Debby Cotton

Teaching interests
Specialist teaching areas include:

Pedagogic Research - especially action research, qualitative methods and writing for publication
Teaching-research nexus - links between teaching and research; developing undergraduate research
Research Management - ethical issues; peer review; quality and impact of research; managing a research team
Education for Sustainable Development - sustainability pedagogies; teaching controversial issues; informal learning and the hidden curriculum

University Teaching Fellow, 2009, 2010

Current PhD Students:
Ciaran O'Sullivan - Faculty of Education 
Derek Dodd - Faculty of Education
Sally Abey - Faculty of Health

 

Research interests

My key interests are around pedagogic research (teaching and learning in higher education), primarily in the following areas:

• Sustainability and Pedagogy in Higher Education - I am interested in lecturers' and students' beliefs about and understandings of sustainability, and the ways in which sustainability is taught and learnt in higher education. My current research is exploring students' energy literacy.
• Student use of Technology for learning - I have been involved in a number of projects looking at the role of online discussions in learning, and on students' use of learning and non-learning technologies (including Facebook, Twitter etc.)
• Experiential learning through Fieldwork - I have been involved in a project investigating the impact of prior preparation on 'novelty space' (the ability of students to adjust to a new environment and start learning).
• Widening Participation in Higher Education - I am currently involved in several projects investigating the experiences of non-traditional students in HE, including work onthe National Scholarship Programme and on Care Leavers in HE.

I also have a keen interest in the use of innovative research methodologies, including the use of the 'think aloud method', and using student-led video diaries in research. I am a member of the PedRIO steering group, and I support staff across the university who are undertaking pedagogic research. 

 

Grants & contracts

2004-5 LTSN Subject Centre for Health Sciences and Practice, funded research project: Using a think-aloud protocol to evaluate an on-line resource for nursing students (with Dr K Gresty, Faculty of Science) £4000

2006-8 Centre for Sustainable Futures (CSF), funded research project on Sustainable Development and Pedagogy in Higher Education (with Dr Ian Bailey, Mr Martin Warren and Ms Susie Bissell, School of Geography/ GEES)

2007-8 Experiential Learning CETL, funded research & development project: Development and Evaluation of an on-line resource to support fieldwork (with Dr P Cotton, School of Biology) £3000

2007-8 Internally funded research project investigating students’ use of technology for learning: Investigating the Student Experience of E-Learning. (with Mr Jon Yorke, Dr Jennie Winter and Ms Joan Gavin) £8500

2008-9 HEA Biosciences Centre funded research project (PI: Karen Gresty, School of Biology), Enhancing Final Year Projects: A Stakeholder Perspective. £9,000

2008-9 HEFCE-funded research project investigating the impact of the RiT initiative, and making recommendations for strategic development, The Research-informed Teaching Initiative: Impacts and Implications (with Dr Jennie Winter) £29,000

2009-10 HEFCE-funded research project, The Research-informed Teaching Initiative: The final year (with Dr Jennie Winter) £20,000

2009-10 Teaching Fellowship Award Scheme, funded research and development project: A sustainable campus? Students’ perspectives of informal learning about sustainability in UoP (with Mr Alan Dyer and Dr Jennie Winter) £5000

2009 Travel Grant: Trade Mission to Hong Kong. UK Trade and Investment/ ERDF. £600

2009-10 HEA CEBE-funded research and development project (With Dr Wei Pan and Mr Paul Murray), Developing a guide for integrating research-informed teaching into construction education, £6000

2010-11 Teaching Fellowship Award Scheme, funded research and development project: Enhancing intercultural participation in group work – towards a working model (with Mel Joyner & Rosemary George) £5000

2010-11 JISC/HEA-funded Open Educational Resources EDOR project (with Pauline Kneale and GEES Subject Centre) £20000

2011 PedRIO funded research project, The Gender and Ethnicity Attainment Gap: A Comparative Analysis (PI: Mel Joyner, Faculty of Health), £10000

2011-2012 PedRIO funded research project, Transformative learning for Sustainability in HE: Exploring diverse student experiences (with Jennie Winter and external colleagues) £17000

2011-2013 JISC-funded Digital Literacies Project. Strategic Approach to Dissemination of Digital Literacies for Enhancement (SADDLE) project (with external colleagues on behalf of the Heads of Educational Development Group (HEDG)) £10,000

2012-13 PedRIO funded project. Energy Literacy in Higher Education (with Prof Stephen Sterling, Dr Ian Bailey and Dr Jennie Winter) £16344

