Suzy Beck

Profile

I am an experienced qualified teacher with specialisms in disability and inclusion, language and literacy. I moved into higher education in 2018 having enjoyed a successful fourteen-year career in primary and secondary teaching, both as a class teacher and as a specialist literacy teacher and Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo). My first five years working in higher education were spent as a specialist study skills tutor for students with specific learning differences at Leeds Beckett University, during which time I was the regional coordinator for the Professional Association of Specific Learning Difference Specialists in Higher Education (PASSHE). As part of this role, I organised a number of professional development events for PASSHE members in the North East region, presented a workshop on grammar for writing for the Yorkshire Dyslexia Tutors’ Forum and contributed to the regular programme of professional development for the team of specialist tutors and mentors at Leeds Beckett.  

As a Learning Advisor at the University of Leeds, I work to develop and enhance the academic literacies of taught students through offering 1:1 consultations, facilitating workshops and developing online resources as part of the Learning Development Team’s co-curricular offer, Skills@Library. I also teach on modules at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the schools of Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy on a range of topics from searching for literature and academic writing, to planning and delivering presentations. As part of my work in Schools, I also attend and present at faculty and school-level education committees, help to facilitate welcome, induction and outreach events, and collaborate on pedagogical research with academic colleagues. Other recent projects include acting as subject matter expert in the development of a new online academic skills resource for mature students in collaboration with the Lifelong Learning Centre and developing content for a new online Data Science MSc. 

In addition to my professional role, I am currently engaged in doctoral research in the area of disability and inclusion in higher education as part of the HEREE programme at Lancaster University. My research output to date has focused on the role of disability practitioners in developing inclusive teaching and learning, and on students’ experiences of processes associated with implementing reasonable adjustments. I sit on the Association for Learning Development’s (ALDinHE) EDI Working Group, contribute to their Neurodiversity/Inclusivity Community of Practice and have recently organised and co-hosted an ALDinHE Regional Event at Leeds on the theme of ‘2024 and Beyond: where are we taking learning development?’  

Responsibilities

• Learning Advisor aligned to the Schools of Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy
• Joint Academic Lead for Inclusive Pedagogies (SALIP) for the Library

Qualifications

• MA Gender Studies, University of Leeds
• PGDip Dyslexia Research and Practice, University of Chester
• Cambridge CELTA, Leeds Metropolitan University
• PGCE Primary, University of Bradford
• BA (hons) Sociology, University of Leeds

Professional memberships

• Professional Association of Specific Learning Difference Specialists in Higher Education (affiliate member)
• National Association of Disability Practitioners (member)
• Associate member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA)
• Higher Education Authority (Associate Fellow)