Department of Education

Alison Cullinane

Departmental Lecturer in Science Education

College Affiliation: St Antony's College

Alison is a Departmental Lecturer in Science Education. Her research interests include teacher education, nature of science, practical science and assessment.

After completing her undergraduate in Science Education at the University of Limerick, she taught in Ireland before returning to complete her Masters in Science Education and her PhD in Science Education. Her PhD research examined the development of pre-service teachers’ understanding of the Nature of Science. While at the University of Limerick, she held the position of Project Officer in Biological Sciences at EPI-STEM (formally the NCE-MSTL), the national STEM Education centre. One of the main aspects of her work was to contribute to the development of evidence-based research and programmes of innovation in science teaching and learning. She also collaborated on projects with other partners, such as work carried out with Discover Sensors and the Mallow Project. She has several years of experience teaching in science education lecturing positions across a number of institutions in Ireland and now the UK. In these roles, she taught on science and science education courses to national and international students.

She arrived at the department in 2018, where she was the post-doctoral researcher for Project Calibrate – a project developing high-stakes assessment questions of practical science for GCSE. She is currently still involved this research.

  • Subjects Taught

    MSc in Learning and Teaching

    PGCE - Science

Publications:

  • Book chapters

    • CULLINANE, A, Ioannidou, O, ERDURAN, S (2021) “Brandon’s Matrix: a view on scientific methods in biology classrooms”, In: TJJ McCloughlin (ed.) The Nature of Science in Biology: A Resource for Educators. Dublin, Ireland: Graphikon Teo. 146-161

    • Erduran, S, Kaya, E, Cullinane, A, Imren, O, Kaya, S (2020) “Practical Learning Resources and Teacher Education Strategies for understanding Nature of Science”, In: Science: Philosophy, History and Education. 377-397
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57239-6_21

    • CULLINANE, A, ERDURAN, S, Wooding, SJ (2019) “Assessment of practical chemistry in England: an analysis of scientific methods assessed in high-stakes examinations”, In: M Schultz, S Schmid, GA Lawrie (eds.) Research and Practice in Chemistry Education Advances from the 25th IUPAC International Conference on Chemistry Education 2018. Singapore: Springer. 135-148
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6998-8

    • CULLINANE, A, O' Dwyer, A (2019) “Lesson Resources and Teaching Strategies on Argumentation for Secondary Chemistry Education”, In: S ERDURAN (ed.) Argumentation in Chemistry Education: Research, Policy and Practice. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry. 62-78
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1039/9781788012645-00062

    • ERDURAN, S, CULLINANE, A, Wooding, S (2019) “Assessment of practical chemistry in England: An analysis of methods assessed in high stakes examinations”, In: Research and Practice in Chemistry Education Advances from the 25th IUPAC International Conference on Chemistry Education 2018. Springer.

  • Journal articles

    • Cullinane, A, McGregor, D, Frodsham, S, Hillier, J, Guilfoyle, L (2022) “Transforming a doctoral summer school to an online experience: a response to the COVID‐19 pandemic”, British Journal of Educational Technology.
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13195

    • PUTTICK, S, CULLINANE, A (2021) “Towards the nature of geography for geography education: an exploratory account, learning from work on the nature of science”, Journal of Geography in Higher Education.
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2021.1903844

    • Erduran, S, El Masri, Y, Cullinane, A, Ng, YPD (2020) “Assessment of practical science in high stakes examinations: a qualitative analysis of high performing English-speaking countries”, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION.
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1769876

    • Cullinane, A, Erduran, S, Wooding, SJ (2019) “Investigating the diversity of scientific methods in high-stakes chemistry examinations in England”, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION. 41(16) 2201-2217.
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2019.1666216

    • Cullinane, A, Liston, M (2016) “Review of the Leaving Certificate biology examination papers (1999–2008) using Bloom’s taxonomy – an investigation of the cognitive demands of the examination”, Irish Educational Studies. 35(3) 249-267.
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2016.1192480

    • CULLINANE, A, ERDURAN, S, EL MASRI, Y, Lim-Ng, D “Assessment of practical science in high stakes examinations: a qualitative analysis of high performing English-speaking countries”, International Journal of Science Education.
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1769876

    • Caramaschi, M, CULLINANE, A, ERDURAN, S, Levrini, O “Mapping the nature of science in the Italian physics curriculum: from missing links to opportunities for reform”, International Journal of Science Education.
      DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2021.2017061

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