LearnHigher is a collaboration of 16 Universities who share a concern about enabling their students to become effective learners at undergraduate and post-graduate level.  The knowledge and expertise of subject specialists is readily acknowledged in this process, but the complexity of spaces and changed contexts for current students’ studying has led to other experts in ‘learning development’ becoming involved.

'Learning Development' is an emergent and increasingly recognised field of practice in higher education in the UK. Those who identify with the term are principally involved in areas of work focussing on student learning, working directly with students and in a consultative capacity with other HE staff. This work is sometimes referred to as 'learning support' or 'study skills', but most LD practitioners reject the remedial implications that such terms may carry.

The main aim of LD work is the empowerment of all students through the enhancement of their academic practices - such as skills for research, communication, self-awareness and critical thinking - in order that they may benefit as fully as possible from their experiences of, and life beyond, higher education.

Learning development is different from learning and learning developers are different from teachers because of the differences between their primary focus on enhancing personal capacity to learn as against a primary focus on actual learning. Another difference is that the object of the work of learning developers may not only be students directly but institutions, their learning architectures (Dill, 1999 ), policies and practices. The LearnHigher partner universities operate a range of models for bringing together the subject specialists and the ‘learning development’ specialists.

LearnHigher has as its particular focus the use of resources in learning development.  We are concerned not to endlessly create new resources but to understand what the role of resources is within formal and informal learning, what works and in what context and why.  As we build this evidence base we will report it from these pages, and are interested in anyone else’s work to add to our understanding.