Staff profile

Helen is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Durham University and Lead for Education Researcher Development in the Durham Centre for Academic Development (DCAD). Her research interests are in skills development in STEM education, with a particular focus on the impact of education environments on learners and educators. She is an expert in the evaluation of education and skills development programmes. Alongside her research, Helen also provides specialist facilitation for individuals to support their development of education research and scholarship. Helen has a passion for creating inclusive education environments where all learners, educators and researchers can thrive.

Helen is Head of the Evaluation and Innovation in STEM Education (EISE) national research group (https://eise.webspace.durham.ac.uk/).

Experience:

• 20 years experience leading and managing research and education development projects.
• 15 years experience leading education development and evaluation workshops.
• 15 years experience teaching in Higher Education and delivering CPD for professionals across the education sector.
• 15 years experience working with research funders and investors.
• 10 years experience working with staff to develop their education scholarship and research ideas.
• 10 years experience leading and managing high performing research groups and communities.

Recent research projects include:

• Lessons learned from implementing blended and online undergraduate chemistry laboratory teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Case study of the rapid development of three Higher Education Professional Learning Networks in response to COVID-19.
• Evaluation of national pilot Levelling Up Widening Participation programme in STEM.
• Evaluation of the ESPRC funded Northern Power Inclusion Matters Programme - EDI in the Engineering and Physical Sciences.
• Investigation into the Impact of COVID on students' self-efficacy in practical science.
• Evaluation of the SOFI2 Centre for Doctoral Training.
• Evaluation of the national Creativity Collaboratives programme seeking to improve teaching for creativity across the curriculum in schools across England.

Helen supervises PhD students and Masters students interested in conducting research in skills development and EDI in STEM education.

• Skills development in STEM education
• Evaluation of education programmes
• Impact of education environments on students and educators
• EDI in education

• 2019: School Governor:
• 2019: Fellow: Durham Research Methods Centre (DRMC)
• 2016: Fellow: Higher Education Academy
• 2015: Fellow: Wolfson Research Insitute for Health and Wellbeing
• 2001: Member: Institute of Physics

Chapter in book

• Cramman, H., Connor, M. A., Hau, C., & Robson, J. (2021). Lessons learned from implementing blended and online undergraduate chemistry laboratory teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. In E. Pearsall, K. Mock, M. Morgan, & B. A. Tucker (Eds.), Advances in Online Chemistry Education (177-193). American Chemical Society. https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2021-1389.ch012

Journal Article

• Burgoyne, K., Hargreaves, S., Akhter, N., Cramman, H., Eerola, P., Einbeck, J., & Menzies, V. (online). Lack of effect of a parent‐delivered early language intervention: Evidence from a randomised controlled trial completed during COVID‐19. JCPP Advances, Article e12279. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12279
• Cramman, H., Arenas, B., Awais, R., Balaban, C., Cropper, C., Dennis, F., Finch, K., Gray, H., Hall, A., Kitchen, G., Norman, K., O’Driscoll, L., Petts, P., Petri, S., Robson, J., Rosenburgh, A., Shields, L., Swift, G. P., & Vaughan, H. (2024). Post-16 students’ experience of practical science during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on students’ self-efficacy in practical work. Enhancing Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2, 39-69. https://doi.org/10.62512/etlhe.14
• Nita, L., Mazzoli Smith, L., Chancellor, N., & Cramman, H. (2023). The challenge and opportunities of quantum literacy for future education and transdisciplinary problem-solving. Research in Science and Technological Education, 41(2), 564-580. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2021.1920905
• Hübner, N., Merrell, C., Cramman, H., Little, J., Bolden, D., & Nagengast, B. (2022). Reading to learn? The co‐development of mathematics and reading during primary school. Child Development, 93(6), 1760-1776. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13817
• Cramman, H., Gott, S., Little, J., Merrell, C., Tymms, P., & Copping, L. (2020). Number Identification: A Unique Developmental Pathway in Mathematics?. Research Papers in Education, 35(2), 117-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2018.1536890
• Boereboom, J., & Cramman, H. (2018). Primary School Entry Assessment in New Zealand. NZ international research in early childhood education journal, 21(1), 47-61
• Copping, L., Cramman, H., Gott, S., Gray, H., & Tymms, P. (2016). Name writing ability not length of name is predictive of future academic attainment. Educational Research, 58(3), 237-246. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2016.1184948
• Atkinson, D., Searle, S., Jefferies, M., Levy, J., & Cramman, H. (2013). Controlling Anisotropy of NiFe Thin Films During Deposition for Device Applications. Sensor letters, 11(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1166/sl.2013.2780
• Cramman, H., Eastwood, D., King, J., & Atkinson, D. (2012). Multilevel 3 Bit-per-cell Magnetic Random Access Memory Concepts and Their Associated Control Circuit Architectures. IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, 11(1), 63-70. https://doi.org/10.1109/tnano.2011.2149538
• Eastwood, D., King, J., Bogart, L., Cramman, H., & Atkinson, D. (2011). Chirality-dependent domain wall pinning in a multinotched planar nanowire and chirality preservation using transverse magnetic fields. Journal of Applied Physics, 109(1), https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3525733

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Cramman, H., Kind, V., Kind, P., Lyth, A., Gray, H., Younger, K., Eerola, P., & Coe, R. (2019). Monitoring practical science in schools and colleges, school data 2016-2017. [Data]. https://doi.org/10.5255/ukda-sn-853446
• Cramman, H., Kind, V., Kind, P., Lyth, A., Gray, H., Younger, K., Eerola, P., & Coe, R. (2019). Monitoring practical science in schools and colleges, higher education data 2016-2018. [Data]. https://doi.org/10.5255/ukda-sn-853459

Report

• Menzies, V., Eerola, P.-S., Zhang, Q., Cramman, H., & Einbeck, J. (2024). Evaluating the impact of the Parents and Children Together (PACT) programme on the language skills of 3- to 4-year-old nursery children A two-armed randomised trial. Educational Endowment Foundation
• Menzies, V., Cramman, H., Eerola, P., Hugill-Jones, J., Akhter, N., & Einbeck, J. (2022). Parents and Children Together (PACT) Evaluation Report. [No known commissioning body]
• Cramman, H., Gray, H., & Chavana, M. A. (2022). Evaluation of the National Levelling Up Widening Participation Pilot Programme. Durham, UK: Institute of Physics, London Mathematical Society, Durham University
• Cramman, H., Gray, H., Siddiqui, N., & Tudor, J. (2021). Evaluation of Inclusion Matters - Northern Power: Making Engineering and Physical Sciences Research a Domain for All in the North of England: End of Programme Report. [No known commissioning body]
• Cramman, H., Moger, P., & Menzies, V. (2021). The impact of Covid-19 on the English education teaching and learning environment and how this relates to sustaining and developing creativity, creative thinking and teaching for creativity - A literature review. [No known commissioning body]
• Cramman, H., Menzies, V., Gray, H., Mee, D., & Eerola, P. (2020). Baseline Evaluation of the Durham Commission on Creativity and Education Report. [No known commissioning body]
• Robinson-Smith, L., Menzies, V., Cramman, H., Wang, Y. (., Fairhurst, C., Hallett, S., Beckmann, N., Merrell, C., Torgerson, C., Stothard, S., & Siddiqui, N. (2019). EasyPeasy: Learning through play. Evaluation Report. [No known commissioning body]
• Cramman, H., Kind, V., Lyth, A., Gray, H., Younger, K., Gemar, A., Eerola, P., Coe, R., & Kind, P. (2019). Monitoring practical science in schools and colleges. [No known commissioning body]