Dr Anna Wilson

Reader in Interdisciplinary Research in Education (People, Place & Social Change)

Biography

I joined the University of Glasgow as Reader in Interdisciplinary Research in Education in May 2022, after working at various universities in the US, Australia and UK. I've held positions as a physicist, an academic developer, an HCI/social science researcher and an education academic. I became Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning in August 2024.

I started my academic career as a nuclear strcture physicist, completing a PhD in Nuclear Physics at the University of Liverpool in 1996. If you are interested, I studied superdeformed states in the mass-190 region using the techniques of gamma-ray spectroscopy. After a post-doc position at York and a couple of visiting periods at CNRS-Orsay in France, I took up a position at the Australian National University. It was there that I discovered how much I loved, and was fascinated by, teaching and learning. I took a Graduate Certificate and then a Masters in Higher Education, run through ANU's Centre for Educational Development and Academic Methods (CEDAM). This was when I started working with Gerlese Akerlind (a key figure in Phenomenograhic Research) and my excellent colleagues Kate Wilson (no relation), Pam Roberts, Denise Higgins and Susan Howitt. We were all interested in undergraduate students' experiences of research, among other things. As a result of the research we undertook in that area, I also found myself increasingly drawn to working with colleagues, both to understand their experiences of teaching and to help them learn and develop as teachers. I became the Associate and then Deputy Director (Education) of the Research School of Physics and Engineering, and was seconded part time to contribute to CEDAM's programmes. I also spent a year seconded part time to the University of Canberra's Teaching and Learning Centre, where I had the opportunity to contribute to strategic developments around work-based learning and interdisciplinarity as well as research-led education.

After a while I began to feel guilty about playing at being an education researcher when I'd had very little training in the field. After all, we'd never have let someone who had been a teacher march into the accelerator lab and start running experiments - or worse still, tell us how we ought to be running them. So, after a brief period as an academic developer at Oxford University's Learning Institute, I took the plunge, went back to full-time studenthood, and undertook a second PhD in education at the University of Stirling. This was where I discovered Deleuze, ANT, sociomateriality and more.

Since then, I have worked as a post-doc on a Horizon 2020 project (Commonfare.net), leading on the HCI and social research needed to design an ethical reputation system, and as a lecturer in Lifelong Learning at the University of Stirling.

Research interests

Both my research and my teaching focus on how we learn (and how we learn to learn) to approach, understand and deal with complex knowledge, situations and challenges. These include but are not limited to:

sustainability (e.g. waste, plastics, energy, the climate crisis)
technologisation of work and life (e.g. datafication, increasing use of digital technologies to support decision-making, design for ethical systems)
research (e.g. how we learn to "do" research)

"We", in the above, can mean individuals, groups, communities or organisations, but is largely related to adult and lifelong learning.

These interests inevitably lead to a need to play with and develop new research methods and methodologies. Just now I'm working a lot with fiction and made-up stories, ways of speaking that allow us to imagine alternative pasts, presents and futures, and that in so doing express some important realities.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2010

Number of items: 43.

2025

Wilson, A. et al. (2025) Place-pedagogies of water stress. Global Social Challenges Journal, (doi: 10.1332/27523349Y2025D000000034) (Early Online Publication)

Black, G. F. et al. (2025) Participatory visual methods and the mobilization of community knowledge: working towards community-derived disaster risk management in the context of advancing climate change. Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 6(2), pp. 121-152. (doi: 10.35844/001c.129834)

2024

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Hamilton, Hannah, Singh, Greg and Lockley, Pat (2024) Open is not enough: Designing for a networked data commons. In: Bonderup Dohn, Nina, Jaldemark, Jimmy, Öberg, Lena-Marie, Håkansson Lindqvist, Marcia, Ryberg, Thomas and de Laat, Marten (eds.) Sustainable Networked Learning: Individual, Sociological and Design Perspectives. Series: Research in networked learning. Springer: Cham. ISBN 9783031427183 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-42718-3_4)

Piper, Laurence, Black, Gillian, Petersen, Leif, Dick, Liezl, Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 and Mpofu-Mketwa, Tsitsi (2024) Policy engagement as ‘empowered representation’: democratic mediation through a participatory research project on climate resilience. Evidence and Policy, (doi: 10.1332/17442648Y2024D000000033) (Early Online Publication)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 and Ross, Jen (2024) “Your U-Well-Being Journal is due today”: on some possible intersections between surveillance and student wellbeing in the future university. Studies in Higher Education, (doi: 10.1080/03075079.2024.2368264) (Early Online Publication)

