By Joy Igiebor
This #Take5 is brought to you from Joy Igiebor. You might remember Joy’s previous #Take5 #84 ‘What the Learning Developer needs to know’ which focused on pragmatic tips for conducting workshops and tutorials for those new to or at an early stage of their role as a learning developer (LD). In this blog post Joy reflects on the nature of identity and relates to wider questions of identity within the field of Learning Development. Joy suggests that understanding and engaging with some of these wider concerns is critical for those newer to the field of Learning Development who are attempting to establish and develop their professional footing.
2023 was truly my annus horribilis. Difficult personal and professional matters had left me quite resigned to just let the final few weeks of the year pass by eating Wotsits and watching reruns of Not Going Out on i-player, whilst generally feeling sorry for myself. Whilst I had been having fleeting thoughts about doing some writing to reflect on the year’s events, I hadn’t actually ‘done’ any, so it was lovely to get an email suggesting that I might wish to write a follow-up piece to my original Take 5 blog post. The email really did give me a much-needed kick up the proverbial to step back from eating crisps and to sit down and write.
In my initial Take 5 blog post (written in 2019 but published as a Take5 in 2023), I focused on pragmatic tips for conducting workshops and tutorials for those new to or at an early stage of their role as a learning developer (LD). When I wrote that blog, I spoke from the perspective and experience of someone still relatively new to the world of LD and higher education (HE). At that stage, I was in the early stages of navigating the complexity and nuances of working and ‘being’ new to LD and HE, much like the students I worked alongside. I was constantly asking questions related to my professional identity: What is a learning development tutor? What am I supposed to do? How do I participate in meetings with unfamiliar acronyms being flown about? What can I bring to the role? Am I even any good? All these existential-style questions were very prominent and very necessary to my professional development – and continue to be necessary. However, with now five years’ experience as an LD, I’ve naturally been thinking more broadly about the evolving nature of professional identity.
This blog post begins with a short reflection on the nature of identity. I then relate this to wider questions of identity within the field of LD. I suggest that understanding and engaging with some of these wider concerns is critical for those newer to the field of LD who are attempting to establish and develop their professional footing.
Reflections on my developing professional identity
In his poignant 1961 essay collection, Nobody knows my Name, the writer, James Baldwin, says, “The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.” I agree. My initial, some might say naive, understanding in my early years as an LD was simple: I work with students, I aid them with navigating their learning, they like (or don’t like) me, they pass their course, we all live happily ever after.
However, I have come to see that being an effective LD is as much about learning to navigate the ‘ugly side’ of the HE environment e.g., politics, competing interests, convoluted acronyms, external regulatory pressures, and so forth, as it is about building positive learning and teaching relationships with students. Being well-acquainted with HE’s ‘ugly side’ is not necessarily a negative thing regarding developing as a newer LD. Indeed, I would argue that it is necessary and pivotal to swim in the deep end of these ‘murky waters’ to truly understand who and what you might ‘be’ and be ‘becoming’. To do so, it helps to begin to develop a better understanding of the nature of LD, its role, and its wider concerns outside your immediate institution.
Hughes et al., (2023) in reference to Kugel’s (1993) framework, refer to five stages in which educators evolve as they develop classroom experience. Initially, when teachers are new, the focus is on self; that is, it is an internal focus. This is very normal as new teachers negotiate their understandings, roles, and identity/ies in the classroom.
Applying this to the field of LD, and to my own LD practice, I can see how in my initial few years the focus was on self: ‘Did I come across well in that workshop?’ ‘Am I teaching well?’ and so forth. My professional LD identity and ego were fragile and subject to the whims and fickleness of whether these questions were answered positively e.g., ‘Am I teaching well?’ Answer: “Really well” = good LD. “Terribly” = bad LD. As black and white as that. The overall focus was perennially inward looking as I was establishing and negotiating how to ‘be’ and ‘who I was meant to be’ as a professional. This seems reflective of the first stage of Kugel’s framework.
Kugel’s framework goes on to outline how teachers and educators evolve from that initial stage of the ‘self’ to a shift in focus ‘externally’ (Hughes et al., 2023). At this stage, internal questions tend to become more student-centred and student-focused e.g., ‘What are the key things the students need to learn in this session?’ ‘How might that best be achieved?’ ‘Who was struggling in that session?’ ‘What might aid the students with better grasping the session aims?’ Whilst the focus of Kugel’s framework is mainly on teaching practice per se, I can see how it can be applied more generally to the field of LD and to our teaching practice – that movement from ‘self’ to ‘other’, from ‘internal’ to ‘external’.
