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Katie Shaw

  • Lecturer in EAP and Academic Skills on the Home and International Foundation Programmes.
  • Foundation Year Assistant Programme Director: assisting with aspects of management, administration and development of the International and Home Foundation Programmes.
  • ISLI Diversity & Inclusion Co-Champion: signposting and promoting to the School the range of diversity and inclusion initiatives with which the University is engaged.

Areas of interest

I am interested in students’ experience of the transition to Higher Education, and how to better support this. In particular, I am interested in the experience of students from Widening Participation backgrounds and of international students.

My scholarship primarily focuses on applied research from the fields of Social Psychology, Learning Development, Linguistics and Academic Writing. I have conducted small-scale projects implementing research findings into my teaching practice with the aim of improving the academic success and student experience.

Background

I have held teaching and leadership roles on English for Academic Purposes and Academic Skills courses in UK HE since 2007. I worked for a few years at the University of Southampton and the Arts Institute at Bournemouth, before moving to Royal Holloway, University of London for over a decade, and joining the University of Reading in January 2024. Before this, I taught English as a Foreign Language in Japan, Brazil and the UK.

At different times in my career, I have specialised in supporting international students, students from Widening Participation backgrounds, and students on Science degree programmes. I have previously taught at Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught levels, and now work with students undertaking a Foundation year.

Academic qualifications

  • MSc Applied Social Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
  • MA English Language teaching, University of Southampton
  • PGCE Further Education, University of Cardiff
  • Cambridge CELTA
  • BSc (Hons) Biology, University of Sussex

Professional bodies/affiliations

  • Member of BALEAP (Global Forum for EAP Professionals)
  • Member of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE)
  • Reviewer for the Journal of Academic Writing

Conference Papers and Presentations

InForm Conference 2024, University of Leeds: Barriers to engagement of Widening Participation and international students during the transition to university study

BALEAP biennial conference 2015, University of Leicester: Saving a sinking ship: how a Pre-sessional was redesigned to weather any storm (co-presented with Victoria Collins, Royal Holloway, University of London)

Publications

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