Collaboration, Connection and Confidence

 

Collaboration, Connection and Confidence: Embedding Academic and Information Skills Teaching within the Student Experience

Working in partnership to develop student confidence in academic and research skills is a key role of Academic Skills Tutors and Librarians. Such “inter-professional collaboration"" and “integrated practice”, during both curriculum design and teaching delivery, is central in creating a holistic student experience in learning development throughout the student journey (Hill & Tinker, 2018; McIntosh & Nutt, 2022; Schneider et al., 2015). In the School of Arts and Humanities, Academic Skills Tutors and Subject Librarians have been collaborating in tandem with course and module leaders to create a deeply embedded academic and information skills teaching and learning experience for students that fosters connections between research and writing to develop effective critical thinking skills.

This workshop will showcase such collaborative initiatives as a starting point but then invite participants to actively engage with their own curriculum design in terms of how they might make best use of Academic Skills Tutors and Librarians within their teaching delivery. Individual and group activities followed by discussion will be used to facilitate exploration of possibilities for collaborative teaching and different delivery models, including both face-to-face and online.

1 Presentation
Rationale and sharing case studies of collaborative, embedded progressive teaching initiatives (10 mins)

2 Reflective Activity: Taking Stock
• Choosing one course or module, evaluate current provision on the template provided (10 mins).
• Group feedback and general discussion (10 mins).

3 Mapping Activity: Moving Forward
• Using the tools provided (e.g. prompt cards, principles of embedding), sketch out a plan on the template
towards scaffolding successful embedded academic and information skills teaching for the chosen course or
module (10 mins).
• Sharing and discussion (10 mins).

4. Questions and Action Points (10 mins).

References
Hill, P.& Tinker, A. (2018). Making the second year count: Embedding learning development in a progressive student journey. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 14. https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i0.482

McIntosh, E. & Nutt, D. (Eds.). (2022). The impact of the integrated practitioner in higher education: Studies in third space professionalism. Routledge.

Schneider, M., Kelsall, J. & Webster, H. (Eds.). (2015). Connecting the dots: Collaboration across learning support professions in higher education to enhance student learning. Innovative Libraries.