Transcript Building reflective communities of practice
Building reflective communities of practice
Julie Hughes [email protected]
The University of Wolverhampton Head of Department, Post-Compulsory Education HEA National Teaching Fellow 2005 CRADLE (Centre for Research and Development in Lifelong Education)
Teacher Training and Technologies Conference 2013 Friday, 1st March 2013. University of Huddersfield
Starting with the students The PGCE blog lifeboat –
HMS Hardwork
.
Using the weblog as an online journal became a big part of our as reflective writers. Using the blog tool
within growth
the e-portfolio we could share thoughts, feelings, fears, anxieties and excitement and because it was a shared space we could
see the value
in the perceptions, thoughts and beliefs
of others
in the group.
It was a space where we could
feel safe
from ridicule and criticism. We would share war stories from the frontlines of teaching and by discussing and commenting on other’s journeys as teachers we were
becoming
reflective writers and practitioners without even knowing it!
Karim-Akhtar et al. PGCE group 2005/6
The importance of mentoring and listening to staff narratives
I think what I’ve noticed most is that they sort of
more carry on without us
if you know what I mean – whereas traditional teaching and learning is very much
teacher at the centre
, all information coming out through me but what often is seen to happen when using PebblePad is that they can other’s questions, they
talk to each other take threads
, they answer each of each other’s arguments – really there.
oblivious to the fact that I might
be there or might not be And this for Teacher Education is fantastic because what we see is
reflection
– it’s reflection in practice, reflection on action in action and
it’s going on all the time
– it’s crucial.
Maggie, Teacher for 23 years, Teacher Educator for 8 years Pebbler since September 2008
• • •
Structure of today’s presentation
Structure of today’s presentation:
1) Consider how an e-portfolio system, PebblePad, has tools and practices; this form of teaching and learning;
Intro to me
E-portfolio teacher and teacher educator – FD, PGCE and M level 2004 to now.
Started with 15 students (2004) now working across teams, partners, stakeholders and professional bodies.
2012/3 - approx 1400 students and 55 staff.
E-portfolio mentor – supporting individuals and teams at local, regional and national levels across disciplines.
E-portfolio learner – used e-p for appraisal and CPD –attained QTLS in 2009 with an e portfolio application.
E-portfolio researcher – using e-portfolio to mentor and data gather- using e-portfolio as a writing frame with both students and colleagues to support publications .
E-portfolio embedding. Curriculum development – revalidation and
pedagogy shift.
The University of Wolverhampton
Situated in the West Midlands across 3 campuses Widening Participation University 23,000 students (a third are part time) 70% over 21 3867 students in SEF (16.7%) Vocational Employability STEM
ITE
One of the ‘big 4’ of ITE for PCE 7 WM colleges and RAF Cosford
Framing Critical reflection Collaborative learning
• We do not 'store' experience as data, like a computer:
'story' it
(Winter 1989, p.213).
we
• "What is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without or
conversation
?" (Carroll (1865), p.1).
pictures
• Barrett (2005, p.19) suggests that reflection and “the
metaphor of portfolio as story
” offer, “a powerful environment in which students can artifacts that result from engaging in these challenging, real life tasks, and write reflections through which students draw meaning” (Barrett 2005, p.21).
collect
and
organize
the
Critical reflexivity
Shift happens - critical readers/listeners/audience?
As e-portfolio teacher/assessor we need to, ‘change our ways of engaging with text. In a sense
we become more than
mere graders of the work; we become actual
users
of a work,
a real-life audience
interacting with the document’ (Blair & Takayoshi 1997, pp. 364-5).
Setting the scene – technology use in HE in the UK
Teachers draw on past experience rather than actual empirical evidence and research literature. Despite the benefits and need for more scholarly activities,
occurs.
there is little evidence that this actually
Arguably there is a
need to shift to more scholarly approaches
if the potential of technologies is to be realised. The vision is one in which educators are
co‐innovators
in understanding the key possibilities in the
relationship between technology and pedagogy
, leading towards a co‐evolved professional knowledge base that stems from reflective practices that are mediated and shared; a practice that feeds into the development of curricular designs that can actualise educational visions. ( Conole & Alevizou 2010, p.43)
E-learning theory
E-learning is often talked about as
but all of what they do
.
