Blog
Welcome to the ALDinHE blog aimed at all those working in the field of learning development. If you would like to write a blog, please email admin@aldinhe.ac.uk
#Take5 #21: The best way to develop presentation skills?
This #Take5 blog has been written by Lynne Crook and captures the essence of her excellent interactive session delivered in Hull at the 2017 ALDinHE Conference. BIO: Lynne has worked in HE since 2003, and is currently an Academic Skills Consultant at the University of Salford. Her academic background and PhD are in English Literature, specifically the uses of comedy in the contemporary Irish novel. Since 2008, in her spare time, she has also performed stand-up comedy and then improvised comedy with several troupes around the north-west of England. Using Improvisation Skills for Confidence Building in Public Speaking for Students […]
#Take5 #20 The Best Way to Manage OUR Writing?
Managing academic writing: how managerialism puts pressure on academics’ writing practices By Sharon McCulloch of the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University Writing is central to what academics do, mediating almost every aspect of their work, including research, teaching, administrative and service work as well as public engagement. Much has been written about student academic writing, but less is known about the range of writing that academics do these days and how this might be changing in light of changes in higher education such as marketization and the use of managerial principles in higher education. This #Take5 […]
#Take5 #19: Learning Development – the best values?
For this #Take5 we have we have invited Helen Webster from Newcastle University to blog about Learning Development values. This is in honour of our ALDinHE Conference, 10-12 April, University of Hull: http://www.aldinhe.ac.uk/events/9/aldinhe_conference_2017.html?p=7_9, and follows her recent interesting discussion on the LDHEN list. So – thank you Helen! Everybody else – do leave a comment – pass the post on – have a great Conference … and think about offering your own blogpost very soon! The Value(s) of Learning Development What are professional values? I remember when I was doing my teacher training that values didn’t really get much attention in […]
#Take5: 18: The best way to tackle plagiarism?
Turn-it-off: Making use of ubiquitous plagiarism to facilitate academic skills Liam Greenslade While asking why writers plagiarize might seem to be a fool’s quest, it can actually be very helpful in preventing future plagiarisms. After all, if we assume it isn’t just the “evil” that plagiarize, it makes sense to take a moment and figure out what would make a “good” person commit such a deed. Bailey (2017) In our cut and paste culture, even if it is not actually the case, it sometimes seems that we are being overwhelmed by a plague of plagiarism, not just in academia but […]
Take5 #17 – #creativeHE 16-20 January – Join in if you dare!!
*** STOP PRESS: #creativeHE new run: 16-20 Jan!! *** A new version of #creativeHE with a focus on creativity, play, narrative & storytelling and making will be offered by MMU’s CELT in collaboration with London Metropolitan University’s CPED 16-20 Jan 2017. Participants are invited from across the sector – such that colleagues from both institutions and elsewhere will have the opportunity to learn and develop together within a diverse and distributed community of higher education practitioners. Get together with colleagues who are involved in teaching, supporting learning or development of others with an interest in creative teaching and learning, who […]
Take5 #16 How to enjoy being an academic: Collegiality as Positive Practice
Sandra Abegglen, Tom Burns & Sandra Sinfield This #Take5 blog focusses on three academics working collaboratively in their learning, teaching and research practice: as a way of helping us to better enjoy our time as practitioners. Context All three of us work in UKHE, in a post-1992 University with a diverse student body from non-traditional backgrounds[1]. Our job descriptions vary, with TB and SS in staff development and SA as a course leader in Education; we are one full time and two fractional with heavy workloads[2]. Our institution has been through radical reconstruction, including a merger, the institution and then modification […]
#Take5 No.15: The Best Teaching and Learning Conversations
TLC: The Best Teaching and Learning Conversations http://www.celt.mmu.ac.uk/flex/tlc.php Happy new academic year! This year, #Take5 is celebrating MMU’s Teaching and Learning Conversations (TLC). These free, open online conversations offer an exciting informal cross-institutional collaboration to provide joint CPD opportunities for everybody teaching and/or supporting learning in Higher Education. Manchester Metropolitan University with London Metropolitan University, Northampton, Surrey, Suffolk and Sheffield Hallam universities are organising these monthly Webinars to bring together colleagues from different disciplines, institutions and countries to engage in Teaching and Learning Conversations. Together, we will discuss and debate a variety of current teaching and learning topics in a […]
#Take5 #14: The best way to SLOW down and focus?
Close your eyes and relax… Sam Aston and Helena Ross from The University of Manchester, have been focussing on wellbeing and meditation to help students calm down, relax and focus. Here in this #Take5 blogpost they share their techniques and strategies – and invite us to share our practices with them. Sam Aston is a Teaching and Learning Librarian working in the Learning Development Team at the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons at The University of Manchester Library. She works on My Learning Essentials to deliver skills support and is currently applying for senior fellowship of the HEA and conducting a […]
Take5 #13: The best way of being creative?
To coincide with a week-long run of #creativeHE facilitated by Norman Jackson – 16-22 April 2016 – we are posting a #Take5 from Norman – asking us to join in a conversation about creativity in the disciplines. Join in the conversation in Google+ here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/110898703741307769041 #Where Does Creativity Reside in the Discipline? Surveys of academics/faculty in different disciplines (1) reveal that sites for creative thinking and action appear to be available in most aspects of disciplinary practice. Sites for creativity can be connected through the idea of disciplinary inquiry and problem solving. They can also be connected to Dellas and […]
Take5 #12: The best way of supporting student research?
Generating Research Conversation with “The Wheel” Terry Elliot, Western Kentucky University Writing Project, February 2016 I have a semester-long research “thing” that all of my students take part in. I call it a “thing” because it could range from a standard research paper (their default setting I fear) to an extended informational blog to ebooks to collaborative handbooks. The purpose of this early assignment is to get them thinking first about their personal and disciplinary passions AND connecting those with their immediate community in the classroom. Passion and connection. I also introduce a really effective sharing technique that I call […]