The Learning Development Project

• Lucy Gill-Simmen: thoughtful learning design with AI

  Lucy’s interests in pedagogy have expanded over the last couple of years to draw AI into her work on learning design. Using AI in the classroom, in an ethical and responsible way, with learners with diverse needs and backgrounds, can level the playing field and support learners in doing things and thinking in ways that might not otherwise be available to them. For learning design to be thoughtful and effective, digital technologies - including AI - must serve a purpose and earn its pedagogic place in the classroom. We need to know what students will get from it, and we must make sure the students know that too. Lucy’s drivers are creativity and curiosity, and they combine into a pedagogy of wonder. But that goes for us too: AI is new, for all of us, so we need to have the courage to not be the expert, to play, to try things out and see what works and have the confidence to co-learn with the students. These technologies aren’t going away so we might as well take the plunge - ethically, pedagogically, mindfully - and see what we can do!The resources we mentionedJohn Fowles biography: https://www.fowlesbooks.com/ Gill-Simmen, L. (2024). Educating Gen Z: why authenticity and connection are key to thriving in an AI-driven world. The Conversation. Available from: https://theconversation.com/educating-gen-z-why-authenticity-and-connection-are-key-to-thriving-in-an-ai-driven-world-230633 Harari, Y.N. (2011). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Random House.Hemingway’s 6-word story…maybe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_worn Jhumpa Lahiri’s professional profile: https://barnard.edu/profiles/jhumpa-lahiri Lamott, A. (1994). Bird by bird. Pantheon BooksAnd the article we talked aboutGill-Simmen, L. (2021) “Using Padlet in instructional design to promote cognitive engagement: a case study of undergraduate marketing students”, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (20). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.vi20.575

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• Maha Bali: troubling generative AI

  At the moment, there is no evidence that generative AI is a transformative tool for higher education. Making something more efficient is not the same as being better for learners or learning, and efficiency is not transformation. If we come from a critical perspective, focused on social justice and care, rather than a neoliberal one, then AI currently has little to offer. But it is also important to say no to resistance. We need to resist the harmful uses of AI and drop the assumption that it should be incorporated into teaching; we should not allow students to use it for everything instead of doing it for themselves. There’s little benefit, though, in telling students they are not allowed to use it. To help students develop the critical judgement they need to use gen AI well, we will have to use it a little bit ourselves, experimenting with a critical perspective – often enough to see its limitations and then to decide for ourselves whether it’s truly useful. Talking to colleagues is also vital, in sharing how we feel about it as much as what we know about it, and to ensure that we are always talking about the same thing. Maha’s practice of intentionally equitable hospitality can help us think through inequalities in the way our education system is set up that might mean some people need more support than others. The important question should always be, what is the purpose of this task? And then for those students that need more support, they can use AI anywhere apart from in relation to the skill that they need to learn how to do. Above all, if we practice with compassion, we have the potential to make AI something truly of benefit. The resources we mentionedBali, M. 2024. Cake-making analogy for setting generative AI guidelines/ethics. Available from https://uen.pressbooks.pub/teachingandgenerativeai/chapter/cake-making-analogy-for-setting-generative-ai-guidelines-ethics/Bali, M. 2024. When it comes to AI, is transparency enough? Available from https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducation/2024/10/18/ethics-in-ai/And the article we talked aboutMills, A., Bali, M. and Eaton, L. (2023). How do we respond to generative AI in education? Open educational practices give us a framework for an ongoing process. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching 6(1), pp.16-30. https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.34 Available from https://hawksites.newpaltz.edu/fdc/files/2023/07/How-Do-We-Respond-to-Generative-AI-in-Education-Open-Educational-Practices-Give-Us-a-Framework-for-an-Ongoing-Process.pdf 

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  53:10
• Steve White: the trouble with academic literacies

  Academic Literacies (AL) is an approach to teaching and supporting learning that seems to be integral to Learning Development - but should it be? Apart from the focus of its purported transformational value on seeing and being but not doing, leaving it thin on practical pedagogical value, it bundles up tensions and contradictions that are difficult – some might say impossible – to reconcile. Rather than privileging these ideas of voice and power and rejecting the central role of knowledge in education, Steve suggests that a more useful way forward is to strive for nuance, without condemning anything that isn’t AL as morally deficient. It shouldn’t be wrong to try different techniques as the context requires, nor should it be impossible to critique those theoretical positions and epistemologies, like social constructivism, that raise doubts in our minds. The key is to read widely, looking for alternative perspectives, and then giving ourselves permission to craft something new that works for us. We’re Learning Developers: learning is what we do best! The resources we mentioned Haidt, J. (2013) The Righteous Mind. Penguin Hilsdon, J., Malone, C. and Syska, A. (2019) ‘Academic literacies twenty years on: a community-sourced literature review’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 15, pp.1−49. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i15.567 Kotzee, B. (2010) ‘Seven posers in the constructivist classroom’, London Review of Education, 8(2), pp.177−187. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14748460.2010.487340 Moore, R., & Muller, J. (1999). The Discourse of “Voice” and the Problem of Knowledge and Identity in the Sociology of Education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(2), 189–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425699995407 Sold a story: how teaching kids to read when so wrong. Podcast also available on Apple and Spotify Dan Williams - an introduction to his ideas is available at https://danwilliamsphilosophy.com/  Wrigglesworth, J. (2019) ‘Pedagogical applications of academic literacies theory: a reflection and case study’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 15, pp.1−21. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i15.552 Young, M. (2007). Bringing knowledge back in. Routledge. And the articles we talked about White, S. (2024) “Resisting ideological echo chambers: if we are all critical pedagogues, how will we know we are doing LD well? ”, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (32). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.vi32.1461. White, S. and Dhillon, S. (2024) “We need to talk about AL: has academic literacies designed the pedagogy out of Learning Development? ”, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (31). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.vi31.1267.

