I joined this discussion list only a couple weeks ago and I'm finding
the discussion very interesting.
I've been a member of ILT since March and like Tom Browne would
be interested in knowing how many support staff are members and
also to what extent they are included in their institution's ILT
activities. If in fact their institutions have made efforts to enable
networking between their members.
I'm the Learning Support Coordinator for Manchester Metropolitan
and my role includes providing study skills support for students
who are having difficulty with academic work as well as
coordinating support for students with disabilities. We have, over
the past three years tried to develop an integrated approach to
these two issues, as we have found they are closely interlinked.
We are finding that students do seem unprepared for independent
learning whether they have disabilities or not and would be inclined
to agree with an earlier comment on this list that there seems to be
a results based culture which is leading to spoon-feeding before
university. We're also concerned about levels of literacy particularly
in students who have come to us through non-traditional routes.
We're currently considering diagnostic testing mechanisms which
would enable us to identify students needing support early in their
course and subsequently to tailor our support services
appropriately. I wondered if anyone else is using or developing such
materials and could give us some advice at these early stages.
I look forward to reading any views on this.
Ann
Ann Barlow,
Learning Support Co-ordinator,
Student Services,
the Manchester Metropolitan University,
All Saints,
MANCHESTER M15 6BH
Tel 0161 247 3492
fax 0161 247 6852
e-mail [log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|