Dr John Jessel

John is the Head of the MPhil/PhD Programme in the Department of Educational Studies and also works on the MA and PGCE Secondary Programmes.

John has taught science at secondary level as well as at primary level and has written and produced programmes for BBC Schools. His research activities have focused on the social and cognitive processes that underlie children’s learning and development, both inside and outside the school setting and within the context of the use of digital technologies. He has initiated a series of funded projects involving detailed observation of the talking and writing that occurs among individuals or groups engaged in collaborative activities around the computer. This has led to the development of strategies for encouraging children to review and redraft their written work at an ideational level. More recently, John has been investigating learning that arises intergenerationally between children and their grandparents in and around the home setting and is currently examining literacy learning in activities where children participate at home and in faith settings. John is also interested in the practices that lead to the effective use of new technologies within institutions and where existing curricula can be both enhanced and transformed.