Working to support the emerging community of academic skills mentors at Oxford University has helped me reflect more deeply on what constitutes skilled Learning Development practice. I've been thinking more about the Four Roles of LD and about formulation, how any Learning Development interaction is a blend of the expertise that we bring and that … Continue reading Of Lightbulbs and Levers
Half a decade of NTF?!
In 2019 I was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship. 'Half a decade' as my colleague Stephen Briggs puts it sounds rather more momentous than 'gosh, was that five years ago now? how time flies!' Congratulations to all the new 2024 National Teaching Fellows this week! It's a huge achievement and much deserved recognition for some … Continue reading Half a decade of NTF?!
A CPD Framework for Learning Development
It's long been acknowledged that when you start as a Learning Developer, you jump in the deep end. There's no qualification in LD, little training (I used to offer training via ALDinHE and I understand ALDinHE plans to revisit offering CPD, which would be very welcome) and other than a handful of (very useful) books, … Continue reading A CPD Framework for Learning Development
Keeping up to date with higher education sector change: Implications for Learning Development Practitioners
I'm passionate about Learning Development. You may have noticed. My professional obsession has led me to explore how skilled this work is, how valuable a contribution it can play in Higher Education, and how much it needs championing at all levels to raise its profile, preserve its values and fully realise its potential. I've written … Continue reading Keeping up to date with higher education sector change: Implications for Learning Development Practitioners
Mapping Learning Development Provision
Working in an institution without a history of Learning Development, where there isn't an obvious 'hole' where LD would be, I'm often challenged to describe how my profession is constituted in other universities. Not just the question of describing what an individual Learning Developer does (a challenge which has been noted by several authors from … Continue reading Mapping Learning Development Provision
Is there any such thing as ‘generic study skills’?
One of the fundamental implications of Academic Literacies theory is that writing is not monolithic. There is no such thing as ‘academic writing’; instead, there is a multiplicity of discourses, genres and conventions each shaped by the disciplinary context in which they are situated. But the implications of the Academic Literacies model go beyond 'academic … Continue reading Is there any such thing as ‘generic study skills’?
Learning Development Learning Outcomes
I've been working more of late in an embedded mode (or rather, an integrated mode). Being more integrated within the architecture of learning and teaching, rather than embedding the odd isolated workshop session here or there within a module, I need to align with the kinds of processes typical of module design, which often sit … Continue reading Learning Development Learning Outcomes
Embedded or integrated?
This post was written as an article for ALDinHE's LoveLD magazine (Issue 3 July 2023), and is reposted here with permission. Go have a look at the magazine- there's lots more good stuff there! (many thanks to Katherine Jewitt who has done an amazing job of editing and typesetting the article, but I also wanted … Continue reading Embedded or integrated?
Running a Learning Development Deficit
The DEFICIT model. Ugh. This term is often used to describe the approach to learning development work that we don’t want to take, the opposite of what we do. It’s become definitive of how Learning Developers perceive Learning Development, a way to position our work against other (lesser…) approaches to demonstrate its value and articulate … Continue reading Running a Learning Development Deficit
The 6th P of LD – Publication!
This week, I'm celebrating something that's been six years in the making - the publication of my article on the 5 Ps of LD. Voila! Webster, H. (2023). The five Ps of LD: Using formulation in Learning Development work for a student-centred approach to ‘study skills’. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20 (4). https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.4.07 The … Continue reading The 6th P of LD – Publication!
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