Classic LD

In this opinion piece, Denham (2025) introduces Perspectivism as a new candidate for a theory underpinning Learning Development work. Perspectivism, after Alroe and Noe (2011, 2012, 2014), relates to a system’s interaction with its environment – in the sense of Higher Education, a ‘system’ could be a tutor or a student. By nature, each’s perspective is unique, explains Denham. Learning, therefore, equates to change in perspective (Alroe and Noe, 2012) by having one’s own perspective juxtaposed alongside others.

Denham’s paper shows how he uses perspectivism in his own interactions with students. Specifically, perspectivism places him as never in a position to answer students’ questions as ‘expert’ – a point hardly at odds with LD as currently understood. Secondly Denham challenges the frequent attempts to underpin LD work with notions of social constructivism (because perspectives are by nature unique), disciplinary expertise (because we are never experts), or ‘third space’ work (because that wrongly assumes the existence of a quantifiable ‘second space’ of a university system, that the third space bridges towards). While some of those ideas may meet resistance from those wedded to any of those notions, Denham’s work offers a refreshingly new and different take. Its wider contribution is to emphasise the need for continued attention to a plurality of viewpoints about LD’s theoretical underpinnings, over dogmatic adherence to any one alone.

Although the future of essay-writing as a genre is uncertain in the context of GenAI, this article still presents a useful discussion of argument and argumentation in academic discourse. It explains the extent to which students (do/not) understand the idea of argument in academic contexts. The article positions understanding and formulating one’s argument as a ‘starting and central point’ in the teaching of writing. Wingate shows how an argument can drive and determine the structure of a communication, and how elements of support and presentation of ideas contribute to an overall argument.

This text constitutes essential reading for new learning developers, as the authors explore, through conversation analysis methods, what makes a successful LD tutorial. In particular they find a benefit in tutors using language and discourse which reduces tutor-student hierarchy and encourages student agency over their work, evidencing that this greatly increases student uptake of tutor feedback. Thonus also found that tutors and students almost always independently arrive at the same scalar rating of the ‘success’ of a one-to-one tutorial.

This paper sets out the key principles for embedding academic skills into the curriculum.  The article discusses interviews with course/programme staff where they give their perspective on embedding and skills development. The article subsequently presents a mapping template to facilitate discussions with staff around embedding skills as well as case studies of successful embedding initiatives. Overall, this article provides LD practitioners with a blueprint for collaborating with course teams to develop embedded learning development.

This paper addresses a key area of LD practice: offering one-to-one support to students, in the form of one-shot consultations. The author identifies latent deficit assumptions that impede us in translating the LD emancipatory principles to the practice of tutorials, and provides a model grounded in formulation theory: the 5 Ps of LD. The model highlights elements of practice like the language we use (pathologising or empowering?) and the roles we assume (hierarchical or equalising?), and supports a flexible and dialogic process for student-centred tutorials. LD practitioners can use this model to reflect on, theorise, and systematise one-to-one support practice.

This edited book encapsulates a wide range of LD scholarly voices and explores the conceptual, epistemological, theoretical and practical foundations of the field. Furthermore, the book delves into LD’s links to critical perspectives in education, as well as providing practical advice to engage in dissemination, through various forms of publication. The final sections of the book explore what LD practice could like in future.