Teachers and researchers

Collaboration between teachers and university researchers can be challenging yet highly rewarding. In this article we discuss the experiences of science and maths teachers and higher education researchers who are part of the Targeted Initiative on Science and Mathematics Education (TISME), a research programme funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in collaboration with the Institute of Physics, Gatsby and the Association for Science Education.

We found that the benefits and learning derived by participating teachers and researchers were extensive – not only did they lead to improvements in pupils’ engagement and achievement in science and mathematics, but also contributed to teachers’ wider professional learning. Researchers also benefited from working closely with teachers, prompting them to consider how they can make their research more relevant and accessible to practitioners.