Teaching

Current Teaching Position:

Professor of the History of Science, Technology and Education

Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

  • Thesis supervision (BA [Tripos], MEd, EdD, PhD)
  • Tripos: Experiences of Childhood and Youth; The Emergence of Educational Systems; Designing Educational Research
  • PPD: Designing Learning with Digital Technologies
  • MPhil: Knowledge, Power and Politics, Mathematics Education
  • Deputy Director of Learning and Teaching

Graduate Student Supervision

I continue to advise and supervise graduate students. I welcome thoughtful enquiries via email (smb215(at)cam(dot)ac(dot)uk) regarding supervision. In your email, it is helpful to include:

  • A brief introduction
  • An overview of your reasons for wanting to pursue graduate studies (that is, what you hope to gain from your experiences)
  • A reasonably coherent plan for research. Do not worry if some of your ideas are in rough form, but it is important to demonstrate that you have given some thought to the question(s) you wish to pursue and that you have read some relevant literature

I am currently most interested in:

  • the history of education (particularly the intersections between the histories of science, design, technology, and education),
  • history education, language education (particularly the history of language education policy and plurilingual approaches to language education),
  • teacher education and professional development
  • science and technology education
  • technology and education (cultural and historical intersections)

I am particularly interested in historical, philosophical, and qualitative reflexive approaches to research in these areas.

Please avoid sending general emails of enquiry that lack a specific focus for your research (e.g., “I would like to study the use of computers in schools.”).

Undergraduate Student Supervision

I supervise undergraduate students on the Emergence of Educational Systems, the Experiences of Childhood and Youth, and the Philosophy of Education Tripos papers, in addition to being the Director of Studies (DoS) for Education at Emmanuel College. Previously, I lead the Secondary PGCE History Course.

Previous University-Based Teaching Positions:

Senior Lecturer, then Reader, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

  • Subject Leader, Secondary PGCE History Course
  • Professional Studies (PGCE)
  • MEd, Transforming Practice
  • Course Manager, Secondary PGCE Course

Assistant, then Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University

Undergraduate-level (including teacher education) Courses Taught:

  • EDUC 100: Selected Questions and Issues in Education (Spring, 2013)
  • EDUC 230: Introduction to the Philosophy of Education (Fall, 2015)
  • EDUC 416: Designs for Learning – Secondary Science (Summer, 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016)
  • Various special topics and directed studies courses, including an innovative course about climate change devised for future teachers of social studies and history.

Masters-level Courses Taught:

  • EDUC 859: Philosophy of Science and Perspectives on Education (Summer, 2013)
  • EDUC 864: Introduction to Educational Research Methods (Summer, 2015)
  • EDUC 866: Qualitative Methods in Educational Research (Fall, 2013; Summer 2014)
  • EDUC 867: Advanced Qualitative Methods in Educational Research (Summer, 2016)
  • Various courses in a cohort-based M.Ed. Science Education community-based program, including curriculum studies in science education, the philosophy of science, research methods, and supervision of comprehensive exams
  • EDUC 890: Educational Media as Foundations of Curriculum (Fall, 2015)

Doctoral-level Courses Taught:

  • EDUC 901: Seminar in the History of Educational Theory (Fall, 2016)
  • EDUC 911: Colloquium in Curriculum Theory (Fall, 2014)

Continuing Studies Courses Taught

  • SCFC783: Contemplating Modern Physics: Dark Matter, Superstrings, and Other Strange Things (Fall, 2013)
  • SCFC895: Planets, Stars, Black Holes, and Cosmology (Fall, 2014)
  • SCFC883: Victorian Science: An Era of Discovery (Spring, 2015)
  • AHCP258: Science and the Supernatural  (Summer, 2015)
  • SCFC908: Onward to the Stars: A History of Human Spaceflight (Fall, 2015)
  • SCFC937: To Boldly Go: Six Unresolved Questions in Physics (Spring, 2016)

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, UOIT (now Ontario Tech University)

Undergraduate-level Courses Taught (BEd (teacher education)):

  • CURS 4130U – I/S Curriculum Studies I: Physics
  • CURS 4131U – I/S Curriculum Studies II: Physics
  • CURS 4141U – I/S Curriculum Studies II: Mathematics
  • EDUC 3511U – I/S Learning with ICT

Graduate-level Courses Taught (MA/MEd level):

  • EDUC 5401G – Introduction to Adult Education & Higher Education
  • EDUC 5404G – Teaching in an Adult Learning Environment
  • EDUC 5405G – Digital Technologies in Adult Education

Graduate Teaching Fellow, Queen’s University

  • PROF 191 – Theory and Professional Practice Course / Practicum Supervision,
  • CURR 351/352 Physics Methods (co-taught with Professor Tom Russell)

Previous School (K-12) Teaching Positions

Language and Literacy Teacher, York Region District School Board

  • Fully seconded secondary school teacher responsible for implementing district-wide “Learning Plus” initiative with a focus on developing literacy across the curriculum for a family of schools (secondary and elementary).
  • Designed and offered ongoing professional development for teacher colleagues.
  • Co-taught lessons across the elementary and secondary curricula with colleagues from a local family of schools.

Physics Teacher, Toronto District School Board

  • Designed, implemented, and assessed science and physics curriculum for a mid-size Toronto secondary school.
  • Supervised and supported students’ extra-curricular development through a variety of clubs, organizations, and field trips.

Previous Martial Arts Teaching Positions

  • Assistant instructor, Kodokan Judo, Toronto
  • Assistant instructor, Shaolin Kempo Karate and Jiu-jitsu, Toronto
  • Head instructor, Shaolin Kempo Karate and Jiu-jitsu, Toronto
  • Assistant instructor, Bartitsu Program, Vancouver