Dr Jonathan William Firth

Senior Teaching Fellow

Education

Contact

Personal statement

I am a Senior Teaching Fellow at Strathclyde’s Institute of Education. The main focus of my teaching, scholarship and research is the application of cognitive psychology to education. I lead the BA Joint Honours Education Studies at the Institute, teach across several other courses, carry out research, and supervise students.

Prior to working at Strathclyde I gained experience of school teaching and adult education, including more than 15 years as a secondary school teacher. I also write textbooks and books for teachers, most recently ‘Metacognition and Study Skills’ (David Fulton Books, 2024). 

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Area of Expertise

Research: I have carried out several review studies, including a systematic review and meta-analysis of interleaving as a learning strategy (Firth, Rivers & Boyle, 2021), as well as conducting field experiments and writing theoretical papers.

Course design: I led a team which created an in-service teacher education programme for Crescent School in Pakistan, covering all aspects of teaching practice. I have also designed and refreshed university modules at the institute.

CPD: I have given many talks on the psychology of education, and led workshops and training days for teachers on such issues as creativity, memory strategies, debunking educational myths, and supporting teacher research engagement.

Science communication: I co-lead and write for the Strathclyde Institute of Education's blog, and also write a weekly newsletter on memory and metacognition for educators . 

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Publications

Metacognition and Study Skills : A Guide for Teachers
Firth Jonathan
(2024)
Metacognitive tools for writing
Firth Jonathan William
Teaching Hacks Fixing Everyday Classroom Issues with Metacognition (2024) (2024)
What Teachers Need to Know About Memory
Firth Jonathan, Riazat Nasima
(2024)
A metacognitive approach to developing creativity
Badger Claire, Firth Jonathan William
19 (2023)
Interleaving
Firth Jonathan William
The researchED Guide to Cognitive Science An Evidence-informed Guide for Teachers (2023) (2023)
Ethics in psychology teaching
Firth Jonathan
Learning to Teach Psychology in the Secondary School A Companion to School Experience (2022) (2022)
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003162223

More publications

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Research Interests

My research interests focus on the psychology of memory and metacognition as it applies to learning, as well as learning theories, higher-order skills, assessment, and teachers' professional learning. Applications of these interests include teaching strategies, educational interventions for critical thinking, approaches to teacher education, and professional engagement in evidence-based practice.

Professional Activities

Metacognitive illusions
Speaker
13/10/2024
Supporting students to become self-regulated learners.
Speaker
3/6/2024
Getting started with metacognition in your classroom
Speaker
11/5/2024
Praise motivates pupils - but it tails off as they get older
Recipient
7/5/2024
The natural order of things
Speaker
20/11/2023
Metacognitive illusions: When learners misunderstand learning
Speaker
19/11/2023

More professional activities

Projects

Columba 1400 Senior Leadership Academy for Police Scotland
Sosu, Edward (Principal Investigator) Firth, Jonathan William (Principal Investigator) Wilson, Claire (Co-investigator) Chen, Yueling (Post Grad Student)
01-Sep-2023 - 31-Jul-2024
Columba 1400 Head Teachers’ Leadership Academy: A Retrospective Evaluation Study
Sosu, Edward (Principal Investigator) Firth, Jonathan William (Co-investigator) Wilson, Claire (Co-investigator) Chen, Yueling (Post Grad Student) Liu, Jia (Post Grad Student)
01-Aug-2022 - 29-Feb-2024
Columba 1400 Head Teachers’ Leadership Academy: A Retrospective Evaluation Study
Wilson, Claire (Principal Investigator) Sosu, Edward (Co-investigator) Firth, Jonathan William (Co-investigator) Chen, Yueling (Post Grad Student)
01-Aug-2022 - 29-Feb-2024
Columba 1400 Head Teachers’ Leadership Academy: An Evaluation Study
Sosu, Edward (Principal Investigator) Firth, Jonathan William (Co-investigator) Wilson, Claire (Co-investigator)
01-Aug-2022 - 31-Jul-2024
The role and perceived effectiveness of approaches adopted by Into Headship students at a Scottish university to support the wellbeing of the school community during and in the aftermath of the pandemic and the perceived efficacy of the course in preparing them to meet these challenges
Mowat, Joan (Principal Investigator) Beck, Anna (Co-investigator) Firth, Jonathan William (Co-investigator)
01-Apr-2022 - 30-Sep-2024
An investigation into the factors in teacher burnout
Firth, Jonathan William (Principal Investigator)
The focus of this research collaboration is to better understand factors that cause teachers stress, and which motivate them to remain in or leave the profession.
Funding awarded: £2002
01-Jan-2022 - 30-Sep-2022

More projects

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Contact

Dr Jonathan William Firth
Senior Teaching Fellow
Education

Email: jonathan.firth@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 444 8069