Routes into Ed Development with Aaron Thom

In this lovely episode we discuss the route taken into Educational Development with Aaron Thom from the University of Aberdeen. Most of us working in Ed Dev got here in a weird and wonderful way and Aaron's story is no different! Aaron talks to us about his academic life before becoming an educational developer. He discusses the key strengths and skills that he brought into his educational development role which helped him transition, as well as discussing the key challenges he faced too. Aaron provides some great reflections on how his view of learning and teaching have changed as a result of his journey. Sit back, relax and listen to Aaron tell his fascinating story about his route into Educational Development.

Aaron's academic background is as an art historian, who specialises in the art of Caravaggio and his followers. He graduated with my PhD from the University of Aberdeen in 2015, which was supervised by John Gash. Aaron is interested in all matters of Connoisseurship, not just from the seventeenth century. He has published articles about Tommaso Salini and Battistello Caracciolo, as well as appearing in a short film about the authorship of the Perth Museum and Art Gallery's Baroque Christ displaying his wounds.

Before transferring to Educational Development in the Centre for Academic Development (CAD) in 2021, Aaron worked as a Teaching Fellow in History of Art. He taught at all undergraduate levels and ultimately co-ordinated the Master's programme in Art and Business, as well as running fieldtrips. Aaron has also worked in CAD as an Academic Skills Adviser for Academic Writing. 

Currently, Aaron co-ordinates the Principles of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education course (PLTHE), which sits within the School of Education. This course is popular with final year Postgraduate Research Students who teach or demonstrate, as well as early-career staff. Furthermore, he co-ordinates many staff development sessions around teaching, namely the Introduction to Teaching sessions for doctoral students, the Micro-credential short courses in Enhancing your Teaching, and the Learning and Teaching in Higher Education course for new academic staff at the University of Aberdeen.

Aaron is interested in inclusive learning environments (online and in-person), Decolonising learning, and presentation skills.