Profile
Biography
I hold a PhD in Applied Linguistics (University of Birmingham), MSc in TESOL (California State University) and Executive MBA (Newcastle University). Before joining the Department of Education at York in 2009, I lectured at the universities of La Trobe (Australia), Newcastle (UK) and Birmingham (UK). I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
Teaching
I have been involved in the design, delivery and leadership of the following modules: Discourse Analysis and Language Learning; Language Curriculum Design and Evaluation; Teaching and Learning Language; Teaching and Learning in schools; Planning and Communicating Research; Independent Study Module (MA dissertations); Research Methods in Applied Linguistics and TESOL; Introduction to Skills for Studying Education and for Studying English in Education.
Departmental roles
I have held the following key departmental roles:
- Chair of the Board of Studies
- Inaugural Chair of the Education Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Forum
- Director of Graduate Studies
- Chair of the Education Graduate School Board
- Deputy Director of MA in TESOL programme
- Member of the Education Ethics Committee
- Member of the Mitigating Circumstances Committee
- Member of the Academic Misconduct Committee
- Member of the Education Internationalisation Group
University roles
My wider university roles include:
- Elected Member of the Social Sciences Faculty
- Elected Member of the University Senate
- Member of the Hull-York Medical School Joint Senate
- Member of the University Teaching Committee
- Co-Founder and Chair of the Postgraduate Special Interest Group
- Member of the Teaching Building Steering Group
- Member of the Staff Race Equality Steering Group
Research
Overview
The topic areas of my research include:
- Classroom interaction
- Discourse analysis
- Dialogic pedagogy
- Teacher education
I conduct research into classroom discourse and interaction, dialogic pedagogy and teacher education across all phases of education in high and low-income countries. I have recently completed a large-scale, two-year Randomised Controlled Trial of a teacher professional development intervention designed to improve the quality of classroom talk, learning and attainment in primary schools serving socially-deprived areas of England. I am currently conducting small-scale observational research studies with a focus on dialogue as a way of teaching and learning in Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences in higher education. Informed by my research, I contribute to staff professional development courses on teaching and learning in schools and higher education.
Projects
- Educational talk and dialogic pedagogies: from research to impact (2020). Funded by the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account.
- The university seminar as contact event: facilitating and developing productive talk (2017-18). Collaborator: Dr Benjamin Poore (Department of Theatre, Film and Television, University of York. Funded by University of York.
- Dialogic teaching and classroom talk (2016-17). Funded by the Education Endowment Foundation.
- Randomised Controlled Trial entitled ‘Classroom talk, social disadvantage and educational attainment: closing the gap, raising standards’ (2014-16). Collaborators: Professor Robin Alexander (Cambridge Primary Review Trust) and Professor Frank Hardman (Institute for Effective Education, University of York). Funded by the Education Endowment Foundation.
- The discourse of student-led discussions in problem-based learning in medical education (2014-15).
- Dialogic pedagogy and student learning across subject disciplines in higher education (2013-14). Funded by University of York.
Research group(s)
- Centre for Advanced Studies in Language and Education (CASLE), University of York
- Member of York Asia Research Network (YARN), University of York
- External partner of the Cambridge Educational Dialogue Research Group (CEDIR), University of Cambridge
- British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
- American Educational Research Association (AERA)
Supervision
Successful PhD completions
- Nor Haslynda A. Rahman - The primary English language curriculum in Malaysia: From reform to classroom practice.
- Erdem Akbas - Commitment-detachment and authorial presence in postgraduate academic writing: A comparative study of Turkish native speakers, Turkish speakers of English and English native speakers.
- Golebamang Galegane - Interactional patterns in communication and study skills classes at the University of Botswana
- David Brining - The challenges faced by teachers of English as a second language to young learners in international contexts and their training and development needs and opportunities.
- Clare Cunningham - Saying more than you realise about 'EAL': discourses of educators about children who speak languages beyond English.
PhDs in progress
- Sermin Arslan - The discourse of student-initiated contributions in English language classrooms
- Onsutee Sudwan – Dialogic teaching in higher education in Thailand
- David Kirkham - Getting them out there: Overcoming barriers to cultural exploration by international students in the UK
- Sarah Crellin – Pupils’ responses to teacher written feedback in primary English in UK schools
- Albert Wong – Classroom interaction in EAP university classes in Hong Kong
External activities
Editorial duties
Member of the International Advisory Board for:
- Journal of Modern Languages (JML)
- Focus on ELT Journal (FELT)
Reviewer for journals, including:
- Teacher and Teacher Eduaction
- International Journal of Educational Research
- Journal of the Learning Sciences
- Language, Culture and Curriculum Journal
- International Journal of Educational Development
- Language and Education
- Asian Journal of University Education
- GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies
Reviewer for publishers (book proposals and books)
Reviewer for funding bodies:
- Economic & Social Research Council
- British Academy
- Education Department Pump Priming, University of York
Conference & seminar organisation
- Educational talk adn dialogic pedagogies: from research to impact, ESRC-funded, University of York, 2020
- Research/ing in Asia: concepts, values and practice. White Rose Doctoral Training Conference, University of York, 2016
- Critical thikning in a community of inquiry. Joint Eduaction-HYMS Research Seminar, University of York, 2015
- Annual MA research seminar series in Education (2012-18)
Consultancy
- An external review of the MA in TESOL Programme, University of Malta, 2014
- A baseline study of the quality of teaching and learning in Tanzanian primary schools, UNICEF, 2008
- An external review of the English for Further Studies Curriculum, International College Network, Melbourne, Australia, 2007
- An evaluation of the English language teaching methodology in Hyderabad primary schools, Centre for British Teachers, 2001
- An external review of the English language teacher training programme, Chongqing, China, University of Newcastle and British Council, 1999
International links
- University of Malta
- University of Botswana
- La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
- University of Technology MARA, Malaysia
- University of Malaya, Malaysia
- UNICEF
