Education, Language and Learning
Research Division

For specific enquiries, please contact:

Professor Alan Floyd

Research Division Lead

alan.floyd@reading.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0) 118 378 2720

Education research

Education staff and projects

Centre for Literacy & Multilingualism

Digital Education, Accessible Learning

Professor Suzanne Graham is leading a two-year study funded by the Leverhulme Trust, investigating the accessibility of online learning materials for university-level students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Working in partnership with local charities, Deafax and Goals4life, it is also examining whether modifications made to online learning materials have similar benefits for student who have dyslexia, or speak English as a second/other language.

Leading school learning through Covid-19 and beyond

Professor Alan Floyd, in collaboration with Dr Jacqueline Baxter at the Open University (PI), is currently working on a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded project which aims to explore how school leaders in England strategically manage and plan for online provision of learning through the pandemic and beyond. Focusing on secondary school headteachers, data will be drawn from semi-structured interviews (n=60) and an online survey (n=350).

Subject Choice, Attainment and Representation in Computing (SCARICOMP) project

Dr Billy Wong is working with Dr Peter Kemp (PI) at King’s College London on a 3-year project funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The SCARICOMP project aims to explore the factors that explain the participation and performance of girls in English secondary school computing education. The study will use the National Pupil Dataset and School Workforce Census, alongside school case studies through quantitative and qualitative data collected from school leaders, teachers, students and documents such as schemes of work.

Teaching English Language Learners (TELLs): a US-UK collaborative evaluation of an approach to training teachers for multilingual classrooms

Dr Naomi Flynn is the recipient of a US-UK Fulbright Visiting Scholar Award. Naomi's Fulbright project, with Professor Annela Teemant of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, will explore the potential of a US-tested approach to teaching pupils, whose home languages are other than English, between July and October 2021. This teaching approach - The Enduring Principles of Learning – has been used successfully by US teacher educators to enhance the academic success of these learners. Naomi will be observing and analysing teachers’ practice, and interviewing educators at school and district level, with a view to evaluating how to adapt this method for use with teachers in England in linguistically diverse classrooms.

Gaming Grammar

In this project, Dr Rowena Kasprowicz is investigating classroom-based foreign language learning, particularly for young learners and in relation to the development of grammatical knowledge. Her recent work has demonstrated the usefulness of providing explicit, repeated grammar practice for young learners learning a language in primary school. Building on this work, Rowena is leading the Gaming Grammar project which has developed and evaluated a digital grammar learning game, which teaches grammar through listening and reading practice designed to make grammar essential for understanding meaning. Gaming Grammar has over 1500 registered users and is being used in schools across England to support foreign language learning.

Exploring Gender and Academic Leadership Development in Qatar

In this project, which is funded by Qatar National Research Priorities Fund, Professor Alan Floyd is working with colleagues from Qatar University to explore two key aspects of social life that are essential for the successful future development of Qatar, namely, higher education leadership and the role of gender within this context. This mixed methods study will draw on data from life history interviews and Q methodology undertaken with 50 male and female academic leaders.

Supporting the Identity Development of Underrepresented Students (SIDUS)

Dr Billy Wong is working with Dr Tiffany Chiu (PI) from Imperial College London on this 2-year qualitative study that aims to promote inclusion and success for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) students from underrepresented groups in higher education. Over a hundred students were interviewed on their lived experiences. By understanding how these students (e.g. disabled, female, first-generation, LGBT+, mature and minority ethnic students) navigate their way through university life, the SIDUS project will contribute to our knowledge of their successes, challenges and opportunities, allowing for better support of academic and professional identity and a sense of belonging which are central to the wellbeing of students.

Creative language learning

Professor Suzanne Graham led one part of the four-year AHRC funded Creative Multilingualism project. The study explored the impact of using poems and short texts themed around topics such as love, death and migration on over 500 14-year-old language learners' language outcomes and creativity levels. Key findings showed that teaching approaches emphasising personal and imaginative responses to texts rather than those focused on grammar and factual information were more likely to benefit learners' general and linguistic creativity. The latter included learners’ vocabulary knowledge and ability to write complex sentences.

Maths through Stories

While research shows that storytelling has great potential to develop childrens' mathematical ability, Dr Nathapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai's research shows that most primary school teachers are unaware of this connection. His website, launched in 2017, aims to raise teachers' awareness of the power of storytelling to make maths learning more accessible and enjoyable. The site offers free on-line resources, including the world’s largest database of over 500 recommendations for mathematical stories, book reviews and lesson ideas. It has been used by more than 160,000 teachers and parents from over 200 countries.

Marvellous Mums

Professor Carol Fuller and Dr Maria Kambouri's research looks at how confidence and attitudes are internalised in people's self-identity and how this affects aspirations and ambitions. They explore ways in which this can be reframed by promoting change from within the person as opposed to simply telling them what they need to change. In partnership with international companies, their Marvellous Mums project worked with a group of 15 mums from Reading on a 10-week programme to boost confidence through setting goals, focusing on skills and self-reflection. The aim is to raise aspirations of both mums and their children, whose confidence and aspirations are supported by parents.

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