Profile

Shirley Larkin
My CV
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Education:
Edge End High School; Goldsmiths University of London; Kings’ College, London
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Qualifications:
BA Hons English Literature; BSc Hons Psychology; Cert Ed;, Learning and Teaching in HE; PhD
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Work History:
I worked in the arts, publishing and film industry before becoming an academic in 1999. Since then I have worked at the University of Greenwich, London and since 2004 at University of Exeter
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Current Job:
Senior Lecturer
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
supportive, curious, optimistic
What did you want to be after you left school?
Vet
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not really only for talking too much
Who is your favourite singer or band?
David Bowie
What's your favourite food?
Tomatoes
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To not suffer migraines, To be very wealthy, To buy my son and his partner a recording studio
Tell us a joke.
What happens to a frog's car when it breaks down? It gets toad away.
What topics do you work on?
Metacognition and metacognitive learning environments particularly in primary education but also across all ages and lifelong learning
What methods do you use?
Mixed methods, interpretivist research, personal construct psychology, phenomenology, experimental research
Who was your favourite teacher?
Two: Miss Holland when I was 7 she allowed me to write stories in free time and Prof. Philip Adey, my PhD supervisor who was an inspiration and sadly missed.
Me and my work
I work as a Senior Lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter, UK. Most of my work is with International Doctoral students, but I also teach a little on the MSc research methods programme and give guest lectures and sessions on metacognition and self regulated learning for MA students. I also work with trainee Ed Psych students who will qualify to work as Educational Psychologists in schools.
Typical day
A typical day is at the computer reading and commenting on draft chapters of doctoral and masters theses. This is often interspersed with supervision meetings with doctoral students to discuss their research; meetings with colleagues and working on my own research. My teaching tends to be in a block in the Autumn term. So on a teaching day I would teach a 3 hour session once a week for 3-4 weeks. When not doing the above I also mark across a number of different programmes, although I may not have taught on them or I might be dealing with any issues relating to plagiarism and academic misconduct, as I am Academic Misconduct Officer. This also includes supporting staff with understanding the issues and University regulations.
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My Comments