Education Training 

Education Research

I am fascinated by recent research into the psychology and cognitive science of learning, especially where this can be translated into practially useful advice for the science communication community. As observed by Eric Jensen and others, there is a disconnect between the science communication sector and the (increasingly useful) evidence-base. Practitioners often train each other, creating an echo chamber for dated edu-myths.

I am co-chair of the International Planetarium Society’s (IPS) Education Committee, and first author of the committee’s August 2023 White Paper “The Value of the Planetarium in Education”. I write articles for the Committee’s column in IPS Magazine The Planetarian, including a piece about popular misconceptions about learning. Before stepping up to this role I also wrote a quarterly column focussing on astronomy misconceptions. (These articles are available from my publications page).

I offer Education Research training both in person and online - see below for a short video example.

Professional Development

Training can be delivered in-person or via Zoom, to introduce science communication practitioners to the world of Education Research.

“It was very well put together, backed by thorough research and pitched at a perfect level. The talk contained a lot of new ideas to me, but Jenny made it accessible and easy to follow. I certainly learnt a lot, and know that many other attendees feel the same.” - Lee Pullen, Planetarium Manager, At-Bristol / We The Curious science centre.

Sessions are adapted to the needs of individual audiences, making use of evidence-based presentation techniques for maximum impact. Information is contextualised within science communciation practice, with opportunity for participants to identify and discuss potential applications within their own projects.

Working Memory is a bottleneck to learning.

Working Memory is a bottleneck to learning.

Example topics include:

  1. An introduction to the world of Education Research, and how to get started in your own explorations.

  2. Defining learning outcomes, types of knowledge, and types of memory.

  3. Cognitive Load theory, with practical tips for how to navigate the working-memory bottleneck.

  4. Long-term Memory: encoding, forgetting, and retrieval. Practical tips to help learners remember and recall.

  5. A variety of other practical tips for use of evidence-based strategies to support learners.

  6. Misconceptions: why they are so sticky, and why teaching the ‘right’ answer isn’t enough. Evidence-based debunking strategies.

  7. Educational Myths: including Learning Styles, the Learning Pyramid, Self-judged Learning, and the myth that Google has freed us from the need to remember anything.

  8. A list of useful/accessible links and references for further reading.

“It was very grounded and well articulated from your experience. You covered pretty complex topics with approachable examples.” - Julieta Aguilera Rodríguez, Visualisation Academic.

“Dr Shipway's talk gave a fascinating insight into the origins of misconceptions and the challenges and opportunities in tackling them. I very much look forward to working the ideas she shared into my presentations to help ensure the students get the very most out of their learning opportunities in the dome.” - Simon Ould, Space Odyssey mobile planetarium.

I have delivered Education Research talks/training for Science Centre teams, at international conferences, within wider science communication training programmes (see AstroBoost), for the Great Lakes Planetarium Assocation, and as a two-day course for a UK Research Council’s public engagement team.

I very much enjoy talking about these topics; I believe there is huge potential for increasing educational impact across multiple projects with relatively little investment of time.

General Science-Communication Training

I have developed and delivered training events for a variety of science communicator individuals and groups, including as part of my role at Winchester Science Centre. External training has covering topics including risk assessment, evaluation, gender awareness, Covid preparedness, and presentation skills. I have produced science communication training documentation for projects including AstroBoost and ASDC's national programmes Destination Space 2 and Secret World of Gases.