About

I am a Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education, teaching mainly on the BEd and MEdu.

The main elements of my role involve delivering lectures and workshops for undergraduate trainee primary teachers and supporting them during their school placement.

Having joined the University in September 2018, I previously worked as a primary teacher specialising in Early Years Foundation Stage and Physical Education.

Teaching responsibilities

I lead and teach on the English modules for undergraduates on the BEd and MEdu programmes. My role involves supporting beginning teachers in developing their subject knowledge and pedagogies for teaching reading, writing and Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP). Our beginning teachers are also expected to develop pedagogies and strategies to support children's development in speech, language and communication. As a result, I support their understanding in this area through workshops and tutorials. 

Alongside English, I also lead and teach on stage 4 for the M.Edu - particularly for our Curriculum Leadership and Management module. In this module, we explore a variety of leadership theories, national/international policy development and consider how to influence and evaluate change in educational settings. This module also hosts 'a Projet for Change', the stage 4 school experience element. Within this, I support our students to enhance the learning and teaching in their pathway through working alongside leaders in school to address key actions and priorities. 

Currently, I am a lead mentor for our first-year students. This includes supporting the implementation of the mentor curriculum and preparing our beginning teachers for professional practice. 

Research interests

Research interests include:

• Pedagogical research for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
• Leadership approaches and theories in HEIs
• Leadership application in the Primary Curriculum
• Design and development of ITT/E routes. 
• Story-book approaches to addressing key childhood scenarios and needs. 

 I am also active in writing blogs regarding changes to educational policy, best practices in teaching and child development.

Qualifications

• BA (Hons) English - University of Derby
• PGCE Primary Education - University of Derby
• PGCE Higher Education - University of Derby
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Authority 
• Masters in Education: Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring

Recent publications

• Petronzi, R., & Petronzi, D. (2020). 'The online and campus (OaC) model as a sustainable blended approach to teaching and learning in higher education: A response to COVID-19'. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(4), pp. 498-507
• Petronzi, R., Petronzi, D. and Owen, K., 2021. Putting learning first. [online] npj Science of Learning Community
• Patmore, M., Woodhouse, S., Petronzi, R. and Mosey, C. (2022) Fundamental English and Mathematics Skills for Trainee Teachers. London: Learning Matters
• Petronzi, D., Schalkwyk, G. and Petronzi, R., (2023). A Pilot Math Anxiety Storybook Approach to Normalize Math Talk in Children and to Support Emotion Regulation. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, pp.1-19