Focussing on 1-1 discussions between students and LD practitioners, this study interprets detailed accounts from eleven student-participants about their experiences of approaching and engaging with these highly interactive learning and teaching practices. Drawing on the theoretical work of Vygotsky (1978), Carl Rogers (1969), and Lea & Street (2006, 1998), this study constructs an interpretation of the complexity of these interactions by analysing student-participants’ in-depth accounts. More specifically, student-participants acknowledge not only threshold practices being discussed, but also the impact of this learning, and the nurturing approach taken in these focussed interactions, on their developmental learning about themselves as learners within HE. The findings, and subsequent theorisation, of this study evidence the value of not only LD practice, but also the provision of 1-1 interactions as an integral part of the HE learning landscape. Amongst the plethora of rapid macro and miso changes striking HE, the highly valuable micro practices of interactions between students and educational practitioners should not be overlooked. Therefore, this study has implications for personal practice, staff across the host university, the LD community, and staff working with students across universities more generally.
Association for Learning Development in Higher Education