Jonathan Firth
I am interested in human memory and metacognition, and in how these concepts can be applied to education.
In addition to my teaching and teacher training roles, I am looking at the application of the spacing and interleaving effects to classroom tasks as part of a PhD into Education/Psychology. I am also conducting research into teacher professionalism and the role of research activities as a part of teacher professional learning.
I am active in promoting and developing Psychology education. To this end I have attended and spoken at a number of Psychology CPD events including several conferences of the Association for the Teaching of Psychology (Scotland), and authored/co-authored both textbooks and teaching resources. I am currently a committee member of the British Psychological Society’s Psychology of Education Section (BPS-PES).
Supervisors: Professor Ian Rivers and Professor James Boyle
Address: www.jonathanfirth.co.uk
In addition to my teaching and teacher training roles, I am looking at the application of the spacing and interleaving effects to classroom tasks as part of a PhD into Education/Psychology. I am also conducting research into teacher professionalism and the role of research activities as a part of teacher professional learning.
I am active in promoting and developing Psychology education. To this end I have attended and spoken at a number of Psychology CPD events including several conferences of the Association for the Teaching of Psychology (Scotland), and authored/co-authored both textbooks and teaching resources. I am currently a committee member of the British Psychological Society’s Psychology of Education Section (BPS-PES).
Supervisors: Professor Ian Rivers and Professor James Boyle
Address: www.jonathanfirth.co.uk
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Books by Jonathan Firth
Divided into three parts, this book examines the various understandings of being ‘research-engaged’ and covers key issues such as:
- Finding and interpreting research
- How to apply and evaluate findings in reliable ways
- Planning and carrying out a classroom-based project
- Building a culture of research within a school
- Establishing local research networks
- Publishing work
lllustrated with inspiring examples of how to these implement ideas in schools, The Teachers’ Guide to Research is perfect for practicing schools teachers, student teachers and educational leaders who are looking to expand their research knowledge and rekindle their professional curiosity.
Level & Subject: GCSE Psychology
First teaching: September 2017 First exams: June 2019
This Psychology Revision and Practice guide contains clear and accessible explanations of all the GCSE content, with lots of practice opportunities for each topic throughout the book.
Based on research that proves repeated practice is more effective than repeated study, this book is guaranteed to help you achieve the best results.
There are clear and concise revision notes for every topic covered in the curriculum, plus seven practice opportunities to ensure the best results.
Includes:
• quick tests to check understanding
• end-of-topic practice questions
• topic review questions later in the book
• mixed practice questions at the end of the book
• free Q&A flashcards to download online
• an ebook version of the revision guide
• more topic-by-topic practice and a complete exam-style paper in the added workbook
Papers by Jonathan Firth
In the ongoing discussion of teacher professionalism and how it is threatened by top-down accountability in education systems, a ‘what works’ approach is sometimes seen as a threat to a teacher agency. In this chapter I argue that instead, research-based expertise in the psychology of memory and learning can help to emancipate teachers and bolster their professional agency. In the context of learning-related cognitive phenomena which are neither intuitive nor accessible purely through classroom experience, this scientific knowledge combined with their unique understanding of their own classroom context places teachers in the best position to make key educational judgements on behalf of their learners.
For these reasons, I decided to try replacing over two-thirds of my usual homework tasks in Higher Psychology this year with a blog format. I also had one eye on the potential - with the introduction of a new Scottish Higher syllabus and its more flexible internal assessments - to use blogs for internal assessment in future years.
Drafts by Jonathan Firth
Talks by Jonathan Firth
Divided into three parts, this book examines the various understandings of being ‘research-engaged’ and covers key issues such as:
- Finding and interpreting research
- How to apply and evaluate findings in reliable ways
- Planning and carrying out a classroom-based project
- Building a culture of research within a school
- Establishing local research networks
- Publishing work
lllustrated with inspiring examples of how to these implement ideas in schools, The Teachers’ Guide to Research is perfect for practicing schools teachers, student teachers and educational leaders who are looking to expand their research knowledge and rekindle their professional curiosity.
Level & Subject: GCSE Psychology
First teaching: September 2017 First exams: June 2019
This Psychology Revision and Practice guide contains clear and accessible explanations of all the GCSE content, with lots of practice opportunities for each topic throughout the book.
Based on research that proves repeated practice is more effective than repeated study, this book is guaranteed to help you achieve the best results.
There are clear and concise revision notes for every topic covered in the curriculum, plus seven practice opportunities to ensure the best results.
Includes:
• quick tests to check understanding
• end-of-topic practice questions
• topic review questions later in the book
• mixed practice questions at the end of the book
• free Q&A flashcards to download online
• an ebook version of the revision guide
• more topic-by-topic practice and a complete exam-style paper in the added workbook
In the ongoing discussion of teacher professionalism and how it is threatened by top-down accountability in education systems, a ‘what works’ approach is sometimes seen as a threat to a teacher agency. In this chapter I argue that instead, research-based expertise in the psychology of memory and learning can help to emancipate teachers and bolster their professional agency. In the context of learning-related cognitive phenomena which are neither intuitive nor accessible purely through classroom experience, this scientific knowledge combined with their unique understanding of their own classroom context places teachers in the best position to make key educational judgements on behalf of their learners.
For these reasons, I decided to try replacing over two-thirds of my usual homework tasks in Higher Psychology this year with a blog format. I also had one eye on the potential - with the introduction of a new Scottish Higher syllabus and its more flexible internal assessments - to use blogs for internal assessment in future years.