2012-13 Widening Participation-funded research and evaluation project: Meta-analysis of pilot programme evaluations against scheme aims and objectives (with Dr Jennie Winter) £8000

2012-13 Widening Participation-funded research project: Horizon-Scanning Report (with Prof Pauline Kneale and Ms Tricia Nash) £5000

2012-13 Widening Participation-funded research project: Longitudinal Study of the National Scholarship Programme (NSP) (with Prof Pauline Kneale and Ms Tricia Nash) £30,000

 

Publications

i) Peer-reviewed publications

Cotton, D.R.E and Alcock, I. (2012) Commitment to environmental sustainability in the UK student population. Studies in Higher Education. (Available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2011.627423)

Winter, J. and Cotton, D.R.E. (2012) Making the Hidden Curriculum Visible: Sustainability Literacy in Higher Education. Environmental Education Research 18 (6): 783-796 (Early edition available online at:http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13504622.2012.670207)

Cotton ,D.R.E., Winter, J. and Bailey, I. (2012) Researching the hidden curriculum: intentional and unintended messages. Journal of Geography in Higher Education. (Early edition available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03098265.2012.733684)

Ryan, A. & Cotton, D. (2013) Times of change: Shifting pedagogy and curricula for future sustainability in Sterling, S, Maxey, L and Luna, H. (Eds) The Sustainable University - Process and Prospects. Abingdon: Routledge.

Cotton, D.R.E., George, R. & Joyner, M. (in press) Interaction and influence in culturally-mixed groups. Innovations in Education and Teaching International.

Schofield, C., Cotton, D.R.E., Gresty, K., Kneale, P. and Winter, J. (in press) Higher Education Provision in a Crowded Marketplace. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. 35 (2), 204–216, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2013.775928

Abey, S., Lea, S., Callaghan, L., Shaw, S. & Cotton, D. (in press) The development of a questionnaire to assess practitioner capacity to engage in clinical education. Journal of HE and FE.

Pan, W., Murray, P., Cotton, D. & Garmston, H. (2012) Integrating Research-informed Teaching into Sustainable Construction Education. Journal for Education in the Built Environment. 7(1): 94-117

Cotton, D.R.E., Sterling, S., Neal, V. & Winter, J. (2012) Putting the 'S' into ED: Education for Sustainable Development in Educational Development. SEDA Special 31

Winter, J., Cotton, D. and Grant, V. (2012) Experiencing transformation: a student perspective. In Sustainable Development in Universities: New Horizons (Editor Walter Leal) Frankfurt: Peter Lang Scientific Publishers.

Winter, J.& Cotton, D.R.E. (2012) Sustainability pedagogies: What do they offer educational development? In Putting the 'S' into ED: Education for Sustainable Development in Educational Development. SEDA Special 31 (Editors: Cotton, D.R.E., Sterling, S., Neal, V. &Winter, J.)

Djordjevic, A. and Cotton, D.R.E. (2011) Communicating the Sustainability Message in Higher Education Institutions. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education12 (4): 381-394

Cotton, D.R.E, Stokes, A. & Cotton, P.A. (2010) Using observational methods to research the student experience. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 34 (3): 463-473 (Abstract here)

Winter, J., Cotton, D., Gavin, J. & Yorke, J. (2010) Effective e-learning? Multi-tasking, distractions and boundary management by graduate students in an online environment. ALT-J Research in Learning Technology. 18(1): 71-83 (Available at: http://plymouth.academia.edu/DebbyCotton/Papers/526998/Effective_e-learning_Multi-tasking_distractions_and_boundary_management_by_graduate_students_in_an_online_environment)

Cotton, D.R.E & Winter, J. (2010) 'It's not just bits of paper and light bulbs': A review of sustainability pedagogies and their potential for use in Higher Education. In Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice Across Higher Education.(Editors: Jones, P., Selby, D. & Sterling, S.)

