The annual South East Research Network for Schools (SERNS) Research and Practice Meeting took place at Royal Holloway, University of London on 6th July, 2018.
The event brought together over 50 teachers, psychologists, educational specialists, and researchers to discuss recent research relating to children’s learning and education. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to advance the impact of research on educational practice and to further develop collaborations between schools and researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Some feedback from our 2018 delegates:
“This is excellent CPD and a model for professional dialogue between teachers and researchers”
“A very enjoyable and thought-provoking day. Thank you!”
“It has been excellent, this is my second year and I will definitely come back next year. It helps to meet with other professionals as well as learning from current research. Thank you”
“Very informative and extremely helpful”
“So interesting and varied, thank you all!”
Research Talks
During this full day of talks and workshops, key topics discussed included reading and vocabulary, multisensory learning, the role of sleep in learning, and social media.
Talks were given by (click link for slides):
Dr Jessie Ricketts – Interplay between vocabulary and reading in children and adolescents
Professor Kathy Rastle – Should morphology be taught alongside phonics in initial reading instruction?
Dr Hannah Broadbent – Multisensory learning in primary school
Dr Jakke Tamminen – The impact of sleep in learning
Dr Dawn Watling – Children and adolescents’ use of social media
Workshops
PhD student Beatrice Hayes and Postdoctoral researcher Dr Sanne Van der Kleij also co-facilitated two stimulating afternoon workshops on ‘promoting vocabulary knowledge’ and ‘promoting children and young people’s safe social media use’.
You can read a summary of the vocabulary learning workshop here.
You can read a summary of the social media workshop here.
The day also included a poster session that showcased some of our recent departmental PhD research findings.