Newcastle University

Introduction

Sue is Head of the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, and a member of the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT). Her current research focuses on the internationalization of higher education and its implications for innovative teaching and learning methods, curriculum development, staff development and student support. Sue convenes a Regional University Internationalization Network and the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Research Group within CfLAT. She is co-author (with Yvonne Turner) of Internationalizing the University: an introduction for university teachers and managers, 2008, Continuum Press. She is advisor to a Teacher Training Programme for Burmese Teachers. From 2009-2011 Sue was Co-Director of the North East Regional Centre for LINKS into Languages. She now coordinates the Network for Languages North East.

 Background

Sue taught in secondary schools and special education services for 13 years before joining the Special Educational Needs Research Group at Newcastle University in 1995. Sue taught in the Centre for International Studies in Education, University of Newcastle from 1997-2002, and became Director of the Centre in 2001. When the University restructured in 2002 Sue became a Lecturer in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences and Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes. She has designed, developed and taught on postgraduate professional programmes for teachers in Newcastle and Hong Kong. Sue became Head of the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences in 2007.

Roles and Responsibilities

Sue was a member of Senate 2008-2011. She is currently a member of the University Internationalization Executive Group and the Recognising and Rewarding Teaching Steering Group. Sue's role as Head of School involves strategic management of the school, chairing the School Management Group and being a member of the School Research Committee and HASS Faculty Executive Board. Sue also represents Newcastle University on the University Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) Council.
She currently teaches on postgraduate professional development (PPD) programmes in Education and Chairs the Board of Examiners for PPD programmes. Sue supervises research into innovative learning and teaching and the internationalization of higher education. She leads a team from CfLAT who deliver the EQUATE (Equal Acclaim for Teaching Excellence) research and development programme for teaching champions across the University.

Papers:

Turner Y, Robson S. 2008. Internationalizing the University. London: Continuum.

Turner Y, Robson S. 2009. Conceptions of Internationalisation and their Implications for Academic Engagement and Institutional Action: A Preliminary Case Study. Chapter 1 in: Coverdale-Jones, T., Rastall, P, ed. Internationalizing the University: the Chinese context. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.13-32.

Robson S. ‘Internationalization: a transformative agenda for higher education?’. Teachers and teaching: theory and practice in press, Jan. 2012.

Turner Y, Robson S. 2007.Competitive and cooperative impulses to internationalization: reflecting on the interplay between management intentions and the experience of academics in a British university. Education, Knowledge & Economy, 1(1), 65-82.

Robson S, Leat D, Wall K, Lofthouse R. Feedback or feed forward? Supporting international students through effective assessment to enhance future learning. Innovations in Education & Teaching International submitted, 2011.

Robson S, Turner Y. 2007. 'Teaching is a co-learning experience': Academics reflecting on learning and teaching in an 'internationalized' faculty. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(1), 41-54.

Robson S, Kanyanta BS. 2007. Moving towards inclusive education policies and practices? Basic education for AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children in Zambia. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(4), 417-430.

Robson S. 2006  Frameworks for Thinking: supporting successful thinking and learning. Transylvanian Journal of Psychology 2, supplement 1, 77-89.

Zhao S, Robson S, Lin M. (Eds). 2006 Teaching thinking: theories and practice in China. Tianjin: Tianjin Science and Technology Translation Publisher.

Robson S, Bonnici M. 2005. Promoting Learner Independence in EFL schools in Malta. The International Journal of Learning, 12(5), 271-284.

Robson S, Sylvester KB. 2007. Orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia: The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education for children at risk. Educational Research, 49(3), 259-272.

Robson S, Lin M. 2002. Teacher Change and Student Autonomy: Thinking Skills Interventions and Young People with Disabilities in China. The International Journal of Learning, 9(1), 447-459.

Clark C, Dyson A, Millward A, Robson S. 1999 Theories of inclusion, theories of schools: Deconstructing and reconstructing the 'inclusive school'. British Educational Research Journal, 25(2), 157-177.

