Nicola Pitchford

Contact

• workRoom B04 School of Psychology
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• work0115 95 15287
• fax0115 95 15324
• nicola.pitchford@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

Nicola's research expertise lies in developmental psychology and education. She investigates how the cognitive processes that underpin scholastic progression develop over childhood. She works with specialist populations of children with acquired neurological disorders. Her clinical research centres on discovering how stroke, preterm birth, and brain tumour impact on scholastic and neuronal development and wellbeing.

Working at the interface of theory and practice, Nicola collaborates with academics from different disciplines (e.g. psychology, medicine, education) and works with practitioners and professionals from a diverse range of fields (e.g. neurologists, neonatologists, oncologists, nurses, educators, companies, charities, non-government organisations, and government officials) to ensure that her research secures maximum benefits for key users and stakeholders.

Her most recent research is exploring the use of innovative mobile technology to support the acquisition of basic skills (numeracy, literacy, English) by primary school children in Malawi, the UK, and several other countries. This international programme of work is being carried out in partnership with the charities onebillion (https://onebillion.org.uk/) and Voluntary Service Overseas. The evaluation studies she has designed and conducted formed the subject of a BBC Click documentary that was released on BBC Worldwide News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29063614).

Nicola is also an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Psychology: Educational Psychology.

Research Summary

onebillion: app-based maths learning trial

Nicola is currently leading a national trial of onebillion's maths apps with year 1 primary school children in England. This cluster RCT is funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and is being evaluated by the University of Oxford. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/onebillion-app-based-maths-learning

Using digital technology to support early years learning for pupils with English as an Additional Language

Nicola collaborates with Anthea Gulliford, Senior Educational Psychologist and Co-Director of the D App Ed Psy professional training programme in Educational Psychology at the University of Nottingham. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/psychology/people/anthea.gulliford

Together, they are supervising a new PhD studentship on using onebillion's maths apps to support the learning of early years pupils with English as an Additional Language. This collaborative PhD studentship is funded by the ESRC. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/mgsdtp/collaborativeandjoint/n_pitchford_collaborative_advert_-_nottingham.pdf

Research school partnerships

Nicola works in partnership with Marc Faulder, an early years specialist at Burton Joyce Primary School and Apple Distinguished Educator. https://enabling-environments.co.uk/ http://www.burtonjoyce.notts.sch.uk/

This bilateral partnership operates to support Nicola's research and Marc's teaching practice. They co-produce research and teacher training materials. This provides a psychological evidence-base for best teaching practice.

Nicola and Marc are partnering on the EEF trial to implement onebillion's maths apps into primary schools.

Recent Publications

• OUTHWAITE, L. A., GULLIFORD, A. and PITCHFORD, N.J.P., 2020. Language Counts when Learning Mathematics with Interactive Apps British Journal of Educational Technology.
• PAPINI, C., DINEEN, R.A., WALKER, D.A., THOMAS, S. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2020. Neuropsychological outcomes of children with Optic Pathway Glioma Scientific Reports. 10, 3344
• FRENCH, B, OUTHWAITE, L.A., LANGLEY-EVANS, S.C. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2020. Nutrition, growth, and other factors associated with early cognitive and motor development in Sub-Saharan Africa – a scoping review. Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietitics.
• OUTHWAITE, L. A., GULLIFORD, A. and PITCHFORD, N. J., 2019. A new methodological approach for evaluating the impact of educational intervention implementation on learning outcomes International Journal of Research & Method in Education.

