Events

The 2024 ICALLD Symposium – 23-24 April

We are delighted to announce our 8th international Symposium over Time! Over two days, rolling around the clock, participants from the member associations will take turns in presenting some of their current work. The presentations are arranged to allow members of every association to listen to all presentations from other time zones without staying up through the night, so we hope members will welcome the opportunity to be inspired by colleagues across the globe.

The papers align with one or more of the following themes:

• Ways of knowing: which knowledge is valued and how do we value it? Who gets to decide? How do we ensure we draw on an array of perspectives from across the university community?
• Transformative learning spaces: how do we ensure inclusivity in the spaces in which we teach and support learning? What can transformation mean in our context? Are there degrees of transformation, and how can we ensure that its potential reaches all our students?
• Building effective connections: how do we create a sense of community with students, both in classrooms and online? What are the foundations of effective collaborations between colleagues, whether that is other learning advisors or academics, or others? What have connections enabled that we would not have achieved alone?

All timings in UTC

View the programme
View all the abstracts and access the online room links. 

Slot 1 ALDinHE/ ScotHELD / SAALP/ LSAC

UTC 23rd April	Presenters	Association
15:00	Puleng Sefalane, Thembinkosi Mtonjeni and Lutendo Nendauni	SAALP
16:00	Heather Grierson & Joannah O’Hatnick	LSAC
16:00	Jane Saville, Tasha Cooper, Steve Hunt – University of the West of England	ALDinHE
16:30	Catherine Turton and Louise Usher, Solent University	ALDinHE
17:00	James Rowe, University of Glasgow	ScotHELD
17:30	Rachel Horrcks-Birss, University of Dundee	ScotHELD
18:00	Stuart Purcell and Lucy McCormick, University of Glasgow	ScotHELD
18:00	Vic Boyd and Caroline Fleeting, University of the West of Scotland	ScotHELD

Slot 2 ATLAANZ / AALL / LSAC

UTC 24th April	Presenters	Host Association
0:00	Dr Mark Bassett & Craig Wattam	ATLAANZ
0:30	Dr Sharon Matthews	AALL
1:00	Tiffany Stenger & Dr Kaaryn Cater	ATLAANZ
1:00	Heather Grierson & Joannah O’Hatnick	LSAC

Slot 3 AALL / ATLAANZ / ALDinHE / SAALP / ScotHELD

UTC 24th April	Presenters	Association
06:00	Puleng Sefalane, Thembinkosi Mtonjeni and Lutendo Nendauni	SAALP
6:00	Tiffany Stenger & Dr Kaaryn Cater	ATLAANZ
6:30	Dr Mark Bassett & Craig Wattam	ATLAANZ
7:00	Dr Miriam Sullivan, Lisa O’Sullivan, Angela Joewono	AALL
7:00	James Rowe, University of Glasgow	ScotHELD
07:30	Rachel Horrocks-Birss, University of Dundee	ScotHELD
08:00	Stuart Purcell and Lucy McCormick, University of Glasgow	ScotHELD
08:30	Vic Boyd and Caroline Fleeting, University of the West of Scotland	ScotHELD
09:00	Jane Saville, Tasha Cooper, Steve Hunt – University of the West of England	ALDinHE
09:30	Catherine Turton and Louise Usher, Solent University	ALDinHE

Abstracts

AALL

Strategies for building effective peer-to-peer connections for research students

Dr Sharon Matthews, Edith Cowan University

Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students experience many difficulties and challenges as part of their research journey, which can negatively impact their well-being and, in some cases, lead to the student not completing. While the value of peer-to-peer support in navigating transition to study is firmly established within an undergraduate context, the impact of such support on the evolving identity of research students is relatively unexplored. Research indicates that engaging with peer support can help mitigate the isolation often associated with doctoral research and foster resilience, which helps students manage stress, imposter syndrome, and burnout. However, the practices used to develop students’ sense of community—ie, what mentors say and do—are under-researched, making it difficult to improve existing training.

This presentation outlines a qualitative study examining how SOAR (Support, Opportunities, Advice, Resources) Peer Advisers’ mentoring strategies impact HDR students’ transition to research student study at Edith Cowan University (ECU). While previous research has predominantly focussed on showing the effectiveness of peer-led learning support through either analysing quantitative outcomes (such as attrition rates) or participants’ qualitative reflections, this study will explore the social practices (eg. word choice, verbal and body language, tone, academic examples, activities) enacted to foster relationships. Data will be gathered in two stages: an initial Qualtrics online survey, followed by semi-structured interview questions, and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis approach (2020). Social constructivist learning theory which describes learning as inherently a social process where students and mentors work together to construct knowledge—core theory informing peer learning training and research—will be used as a lens through which data are coded and interpreted.