 Keynotes and invited talks:

2011 Keynote on Recognizing, supporting and rewarding innovative teaching in the internationalized university at  the Teaching International Students’ Conference, 17 June 2011, HEA/CICIN/CAPRI, University of Warwick

2010  Keynote on  Academic Development for Internationalization. INCONSYM Conference, Symbiosis University, Pune, India.  Oct. 14-15 2010

2009  Invited paper: Internationalizing the curriculum. Durham: A World University Conference, 7 December,  2009.

2009  Invited paper and panel member Internationalising the curriculum. QS Apple Conference, Kuala Lumpur, 25 November 2009.

2009 Keynote and Symposium facilitator LEADING INTERNATIONALISATION  IN  HIGHER EDUCATION: NEW TRAJECTORIES AND FUTURE PARTNERSHIPS.  Monash  University Strategic Initiatives Symposium, Monash Sunway Campus, Malaysia. 22-24 November 2009.

2008 Keynote, Rethinking the Needs of International Students at the ESRC-sponsored seminar series Critical Perspectives on the Internationalisation of UK Higher Education, 16 December 2008, University of Birmingham.

2008 Keynote on Making the international local and regional at the Monash Educate 08 Conference, Monash University, Melbourne, 6-10 October. 

Previous Positions

Director of the Centre for International Studies in Education, University of Newcastle,2001-2
Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes in SECLS, 2002-4 and 2006-7.
HASS Faculty Teaching Fellow for Internationalization, 2004-2006

Memberships

British Educational Research Association

European Educational Research Association Network 22 (Higher Education) 

Teaching Champion for the Teaching International Students Project, HEA.

Visiting Fellow, Centre for Academic Practice and Research in Internationalisation of Higher Education, Leeds Metropolitan University 

The Network for Languages http://networkforlanguages5.moonfruit.com

Research Interests

Sue's current research interests include:
 the internationalization of higher education; Sue's research has explored academic perceptions of the impact of internationalization on professional lives, the student experience, the curriculum, and on learning and teaching. Sue convenes a regional internationalization university network and is a member of Newcastle University’s Internationalization Executive Group
 teaching and assessing for successful learning in higher education. Sue is a member of the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching at Newcastle University. She has developed and evaluated professional development programmes for teachers in Syria, China and the UK and currently leads a team from CfLAT in delivering the EquATE programme - (Equal acclaim for teaching excellence an innovative teaching and learning development programme for university colleagues. She was a member of the research team that reviewed frameworks for effective thinking for the Learning and Skills Research Council (Moseley et al, 2004). Sue co-authored (with Turner) a book on Internationalizing the University, which was published by Continuum in 2008.

Other Expertise

From 2002-2004 Sue held a fellowship for internationalization in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Current Work

Internationalization of Higher Education. Recent research papers have explored the impact of internationalization on staff and student communities in HE and identified support needs for effective internationalization. Successful bids for innovation funding from the University of Newcastle over several years have enabled Sue to initiate a regional network with colleagues from higher education institutions to develop collaborative research and share innovative policies and practices; to develop a programme of intercultural events for students; to investigate international students' perceptions of feedback and to consider how feedback can inform students future work.  Sue was a member of the FDTL 5 Project Team 'Developing formative assessment using ICTs in education'.

Recent Conference papers

2011 Jackson, E,. Huddart, T., Robson, S. Staff Perceptions of Internationalisation Australian International Education Conference, Adelaide Convention Centre, Australia, 11-14 October 2011

Robson, S. Leat, D., Lofthouse, R. Feedback or feed forward? Supporting international postgraduate students through effective assessment to enhance future learning. ‘Teaching International Students’ Conference, 17 June 2011, HEA/CICIN/CAPRI, University of Warwick 

2010 Robson, S., Wall, K.m Lofthouse, R., Wooler, P and Moore, U.Symposium on Developing theorised practice: an enquiry-based approach to professional learning across the sectors. European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning (EAPRIL) Conference, Lisbon, 24-26 November 2010.  

