‘Implementing an ICT centre for school and community’

published in Curriculum Leadership, 7(20), 26 June 2009. Np

Have we got it right? A case study on international student views of inclusive teaching and learning at Northumbria

Smailes, J. and Gannon-Leary, P. (2008) . International Journal of Management Education, 7 (1), 51-60

A destination or a place of last resort? The research library of the future its users and its librarians

Gannon-Leary, P., Bent, M. and Webb, J. (2008),

Researchers and their Information needs.a literature review.

Gannon-Leary, P., Bent, M. and Webb, J. (2008)  New Review of Academic Librarianship, 13  (1), 51 – 69

Information literacy in a researcher’s learning life: the seven ages of research

Bent, M., Gannon-Leary, P. and Webb, J. (2007) . New Review of Information Networking, 13 (2) 81-98.

Communities of Practice and virtual learning communities: benefits, barriers and success factors

Gannon-Leary, P and Fontainha, E. (2007)  Elearning Papers 5

e-Government Leaders, Organisational Change and ICTs: Learning from FAME and other e-Government Experiences.

Carr, J. and Gannon-Leary, P.  (2007)  Electronic journal of e-government, 5 (1) 11-20

Six of the best: priorities for continuing professional development (CPD) of academics.

Gannon-Leary, P. and McCarthy, M. (2007)  Educational Developments 8 (2), 17- 19.

Inclusive approaches in learning and teaching.

Smailes, J. and Gannon-Leary, P (2007) Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning 9 (1) 37-47.

Understanding the learning process in SMEs

Carr, J. and Gannon-Leary, P. (2007) . Education, Knowledge & Economy, 1 (2), 145-165

Glut of information, dearth of knowledge: A consideration of the information needs of practitioners identified during the FAME project.

published in Library Review 55 (2) 120-131 2006

Collaboration and partnership: A review and reflections on a national project to join-up local services in England

Gannon-Leary, P., Baines, S. and Wilson, R (2006) . Journal of Interprofessional Care 20 (6)665-674

In search of evidence: A small scale study exploring how student nurses accessed information for a health needs assignment

Cader, R., Derbyshire, J., Smith, A.G., Gannon-Leary, P. and Walton, G.(2006)    Nurse Education Today  26 (5) 403-408.

Use of evidence by nursing students: an interdisciplinary study.

Gannon-Leary, P., Walton, G., Cader, R., Derbyshire, J. and Smith, A. (2006)  Library and Information Science Review  28 (2) 249-262

Supporting learning in practice in the EBL curriculum: pre-registration students’ access to learning resources in the placement setting.

Walton, G., Smith, A., Gannon-Leary, P. and Middleton, A.  Nurse Education in Practice 2005 5, 198-208.

An evaluation of the development of the People’s Network in the North East.

Gannon-Leary, P., Banwell, L. and Parker, S. Library and Information Research News 2004, , 5-16.

Students with dyslexia: research projects at Northumbria University.

Gannon-Leary, P. and Smailes, J.  Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning 2004, 6(2), 15-24.

Writing for publication and library support. "Do have a COW man!"

Co authored with M. Bent New Review of Academic Librarianship forthcoming 2010

The aim of the small-scale  research project described in this paper was to identify the main concerns of people involved in the writing for publication (WfP) process and hence provide library and information services (LIS) staff with a clearer understanding of the process to enable them to articulate and develop their own role in supporting this activity. A novel ‘one thing’ approach was used to determine the perspectives of editors, researchers, librarians and research students on key issues surrounding WfP. The results indicate that there are many opportunities for LIS staff to contribute to the WfP process. One major concern which emerged from the research was just how isolated researchers could feel and, from this, stems one suggestion of a potential LIS role – having a CoW (Community of Writers) in the library.

New partnerships for learning: meeting professional information needs

Co-authored with J. Carr Journal of Education and Work forthcoming 2010

This paper has been inspired by the challenges created by recent and proposed reforms to social care services in the United Kingdom (UK) services which are being reformed or ‘modernised’, a term ubiquitous in policy documents but difficult to define with confidence. Governmental modernisation and e-government programmes highlight with renewed urgency the need for social care practitioners on the front line to have up-to-date, reliable information. Yet the rise in the rate and volume of information published (over new and old channels) has, paradoxically,  made it increasingly difficult for them to be keep up with new developments.

How can higher education institutions best add value to the social care community through a period of profound ideological and structural change? Does the qualifying training presently on offer deliver a workforce fit for current (and future practice)? How can we ensure that what we, as educationalists, are offering is valued by the service providers and their users? How can HEIs form effective partnerships with social care practitioners?

The authors participated in informal workshops or thought-showering exercises to canvass the opinions of academics and students on some of these issues  and they discuss the key challenges of keeping abreast of research; keeping abreast of changes in the social/organisational/professional context of social care; gaining knowledge of how social care practitioners learn; and effectively integrating practice, research and education.

Good images, effective messages? Working with students and educators on academic practice understanding

Co-authored with D. Trayhurn and M. Home (2009)  Journal of Further and Higher Education 33 (4) 435-448.

Work at Northumbria University has focussed on activity that extends
opportunities for students to engage directly with the skills development necessary
for sound academic practice. This has included highly visual campaigns on the
‘Plagiarism trap’, providing access to Turnitin plagiarism detection software,
guides and sessions to highlight use of associated referencing tools. Sessions on a
variety of topics, such as supporting study skills and reading originality reports,
have been provided for students on taught, undergraduate and postgraduate
programmes. This provision has included students working on collaborative
partners’ sites and also those on research programmes. Alongside the activities
with students, ‘designing out’ approaches have been embedded in staff
development within the educator community at Northumbria. Formative use of
Turnitin is integrated throughout programmes and academic practice development
is formally recognised within the University Learning and Teaching Strategy’s
focus on information literacy. This article outlines and reviews these activities in
a critical institutional context and evaluates responses from a variety of students
and educators to determine how effective these measures have been.

International students in the higher education classroom: Initial findings from staff at two Post 92 Universities in the UK

Co-authored with P.Barron and L. Gourlay Journal of Further and Higher Education (forthcoming 2010)

A significant body of work has emerged over the last 10 years investigating the experiences of international university students. These studies have covered various challenges faced by some groups of international students relating to culture, language and integration and has been prompted by the increase in international students studying in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. A smaller strand of research has also begun to focus on the experiences, perspectives and reactions of academic staff who have seen the composition of their cohorts change substantially over recent years in terms of numbers of international participants. This paper will review relevant literature in this field, reporting on a questionnaire study based at two UK post-92 universities. Respondents associated a range of traits with international students and suggested that the increasing number of international students enhanced the environment, but also required a higher level of support.. This study also found that staff resorted to informal methods when developing means adapting their practices to the increasing number of international students, preferring discussion with colleagues and students themselves, rather than formal development programmes or advice from specialist departments such as student support. This paper concludes that in order to encourage  diversity in a meaningful way, universities need to recognise the challenge of increased numbers of international students and support staff accordingly.