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Natasha Serret

Associate Professor

School of Social Sciences

Staff Group(s)
Primary Teacher Education

Role

Dr. Natasha Serret is an Associate Professor of Science Education (Teaching and Scholarship). Her research examines what makes for transformative professional learning experiences that encourage teachers to reflect upon, adapt and focus their classroom teaching on student thinking, increased classroom dialogue and improving student outcomes. She is passionate about science learning and teaching, and this is reflected in her range of experiences of teaching and educational research over the last 25 years. She has valued the opportunities to share her professional insight and research expertise with undergraduate and postgraduate students at NTU where she also leads on primary science across all ITE routes and educational research modules (Y4 Independent Study and Y3 Educational Development). She also supervises doctoral candidates. Natasha was awarded Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) in 2023.

Career overview

Natasha started her career as a classroom teacher and science lead in a London primary school. This professional start fuelled her scholarly interest in classroom learning that promotes a scientific mindset alongside the development of an understanding of key scientific concepts.

Natasha joined NTU in 2009 as a lecturer for the primary education team. Between 2018-2024, she had the privilege of being the course leader for BA Primary Education at NTU. During her tenure, Natasha successfully navigated the course team through the global pandemic, an OFSTED inspection and a course revalidation.

Prior to this, Natasha was a senior research officer and  a post-doctoral researcher at King’s College, London developing her extensive research in projects including the primary Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE),  the Kings Oxfordshire Summative Assessment Project (KOSAP) and the EU-FP7 Assess Inquiry in Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (ASSISTME).

Natasha is the co-author of the published teaching resource ‘Let’s Think Through Science’ (LTTS) Let’s Think through Science 7&8 « Let's Think and co-designed the accompanying 1- year professional development programme which supported local authorities and networks of schools to embed CA pedagogy within their classroom practice. The Astra Zeneca Teaching Trust (ASZTT) project, funded for £138, 000, was trialled across 21 schools in the London boroughs of Harrow and Hammersmith and Fulham. The publication of the teaching resource and roll out of the professional development programme extended the reach of her work across the UK. Local authorities across Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England engaged their teachers with the professional development programme, resulting in over 1000 primary schools using ‘Let’s Think Through Science’ to transform their classroom practice.

As a post-doctoral researcher, Natasha co-led the primary science element of the EU FP7 project, Assess Inquiry in Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (ASSISITME).  Working in collaboration with 11 partners from 8 different countries in Europe, ASSIST-ME (Assess Inquiry in Science, Technology and Mathematics Education) employed a three-phase design to capture how teachers create opportunities for formative feedback during inquiry-based lessons. Assist-me – University of Copenhagen.

Research areas

Natasha’s research interests are in science education where she combines her research expertise in classroom dialogue, assessment and cognition with her professional insight and experiences as a past classroom teacher. Natasha applies this accumulated knowledge to create meaningful opportunities for educators at all levels to recognise the value of their professional expertise and disseminate this to a wider education and research community. Drawing upon the principles of action research and Close to Practice research, Natasha empowers student and experienced teachers to analyse, evaluate and adapt their practice.  Natasha draws from qualitative research methods and has applied a multi-step open coding approach across a range of data sources (interviews, written teacher reflections, lesson observations and transcripts of classroom talk) to determine the conditions that support and constrain learning and teaching in science.

External activity

Natasha is the Science Lead and Council Member of the Let's Think Forum, where, since 2022, she has been able to apply her expertise to lead a team of science Cognitive Acceleration experts in a consideration of how cognitive acceleration can support the current practice of primary and secondary teachers.  Let's Think aims to develop the intelligence of learners by improving their thinking processes.

Natasha remains an active member of the Association for Science Education Home | www.ase.org.uk | The Association for Science Education (ASE) is a professional body and global network of science educators that advocates for excellence in science education, supports ongoing professional development and offers a welcoming and inclusive community of support for science educators both in the UK and abroad. During her 25-year active membership with this association, Dr. Serret has been appointed to and continues to hold a number of external roles. These include:

Natasha has also been the Secretary for the London committee, a member of the editorial board for the Primary Science journal (2004-2009) and a member of the International Committee for the Association for Science Education, helping to run the Annual International Conference day and the International journal.  She was the co-editor for the most recent publication (2018) of the ASE Guide to Primary Science Education.

Natasha values working with the wider science education and research community. Her contribution to this field was nationally celebrated when she was awarded the ASE Special Service award (2018) in recognition of her influence and leadership in science education.

Sponsors and collaborators

Current and recent research has been conducted with the collaboration, funding and / or support of:

Publications

Selected publications

Books

Kushnir, I., Sood, K., Park, M.S.A., Zhong, H. and Serret, N. eds., (2024). Education and Sustainable Development in the Context of Crises: International Case Studies of Transformational Change. Leeds: Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/9781837977734

Serret, N. and Gripton, C. eds., (2020). Purposeful Planning for Learning: Shaping Learning and Teaching in the Primary School. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429489266

Serret, N. and Earle, S., (2018). ASE guide to primary science education. Hatfield: ASE ISBN 9780863574573

Black, P.,  Harrison, C., Hodgen, J., Marshall, B. & Serret, N. (2013). Inside the Black Box of Assessment (Assessment of learning by teachers and schools). London: GL  Assessment

Book chapters

Serret, N. and Correia, C.F., (2023). Research Design Principles for Dynamic Teacher-Researcher Collaboration: Two Stars and a Wish. In Educational Assessment: The Influence of Paul Black on Research, Pedagogy and Practice, (p.259-265). London: Bloomsbury. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350288522.ch-16

Hunter, F. and Serret, N., (2020). Inclusive planning for learning. In Purposeful Planning for Learning (pp. 14-20). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429489266-3

