Dr Tamer Said

Tamer is a cognitive psychologist who is interested in studying the relations between cognitive and non-cognitive factors within educational settings, with a special interest in conceptual change research and science learning.

[email protected]

Connect with Tamer on LinkedIn

Background

Tamer is a biologist, psychologist, and educator who is passionate about improving learning and teaching from a well-rounded perspective. He examines how non-cognitive factors like motivation and emotions impact learning challenging science concepts. The goal of his research is to connect both cognitive and non-cognitive elements and apply these insights in educational settings.

Before joining ARU, Tamer worked as a postdoctoral researcher, exploring how online training influences the skills development of medical doctors in the East of England, using a mix of research methods. During his PD at the University of Cambridge, he studied the relationship between executive functions and motivation in science learning during under Prof Ellefson.

Before coming to the UK, Tamer led the development and delivery of training workshops for faculty members. These workshops focused on developing pedagogical strategies based on a holistic understanding of students' development. Over the past decade, Tamer has worked with teachers on applying research findings from cognitive and positive psychology to enhance their classroom practices.

Tamer is a member of ARU Centre for Mind and Behaviour.

Spoken Languages

• English
• Arabic

Research interests

• Applying cognitive psychology in educational settings.
• Exploring links between executive functions and emotional health/wellbeing in academic settings, with a special interest in science education.
• Factors impacting conceptual change (changing misconceptions to match canonical scientific knowledge)
• Academic motivation

Areas of research supervision

• Applying cognitive psychology in educational settings.
• Exploring links between executive functions and emotional health/wellbeing in academic settings, with a special interest in science education.
• Factors impacting conceptual change (changing misconceptions to match canonical scientific knowledge)
• Academic motivation

Teaching

• Educational psychology (Module leader)
• Brain, Body, and Mind
• Current Theoretical Issues in Cognitive Neuroscience

Qualifications

• PhD in Psychology and Education, University of Cambridge
• M Ed. in Mind, Brain, and Education. Harvard Graduate School of Education
• MA in International and Comparative Education, American University in Cairo
• MSc. in Biotechnology, American University in Cairo
• BSc. In Pharmaceutical Sciences & Biotechnology, German University in Cairo

Memberships, editorial boards

• Member, European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI)
• Member, Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS)
• Early Career Researchers in Science Education
• Reviewer, Cambridge Journal of Education

Selected recent publications

Said & Ellefson. Examining the Role of Executive Function and Motivation in Physics Task. Special Issue on “Underutilized Techniques and Underrepresented Samples in Educational Neuroscience Research” in Mind, Brain, and Education (Under Review)

Chen, Said, Sadler, Perry, and Sonnert. The impact of high school science pedagogies on students’ STEM career interest and on their ratings of teacher quality. Teaching and Teacher Education. (Under Review).

Ellefson et al., Age and Gender Effects on the Development of Executive Function Skills: A Multi-Site Comparison of Children and Adolescents. Special Issue "Towards a Globalized Developmental Science.". Developmental Science (In preparation)

Wang, Tsapali, Huang, Said, and Ellefson. The Role of Executive Functions in the Suppression of Naïve Misconception: A systematic Review Study (Pre-registered on OSF)

Recent presentations and conferences

Said, Von Essen, Kandil, Brunstein, Hofmann (2023, December). Exploring the Impact of Online Teaching and Learning on Medical Trainers and Trainees in the East of England Deanery. SRHE (2023) International Research Conference

Said and Ellefson (2022, August). Exploring the Role of Affective Components in Conceptual Change: A Practitioner Perspective. Poster presented at The 12th International Conference on Conceptual Change, Zwolle, The Netherlands.

Said, T. (2022) Online Data Collection: Challenges & Opportunities. ESRC, DTP Cambridge, UK