Take5

This #Take 5 is brought to you by the #Take5 editorial board, who want to persuade you that now really is the time for you to share your amazing practice with the wider higher education community. We are storytellers – our lives are made up of the stories we tell, the marks we make in the world. We love our Learning Development and wider educational community. You have so many great stories to tell about the ways you have engaged with tricky topics, innovative pedagogy and the most willing – or resistant – of colleagues or students. So – write […]

This #Take5 is brought to you by Steve Briggs and Dr Ralitsa Kantcheva from the University of Bedfordshire who undertook an ALDinHE funded international research project between 2024 and 2025 to develop a taxonomy of Academic Language and Learning Development (ALLD) Practitioner roles. Their hope is that their research – and the various publications through which they have disseminated it – will offer Academic Language and Learning Development practitioners – and all discipline staff – a valuable tool to achieve a common understanding of this often misunderstood – or poorly understood – field. This #Take5 provides a bitesize overview of […]

“I Have ADHD Too”: Building Strength-Based Peer Communities in Higher Education By Kelly Goodfellow, Senior Learning Developer (Neurodiversity), UWE Bristol Kelly.Goodfellow@uwe.ac.uk In recent years, the conversation around ADHD in higher education has shifted—from deficit-based narratives to more inclusive, strength-focused approaches. At UWE Bristol, we’ve been exploring what this shift looks like in practice through our ADHD Psychoeducational Peer Programme. This blog post shares our journey, the rationale behind our model, and the impact it’s had on students navigating university life with ADHD. Why a Psychoeducational Peer Programme? ADHD is increasingly recognised in adult populations, with many students receiving diagnoses during […]

Using GenAI in higher education responsibly: A checklist and discussion cards for critical engagement Generative AI (GenAI) is a growing part of academic life. Despite its increasing use and presence, student surveys typically report uncertainties and concerns about its use and about the support they receive. Whether it’s drafting summaries, exploring ideas for teaching, or rephrasing text, GenAI tools can feel powerful and, at times, overwhelming. But with this power comes responsibility and a need to develop habits of use that are critical, reflective, and sustainable. This #Take5 is brought to you by Sue Becks and Peter Hartley who argue […]

This #Take5 blog is written by Katrin Bain, a senior lecturer in social work at London Metropolitan University who shares insights from a literature review and teaching practice of how assessments can be inclusive and meaningful to students to ensure deep learning, student success and satisfaction. While the examples are from the social work courses, the insights are transferable to other subject areas. Introduction A few years ago, I asked myself the questions: ‘What makes higher education assessments inclusive?’ and ‘How to design inclusive assessments in higher education?’ I conducted a literature review and analysed 14 articles. The full review […]

Rewiring Creativity: Returning to Higher Education as a Neurodiverse Artist This blog is brought to you by Magda Olchawska. I’m a London Met alumna currently working for the Centre for Teaching Enhancement (CTE) and the School of Art, Architecture and Design (AAD) at London Metropolitan University. I also run a filmmaking & educational creative studio focused on socially conscious storytelling & inclusive education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I returned to higher education to complete my BA, followed by an MA.  This blog explores my journey as a mature, neurodiverse student with caring responsibilities, who allowed herself to reconnect with her […]

This Take5 is brought to you by Nikita Bridgeman from Sheffield Hallam University. After being inspired by a gift-giving phrase she kept hearing on TikTok, Nikita has developed an inclusive approach to guided independent study to meet the needs of our diverse student populations and hopefully inspire a love of learning. Introduction: But what should I do – and why? One of the biggest challenges I think we all face as educators is trying to encourage learners to engage with independent study outside of the classroom; whether this is to cement their understanding of class taught concepts, revise for an […]

In this #Take5 blog Craig Morley, Steve Briggs and Sandra Sinfield consider how Learning Development practitioners can best support PGR students to understand the hidden curriculum.  ————————– The JLDHE Reading Club Started It! The origin of this blog came from a Wednesday evening spent discussing Rebecca Nash’s case study View of ‘It gives you that motivation to keep pushing on’: reflecting on the role of dialogic skills workshops on postgraduate researchers’ academic preparedness and ‘belonging’ in a recent Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education Reading Club. An aspect of the case study that immediately jumped out to all of […]

This #Take5 is brought to you by Bhabani Shankar Nayak of London Metropolitan University. It is a thought-provoking piece that challenges both society’s and education’s reliance on—and relatively uncritical embrace of—privately owned, designed and controlled technology. We hope you enjoy this contribution. If you would also like to write a #Take5 that moves away from our usual case study format—perhaps to discuss, critique, or explore a broader educational issue—please do get in touch.This blog post is based on 22nd Teaching & Learning Conference of the London Metropolitan University, UK. It is also compilation of author’s earlier commentaries on the issues […]

This #Take5 is brought to you by Jack Rundell, Academic Skills Advisor at University Studies at Eastern Education Group. While you may be familiar with widely promoted benefits of mindfulness for developing calm and reducing stress, in this article Jack highlights some more specific applications for Learning Developers. Could mindfulness make us more aware of the emotional reactions we have to our students and allow us to respond better? Could mindfulness provide valuable insights in the writing process, particularly into flow and flux of emotions we experience while writing? Jack argues that it could, and more! Thoughts on mindfulness and […]