Dr Kirstin Mulholland

Assistant Professor

Department: Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing

Before taking an academic post at Northumbria University, Kirstin was a class teacher, senior leader, and Specialist Leader of Education in primary schools in the North East for more than 13 years. Kirstin is currently the Initial Teacher Education subject lead for English, as well as Languages. She is a module leader for the Educational Research and Enquiry strand of the BA Primary Education programme, and also leads a module on Northumbria's interdisciplinary Professional Doctorate programme in Health, Education and Society.

Alongside her role at Northumbria, Kirstin is a Senior Associate for the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), co-leading a national project to explore school leaders' use of research evidence. As part of this work, Kirstin has co-authored a number of tools and resources to support research evidence literacy, including the EEF's (2024) 'Using Research Evidence: A Concise Guide'.

Kirstin collaborates closely with a number of regional and national organisations, including the Maths Hub Network and Research Schools Network. Kirstin is an invited member of the Royal Society's Advisory Committee for Mathematics Education: Primary and Early Years, a national Research and Innovation Lead for the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCETM), and a school governor for a local primary school.

Kirstin completed her MEd and EdD at the University of Newcastle, and also holds an MLitt in Latin American Literature. She has a particular interest in innovative approaches for professional development, including simulation-based approaches; teacher research; perceptions and experiences of teaching and learning; and the role of student voice in developing pedagogy.

Kirstin is the chair of the National Simulation Network, a group of academics collaborating to promote simulation-based approaches for Initial Teacher Education and teacher professional learning.

Email Kirstin

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Kirstin's principal interests include:

evidence use in education
professional learning, including simulation-based approaches
teacher research, and participatory research with teachers, students and children
perceptions of teaching and learning, and the impacts of these upon self-concept, motivation and learning outcomes
the development of metacognition through peer collaboration and talk

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Using Research Evidence: A Concise Guide, Mulholland, K. 10 Jan 2024
Virtual reality check: A realist evaluation protocol for exploring the use of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) to support pre-service teachers’ understanding of approaches to behaviour management, Woodley, H., Mulholland, K., Nichol, D., Counihan, C., Luke, C., Gray, W., Meller, S., Herridge, D., Anderson, A., Ross, J. 1 Feb 2024, In: Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching
But what does it look like? The importance of exemplifying research in practice, Aubin, G., Green, S., James, F., Kettlewell, J., Mulholland, K., Pritchard, B. 2 Feb 2023, In: Impact: Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching
“How was it for you?” The impacts of student-staff partnerships in developing online teaching and learning, Nichol, D., Mulholland, K., Anderson, A., Taylor, S., Davies, J. 21 Oct 2023, In: Journal of Further and Higher Education
‘It feels like you’re going back to the beginning…’: addressing imposter feelings in early career academics through the creation of communities of practice, Mulholland, K., Nichol, D., Gillespie, A. 2 Jan 2023, In: Journal of Further and Higher Education
Staff perceptions on implementing interprofessional education for undergraduate students in health, social work and education, Harper, L., Luke, C., Mulholland, K., Callum, J., Nichol, D., Herridge, D., Gray, W., Anderson, A., McGill, F., Davies, J. 28 Nov 2023, In: Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching
Supporting professional development in primary mathematics: Applying the EEF guidance report, Gray, W., Mulholland, K. 31 Jan 2023, In: Impact: Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching
"The Bits of the Job Beyond Teaching": Can simulation-based learning in Initial Teacher Education better prepare students for real-life as a teacher?  , Mulholland, K., Nichol, D., Herridge, D., Anderson, A., Luke, C., Gray, W., Meller, S., Counihan, C. 13 Sep 2023
Using simulation in a primary education context to encourage student engagement and professional learning, Gray, W., Luke, C., Meller, S., Mulholland, K., Herridge, D., Anderson, A., Nichol, D. 14 Apr 2023, European Teacher Education Network (ETEN) Annual Conference
Welcome Matviy: Working in staff–student partnerships to develop simulation-based learning to support teachers’ understanding of EAL, Luke, C., Counihan, C., Nichol, D., Meller, S., Mulholland, K., Gray, W., Anderson, A., Herridge, D., Karikis, D., Sanderson, R., Collard, E., Hill, R. Sep 2023

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 2023 2023

Qualifications

Education EdD April 18 2016
Education MEd December 03 2009
Education PGCE June 30 2007
Latin American MLitt December 01 2005
Hispanic Studies BA (Hons) July 08 2003
National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics Accredited Professional Development Lead NCETM PD Lead 2018

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