Sarah Jane Mukherjee, Research Associate
I’ve been at the OU since 2009 as a distance student, doctoral student, research assistant and tutor, and now I am a postdoctoral research associate. Alongside working on OU modules, my current research revolves around reading for pleasure (RfP) and children’s dialogue. In particular, I’m interested in investigating children’s language to understand their playful interactions and the opportunities for learning in play. I have worked on a cross-cultural study into children’s and mothers’ conceptions of play and learning in five different countries, and my PhD explored children’s meaning making and learning in classroom role-play.
My ideal holiday destination is La Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. I studied there many years ago, and as a family we go back as often as we can to visit friends, hike in the sunny mountains, enjoy the beautiful waterfalls, relax on the beaches and eat ‘cari’, which is one of the typical dishes.
I have a number of books on the go at any one time. I recently finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (as an audio book), Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (kindle), Malamander by Thomas Taylor (children’s short novel) and far too many picture books to list, but my recent favourites include Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall; Jerome by Heart by Thomas Scotto and Olivier Tallec; It’s a no money day by Kate Milner.
In my spare time I love to spend time with my husband and our daughter and the rest of my family including my two young nephews and niece. We have an allotment, on which we have mainly grown weeds this year, but there’s always next year….
Carolyn Cooke, Academic Staff Tutor (Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport)
I am a Staff Tutor based in the North of Scotland. I have worked in education as a teacher and teacher educator, with my specialism being music education. I am passionate about what the whole education system can learn from Early Years, particularly the role of play in learning and in educational research. This is something I have explored in my PhD. I have two children who I play and learn with every day.
Thanks Carolyn. Can you tell us….
- The last book you read: The 91 Storey Treehouse with my son.
- Your ideal holiday destination: Somewhere with a view where I can watch the clouds and light change.
- What you do in your spare time: Growing as much veg as I can without the creepy crawls eating it first!
Dr Claire Saunders, Education Staff Tutor
I am director of PRAXIS (the Scholarship and Innovation Centre in WELS Faculty) and an Education Staff Tutor in the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport. I started my career as a primary school teacher, moving into higher education in 2006. I work with Associate Lecturers on two Early Childhood modules, working closely with other members of the module teams to try to ensure students have the best possible learning experience. My teaching and research interests lie mainly in the area of the academic writing practices of both lecturers and students, fuelled by the firm belief that writing is a powerful and creative tool for communicating ideas.