Reflections on BYOD4L

This post is my first post-PGCAP post, which shows that I’m now blogging about education for no reason other than I’m enjoying learning more about teaching, and prepared to share my thoughts via the WordPress site. So this is the week of BYOD4L: Bring Your Own Device for Learning: find out more about this week at WordPress site for BYOD4L

So far, I’ve made my own video using my work SurfacePro, in which I talk about how our employability students are keen to use their own devices for academic research, to develop practical skills (such as updating their LinkedIn profile) and to build networks in their chosen industry. Our academics are less proficient with using their devices in this way. As part of the e-learning group at Salford Business School we are looking at how to encourage all our academics to use learning technologies in the classroom. I would like to understand, by the end of this week, how we can overcome some of the challenges in making this happen: giving academics time and support to learn technologies; helping them integrate technologies in a meaningful way into their module; showing them how technologies can increase student participation and decrease their marking load.

Would love to hear from all of you out there as to how we c an do this! Look forward to hearing from you this week.

Report 2: Dude Where’s my Feedback?

Group 2

REPORT #2

Final

INTRODUCTION

Group 2 has been asked to advise a university academic school on further issues relating to assessment and to feedback.

We will consider these issues from three broad perspectives:

• Institutional (university level)
  • Appropriateness of university 15 working day feedback deadline
  • Appropriateness of university focus on summative assessment
• Teaching (tutor level)
  • Design of assessment and feedback and use of technology
  • Use of work based assessment and feedback
• Learning (student level)
  • Use of peer feedback and self-assessment
  • Managing and directing student expectations

 

 

 

 

 

1.0 INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL ISSUES

There are a diverse range of issues arising from the implementation of the university’s quality assurance regulations which will have an impact on assessment and feedback. We have identified two key areas which deserve particular attention:

 

1.1 Appropriateness of the university 15 working day feedback deadline

1.1.1 DISCUSSION

The case study points to a lack of perceived value of feedback from both students’ and tutors’ perspectives. The timing of feedback is crucial if the University wants students to gain valuable insight into their efforts and to recognise the value of their tutors’ comments. Students will benefit most from feedback which gives them enough time process it and to work on improvements either before the deadline of a current assignment or for a future assessment.

The University of Salford states that Schools should provide “…timely feedback to students on assessed work in a way that promotes learning and facilitates improvement” (Cooke, 2015, p.8), with a recommendation that it should be given to students within 15 working days of the submission date. However it is questionable as to whether this arbitrary time frame truly does optimise learning and development. Indeed Brookhart (2008) argues that that returning work even 2 weeks after submission is ‘bad’ timing. She claims that feedback must be provided as soon as possible while the learning objectives are still in students minds. While this may be appropriate and achievable for some types of assessments such as multiple choice tests where low levels of processing are required (Hattie & Timperley, 2007), delayed feedback may actually be beneficial for other types of work as it gives students time to reflect on the challenges of the task.

 

1.1.2 CONCLUSIONS

Tutors need to carefully consider appropriateness of when to provide feedback according to individual assignments. The key aspects for consideration are:

-Type of assessment. Quizzes, multiple choice tests and maths-type assignments with clearly defined correct/incorrect answers should be given immediately or as soon as possible after submission. Immediacy of feedback for other forms of assessment such as essays or reports may not be so pertinent but should also be timely as explained in the following point.

– Focus on the concept of ‘timely’ feedback. Tutors need to question whether immediate or delayed feedback is most beneficial to the students, for example, does the timing of the formative feedback enable the students to develop their knowledge and skills throughout the module (and facilitate their performance in the summative assessment, if applicable)? And, if I give them feedback on a summative assignment at this point in their learning, will they have enough time to process it and act to make improvements to a future similar type of assignment?

1.2 Appropriateness of university focus on summative assessment

1.2.1 DISCUSSION

In the observed case study the variation in the perception of university policy and implementation of feedback and summative assessment is evidence of the lack of quality in the implementation of learning guidelines, and demonstrates that “formative assessment is not well understood by teachers and is weak in practice”(Black & William, 1998).

 

Assessment should be designed and conducted in order to have “high consequential validity” in order to positively influence learning and practice which, in turn leads to achieving intended learning outcomes (Sargeant, Mann, Sinclair, van der Vleuten, & Metsemakers, 2007). However, the existence of discontinuities between the teacher and learner’s perception of assessment and feedback could result in unintended learning outcomes due to decreased motivation, deterioration in performance or emotional distress (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996).

 

Hence, an alternative approach requires creating a sustainable approach to assessment which has been defined as “the assessment that meets the need of the present without compromising the students ability to meet their own future learning goals”(Boud, 2000). Achieving this requires a more rigorous approach to redesigning the manner in which both teaching and learning are conducted (Boud, 2000).

 

Higher Education institutions continue to highlight their policies around assessment and feedback but, in this case, there is clear need to significantly re-think both the teacher’s and learner’s perceptions of their roles (Black & William, 1998). In this way there is an opportunity to create an enabling environment in which students can believe they can all succeed, considering the eroded nature of opportunities for formative assessment (Boud, 2000). In the near future, the HE debate of considering assessment transition from “low-stake” where assessment output are purely for academic achievements, identification of possible learning problem or inform instructional adjustments in line with the university current policy; into the “High Stake” where outputs are used for punishments (funding cuts, negative publicity, penalties etc), accolades (public celebration, awards etc), advancements (promotion of grade) could attract research input into the whether it could pave a new way to HE or not in terms of assessment policy.

