How to Be A Learning DeveloperALDINHE REGIONAL EVENT: NEWCASTLE AND SUNDERLAND

Schedule10:15 Welcome

10:30 What are We?

◦ Facets of the LD role

◦ ‘Doing’ values

11:30 Coffee

11:45 One to One work

◦ Structuring a One to One

◦ Overcoming barriers to learning

13:15 Lunch

14:00 Workshop Approaches◦ Sue Meyer: ‘how to resource an evolving

workshop programme with limited staff’

◦ Jiani Liu: ‘teaching critical thinking to new first years’

◦ Caroline Crow: ‘how to stop reinventing the wheel every time’

15:00 Coffee

15:15 Workshop Toolkit

15:45 Plenary

16:00 Departure

Who are we?

•What’s your name?

• Where do you work?

• What’s your role and set-up?

•What are you hoping for from

today?

Part One: What Are We?

The Roots of Learning Development

Learning Development

EAP

SpLD

Counselling

Staff Development

Researcher Development

IL Librarians

Faculty teaching

Student advice work

FE

Learning Technology Professional:

• Ethics and Values• Theory• Expertise and

knowledge • Practices and skills• Standards

What roles do we play?

On each table are a number of ‘hats’ which we might wear during our work.

•What is the distinction between each role?

•How (far) might each apply to LD work?

•Can you add any? Would you reject any?

A hierarchy?

Which do you identify most closely with? Which do you identify least with?

Organise the roles in a hierarchy

A Continuum?

Place each role along a continuum:

What is the ‘axis’ of the continuum – a spectrum between what and what?

? ?

The Values of Learning DevelopmentHow do you react to these views?

“Study skills support is really helpful for the weaker students, to stop them falling behind”

“For one reason or another, students lack these skills when they come to uni, and training is needed to give them the skills they need.”

“I never had any study skills support when I was a student – I was expected to pick this stuff up by osmosis!”

“Academic writing and study has particular conventions and norms which just need to be learned”.

“Study skills are important transferable skills. Every student should have a course of class of study skills as well as their subject.”

Professional Values – what can we borrow?•From teaching – student-centred, constructivist

•From counselling – empathy, unconditional positive regard, congruence, confidentiality

•From guidance work – neutrality, impartiality

•From EAP/Careers - authenticity

•From Disability/SpLD - inclusivity, social justice

•General professional - physical boundaries and spaces, punctuality and preparedness

Learning Development ValuesBrainstorm:

What values would you say we ‘profess’ as learning developers?

Diamond ranking exercise:

Which are the core values?

‘Doing’ Values

Choose one of the values.

How is this manifested in a practical way in an aspect of your LD work?

• One to one

• Workshops

• Resource development

•Publicity

Coffee

Part Two: One to One work

How to do a one to one tutorialSo what happens in a one to one tutorial?

Tell the story of the average one to one appointment, from start to finish. What are the stages? What are the key elements?

Use the materials on the table to sketch it out as a timeline, cartoon, mindmap etc

Librarians: the Reference Interview

1.Welcome - approachability and interest

2.Listen - Gather information from user, gain overview of need

3.Clarify and confirm understanding of need

4.Intervention - search, give information, advice, instructions

5.Finish - follow-up, feedback and summary

(RUSA 2004)

Careers: The Career Counselling Interview

1.Create a friendly, encouraging atmosphere

2.Establish the purpose of the interview

3.Gather information from the client

4.Identify the client’s needs

5.Give information to the client

6.Summarise progress made during interview

7.Clarify next steps to be taken

(Bedford 1982)

Careers: The Career Counselling Interview

1.Building a working alliance

2.Exploring potential

3.Identifying options and strategies

4.Ending and following through

(Bimrose et al, 2004)

Counselling1. ‘What’s going on?’ Encourage exploration - create rapport,

invite communication, identify presenting problem, agree agenda

2. ‘What solutions make sense for me?’ exploring in more depth, challenging understanding, analysing themes, focussing and prioritising, considering options and barriers

3. ‘How do I get what I need?’ Facilitating action – identify goals and actions, support problem solving, summarise and feed back, ending

(Egan, 2007)

The Learning Development One to One

• What needs to be done at the start of a one to one?

• Is there any standard structure to the middle?

• What needs to be done at the end?

Look both at what needs doing, and how it might best be done

Overcoming Barriers to Learning in the One to OneYou each have an example of a challenging behaviour which you might encounter in a one to one: the issue and an example of what it might sound like.

For each case, consider:

• What might the causes of this behaviour be?

• What might happen if you don’t try to address it?

• What strategies might you use to address it?

• How might you phrase this?

Lunch

Part Three: Workshops

Workshops: Sharing practice• Sue Meyer (Teeside University) ‘How to resource an evolving workshop programme with limited staff’

• Jiani Liu (Leeds University) ‘Teaching critical thinking to new first years’

• Caroline Crow (Newcastle University) ‘How to stop reinventing the wheel every time’

Implementing practice

What could you take away from these presentations to use in your own practice?

Coffee

“Tools” and techniques for workshops

Share your top workshop “tool” or technique

Suggest an activity, exercise, resource, prop, app, tool or approach which you’ve used to good effect in workshops.

• 2 mins: jot down one idea

• 2mins share with the group – what do you do and why?

Plenary

•What insights about your practice have you gained today?

•What practical strategies might you try in your own practice?

•What else might be included in a day called ‘How to Be A Learning Developer’?

Evaluation