Hilsdon (2011: 14) defines learning development as, "a complex set of multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary academic roles and functions, involving teaching, tutoring, research, and the design and production of learning materials, as well as involvement in staff development, policy-making and other consultative activities.
"[1] Learning development is a term used mainly within UK and Australian academia, with some overlap with academic advising in the USA.
[3] Early members were all involved in the provision of study skills support, but recognised the limitations of a purely study-skills approach.
LearnHigher aimed to develop and maintain a bank of open access materials for self-access by students.
For example, the use of statistics, encouraged by learning development, is cross-disciplinary, however, resources such as study guides are often categorised into distinct subjects.
[25] This view is generally opposed to study skills that represent remedial education - aiming to bring weaker students up to a set standard.
[25] However, accepting that support may be the most developmental approach in some circumstances, study skills remain a feature of learning development.
Lea and Street[28] have demonstrated that university staff in various disciplines have varying expectations of students in assignments.
[29] Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick summarise converging literature suggesting that internal feedback and student self-regulation are only possible with a good conception of the criteria.
This ranges from resources providing disciplinary definitions of keywords, to one-to-one practice to negotiate student understandings of assessment criteria with reference to assignment drafts.