William Gray

Assistant Professor

School: Communities and Education

William is a primary school deputy headteacher and teacher educator with experience in the Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. He has been curriculum lead for maths, music, languages and PE and now leads on all teaching and learning in school. William's classroom was a good practice hub and hosted teachers and leaders from across the region.

William works over Northumbria's initial teacher education provision and is passionate about research in this area. His specialism is early mathematics and this forms the basis of his doctoral research.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Constructing Reality: Comparing Simulation Modalities in Initial Teacher Education, Fossey, R., Counihan, C., Nichol, D., Luke, C., Cole, M., Meller, S., Davies, J., Barker, L., Anderson, A., Hudson, K., Gray, W., Mulholland, K. 3 Jun 2026, In: Education Sciences
Back to basics: Pre-service teachers' experiences of ‘SimulatEd’, a suite of low-technology simulated-scenarios to promote preparedness for professional practice, Nichol, D., Mulholland, K., Counihan, C., Meller, S., Anderson, A., Luke, C., Gray, W. 1 Oct 2025, In: Teaching and Teacher Education
Stepping Stones: Adopting a fading programme design to promote teachers’ use of metacognitive strategies for mathematical problem-solving, Mulholland, K., Gray, W., Counihan, C., Nichol, D. 12 Jul 2025, In: Education Sciences
The use of simulation-based learning approaches in initial teacher education and teachers’ professional development – exploring the potential for learning and practice., Davies, J., Meller, S., Luke, C., Anderson, A., Nichol, D., Mulholland, K., Gray, W., Counihan, C. 26 Jun 2025, BERA Global Perspectives in Teacher Education
What does transformation in Higher Education research culture look like? Evidence from action research within a diverse post-1992 department, Mulholland, K., Robson, I., Nichol, D., Counihan, C., Gray, W., Luke, C., Meller, S., Anderson, A., Heslop, K., Davies, J., Graham, P., Johnson, S., Hwang, S., Chan, W., Johnson, E., Hudson, K., Haighton, C., Littlefair, D., Defeyter, M., Kellehear, A., Atkinson, J., Johnson, M. 26 Nov 2025, In: Routledge Open Research
‘The world is your oyster’: Mothers’ perspectives on the value and purpose of an independent Forest School provision, Friedman, S., Allin, L., Gray, W. 3 Jul 2024, In: Children's Geographies
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
Cognitive science in primary school: One school’s journey in applying research to practice, McDonald, P., Gray, W. Sep 2023
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

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: The use of simulation-based approaches for teacher education 2024
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 2023 2023

Qualifications