(Sharpe and Oliver 2007)
a ‘trojan mouse’,
which teachers let into their practice without realizing that it will require them to rethink not just how they use the particular hardware or software,
Rollercoaster –
the pedagogical being is fragile...it is brittle, liable to shatter suddenly’ (Barnett, 2007 p.29) – the student and
‘teacher
’ being.
A will to learn and pedagogy for uncertain times? (Barnett 2007)
Students(read teachers also) must come into
uncertainty
in a space which supports
a felt relationship with a “will to learn”
(Barnett 2007, p.1).
Question Mark Grafitti by Bilal Kamoon (Creative Commons) Barnett’s vision (2007, p.7) for HE for the contemporary world includes a vocabulary of terms “such as excitement, passion, self confidence, journey, travel, will, energy, being and becoming.”
Creative spaces
The will to live in creative spaces and their associated temporal rhythms require positive courage;
uncertain as to their outcomes the courage to live in the future and take on tasks that have to be
(Barnett 2010, p.81).
The focus upon the journey (the process) rather than upon arrival (the end product) as Richardson and St. Pierre (2005, p.966-7) identify that, ‘in the
story (or stories) of becoming
, we have a good chance of deconstructing the underlying academic ideology – that
being a something… is better than becoming
’.
Setting the scene – the ups and downs
There is evidence that e-portfolio implementation can be like a game of snakes and ladders where initial rapid progress can suffer major setbacks due to a poor understanding of the nature of e portfolios.
Joyes, Gray and Hartnell-Young, 2010 .
For me PebblePad-based teaching and learning is like ….
There’s no nirvana in sight (yet)
Pedagogic bungee jumping
Learning (
and teaching
for a
courage
– my addition) in higher education calls on the part of the learner/teacher and
a will to leap into a kind of void.
There is bound to be uncertainty.
A pedagogy of air opens up spaces and calls the part of the student/teacher; to learn even amid uncertainty.
In the process, it is just possible that the student/teacher may come into a new mode of being
for a will to learn
(Barnett 2007, p.1).
on
Teachers and the taught teach each other. Their
roles are interwoven
, such that their boundaries become indistinct to some extent (Barnett 2007, p.132).
We are witnessing ‘
a new model of education
’ rather than a new model of learning’ as ‘our understanding of e-learning matures, so our appreciation of the importance of theory deepens…we see how learning can be socially situated in a way never previously possible’.
(Mayes and de Freitas 2007, p.13) Pedagogical bungee jumping
may be
(Barnett 2007, p.133).
catching
Iterative learning – what does it feel like to be composing a professional self?
It’s like
emptying a big jigsaw
and building it slowly in pieces.
Finding pieces of work that fit together and building from there and then maybe trying a different area afterwards.
logical, symmetrical or linear route
but
There's no emphasis upon drawing out the best points and building upon them
.
Claire, PGCE student A web we weave,
spiralling outwards
with attachments becoming part of the fabric.
Elaine, PGCE student alicepopkorn
Learning waves – reflective writing
It was built upon constantly ... people were going backwards and forward with their ideas - this was something very new and exciting
which changed this 1-1 relationship between tutor and essay really
, rather than tutor and student.
We were setting a piece of work, they were writing it up and we marked it –
we weren’t really discussing the process of the writing with students, (before) we weren’t really discussing the problems they might be having.
Whereas (now)... we’ve had more opportunities to intervene in essay writing along the way –
they can ask questions about our questions
and that’s how we take that forward.
Maggie Teacher Educator
Culture shifts?
New digital technologies and multimedia are transforming how we teach and learn. They are transforming our classrooms from
spaces of delivery
to spaces of
active inquiry and authorship
. New digital media are empowering students to become
cultural theorists researchers, oral historians, and
in their own right.