2010 Robson, S., Hsieh, H. Responsible internationalization: challenges for Higher Education. ECER Helsinki, 23-27 August 2010 

2010 Robson, S., Wall, K., Lofthouse, R. Raising the esteem of educational research and practice knowledge in a Russell Group university. Higher Education Close-up 5 conference, Lancaster, July 2010.

Future Research

Internationalization of Higher Education
Inclusive Education

Research Roles

2010-2011 UTLC Innovation Project Feedback or Feedforward: international students

Co-Principal Investigator with Lin, British Council China Studies Grant 2001-2004
Project Team for Post-16 Thinking Skills Taxonomies, U of Newcastle, 2002-3 led by Moseley D, funded by LSDA

Postgraduate Supervision

Sue is currently supervising research students Nan Lung, researching reading and writing for critical thinking in the Burmese context; Hsieh, Hui Hua, researching internationalisation in HE; Dearbhaile McMahon, developing a new methodological framework to support a person-centred approach to teaching and learning in higher education; John Miller, researching the establishment of a collaborative institutional link between a British and international institution; Abdullah Alkarni, researching head teachers'  development needs in Saudi Arabia; Victoria Rafferty, researching international student support needs; Haifa Al-Nofaie, researching Implementing thinking skills strategies: EFL Learners' voices in the classroom.

Esteem Indicators

Keynotes and invited talks:

2011 Keynote on Recognizing, supporting and rewarding innovative teaching in the internationalized university at  the Teaching International Students’ Conference, 17 June 2011, HEA/CICIN/CAPRI, University of Warwick 

2010 Robson, S.  Keynote:  Academic Development for internationalization. INCONSYM Conference, Symbiosis University, Pune, India.  Oct. 14-15 2010

2009 Robson, S. Invited paper: Internationalizing the curriculum. Durham: A World University Conference, 7 December,  2009.

2009 Robson, S. Invited paper and panel member Internationalising the curriculum. QS Apple Conference, Kuala Lumpur, 25 November 2009.

2009 Keynote and Symposium facilitator LEADING INTERNATIONALISATION  IN  HIGHER EDUCATION: NEW TRAJECTORIES AND FUTURE PARTNERSHIPS.  Monash  University Strategic Initiatives Symposium, Monash Sunway Campus, Malaysia. 22-24 November 2009.

2008 Keynote, ESRC-sponsored seminar series entitled Rethinking the Needs of International Students:  Critical Perspectives on the Internationalisation of UK Higher Education’16 December 2008.  The series was run jointly by the Universities of Birmingham, Bath and Nottingham.

2008 Keynote Making the international local and regional at the Monash Educate 08 Conference, Melbourne, 6-10 October  Sue is honorary adviser to the Teacher Training for Burmese Teachers Programme, a programme is funded by Prospect Burma.

2005 Invited paper: Conference on Inclusive and Cognitive Learning Enhancement in Schools, Charles University, Prague, October 30-November 1, 2005.

2002  Keynote at the launch Conference and advisor to the Innovative Learning Project, Chongqing, China, UNESCO, 2002-2007.

2002 Invited presentation: Helping Students with Special Needs to become Better Thinkers  EDEX Education & National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN) Conference, Cardiff.

2002 Invited presentation  Helping Students with Special Needs to become Better Thinkers. EDEX North West Education Conference (NWEC 2002), Bolton.

2001 Invited paper: Baptist University Hong Kong Thinking Qualities Initiative Conference June 2001 Thinking Skills and Teacher Pedagogy

Recommendations made in the following paper have been included in the Government of the Republic of Zambia's recent launched national document:The Fifth National Development Strategic Plan (2006-2015). Robson S and & Kanyanta B S (2007) Orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia: the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education, International Journal of Inclusive Education.

