In a moment of madness or after ten years of reflection in 2011 I decided to take on the challenge of my long outstanding doctorate. I am a therefore a part-time student of the University of Liverpool studying the following modules online in an international cohort with representation from Peru, Canada, UAE and Australia :
Student Readiness Orientation – complete
Foundations for Academic Success – complete
Doctoral Development Plan in progress
Becoming a Doctoral Practitioner – complete
Learners and Learning – complete
Learning: Environments, Infrastructures and Organisations – complete
Ways of Knowing: Perspectives on Educational Research and Practice – complete
Values in Educational Research and Practice – IN PROGRESS
Leadership, Policy and Institutional Change- outstanding
Educational Research Methods – outstanding
Action Research for Educational Leadership – outstanding
Internationalisation and the Impact of Global Trends
Thesis
Vignettes from the programme to illustrate themes:
- By week five or six in the module I came to reimagine what a model or tool was for, and this made my use of such tools more free and creative. I was able to selectively use and recontextualise useful frameworks, beyond their intended purpose … I realized the need for a fuzzy application of models to promote new ways of seeing a context or issue.
- Knowledge[in educational development] is routed firmly in practice and both action research and experimental approaches are evident. This knowledge if often directly or indirectly tied to political and institutional agendas including the drive for efficiency and massification (See Becher & Trowler, 2001 for an explanation of some of the forces which shape change in higher education); whether its validity comes from the academic colleagues who will use the knowledge or the managerial centre and who sometimes drive the production of this knowledge is sometimes the source of a tension. Moreover the educational development community itself has vested interest in ensuring progress is seen to be made, commercial gain (see Coffield, Moseley, Hall, & Ecclestone, 2004) or personal conviction. Spaulding, Mostert, & Beam explain that “tenuous connections between concepts have not, historically, prevented proponents of any particular educational intervention from forging ahead motivated by their convictions” (2010, p. 19).
- Some forms of work-based learning are associated with learning to labour, since they are concerned with performance development rather than self-actualisation or the development of critical thinking (see Avis 2004; Ahlgren and Tett 2010). Young (1998 cited by Avis) suggests that work-based learning may be concerned with preserving the status quo. According to this line of critique the hidden curriculum, veiled under the banner of social justice, does little to bring about real transformation unless a rounded approach to learning is taken (Ahlgren and Tett 2010).
- Habits may be seen as desirable in a formal education environment when they contribute to learning. In UK higher education in recent years much attention is given to developing study habits, including routines of self-review, self-testing, writing and reading. In my own institution, as in others, specialist learning support advisers help students develop positive habits of learning while a personal and academic skills programme element is compulsory for all courses. Such interventions seek to motivate personal goal setting to drive the formation of habits and they give time in class to practise study skills. The role of formal programmes and support systems for developing study habits may be particularly important since new higher education students often persist with habits learned at school and these may be incompatible with the requirement for independence in higher education (see Cook and Leeky 1999). Moreover, according to Crede & Kuncel (2010) study habits directly and significantly correlate with academic performance.
- Parizotto-Ribeiro & Hammond (2005) suggest that design aesthetics online are important to student engagement, enjoyment, motivation and efficiency. This mirrors the findings of the Committee of Inquiry Into the Changing Learner Experience (2009), who suggest design impacts motivation. The imperative for good design is related to accessibility, expectations of learners and delight in learning. Parizotto-Ribeiro & Hammond suggest five factors, which account for preferred design and have spin-off benefits for users. These factors are: Balance, unity, proportion, homogeneity and rhythm. These design principles can be used to steer new developments and to scrutinize existing provision.
- To create a powerful learning environment both Barnett (2011b) and Bess & Dee (2008) emphasize the need to align features of the internal university and these might include: culture, mission, places and spaces, pedagogy, research, governance and goals. Investigations into my own institution have shown that while this creates cohesiveness it can also work to close the institution to new ideas. A tight focus may promote sustaining innovation, that is change which maintains the status quo, or emergent change but does not leave much room for more ‘disruptive innovation’(Christensen & Overdorf, 2000). Leaders should consider where they would make space for significant innovation amongst the hustle of ongoing activity.More to follow …