Whether p.153).
constructing their own life stories or interpreting the life stories of others
digital formats , the digital format transforms students’ capacity to synthesize, interpret, theorize, and create new cultural and historical knowledge. In this way,
potentially democratise learning
and produce critical subjects and authors (Weis et al. 2002,
But …
In teaching and learning currently, technology to support
we
traditional tend to use modes of teaching...We scarcely have the
training
, the
habits
, or the
access infrastructure
, the to new technology to be optimising its use just yet.
(Laurillard 2007)
Forgotten Classroom by ne* (Creative Commons)
Are you using technology for telling (information push) or for talking?
What the teacher educators said about taking risks
I felt confident that I knew what I was doing. However, looking back I would say that was a false perspective... I am a Luddite, I fear, in that I like the feel of pencil on paper... Feedback has been I feel, clumsy and stilted... over the year I have become more adept at this. Cathie 2008 Although I regarded myself as being quite IT literate and have always tried to embrace ILT rather than feel threatened by it ...I also had concerns....there was certainly that feeling of being only a small step ahead of them (the students). David 2008 I needed to ‘face my fears and address them’. In doing so ...’my teaching has completely and utterly changed, totally from how I was taught on the Cert Ed – paper based.’ Annie 2010
Looking awry and theorising
We must acknowledge that pedagogy needs to be ‘re-done’ at the same time as it needs to be ‘re-thought.’ (Beetham and Sharpe, 2007) We need ‘a dialogue between theory and practice, as well as between learning and teaching’ (Beetham & Sharpe 2007, p.3) Give pedagogy back to the teachers.
(Laurillard 2007)
Pedagogy shift - (e)-portfolio ways of being
When teachers began developing portfolios over a decade ago, we knew what we were about – with
collaborative pedagogies process writing
and and, not least, portfolios – was pretty ambitious; it was, in fact, nothing short of changing the face of American education. (Yancey & Weiser 1997, p.1) Baume (1999, 2003 p.4) conceptualised the developmental portfolio as, “a compost heap…something refined over time,
enriched by addition, reduction and turning over
.“ Messy, non-linear – getting your hands dirty!
•
What is an e-portfolio?
Well it’s...
A systematic and organized the teacher and the student to monitor the growth of the student's knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
(Cole et al., 2000)
collection
of evidence used by • What is produced when persons
collect, select, reflectively
interpret, and/or
present
their own evidence to support their assertions about what they have learned, know, and can or should do. (Cambridge & Cambridge 2003) • Emerging consensus (JISC 2008, p.6)
process
and
product
– digital ringbinder and learning landscape - inherent contradiction?
• a
genre
and a set of
practices
supported by a
set
technologies. (Cambridge 2008) of
E-portfolio-based learning (JISC 2008)
Behind any product, or presentation, lie rich and
processes
of planning, synthesising, sharing, discussing, reflecting, giving, receiving and responding to feedback. These processes – referred to here as ‘
e-portfolio-based learning
’ – are the focus of increasing attention, since the can be as important as the end product.
process
complex
of learning The use of ...e-portfolios...
learning which
can promote
more profound forms of
can improve understanding of the self and the
curriculum, engage and motivate learners – individually and as part of a community of practice, personalise learning and promote reflective practice (JISC 2008, p5)
JISC 2008, p.11
Talking not telling.
A dialogue-based pedagogy and model of/for reflective learning.
Transition, induction and raising expectations – PGCE
Reflective blogging
This approach to reflective writing as ‘everyday’ and habitual has been received very positively – but you will need to examine your own teaching and feedback practices.
Blog writing as warm up/rehearsal, writing patches , cumulative and developmental.
You need to consider your own online voices and literacies – what is appropriate in these spaces?
Encouraging talkback to feedback – decentring feedback addressivity – making going backwards as a way to conceptualise development explicit.
