I am a lecturer in Adult Continuing Education and Programme Director for BA Humanities, a part-time degree programme. I have a varied background, having worked in Adult and Community Learning, work-based learning, FE and HE.
I teach on the BA Humanities and the Foundation to Humanities, focusing on developing academic and personal skills for learning, through problem-based and inquiry-based learning and critical reflection.
Service Learning
Community Engagement
Academic Skills
Critical Thinking
Enquiry Based Learning
Problem Based Learning
Critical Reflection
Academic Coaching
Walker, A. (2015). Work Volunteering and Applied Psychology. In J. Taylor and J. A. Hulme. (2015). Psychological Literacy: A Compendium of Practice. Retrieved from http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/22906/
Walker, A. (2015). Work, Volunteering and Applied Psychology in HEFCW. (2015). Insight into Employability: How Welsh Universities hone graduate skills. Retrieved from http://www.hefcw.ac.uk/documents/policy_areas/business_and_communities/insight%20into%20employability%20e%20publication.pdf
Walker, A. (2015). Initial Professional Development: A case study in embedding employability in an undergraduate psychology degree programme. Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 10(1), 67–83. Retrieved from http://community.dur.ac.uk/pestlhe.learning/index.php/pestlhe/article/view/145
Heggs, D., & Walker, A. (2013). Creating a level 4 core module 'Psychology for learning and work'. In P. Reddy, C. Lantz, & J. Hulme, Employability in Psychology: a guide for departments. HEA. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/employability-guide-final.pdf
This compulsory module prepares students for academic study at degree level. You are encouraged to develop a questioning approach, structure an argument, write academically and avoid plagiarism. You will expand your academic skills for successful learning within a higher education environment. You wil be given the opportunity to work autonomously as well as together to develop your own knowledge and skills.
This module supports students to develop their academic and study skills and apply their learning to their learning and assessments. Students will learn about the importance of academic integrity, academic referencing, quoting and paraphrasing, synthesizing information and editing and proofreading their work. They will apply their knowledge and skills to formative learning tasks and activities .
This module supports students to highlight and focus on an area of specific interest in their academic studies. Students will work with a supervisor to develop, agree and carry out a detailed exploration and discussion of an area of interest within the broad humanities umbrella.
This year-long module will enable students to build upon the academic writing and communications skills developed at level 4 and enhance their critical thinking and writing needed for level 5 study. Developing critical thinking and writing is essential for degree success and this module will challenge students to gain higher learning skills in analysis, evaluation, synthesis and overall writing style and approach so that they can form and defend well-reasoned arguments, both orally and in writing. Students will learn how to assess, appreciate and defend a variety of beliefs, theories, values, and wide literature viewpoints offering a detailed, balanced and critical answer to academic topics and questions.
This module explores the relationship between society and the individual, with the aim of introducing students to a series of key concepts and debates across a series of areas of contemporary social life. We focus in particular on divisions in society as focal points for understanding how social factors affect individuals¿ identities, priorities, choices and life chances. The module serves as a foundation for further study, giving students vital conceptual tools and showing how they can be applied across a series of key issues, themes and contexts.
This module provides an exploration of common theory and approaches used in research in the humanities and social sciences. Students will gain a broad understanding of research and actively engage with some of these research approaches to support them in identifying and carrying out their dissertation in their final year of study. Students will work together and support each other in a community of practice developing their knowledge, understandings and skills in research.
This module will equip students with the skills needed to produce a dissertation of between of 10,000 words. Students will conduct research upon a subject of their choice using the proposal developed within the `Undertaking Research¿ module from the previous year, devised in consultation with a supervisor with an interest in that area of study. Students will have an introductory series of lectures in semester one followed by group tutorials throughout semester one and two whilst having 6 compulsory hours of support from the supervisor.
This course, which is workshop-based, takes a practical approach to getting started as a writer of fiction. Through a combination of expert instruction and practical exercises, together with a thorough reading programme. It guides students on the path towards writing and improving their own fictional prose. The emphasis will be on the short-story form. students will create a portfolio of fiction work, on which they will be assessed.
