I joined the University of Glasgow in 2022, as Lecturer in Language and Literacy. My teaching workload is predominantly situated within Initial Teacher Education (ITE), but I also work within the Children's Literature team. I am currently course leader for the Becoming a Teacher course on the PGDE one year teaching programme and I help to lead in the subjects of Literacy & English across undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes. Alongside my role at the university, I am a panel member on Fitness to Teach panels for the General Teaching Council for Scotland. 

Prior to this, I worked as a teacher and middle-leader in a variety of primary and secondary settings in Scotland and London. I completed the MEd Children’s Literature and Literacies course at the University of Glasgow on a part-time basis and graduated in 2021. I hold a dual qualification with the GTCS to teach Primary and Secondary (English). Within a leadership role held for four years, I was responsible for inclusion across a 3-18 school as the Head of Support for Learning. My experience extends to working internationally with colleagues on long-term Erasmus and International Schools projects. I also gained extensive experience of leading residential school trips in the UK and abroad with both primary and secondary level students.

My background also includes published writing in the form of 'story starters' for an international online education platform and the development of teaching resources for publication on national/international platforms. 

Qualifications 

• BA (2009), PGDE (Primary)(2010), MEd Children's Literature & Literacies with distinction (2021), PGC Academic Practice (2024).
• Dual qualified to teach English (secondary) and Primary Education. Fully registered with GTCS.

Presentations 

• Youth, Media, Life Conference, University of Vienna, March 2024. Bridging Educational Paradigms: Should we make space for digital play in schools? (International conference presentation- Elizabeth Nelson and Rachel Lees)
• The Child and the Book international conference, Montenegro, May 2023. Listen with your eyes: Chinese teachers’ responses to the visual sound picture book Summer Concerto (International conference presentation- Fuling Deng and Rachel Lees)
• SERA Conference, Ayr, Nov 2022. Narrative-led video games and their potential for literacy development in the classroom (Poster presentation- Rachel Lees)

Multimodal and Future Literacies; Video Games and Literacy Learning; Video Games and Storytelling/Narrativity; Reading for Pleasure in the Secondary English and Primary Classroom; Children's and Young Adult Literature; Picturebooks and multimodality, Initial Teacher Education

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I currently teach on the following programmes:

• MEduc 1 Literacy and English
• MEduc 2 Literacy and English
• MEduc 3 Literacy and English
• PGDE English and Literacy
• PGDE English (Secondary)
• PGDE Becoming a Teacher (BAT)
• PGDE Research and Enquiry-Led Learning and Teaching (RELLT) 
• MEduc 3 Elective in Children's Literature

In session 2024-25, I supervised six MEduc 5 students and was co-supervisor for 3 Masters dissertations within Children's Literature and Literacies MEd and the International Master in Children’s Literature, Media and Culture (CLMC) programmes. 

Course leadership

Current

• PGDE Becoming a Teacher (BAT) 2023/24, 2024/25

Previous

• Research and Enquiry-Led Learning and Teaching (RELLT) 2022/23
• MEduc 4 Education & Society 2022/2023

Professional & learned societies

• 2023 - 2027: Fitness to Teach Panel Member, GTCS
• 2022 - Current: Member, UKLA
• 2022 - Current: Member, SERA

Selected international presentations

• 2024: Youth, Media, Life Conference, University of Vienna (Vienna)
• 2023: The Child and the Book international conference (Montenegro)
• 2022: SERA Conference (Scotland)

Committees and groups:

School of Education short-life working group on Anti-Racism

Staff Social Commitee

Open University (Student) Teacher's Reading Group Leader

Professional membership:

• UKLA
• SERA
• GTC Scotland

Panels:

General Teaching Council for Scotland Fitness to Teach Panel Member (Current, serving)