Steering group member without portfolio voting.

Since becoming an Academic Skills Advisor with The University of Suffolk, my interest and involvement with ALDinHE has grown. I attended my first conference online during lockdown and was amazed at the community of support available through the institutional network of learning developers. I continue to feel personally supported and inspired by the ALDinHE community from writing my first journal article for JLDHE, to joining the journal reading club and writing an interest piece about my experience in the Love LD magazine. Most recently I have achieved CeP status and will be presenting a poster for the first time, on a CPD project around embedding Universal Design for the upcoming ALDinHE conference. My interests are in creating accessible learning resources for both students and staff and working towards a learning environment that embraces inclusivity, diversity and embeds a Universal Design to Learning. I can offer the steering group my skills developed while working within HE which includes research, project management and leadership, critical insights, co-production with various professionals and direct work supporting students. Alongside the knowledge gained in previous roles within local authority, which has provided me with a wealth of experience in both the private and public sphere of education and learning. The ALDinHE community has provided me with a safe space to grow and learn as a professional. It would be a privilege to be part of a team with shared vision and passion, and to contribute my growing skills and experiences to make an impact within the community.

I joined the University of Northampton in 2018, new to Learning Development and new to HE, and was immediately introduced to ALDinHE by the team here. It was clear that ALDinHE formed a core thread within our team’s work, and I was soon learning how it could support me, and I how could support it. Since then, I have presented at three ALDCons, with another presentation at this year’s conference. I have chaired sessions, and have been on the conference committee. For JLDHE, I peer-review, and I was a guest editor for last year’s collaborative proceedings – which I am thrilled to be doing again this year. I found this process fascinating and rewarding, and it gave me another opportunity to be involved in one part of the team which drives ALDinHE forward. As someone who loves LD and loves learning, I would offer the steering group my genuine enthusiasm and positivity. I am committed and hard-working, and collaborate well with others. I would welcome the opportunity to contribute to the community through being part of the steering group, and have a commitment to exploring what is best for the profession, and supporting the work to keep us learning, growing and developing.

I would welcome the opportunity to join the steering group and believe I will be able to make a positive contribution, particularly in the areas of research and scholarship. I have been working in higher education for approaching 20 years and have been a Lecturer in Learning Development at Bournemouth University since 2017. I work as part of a small team of faculty based academics. As well as teaching, I have been involved in developing the scholarship of LD, as well as professional practice. I currently co-lead the ALDinHE research community of practice and am a member of the research and scholarship working group. I have published several papers on LD, co-wrote a chapter for the new LD book, as well as regularly presenting papers/workshops at ALDCon. I was recently principal investigator for a funded piece of research that examined the future directions of LD, interviewing 55 LD practitioners. This research has given me a unique insight into LD practice, and I am keen to be involved in projects that seek to increase the awareness of LD across the sector, increase the recognition of the work of LD practitioners and expand their career progression opportunities. I also have extensive experience of research within the field of widening participation and my PhD examined how young people from widening participation backgrounds formulate their aspirations through everyday experiences. I am a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Certified Practitioner of LD (CeP).

I would value the opportunity to be part of the Steering Group to be able to give back to a community which has supported and progressed my Learning Development (LD) practice. My route into LD was via an academic librarian role and I now manage a team of Learning Development Advisers and Learning Development Librarians at a higher education institution. This team arrangement has informed my LD practice, as I continue to evolve a service which reflects ALDinHE values, and that offers academic skills holistically and inclusively to support student understandings of the interconnectedness of their skills development. A key area of interest is continual professional development and I achieved Certified Practitioner (CeP) status in 2018. Subsequently, I have applied this knowledge and experience as a current member of the Professional Recognition Working Group where my responsibilities have included contributing to reviewing and providing feedback for CeP applications, together with revising and updating the CeP applicant handbook and web-based information for the scheme. Additionally, a keen interest in developing a LD inclusive practice framework in my role prompted me to become a member of the ALDinHE EDI group, where I have shared experiences and ideas. Participation in these groups has allowed me to connect with numerous ALDinHE members and I feel my active engagement has given me a sound understanding of ALDinHE values and goals. I could bring to the group my extensive experience as an LD practitioner together with a commitment to contributing confidently to progressing the Association’s activities.

