Our People
Dr Judith Hillier
Fellow, Official Fellow
Associate Professor of Science Education (Physics)
Department of Education
PhD (Leeds), MSci (St Andrews), PGCE (Oxford)
judith.hillier@kellogg.ox.ac.uk
After completing her PhD in condensed matter physics from the University of Leeds and the Institut Laue Langevin, Grenoble, Judith studied on the Oxford PGCE programme, as a student at Kellogg, and then taught for several years in an Oxfordshire comprehensive school, becoming Key Stage 3 Co-ordinator. Judith now leads the science PGCE programme and also teaches on the Masters in Learning and Teaching and the Masters in Teacher Education. She runs the Teaching Physics in Schools option for 2nd year Physics undergraduates and is also a founding member of the Oxfordshire Schools Physics Partnership, sponsored by the Ogden Trust (see Physics Education 48(3) 271-273).
Judith’s research interests lie in pre-service science teacher education: the development of knowledge and professional practice in beginning science teachers, particularly in classroom explanations, and the factors influencing the recruitment and retention of physics teachers in the teaching profession. She has recently completed a report for the Education Endowment Foundation and the Royal Society reviewing current evidence of promising educational approaches that are likely to improve the attainment and progression of low-SES students in science education. Judith is an Editor of Research in Science and Technological Education, and is on the Editorial Board of Physics Education. She currently edits an updated edition of the Association for Science Education’s Guide for Secondary Science Education, and is editing a book Nurturing the Rich Learning and Teaching of Science, due to be published with Springer in 2018.
“I have fond memories of my time as a Kellogg student; in fact two of the friends I made at Matriculation later became the godparents of my elder child. When I returned to academia, I was delighted to also return to Kellogg as a Fellow, and am currently enjoying my time as Vice-President.”