John Lowe is a teaching fellow in the School of Education at University of Southampton teaching on the PGCE science course. He has a degree in biochemistry (UCW Aberystwyth), a PGCE (Exeter) and a masters in educational management (Bath). He has taught in a variety of schools and was a head of science for seventeen years, first in an inner city school, then for several years in a suburban comprehensive. During this time he developed an interest in lesson observation as a means to improve pedagogic practice and in practical chemistry to secure progression. Both of these themes inform his teaching. He taught service children in Berlin for two years and speaks limited German and French. Other interests include sailing and mountain walking.