معرفی
Dr Joanne Nicholl serves as Lecturer in Secondary Initial Teacher Education (Science) at University College London's Faculty of Education and Society, within the Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment department. She concurrently holds leadership roles as Academic Head of Learning and Teaching for CPA and Programme Leader for the MA Education (Science) programme since 2015.
Her academic qualifications include:
- PGCE Secondary Science - QTS from University College London
- PhD research focused on human-animal relationships in Biology Education
Dr Nicholl's research pioneers empathy-centered science pedagogy, examining children's connections with nonhuman animals through place-based education and bioethics frameworks. Her work advocates for integrating environmental ethics into biology curricula to foster intrinsic valuation of multispecies ecosystems, with particular emphasis on informal learning environments like zoos and museums where her doctoral research was conducted.
Analysis of her 2017-2024 publications reveals consistent methodological innovation in socioscientific issue teaching and object-based learning. Her scholarship strategically bridges formal classroom settings with museum and zoo contexts to address environmental controversies, demonstrating how controversy mapping techniques and physical specimen engagement enhance student ethical reasoning about topics like bovine tuberculosis and evolutionary biology.
As an educator, Dr Nicholl mentors across multiple tiers: leading MA Education (Science) cohorts, training PGCE/School Direct science teachers, and supervising Bioscience undergraduate research projects. Her teaching philosophy centers on developing pedagogies that connect students to local environments while building scientific literacy through real-world controversies.
She maintains active research partnerships with the Grant Museum of Zoology and BIAZA-affiliated zoological institutions, positioning these informal learning spaces as critical laboratories for developing environmentally responsive science education. Within UCL, she drives curriculum innovation through her CPA department leadership while collaborating extensively with the Bioscience department.
