I’m a UK chartered psychologist and former teacher, turned learning scientist. I taught for more than decade in schools across Northern England and have also designed and delivered introductory psychology programs for adult learners.
My primary area of interest is in the emotional aspects of learning, specifically, the interaction between cognition and emotion.
The Emotional Learner represents a combination of my experience as a teacher and my time as a postgraduate researcher, investigating the role of emotions in the ability to bounce back from both low-level stress and extreme adversity.
I have been awarded Chartered Psychologist status by the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as Associate Fellowship.
In addition to The Emotional Learner, I am co-author (with Jonathan Firth) of Psychology in the Classroom.
My most recent book Becoming Buoyant was published in 2020 and provides a comprehensive account of academic buoyancy, including emotional and cognitive aspects of learning-specific resilience.
I occasionally write for The Guardian and TES
Learning Science
Learning Science is a broad term referring to the investigation of how people learn. It includes areas related to the cognitive-, social- and cultural-psychological aspects of learning.
The Learning Sciences are set of multidisciplinary areas that include, but are not confined to:
- Cognitive Science
- Computer Science
- Applied Linguistics
- Educational Psychology
- Anthropology
- Curricula design
- Informal learning
Selected Articles
Marc Smith (2018) Does Personality Count When It Comes To Teaching? (Cover Feature) TES 14 September)
Marc Smith (2017) The Eyes Don’t (Always) Have It TES (24 March)
Marc Smith (2016) Has The Resilience Ship Sailed? (Cover Feature) TES (25 March)
Marc Smith (2016) Use Psychology To Manage Student’s Expectation TES (18 March)
Marc Smith (2015) Foster Failure And Turn Frowns Upside Down TES (28 August)
Marc Smith (2015) Bounce Back: 10 Ways To Raise Resilient Children The Green Parent (March)
Smith M (2015) From Adversity to Buoyancy: Reconceptualising Academic Resilience The Psychologist vol.28 pp. 690-695
Smith M (2011) Failing Boys, Failing Psychology The Psychologist vol. 24 pp. 390-391
Smith M (2010) A-level Psychology: Is there a way forward? Psychology Teaching Review vol.16 pp. 33-37
Smith M (2007) Training to teach psychology in schools The Psychologist vol. 20 pp. 619
The Emotional Learner 