Dr Ralph Levinson

  • Qualifications and position:
    • Senior Lecturer in Education
  • Faculty:
    • Faculty of Children and Learning
  • Department:
    • Department of Geography, Enterprise, Mathematics and Science
  • Summary:
    • Having taught science in London comprehensive schools for 10 years I moved into higher education where my interests are teaching controversial issues, teaching and researching the support of pre-service teachers, researching the teaching of risk and enhancing the relationship in schools between science and the arts.
  • Teaching:
    • • PGCE Science
      • MA in Science Education (course leader)
      • Supervision of PhD students
  • Research Projects:
    • • Pratt, D. and Levinson, R. (co-directors) Risk and the mathematical modelling of socio-scientific issues (The Wellcome Trust, £265,000);
      • Levinson, R., Hand ,M. and Amos, R. Research Study of Perspectives on Science (POS) (University of York, £17,000, project leader)
  • Postgraduate Research:
    • Research interests:
      My current research programme is in theorising and devising a pedagogy of risk, specifically in relation to socio-scientific issues. My broader research interests are in the learning and teaching of socio-scientific issues; supporting reflection and explaining in science pre-service teachers; links between science education and the arts; learning chemistry and online learning.

      Doctoral Research students:
      • Sandra Campbell - Role of reflection in pre-service science teachers
      • Angela Hall - How do ICT tutorials affect students' ways of experiencing phenomena and developing understanding in advanced level biology?
      • Edward Mifsud - Visual Impact of wildlife dioramas on primary school children as expressed in drawing and conversation.
      • Jo Flynn
  • Professional Activities:
    • • I am on the editorial boards of International Journal of Science Education, Reflecting Education, Alexandria and Pesquisa em educacao ambiental/Research in Environmental Education.
      • I regularly review for the following academic journals:
      Science Education, Science & Education, International Journal of Science Education, Teachers & Teaching Education, Journal of Moral Education.
      • I was a member of The Wellcome Trust Pulse awards and Arts Awards panel for 7 years, a member of the DfES Citizenship through Science steering group, I have given oral and written evidence to the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee (2002) and given many presentations to policy-making groups on citizenship and science and teaching controversial issues. I have also appeared many times on television and the radio on educational matters. I have run many professional development courses in Brazil, in the National Science Learning Centre (York), The Science Museum, University of York, King's College London, Nuffield Curriculum Centre and in schools.
  • Conferences/presentations:
    • • 'The Educational Process in the 21st Century: Facts and Challenges', Conference at An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine (October 17th/18th 2009; funded by The British Council)
      • Launch of Genetics and Citizens, Highwire, Shoreditch (2005)
      • PAL, guest speaker (2004)
      • CITizEd conference, Citizenship and Science Education, Manchester (November 2004)
      • BioLive conference, Hamilton, New Zealand (July 2003; funded by The British Council)
      • Journal of Biological Education sponsored Keynote speaker, ASE, Birmingham (January 2003)
      • Valuable Lessons: Stakeholder Conference, Royal College of Pathologists, London (December 2001)
      • SPSG Presentation on Valuable Lessons, House of Commons, 2001
      • Congresso Brasileiro de Qualidade na Educacao, Brasilia, Brazil (October 2001, invited and funded by Brazilian Ministry of Education)
      • Latin American IOSTE conference, Sao Paulo, Brazil (January 2000)
  • Personal Country Knowledge:
    • Brazil and New Zealand
  • Languages Spoken:
    • French (basic)
  • Languages Written:
    • French (basic)
      Portuguese (basic)
Dr Ralph Levinson

Contact details

Contact details

  • Email:

  • Address:
  • Department of Geography, Enterprise, Mathematics and Science
    Institute of Education University of London
    20 Bedford Way
    London
    WC1H 0AL

  • Office Location:
  • Room 912a
    20 Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL

Publications

  • Pratt, D., Ainley, J., Kent, P., Levinson, R., Yogui, C. And Kapadia, R. (2011) 'Informal inferential reasoning as a contextualised risk-based enterprise', accepted for publication in Mathematical Thinking and Learning
  • Hand, M. and Levinson, R. (2011) 'Discussing controversial issues in the classroom: some helps and hindrances', accepted for publication in Educational Philosophy and Theory
  • Levinson, R. (2011) 'Science Education from people for people book review', in Studies in Science Education 47(1), 107-114.
  • Levinson, R. (2010) 'Science education and democratic participation: an uneasy congruence?', in Studies in Science Education 46 (1), 85 – 99.
  • Frost, J. and Levinson, R. (2010) 'Beyond qualified teacher status, in Frost, J.(ed.)', Learning to Teach Science in the Secondary School, 3rd edition London: Routledge, pp 285 – 290.
  • Levinson, R, (2010) 'Planning for progression in science, in Frost, J.(ed)', in Learning to Teach Science in the Secondary School, 3rd edition London: Routledge, pp 118 – 130.
  • Levinson, R. (2010) How Science Works: teaching controversial issues in R Toplis. Routledge.
  • Levinson, R. (2009) 'The manufacture of aluminium and the rubbish-pickers of Rio: building interlocking narratives', in School Science Review 90(333) , 119-124.
  • Levinson, R. and Neumann, T. (2008) 'Designing a mixed mode Masters module in Science Education to support shared construction of knowledge and critical reflection', Reflecting Education 4(1), 92-102.
  • Levinson, R. (2008) 'Promoting the role of the personal narrative in teaching', Science & Education 17(8-9), 855 - 871.
  • All publications