Serret, N., Ruston, L. and Perkins, R., (2020). Assessment and planning for progress. In Purposeful Planning for Learning (pp. 31-39). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429489266-5

Serret, N., Correia, C. & Harrison, C. (2018). Formative practice in primary science. In Serret, N. & Earle, S. (eds). ASE guide to primary science education (pp. 116-124). Hatfield: ASE. ISBN 9780863574573

Harrison, C., Constantinou, C.P., Correia, C.F., Grangeat, M., Hähkiöniemi, M., Livitzis, M., Nieminen, P., Papadouris, N., Rached, E., Serret, N. and Tiberghien, A., (2018). Assessment On-the-Fly: Promoting and Collecting Evidence of Learning Through Dialogue. In Transforming Assessment (pp.83-107). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63248-3_4

Articles

Woodford, M., Clapham, A. and Serret, N., (2023). ‘Pedagogic oppression’: the need for emancipation through contradiction in teacher professional development. Professional Development in Education, pp.1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2023.2174164

Hart, G., Magaji, A., Fleming, M., and Serret, N. (2021) Reflections on the ASE Conference. In: ASE International Journal. ASE International (12). Association for Science Education, UK, pp. 6-8.

Serret, N., Harrison, C., Correia, C. and Harding, J., (2017). Transforming assessment and teaching practices in science inquiry. Journal of Emergent Science, (12), pp.48-54.

Black, P., Harrison, C., Hodgen, J., Marshall. B. & Serret, N. (2011).  Can teachers’ summative assessments produce dependable results and also enhance classroom learning?, Assessment in Education 18 (4) pp. 451-469. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594x.2011.557020

Other

Serret, N. (2024) ‘Cultivating a Classroom Climate for Critical Thinking: Strategies and Insights’, Let’s Think, 23rd October 2024 [Blog]. Available at Cultivating a Classroom Climate for Critical Thinking: Strategies and Insights « Let's Think (Accessed 20th November 2024)

Conferences

Murphy, A. & Serret, N. (2025, Jan 9-11). Enabling change through the assessment of thinking scientifically [Conference presentation]. ASE Annual conference 2025, University of Nottingham, UK

Black, A. & Serret, N. (2025, Jan 9-11). Enabling learners to think about their thinking in science [Conference presentation]. ASE Annual conference 2025, University of Nottingham, UK

Perry, E., Seeley, C., Serret, N., Mortimer, S., Bowhay, H. & Hancock, J. (2025, Jan 9-11). How does research influence initial teacher education? [Panel discussion]. ASE Annual conference 2025, University of Nottingham, UK

Serret, N. & Garrod, A. (2024, Nov 11-13). What responses do Y9 girls give for their oral participation in maths lessons? [Conference presentation]. ICERI 2024, Seville, Spain

Herridge, M., Clapham, A. and Serret, N (2024, Sept 8-12) Not all equal? Exploring secondary school pupils’ journeys, attainment and experiences in an English ‘all-through’ school. [Conference presentation]. BERA 2024, University of Manchester, UK

Serret, N. & Garrod, A (2024, June 26) What responses do Y9 girls give for their oral participation in maths lessons? [Conference presentation]. Close to Practice 2024, NTU, UK

Serret, N. (2024, June 21st) Revisiting the relationship between research and practice: Principles and Purpose, [Conference Presentation] ASE Teacher Developers’ Conference, Institute of Physics, London, UK.

Woodford, M., Clapham, A. and Serret, N. (2022, Sept 6-8). Pedagogic emancipation: dissonance in mathematics professional development and learning. [Conference presentation].BERA 2022, Liverpool, UK

Serret, N. & Clapham, A (2022, June 27-July 1). An investigation into enabling assessment and pedagogic continuity across the primary and secondary transition border: Breaking down the barriers to transition readiness. [Conference presentation]. School of Social Sciences Showcase 2022, NTU,
UK

Serret, N., Correia, C., Harding, J., Harrison, C. & Black, P. (2017 Jan 4-7). Inquiry Based Learning and Assessment in Primary and Secondary Science. [Conference presentation]. ASE Annual Conference 2017, University of Reading, UK

Hindmarsh, S., Hunt, S., Murphy, A., Serret, N. & Waring-Thomas, P. (2017 Jan 4-7) How can we promote a deeper engagement in outdoor learning of  primary trainee teachers? [Conference presentation].  ASE Annual Conference 2017, University of Reading, UK

Serret, N., Correia, C., Harding, J., Harrison, C. & Black, P. (2016 Sept 13-15) Assessing Inquiry in Science: Developing a Primary and Secondary Teacher Education. [Conference presentation].  BERA 2016 University of Leeds

Serret, N. & Harding, J. (2016 Jan 6-9) Assessing and Enabling Science Inquiry [Conference presentation]. ASE Annual Conference 2016, University of Birmingham, UK

Serret, N., Harrison, C., Correia, C. & Harding, J. (2015 Aug 31- Sept 4) Primary teachers’ understanding of science inquiry: Influences on their teaching and formative assessment practice. [Conference presentation]. ESERA 2015, Helsinki, Finland

Invited keynotes

Serret, N. (2025, Jan 9-11). ECT’s Keynote: Should practical work be like recipes? [Conference keynote presentation]. ASE Annual conference 2025, University of Nottingham, UK

Serret, N. (2024, Oct 31). The power and possibilities of practitioner research [Conference keynote presentation] PER symposium, Institute of Physics, London, UK

See all of Natasha Serret's publications...

Press expertise

Primary science education, assessment for learning, developing pupil talk and thinking and using the outdoors to support science education.