Public Policy and Professional Practice

I began at Keele University in 2006, as Subject Leader for ITE and SKE ICT.  Prior to this I worked at Liverpool Hope University, as Associate Director of Secondary PGCE Programmes and Subject Leader for PGCE ICT.  Before that I taught in schools for 11 years, mainly secondary but primary too.  I taught ICT, IT, Computer Science, Business Studies and was a Head of a successful ICT and Business Studies Department for 5 years.

I became Director of PGCE at Keele in May 2009 until August 2011.  In September 2012 I resumed as ITE ICT Subject Leader alongside the role of Director of Student Experience.  In January 2013 I became Director of Subject Knowledge Enhancement Provision and ITE  & SKE Computer Studies and ICT Subject Leader.

I am on a number of national and regional ITE committees. I am Vice Chair of the Association for IT in Teacher Education (ITTE).  I have been on a number of groups advising government on the future of ICT/Computing in schools and teacher education, including the British Computer Society & Royal Society of Engineering groups drafting a proposed new Programme of Study. I have been a Governor for 7 years and Chair of Governors for 5 years at a Primary School.

My current research interests are in the quality assurance of Initial Teacher Education, the improvement of ICT teaching in secondary schools and the uses of Technology to promote Creativity in Learning and Teaching.

• Co-author: UCET/NASBITT (2012) Working with the Teachers’ Standards in Initial Teacher Education, Guidance to support assessment for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
   
• Co–author: British Computer Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, (2012),  Draft ICT Programme of study Nov 30, 2012. http://academy.bcs.org/content/draft-ict-programme-study
   
• Co-author: British Computer Society and Royal Academy of Engineering (2012), Draft ICT Programme of Study Guidance notes , Nov 2012  http://academy.bcs.org/content/draft-ict-programme-study
   
• CONNELL, A., EDWARDS, A AND HAMMOND, M. (2007) , An Exemplification of the revised standards for qualified teacher status in ICT – a support and discussion document for new and exiting trainers of secondary ICT teacher in England,  ICT New Tutors, More Information.

• CONNELL, A and EDWARDS, A (2009), Creativity and ICT – Guidance and discussion document for ICT ITE tutors, ICT New Tutors, More Information . 
   
• KENNEWELL, S., CONNELL, A., EDWARDS, A., HAMMOND, M.,& WICKENS, C. (Eds) (2007) A Practical Guide to Teaching ICT in the Secondary School,  (Routlege, Oxon, UK).
   
• MATTINSON, K. and CONNELL, A (2009), The use of exemplification materials and descriptors to embed the 2007 revised standards for qualified teacher status (QTS) and to challenge trainee teachers to go beyond ‘satisfactory’.  An analysis of feedback over the first year (2007-8), in: Jackson, A, (2009),  Innovations and Development in Initial Teacher Education (The Higher Education Academy, Bristol, UK), pp 7-22.

Postgraduate/Professional Graduate Certificate in Education:

• PGCE ICT
• Educational and Professional Studies

Subject Knowledge Enhancement Courses (for potential teachers)

• 36 week/18 unit - EDU-30063 Subject Knowledge and Understanding within a Practice Context
• one unit ICT
• EDU – 10032 Constructivist Learning in ICT
• Student Associate Scheme
• Student Taster Days (Teaching)