On a program level, mapping HDR peer mentors’ practices leads to gains in skills and expertise for both SOAR and ECU. Our findings’ wider implications feed into equity and diversity concerns in that these peer-led strategies may benefit cohorts—such as international students, mature students, online or part time students—who sometimes struggle to adjust to an Australian research culture. As doctoral education continues to evolve, the incorporation of peer-led support programs is increasingly vital for the holistic development of future researchers, and indeed all students.

How do students use self-paced, online academic skills resources?

Dr Miriam Sullivan, Lisa O’Sullivan and Angela Joewono, Edith Cowan University

Like most academic language and learning teams, we support students in various ways, including workshops, appointments, and peer programs. However, the most easily accessible resources are online, self-accessed and self-paced through the Academic Skills site on the Learning Management System. We aimed to quantify the impact of the Academic Skills site on students’ academic journeys and identify patterns of engagement. In a single semester, the site receives over 120,000 page views by approximately 2500 students and staff. Some online resource usage reflects the same patterns we see in face-to-face support options; for example, certain Schools tend to have higher engagement, and some topics are consistently more popular, such as structuring assignments. However, other topics were more popular online, such as time management and critical thinking. New resources on generative artificial intelligence received relatively few visits, suggesting students may be self-teaching rather than seeking out university information. Most students arrived through direct links to specific pages provided by teaching staff, rather than through the homepage. Our findings highlight students’ learning priorities and help to inform future resource development.

This session will be interactive, including time to share practice and questions.

ALDinHE

Collective storytelling: using a hero’s journey narrative to help teaching teams situate their practice and adapt together to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Catherine Turton and Dr Louise Usher, Solent University

In Higher Education learners can struggle with a fragmented learning experience, sometimes compounded by instability in course teams. This talk explores the use of a creative storytelling approach to help course teams and third space professionals participate equally in dialogue to better understand who their students are. Through analogy and supporting visual outputs, staff are supported to transform their collective approach to teaching and student support.

Academic reading: fear and trembling or being and belonging?

Jane Saville, Tasha Cooper and Steve Hunt, University of the West of England

We will share part of our two-year project at UWE Bristol, UK, to promote and improve reading skills – specifically, a literature review of student emotions towards reading, and how collaborative reading techniques have informed and improved our practical reading workshops.

ATLAANZ

Building effective connections: Using UX to co-design literacy development online resources with students

Dr Mark Bassett and Craig Wattam, Auckland University of Technology Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau

At Te Mātapuna Library & Learning Services, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), learning advisors have been collaborating with undergraduate and postgraduate students to create online literacy development resources. These resources are accessible to all AUT students through our learning management system and tailored to meet the academic and information literacy requirements across all disciplines and assignment types at AUT. We will share the user experience methods we have implemented that position our students as co-designers, key findings on students’ preferences for literacy resources’ availability and design within the curriculum, and details of our ethics-approved research project. As well as the findings to date, we will share our plans for this year’s data collection, as well as a longer-term plan to extend this research to a large-scale embedded academic literacy collaboration between our department and an AUT faculty. The session will balance presentation and discussion, featuring a mix of (we promise!) fun provocation questions and time for audience Q&A.

Learning Advisors: How we can be transformative in creating inclusive learning spaces where neurodiversity is embraced

Tiffany Stenger and Dr Kaaryn Cater, Whitireia & WelTec

‘Neurodiversity may be every bit as crucial for the human race as biodiversity is for life in general – who can say what form of wiring will be proved best at any general moment’? – Harvey Blume, 1998.

The neurodiversity paradigm holds that neurological differences must be respected in the same way that other differences are respected, and every learner has the right to receive support that recognises their individual differences and specific needs. Yet, since Harvey Blume highlighted the need to nurture neurodiversity in 1998, educators still receive minimal, if any, training on neurodiversity and its implications for learning and teaching practice. The role of the learning advisor is to promote independence, support the development of skills and empower learners. Further, learning advisors often work closely with neurodivergent learners and those with learning challenges. Consequently, they tend to have more knowledge of neurodivergence than the general teaching staff.

This interactive session introduces some of our research findings in the field and considers ways that learning advisors can work with teaching staff to help build a more neurodiversity-confident educator workforce. The session explores strategies that learning advisors can employ when working with teaching staff who support neurodivergent learners. Next, there will be an opportunity for learning advisors to assess their own levels of understanding of neurodivergence, and their competence in supporting neurodivergent learners. The session concludes with identifying further professional development opportunities that could be useful in helping learning advisors to build further expertise for supporting neurodivergent learners.

