Stuart Wynne is a Teacher Associate at the Centre for Teaching Excellence, working as part of the centre's Teaching-Focused Research core hub. He also works as a teacher of Geography in a secondary school in the North of Scotland. Stuart completed a MA (Hons) in Economics and Geography at the University of Glasgow before returning to complete a PGDE at the University. He subsequently completed a Master of Education in Professional Practice and Decision Making, focusing on the impact formative assessment can have on pupil motivation. This work is published and available to read on the National Teaching Repository. Stuart has worked as a freelance tutor for MEd Primary pupils at the University of Glasgow as well as a doctoral proofreader—further embedding his commitment to high-quality academic work and teacher development.

Within school settings, Stuart has taken on leadership roles within professional learning, contributing to and delivering CLPL sessions both in-school and at a wider local authority level. Stuart is working with Moray and Highland Councils' collaborative lead officers for learning and teaching to support the delivery of professional learning across both Moray and Highland schools, helping to coordinate activities that promote engagement with pedagogy and classroom-based research. He supports a wide range of colleagues—from probationer teachers to experienced practitioners—in engaging with practitioner enquiry, reflective teaching, and evidence-based strategies. These experiences align directly with the hub’s aims of fostering communities of practice and facilitating the sharing of research outcomes.

At present, Stuart is seconded to work at the CfTE on Fridays each week. 

Formative Assessment
The examination of formative assessment as a pedagogical and epistemic process through which evidence of learning is elicited, interpreted, and acted upon to advance pupil learning and instructional responsiveness.

Focus:

• Feedback as dialogic and cognitive mediation
• Learner metacognition and self-regulation
• Assessment literacy among teachers and pupils
• Classroom discourse and responsive teaching
• Validity, reliability, and impact of formative practices

Pupil Motivation
The investigation of motivational constructs shaping pupils’ engagement, agency, and persistence, and their interaction with pedagogical practices, assessment regimes, and learning environments.

Focus:

• Self-determination theory and motivational regulation
• Goal orientation and expectancy–value models
• Learner identity, agency, and voice
• Socio-cultural influences on motivation
• Relationships between motivation, attainment, and equity

Teacher Motivation
The analysis of motivational and structural factors influencing teachers’ professional engagement, efficacy, and career sustainability.

Focus:

• Professional identity
• Autonomy, agency, and decision-making
• Organisational culture and leadership
• Emotional labour, wellbeing, and burnout
• Teacher retention and professional commitment

Practitioner Enquiry
The study of practitioner enquiry as a mode of knowledge production, examining how teachers generate, interpret, and legitimise evidence to inform practice and contribute to professional learning.

Focus:

• Action research and enquiry cycles
• Reflexivity and practitioner epistemology
• Collaborative and dialogic enquiry
• Evidence use and knowledge mobilisation
• Methodological rigour and trustworthiness

Curriculum Design
The critical exploration of curriculum design as a pedagogical process shaping knowledge selection, sequencing, and access for diverse learners.

Focus:

• Curriculum relevance, progression, and alignment
• Knowledge, skills, and disciplinary structures
• Inclusivity, representation, and equity
• Assessment–curriculum alignment

Moderation Cycle
The investigation of moderation as a socially situated process through which assessment judgements are constructed, negotiated, and standardised to enhance validity and professional learning.

Focus:

• Professional dialogue and shared standards
• Reliability, consistency, and judgement formation
• Moderation as professional development

Academic Methodologies
The critical application and evaluation of research methodologies to generate robust, ethical, and contextually grounded educational knowledge.

Focus:

• Qualitative methodolgies and interpretive methods
• Quantitative designs and inferential analysis
• Mixed-methods integration
• Case study and design-based research
• Ethics, reflexivity, validity, and credibility