These slides were used in a presentation to the ICALLD Seminar in February 2017.

1. Two cheers for one to ones
Martin McMorrow
Centre for Teaching and Learning
Massey University, New Zealand
Slides available at:
http://tinyurl.com/twocheersforonetoones
m.s.mcmorrow@massey.ac.nz
So, two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and
two because it permits criticism. (E M Forster, 1951)

2. Overview of Session
Remedial
Generic
Jeers Cheers
Disciplinary
Multidisciplinary
Expensive
I don’t know what you do or how you work with students. But you
can’t mentor a thousand students. That’s the problem. So I’m
guessing the university throws money at this role, but without a clear
idea of what would be useful. And I think a one-off consultation is
marginally useful . (NZU Senior Lecturer, Business)

3. My personal greatest challenge is getting academic
staff past the notion that we provide a remedial
service – we don’t. There is nothing wrong with the
students when they enter their courses – all students
have to become familiar with the expectations. (NZ LD)
Our view of learning development

4. I would think that the reality is that some of the work
that’s done is remedial. It’s just as simple as that.
Some is extension and developmental. And that’s
probably unlikely to change. (NZU Senior Academic
Policy-maker)
From the angle of student support, my role is to
direct students there who need remedial work that I
don’t have the time to commit, or the expertise to be
quite honest with you, without having a full
understanding of learning pedagogies that you guys
do. So remedial work for students – that’s first and
foremost what I see you guys doing – providing that
valuable service. (NZU Senior Lecturer, Business)
Some institutional views of learning
development

5. I came and saw you once because I was just
stuck on how to start. (BAH Y1 Focus Group)
Clarification of assignment task
I think the most helpful part was giving me
strategies to attack the specific assignment.
(BAH Y2 Student)
Student perceptions of benefits of
consultations
It’s a huge benefit especially for first year
students and for international students
whose English is not their first language.
(NZU student)

6. You don’t hand in and wait three weeks and then
you get a grade with feedback that you can’t
change any more. You get feedback and it’s like, ‘I
could change all this and then it’ll be so much
better’. I’ve really learnt from that. (BAH Focus
Group)
Formative feedback on drafts
It was amazing, the feedback. there were just a
couple of sentences there, but it did change the
whole way I approached my research review
section and to my thinking, it just flowed all of a
sudden, whereas it was staccato before that, but I
wouldn’t have been able to fix it. (BAH Y4
student)

7. Consultations with BAH students
Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Total
2011 1 11 4 5 21
2012 36 0 26 6 68
2013 18 12 10 41 81
2014 40 6 6 18 70

8. Reasons for BAH students to come to
consultations
We’ve known for a couple of years now, so I feel
confident enough to come in here about my draft,
which is not very good, and you’re aware that it’s not
good, and get it critiqued, whereas earlier on in the
course, if you haven’t got that, or if the relationship is
not there, it’s quite a big thing .. I would feel more
comfortable seeing you. (BAH Y4 Student)
You do have a really good grasp of what the lecturers
expect from the type of writing. So I feel very
confident in your advice on that. (BAH Y1 Focus
Group).
Familiarity
Inside knowledge

9. I feel you’re part of our team, because you’ve developed so
much knowledge and understanding about our programme,
… So it’s developed my confidence in what you’re telling the
students. I can talk to the student about the benefits of
going to see you, and your knowledge, so it’s not a referral
without weight. I am able to talk about the advantages of
seeing you. And assuring the student that it’s about
support, and not about a remediation of their work. (BAH
Lecturer)
‘Embedded’ support enhances
disciplinary knowledge, which adds
to credibility of consultations
Can influence teaching
I realised that what you’re doing with them is one on one
attention, specific to their needs, and so I felt that that’s what
teaching and learning is ... [consultations are ] a kind of my
reliability check on self, that I’ve covered what needs to be
covered in class. (BAH Lecturer)

10. Through consultations, LDs construct
multidisciplinary expertise
The best way for me to become an effective learning
consultant is through doing consultations; that’s
absolutely crucial. That is how you learn. I know so much
more now from years of doing learning consultations.
When learning consultants first start, that should be their
training, for at least a year, lots and lots of consultations,
different subject areas. (NZ LD)
Over time, by close contact with the students, and by
looking quite closely at their answers, we start to get
an understanding of what underlies their problems,
which lecturers don’t generally have. (NZ LD)
I think that’s one of the advantages that [LDs] bring, the
interdisciplinarity. You can make those connections. And
you’re not seen as affiliated with the science geeks, or
the hopeless social workers. (NZU A/Prof Social Work)

11. Developmental framing of consultations
is itself developmental
Initially, I probably thought, ‘only the lowest students,
the people who are really struggling, go and see the
writing support.’. And that was probably my perception.
But by the fourth year, I was like, ‘Who cares?’ Everyone
has room to improve, whether you’re at this level or that
level, it didn’t bother me. But at the start, I definitely
felt a little bit embarrassed at having to come. (BAH Y4
Student)
Most of us have never really struggled through school.
Always probably been fairly academic. The whole
Learning Support and Learning Centre equates in our
minds to ‘low stream’. (BAH Y1 Focus Group)

12. Conclusion
Consultations are widely seen as a
remedial service
They can be enhanced by disciplinary
engagement
They are a source of multidisciplinary
expertise and identity
Developmental framing of learning
advice / consultations is itself
developmental