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  1:01:21
• Tom Lowe: the complexities of student engagement

  Student engagement is complex and multifaceted. Ten years ago it meant engaging the student voice. Since then it’s become much more about attendance, attention, motivation, presence on campus, belonging, engagement with the curriculum, and more; ‘student engagement’ covers all of these, so it’s important for us to be clear what we mean when we talk about student engagement. What’s already clear is that the more pressured a higher education system is – such as that of the UK – the more focus there is on student engagement. That pressure can come from a policy angle, a financial angle, or both. The outcome is that students need to perceive that their university education is worth it – whatever that might mean to them. And how do we know what it means? Tom advocates for regularly topping up our empathy by keeping in touch with students about their experiences. Student engagement is never done and achieved, just as learning is always ongoing.  Like many of us, Tom has had a portfolio career and sees himself as ‘someone who works in a university’. Identity is important but we shouldn’t let ourselves be limited by it. As Alan Watts once said, ‘Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth’! The resources we mentioned Hamshire, C. and Wibberley, C. (2014) The listening project: Physiotherapy students' narratives of their Higher Education experiences. In Bryson, C. (ed.) Understanding and developing student engagement, pp.47-63. Routledge. InForm: a journal for international foundation programme professionals. Available from: https://www.reading.ac.uk/inform/ LoveLD magazine. Available from: https://aldinhe.ac.uk/news/loveld-magazine/ Lowe, T., & El Hakim, Y. (Eds.). (2020). A Handbook for Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theory into Practice (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429023033 Spire, Z. (2023) University estates: From spaces to places of student engagement. In Lowe, T. (ed.) Advancing student engagement in higher education: reflection, critique and challenge, pp.189-202. Routledge. Watts, A. https://public-library.online/Alan-Watts-This-Is-It And the book we talked about Lowe, T. (Ed.). (2023). Advancing Student Engagement in Higher Education: Reflection, Critique and Challenge (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003271789

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  58:31
• Jane McKay: tackling the destruction of perfectionism

  ‘I’m a perfectionist’ is often a glib response given in job interviews when we’re asked to identify a weakness. We offer it up modestly, sure that it will be received as intended: a desirable trait, one showing dedication, commitment, and high quality. Yet what if that were not true? What if, in fact, perfectionism was rigid, unattainable, and damaging? Jane explains that the internal critical dialogue can be extremely destructive in its relentless messaging of not being good enough and, worryingly, her study reports that it is on the rise in students. The connection of self worth to academic performance is hugely problematic, and detrimental to well being. But there are things we can do to help, firstly in understanding the difference between striving - we want to do well, and we try hard - and concerns - we doubt ourselves and worry about what others will think if we don’t meet our own impossible standards. Helping students to understand themselves and their motivations, to have honest conversations about the value of failure, and to build trust and empathy in the classroom or in tutorials, can allow us to challenge perfectionist tendencies. And Learning Developers are perfectly (ahem) positioned for this work! The resources we mentioned Burkeman, O. (2021) Four thousand weeks: time and how to use it. Bodley Head Burkeman, O. (2024) The imperfectionist [blog] Available from: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/the-imperfectionist Curran, T. (2023) The perfection trap: the power of good enough in a world that always wants more. Cornerstone Press Flett, G. (2018) The psychology of mattering: understanding the human need to be significant. Academic Press Hewitt, P.L., Flett, G. and Mikail, S.F. (2017) Perfectionism: A relational approach to conceptualization, assessment, and treatment. Guilford Press. O’Donohue, J. Irish poet, theologian, philosopher. https://www.johnodonohue.com/  And the article we talked about McKay, J., Williams, K. and Stewart, J. (2024). “You just want a break from the hatred of failure”: the lived experience of being a student physiotherapist perfectionist and considerations for educators. Advances in Health Sciences Education 29, 893–918 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-023-10287-y

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