Staff profile

Dr Michaela Oliver is Associate Executive Dean for Education and Student Progression in the Faculty of Social Sciences. She is also Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of Education in the School of Education at Durham University. She currently teaches across undergraduate, master's and on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programmes. She supervises research projects across degree levels. 

After achieving a first-class degree in Education and English Literature at Durham University, Michaela completed a Primary PGCE and taught in a large primary school in the North East of England. She then completed a PhD at Durham University funded by a studentship from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). While completing doctoral research, Michaela gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods with Distinction and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP). Michaela is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). 

Michaela’s current research focuses primarily on issues related to digital education, literacies, citizenship and wellbeing. Building on previous research exploring identification of discipline-specific reasoning practices (or ‘styles’), and consideration of how to promote reasoning in educational settings, she is particularly interested in the role of curriculum and task design to promote critical thinking and reasoning about (digital) issues. The roles of pedagogical task design, dialogic and collaborative teaching and learning approaches are considered in relation to the promotion of reasoning about complex digital issues. 

Michaela is currently involved in two funded research projects exploring ways to improve the teaching of critical digital literacies in primary and secondary education. These projects also explore the role of (discipline-specific) reasoning promotion and task design. 

Michaela is committed to widening participation and inclusive practice. She has taught on the Supported Progression and Sutton Trust summer schools at Durham and has led the First Generation Scholars Network in the School of Education.

 

Research Groups

Pedagogy and Curriculum

Twitter: @Michaela0liver

• Reasoning
• Primary Education
• Discipline-specific practices
• Task design
• Dialogic teaching and learning
• Critical thinking

• 2023: Member of the Editorial Board for The Curriculum Journal:
• 2022: Conference Presentation; The Three Rivers Conference: 'Engaging Students: Building Communities':
• 2022: Conference Presentation; Durham Learning and Teaching Conference: ‘Rethinking learning, teaching and assessment':
• 2020: Conference Presentation; Imagining Better Education Conference; Durham University:
• 2019: Conference Presentation; Imagining Better Education Conference; Durham University:
• 2019: Conference Presentation; BERA:
• 2018: Conference Presentation; Imagining Better Education Conference; Durham University:
• 2018: Conference Presentation; Wolfson Early Career Researcher Conference; Durham University:

Chapter in book

• How to be a learner and a teacher at the same time
  Oliver, M. (2024). How to be a learner and a teacher at the same time. In M. Stephenson, & A. Gill (Eds.), Training to be a Primary School Teacher: ITT and Beyond. Sage
• Developing reasoning to encourage deeper writing
  Oliver, M. (2023). Developing reasoning to encourage deeper writing. In A. Bushnell, A. Gill, D. Waugh, & R. Smith (Eds.), . (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications
• Developing reasoning to encourage deeper writing
  Oliver, M. (2020). Developing reasoning to encourage deeper writing. In A. Bushnell, A. Gill, D. Waugh, & R. Smith (Eds.), Mastering Writing at Greater Depth: A guide for primary teaching (173-189). SAGE Publications

Conference Paper

• Exploring and developing reasoning in primary English
  Oliver, M. (2019, December). Exploring and developing reasoning in primary English. Presented at Imagining Better Education, Durham, England

Doctoral Thesis

• Exploring and developing domain-specific reasoning in primary English
  Oliver, M. Exploring and developing domain-specific reasoning in primary English. (Thesis). Durham University. https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1617864

Journal Article

• Fostering critical digital literacies: Connecting young people with university students as meaningful others
  Costa, C., & Oliver, M. (2025). Fostering critical digital literacies: Connecting young people with university students as meaningful others. Advancing Education, 29-34
• Exploring task design to promote discipline-specific reasoning in primary English
  Oliver, M., & Higgins, S. (2023). Exploring task design to promote discipline-specific reasoning in primary English. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 47, Article 101230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2022.101230
• What styles of reasoning are important in primary English?
  Oliver, M. (2021). What styles of reasoning are important in primary English?. The Curriculum Journal, 32(4), 704-721. https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.120

Newspaper/Magazine Article

• What does reasoning look like in the primary English classroom?
  Oliver, M. (2023). What does reasoning look like in the primary English classroom?. Primary Matters

Report

• Digital Literacies with and for young people Co-producing picture books to promote digital cultural knowledge
  Costa, C., & Michaela, O. (2025). Digital Literacies with and for young people Co-producing picture books to promote digital cultural knowledge. Durham: Durham University
• The Durham Digital Literacy Project
  Costa, C., & Michaela, O. (2023). The Durham Digital Literacy Project. Durham: ESRC IAA