Teaching Fellow
Education Colin Bell Building, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA
Ashley teaches on the Initial Teacher Education programme within the Faculty of Social Sciences. She contributes to a range of modules across the Education undergraduate programme and is Adviser of Studies to students working towards a BSc Hons in Environmental Geography and Professional Education (Secondary). Prior to taking up a post at Stirling University, Ashley taught Geography for eleven years. As a Faculty Head, she was involved in a number of development initiatives relating to fieldwork, Curriculum for Excellence and Assessment is for Learning. In 2005 she took up a Lecturer position at the University of Strathclyde where she had responsibility for the PGDE(S) Geography course.
Ashley's research interests are linked to her practice. She completed a Master of Education with Distinction in 2007. Her thesis explored probationer and mentor teachers' perceptions of the value of the university based element of the Geography PGDE(S) course in relation to their probationary year. Early professional learning and student voice were themes within this research.
Ashley's research interests include school geography, curriculum making, outdoor learning and curriculum change. She successfully completed her Doctor of Education in 2021. Her Doctorate responded to a research gap; exploring outdoor learning and curriculum making challenges within the Secondary school context across two time periods 2011 and 2019. Her thesis presented an opportunity to better understand local and temporal factors shaping these practices. A practice architecture lens revealed five types of outdoor learning. Outdoor learning was recognized as: malleable, shaped by contexts and individuals, peripheral, potentially powerful as a pedagogy of affect and integral for some young people.
Making Sense of Place: supporting schools to develop geocache trails for place-responsive science education
PI: Professor Gregory Mannion
Funded by: The Primary Science Teaching Trust
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Article
Place-responsive pedagogy: learning from teachers' experiences of excursions in nature
Mannion G, Fenwick A & Lynch J (2013) Place-responsive pedagogy: learning from teachers' experiences of excursions in nature. Environmental Education Research, 19 (6), pp. 792-809. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2012.749980
Article
Swimming against the tide: A case study of an integrated social studies department
Fenwick A, Minty S & Priestley M (2013) Swimming against the tide: A case study of an integrated social studies department. Curriculum Journal, 24 (3), pp. 454-474. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2013.805658
Research Report
Teaching in Nature: A Research Briefing: Summary Findings
Mannion G, Fenwick A, Nugent C & I'Anson J (2011) Teaching in Nature: A Research Briefing: Summary Findings. School of Education. Research Briefing from the School of Education, University of Stirling, 4. School of Education.
Research Report
Teachers' and Pupils' Views on the Proposed Redevelopment of Lochwinnoch RSPB Centre & Reserve
Mannion G, Fenwick A & Minty S (2011) Teachers' and Pupils' Views on the Proposed Redevelopment of Lochwinnoch RSPB Centre & Reserve. Mannion G (Editor), Fenwick A (Editor) & Minty S (Editor). The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Article
The First Three Years: Experiences of Early Career Teachers
Fenwick A (2011) The First Three Years: Experiences of Early Career Teachers. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 17 (3), pp. 325-343. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2011.554707
Book Chapter
Early Career Scopttish Geography Teachers’ Perceptions of Education for Sustainable Development
Fenwick A & Munro R (2010) Early Career Scopttish Geography Teachers’ Perceptions of Education for Sustainable Development. In: Wisely T, Barr I, Britton A & King B (eds.) Education in a Global Space: Emerging Research and Practice in Initial Teacher Education. Edinburgh: Scottish Development Education Centre.
Article
The impact of disrupted and disjointed early professional development on beginning teachers
Fenwick A & Weir D (2010) The impact of disrupted and disjointed early professional development on beginning teachers. Teacher Development, 14 (4), pp. 501-517. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2010.533491
Article
The informal learning of new teachers in school
McNally J, Blake A & Fenwick A (2009) The informal learning of new teachers in school. Journal of Workplace Learning, 21 (4), pp. 322-333. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665620910954210
I teach across a broad range of modules on the Undergraduate Secondary Education Programme. I currently coordinate a third year interdisciplinary module 'Developing Pedagogy Across the Curriculum' and a fourth year module 'Developing as a a Reflective Practitioner'.
