Networking & Expertise Directory

Adam Paxman

Areas of Expertise

Academic Literacies | Academic Reading | Academic Writing | Digital Literacies | Inclusive Teaching | Induction, Transition and First Year Experience | Information Literacy | Playful and Creative Learning | Study Skills | Widening Participation

Biography

Hello, fellow Learning Developers! I have worked as an Academic Skills Advisor at Edge Hill University since mid-2021. I provide academic writing and information skills support to undergraduate and postgraduate taught (PGT) students from any and all programmes of study in a number of ways: in face-to-face or online 1-2-1 appointments; in themed online workshop sessions; and via embedded sessions. My specialist workstream is induction and transition, which also involves acting as a liaison with partner institutions. I attend a regular SEDA Community of Practice and have written a chapter for an upcoming SEDA book on online pre-arrival platforms, due to be published by Routledge. I love my role and am lucky to have a wonderful bunch (or other more appropriate collective noun) of colleagues. We hold a supportive and developmental monthly Community of Practice.

Before working at Edge Hill University, I was a Lecturer in Graphic Arts at a University Centre in the North West of England. I also taught design theory – incorporating art and design history, contemporary contextual studies, and design futures – on five discrete programmes from levels 3 to 6. I have worked as an Associate Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, and started my teaching career in Further Education. I also have a background in supporting learners, first as a Learning Resource Assistant and then as an in-class Academic Support Worker at a Further Education college. These roles provided a wealth of experiences working with diverse Widening Participation learners and foregrounded the importance of inclusive teaching and learning resources within my practice and professional identity.

How can I help learning developers?

As a relative newcomer to LD, I find all aspects of Learning Development, pedagogical theory and teaching, learning and assessment fascinating. I am always happy to have a down to earth chat about these with peers as I continue to ingest podcasts and read articles. I would welcome opportunities to talk about the meat and potatoes everyday aspects of my role – academic study skills, academic writing or information skills, or something more specific to Widening Participation or induction and transitions support.

I also love writing – both for academic purposes and creatively. I have presented at conferences and symposia or have had pieces published on the importance of design theory in Higher Education, Arthur Rackham, George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll and Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There. I have also self-published six volumes of darkly humorous short stories and poetry. I have a couple of chapters in academic books due for publication soon, as well as two pieces in an anthology of anti-fascist fiction.

Last modified: 16/10/2023