• View all publications

• OUTHWAITE, L. A., GULLIFORD, A. and PITCHFORD, N.J.P., 2020. Language Counts when Learning Mathematics with Interactive Apps British Journal of Educational Technology.
• PAPINI, C., DINEEN, R.A., WALKER, D.A., THOMAS, S. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2020. Neuropsychological outcomes of children with Optic Pathway Glioma Scientific Reports. 10, 3344
• FRENCH, B, OUTHWAITE, L.A., LANGLEY-EVANS, S.C. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2020. Nutrition, growth, and other factors associated with early cognitive and motor development in Sub-Saharan Africa – a scoping review. Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietitics.
• OUTHWAITE, L. A., GULLIFORD, A. and PITCHFORD, N. J., 2019. A new methodological approach for evaluating the impact of educational intervention implementation on learning outcomes International Journal of Research & Method in Education.
• ROBINSON, L.J.,, ASTLE, V., GARCÍA, M.G., LAW, J., OHJA, S., SYMONDS, M.E., PITCHFORD, N.J. and BUDGE, H., 2019. Sexual dimorphism of brown adipose tissue function as determined by infrared thermography in young children and its relationship with lifestyle and diet. Journal of Pediatrics. 210, 1-7
• PITCHFORD, N.J, CHIGEDA, A. and HUBBER, P.J., 2019. 7) Pitchford, N.J., Chigeda, A. & Hubber, P.J. (2019). Interactive apps prevent gender discrepancies in early grade mathematics in a low-income country in Sub-Sahara Africa. Developmental Science. 2, e12864
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and OUTHWAITE, L.A., 2019. Secondary benefits to attentional processing through intervention with an interactive maths app. Frontiers in Psychology.
• PITCHFORD, N.J., KAMCHEDZERA, E., HUBBER, P.J. and CHIGEDA, A.L., 2018. Interactive Apps Promote Learning of Basic Mathematics in Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Frontiers in Psychology. 9, 262
• OUTHWAITE, L., FAULDER, M., GULLIFORD, A. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2018. Raising early achievement in math with interactive apps: A randomized control trial. Journal of Educational Psychology.
• LEONG, C.X.R., PRICE, J.M., PITCHFORD, N.J. and VAN HEUVEN, W.J.B., 2018. High variability phonetic training in adaptive adverse conditions is rapid, effective, and sustained PLoS ONE. 13(10), e0204888
• L A OUTHWAITE, ANTHEA GULLIFORD and NICOLA J PITCHFORD, 2017. Closing the gap: Efficacy of a tablet intervention to support the development of early mathematical skills in UK primary school children. Computers and Education.
• KYPARISSIADIS, A., VAN HEUVEN, W.J.B., PITCHFORD, N.J. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2017. GreekLex 2: A comprehensive upgrade of the GreekLex database with syllabic, phonological and part-of-speech information. PLoS ONE. 12(2), e0172493
• JOHNSTON, R., PITCHFORD, N. J., ROACH, N. W. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2017. Encoding of rapid time-varying information is impaired in poor readers Journal of Vision. 17(5), 1-13
• JOHNSTON, R., PITCHFORD, N. J., ROACH, N. W. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2017. Visual perception in dyslexia is limited by sub-optimal scale selection Scientific Reports. 7, 6593
• JOHNSTON, R., PITCHFORD, N. J., ROACH, N. W. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2017. New insights into the role of motion and form vision in neurodevelopmental disorders Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 83, 32-45
• PITCHFORD, N.J, PAPINI, C, OUTHWAITE, L.A. and GULLIFORD, A., 2016. Fine motor skills are a better predictor of early maths than early reading ability in primary school children in the U.K. Frontiers in Psychology. 7, 783
• HUBBER, P.J., OUTHWAITE, L.A., CHIGEDA, A., MCGRATH, S., HODGEN, J. and PITCHFORD, N.J, 2016. Should touch screen tablets be used to improve educational outcomes in primary school children in developing countries? Frontiers in Psychology. 7, 839
• JOHNSTON, R., PITCHFORD, N. J., ROACH, N. W. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2016. Why is the processing of global motion impaired in adults with developmental dyslexia? Brain and Cognition. 108, 20-31
• N.J. PITCHFORD and L.A. OUTHWAITE, 2016. Can touch screen tablets be used to assess cognitive and motor skills in early years primary school children? A cross-cultural study. Frontiers in Psychology. 7, 1666
• N.J. PITCHFORD, 2015. Development of early mathematical skills with a tablet intervention: a randomized control trial in Malawi Frontiers in Psychology. 6, 485
• MORRALL, M.C.H.J, PITCHFORD, N.J., WATERS, E.C., ABLETT, K.L., STOCKS, H., WALKER, D. and GRUNDY, R.G., 2014. Recommendations for Assessing Cognitive Risks in Young Children Treated for Ependymoma for Clinical and Research Protocols: Evidence from a Systematic Literature Review Journal of Pediatric Oncology. 2, 24-39
• KELLY, A., VAN HEUVEN, W.J.B., PITCHFORD, N.J and LEDGEWAY, T., 2013. Is the masked priming same-different task a pure measure of prelexical processing? PLoS ONE. 8(9), e72888
