Kerry Jane Knox

After completing undergraduate and doctoral degrees in the physical sciences, and conducting postdoctoral research in chemistry, I moved into educational research and innovation through a position as a Science Teaching and Learning Fellow with the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the University of British Columbia. In 2015 I joined the Department of Education at the University of York as a Lecturer in Science Education and have since been promoted to Senior Lecturer.

I teach in the areas of science education, learning, teaching, curriculum and assessment, and supervise disseration research at undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels.

In academic citizenship, within the University I have led on the implementation of significant institutional initiatives to improve undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and learning, an area in which I gained significant experience through my previous position with the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative. I am currently a supervisor for fellow academics completing the University of York Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. I contribute on a national level through activities to further education in aerosol science and through mentoring activities.

I am currently Research Centre Leader for the University of York Science Education Group.

My research interests are in science education and tertiary education, with a focus on the development of research abilities, teamwork pedagogies, and cohort-based, interdisciplinary doctoral training in the sciences and engineering disciplines. Recent work has involved translating the model for institutional change of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative to doctoral education, and carrying out some of the first studies of the efficacy of research-based instructional strategies in the doctoral classroom.

I am the Science Education Specialist with the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Aerosol Science (2019-27), supporting the Centre to implement innovative research-based instructional strategies for doctoral education and to evaluate their impact.

PhD supervision

• Ngozi Nora Ishiekwene (2023-present) The academic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on assessment in post-16 biology education.
• Dominic McArdle (2020-present) The role of selective attention in critical analysis (with Dr. Lynda Dunlop).
• Rosy Lyon (2020-present) Learning to use primary scientific literature in higher and further education.
• Lewu Jiang (2019-present; studies paused) Team-Based Learning in doctoral education.
• Wejdan Almutawa (2018-present) Implementing Digital Storytelling for Second Language Acquisition in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Dr. Hatice Herdili Sahin (2017-2022) The design of visual arts education curriculum policies and teacher interpretation: the interface between curriculum provision and the implementation process (with Dr. Sarah Olive).