Profile avatar
diervilla.bsky.social
Professor in the Psychology of Learning at University of Leeds. Welsh learner, #psychology academic, higher education and assessment, #linoprint artist, #allotment holder, weaver, spinner and all round dabbler. Northern. She/her/hi. SFHEA. NTF.
1,501 posts 4,242 followers 3,240 following
Prolific Poster
Conversation Starter

This week government will announce its “prevention” health strategy, full of lectures & apps. But it’s refused to properly tackle child poverty ➡️ kids who can’t afford a bus to their mental health appointment, whose families can’t afford to keep the fridge running www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Back to commuting, back to complaining about Coastliner buses that don’t turn up. @lukecharters.bsky.social time to talk to Transdev?

I STRONGLY encourage all educators to read this amazingly well-researched article from @themarkup.org about the issues of AI-detection software and who really benefits from it (spoiler: it is not our students): themarkup.org/artificial-i... #AI #GenAI #HigherEd HT @jessifer.bsky.social

This is appalling.

All of this!

Good 🧵. This is one reason I began Ungrading - to discourage trying to game a system and better encourage learning, but in an environment grounded in trust and collaboration

The amount of people going out of their way to watch this (including me) just shows that censorship does not fucking work. Every action the British state has taken against Kneecap only raises their profile.

Am I right in thinking that if a UK university refused to allow kneecap to be played, they would be violation of the new free speech laws? www.bbc.com/news/article...

Despite all the evidence backing up the case made by @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk and all the data pointing to a huge shortage of skilled managers we've somehow managed to go backwards on this agenda. The industrial strategy only had fleeting references. www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk/p/britain-ca...

Vital listening - we need to get a grip on the opportunities from the industrial strategy!

Emailed @lukecharters.bsky.social about this. Unjustifiable.

NEW on Wonkhe: Guess how many students will be hit by Welfare reforms. You’ll have to – the government doesn’t know bit.ly/4nmTqm7

It’s good/important research (of course) but UK residents should be expecting universities to make them better off - and in a range of different ways.

omg adding to syllabus immediately

Aaaaand home! Mad couple of weeks. Now chilling with Glastonbury on the telly box and home brew beers #happydays

The intense embrace of LLMs at metascience 2025 is a recipe for handing over the reigns of scientific decision making to private interests and governments.

Saw @sarahchaundler.bsky.social's moving film last night. Everyone else in the UK should too. And it's not just about the results of dangerous driving. It's about the results of decisions by those with power to put convenience for car owners above safety and dignity for everyone else.

We are extremely proud of our alumni who are willing to open up about their experiences. One of those alums is Saleha Patel, who is doing great work to raise awareness about social mobility. Read more about her background in this detailed interview ⬇️ takeabreak.co.uk/real-life/st...

The Governance Imperative  New blog. There’s a lot going on in the world of university governance at the moment. It feels that it is all much more difficult, the expectations are greater, burdens and risks are bigger, it’s all pretty challenging. wonderfulhighered.com/2025/06/26/t...

This is bleak as anything.

Today’s office view

🚨 NEW: Think tank urges DfE to copy FE subcontracting crackdown to fix ‘franchising crisis’ in higher education

NEW on Wonkhe: The government wants higher education to do more to widen access. For Paul Blagburn and Gino Graziano, we need to start by recognising where there is still work to do buff.ly/1edTbJ7

My first post doc was funded by ICI Wilton. Important piece about the sad demise of the UK chemicals industry.

London people! Tell me where to eat and find nice beer tomorrow!

📢 BREAKING: In a defeat for anti-trans clinicians the @bma.org.uk has voted in favour of affirming "the right of all LGBTQ+ patients and staff to identity-based care and working conditions – defined as care and policies that actively account for the individual’s lived, intersecting identities"

The best arguments against the use of AI in schools are made unwittingly by the people enthusiastically promoting the use of AI in schools: www.businessinsider.com/khan-academy...

Read the latest journal article in Research in Learning Technology: Kim J. (2025). Perceptions and preparedness of K-12 educators in adopting generative AI buff.ly/dcuqdJ0 #altc #EdTech #AIinEducation #GenerativeAI

Enjohy!

Looking forward to hearing of the outcomes of this (@ntutorr.ie originating) project to examine the experiences of commuter students. www.transforminglearning.ie #technologicaluniversities #institutesoftechnology

Talk to students about AI use and the narrative is more complex than "they're using it to cheat." Some struggle in poorly taught classes, or work a lot and need an efficient way to get through their readings. And yes, they are aware of the downsides to using AI. www.chronicle.com/special-proj...

▫️ #AcademicSky ▫️ #EduSky ▫️ #AcademicChatter ▫️ UK graduates facing worst job market since 2018 amid rise of AI, says Indeed

Today’s office is on the twelfth floor of a brutalist tower block in Cardiff. What a view!

Made it. Phwew.

Counterpoint: new Public First research shows every UK resident working adult (on a full time equivalent basis) is £466 a year better off on average as a result of international students. So let’s just publicise that instead of levying them www.publicfirst.co.uk/calculating-...