Tom Burns started at the University in 1994 as an Associate Lecturer and was a University Teaching Fellow and Associate Teaching Professor in the Centre for Teaching Enhancement. Tom advanced the work of the Centre by providing expert, research-informed leadership and support in the design and delivery of innovative and creative staff professional development in teaching, learning, assessment and curriculum development, and pedagogical research and publication.

Tom also lead the Facilitating Student Learning core module in the Learning and Teaching in Higher Education PGCert and MA and co-teaches on Curriculum Evaluation and Development alongside supervising Negotiated Study Modules, Projects and Dissertations.

Tom was research-active in the areas of widening participation, collaboration, and creative and liberatory curriculum design – he also mentored London Met staff new to research. He is a co-author of Teaching, Learning and Study Skills: a guide for tutors; Essential Study Skills: the complete guide to success at university (now in its fourth edition); and most recently of Supporting Student Writing – And Other Modes of Learning and Assessment – A Staff Guide – and worked to support education for social justice, decolonising curriculum and practice with learning, teaching and assessment innovations with a special focus on creative and engaging praxes that ignite student curiosity and develops power and voice.

Tom collegially developed the student-facing Study Hub designed to help students orientate themselves to study and which was brought alive by one-minute thumbnail videos by staff and the even more popular student videos. It still retains useful study resources including its downloadable Packs covering the essay, report and presentation. Tom most recently focused on the staff-facing Take5 website and blog, CPED’s Professional Development blog – and he mentored those staff new to blogging when they wanted to disseminate their good practice.

Tom was one of the co-founders of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education, was a leading participant in its LearnHigher CETL and was an active member of its Mentoring Group. He also curated London Met’s Learning Support and Development Practitioner Forum for practitioners that support student learning and development.