• EMMA E. DAVIS, NICOLA J. PITCHFORD, TIM JASPAN, DONALD MCARTHUR and DAVID WALKER, 2013. Dissociation of cognitive and motor ability across childhood following early cerebellar tumour injury: A longitudinal investigation Journal of Pediatric Oncology. 1, 98-111
• TOWNSEND, E. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2012. Baby knows best?: the impact of weaning style on food preferences and body mass index in early childhood in a case-controlled sample BMJ Open. 2(1), e000298
• PITCHFORD, N.J, VAN HEUVEN, W.J.B, KELLY, A.N., ZHANG, T. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2012. Vision, development, and bilingualism are fundamental in the quest for a universal model of visual word recognition and reading: Commentary to Ram Frost's target article: Towards a universal model of reading Brain and Behavioural Sciences. 35, 38-39
• DAVIS, E.E., PITCHFORD, N.J. and LIMBACK, E., 2011. The interrelation between cognitive and motor development in typically developing children aged 4-11 years is underpinned by visual processing and fine manual control British Journal of Psychology. 102(3), 569-584
• MULDER, H., PITCHFORD, N.J. and MARLOW, N., 2011. Processing speed mediates executive function difficulties in very preterm children in middle childhood Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 17(3), 445-454
• PITCHFORD, N.J., JOHNSON, S., SCERIF, G. and MARLOW, N., 2011. Early indications of delayed cognitive development in preschool children born very preterm: evidence from domain-general and domain-specific tasks Infant and Child Development. 20(4), 400-422
• DAVIS, E.E., PITCHFORD, N.J., JASPAN, T., MACARTHUR, D. and WALKER, D., 2011. Effects of hydrocephalus after cerebellar tumor: a case-by-case approach Pediatric Neurology. 44(3), 193-201
• MULDER, H., PITCHFORD, N.J. and MARLOW, N., 2011. Inattentive behaviour is associated with poor working memory and slow processing speed in very preterm children in middle childhood British Journal of Educational Psychology. 81(1), 147-160
• KAREMAKER, A., PITCHFORD, N.J. and O’MALLEY, C., 2010. Enhanced recognition of written words and enjoyment of reading in struggling beginner readers through whole-word multimedia software Computers and Education. 54(1), 199-208
• KAREMAKER, A.M., PITCHFORD, N.J. and O’MALLEY, C., 2010. Does whole-word multimedia software support literacy acquisition? Reading and Writing. 23(1), 31-51
• FUNNELL, E. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2010. Reading disorders and weak verbal IQ following left hemisphere stroke in children: no evidence of compensation Cortex. 46(10), 1248-1258
• MULDER, H., PITCHFORD, N.J. and MARLOW, N., 2010. Processing speed and working memory underlie academic attainment in very preterm children Archives of disease in childhood fetal and neonatal edition. 95(4), F267-F272
• DAVIS, E.E., PITCHFORD, N.J., JASPAN, T., MCARTHUR, D. and WALKER, D., 2010. Development of cognitive and motor function following cerebellar tumour injury sustained in early childhood Cortex. 46(7), 919-932
• PITCHFORD, N.J., LEDGEWAY, T. and MASTERSON, J., 2009. Reduced orthographic learning in dyslexic adult readers: evidence from patterns of letter search Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 62(1), 99-113
• MULDER, H., PITCHFORD, N.J., HAGGER, M.S. and MARLOW, N., 2009. Development of executive function and attention in preterm children: a systematic review Developmental Neuropsychology. 34(4), 393-421
• KTORI, M. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2009. Development of letter position processing: effects of age and orthographic transparency Journal of Research in Reading. 32(2), 180-198
• PITCHFORD, N.J., DAVIS, E.E. and SCERIF, G., 2009. Does colour preference have a role in colour term acquisition? British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 27(4), 993-1012
• PITCHFORD, N.J., LEDGEWAY, T. and MASTERSON, J., 2008. Effect of orthographic processes in letter position encoding Journal of Research in Reading. 31(1), 97-116
• KTORI, M., VAN HEUVEN, W.J.B. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2008. GreekLex: a lexical database of modern greek Behavior Research Methods. 40(3), 773-783
• KAREMAKER, A., PITCHFORD, N.J. and O’MALLEY, C., 2008. Using whole-word multi-media software to support literacy acquisition: a comparison to traditional books Educational and Child Psychology. 25(3), 97-118
• PITCHFORD, N.J., LEDGEWAY, T., MASTERSON, J. and KTORI, M., 2008. Does sensitivity to orthographic structure influence letter position encoding? In: Fifteenth Annual Meeting 
Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Asheville, USA.. (In Press.)
• FRANKLIN, A., PITCHFORD, N.J., MAHONY, L., DAVIES, I.R.L., CLAUSSE, S. and JENNINGS, S., 2008. Salience of primary and secondary focal colours in infancy British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 26(4), 471-483
