Erik Blair

Erik Blair was born in 1970 in Scotland. Being rather bright but easily distracted he didn't quite do as well at school as his mother would have liked. So left to work in a factory. Luckily he was sacked from that job and made the sensible decision to go back to college and resit his exams. Success in his exams led to him studying at the University of Dundee (1993-1997) then doing a postgraduate certificate in education at the University of Sussex (1997-1998). He then worked for a number of years as a high school teacher in Essex, England.

A move into teaching in further education was soon followed by a move into teaching in higher education where he worked whilst studying part-time to gain a doctorate in education from the University of Birmingham.

Erik has taught in universities in the UK and overseas (in Trinidad and Tobago) and is currently a Reader in Education at Queen Mary, University of London. Erik's main areas of teaching interest relate to classroom practice with a focus on engagement, inclusivity and the student voice. As an educationalist he has particular expertise in supporting the pedagogy of colleagues such that they are better skilled to structure effective learning. This means that the learning environment should be a place where knowledge is not only shared but also generated.

Erik feels that learning should always be just out of reach and that it is the job of the teacher to support students to stretch for such learning by giving them tools and frameworks for doing so.