Smith, J. A. and Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2024) Radical Ecology in the Face of the Anthropocene Extinction: a New and Urgent Philosophy for Complexity in the Social Sciences. Series: Routledge advances in sociology. Routledge. ISBN 9781032508115 (doi: 10.4324/9781003399742)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2024) From crime and punishment to future archaeologies: reimagining relationships of waste and value. In: Holloway, Philippa and Jordan-Baker, Craig (eds.) Writing Landscape and Setting in the Anthropocene: Britain and Beyond. Palgrave Macmillan: Cham, pp. 233-251. ISBN 9783031499548 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-49955-5_12)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Robertson, George, Uflewska, Agnieszka ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8781-4423 and Humphreys, Penny (2024) Waste stories: networked imaginaries. Proceedings of the International Conference on Networked Learning, 14, (doi: 10.54337/nlc.v14i1.8097)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Robertson, George and Dickie, Jen (2024) Future ordinaries: assembling place-based knowledges and literacies in real and imagined harmscapes. Futures, 159, 103376. (doi: 10.1016/j.futures.2024.103376)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Robertson, George and Uflewska, Agnieszka ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8781-4423 (2024) Waste Stories. Working Paper. Centre for Research & Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CR&DALL).

2023

Wilson, A. et al. (2023) Living the life of floods: place-based learning in an Anthropocene harmscape. Geoforum, 147, 103914. (doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103914)

Ross, Jen and Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2023) Reconfiguring surveillance futures for higher education using speculative data stories. In: Bonderup Dohn, Nina, Jaldemark, Jimmy, Öberg, Lena-Marie, Håkonsson Lindqvist, Marcia, Ryberg, Thomas and de Laat, Marten (eds.) Sustainable Networked Learning: Individual, Sociological and Design Perspectives. Series: Research in networked learning. Springer: Cham, pp. 19-33. ISBN 9783031427183 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-42718-3_2)

Ncube, S. et al. (2023) Understanding resilience capitals, agency and habitus in household experiences of water scarcity, floods and fire in marginalized settlements in the Cape Flats, South Africa. Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 8, 100710. (doi: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2023.100710)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 and Ross, Jen (2023) Surveillance imaginaries: learning from participatory speculative fiction. Surveillance and Society, 21(3), pp. 304-316. (doi: 10.24908/ss.v21i3.16025)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, De Paoli, Stefano and Rough, Daniel (2023) What counts as contribution? Micro-practices of enrolment and exclusion in a financial problems support group. First Monday, 28(2), (doi: 10.5210/fm.v28i2.11756)

Rough, Daniel, De Paoli, Stefano and Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2023) Commonshare: a new approach to social reputation for online collaborative communities. Social Science Computer Review, 41(1), pp. 4-26. (doi: 10.1177/08944393211028191)

2022

Howitt, Susan M., Wilson, Anna N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 and Higgins, Denise M. (2022) Unlearning, uncovering and becoming: experiencing academic writing as part of undergraduate research. Teaching in Higher Education, (doi: 10.1080/13562517.2022.2145466) (Early Online Publication)

Beetham, Helen, Collier, Amy, Czerniewicz, Laura, Lamb, Brian, Li, Yuwei, Ross, Jen, Scott, Anne-Marie and Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2022) Surveillance practices, risks and responses in the post pandemic university. Digital Culture and Education, 14(1), pp. 16-37.

2021

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2021) Learning to see with Deleuze: understanding affective responses in image-viewer research assemblages. Qualitative Research, 21(6), pp. 906-922. (doi: 10.1177/1468794120946979)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Howitt, Susan, Holloway, Adele, Williams, Anne-Marie and Higgins, Denise (2021) Factors affecting paramedicine students’ learning about evidence‐based practice: a phenomenographic study. BMC Medical Education, 21, 45. (doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02490-5) (PMID:33435971) (PMCID:PMC7802292)

2020

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2020) Pedagogies of Difference and Desire in Professional Learning: Plugging in to shared images. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781527550551

2019

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 and De Paoli, Stefano (2019) On the ethical and political agency of online reputation systems. First Monday, 24(2), (doi: 10.5210/fm.v24i2.9393)

2018

Howitt, Susan M. and Wilson, Anna N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2018) Reflecting on the use and abuse of scientific data facilitates students’ ethical and epistemological development. Science Education, 102(3), pp. 571-592. (doi: 10.1002/sce.21333)

Edwards, Richard, McDonnell, Diarmuid, Simpson, Ian and Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2018) Educational backgrounds, project design and inquiry learning in citizen science. In: Herodotou, Christothea, Sharples, Mike and Scanlon, Scanlon (eds.) Citizen Inquiry Synthesising Science and Inquiry Learning. Routledge, pp. 195-210. ISBN 9781138208698

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, De Paoli, Stefano, Forbes, Paula and Sachy, Marco (2018) Creating personas for political and social consciousness in HCI design. Persona Studies, 4(2), pp. 25-46. (doi: 10.21153/psj2018vol4no2art736)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 and Howitt, S. M. (2018) Developing critical being in an undergraduate science course. Studies in Higher Education, 43(7), pp. 1160-1171. (doi: 10.1080/03075079.2016.1232381)

