition in children and adolescents. As an educationalist, I am also concerned about the coincidental rise in ADHD cases globally in parallel with the growth of standardised testing.
While in school, I endorse the use of thinking skills initiatives to facilitate my teaching. I am currently interested in divergent thinking within the STEM subjects and the role the arts should play here. Many schools offer a STEM or an Art package to their learners, however using the STEAM initiative, we combine the subjects which challenge learners to think creatively and enhances their knowledge, collaboration and problem-solving skills.
I am particularly interested in the role that creativity and the arts play in our current educational system on attentional functioning and metacognition in children and adolescents. As an educationalist, I am also concerned about the coincidental rise in ADHD cases globally in parallel with the growth of standardised testing.
While in school, I endorse the use of thinking skills initiatives to facilitate my teaching. I am currently interested in divergent thinking within the STEM subjects and the role the arts should play here. Many schools offer a STEM or an Art package to their learners, however using the STEAM initiative, we combine the subjects which challenge learners to think creatively and enhances their knowledge, collaboration and problem-solving skills.
- SEND and inclusion, ASC, SEMH, ADHD
- Barriers to Learning
- Arts for positive mindset skills
- Divergent thinking
- STEAM initiatives
- Museums and galleries education