Cotton,D. & Winter, J. (2010) The Challenge of Embedding Sustainability in the HE Curriculum. Bioscience Bulletin 29: 6

Cotton, D., Bailey, I., Warren, M. & Bissell, S. (2009) Revolutions and second-best solutions: Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education 34 (7): 719-733 (Abstract here)

Cotton, D.R.E & Cotton, P.A. (2009) Field Biology Experiences of Undergraduate Students: The impact of novelty space. Journal of Biological Education 43 (4): 54-59 (Abstract here)

Cotton, D.R.E.& Gresty, K.A. (2008) Barriers to students' engagement with educational technology: Insights from a think-aloud study. In New Educational Technology (Editor: Riko Kobayashi), Nova Publishers, NY. pp. 149-163

Cotton, D.R.E, Warren, M.F., Maiboroda, O. & Bailey, I. (2007) Sustainable Development, Higher Education and Pedagogy: A study of lecturers' beliefs and attitudes. Environmental Education Research 13(5): 579-597 (Abstract here)

Cotton, D.R.E. & Gresty, K.A. (2007) The rhetoric and reality ofe-learning: Using the think-aloud method to investigate student use of anonline resource. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 32(5): 583-600 (Abstract here)

Gray-Donald, J., Cotton, D., Warren, M., Bailey, I. & Kagawa, F.(2007) Researching Sustainability in Higher Education: From local to global. The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability 3 (5): 205-216

Carkett, R., Burkill, S., Cotton, D., Franklyn-Stokes, A., Hilsdon, J.& Rees, T. (2007) How will they ever learn? Educational Developments 8 (3): 9-12

Cotton, D.R.E. (2006) Implementing curriculum guidance on environmental education: the importance of teachers’ beliefs. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 38 (1): 67-83 (Abstracthere)

Cotton, D.R.E. (2006) Teaching controversial environmental issues: neutrality and balance in the reality of the classroom. Educational Research 48 (2): 223-241

Cotton, D.R.E. & Gresty, K.A. (2006) Reflecting on the think-aloud methodology for evaluating e-learning. British Journal of EducationalTechnology. 37 (1): 45-54 (Abstract here)

Cotton, D.R.E. (2006) Using an institutional audit to enhance the scholarship of learning and teaching: A UK case study. MountainRise 3(2).

Cotton, D.& Yorke, J. (2006) Analysing online discussions: What are students learning?in Who's learning? Whose Technology? (Editors: Markauskaite L, Goodyear P &Reimann P), Sydney University Press. Pages 163-171

Gresty,K.A. & Cotton, D.R.E. (2003) Supporting Biosciences in the nursing curriculum: development and evaluation of an online resource. Journal of Advanced Nursing 44 (4): 339-349 (Abstract here)

ii) Peer-reviewed conference papers:

Winter, J. and Cotton, D. (2013) Learning development and sustainability: what are the links and how are they communicated? Tenth Annual Conference of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education. 26-7 March. Plymouth University UK

Cotton, D., Winter,J. and Grant, V. (2012) Transformation, sustainability and HE.What's really going on? AASHE Conference.

Los Angeles, US. October 14-17, 2012,

Cotton, D. & Joyner, M. (2012)The Attainment Gap in Higher Education: using research to enhanceteaching and learning. The International Consortium of EducationalDevelopment (ICED). Bangkok, Thailand. 21-23 August 2012.

Cotton, D. and Winter, J. (2012) Transformative learning in sustainability: student and staff perspectives. The International Consortium of Educational Development (ICED). Bangkok, Thailand. 21-23 August 2012.

Winter,J. and Cotton, D. Embedding education for sustainability into academic practice.The International Consortium of Educational Development (ICED). Bangkok,Thailand. 21-23 August 2012.

Winter, J., Cotton, D. and Grant, V.(2012) Experiencing transformation in sustainability: A student perspective.The World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 5-6 June 2012.

Winter, J., Cotton, D., and Grant, V. (2012) Sustainability and Transformation: a student perspective. The Pedagogic Research Institute and Observatory (PedRIO) Conference. Plymouth University, UK.

Kneale, P., Cotton, D., Winter, J. and Lake, L. (2012) Changing 21st century teaching and learning: future proofing Plymouth University. The Pedagogic Research Institute and Observatory (PedRIO) Conference. Plymouth University UK.

Winter, J., Cotton, D., and Grant, V. (2012) Culture, transformative learning and sustainability in Higher Education. The Eighth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability, Vancouver, Canada

Cotton, D. and Winter, J. (2011) Researching the Hidden Curriculum: intentional and unintended messages. The Annual International Conference of the RGS-IGB. London.

Cotton, D. & Winter, J. (2011) Sustainability and Transformation: Linking formal and informal learning in higher education. World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC), Brisbane, Australia.

Pan, W., Murray, P. & Cotton, D. (2011) Drivers, Barriers and Strategies for implementing Research-informed Teaching: A case study of the Environmental Building Discipline. International Conference on Engineering Education (ICEE), Belfast, UK.

