Principal Lecturer and Initial Teacher Education Portfolio Leader

I am the portfolio leader for all the teacher education courses in the School of Education here at the University of Bedfordshire. As part of my role I am a phase lead for secondary teacher education across the university, a role which oversees self evaluation and improvement of the area.

In terms of research, I have completed a 40 school research project into neuroscience and memory formation as well as undertaking a study into handwriting intervention. I am now working on a dual-university research project into retrieval practice and how schools are implementing research from this into their teaching.

Across the Faculty of Education and Sport and within the School of Education I am the Faculty Teaching and Learning representative for the School of Education and sit on a range of committees including: the Faculty Staff Experience Committee, the School Direct Committee, the Mentor Development Committee and the QTS Development Committee. I also chair the Post Compulsory Education and the Early Years Education Committees.

Previously I was the elected academic governor of the University of Bedfordshire from 2010 to 2012.

Currently, I am a trustee for the Pyramid Multi Academy Trust group of schools.

As a former secondary Head of English and now Principal Lecturer in Teacher Education, my main work is in educating teachers whilst working with partnership schools through research and teacher education.

You can follow my twitter profile at @englishspecial

Qualifications

• BA (Hons) Language and Literature 
• PGCE English, Drama and Media 
• PGCE Academic Practice 
• MA Education – Leadership and Management 
• Ed.D. in Teacher Education
• Fellow of Higher Education Academy

Teaching Expertise

• Leadership and Management in Teacher Education
• Theories of learning: cognitive science, neuroscience and social constructivism
• The teaching of English
• Research and Evidence Informed Teaching
• Partnership and Mentoring
• Technologies and Education
• Constellations of Communities of Practice in Education

Awards

• Winner 2023 for the Vice Chancellor's Awards in the Living By Our Values category
• Runner Up 2021 for the Vice Chancellor's Awards in the Inspirational Teaching category
• Runner Up 2020 for the Vice Chancellor's Awards in the Personal Tutor of the Year category
• Runner Up 2019, University of Bedfordshire's Outstanding Teaching Award in the VC's Student Experience Awards
• Runner Up 2019, University of Bedfordshire's ‘Best of Beds’ Award in the VC's Student Experience Awards
• Runner Up 2017, University of Bedfordshire's Use of Technology Teaching Award in the VC's Student Experience Awards
• Commended 2016, University of Bedfordshire's Outstanding Teaching Award in the VC's Student Experience Awards
• Runner Up 2014, University of Bedfordshire's Inspirational Teaching Award in the VC's Student Experience Awards
• Winner 2013, University of Bedfordshire's Inspirational Teaching Award in the VC's Student Experience Awards
• Winner 2011, University of Bedfordshire's Staff of the Year Award in the Commitment Category

Research Interests

• Retrieval Practice
• Neuroscience and Cognitive Science in Education
• Handwriting and Supportive Interventions
• Technology and Education
• Communities of Practice
• Teaching of English

Research Projects

• Retrieval Practice - how are teachers implementing ideas from the research base?
• Memory formation through the process of priming - see blog: Cognitive Science v Neuroscience: retrieval at the start of a lesson or not?
• The use of handwriting consultants by parents
• The role of social networking in teacher education
• Mentee and Mentor relationships within school placements

External Roles

• Reviewer for Elsevier journals (inlcuding Teaching and Teacher Education)
• Trustee for the Pyramid Multi Academy Trust group of schools
• Senior Editor and Writer of Education Blog Site: PeerReviewedEducationBlog.com
• External Examiner for the University of Cambridge PGCE (QTS)
• External Examiner for the King Edwards Consortium PGCE Secondary Education Programme
• External Examiner for Anglia Ruskin University PGCE (non-QTS)
• Former Chief External Examiner, University of Birmingham

Publications

Texts in Production

• Shea, J., Woods, A., Cox, S. (2026), The Learning Sciences in the Secondary Classroom: A practical guide for trainee teachers, SAGE
• Shea, J., Amin, M., (2025) 186 Days in Teaching, Routledge
• Bates, G. and Shea, (2024) Retrieval Practice in the Wild (research study)
• Bates, G. and Shea (2024) The Principles of Priming (research study)
• Shea, J., (2024) Handwriting: should we be intervening?, Association for the study of Primary Education
• Wearmouth, J., Maylor, U., Lindley, K., Shea J., (2024) Social Justice in Education, London: McGraw Hill

Published Texts

• Shea, J., Bates (2024) What Cognitive Load Theory needs to consider: not all effort is the same, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2023) Working memory: could it be that it’s just poor resolution rather than 4-7 items?, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2023) Internal School Avoidance- how pupils avoid paying attention, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2023) Teacher well-being: it’s not about the doughnuts!, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2023) Teacher talk, pace, and behaviour management: symptoms or causes?, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2023) Fidelity – why too much of it might be driving teachers out of the profession, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2023) Working memory of teachers – how anxiety affects quality of teaching, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J. and Bates, G. (2022), Preventing Fractured Memory Formation With Captioning Software, in Teaching Times, available at: https://www.teachingtimes.com/preventing-fractured-memory-formation-with-captioning-software/
• Shea, J. (2021) Planning and designing a creative secondary English curriculum, Chapter 5, in Wearmouth, J., and Lindley, K. (eds), Bringing the Curriculum to Life, London: McGraw Hill
• Connolly, S., Bates, G., and Shea, J., (2020) First meetings: constructive first encounters between pre-service teachers and their mentors, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 9(4), pp. 411-426.
• Shea, J., Bates, G., (2021) Cognitive Science v Neuroscience, could it change how we teach?, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G., (2021) Cognitive Science v Neuroscience: retrieval at the start of a lesson or not?, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J. (2020) Primary English - how does talking help a child learn?, Association for the study of Primary Education, Issue 13
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2020) New Wave Progressive Teachers, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2020) RosenBlatt's Principles of Instruction, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2019) Transposable habitus not disposable habitus, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2019) Fast reading and fast readers, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2019) The secret to well-being for us all in education…, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2019) Toxic teachers and toxic leaders, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2019) Curiosity and the Curriculum, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J. (2019) The hidden voice of pre-service teachers in their private social media interactions, Chapter 6, in J. Wearmouth & A. Goodwyn (eds) Pupil, Teacher and Student Voice in Educational Institutions. Values, opinions, beliefs and perspectives, London: Routledge
• Shea, J., (2018) Secondary ITE in England and Wales, Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies
• Shea, J., (2018) Digital Technologies and Online Learning in England and Wales, Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2018) Are you a PGCE mentor or PGCE trainee? Read on…, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea, J., Bates, G. (2018)  What happens when you ask your pupils to write 10% braver?, Peer Reviewed Education Blog
• Shea J., and Stockford, A., (2017), A Critical Approach to Global Citizenship in Initial Teacher Education in the UK, Journal of Pedagogic Development 7(2), pp. 3-12
• Shea, J., (2014) ‘Social Networking: A Curse or a Blessing?’ Special Children, 224 pp 40-42,
• Shea, J., (2014) ‘ICT and Assessment’, in M. Leask and Pachler (eds) Learning to Teach Using ICT in the Secondary School, London: Routledge
• Shea, J., Stockford, T. (2014) 'Inspiring your students with technology - embedding technology into the secondary curriculum', Routledge
• Shea, J., ‘Teaching English with ICT’, in Andrew Green, (2012) A Practical Guide to Teaching English in the Secondary Sector, Routledge

Contact Details

T: +44 (0)1234 793276
E: james.shea@beds.ac.uk
Room: J0.10b, Bedford campus