David Nichol

Assistant Professor

Department: Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing

David Nichol is an Assistant Professor of Education at Northumbria University, UK, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research interests centre on academic identity development and the use of collaborative and co-constructivist pedagogies to enhance professional learning and preparedness for educational practice. His research focuses on designing and evaluating innovative approaches to improve educator confidence and preparedness in both school and higher education contexts, exploring the interplay between professional practice and pedagogies, with a particular focus on the structural conditions shaping the development of early career academics in higher education. In recognition of the impact of this work, David was awarded a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence in August 2024. David has also led programmes in the Post Compulsory Education and Training sector (PCET) academic development programmes.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
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. 3 Jun 2025, In: Teaching and Teacher Education
Key Concepts and Concerns of Teaching Sensitive Topics and Subjects, McGovern, W., McGovern, R., Nichol, D. 5 Feb 2024, Developing and Implementing Teaching in Sensitive Subject and Topic Areas, Leeds, Emerald Publishing
Using Simulation as an innovative pedagogy to reduce Impostor Phenomenon amongst early career academics, Cole, S., Cole, M., Counihan, C., Gibson, M., Mulholland, K., Nichol, D. 2 Dec 2024, International Federation of National Teaching Fellows (IFNTF) Conference and Symposium
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
“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
"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