ScotHELD Summer Meeting 2023
On 25/05/23, Strathclyde’s Learner Development Services (LDS) hosted the Summer Meeting and AGM of the Scottish network of Effective Learning Developers (ScotHELD) in our recently opened Learner Development Centre. More than 40 learning development professionals, from 14 of Scotland’s higher education institutions, met to share current research and practice, including discussions on enhancing support for international student transitions and the potential impact of AI chatbots on academic integrity (for the full programme see here).
These meetings give us opportunities to obtain informative snapshots of the current challenges and opportunities across the sector and this year these conversations formed the perfect background for our first glimpse at the data from the Mapping LD in Scotland collaborative research project. Looking at both professional practice and institutional positioning, the project will create a community database whose results will serve as a tool to negotiate with our institutions, train new colleagues, and situate our practice in the bigger picture. The project will ultimately supplement similar work conducted within other ICALLD member associations (including AALL’s 2020-21 survey) and hopefully be of use to others in the future.
A phoenix egg…
LDS’ story at Strathclyde began in The Centre for Academic Practice and Learning Enhancement (CAPLE), which was established in 1987, as a centre concerned with all aspects of teaching and learning in higher education. Working with both staff and students individually, in interest groups, in departments, and across faculties, playing a strategic role in the development and support of teaching and learning objectives across the university. The academic staff had a range of research interests, including academic writing, assessment, e-learning, information literacy, the first-year experience, student responses to academic discourse, and threshold concepts.
CAPLE had a high profile in the embryonic learner development community and was generally considered a leader in the field. In 2012 the university abolished it. From its ashes, emerged an ad-hoc Study Skills ‘service’, eventually becoming formalised as the Study Skills Service (SSS) within the year.
We became members of ALDinHE and ScotELAs (later ScotHELD) in 2013. Between 2013 and 2021 the SSS constituted 2 x 0.5 FTE advisers for c.25,000 students – the entire student population.
But, regardless of size, we delivered. Between 2012-2022 we had more than 3000 one-to-one appointments, which constituted the bulk of our work. But we also delivered 450+ generic and bespoke workshops and presentations, established more than 200 working partnerships, and provided the ‘study skills’ component of 10 STEM Summer Schools. It’s been quite a ride!
With the opening of the new Learning and Teaching Building in 2021, we have been joined by the former Maths Skills Centre to form LDS and we now has 3 x FTE Learner Development Advisers based in our own centre. The dawning of an new era.
Looking forward…
In June 2024, LDS will also be jointly hosting the annual 3-day conference of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) with the University of Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian University. The first of its kind for the association, this innovative endeavour is the product of many years of collaborative practice between the three institutions as well between ScotHELD and ALDinHE. And, as has become customary, we extend the usual invitation to ICALLD members to join us for the online day of the conference on Friday 7th June.