• KTORI, M. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2008. Effect of orthographic transparency on letter position encoding:a comparison of Greek and English monoscriptal and biscriptal readers Language and Cognitive Processes. 23(2), 258-281
• PITCHFORD, N.J., FUNNELL, E., DE HAAN, B. and MORGAN, P.S., 2007. Right hemisphere reading in a case of developmental deep dyslexia Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 60(9), 1187-1196
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and WAGSTAFFE, J.K., 2007. Effects of phonology on letter-position encoding. In: European Society for Cognitive Psychology, XV Conference, Marseille, France, 29-August - 1st September 2007.
• DAVIS, E.E., PITCHFORD, N.J. and SCERIF, G., 2007. Colour cognition: the influence of colour preference in adults. In: British Psychology Society Developmental Conference, University of Plymouth, UK. 2007.
• LIMBACK, E., SCERIF, G. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2007. Do colour preferences remain stable with age? In: British Psychology Society Developmental Conference, University of Plymouth, UK. 2007.
• KTORI, M. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2007. Development of letter-position processing: Effects of age and orthographic transparency. In: European Society for Cognitive Psychology, XV Conference, Marseille, France. 29th August - 1st September 2007.
• KAREMAKER, A.M., PITCHFORD, N.J. and O’MALLEY, C., 2007. A comparison of the use of multi-media software and traditional books to support reading acquisition. In: European Society for Cognitive Psychology, XV Conference, Marseille, France. 29th August - 1st September 2007.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2006. The developmental acquisition of basic colour terms.. In: PITCHFORD, N.J. and BIGGAM, C.P., eds., Progress in Colour Studies Vol II: Psychological Aspects. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Ltd..
• KTORI, M. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2006. Letter position encoding in Greek and English monoscriptal and biscriptal readers. In: Experimental Psychology Society.
• LIMBACK, E., SCERIF, G. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2006. The stability of colour preferences over age and task. Perception. 35(Supplement), 425
• PITCHFORD, N.J., 2006. Investigating conceptual development in toddlers born preterm using an experimental information-processing approach. In: Asian Brain-Based Learning Conference.
• BONNARDEL, V. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2006. Colour categorisation in preschoolers.. In: PITCHFORD, N.J. and BIGGAM, C.P., eds., Progress in Colour Studies Vol II: Psychological Aspects. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Ltd.
• KTORI, M. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2006. Effect of orthographic transparency on visual letter search: A developmental study. In: British Psychology Society.
• DAVIS, E.E., PITCHFORD, N.J. and SCERIF, G., 2006. The influence of colour preference on colour cognition in adults. Perception. 35(Supplement), 421-422
• PITCHFORD, N.J., 2006. Living with ADHD In: Asian Brain-Based Learning Conference.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and BIGGAM, C.P., eds., 2006. Progress in Colour Studies Vol II: Psychological Aspects. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Ltd..
• PITCHFORD, N.J., 2006. Reflections on how colour term acquisition is constrained. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 94, 328-333
• FRANKLIN, A., PITCHFORD, N.J., MAHONY, L., JENNINGS, S. and DAVIES, I.R.L., 2006. Color preferences in infancy. In: International Society of Infant Studies Conference.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2005. The role of perception, language, and preference in the developmental acquisition of basic color terms Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 90(4), 275-302
• SCERIF,G., PITCHFORD,N.J., JOHNSON,S.J. and MARLOW,N., 2005. Selective attention to chromatic stimuli in preschool children born very preterm. In: X^th Meeting of the Child Vision Research Society. Programme and book of abstracts. 28-29
• WAGSTAFFE, J.K., PITCHFORD, N.J. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2005. Does central fixation account for medial letter facilitation in visual search? Perception. 34((Supplement)), 150
• WAGSTAFFE, J.K., PITCHFORD, N.J. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2005. Does central fixation account for medial letter facilitation in visual search? In: 27th European Conference on Visual Perception.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and FUNNELL, E., 2005. Reading with the right hemisphere: Evidence from developmental deep dyslexia. In: Experimental Psychology Society Conference.
• DAVIS, E.E., PITCHFORD, N.J. and SCERIF, G., 2005. The influence of colour preference on colour cognition in adults. In: Applied Vision Association.
• DIAS, L., JOHNS, S., WANG, Z., BRAITHWAITE, L., PARKER, T., JASPAN, T., MORGAN, P., PITCHFORD, N.J., MACARTHUR, D. and WALKER, D., 2005. Assessment of paediatric cerebellar injury after tumour resection and its contribution to post-operative mutism. In: SIOP.
