Dr Elizabeth Hidson
Research Lead
Course Delivery Partner
Educational Philosophy
Elizabeth’s core belief is that developing and empowering teachers is the pathway to a self-improving educational system. She aims to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills and drive to identify issues that they can actively address through evidence-informed progressive problem solving.
Experience
Dr Elizabeth Hidson completed her PGCE with QTS 1999-2000 and taught for 14 years in London schools. She has held a wide range of school leadership roles, up to and including sole Deputy Headteacher. As well as attaining Chartered London Teacher status, Elizabeth was also an Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) and was seconded to work as a Specialist Schools and Academies (SSAT) Lead Practitioner for the London region. She has worked on strategic projects such as Building Schools of the Future (BSF), academy conversion, and setting up a new sixth form.
Moving into academia in 2014, Elizabeth worked as a post-doctoral Research Associate at Newcastle University on a range of funded international educational technology research projects and taught on Sutton Trust supported progression, PGCE, MA, and doctoral training courses at Durham University and Newcastle University before joining the University of Sunderland's International Initial Teacher Training Team in 2018.
As a Senior Lecturer in International Initial Teacher Training, she leads the 60-credit PgCert Education (SCITT) working with school-centred Initial Teacher Training partners in the north of England. On the PGCE Education and PGCE with iQTS programmes she is module leader for EDPM01: Development of Learning, a core Level 7 MA module where trainees use case study research design to explore school-based targeted interventions. She also supervises PhD students, is an assessment-only route to QTS assessor and an external examiner for two other UK universities. Elizabeth was appointed as a University of Sunderland Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow in 2023, with a remit to develop collaborative research with schools.
Educational Accomplishments
Elizabeth is the vice-chair of the Technology, Pedagogy and Education association, and a member of the editorial board of the TPE journal. She is the co-editor of the market-leading textbook, Learning to Teach in the Secondary School (9th Edn.) and a prolific academic author and presenter. She was recently awarded the British Educational Research Association 2023 conference Best Practitioner Research presentation award for a paper about collaborative research with a school in China. Elizabeth is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and sits on the University of Sunderland’s Research and Innovation Group.
Samantha Cuthbert
Curriculum Lead
Course Delivery Lead
Educational Philosophy
As the founder of Next Gen Teaching, Sam aspires to build a company that provides the highest quality professional learning and development for all. Through her varied experience, she came to realise that the world is becoming such an online place, with limited human interaction between individuals. As a person and professional, who engages and learns best through face-to-face engagement, Sam decided it was time to break down those barriers and ensure that professionals could engage in structured courses that provided the best of both worlds - online and face-to-face.
Experience
Sam began her working career in the field of Media, completing a BA Hons in Media and TV Production. After completing a number of different media projects, she then embarked upon her teaching career.
Beginning in a role of a Teaching Assistant, she quickly gained her QTS by 2009. She went on to teach within the Primary phase, taking on a number of different co-ordinator roles including English, Science, ICT and Business and Enterprise.
After a number of years working in UK schools, she decided to take her teaching skills into the international sector working in Dubai and Cairo. She held a number of positions including Head of Key Stage 2 and Assistant Head of Primary in large international schools. Throughout the years her varying roles included responsibilities for pastoral, curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment and mentoring. Whilst working in the international sector, Sam completed all training to be a BSO Inspector and completed her MA in Educational Leadership and Management.
In 2020, after a return to the UK, she joined the International Initial Teacher Training Team at University of Sunderland, where she continues to work to the present day. Sam currently work across the international PGCE course and the UK-based SCITT course, in partnership with GORSE SCITT. Throughout the four years, Sam has had various different roles including Personal Academic Tutor, Module Leader for Subject Studies and Module Leader for EDPM01 (SCITT), and continues in these roles successfully.
Sam continues to be a practicing BSO Inspector and regularly travels as part of inspection teams to complete BSO Inspections. Due to her knowledge and experience of both BSO and ITT, Sam was recently assigned into an iQTS inspection team as part of the DfE's pilot inspection programme for iQTS providers.
Educational Accomplishments
Sam has continued to develop her skills as a practitioner and leader through a variety of different CPDL. She gained her MA in Educational Leadership and Management in August 2021 and then continued to develop her academic knowledge through her Associate Fellowship. In December 2023, she was awarded Fellowship through University of Sunderland. She continues to develop her skills through the NPQLTD, which she is currently finalising.
In 2022, Sam began developing the design and structure for Next Gen Teaching, so that she could bring together her varied and 'niche' experience to support educational practitioners to continue to develop and uphold high-quality teaching standards for all.