Cotton, D., Joyner, M. & George, R. (2011) Explorations of Gender and the Student Experience. Gender and Education Conference, Exeter,UK

Cotton, D. and Winter, J. (2010) Transformative learning and sustainability: The impact of the ‘hidden curriculum. Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE) Conference, Cardiff, Wales

Winter, J. & Cotton, D. (2010) Embedding Education for Sustainable Development in Academic Practice. International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) Conference, Liverpool, UK

Winter, J. & Cotton, D. (2010) What does the campus teach students about sustainability? Sustainability and informal learning in a UK university. American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Denver, US.

George, R., Cotton, D. and Joyner, M. (2010) Explorations of the BME student experience at a Regional University. Meeting thechallenge: Improving black and minority ethnic student success and attainment Conference, Coventry, UK.
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Winter,J. and Cotton, D. (2010) Enhancing staff scholarship through research informed teaching. International Consortium for Educational Development. Barcelona, Spain.

Winter,J. and Cotton, D. (2010) A sustainable campus? Students' perspectives of campus based sustainability in a UK case study. International Conference on Learning and Teaching, Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore.

Winter, J. & Cotton, D. (2009) The Impacts of Research Informed Teaching on Institutional Culture: A UK Case Study. International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) Conference,Bloomington, Indiana, US.

Winter, J. & Cotton, D. (2009) The research-teaching nexus in an era of mass higher education. Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE) Conference, Cardiff, Wales.

Cotton, D. & Winter, J. (2009) Sustainability Pedagogies: Prospects and Problems. HEA Conference, University of Manchester, UK.

Winter, J. & Cotton, D. (2009) Understanding Research Informed Teaching: Impacts and Implications of the TQEF Scheme. HEA Conference, University of Manchester, UK.

Winter, J. & Cotton, D. (2009) Digital distractions: Rethinking the benefits of multitasking in online environments. HEA Conference,University of Manchester, UK.

Cotton, D., Winter, J., Gavin, J. & Yorke, J. (2009) Boundary Management in E-learning: A student perspective. Association for Learning Technology Conference (ALT-C), University of Manchester, UK.

Winter, J., Cotton, D., Gavin, J. and Yorke, J. (2009) Multi-taskingand the development of e-learning: Just a distraction? PlymouthE-learning Conference, University of Plymouth, UK.

Cotton, D., Bissell, S., Bailey, I. & Warren, M. (2008) Sustainabilityin Higher Education: the search for a 'second best' solution. All ourFutures Conference, University of Plymouth, UK.

Gray-Donald, J., Bailey, I., Bissell, S., Cotton, D., Kagawa, F., Warren, M.& Maibouroda, O. (2007) Understandings, attitudes and experiencesof ESD: Results of Research at the University of Plymouth and an invitation toan international research project. Sustainability Conference, University ofMadras, Chennai, India.

Gavin, J., Yorke, J. & Cotton, D. (2007) Online asynchronous discussions: What are students learning? Higher Education Academy Annual Conference, Harrogate, UK.

Bissell, S., Cotton, D., Warren, M., Bailey, I. and Maibouroda, O. (2006) Transforming an Institution: Integrating Sustainable Development into Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (ISSOTL) Conference, Washington, US.

Cotton, D. and Yorke, J. (2006) Analysing online discussions: What are students learning? Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) Conference, Sydney, Australia.

Warren,M., Cotton,D., Maibouroda, O., Bailey, I. and Bissell, S. (2006) Embedding an Ethical Issue in the Curriculum: Lecturers and the Sustainabilty Agenda. 8^th European Conference on Higher Agricultural Education (ECHAE), Czech University ofAgriculture, Prague.

Warren, M., Kagawa, F., Cotton, D., Bailey, I., Maibouroda, O., and Bissell, S.(2006) Using research to inform institutional change. The VC's Learning and Teaching Conference, University of Plymouth, UK.

Cotton, D. & Gresty, K. (2005) Research in E-learning: How can it be improved? Higher Education Academy Annual Conference, Herriott-WattUniversity, Edinburgh, UK.