Over time, and particularly this past year, my professional focus has very much shifted ‘externally’. This shift in focus has perhaps been subconscious but has occurred because of conscious actions I have taken to develop professionally. This includes, for instance, chairing sessions at the online ALDinHE conference (albeit not very well!), and guest editing for the Journal of Learning Development in HE.
So what are the key takeaways that might be helpful to share in this blog? I will caveat the following by saying that taking on new professional challenges external to your immediate institution will never feel comfortable i.e., you will feel awkward, you will make mistakes, you will feel, at times, like a fraud and there will be issues with applying theory to practice. Regarding developing your professional identity, this is all very normal.
The key things that I have learned relate to my agency and impact as an LD. I have learned that impact is not confined to the walls or virtual space of a workshop or tutorial space; that I can look to high quality research to situate my practice; that being a reflective practitioner is crucial; that I can take solace in knowing that every professional frustration or challenge that I experience as an LD is not new; that another LD has been through, or written about, or researched it. Most importantly perhaps, I have learned that LD is an emerging, exciting, often unappreciated field, with amazingly innovative and helpful colleagues. Perhaps it could be said that I knew all this instinctively anyhow, even in those early days as an LD. Yes, perhaps, but it feels different now, as I now better understand the LD context which has enabled me to situate, challenge and sharpen my own practice.
This sounds well and good, but how does it relate to wider contextual concerns of identity in LD? And what does that mean for those trying to develop their footing and their professional identity in this field? I explore this briefly below.
Identity in the field of LD
Much has been written in the LD literature about the subject of identity. For instance, there is long-standing debate about whether we are in fact a profession at all, or maybe a field, or a community of practice, or something else (see, for instance, Murray and Glass, 2011). There has been discussion in the community about how we are perceived both in our wider institutions and by the students we work with; for instance, are we counsellors, tutors, teachers, outliers, or all the above? There are even debates about the names we call ourselves: are we learning developers, study skills tutors, academic skills lectures, learning development tutors, and so forth, and does it matter either way? (see Mossman, 2023).
Another complexity, regarding LD identity, is that we all come from a variety of professional backgrounds, with no direct entry route into being an LD, and no set qualifications as such needed to enter the field (see Murray and Glass, 2011). Moreover, our remit can also vary quite significantly across institutional contexts and can be impacted by physical place and location of our work and whether our practice is embedded or more of an ‘add-on’ function, (see, for instance, Verity and Trowler, 2011). A further complexity in regard to LD identity is the concept of the ‘third space’ and the notion of the ‘third-space professional’ which LDs may choose to identify with and which in itself is a rather slippery and much disputed, researched, and debated concept (see, for example, Whitchurch (2012) for a general discussion and Abegglen, Burns and Sinfield (2019) for conceptions of third space in LD practice).
LD clearly has questions about who we are and what we are for.
What might this mean for those new(er) to or starting out as LDs?
Above, I highlighted some of the concerns related to identity in the field of LD. The purpose of this blog isn’t to debate these issues and given these are long-standing and deep-rooted, it wouldn’t be possible to do them justice in a blog of this length anyhow. The point of highlighting some of these wider concerns is to suggest that as a newer or early career LD, it is helpful to become aware of these. By doing so, you can begin to better grasp what LD is, what it might be, and what your role and identity is and might be within it.
Identity is, of course, partly forged through experiences. Through seeking involvement with the wider LD community, newer LDs should find pieces of the puzzle start to gradually make sense. And this is, hopefully, where you will begin to find your confidence and voice as an LD. So, when a tutorial or workshop doesn’t go particularly well, the immediate thought might not be to overly critique the self – i.e., ‘I’m terrible at this’, it might instead be, well, ‘What does the literature say about running effective workshops?’ ‘What strategies might I implement next time based upon what is known to be effective practice?’ ‘What CPD could I undertake, or feedback could I seek to improve the students’ experience of my workshops?’ ‘Who are the students I’m working with and what are their goals and motivations?’ and so on and so on. The internal, inward-focused questions you ask will not stop, and that is a good thing, but the emphasis of those questions might very well shift slightly outwards as you continue to enhance your understanding of the wider field and concerns of LD. And, yes, it will be a messy process, but it will be worth it.