2017

Rajaram, R., Castellani, B. and Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2017) Advancing Shannon entropy for measuring diversity in systems. Complexity, 2017, 8715605. (doi: 10.1155/2017/8715605)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Thompson, Terrie Lynn, Watson, Cate, Drew, Valerie and Doyle, Sarah (2017) Big data and learning analytics: singular or plural? First Monday, 22(4), (doi: 10.5210/fm.v22i4.6872)

Watson, Cate, Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Drew, Valerie and Thompson, Terrie Lynn (2017) Small data, online learning and assessment practices in higher education: a case study of failure? Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(7), pp. 1030-1045. (doi: 10.1080/02602938.2016.1223834)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Watson, Cate, Thompson, Terrie Lynn, Drew, Valerie and Doyle, Sarah (2017) Learning analytics: challenges and limitations. Teaching in Higher Education, 22(8), pp. 991-1007. (doi: 10.1080/13562517.2017.1332026)

2016

Watson, Cate, Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Drew, Valerie and Thompson, Terrie Lynn (2016) Criticality and the exercise of politeness in online spaces for professional learning. Internet and Higher Education, 31, pp. 43-51. (doi: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2016.06.002)

Howitt, Susan and Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2016) Scaffolded reflection as a tool for surfacing complex learning in undergraduate research projects. CUResearch Quarterly, 36(4), pp. 33-38.

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Howitt, Susan and Higgins, Denise (2016) Assessing the unassessable: making learning visible in undergraduates’ experiences of scientific research. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(6), pp. 901-916. (doi: 10.1080/02602938.2015.1050582)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Howitt, Susan and Higgins, Denise (2016) A fundamental misalignment: intended learning and assessment practices in undergraduate science research projects. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(6), pp. 869-884. (doi: 10.1080/02602938.2015.1048505)

2015

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2015) Representing Connections: How Visualizations Shape Understandings of Networks. 4th International Visual Methods Conference, Brighton, 16-18 September 2015.

Howitt, S.M. and Wilson, A.N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2015) Developing, expressing and contesting opinions of science: encouraging the student voice. Higher Education Research and Development, 34(3), pp. 541-553. (doi: 10.1080/07294360.2014.973382)

Wilson, Anna N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Howitt, Susan M., Higgins, Denise M. and Roberts, Pamela J. (2015) Making critical thinking visible in undergraduates’ experiences of research in science. In: Davies, Martin and Barnett, Ronald (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 491-508. ISBN 9781349478125 (doi: 10.1057/9781137378057_29)

2014

Howitt, Susan M. and Wilson, Anna N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2014) Revisiting “Is the scientific paper a fraud?” : the way textbooks and scientific research articles are being used to teach undergraduate students could convey a misleading image of scientific research. EMBO reports, 15(5), pp. 481-484. (doi: 10.1002/embr.201338302) (PMID:24723688) (PMCID:PMC4210093)

2013

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Åkerlind, Gerlese, Walsh, Barbara, Stevens, Bruce, Turner, Bethany and Shield, Alison (2013) Making ‘professionalism’ meaningful to students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 38(8), pp. 1222-1238. (doi: 10.1080/03075079.2013.833035)

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Howitt, Susan, Roberts, Pam, Åkerlind, Gerlese and Wilson, Kate (2013) Connecting expectations and experiences of students in a research-immersive degree. Studies in Higher Education, 38(10), pp. 1562-1576. (doi: 10.1080/03075079.2011.633163)

2012

Howitt, Susan and Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689 (2012) Is more always better? An Australian experiment with a research-intensive undergraduate degree. CUR Quarterly, 14(1), pp. 28-33.

Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Howitt, Susan, Wilson, Kate and Roberts, Pam (2012) Academics' perceptions of the purpose of undergraduate research experiences in a research-intensive degree. Studies in Higher Education, 37(5), pp. 513-526. (doi: 10.1080/03075079.2010.527933)

2010

Howitt, Susan, Wilson, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1689, Wilson, Kate and Roberts, Pam (2010) ‘Please remember we are not all brilliant’: undergraduates’ experiences of an elite, research‐intensive degree at a research‐intensive university. Higher Education Research and Development, 29(4), pp. 405-420. (doi: 10.1080/07294361003601883)

This list was generated on Thu Jul 3 10:28:34 2025 BST.

Jump to: Articles | Books | Book Sections | Research Reports or Papers | Conference or Workshop Item

Number of items: 43.

Articles

Wilson, A. et al. (2025) Place-pedagogies of water stress. Global Social Challenges Journal, (doi: 10.1332/27523349Y2025D000000034) (Early Online Publication)

Wilson, A. et al. (2023) Living the life of floods: place-based learning in an Anthropocene harmscape. Geoforum, 147, 103914. (doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103914)

Books

Book Sections

Research Reports or Papers

Conference or Workshop Item