LSAC

Exploration of the alignment of current consultation practices with our understanding of student development

Heather Grierson & Joannah O’Hatnick

In this presentation, we explore how our current one-on-one student consultation practices reflect the student development theories and models that we claim as a foundation of our work. We pose the question: How do our consultation practices support student transformation?

In response, we review the steps and structures of a one-on-one consultation in light of the theories and models that inform our understanding of student development. We call into question some of our practices, note areas of alignment between consultation practices and theory, and suggest alternative practices and perspectives. One particular area of interest for the workshop facilitators is note-taking during consultations, as our preliminary research has unearthed distinct differences and approaches among colleagues in North America.

Throughout our presentation, we will draw on the theories of self-authorship (Baxter Magolda, 2001) and self-regulation (Zimmerman, 2015) and the practices of contemporary learning developers supporting student agency (Rooney, 2023; Webster, 2023). We look forward to extending this conversation worldwide to learn more from symposium participants about current and best practices for consultations.

References:

Baxter Magolda, M. (2001). Making their own way: Narratives for transforming higher education to promote self-development. Sterling, VA: Stylus

Rooney, S (2023)The Mess We’re In: LD Pedagogies and the Question of Student Agency in How to Be a Learning Developer in Higher Education: Critical Perspectives, Community and Practice Eds. Syska, A. and Buckley, C.

Webster, H. (2023). The five Ps of LD: Using formulation in Learning Development work for a student-centred approach to ‘study skills.’ Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(4), 07. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.4.07

Zimmerman, Barry. (2015). Self-regulated learning: theories, measures, and outcomes. In International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences. 10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.26060-1

SAAALP

Reflections on the development of a Writing Centre

Puleng Sefalane-Nkohla, Thembinkosi Mtonjeni, Lutendo Nendauni, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Writing centres should be credited for transforming higher education and ensuring onto-epistemological access to “non-traditional students”. In terms of its identity and practice, the writing centre has always embraced the notion of “students-as-partners” by drawing from students’ subjectivities and their lived experiences to promote student engagement, access and success. However, due to the university structure and culture, students’ agency, has often been limited. This has resulted, among other things, to constricting the transformational and liberatory goals of universities. This is not an exception for the Fundani Writing Centre which is operating at the University of Technology landscape. This paper intends to reflect on the many pedagogical and ideological shifts the Fundani Writing Centre has espoused and enacted thus far. Currently, writing centre practitioners and students’ agencies are somehow constrained and students voice is still marginalised despite the 2015 and 2016 students’ call for the decolonisation of universities in South Africa. There is a need for the Fundani Writing Centre to work towards becoming a decolonial site, where students and practitioners are encouraged to bring forth their discoursal self, cultures, lived experienced and subjectivities to promote deep, constructive and critical learning. It is against this backdrop that this paper traces the trajectory of its development and transformation of praxis and advocates for the future writing centre as a decolonial site.

ScotHELD

Disruption in the transformational learning space: using scaffolded approaches to encourage non-linear reflection on ways of being, thinking and doing in emerging notions of studentship

Vic Boyd and Caroline Fleeting, University of the West of Scotland

This session will consider ways in which themes of citizenship, social and cultural responsibility, respect for diversity and relational identity are scaffolded and supported as part of in-class and self-directed learning. The ASPIRE module at the University of the West of Scotland, provides academic, personal and professional development through a curricular approach that runs in complementary and contextualised parallel with discipline-specific teaching. This undergraduate module (currently running in first and second level of entry) aims to not only support students’ engagement with developing confidence in key academic and professional literacy practices, but to ignite curiosity in engendering a transformational learning experience that embraces the concept of the ‘porous university’ (Johnston, McNeil & Smyth, 2019; Preece, 2017) in disrupting potentially normative worldviews. ASPIRE takes an inclusive approach to providing an experimental yet structured ‘risky-safe-space’ (Boyd, Wilson & Smith, 2023) for learners to explore enactments of studentship. This session will share examples of the ways in which students participate in co-created learning and welcomes contributions from colleagues on their own experiences of authoring similar participative learning spaces.

Boyd, V., Wilson, C., & Smith, C. (2023). Building a risky-safe-space: Using reflective pedagogies and values to support writing development in work based learning. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(4). https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.4.06

Johnston, B., McNeil, S and Smyth, K. (2019). Conceptualising the Digital University: The Intersection of Policy, Pedagogy and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99160-3

Preece, J. (2017). The Porous University in Action. In: University Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56163-9_7

STEP UP to University: Transitions and Belonging

Rachel Horrocks-Birss, University of Dundee

This case study explores how the STEP UP module at the University of Dundee supports college students transitioning into university. STEP UP is a credit-bearing module designed for students enrolled at a local college who then enter directly into 2nd year at the university. A key strength of the STEP UP approach is its emphasis on student belonging, particularly by fostering reflexivity and feedback literacy.

