Juan Manuel Gutiérrez Vázquez: A Mexican teacher in the School of Education

Carolina Valladares CelisArtemio Cortez OchoaBy Mirna Carolina Valladares Celis & Artemio Arturo Cortez Ochoa

Last November, the teacher training college of Colima, Mexico, also known as ISENCO, organised its first International Conference on Educational Research and Evaluation. It was such an achievement considering that these normal schools[i] in Mexico were not involved in these academic environments until very recently. We both graduated from ISENCO and therefore, presenting and leading a workshop about qualitative data analysis meant for us giving back a little to the institution that forged a foundational stage in our lives. (more…)

Chart toppers from School of Education Summer 2020

By Helen Aberdeen,  Director of the Document Summary Service

Greetings from my local café in Bristol, which I can now frequent to have a change of scene. The music is a little too loud, and I am slightly distracted by 3 ladies at the next table (over 2 metres away) discussing mortgages, but it is an otherwise pleasant environment in which to write a blog post.

A couple of weeks ago, we finished our rollercoaster year here at the Bristol University School of Education where I work as subject coordinator on the MFL PGCE course. We celebrated with our student teachers via a Zoom meeting with quizzes, films and awards. I the won prize for the worst Spanish accent – always good to be reminded of one’s weaknesses.  Like many of you in education, we are now embarking on planning an autumn term programme amidst ongoing uncertainty. (more…)

Blog Series #2 Undergraduate Dissertation Research in SoE: Showcasing Education Studies Undergraduate Dissertations

By Dr. Amanda Williams  School of Education

Building on the last post (Blog #1) singing the praises of our Undergraduate’s Dissertation projects and offering broad advice for getting started on a dissertation, this article will showcase two dissertations conducted by our BSc Education Studies students Estelle Wu (supervised by Dr Rafael Mitchell) and Leila Meredith (Dr Julia Paulson). These projects apply a critical education lens to better understand educative processes within and beyond schools. Both refuse to bend to the status quo and instead demonstrate how education can be used to improve lived experiences. (more…)

Blog Series #1 Undergraduate Dissertation Research in SoE: Where to Start?

By Dr. Amanda Williams  School of Education

One of the most exciting things to happen in the academic year is our Year 3 undergraduates submitting their dissertation projects. This past academic year I, along with Dr Will Baker, had the privilege of co-leading the Undergraduate Dissertation Unit. In this role I delivered taught components that guided students through the process of their dissertation while they worked closely with their individual supervisor to complete their independent research project. (more…)

Document Summary Service chart toppers Spring 2020

Blog post by Helen Aberdeen, Director of the Document Summary Service

What a Spring term it turned out to be for those of us in the education sector! In my role as a PGCE tutor I have been on a steep learning curve getting to grips with all things online. In my other role as Director of the Document Summary Service, things have carried on a more even keel. As we moved into March I had wondered if every report research and guidance report produced would be focussed on the current crisis, but this turned out not to be the case – interesting and useful reports continue to emerge from a wide range of sources. I should also mention that the summaries have become an invaluable resource as out student teachers move to working independently. (more…)

A career change and new perspectives: spotlight on studying for a PGCE at the School of Education

Today’s blog features Georgia Adsett, current PGCE student at the School of Education. Georgia offers some insight on what made her want to change careers and train to be a teacher, and why she chose the School of Education to continue her postgraduate study.

Hi, I’m Georgia, I’ve lived in Bristol for a few years, previously working in Advertising and Marketing strategy roles before commencing the PGCE. I completed my joint honours degree in BA English and French at the Uni of Southampton which allowed me to live in France for a year and make the most of all the good grub! I spend most of my free time doing art, yoga, cooking and catching up on good books and films. My favourite word is kerfuffle. My worst nightmare would be potholing. I like people with memorable laughs and a cool sense of style. I asked my housemates to describe me in three words, they said: creative, personable and sparky… apparently.

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