About

I have been employed at Sheffield Hallam since 2009, first as a teacher educator for the post 16 sector, and now as a module leader on the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in HE programme. I work with staff across the university on enhancing the quality of their teaching and learning, several of whom have gone on to be nominated as inspirational teachers by their students. I also teach on a Foundation Award and BA Hons in Education and Learning Support, working with Teaching Assistants from a range of educational settings.

My research interest is in inclusive practice in Higher Education and I am currently studying for my Doctorate in Education. I’ve also recently co-authored a book on creative teaching in HE (see Publications below).

Previous roles have included working as an independent maths education consultant and acting as Senior Lecturer in Numeracy Professional Development at London South Bank University. This was as a member of LLU+, a training and consultancy organisation specialising in Literacy, Language and Numeracy. 

This role followed several years as a teacher of mathematics/numeracy in further and adult education, including offender learning and family learning. Prior to moving into the adult education sector, I worked for local government and for a charity providing legal advice to refugees and asylum seekers.

Teaching

On the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in HE I teach across the whole programme. My particular interests are in the area of inclusion and critical curriculum analysis. One of my main research areas is the boundary between principles and practice, where academic practitioners experience tension between their teaching and learning ideals, on the one hand, and the constraints under which they are asked to work, on the other. How do people negotiate this space in their professional lives? I’m also interested in creative approaches to learning, teaching and research.

The Foundation Award in Education Learning Support on which I teach enables classroom teaching assistants to study for a full-time honours degree, after which they can progress to teacher training or further study. The intense nature of the provision requires a flexible approach to learning, and I am currently developing online and distance materials to support students.

Research

I am studying for a Doctorate in Education. My research area is ‘teacher belongingness’ in higher education and my supervisory team is Gill Adams and Mark Boylan. The topic of student feelings of belonging at university is well-documented in relation to retention and engagement, but the role of the university teacher is less well-researched. Between pressures to provide evidence of ‘research excellence’ on the one hand and ‘teaching excellence’ on the other, how do practitioners experience identity, belongingness and space in their professional environments? My approach is that of creative and narrative enquiry with the aim of enabling HE teaching staff to tell their stories of belongingness in relation to their professional journeys.

Publications

Ashton, S. and Stone, R. (2018) An A to Z of Creative Teaching in Higher Education. London: Sage

Knowles, J. and Stone, R. (2014) Teaching maths for medical needs: A working partnership between teachers and healthcare professionals to support children and young people with type 1 diabetes with concepts of ratio. Proceedings – 21st International Conference of Adult Learning Mathematics. Bern: University of Bern and ALM

Kelly, B., Moulton, R. and Stone, R. (2014) Teaching Everyday Maths and Finance through Open Online Learning: Some Critical Perspectives. Proceedings - 20th International Conference of Adult Learning Mathematics. Newport: University of South Wales and ALM

Griffith, G. and Stone, R. (Eds) (2013) Teaching Adult Numeracy: Principles and Practice. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill - Open University Press

Stone, R. (2010) I, robot. Freewill and the role of the maths teacher (who decides how we teach?). Proceedings - 16th International Conference of ALM. London: London South Bank University and ALM

Stone, R. (2010). Mathematics (numeracy) subject knowledge. In: Griffiths, G., Sunderland, H. and Sutter, J. (Eds): The teacher educator’s handbook: a guide for literacy, numeracy and ESOL teacher educators. Online: LSIS

Chanda, N., Griffiths, G. and Stone, R. (2007) Integrating Formative and Diagnostic Assessment Techniques into Teachers’ Routine Practice in Adult Numeracy. London: UCL IoE, NRDC

Other activities

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and am currently working towards Senior Fellowship.

I am also a member of the Higher Education Research Group and the Professional Lives and Learning Research Group at Sheffield Hallam.