This presentation describes the STEP UP approach, offering practical strategies for effective transition support. Direct entry students often see themselves as lacking key skills and express concern at the significant differences between college and university (Tait & Godfrey, 2001; Morgan, 2015; Breeze, Johnson & Uytman, 2018). The STEP UP module works to create a sense of belonging at university by helping the students reflect on their transition and identify what they bring to university. Students journal about their college experiences, create an artefact reflecting on their articulation year, and present a group project on “Becoming, Being, and Belonging” as a university student (Thomas, 2012). They also implement feedback on their college writing to complete their first university essay, helping them see feedback as an ongoing dialogue.

Rather than emphasising the “gap” between college and university, STEP UP empowers students to recognise the skills they have developed during their college year and identify how to employ these skills at university. By fostering reflexivity and feedback literacy, the module helps students understand what they bring to university and how they can grow within it.

Glasgow Essentials: redeveloping induction resources to improve students’ transitions into UofG

Dr Stuart Purcell and Lucy McCormick, University of Glasgow

Students’ sense of connection to an academic community is a key factor in their success and satisfaction throughout their studies, driving positive results in attainment, retention, and wellbeing. Indeed, students’ sense of belonging to and confidence to self-identify as members of the academic community has been referred to as a key “intangible asset” in Higher Education (Robertson et al, 2019). It is therefore crucial

that universities begin to build students’ feelings of connection to and belonging within the academic community at the earliest stages of the induction process.

This presentation by the University of Glasgow’s new Induction & Transitions team will showcase the recently redeveloped Glasgow Essentials resource, an interactive and informative set of online materials covering both the academic and non-academic aspects of the induction process shared with all UG and PGT offer holders preparing to begin their studies. It is often first resource new students will engage with at the University, which means it plays a crucial role in their induction into the institution and in setting them up for success in their studies. With this in mind, Glasgow Essentials has been rebuilt – in line with the QAA’s Hidden Curriculum model and utilising Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles – to better promote new students’ sense of connection to the academic community at the institution and to help aid their successful transition through the various stages of their studies.

The presentation will begin by explaining the rationale for Glasgow Essentials’ redesign before showcasing the resource itself and discussing plans to evaluate its impact on students’ sense of connection to, belonging within, and – hopefully – success in their studies at the University.

Maths & Stats: Support or Learning Development?

Dr James Rowe (University of Glasgow)

There is growing attention on the development of students’ quantitative capabilities, both through external government focus on STEM subjects, and alignment with internal University emphasis on graduate attributes. This raises important questions for us as Learning Developers with regards to Mathematics & Statistics: What quantitative ideas can we expect to encounter? Are we equipped to guide students through such encounters? How should our practice align with, or diverge from, already existing Maths support? We will discuss these questions by exploring data obtained from the ScotHELD Mapping Survey, giving an indication of how Mathematics & Statistics is integrated into current Learning Development practice in Scotland. Separating respondents by how often they teach Mathematics & Statistics related content, we compare the differences in teaching practices between these different groups, and how such provision is distributed geographically. We consider examples of teaching practice at the intersection between Maths support and learning development, informed by teaching experiences at the University of Glasgow, and discuss the possible benefits of coding our quantitative expectations against the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), both in mapping our current practices and seeking our additional training opportunities.

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The 2022 Symposium-Over-Time

Continuing from last year’s successful international Symposium-Over-Time, ICALLD is pleased to offer another Symposium-Over-Time in 2022.

• ALDinHE hosted in Friday, 25 February 2022 (Blog post here)
• SCOTHELD hosted on Friday, 29 April 2022
• ATLAANZ hosted on Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 8am NZST (Details here)
• LSAC will host the next session on 16/17 November 2022 at 2pm Canadian Mountain Time (GMT-6:00) (Details here)

The 2020-21 Symposium-Over-Time

In the past, ICALLD has hosted an international symposium every two years (see here for details on some of these events). This year, in response to a changing and demanding global context, the members of the ICALLD committee decided to host a “symposium-over-time.” As such, there will be a series of one-hour professional development opportunities over the majority of the 2020-21 academic year, held approximately every two months. Hosts will come, in turn, from each of the member associations. (Note that because of the time differences across countries, the actual date shifts).

• ALDinHE hosted on October 20/21, 2020. (Details here)
• LSAC hosted on December 8/9, 2020. (Details here)
• ScotHELD hosted on February 23/24, 2021. (Details here)
• AALL hosted on May 21, 2021 at 8pm AEST. (Details here)
• ATLAANZ hosted the fifth and final session on 24/25 June 2021. (Details here)