My research interests include two primary thematic domains - geoscience and pedagogy (educational theory and practice):
Geoscience: As an interdisciplinary geoscientist, I am interested in global change. I specialise in a number of disciplines (geochemistry, geomorphology, sedimentology and palaeoecology). I combine these disciplines to reconstruct past environmental change at a high resolution, in order to better understand present-day climate change.
My current research interests / collaborations include:
Reconstructing ice-sheet dynamics via the geomorphic and sedimentary imprint of past ice sheets (The Minch, NW Scotland).
Palaeoenvironmental change (offshore) reconstructed through biogeochemical analysis of marine sediment cores.
Understanding what sediment records can tell us about past environments at ultra-high resolution.
Non-destructive analysis and characterisation of Quaternary sediments
Pedagogy: My current pedagogical research is focused around the secondary to higher education transition and improving student emotional robustness through skills development:
Exploring new methods of facilitating a smooth secondary to higher education transition.
Developing new approaches to skills development in academia and broader society.
Tackling climate anxiety through skills-based learning.
Developing a skill-based pedagogical framework for sustainability
PI: Mr Neil McDonald
Funded by: The British Ecological Society
–
Article
Automated characterisation of glaciomarine sediments using X-ray computed laminography
McDonald N, Bradwell T, Callard SL, Toney JL, Shreeve B & Shreeve J (2022) Automated characterisation of glaciomarine sediments using X-ray computed laminography. Quaternary Science Advances, 5, Art. No.: 100046. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2021.100046
Article
Bradwell T, Fabel D, Clark CD, Chiverrell RC, Small D, Smedley RK, Saher MH, Moreton SJ, Dove D, Callard SL, Duller GAT, Medialdea A, Bateman MD, Burke MJ & McDonald N (2021) Pattern, style and timing of British-Irish Ice Sheet advance and retreat over the last 45 000 years: evidence from NW Scotland and the adjacent continental shelf. Journal of Quaternary Science, 36 (5), pp. 871-933. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3296
I'm a hugely motivated educator specialising in cooperative and skills-based learning in order to engage and support learners for success in higher education and beyond. I teach across all four years at undergraduate level and masters level in the following modules:
GEOU9SP (Geographical Information Systems) SCIU2PS (Practical Science Skills: Field Skills) ENVU2LV (Landscape Evolution) GEOU9GL (Glaciers & Landscape) GEOU4ER (Environmental Resilience) EPLPPG2 (Applications of Remote Sensing) EPLPPG1 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing) ENVU6SP (Sustainable Landscapes) EPLPPG3 (Planetary Exploration)