Who we are

Tracy has been working in higher education for fifteen years. She has taught English literature at the University of Aberdeen and the University of the West of England, and has been teaching academic skills and career management at a top university in the south-west since 2001, where she has also been involved in educational development and learning & teaching support for academic departments. She regularly contributes to training days for clinical staff in the NHS, supporting the development of teaching and assessment skills.     

 

Tracy is a regular conference speaker on issues related to learning, teaching and professional development, and has published academically on education and English literature topics. She completed a collaborative project in 2009 with the University of the West of England’s Department of Psychology on study skills, as well as a professional development project with both the University of Bristol's Audiology Department and Zhejiang Medical University in Hangzhou, China last summer.  Tracy is also currently working with Palgrave Macmillan to write Coach Yourself to Success, a self-coaching and motivational guide for university students of all backgrounds and ages.

In her spare time Tracy has a keen interest in health and fitness, especially the martial arts.  She is currently in training for her first-degree black belt in Lau Gar kung fu and has competed in regional tournaments for Bristol Lau Gar.  In July 2011, she completed a level one diploma in combat instruction with O'Hagan Total Combat Systems, covering combat jujutsu, atemi jutsu, street self defence and unarmed combat.  She also trains regularly with the Amazon Workout and ran the Bristol 10k in May 2010 with Team Amazon.  Tracy enjoys cinema of all kinds, reading Scandinavian crime novels and personal development books, dancing Argentine tango and food -  hence all the exercise!

• Forthcoming: Access to Higher Education Student Conference, speaking on developing study skills, University of the West of England, January 2012

 

• Forthcoming: Access to Higher Education Student Conference, speaking on developing study skills, Bath Spa University, February 2012

 

• 'Career Management & Continuing Professional Development', Fast-track professional development programme for audiologists, Zhejiang Medical University, China, September 2010

 

• 'The employability question', invited speaker at An Introduction to HE – A Programme for New Managers & Administrators, The Leadership Foundation, Durham, March 2010

 

• ‘Skills for a new curriculum: professionalising students through learning and teaching’, invited speaker at An Introduction to HE – A Programme for New Managers & Administrators, The Leadership Foundation, University of Warwick, January 2010

• ‘Coaching-led approaches to PDP and employability development’, SEDA 14^th Annual Conference, Birmingham, November 2009

• ‘Coaching for employability: devising a framework’, The Power of Two - Career Management and Development: making the most of Personal Development Planning (PDP), University of Leicester/Centre for Recording Achievement, July 2009

• ‘Developing students’ professional skills using PDP and self-coaching techniques’, Learning to be Professional conference, University of Surrey, March 2009

• ‘Developing academic skills with a diverse student body’, University of the West of England, invited speaker at a seminar series on academic literacy, December 2008

• ‘Eli Roth and the Morality of Torture Porn’, New Nightmares: Issues and Themes in Contemporary Horror Cinema, Manchester Metropolitan University, April 2008

• ‘Constructive re-alignment: meeting the expectations of international students’ SEDA Engaging With Student Expectations Conference, London, May 2008

• ‘How do international students engage with learning about study skills in British Higher Education?’ University of Bournemouth, 4^th LDHEN Symposium, April 2007 

 

• ‘Who is the expert here? Exploring the relationship between educational developers and academics in supporting Personal Development Planning (PDP), SEDA IIth Annual Conference, Birmingham, November 2006

 

• Personal Development Planning: Innovation or just accommodation?’ University of Belfast, SEDA Inspiring Learning Conference, May 2005

 

•  ‘The Mechanics of Collaboration: Selling Employability to a Traditional University’, University of Staffordshire, Selling Employability conference, January 2003.

• 'The Fear Industry: Women, Gothic and Crime Writing’, International Women’s Day Conference, invited speaker, Centre Universitaire, Luxembourg, March 2001.

• ‘Always just outside: nationality and abjection in Radclyffe Hall’s Adam’s Breed’, TextPorts Conference, Liverpool Hope University College, April 2000.

Postgraduate students at the universities of Bristol, Bath & Exeter can access a tool called Researcher Development Online, where you can see Dr Tracy Johnson speaking on how write your thesis.

 

• Currently in development with Palgrave Macmillan: Coach Yourself to Success! Motivation and skills for students An undergraduate guide to self-coaching techniques

• 'All ears in China', Phoenix - publication of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), Issue 133, May 2011

 

• 'PDP & employability: leaving the academic agenda behind?', ESCalate: the newsletter of the Education Subject Centre, Spring 2010

• ‘Developing academic skills with a diverse student body’, ESCalate: the newsletter of the Education Subject Centre, 11, Summer 2008.

• ‘Linking the classroom to the world: teaching literary theory in the UK’, Inventio: creative approaches to teaching and learning, 2003, 6:2.

• ‘Every man depicts himself: Frieda Hughes’ Waxworks’, Cold Mountain Review, Fall, 2003

• ‘Fear and Loathing: Women Representing Sexual Violence’ (on violence in cinema), Women’s Studies Network Newsletter, Autumn 2002.

• ‘Archaeologies and Utopias: Reassessing Kristeva’s Relevance to Feminist Literary Practice’, Feminist Theory, 3:2, 2002.

 

•   ‘The Fear Industry: Women, Gothic and Contemporary Crime Narrative’, Gothic Studies, 4:1, 2002.