Miles Smith

Associate Dean of Education

Primary Education BA (Hons) Programme Lead

School of Education

01752636700 Ext:6513

msmith@marjon.ac.uk

Role Summary

Miles is Associate Dean in the School of Education, and Programme Lead for Primary Education BA (Hons).

At the university, Miles is invovled in various activities that sit outside his programme and school responsibilities. He is an academic representative (from the the School of Education) on Plymouth Marjon Ethics Panel, a member of PIF (Pedagogic Innovation Forum), and CAPE (Context, Agency, Place and Education) Knowledge & Exchange Group, and he is also a member of the Athena Swan working group.

Miles has extensive experience working in diverse sectors of education, including within English Language Teaching and also within the Primary Sector. Currently, as well as his academic role at the university, Miles is undertaking his PhD, in the area of co-constructed research with children and historical education.

Tweets by Miles Smith

Programme leader

Qualifications

Miles is currently undertaking his PhD in the area of historical education (February 2021-present)
Fellowship of Advance HE
MA (Hons) English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, King’s College, University of London
QTS, Norfolk & Suffolk Initial Teacher Training
cTESOL, Oxford House College, Barcelona
BA (Hons) History, University of Warwick

Teaching

Miles leads and teaches on our Primary Education BA. As an educator with more than twenty years experience in the education sector, Miles has considerable experience of working with a wide range of learners, ranging from very young learners, through to adults in higher education.

In his current role, Miles leads and teaches on a wide range of modules. On our Primary Education BA programme, this includes Educational Themes and Concepts, Educational Research and the Education Project. Miles has particular interest in curriculum studies, the value of History within children's learning, qualitative research methodologies and critical, emancipatory perspectives on learning and teaching.

Miles' pedagogy is student-focussed. He believes that learning should be active, experiential and personalised, and that learning tasks should be meaningful and purposeful. As much as possible, he seeks to engage students in practical, community-based activities and learning experiences.

Research

Miles is currently undertaking his PhD through Plymouth Marjon University and the University of Chichester. He is looking at the value and purpose that children attribute to their learning experience, specifically within the area of historical learning.

This research invovles children as co-researchers, engaging in the design of research methods to explore their experience of learning history.

Publications

Bonet, P. & Smith, M. (2022) An enquiry into children's political consciousness through Roleplay Learning. Research in Teacher Education, 12(1).

Smith, M. & Clark, J. (2023). A collaborative mathematical project between school and university. Primary Mathematics, 27(1), 11-23.

Smith, M. (2023). Working with your supervisor. In J. Gourd (Ed.), Educational Research for Early Childhood Studies Projects: A Step-by-Step Guide for Student Practitioners (pp. 17-29). Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Educational-Research-for-Early-Childhood-Studies-Projects-A-Step-by-Step/Gourd/p/book/9780367367169

Expert Membership of professional bodies

Fellowship of Advance HE
Member of Historical Association
Member of HEIRNET (History Educators International Research Network)
Member of HTEN (History Teachers Education Network) Primary
Member of Open University Press Editorial Advisory Board
BERA History Special Interest Group - Co-Convener