2019/2020 Learning Centre Practice in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Report

Data on the services and staffing in tertiary learning centres are necessary for providing professional support for tertiary learning advisors (TLAs). Full scale surveys of Aotearoa New Zealand centres were conducted in 2008 and 2013. In 2019, a third survey was conducted to explore whether the identified trends were continuing and whether there were any changes. This survey was sent to managers and team leaders at 26 tertiary learning institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand. Four topics were investigated: 1) the professional status of TLAs; 2) learning centre organisation; 3) the services provided by TLAs; 4) trends and changes since 2013. In 2020, when the lockdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic meant all centres had to cease operating face-to-face services for an extended period, some follow-up questions about the impact of Covid-19 were sent to the respondents of the 2019 survey. This report presents the five main findings of the 2019/2020 surveys, and provides comparisons with the previous surveys. First, more TLAs had postgraduate qualifications, and more TLAs were given general/professional contracts than academic contracts. Second, fewer learning centres were part of libraries or teaching and learning development units. Third, centres provided a similar range of services, with an increase in pastoral and wellbeing support. Fourth, services were more embedded, and more were delivered in online/blended modes, particularly since Covid-19. Lastly, changes in learning centres’ structures and service delivery were due to institutional financial pressure and student needs. We make some recommendations, including changing some questions in future surveys, updating the ATLAANZ professional practice document regularly, and implementing a TLA accreditation scheme in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Lessons Learnt From The 2020 COVID 19 Lockdown: A Students’ Online MS Team Project

This paper outlines an investigation of the impact of a programme Students Online, which was created in Microsoft (MS) Teams during New Zealand’s level 4 lockdown of March-May 2020. Students Online was set by the Learning Hub, the learning support centre, for a large tertiary institution in response to an international student’s request, asking for a way for students to meet and practise English. The study aimed to investigate the experiences of those who engaged with the MS Team and derive implications for possible future improvement. Offering focused learning support as well as sessions on life in New Zealand, the most significant benefit seen was the overall sense of connection when many aspects of life were disconnected. Other benefits highlighted by the study’s participants include improved communication between students and the Learning Hub, a “mental release” in the day, relationships being built and adding to the institute’s value of being supportive. The MS Team provided a sense of normality in a time when life was filled with abnormality. Participants were drawn from Learning Hub staff and students who interacted within the programme. This study found that the Students Online programme was considered generally useful and successful, modifications for future such programmes are suggested.

Pop the “maths anxiety” bubble : an approach to support nursing students to self-manage anxiety while studying drug calculations

This is a report on an informal action research undertaken between 2013 to 2014 to find solutions to support tertiary nursing students experiencing anxiety while studying drug calculation. The literature identifies traditional “Maths Anxiety” and modern-day specific categorisations of “Dyslexia” and “Dyscalculia”, yet offers no clear solution on how to support students. Exploring the constructive-developmental perspective of human development, the conception of the triune brain and the Psychosynthesis conceptual map of body-feelings-mind enabled me to develop an approach to base on all this wisdom in order to help students navigate their daily experience on campus and consciously express their will to succeed. These techniques proved to be successful, evidenced in the overwhelmingly positive feedback from both students and maths tutors. This article invites colleagues within the broader ATLAANZ community to adapt and apply this approach in their practice to support students with anxiety to succeed while studying.

The work is the talk: Collaboration and power in tertiary language advisory practice

The field of workplace communication has grown in the past 20 years to encompass the negotiation of identities and the role of power in collaboration. Nonetheless, identity struggles at work remain an underexplored phenomenon, particularly for emerging or marginalised professional groups such as tertiary language and learning advisors (TLAs) in higher education. In this article, we explore how challenges encountered in collaboration between TLAs and content specialist academics (CSs) in an Australian tertiary setting can impact the negotiation of professional identities as well as the success of the work. We draw on transcripts of meeting talk from two novice TLAs as they negotiate collaborative work with one CS in a postgraduate subject, and we use critical discourse analysis to demonstrate how power discursively manifests in the meetings. The study sheds new light on the complexities of collaborative work, manifested through interactions, in hierarchical professional environments.

Thinking of doing a doctorate? : Reflections from a Tertiary Learning Advisor perspective

This article considers the desirability of the doctorate for a tertiary learning advisor (TLA), explains the process and experience of doctoral study, and affirms how doctoral study can enhance the effectiveness of a TLA in developing students’ academic literacies. Effectiveness relates not only to the pedagogical relationship between a TLA and students, but to enhanced visibility and credibility of the TLA and their team within their institution. But what is the doctoral journey actually like? This article will be of interest to curious individuals who may have wondered what the doctorate involves in terms of time and commitment, and whether the benefits outweigh the costs. This article seeks to demystify the process and encourage neophyte researchers who may be considering a qualitative project. Using an autoethnography approach, I take as a case study my own doctoral journey, touching on my initial motivation and sharing candid insights on the challenges and milestones as I perceived them. These insights are shared through a series of brief narratives and reflections, with practical advice offered for each stage of the journey.

