HIGHLIGHT #3|| 58
HIGHLIGHT | #3
Title
The DKC People? The Student Learning
team and the growth of embedding
learning development in academic
programmes
Author(s)
Christopher Little
Contact
[email protected]
Area
Student Learning
Directorate
Human Resources and Student Services
Abstract
The Student Learning team offers
Keele students numerous methods
and opportunities to engage in
practices to develop their academic,
professional and personal skills. This
brief highlights piece will detail the
ways in which Student Learning works
with colleagues to achieve positive
outcomes for learners, our successes
and areas in which we hope to
improve. Using data gained from the
past two academic years, this piece
will discuss the growth, and success, of
embedding learning development into
academic programmes. This discussion
will be contextualised amongst some
key pedagogic texts and is designed
to inform colleagues about our service.
Ultimately, it is hoped that this paper
may help to inform colleagues of our
work and start important conversations
about the role of embedded learning
development in Keele’s academic
programmes.
Keywords
Learning development, Student
Learning
HIGHLIGHT #3|| 59
THE DKC PEOPLE
Context
Previously known as Curriculum Support and Development, the
Student Learning team is comprised of a head of unit, a unit
administrator, a learning technology officer and three facultybased learning developers. This paper will document the growth
achieved in engagement with our services and how successful
these interactions have been for learners. Data from the 2013/14
and 2014/15 academic years will be used to demonstrate the
growth within our service, the positive feedback received from
learners and the potential directions for future growth and
development.
Much of what the Student Learning team offers falls under the
banner of the Distinctive Keele Curriculum (DKC). Consequently,
we have become affectionately, or not so affectionately
-depending on your point of view- known as the ‘DKC people’,
although we do not have any direct responsibility for the
DKC. This is, in fact, the University’s approach to the Student
Experience (so my manager tells me). Our embedded learning
development workshops, sometimes referred to ‘Away Days’
despite being neither ‘away’ or for a full ‘day’, form a part of and
complement the academic curriculum. Workshops are designed
to focus on articulating personal development and use the Keele
Graduate Attributes as a starting point for our taught sessions.
learning and skills development across the course.
The stats so far…
Our embedded skills sessions initially (2013-2014) took the form of 2
or 3-hour workshops at levels 4 and 5 of undergraduate programmes
across all three faculties. However, in 2014-15 a more flexible model
with a variety of formats emerged. Sessions can focus on a range
of topics covering core academic practices such as critical thinking
and academic writing, through to personal and professional skills
such as time management and presentation skills, amongst others.
The content of sessions and methods of delivery are negotiated
between ourselves and discipline leads, highlighting excellent
collaborative working practices. These embedded workshops run
throughout the academic year and the success of them is also
accredited to the efforts of colleagues in fellow central services.
Careers and Employability, Library Services and Counselling and
Emotional Wellbeing also work with us to design and deliver
workshops alongside colleagues within Schools. The impact of this
collaborative approach can be seen in a ste