The Learning Unit (LU) at DBS, staffed by Bernadette Higgins (Senior Educational Developer), Sylwia Plucisz (Educational Developer), and Isabel Ashburner (Learning Technologist), plays a pivotal role in supporting academic management and advancing teaching and learning. Our mission is to promote excellence, foster innovation, and enhance collaboration across all areas of education.
Our core objectives include providing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for faculty helping them to design and implement evidence-based, pedagogically sound learning, teaching and assessment strategies.
LU primarily supports lecturing faculty but also offers resources and training to other learner support staff. We host drop-in "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) sessions for personalised advice, alongside a range of self-service resources such as video tutorials, CPD lessons, and instructional guides. We also guide new faculty members through all DBS Learning Technologies and support their journey towards earning professional badges by completing DBS Module Pathway OnDemand lessons.
LU works alongside other departments in DBS such as SESU, Exams, Academic Operations, Registrar, Library, IT, Content Production and Student Experience to ensure that faculty training is informed by all areas of the DBS Learning Ecosystem.
Beyond internal support, LU offers faculty the chance to pursue the Advance HE Fellowship in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. We also promote external development opportunities, such as AHEAD UDL badges and other professional HE badges provided by the National Forum.