Jo Irving-Walton is Principal Lecturer (Learning and Teaching) in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law at Teesside University, where she works across UK and transnational provision. She is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA) and a Recognised Leader in Advising (RLA, UKAT).

Prior to joining Teesside University in 2013, Jo worked across schools, local authorities, the Department for Education, and the private sector, including international contexts. This cross-sector experience continues to inform her work, bringing together perspectives from across the education system rather than focusing on a single educational phase or setting.

Since joining the university, she has held a number of leadership roles including Principal Lecturer (Education: Quality and Partnerships), Principal Lecturer (International), and Acting Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching).

Her work focuses on how people develop judgement in learning: how they think through uncertainty, draw on emotion and experience, and make sense of increasingly complex educational environments. She is particularly interested in the relationship between thinking, feeling, reflection, and decision-making, and how these shape learning experiences for both students and educators.

Current projects explore academic advising, reflective practice, learning across partnerships, and the implications of generative AI for learning and teaching. Across these areas, her work seeks to understand how learners and educators navigate complexity while maintaining thoughtful, reflective, and human-centred approaches to learning.

Alongside her university role, Jo continues to undertake consultancy and professional development work in educational leadership, learning and teaching, quality enhancement, and organisational development.