Pedagogy
Learning and Assessment
This research group focuses on learning and assessment in primary and secondary schools and colleges. The staff involved have played leading roles in researching and developing the curriculum and assessment of schools and colleges. Interests also include vocational accreditation, and assessment and testing and quantitative methodology in educational measurement. The Centre for Formative Assessment (CFAS), for example, hold the most comprehensive UK database on school curricula and assessment, providing many opportunities for empirical research in the field of curriculum monitoring and assessment analysis.
Projects in this area include:
CFAS
Since 2001 CFAS has been awarded 13 high profile research projects, mostly from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), totaling £840,000. These longitudinal projects focus primarily on the change in curriculum provision in schools in response to national policy and legislation, and on the evaluation of national tests for children. These high profile projects and associated outputs have had a significant impact on the development of policy.
Mathematics Assessment for Learning and Teaching (MALT)
This project funded by Hodder Murray is developing a new series of age-standardised Mathematics tests but with additional provision for effective on-screen assessment and diagnostic follow-up.
Staff working in this area include:
- Bill Boyle
- Gill Forrester
- Dave Hall
- Laurence Hicks
- Graeme Hutcheson
- Jason Lamprianou
- Helen Notman
- Di Pearson
- Julian Williams
- Lawrence Wo
Teacher Education and Development
This research group focuses upon initial teacher education and teacher development. Interests include the training and developmental experiences of student and newly qualified teachers both in the UK and internationally in developing countries such as Vietnam. Professional learning is explored across areas including mathematics, language and foreign language learning, science and technology and diversity and inclusion. Research is also conducted on law and its impact on teaching in matters such as inloco-parentis and risk management.
Projects include:
- Evaluating the impact of the National Partnership Project funded by the Teacher Training Agency (Olwen McNamara);
- The Recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers funded by NASUWT (Olwen McNamara);
- Training Teachers to Work in Urban Schools, funded by the Teacher Training Agency (David Hall).
Staff working in this area include:
- Amanda Barton
- Bill Boyle
- Julian Edge
- Graham Hardy
- John Hunter-Jones
- John Keen
- Olwen McNamara
- Gary Motteram
- Birgit Pepin
- Carlo Raffo
- Diana Slaouti
- Liz Smith
- David Spendlove
Medical Education
Medicine stands alone amongst professions in having a well established pedagogic discipline within its professional structure; for example, there are some 7 journals devoted to medical education in addition to the educational content in general medical journals and there is an emerging career structure for medical educationalists.
Manchester Medical School has a research group that has attracted considerable national and international attention. It counts amongst its members doctors, psychologists, computing scientists, information technologists, and sociologists. It has qualitative and quantitative expertise in its methodology portfolio. Amongst its themes of special interest are: Assessment; communication education; personal and professional development; and technology-enhanced workbased learning.
For further information, please follow the link below:
http://www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/medicaleducationresearch/