Andrew Tolmie

Chair of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education
  • United Kingdom

About Andrew Tolmie

I am Chair of Psychology and Human Development at the UCL Institute of Education, University College London, and Deputy Director of the Birkbeck/UCL Centre for Educational Neuroscience. I was also Editor of the British Journal of Educational Psychology from 2007-12, and remain Lead Editor for the British Psychological Society's Editorial Advisory Group. I am a developmental psychologist with longstanding interests in the growth of children’s conceptual representations and behavioural skills, and the relationships between these, particularly in the primary school age range. I am particularly interested in how the interplay of neurocognitive and social functions shapes children's capacities over time. Most of my work has focused on educationally-relevant topics and settings, with a substantial emphasis on primary school science, but also on the acquisition of road-crossing skills among children, on the development of communication skills, and on the use of ICT to support learning. I was recently a member of a Royal Society working group reporting on science and mathematics education 5-14, inputting to this in particular on the role of teacher-learner interaction and peer collaboration in effecting representational growth.

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