Writing in January, Debbie McVitty and Mark Andrews commented in a detailed WonkHE blog post (https://wonkhe.com/blogs/skills-to-thrive-academics-perceptions-of-student-skills-development/) on the sector’s view of students’ skills/literacies development.  

Their findings were not especially surprising (although they were a fascinating read), but the focus on the development of our students’ – what’s being called – ‘soft skills’ is again taking up space in our collective discussions.  

Learner Developers (LDs) and Effective Learning Advisers (ELAs) take a central role in this debate. Tasked with promoting, developing and enhancing students’ academic literacies, we are one of the core driving forces behind the enhancement of student attributes.  

Whether that be the development of academic writing (in other words, effective communication), the promotion of academic integrity (that is to say, a form of ethical citizenship), courses on argumentation and evaluation (also known as criticality), or other ‘soft skills’ such as public speaking, project management, etc., LDs are there to lead the debate.  

‘An essential strength of higher education is the development of critical citizens equipped with the ability to question, learn, and innovate, working beyond the straightforward ability to replicate established ways of doing things, to bring creative approaches to solving complex problems.’ (WonkHE https://wonkhe.com/blogs/skills-to-thrive-academics-perceptions-of-student-skills-development/) 

The role of the Learning Developer here is to co-create opportunity for, and exploration of, this development of academic literacies with our students. Beyond translating the academy for students, our roles increasingly are at the forefront of this development of what it means to be a graduate (or a postgraduate).  

Here at Glasgow, through ranges of courses, resources, and information on, for example, critical thinking, research methods and ethics, communication of research to a broad audience, and clarity in writing, we work to enhance and develop all our students’ literacies.  

Our Academic Writing Skills Programme pushes students – right at the start of their studies with us – to work to develop, enhance and improve their written communication. Clarity of message, precision of language, appropriateness of tone, completeness of message are all assessed, and students are given clear, actionable feedback on how to improve any relevant areas.  

At the other end of the undergraduate degree, our [X] initiatives (our undergraduate research conference, Let’s Talk About [X], our undergraduate research journal, [X]position, and the [X]pertise research speaker series) allow us to work hand-in-hand with students in the promotion of their criticality, their communication, and their multi- and inter-disciplinary engagement.  

McVitty and Andrews (WonkHE) comment that: ‘Concrete strategies for infusing skills development into the curriculum are therefore essential’ and establish that ‘staff are struggling to find space and time for thinking and developing practice in student development’.  

Evidence from experience here at Glasgow shows that an engaged, dynamic and driven LD department can be the bedrock of the promotion of student success. More than that, through engagement with the LD department at all levels of studies, students are able to taken ownership of their academic literacies development through one-to-one, small group and asynchronous learning opportunities.  

I blogged before on why Learning Development matters so much (https://www.uofgleadsforstudents.co.uk/blog/learning-developmentnbspwhynbspi-thinknbspit-mattersnbspnbsp). The evolving discussion on the centrality of student literacies/skills/attributes/competencies development is the perfect opportunity for those of us in the LD community to shout, shout loudly, and promote our unique offering to our students.  

Written by Dr Andrew Struan, Writing and Study Skills Co-ordinator