Action planning as assumption hunting (Brookfield 1995) – Nadia PGCE Conceptualising Personal Development Planning activity as a verb not a noun – being aware of deficit models and the potential for really great content.
Developing buddying cultures
LSIS project 2012
CPD – masters module, cross sector
Learning from Gavin – Secondary IT ITE colleague
On bloginars
I found it to be a very useful exercise, to be honest, much more useful than I anticipated it would be.
It has really opened my eyes to the potential of the approaches that you have shared
and converted me to them in an almost 'Damascene' manner!
As I was doing the exercise and it was getting longer and longer, I did wonder about the
potential impact it might have on the others with a bit less experience/confidence
but I figured you would probably moderate expectations at the next face to face if I misjudged what was required and I was enjoying it
! I think I also felt peer pressure to do a good job, if you know what I mean?
Thank you so much for this really good breakdown of the article. I really like the thematic sections
and for me it is making much easier reading than trying to digest an article
is here . I have only had time today to start reading it properly and thinking about my replies. I hope that even though a new week
that it won't be too late to come back and comment on it? Gavin
Thanks for the positive replies everyone - I'm glad you found the posts useful.
Reading through your comments I am struck once again
by the utility of the dialogic approach
- several of you have interpreted concepts in really interesting ways
that are different than I would have done
- and this in turn helps my understanding develop further
as it forces me to reflect and reconsider what I thought I knew
- something that would not have happened had I read the article in isolation.
I feel a few dialogic activities winging their way towards my unsuspecting
trainees in the near future!
I’m hoping so and I'll be back!
Unpredictable rhizomatic growth
Rhizome as model/map for unpredictability Lateral, multi-forked root system Connectivity Not Western tree-like (ladder) It’s ok (and sometimes very necessary) to grow and stretch below the surface to establish good roots –
your roots .
Engage students and colleagues along the way, exploit and harness their knowledge about learning and teaching in this way.
My teaching has completely and utterly changed, totally from how I was taught on the Cert Ed – paper based
...
Sometimes I walk in and there’s just images on the screen (on the blog) and that is the teaching and learning of the day.
Students don’t cope well now with other formats
, “we were
talked at
for an hour and a half – we go off and do our own learning or you talk to us in a
different way
”.
Annie (Foundation Degree Teacher for 4 years) Pebbler since September 2009
So what’s different about learning in these spaces?
It’s more
holistic
, they see the
links
between the different modules, they see that how they are developing in one area can totally impact on something else, they
get to see the growth
that’s taken place –
it’s almost like watching themselves from afar because the can see how they worded things, see the language they used, how they interacted, also later on when they need to think about it in their professional capacity they can see that their thought processes have changed as well
.
Caroline 2010, Pebbler since 2008
Web 2.0 ways of teaching and learning?
(from the 1990s to the mid-2000s) websites tended to be like separate gardens...Web 2.0 describes a particular kind of ethos and approach....
like a collective allotment
. Instead of individuals tending their own gardens, they come together to work collaboratively in a shared space...
Web 2.0 invites users in to play
(Gauntlett 2011, p.5-7).
Pedagogic shift and creating a collective
Scaling up to the majority will require different approaches, more strategic coordination and staff development and support.
To date, on the whole,
only a minority of enthusiastic teachers
and
those with a research interest
in the learning sciences, educational technology or new media, have undertaken experimentation with new innovations in pedagogy and exploration of the use of new technologies. Embracing Web 2.0
approaches will require radically different strategies in terms of designing, supporting and assessing learning.
Adoption of a
more scholarly and reflective approach
to teaching practice is clearly a logical strategy to help achieve this shift.
( Conole & Alevizou 2010, p.21)
Transformative potential?
Blending and digitising
f2f activities.
Creativity supported and encouraged.
PebblePad as the link to support integrative and iterative learning.
Archive and collation focus – pool to draw on.
An e-portfolio way of learning and being – LaGuardia Community College ’s mantra
Collect, select, reflect, connect.