2007 External Examiner for PhD student in Education, Durham, 2007.

2007 Invited Teaching Fellow, Charles University of Prague, Faculty of Education, Department of Pedagogical and School Psychology 8-12 May 2007.

2006 Selection of my case study on Internationalisation Initiatives in HASS Faculty for publication on the HEA national website.

2006 British Council China Study Grant Project, achieved national recognition in China in the 10th 5 Year Plan.

Funding

University Teaching and Learning Funds (£60k, 2009-10; £50k, 2010-2011) to develop and deliver the EQUATE programme.

University of Newcastle Innovation Funding 2009-10 (£15k) to investigate international student perceptions of feedback

British Council China Study Grants 2000-2004 (£14k)

University of Newcastle Innovation Funding 2005 to establish a Regional University Internationalization Network.

Postgraduate Teaching

HASS Postgraduate Skills Enhancement Programme

IPhd, EdD and MEd programmes

• Turner Y, Robson S. Internationalizing the University. London: Continuum, 2008.
• Pattison S, Robson S. Internationalization of British universities: Learning from the experiences of international counseling students. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling 2012. In Press.
• Turner Y, Robson S. Conceptions of Internationalisation and their Implications for Academic Engagement and Institutional Action: A Preliminary Case Study. In: Coverdale-Jones, T., Rastall, P, ed. Internationalizing the University: the Chinese context. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, pp.13-32.
• Clark C, Dyson A, Millward A, Robson S. Theories of inclusion, theories of schools: Deconstructing and reconstructing the 'inclusive school'. British Educational Research Journal 1999, 25(2), 157-177.
• Turner Y, Robson S. Competitive and cooperative impulses to internationalization: reflecting on the interplay between management intentions and the experience of academics in a British university. Education, Knowledge & Economy 2007, 1(1), 65-82.
• Robson S, Leat D, Wall K, Lofthouse R. Feedback or feed forward? Supporting Master’s students through effective assessment to enhance future learning. In: Ryan, J, ed. Cross Cultural Teaching and Learning for Home and International Students: Internationalisation of Pedagogy and Curriculum in Higher Education. London: Routledge, 2012. In Press.
• Robson S, Turner Y. 'Teaching is a co-learning experience': Academics reflecting on learning and teaching in an 'internationalized' faculty. Teaching in Higher Education 2007, 12(1), 41-54.
• Robson S, Kanyanta BS. Moving towards inclusive education policies and practices? Basic education for AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children in Zambia. International Journal of Inclusive Education 2007, 11(4), 417-430.
• Robson S. Frameworks for Thinking: supporting successful thinking and learning. Transylvanian Journal of Psychology 2006,special issue 2, supplement 1 77-89.
• Zhao S, Robson S, Lin M. Teaching thinking: theories and practice in China. Tianjin: Tianjin Science and Technology Translation Publisher, 2006.
• Robson S, Bonnici M. Promoting Learner Independence in EFL schools in Malta. The International Journal of Learning 2005, 12(5), 271-284.
• Robson S, Sylvester KB. Orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia: The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education for children at risk. Educational Research 2007, 49(3), 259-272.
• Robson S, Lin M. Teacher Change and Student Autonomy: Thinking Skills Interventions and Young People with Disabilities in China. The International Journal of Learning 2002, 9(1), 447-459.
• Jackson E, Robson S, Huddart T. Staff and student perceptions of internationalisation. Occasional Papers in Education and Lifelong Learning 2012, 6 (1-2). Submitted.
• Robson S. Internationalization: a transformative agenda for higher education?. Teachers and Teaching 2011, 17(6), 619-630.
• Robson S, Wall K, Lofthouse R. Raising the esteem of educational research and practice knowledge in a Russell Group University. Higher Education Research and Development 2011. Submitted.
• Turner Y, Robson S. Internationalizing the university: an introduction for university teachers and managers. Continuum, 2008.