Final Thoughts
In this blog, I began with a short reflection on evolving professional identity. I outlined the impact of getting more involved in the wider LD community on my professional identity, situating this within wider concerns around identity in the field of LD. I concluded that better understanding these wider concerns can aid newer LDs with strengthening their own sense of professional identity.
As difficult as it is for students to sometimes navigate the world of higher education, it is often the same for those new to LD; particularly if, like me, you have never worked in a substantive HE role before. However, getting uncomfortable and out of your comfort zone is a good thing. So, if you are a new or early career LD, do get involved in the wider LD community even if all you really would like more than anything in the world is to sit curled up in bed, in your jim jams, cup of hot chocolate, watching Not Going Out. You never know who you might learn from, who might learn from you, and where this might take your developing practice and identity as an LD.
At the start of this post, I said that 2023 was my annus horribilis but, on reflection, perhaps it wasn’t that bad at all because I did eventually get to eat the wotsits as a reward for writing this. Always a silver lining. Thanks for reading and I hope the New Year brings you much needed good fortune and good health.
Questions to leave you with:
It would be great to hear your thoughts on the topic of this post.
Has your professional identity shifted significantly since you started as an LD?
What steps have you taken and/or do you continue to take to evolve your professional identity?
If you are a more established LD, what tips or thoughts can you offer those who are newer to LD trying to develop their professional identity?
References
Abegglen, S., Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2019) It’s learning development, Jim – but not as we know it: academic literacies in third-space. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education [online]. 15, DOI: 10.47408/jldhe.v0i15.500 [Accessed 30 October 2023].
Hughes, G., Baume., D., Silva-Fletcher, A. and Amrane-Cooper, L. (2023) Developing as a teacher: changing conceptions of teaching and the challenges of applying theory to practice. Teaching in Higher Education: Critical Perspectives [online]. 28 (8), DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2023.2212589 [Accessed 23 June 2023].
Mossman, M. (2023) What’s in a name? study skills? academic skills? academic literacies? Does it really matter and to whom does it matter? Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education [online]. Special Issue 29, DOI: 10.47408/jldhe.v0i15.500 [Accessed 31 October 2023].
Murray, L. and Glass, B. (2011) Learning Development in Higher Education: Community of Practice or Profession? In: Hartley, P., Hilsdon, J., Keenan, C., Sinfield, S. and Verity, M. eds. (2011) Learning Development in Higher Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 28-39.
Verity, M. and Trowler, P. (2011) Looking Back and Looking Into the Future. In: Hartley, P., Hilsdon, J., Keenan, C., Sinfield, S. and Verity, M. eds. (2011) Learning Development in Higher Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 241-252.
Whitchurch, C. (2012) Reconstructing Identities in Higher Education: The Rise of ‘Third Space’ Professionals. Abingdon: Routledge.
About Joy Igiebor
Joy Igiebor is a member of the ALDinHE Steering Group and Learning Development Tutor within the School of Law at Birkbeck, University of London, a medium-sized, (predominantly) evening university with its main teaching campus in Bloomsbury, London. Birkbeck has a widening participation ethos and many of its students are mature and/or are the first in the family to study at university. Joy has worked at Birkbeck since 2018, initially part-time and, from 2020, as a full-time tutor, teaching and supporting the academic skills development of undergraduate and postgraduate students undertaking Law or Humanities programmes and modules. She is a qualified teacher, gaining QTS in 2005, and taught in state schools in London and Cambridge for 13 years as well as on university pre-sessional EAP courses and TEFL in UK-based summer schools. She is a Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA) and has an MEd (Cambridge), PGCE (Southampton), LPC, GDL, BSc, and CELTA qualifications.
What a fabulous post, Joy! You write so persuasively and well this was an absolute pleasure to read – and everything you reflect on, say and advise is spot on!! Thank you!
Hello Joy,
Powerful stuff – I like the moving from the external to the internal. Reminds me of Peter ELbow in reverse – the journey out and the journey back. Both necessary to get to where we want to go.
Good luck.
Best.
tom