I am applying to be a Steering Group Member. Here, I outline my experience and my previous contributions to the Association. I am a Learning Developer at Birkbeck, University of London. Birkbeck has a widening participation ethos with many of its students mature and/or the first in the family to study at university. I work at as a full-time tutor, teaching and supporting the academic skills development of undergraduate and postgraduate students in Birkbeck Law School and the School of Creative Arts, Culture, and Communication. I work as part of a larger Cross-College team of learning developers under the Education Directorate. My role involves delivering academic skills support through one-to-one tutorials; group tuition; optional taught workshops and lectures; and curriculum-embedded skills sessions and materials development. I am also involved in monitoring, evaluating, and providing data on students’ use of our learning development services in the respective Schools. My main teaching interests lie in academic reading and writing, critical thinking, and critical pedagogy. In addition to ALDinHE, I am an active member of several educational professional bodies including BERA and an affiliate member of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy. Within the ALDinHE community, I have undertaken peer review for the JLDHE, guest edited for the Conference Collaborative Proceedings, writtenTake5 blogs, participated as a mentee in the mentoring programme, and chaired two online sessions during the 2023 ALDinHE conference. I hope this evidences my willingness to get involved and contribute actively to the Association.

I have worked as a Subject Librarian and an Academic Skills Advisor, however my new role from July will be working as a Student Education Development Advisor supporting staff to develop their learning and teaching practices, as well as achieve recognition of their practice. The role is heavily aligned to Learning Development as supporting staff to understand how students learn, and in turn to improve their L&T practice to enhance student learning, will be a key element. A key interest of my practice is inclusive teaching and learning approaches. I support colleagues across the institution, both within professional services and academic posts, to improve their teaching practices from an inclusivity perspective. I am also a member of the Neurodiversity and Inclusivity ALDinHE CoP, as well as representing the CoP as part of the Peer Mentoring group, and I am also on the committee of the Neurodivergent Library and Information Staff Network (NLISN). I have presented on accessible and inclusive T&L practices at a number of conferences, including as a keynote speaker at LILAC 2023. Another key area of my practice is Punk Pedagogy, which is routed in social constructivist and critical pedagogies and is underpinned by key principles of DIY, taking responsibility for your own learning, questioning and critiquing hegemonic systems of knowledge creation, and reciprocity between learners and teachers. This underpins my personal teaching and learning approaches and I have again presented both internally and externally on this, including at the Critical Approaches to Libraries Conference (CALC).

I have worked at the University of Hull as an Academic & Library Specialist for approx. 17 months, primarily supporting students with academic and essay writing through workshops and tutorials. My role also has an additional specialism focusing on postgraduate students. In practice, this means I have remit to provide additional guidance for Masters and research students, for example leading ‘dissertation drop-ins’ for PGT students over the Summer. This led to two of my particular interests; supporting international PGT students, and seeking to expand the portfolio of support provided for research students (including PhDs). As someone who is relatively new to learner development I wish to continue with this in mind, utilising both my ‘fresh’ perspective as well as seeking to support and guide other new learner developers. This directly impacts into what I have to offer ALDinHE, as I have already done some work with ALDinHE surrounding the creation of a CPD framework with a view to coordinating and delivering some of the provision. This involved working alongside Kate Coulson to produce and distribute a survey to assess the training new learner developers have received, the findings of which we will be formally sharing at ALDCon in the coming months. This led to our proposed CPD framework, which we will continue to refine, expand and deliver. Working closely with ALDinHE and particularly the steering group would be highly beneficial for the continuation of the project, and I would be enthusiastic to gain additional insight into the LD community and support it where I can.