Christine Howe
Position/Status
- Professor of Education - Director of Research
- Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College
E-mail Address
cjh82@cam.ac.uk
Phone:
01223 767724
Qualifications
- BA Hons (Sussex)
- PhD (Cambridge)
Membership of Professional Bodies/Associations
Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Association Member of Association for Science Education
Profile
Christine is a developmental psychologist, whose research lies at the interface between Psychology and Education. Her main interests are children's conceptual knowledge, particularly in the domains of science and mathematics, and children's peer relations and communicative competence. For the past 20 years, she has also been bringing the two interests together, via research and consultancy on 'interactive learning' in peer group, tutor-led and computer-mediated settings. As well as resulting in numerous publications and research grants, Christine's research on collaborative learning in science has attracted considerable media attention and has had significant impact on policy and practice.
Christine is past or present editor of the journals Social Development, Cambridge Journal of Education and Psychology Learning and Teaching, and she sits on the Editorial Boards of British Journal of Educational Psychology, Computers and Education, First Language, Human Development, and Learning and Instruction. In 2006, she was elected Chair of the British Psychological Society's Developmental Section, followed by election to the Academy of the Social Sciences in 2008. Christine served on the ESRC's Training and Development Board between 2004 and 2008. She has been a Nuffield Foundation Research Fellow, and a Visiting Scholar at St John's College Oxford. Christine is married with two children, and enjoys music, art, film, theatre, travel, hiking, tennis, learning languages, and playing bridge.
Academic Area/Links
- Neuroscience and psychology in education
- Science education
Research Topics
- Conceptual development in children
- Knowledge acquisition in science and mathematics
- Children's communicative skills
- Group work in schools
- Computer-mediated learning
- Experiences of racism during adolescence and early adulthood
Prospective PhD Applications
Christine would welcome informal contact from prospective PhD students on the following research topics.
- Communicative skills in pre-school and school-aged children
- Mathematical and scientific reasoning in children and adolescents
- Peer group influences on social, personal and academic development
Current Research Projects
Primary school children's tacit and explicit knowledge of object motion. ESRC funding. 2007-2009
Course Involvement
- M Phil/Med Psychology and Education
- PGCE
- BA in Education
Publications
Howe, C. (2010). Peer groups and children's development. Oxford: Blackwell.
Littleton, K. and Howe, C. (2010). Educational dialogues: Understanding and promoting productive interaction. London: Routledge.
Howe, C. (2009). Collaborative group work in middle childhood: Joint construction, unresolved contradiction and the growth of knowledge. Human Development, 39, 71-94.
Howe, C., Tolmie, A., Thurston, A., Topping, K., Christie, D., Livingston, K., Jessiman, E. and Donaldson, C. (2007). Group work in elementary science: organizational principles for classroom teaching. Learning and Instruction, 17, 549-563.
Howe, C. and McWilliam, D. (2006). Opposition in social interaction between children: why intellectual benefits do not mean social costs. Social Development, 15, 205-231.
Howe, C., McWilliam, D. and Cross, G. (2005). Chance favours only the prepared mind: incubation and the delayed effects of peer collaboration. British Journal of Psychology, 96, 67-93.
Howe, C. and Tolmie, A. (2003). Group work in primary school science: discussion, consensus and guidance from experts. International Journal of Educational Research, 39, 51-72.
Howe, C., Tolmie, A., Duchak-Tanner, V and Rattray, C. (2000). Hypothesis testing in science: group consensus and the acquisition of conceptual and procedural knowledge. Learning and Instruction, 10, 361-391.
Howe, C., Tolmie, A., Greer, K and Mackenzie, M. (1995). Peer collaboration and conceptual growth in physics: task influences on children's understanding of heating and cooling. Cognition and Instruction, 13, 483-503.
Howe, C., Tolmie, A. and Rodgers, C. (1992). The acquisition of conceptual knowledge in science by primary school children: group interaction and the understanding of motion down an inclined plane. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 10, 113-130.