Kate Coulson: impact in LD and why it's okay to hate writing

How do you write when you hate writing? The answer might be to support others in writing and hope some of it comes back round to you! Kate Coulson, Head of Learning and Teaching Enhancement at the University of Northampton, is driven by the desire to show that LD is central, important and has an impact on students - for their sake, and for ours too. Impact is a broad and slippery concept, difficult to define, making it all the more important that we consider it and work towards it. But there’s no point having data and insights, if no one else knows about it. Part of the problem is having enough time to organise these thoughts into a publication, especially if you’re someone - like Kate - who would probably rather do anything else than write, even when that helps overcome the barriers that surround LD. One of those barriers is that we don't talk enough about what we know and what we do, which means no one else knows either.  Collaborative writing is not something that comes easily to Kate, and neither is writing for publication. If it's not a habit or a priority, it can seem impossible to do, although a deadline can help. For Kate, the most effective support is the writing retreat she set up and which runs every month. Colleagues love it and have found it productive, and even Kate has managed to write during some of the sessions. So she's made a space, set targets, and  has a group of people to hold her accountable. Now she just has to do it.  How about you? Publications discussed: Loddick, A., and Coulson, K. (2020) ‘The impact of Learning Development tutorials on student attainment.’ Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education 17. doi: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi17.558 Coulson, K., Loddick, A., and Rice, P. (2021) ‘Exploring the Impact of Learning Development on Student Engagement, Experience, and Learning.’ In: Huijser, H., Kek, M., and Padró, F.F. (eds.) Student Support Services: Exploring impact on student engagement, experience and learning. Springer Singapore. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_19-1 Resources mentioned: Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (2016) Joli Jensen, Write No Matter What: Advice for Academics (2017)