Contact
Biography
Jane Medwell began her career as a primary teacher before taking up positions in a number of universities. She taught and carried out research at the Universities of Wales, Exeter, Plymouth and Warwick before joining the University of Nottingham in 2013. She has completed a number of research projects on aspects of literacy teaching and learning and, more recently, the teaching and learning of foreign languages in primary schools. Her research has been funded by bodies such as the Teacher Training Agency, the Department for Education, the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency and the Book Trust. She is currently researching the teaching of handwriting and its relationship with composing, the teaching of languages in primary schools and the use and effects of homework in primary schools. She is also leading a project for the International Baccalaureate Organisation exploring inquiry-led teaching in primary schools, and working on a number of collaborative projects on aspects of teacher education with colleagues from Shanghai Normal University.
Jane is the author/editor of over 20 books and over 60 articles/chapters on aspects of literacy/language teaching. Two of her authored books (in various editions) have been on the best-selling list of textbooks for trainee teachers for the past 15 years.
Expertise Summary
Jane Medwell has considerable expertise in the fields of literacy and language teaching and learning.
She is also an expert in initial teacher education, having served in the role of Director of Teacher Education in two previous universities, and led primary teacher education courses to outstanding grades in a number of Ofsted inspections.
She also has expertise in the supervision of research students, having won the award for the best supervisor in the university while she was working at the University of Warwick.
Her supervisory roles have also helped her develop great expertise in research methods training and her research has developed skills in qualitative research methods.
Teaching Summary
Primary literacy
Primary languages
Research methods
Supervision of PhD and masters dissertations
Research Summary
A study of homework in primary schools.
An IB-funded study of inquiry-based learning in International Baccalaureate primary schools.
The interface of handwriting and composition in writing.
East meets West: a comparative study of teaching and CPD in the UK and Shanghai.
Jane is a member of the Learning Sciences Research Institute. Her research supervision areas include:
- Primary Education
- Primary Literacy and English Education
- Teaching and Learning of Languages in the Primary School
- Teaching and Learning of Chinese in Primary Schools
Research topics of current and recent students include:
- Teaching of Chinese in English Supplementary Schools
- Chinese Curriculum for Teaching English
- The Teaching of Chinese in UK Schools
- Comprehension and Criticality in Reading in Primary Schools
- The Role of Feedback in Children's English Learning
Research proposals: please email Jane if you would like to discuss the appropriateness of your research topic.
Past Research
Research into:
Effective teachers of literacy
The teaching of Chinese as a second language
Modern language teaching in the primary school
The development of children's writing