Gresty, K. & Cotton, D. (2005) Exploring students' experience of online learning using the think-aloud method. SRHE Conference, Edinburgh University, UK

iii) Other publications

Winter, J. & Cotton, D. The Research–Teaching Nexus: AVehicle for Enterprise? International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) Conference, Liverpool, UK (poster)

Cotton, D., George, R., and Joyner, M. (2010) Exploring the influence of the student experience on gender and ethnicity attainment gaps. Promoting Equity in Higher Education, Nottingham, January 27-28, 2010. (poster)

Winter, J., Cotton, D. and Dyer, A. (2010) A sustainable campus: students' perspectives of campus based learning. The Vice Chancellor's Teaching and Learning Conference. University of Plymouth. 30th June 2010.(poster)

Winter, J. & Cotton, D. (2009) An investigation of the impacts of the cross-university'research-informed teaching' initiative at the University of Plymouth, 2007-2010.

Cotton, D.R.E. (2008) Book Review: Contemporary perspectives in e-learning research.Studies in Higher Education 33 (1): 105-106.

Cotton, D., Murrall, S. & Vranch, A. (2007) 2nd Internal Evaluation Report. Education for Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, University of Plymouth.

Gresty, K. & Cotton, D. (2006) Using a think-aloud protocol toevaluate an on-line resource for nursing students (HEA Health Sciencesand Practice mini-project report). Available via: http://www.health.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/miniprojects/gresty.pdf

Cotton, D., Murrall, S., Newstead, S. & Vranch, A. (2006) Internal Evaluation Report. Education for Sustainable Development Centre of Excellencein Teaching and Learning, University of Plymouth.

Cotton, D.R.E. (2005) Book review: Rhetoric and educational discourse: persuasive texts? Studies in Higher Education 30 (3): 362-364.

Fowler-Braund, P. & Cotton, D. (2002) Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: A Survey of Research and Development Work at the University of Plymouth. (EDaLT Project Report)

 

 

Reports & invited lectures

Invited contributions:

2012 Invitedcontribution to Guardian Round Table Debate: Qualified to teach? How effective are teaching development programmesfor academics? 7/11/2012. The Guardian, London, UK

2012 Invitedfacilitator SEDA Workshop: Education for Sustainable Development inHigher Education. 11/10/12, Woburn House, London, UK 

2012 Invitedcontributor to Guardian web-chat: Do students benefit from green universities?24/5/12, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/may/24/green-universities-webchat

2011 Haigh, M.,Cotton, D. & Hall, T. CommunicatedGeographies: Research methods and methodologies. RGS Symposium, sponsoredby HERG, Royal Geographical Society Conference, London, UK.

2010: Invited contribution. ESDin the Curriculum: The Challenge for Academic Development. SEDA Conference, Chester UK.

2009: Invited contribution. ESDPedagogies: What are they and do they work? EAUC Conference, University ofWarwick, UK.

2009: Invited contribution. Sustainabiltyand Pedagogy in Higher Education. Anglo-Russian ESD Symposium, Universityof Plymouth, UK

2008: Invitedpanel member. Plenary: Wheredo we go from here? All our Futures Conference, University ofPlymouth, UK. 

2008: Invited Webinar contributor. Howcan we use online diaries and journals, including text, audio and video, to record and evaluate studentlearning? ELESIG Webinar,  27/06/08. http://elesig.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=2007026%3ATopic%3A6113
 
2005: Invited panel member (with Hannan, A., & Newstead, S.) Researching Higher Education. VC's Learning and Teaching Conference,University of Plymouth, UK. 

 

Conferences organised

VC's Teaching and Learning Conference, October 2004, University of Plymouth, UK 

'Building a Career in a Changing University.' VC's Teaching and Learning Conference, June 2005, University of Plymouth, UK

'Has Assessment Gone Wrong?' VC's Teaching and Learning Conference, June 2006, University of Plymouth, UK 

'The Plymouth Experience'. VC's Teaching and Learning Conference, June 2007, University of Plymouth, UK

'Making Connections'. VC's Teaching and Learning Conference, July 2008, University of Plymouth, UK

'Boundary Changes: Redefining Learning Spaces'. 4th Plymouth e-Learning Conference, University of Plymouth, UK (organised jointly by Faculty of Education and EDaLT)

'Exploring Enterprise'. VC's Teaching and Learning Conference, July 2009, University of Plymouth, UK

 

Other academic activities
 
Member of the SEDA Scholarship, Research and Evaluation Committee 2010-current

 

Links

Pedagogic Research and Development Database: http://pedres.net/  

Researching Higher Education Network: http://rhen.wikispaces.com/

Headstart in Biology: http://www.headstartinbiology.com/  

Methodological Innovations: http://methodologicalinnovations.org/

Journal of Geography in Higher Education: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/03098265.html