Core competencies for the practice of tertiary learning advising in New Zealand

Core competencies for the practice of tertiary learning advising in New Zealand

Editorial: Volume 3 (2018): Special Issue

Welcome to Volume 3 of the ATLAANZ Journal (2018), a four-part special issue entitled “Tertiary Learning Advisors on Aotearoa/New Zealand: Identity and Opportunity”, that presents a comprehensive research project undertaken by Caitriona Cameron (HoD: Academic and Career Skills, Library Teaching and Learning at Lincoln University) and founding member, former President (2009-2010) and Executive Committee member of the Association of Tertiary Learning Advisors Aotearoa/New Zealand. ATLAANZ Journal invites submissions on topics relevant to the tertiary learning advisor community (such as higher education, learning partnerships, responding to environmental changes, innovative practice, and working with students (including International, postgraduates, Māori, Pasifika and Rainbow). We provide mentoring and support for new authors, and are also keen to hear from colleagues interested in acting as peer-reviewers. Please send expressions of interest to [email protected].

Tertiary Learning Advisors in Aotearoa/New Zealand (Part 2): Acknowledging our contribution

Defining and re-defining identity is important for any profession, particularly so for tertiary learning advisors (TLAs) in the increasingly uncertain tertiary education environment in Aotearoa New Zealand. In the past ten years, two national surveys of learning centres in tertiary institutions sketched the professional status of TLAs, based on data from managers; there has been little research, however, on individual TLAs’ perspectives of their professional status. This special issue, ‘Identity and Opportunity’, reports on a project designed to address that gap, in three parts: building a professional profile, acknowledging learning advisors’ contribution, and rewards and challenges of the role. The findings indicate that TLAs are highly qualified and experienced but – for many – their skills and experience are not adequately recognised by institutions. There are significant barriers to progression within their institution, stemming mainly from organisational policies. Despite that lack of clear career opportunities, and other frustrations, overall satisfaction with the TLA role is high. Underpinning the findings, however, are issues of identity and recognition that should be addressed to ensure a resilient profession. Keywords: professional identity, tertiary learning advisor, higher education, career, job satisfaction

Tertiary Learning Advisors in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Part One: Building a Profile of Our Profession

Defining and re-defining identity is important for any profession, particularly so for tertiary learning advisors (TLAs) in the increasingly uncertain tertiary education environment in Aotearoa New Zealand. In the past ten years, two national surveys of learning centres in tertiary institutions sketched the professional status of TLAs, based on data from managers; there has been little research, however, on individual TLAs’ perspectives of their professional status. This special issue, ‘Identity and Opportunity’, reports on a project designed to address that gap, in three parts: building a professional profile, acknowledging learning advisors’ contribution, and rewards and challenges of the role. The findings indicate that TLAs are highly qualified and experienced but – for many – their skills and experience are not adequately recognised by institutions. There are significant barriers to progression within their institution, stemming mainly from organisational policies. Despite that lack of clear career opportunities, and other frustrations, overall satisfaction with the TLA role is high. Underpinning the findings, however, are issues of identity and recognition that should be addressed to ensure a resilient profession. Keywords: professional identity, tertiary learning advisor, higher education, career, job satisfaction

Tertiary Learning Advisors in Aotearoa/New Zealand (Part 3): Why do we stay?

Defining and re-defining identity is important for any profession, particularly so for tertiary learning advisors (TLAs) in the increasingly uncertain tertiary education environment in Aotearoa New Zealand. In the past ten years, two national surveys of learning centres in tertiary institutions sketched the professional status of TLAs, based on data from managers; there has been little research, however, on individual TLAs’ perspectives of their professional status. This special issue, ‘Identity and Opportunity’, reports on a project designed to address that gap, in three parts: building a professional profile, acknowledging learning advisors’ contribution, and rewards and challenges of the role. The findings indicate that TLAs are highly qualified and experienced but – for many – their skills and experience are not adequately recognised by institutions. There are significant barriers to progression within their institution, stemming mainly from organisational policies. Despite that lack of clear career opportunities, and other frustrations, overall satisfaction with the TLA role is high. Underpinning the findings, however, are issues of identity and recognition that should be addressed to ensure a resilient profession. Keywords: professional identity, tertiary learning advisor, higher education, career, job satisfaction