On the 15th of each month, we are inviting those working in the field of learning development to share their day. Write up what you have done on the 15th of the month (or your nearest working day to this date) (plus reflections) and share it with us via this short submission form. The entries will be shared here on the ALDinHE blog.
In 2010-11 and 2014-15, the ALDinHE website was previously used for a collective online journal by members of the LD community. The collective journal re-launched on the 15 May 2023. You can read the journal entries for each month. The shared experiences and ideas have helped shape CPD resources developed for new and experienced staff, and to identify other areas for future work.
A reminder will go out on the LDHEN list on the 15th of each month. Share your day by completing the short submission form for it to be added to the ALDinHE blog.
Nick Weise – The University of Manchester
Chemistry, Commuters and Canvas
I was at the Department of Chemistry Away Day from 09:00 until 17:00. Discussions ranged from research strategy and income to new ideas for MSc programmes and reworking of the 3rd and 4th year curricula to better prepare students for the world of work. I was on a table with colleagues where we discussed aligning the research of the department more closely with the selection of optional units available in these higher years. As the undergraduate students complete their core chemistry training in the first semester of year 3, it makes sense to then focus on how they apply the knowledge they have learnt to contemporary themes in the field. My suggestion was having broad intended learning outcomes for the new units are proposed to be linked to the research sections of the department, so as to allow the units to move with the times. This would also enable lecturers to be rotated in and out each year, bringing their own research and the latest innovations into their teaching as and when. It will be interesting to see how these discussions feed into the academic year reviews and what the specifics might be when implemented.
Of course, I was still checking on e-mails throughout the day as we were entering a busy time of year. At our university 15th September 2025 marked the beginning of pre-arrival week (7 days before Welcome Week or Freshers’ Week, depending on nomenclature). For many years now, this week has been a time when I am supporting our commuter students in feeling that they belong and matter to the university through bespoke communication. We invite them in the week before everyone else, as they already live around here anyway! This allows them to meet each other and familiarise themselves with the campus before everyone else so that they see that they are not alone and that they are like other students of the university. We also assign them to peer support groups based on their postcode overseen by a higher year commuter student who has been through it all before and acts as a mentor. So I was checking the number of registered first and foundation year commuter students on the student data app throughout the day (already 1095!) Good to know so I could warn my collaborator in the Geography department about the number of data points his spatial mapping software would be dealing with to assign students to their nearest mentor. I also needed to do some changed to the training slides for the commuter peer mentors as we were running a Meet Your Team session with them the next day.
Additionally I have been on hand throughout the summer to assist with the movement of our university’s virtual learning environment from Blackboard to Canvas. As such, I was able to help some people at the away day with their assignment of instructors and embedding videos so that students can engaged in flipped learning effectively. All in a day’s work!
Sandie Donnelly – University of Cumbria
Monday 15th September: Day 1 of Welcome Week; it’s blowing a hooley and new undergrads are being buffeted from pillar to post as they seek refuge from the storm across our Cumbrian/North Lancashire campuses. The sun might not be shining but the welcome from academic and professional services staff greeting and signposting new starters is warm and sincere.
The day starts with a group of PGCE Primary students, who have been on course for two weeks and this is the first time they’re working with someone from our team. As a former schoolteacher, it’s inspiring and reassuring to work alongside students who are signing up for professions that are treated as political and media footballs. Today we’re focusing on evidence based practice, searching for, citing and critically engaging with sources. Our PGCE cohorts are a mixed group, coming from different backgrounds and study experiences, and we work together to make the most of the knowledge and experience in the room, as well as ensure that people unfamiliar with the services and resources available to them, have a better idea about how to access these. There’s so much that they need to get to grips with in a very short, condensed year. An hour never feels long enough and I share additional resources and videos that they can come back to as they progress through the module.
Next is a group of new top up Project Management students, accessing level 6 study alongside busy industry jobs. They’re on campus for an induction day and will then spend more time learning online. The language and concepts don’t come to me as readily as teaching/Education, which is an ideal scenario for centering students as the experts in the room. Despite being the first day of their course, some of them offer their inputs and share what they like about learning and what they anticipate might be a challenge. The digital approach to learning is not the preference for some learners, who want paper and print books and to be in rooms with people. Some of the others in the room offer what they find helpful and positive about online learning and digital resources. I’m hopeful that these sharing of experiences help the group get to know each other, reflect on their learning and preferences, and be curious about potential to develop different ways of studying and learning.
A group of new paramedics and their tutor don’t appear for a library tour, which is unusual. A part time team member is in touch with me, wondering what’s happened as I made the arrangements on one of their non working days the previous week. Looking back over my sent box, I realise that my email (sent in haste) turns out be not as clear as I thought when I sent it. I apologise to my team and the tutor. A reminder to slow down and focus – especially when rushing/juggling different things. I think I could do with some more Project Management skills!
I go along to a meeting with one of the team and an academic to map some integrated dissertation workshops for arts students. It’s great to witness the team member and academic working together to ensure that their sessions complement each other and land at the most effective time for the students. It’s intriguing to hear about potential research areas and I look forward to hearing more from our team member as the semester progresses.
Last session of the day is a short refresher with some Nurse Associates as they start the second year of their course. These are another group of students busy working (in health care settings) as well as studying. Their tutors recognise the benefit of revisiting content that might be traditionally associated with “induction” sessions and make time for this. I’ve set up a Padlet activity for the students to work together in groups, discussing some scenarios and then posting their suggestions for each one which we then discuss together. The cohort has met with different members of student services across the course of the day and it’s great to see their shared holistic understanding of the resources/services available and different approaches to learning and support. What’s particularly encouraging is those students who haven’t been sure of what was on offer to them/where they might go for a particular aspect of support (whether academic or pastoral) now get the benefit of insights and experiences from others in the group, and are busy noting who they might contact in future.
A colleague from the APP intersectional students’ success working group shares a link to volume 27, issue 2 of the WP and Lifelong Learning journal titled “Words Matter”: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/openu/jwpll/2025/00000027/00000002;jsessionid=vrc7u4s270rj.x-ic-live-03.
This coincides neatly with a HEPI guest blogpost by Dr Steve Briggs which I share back and share both links with our integrated foundation year learning developers: https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/09/13/weekend-reading-is-it-time-to-stop-using-the-term-non-traditional-student/. It’s a powerful reminder of the impact of language on new arrivals as I contemplate spending tomorrow at our Ambleside campus with new students.
Robert Ping-Nan Chang – University of the Arts London
Probably like many LD colleagues in the UK, term 1 tends to be the busiest. My day started by sieving through emails. It’s a surprise to receive an email from a former student to request a reference. I had to politely declined it as it’s tricky for me to comment on those attributes the employer would like to see. As I had no 1-2-1 booking today, I continued to work on my preparation for my teaching this term.
In the middle of the morning I got a request from a colleague from a course to review her unit brief. This demonstrates a degree of success of my embeddedness into the course with the course tutor entrusting me to offer feedback on an important course document. The knowledge and empathy developed from working with students allowed me to help the course tutor to make the brief clearer to the target audience. After lunch, I joined the ALDinHE Events Group meeting. It’s great to meet a new colleague joining the group. The day has not finished, with more teaching prep and programme coordination underway.