Ian Kinchin
Assistant Director of KLI (International)
Senior Lecturer in Higher Education
Contact
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7848 3987
Email: ian.kinchin@kcl.ac.uk
Room 5.16, Waterloo Bridge Wing,
Franklin-Wilkins Building,
Waterloo Road,
London, SE1 9NN
Biography
Dr Ian Kinchin is a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education within King's Learning Institute. Ian taught science in a variety of secondary schools before becoming an Initial Teacher Training tutor at Surrey University and then Brunel University. Ian holds a BSc and MPhil in zoology and a PhD in science education. His current research interests are focused on the applications of concept mapping to improve the quality of teaching and learning as part of an authentic pedagogy for Higher Education, and as a tool to initiate dialogue between teacher and student. Ian has published research in zoology and in science education.
Ian is on the editorial board of Journal of Biological Education. He is an advisory member for the series of International Concept Mapping Conferences (Pamplona, Spain 2004; San Jose, Costa Rica 2006; Helsinki, Finland / Tallinn, Estonia 2008), and is a member of the Executive of the European Learning Styles Information Network (ELSIN).
Ian teaches on the Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (GCAP), the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) and Masters in Clinical Pedagogy (MA Clin Ped) programmes. Ian is also a PhD supervisor.
School Liaison
Teaching Approach
My background in the life sciences (eg. Kinchin, 1994) has clearly coloured my perspective on teaching and has also provided me with various biological analogies to help me make sense of educational theory (eg. Kinchin, 2000). This has been supported through long-term collaborations with colleagues who have similar developmental trajectories from science backgrounds; particularly Dr David Hay (King's Learning Institute) over the past decade with whom I share a background in biological sciences, and, as my interests have developed towards clinical teaching, with Dr Lyndon Cabot (King's Dental Institute). These collaborations have been facilitated through the use of concept mapping techniques, which also have a provenance in science education (Novak, 1998).
When considering the development of teaching at university, I am mindful of the view of learning expressed by Keiny (2002: 208):
'to learn is to participate in and contribute to the evolution of communal practice'
For me this statement encapsulates many of the important points about effective teaching. For students to participate within their chosen academic discipline, they have to be engaged, active learners with a voice that is seen as making a valid contribution to the community as a whole.
Whilst change is often difficult to facilitate in the world of Higher Education, I am heartened by the frank biographies of others who describe their transitions from concerns about their own understanding of subject content, towards an interest in the development of their students' understanding of disciplinary ways of thinking. For example, van Heerden's admission that her appreciation of how chemists think evolved because of her interactions with students (van Heerden, 2005), and Michael's appraisal of academic's different attitudes to teaching and research; reaching the conclusion that 'we need to teach the way we do research' (Michael, 2001).
There is sufficient evidence to show that teaching quality can be improved through the careful consideration of practiceand a move away from the medieval transmission of facts which ultimately debilitates learners, towards a situation in which students learn with their teachers through dialogue (eg. Lujan and DiCarlo, 2006). For this reason I am continually fascinated by my work with colleagues to develop university pedagogy, with the aim of giving the next generation of students the best possible deal.
References:
Keiny, S. (2002) Ecological thinking: A new approach to educational change. Lanham, NY: University Press of America
Kinchin, I.M. (1994) The Biology of Tardigrades. London: Portland Press
Kinchin, I.M. (2000) From 'ecologist' to 'conceptual ecologist': The utility of the conceptual ecology anaology for teachers of biology. Journal of Biological Education, 34 (4): 178-183
Lujan, H.L and DiCarlo, S.E. (2006) Too much teaching, not enough learning: what is the solution? Advances in Physiology Education, 25 (3): 145-158.
Michael, J. (2001) The Claude Bernard distinguished lecturer: In pursuit of meaninful learning. Advances in Physiology Education, 25(3): 145-158.
Novak, J.D. (1998) Learning, creating and using knowledge: Concept maps as facilitative tools in schools and corporations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
van Heerden, A. (2005) Articulating the cognitive processes at the heart of chemistry. In Riordan, T. and Roth, J. (Eds.) Disciplines as frameworks for student learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
Research - King's Research Profile
Over the past ten years, I have been using concept mapping as a tool to initiate dialogue about teaching and learning. I have published several papers on learning using concept maps with my colleague in KLI, Dr David Hay.
My current research interests are in the application of knowledge structures on to teaching, learning and academic development as revealed through the qualitative analysis of concept maps generated by teachers and students. Within this work, I have developed a dual-processing model of professional expertise (in collaboration with Dr Lyndon Cabot from the King's Dental Institute) that we are currently using to produce materials for the support of the expert student (= one who recognises the existence and complementary purposes of different knowledge structures, and seeks to integrate them in the application of practice). This work aims to tackle the educational status quo in which I have described traditional universities as ‘centres of non-learning’. Much of My research is currently in collaboration with the Dental Institute at King’s College and also with colleagues in various bio-science and clinical disciplines.
I have published over 100 papers in the fields of Zoology, Science Education and Academic Development.
Publications - Full publications (pdf, 82KB)
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Kinchin. I.M. (2011) Visualizing knowledge structures in biology: discipline, curriculum and student understanding. Journal of Biological Education, 45(4): 176 - 182
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Kinchin, I.M., Cabot, L.B., Woolford, M. and Kobus, M. (2011) Threshold concepts in dental education. European Journal of Dental Education, 15(4): 210 - 215
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Kinchin, I.M. (2011) Relating knowledge structures to learning styles and university teaching, in: Rayner, S. and Cools, E. (Eds.) Style differences in cognition, learning, and management, London, Routledge, pp. 129 - 142.
Presentations - Full presentations (pdf, 28KB)
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Kinchin, I.M., Cabot, L.B., Woolford, M. & Kobus, M. (2010) Do threshold concepts transcend learning styles?, 15th Annual Conference of the European Learning Styles Information Network (ELSIN), 28– 30 June, University of Aveiro, Portugal.
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Kinchin, I.M. (2008) Excluding the novice: the real price of reading bullet points in lectures, Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Conference, 9-11 December, The Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool.
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Kinchin, I.M. (2008) Keynote presentation: The qualitative analysis of concept maps: some unforeseen outcomes and emerging opportunities, 3rd Concept Mapping Conference (CMC) September, Tallin, Estonia/Helsinki, Finland.