1)
What
do you do as an LDA?
The role bridges between
enhancing essential skills development and pastoral guidance. There’s a number
of different classes which we might take for an hour or two depending of level
of course and the sessions we do with our students, can be on for example equality
and diversity. And health and well-being and employability. The 1 to 1 support
with students involves talking about any issues they might have whether inside
college or outside college.
2)
What
is the purpose of your job?
The purpose of my job is to
develop essential skills, as well a pastoral guidance. This means we support
the retention, achievement, progression of students. We work with curriculum/programmes
team to support our students successfully of this course.
3) How
do you as an LDA help students?
I think a big part of our job
is to listen as a way of supporting our students to be successful. That might
mean we sign post them to other organisations or make referrals to our
counselling service.
4) What
are the ups and downs of your job?
Getting to know students and
building a good relationship with them and feeling like I have contributed in
some way to making their college life a good one.
Only so much help and support
we can give and lots of our students have personal issues.
5) What
would you have done differently?
As I was doing a lesson on
discrimination, I did a experiment with the students. But looking back I had
split my former step class into two groups by eye colour. I had treated the
blue eyed group differently from the group that had mixed eye colour. At the
end of experimenting with the students I had spoken to the students about it
and a few students had gotten upset about the experiment. So I would be more
sensitive and more aware of student’s previous experience.
6)
How
many years have you been working as an LDA?
This
is my 4th year.