• PITCHFORD, N.J and MULLEN, K.T., 2005. Influence of saturation on colour preference and colour naming. Perception. 34(Supplement), 25
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K., 2005. Influence of saturation on colour preference and colour naming. In: 27th European Conference on Visual Perception.
• BONNARDEL, V. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2005. Structure of colour space derived from three sorting tasks. In: Vision Sciences Society Conference.
• LIMBACK, E., SCERIF, G. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2005. The stability of colour preferences over age and task. In: Applied Vision Association.
• PITCHFORD, N.J., 2005. Investigating conceptual development in toddlers born preterm using an experimental information-processing approach. In: British Psychology Society Developmental Conference.
• PITCHFORD, N.J., FUNNELL, E., MASTERSON, J., RORDEN, C. and MORGAN, P., 2004. The functional organisation of semantic memory: Evidence from a developmental case of deep dyslexia. In: The Architecture of the Language Faculty.
• WANG, Z., BRAITHWAITE, L., PARKER, T., JASPAN, T., MORGAN, P., BARRETT, S., PITCHFORD, N.J. and WALKER, D., 2004. Cerebellar injury and neurocognitive outcomes after tumour therapy - A pilot case-control study. Neuro-Oncology. 6, 443-443
• PITCHFORD, N.J., MASTERSON, J. and LEDGEWAY, T., 2004. Evidence for serial and global encoding of letter identity and position in a visual task using skilled and dyslexic adult readers. Perception. 33((Supplement)), 150
• WAGSTAFFE, J.K. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2004. Can crowding and repetition priming effects account for facilitation of initial, medial, and terminal letters in visual search tasks? Perception. (Suppl)(33), 150
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2004. The status of primary and secondary colours in colour term aquisition. In: Fall Vision Meeting.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K., 2004. The status of primary and secondary colours in colour term acquisition. Journal of Vision. 4(11), 75a
• FUNNELL, E. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2004. A study of group and sub-group difference in literacy and IQ in children with left or right-hemisphere lesions. In: Experimental Psychology Society Conference.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2004. The status of primary and secondary colours in colour term acquisition. In: Progress in Colour Studies.
• WANG, Z., BRAITHWAITE, L., PARKER, T., JASPAN, T., MORGAN, P., BARRETT, S., PITCHFORD, N.J. and WALKER, D., 2004. Cerebellar injury and neurocognitive outcomes after tumour therapy: A pilot case-control study. In: 11th International Symposium on Peadiatric Neuro-Oncology.
• WAGSTAFFE, J.K. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2004. Can crowding and repetition priming effects account for facilitation of initial, medial, and terminal letters in visual serach tasks? In: 26th Eurpean Conference on Visual Perception.
• BONNARDEL, V. and PITCHFORD, N.J., 2004. Colour categorisation in preschoolers. In: Progress in Colour Studies.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2003. The development of conceptual colour categories in pre-school children: influence of perceptual categorization Visual Cognition. 10(1), 51-77
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2002. Is the acquisition of basic-colour terms in young children constrained? Perception. 31(11), 1349-1370
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2002. Perceptual influences on the development of basic colour categories in young children. Perception. (Suppl)(31), 70-71
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2002. Perceptual influences on the development of basic colour categories in young children. In: 25th European Conference on Visual Perception.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2001. Conceptualization of perceptual attributes: a special case for color? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 80(3), 289-314
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2001. Young children's developmental of basic colour terms. Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science. Opt. Express(9), 1
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2001. The development of visual cognition: A comparison of four attributes Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 42
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2001. Young Children's developmental of basic colour terms. In: Optical Society of America Satellite meeting.
• PITCHFORD, N.J. and MULLEN, K.T., 2001. The development of visual cognition: A comparison of four attributes. In: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting.
• PITCHFORD, N.J., 1996. Effects of spoken language processing on reading development in children with acquired aphasia. Brain and Language. 55, 127 - 129