Josh Thorpe: supporting student agency

If LD were a publication, what kind of publication would it be? For Josh Thorpe, the obvious answer is ‘comic book.’ Comics, like LD, bring a sense of friendly approachability, of informality, of something that exists between one thing and another – like third space. And like LD, comics can allow for a new perspective on an issue, acknowledging both the cognitive and the emotional experience of learning. When we create spaces where learning is fun and doable, we support student agency by building their learning literacy. Students all have a reason for being at university, even if they can’t articulate it, but when we assume that they put value on their learning, it makes it easier for us to talk to them about their learning goals - not just their assessment goals. The process, and not just the product. It’s exciting to figure out our relationship with knowledge, and to help students to do the same!Bloomsbury have offered all of our listeners a discount on Josh’s fabulous book - just add the code AIlearndev20 at the checkout! The resources we mentionedArthur, R. (2025). Ultimate academic writing hacks. Bloomsbury.Danvers, E. (2018). Who is the critical thinker in higher education? A feminist re-thinking. Teaching in Higher Education, 23(5), 548-562. Emily Danvers joined us in Season 3 Episode 3.Gonsalves, C. (2026). The transparency trap: Generative AI and the rise of interpretive load. Review of Education, 14(1), e70139.Kluge, or kludge - a makeshift solution that does the job, however inelegantly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kludge  Louth Als, E. (2025). Focus: How to study in an increasingly distracted world. Bloomsbury.McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics. HarperCollins.Oakley, B. and Sejnowski, T. (2018). Learning how to learn. Tarcher Perigee.OuLiPo - ‘workshop of potential literature’: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo Ron Padgett: https://www.ronpadgett.com/ Josh mentioned his book ‘How to be perfect.’Josh’s website: https://joshthorpe.com/  And the publication we talked aboutThorpe, J. (2026). AI for students: creative hacks for academic success. Bloomsbury.