This course, which is workshop-based, takes a practical approach to getting started as a writer of fiction. Through a combination of expert instruction and practical exercises, together with a thorough reading programme, it guides students on the path towards writing and improving their own fictional prose. The emphasis will be on the short-story form. students will create a portfolio of fiction work, on which they will be assessed.
This module introduces students to key concepts in metacognition and self-regulated learning. Metacognitive practices, or thinking about thinking, help learners to monitor their own progress and take control of their learning. This experiential module will introduce learners to theories of metacognition and self-regulated learning. It will also offer a chance to practise and reflect on a range of techniques which can help to them to develop as self-regulated learners.
This module introduces students to key concepts in metacognition and self-regulated learning. Metacognitive practices, or thinking about thinking, help learners to monitor their own progress and take control of their learning. This experiential module will introduce learners to theories of metacognition and self-regulated learning. It will also offer an opportunity to practise and reflect on a range of techniques which can help to them to develop as self-regulated learners.
This module will give you the critical tools needed to evaluate how authors and publishers represent social science research to meet their own needs. It will look at a range of published media and popular science texts which draw on social science research. You will explore a range of texts as case studies, evaluating how the original research has been represented, by referring to the original research papers. You will also consider how authors and publishers may have biases and agendas, and how language and style can be used to influence the reader¿s perception of the issue. This module will demand a high level of reading and research as each week we will consider a new text(s) and the research on which it is based.
This module introduces students to key concepts in metacognition and self-regulated learning. Metacognitive practices, or thinking about thinking, help learners to monitor their own progress and take control of their learning. This experiential module will introduce learners to theories of metacognition and self-regulated learning. It will also offer an opportunity to practise and reflect on a range of techniques which can help to them to develop as self-regulated learners.
This module will give you the critical tools needed to evaluate how authors and publishers represent social science research to meet their own needs. It will look at a range of published media and popular science texts which draw on social science research. You will explore a range of texts as case studies, evaluating how the original research has been represented, by referring to the original research papers. You will also consider how authors and publishers may have biases and agendas, and how language and style can be used to influence the reader¿s perception of the issue. This module will demand a high level of reading and research as each week we will consider a new text(s) and the research on which it is based.
Collective memories of conflict and death were powerful historical forces in twentieth-century Europe. This module considers how popular and scholarly understandings of the past shaped debate, attitudes and decisions in twentieth century Europe. Case studies to be examined in detail include the memory of colonial violence in the late 19th century, commemoration of conflict after 1918, the role of historical narratives in the articulation of ideologies of the interwar period, the development of a collective memory of the Holocaust, and the resonance of the memories of these crucial historical events in the twenty first century. Students will develop an appreciation of the different concepts, approaches and sources historians use to explore collective memories.
This module explores a range of theories related to sleep. It will explore the nature of sleep, the impact of life choices on the quality of sleep and introduce formulae and interventions for improving sleep.
Social Justice is both a goal and a process. This module will focus on the goal of social justice - full and equitable participation of people from all social identity groups in a society that is mutually shaped by their needs, and the process ¿ the capacity for working with others to create change. Through the study of core concepts, social constructions and the development of critical self-knowledge, students will develop their awareness of social identities, oppressive socio-political processes, consider the consequences of socialisation into these inequitable systems and reflect on their own positions and responsibilities in relation to various forms of oppression. Students will be responsible for finding their own volunteering placement, to be approved by the module leader.
Social Justice is both a goal and a process. This module will focus on the goal of social justice - full and equitable participation of people from all social identity groups in a society that is mutually shaped by their needs, and the process ¿ the capacity for working with others to create change. Through the study of core concepts, social constructions and the development of critical self-knowledge, students will develop their awareness of social identities, oppressive socio-political processes, consider the consequences of socialisation into these inequitable systems and reflect on their own positions and responsibilities in relation to various forms of oppression.
Social Justice is both a goal and a process. This module will focus on the goal of social justice - full and equitable participation of people from all social identity groups in a society that is mutually shaped by their needs, and the process ¿ the capacity for working with others to create change. Through the study of core concepts, social constructions and the development of critical self-knowledge, students will develop their awareness of oppressive socio-political processes, consider the consequences of socialisation into these inequitable systems and reflect on their own positions and responsibilities in relation to various forms of oppression