Attwell and Hughes’ review of technology in ITE for LLUK proposed that:
diversity will emerge
only
if educators, researchers and communities are empowered to develop localised or novel responses to socio-technical change – including
developing new approaches
to curriculum, to assessment, to the workforce and governance, as well as to pedagogy.
This approach, if adopted, would have
major implications for the training of teachers
in the use of new technologies for teaching and learning (2010, p.65).
Just because a technology was designed for one purpose, it does not mean it won’t be used for another. Once tools get ‘out into the wild’ they are
appropriated in multiple and complex ways.
Bicycles came to be appropriated in the struggle for women’s emancipation... record players changed from being instruments for dictation for tools for capturing and sharing musical cultures.
Technologies are shaped and reshaped by beta testers, by early adopters ...
by their
users (
addition mine).
(Facer 2011, pp.6-7) .
PebblePad has allowed me/liberated me to journey, to create, to connect and to model in ways I had never imagined with earlier technologies.
Web 2.0 tools should be as open and as inviting of creativity as possible; and offer platforms where people can truly make their mark, express themselves and shape the environment...
expressive messiness
... is therefore to be encouraged (Gauntlet 2011, p.225).
References
Attwell, G. & Hughes, J. (2010). Pedagogic Approaches to Using Technology for Learning. Online: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110414152025/http://www.lluk.org/wp content/uploads/2011/01/Pedagogical-appraches-for-using-technology-literature-review-january-11 FINAL.pdf
. [accessed September 2010].
Barnett, R. (2007) A Will To Learn. Being a Student in an Age of Uncertainty. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Barnett, R. (2010) Being a University. London: Routledge.
Barrett, H. (2005) White Paper: Researching Electronic Portfolios and Learner Engagement. The Reflect Initiative. (accessed 15 August 2005). Available from: < http://www.taskstream.com/reflect/whitepaper.pdf
>.
Blair, K.L. & Takayoshi, P. (1997) Reflecting on Reading and Evaluating Electronic Portfolios in Yancey, K.B. and Weiser, I. (1997) (eds.) Situating Portfolios. Four Perspectives. Utah: Utah State University Karim-Akhtar, Y., Mahmood, K., Mcdonald, M., Mcdonald, T., McGuinness, S., Staunton, M., Purnell, E., Taylor, L. & Woodhams, J. (2006) Pebble power, ESCalate, 5, Summer 06.(accessed 5 July 2006)Available from:< http://escalate.ac.uk/2593 >.
Cambridge, D. (2008) Models of ePortfolio Practice. TLT Workshop. (accessed 13 July 2008). Available from:
References
Conole, G. & Alevizou, P. (2010) A literature review of the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education. Available: p.48.
Routledge.
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/EvidenceNet/Conole_Alevizou_2010.pdf
.
Laurillard, D. (2007) Comment on the text 48b. Conole, G. and Oliver, M. (eds) (2007) Contemporary Perspectives in E-Learning Research. Themes, Methods and Impact on Practice, London: Routledge. Mayes, T, & de Freitas, S. (2007) Learning and elearning.The role of theory. In Beetham, H. & Sharpe, R. (2007) (Eds.) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age. Designing and delivering elearning. London: Richardson, L. & St. Pierre, E.A. (2005) Writing: A Method of Inquiry in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Third edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. pp.959-978.
Sharpe, R. & Oliver, M. (2007) Designing courses for e-learning in Conole, G. & Oliver, M. (2007) Contemporary Perspectives in E- learning Reseach. Themes, methods and impact on practice. (Eds.) London: Routledge pp.41-51.
Weis, T.M. et al. (2002) Digital technologies and pedagogies. Social Justice, 29(4), pp.153-69.
Winter, R. (1989) Learning from Experience: Principles and Practise in Action Research. Lewes: Falmer Press.
Winter, R., Buck, A., & Sobiechowska, P. (1999) Professional Experience and the Investigative Imagination: the Art of Reflective Writing. London: Routledge.