Dr Simone Lira Calabrich

Lecturer in Psychology

Overview

Simone Calabrich is a lecturer in the School of Psychology and Sport Science and is also the marketing and recruitment lead for the Department of Psychology. She is the module organiser for two Year 1 modules: Research Methods I and Scientific Writing and Communication II. Additionally, she coordinates the Practising Oral Presentation Skills (POPS) programme for the School.

Simone supervises undergraduate research projects exploring topics in dyslexia, reading development, and eyewitness memory. During her PhD at Bangor University, she investigated the relationship between paired associate learning and reading ability in adults and children, using webcam-based eye tracking and mouse-tracking. During her PhD, Simone also contributed to the Research on the Instruction of Literacy with Language (RILL) programme, an evidence-based initiative aimed at supporting Key Stage 2 children. RILL was developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on providing targeted one-to-one and small group literacy support to help children, particularly those who struggle to read, improve their literacy and language skills.

Simone holds two Master’s degrees: one in Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching from King’s College London, and another in Clinical Linguistics from an Erasmus Mundus consortium involving the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Groningen, and the University of Potsdam. She also earned a postgraduate certificate in Language Teaching from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. This qualification was completed during her time as a Fulbright Program Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA), where she taught Brazilian Portuguese.

Simone has also been involved in creating resources for broader educational outreach. She helped develop and featured in an online course on Unifrog, a platform that supports students in exploring academic and career pathways, titled The psychology behind memory: can images make yours better?. Additionally, she delivered a webinar on the platform titled Memory on trial: can we trust eyewitnesses?.

Before joining academia, Simone worked as a language teacher and later as a language school coordinator, experiences that continue to shape her teaching and research.

Simone is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a recognition of her commitment to delivering high-quality teaching and supporting student development. Her teaching philosophy centres on creating inclusive and supportive learning environments that empower students to achieve their potential.

Teaching and Supervision

Simone is currently the module organiser on two Year 1 modules: Research Methods I and Scientific Writing and Communication II. She is also the Practicing Oral Presentation Skills (POPS) coordinator for the School of Psychology and Sport Science.

Simone currently supervises undergraduate research projects investigating the broad topics of dyslexia, reading development, and eyewitness memory.

Education / academic qualifications

  • PhD , Examining the relationship between paired associate learning and reading ability in adults and children, Bangor University (2019 - 2023)
  • MSc , Clinical Linguistics, University of Groningen (2017 - 2019)
  • MA , Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, King's College London (2013 - 2015)
  • Other , Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2012 - 2013)
  • BA , Modern Foreign Languages, Universidade Federal da Bahia (2002 - 2007)

Research outputs (5)

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Prof. activities and awards (8)

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