Curriculum design, pedagogy, assessment, academic support, technology integration, and professional development (PD) are important aspects of learning development. Some learning developers have great ideas but may hesitate to put them into practice. Others might have experimented with their innovative ideas but are unsure if such practice should be continued. These imagined scenarios highlight a common yet fundamental question: Will my practice work? Or has my practice been effective? It can be elusive to determine the extent to which what is effective, under what circumstances, and for whom (Lin and Lam, 2025b). Therefore, developing research-informed practice becomes necessary to clarify important issues, spark conversation, promote change, and ultimately enhance the process of student learning (Nisbet, 1974; Stenhouse, 1975). This presentation outlined two teaching and learning projects that support learning developers, specifically targeting academic staff across disciplines, to engage in pedagogic research at a university in Hong Kong (Lin and Lam, 2024). The projects initiate a range of PD support, encapsulated as ‘The Octopus’, to cater to teachers with various pedagogic research needs (Lin and Lam, 2025a). Examples of support include workshops, sharing sessions, and periodic consultations. Drawing from a larger study examining staff involvement in researching practice, this presentation highlighted three perceived learning development needs collected from 105 survey responses. Using reflexive thematic analysis to examine an open-ended question (Braun and Clarke, 2019), we identified the needs for scaffolding, knowledge exchange, and opportunities for networking and collaboration. Based on these needs, the team subsequently expanded its PD support to organise writing retreats and pilot scaffolded PD workshops that consist of pre-workshop reading groups, main workshops, and post-workshop group consultations. We also work on international partnership to bring in global perspectives. The presentation concluded by discussing the value of pedagogic research, operational challenges, and possible solutions regarding how to address diverse needs.
Lin et al. (Tue,) studied this question.