Peer Assisted Learning and Mentoring

This blog is brought to you by Dr Sarah Honeychurch from the University of Glasgow, who has been developing models of collaborative learning for over 25 years. It looks at a supposed dichotomy between didactic and active models of teaching and learning and suggests that, actually, good teaching always includes elements of both. Sage on the Stage, or Guide on the Side? Sage on the side flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license It’s pretty common nowadays to hear people saying that educators need to act as a ‘guide on the side’ rather than as a […]

Are you passionate about Learning Development? Looking to support others while enhancing your own professional journey? The ALDinHE Mentoring Scheme is your opportunity to: 🔹 Become a Mentor – Guide and inspire fellow LDers while honing your leadership, reflective, and communication skills. 🔹 Be a Mentee – Gain valuable insights, build confidence, and find your voice in Learning Development. Joining the scheme enables you to connect with like-minded colleagues across institutions and disciplines – and expand your knowledge and professional practice. As a mentor, you can also Advance Your Career by earning recognition as an ALDinHE Certified Mentor (CeM). Visit […]

We recently had the chance to sit down with the dynamic team behind the development of the  Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) innovative and supportive Mentoring Scheme for learning developers – and the Certified Mentor (CeM) Qualification that emerged from it.  The development of the scheme was essentially collaborative – bringing together many voices from diverse places and institutions across the UK. This group of dedicated LD practitioners seems to have cracked the code for effective teamwork – and we wanted to know how they did it. Here they are, spilling their secrets. Learning Development is one […]

This #Take5 is brought to you from Joy Igiebor a Learning Development Tutor within the School of Law at Birkbeck, University of London. This is especially for the newbie LDer who feels a bit lost… who thinks that everybody else knows exactly how to ‘do’ Learning Development whilst they alone are thrashing about in the dark. Joy offers very helpful guidelines on workshops and tutorials – a beginner’s guide to Learning Development. Next week we have a post from the team at MMU – what the learning developer needs to know next. A one – two – three of LD I am […]

This #Take5 is brought to you from our very own Lee Fallin. Lee has been exploring and playing with this AI technology for some time now – and we asked him to share his insights with the wider LD community. So – read on – and let us all join the conversation about what these revolutionary techs mean for our students and for us.  If it’s all about the ChatBots: What about Learning Development? This blog post will muse on the ‘rise of AI’ and what this means for Learning Development. I am not an expert, but I have spent much […]

Bringing development opportunities to the masses  This #Take5 post is brought to you from Dr Lee Fallin a regular tweeter and learning developer based at the University of Hull. Lee loves all things digital, and uses this #Take5 post to reflect on his journey from MOOC consumer to MOOC producer. I first learned about Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) at the 2013 ALDinHE Conference hosted at the University of Plymouth. This was *just* as MOOCs were emerging as a popular means of accessing learning online. MOOCs are designed to support unlimited participation and open access by delivering learning through online […]

Sebastian Boo, a former LondonMet student, shares his current LSE-based research into student views of excellent teachers. Yes – they mention clarity, voice, passion and performance… BUT there is also great emphasis on CARE and KINDNESS… Have a read. Students’ views of excellent teachers Who were your best teachers or professors? I remember my primary school teacher, Mr Johnson, for his captivating storytelling, my secondary school biology teacher, Dr Higby, for his knowledge and enthusiasm; and my physiology professor John Stevens’ ready wit and humour. Research indicates that teaching quality is the single most significant factor in determining student achievement […]