 

 

1.2.2 CONCLUSIONS

• Re-think is required in the perception of assessment by both teachers and learners for achieving sustainability.
• Future debate in “High stake” summative assessment by using promise of reward or threat of punishment may motivate educators to enhance performance.

 

 

2.0 TUTOR LEVEL ISSUES

2.1 Design of assessment and feedback and use of technology

2.1.1 DISCUSSION

Smith (2015) points out that while HE institutions have implemented assessment and feedback policies (as is the situation in our case study) the existence of top-level strategy to guide that policy is less evident. Biggs & Tang (2011) would stress the need to constructively align assessment and feedback to intended learning outcomes and this provides a useful starting point for the design of any such high-level strategy which in turn should underpin the design of effective approaches to assessment and feedback.

The issues facing the tutor in this case study are plain to see:

• The volume of marking
• The deadline to which she is working
• Her role as sole gatekeeper to the assessment process
• The apparent absence of any technology to assist in the marking process

In this scenario the focus needs to be on the qualities and attributes of good feedback which have been set out by a number of people , notably Race (2002) and Wiggins (2015). Our case study appears to demonstrate how these qualities and attributes are subverted by the rigid maintenance of the university’s quality assurance regulations that insist on universal assessment deadlines; the unnecessary creation of feedback bottlenecks; and a focus on the value of summative rather than formative feedback.

Both Race and Wiggins recognise timeliness as a key attribute of effective feedback – Race plumps for ‘sooner the better’ while Wiggins takes a rather more case by case approach for a definition of timely. However, it seems likely the disjuncture between the tutor’s perception and the student’s perception of the feedback given in our case study centres on very different notions of what is timely (i.e one is busy up to the deadline and the other is busy after).

The tutor’s reliance on traditional laborious ‘hard-copy’ feedback in the observed assessment process is certainly open to review. Race (2002) considers the pros and cons of different forms of feedback – it is far from an exhaustive or up-to-date survey but certainly provides a foundation to question the effectiveness of the current feedback process employed by our case study tutor.

Quigley (2015) reports his experience of using screen capture programmes to make a ‘mini-movie’ of the feedback – this is just one option but the compelling observation here is how the new, technologically more sophisticated process appeared to encourage simpler, more user-friendly feedback. Quigley’s experience certainly was that the video approach suppressed the tendency with formal hard-copy feedback for the level of language to escalate beyond the comprehension (or interest level) of the student.

Finally the role of the tutor in this case study as the sole gatekeeper to assessment and feedback deserves scrutiny. The role of interactive feedback as implemented by the University of Dundee (Smith 2015) and the value of peer feedback (as trialled by the University of Ulster) may also help change the context in which tutor and student see feedback as a problem rather than a valuable process.

2.1.2 CONCLUSIONS

SHORT TERM

• Implement targeted use of interactive feedback as an ongoing formative process (e.g University of Dundee postgrad medical team).
• Exploit opportunities to promote student collaboration in feedback (e.g University of Winchester and Bath Spa University)
• Establish pathfinder projects to exploit technological solutions to the new high-volume feedback environment

LONG TERM

• Negotiate high level assessment and feedback strategy that is aligned to intended learning outcomes. Seek to replace single high stakes summative assessments at end of modules with alternatives – e.g assessment timelines (University of Hertfordshire)
• Establish peer assessment as an integral element of mainstream feedback. (e.g University of Ulster)
• Embrace technologically more sophisticated alternatives to hand-written feedback (e.g screen capture and video/audio feedback) which offer greater value to the student and tutor.

 

2.2 Use of work based assessment and feedback

2.2.1         DISCUSSION

This problem illustrates how teachers feel overwhelmed by assessment demands, yet their students feel that they have not been assessed as individuals. Assessment in general is problematic from the teaching perspective for multiple reasons. Teachers have increasingly large assessment workloads due to the increasing modularisation of courses (Higher Education Academy, 2012), while simultaneously struggling with reduced resources due to reduced funding per student (Universities UK, 2013). When designing feedback mechanisms, teachers feel unsure about the balance between formative and summative assessment (Boud et al., 2007).

 

In this section, we have assumed that University X’s assessment problems include how their “employability” programmes are assessed. Employability is defined here as “a set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.” (Knight & Yorke, 2003) and is the definition used by the Higher Education Academy . It has long been expected that university teachers should improve employability skills, through work-based assignments, (Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2011; HEFCE, 2015). Yet there is little research into this type of assessment should be designed, which makes assessment in relation to employability even more problematic from the teacher’s perspective.

2.2.2         CONCLUSIONS

SHORT-TERM

• Develop a definition of “employability” and a strategy for work-based assessment, which incorporates the principle of constructive alignment.

LONG-TERM

• Develop an assessment evaluation tool to apply the principle of constructive alignment to employability programmes. We have developed the tool below, based on Steinar Kvale’s model of feedback by assessment in apprenticeship training (Boud et al., 2007). We have then applied the tool to University X’s employability programme, namely CV building, LinkedIn career profiles, application forms and live briefs.

Form of Workplace Assessment in an Apprenticeship	Concepts from Assessment Literature	Application to employability assessment
Assessment in relation to best-practice models	Goal transparency and self-assessment	Again, students can compare their “LinkedIn” profile to that of their “master” i.e. they can connect via LinkedIn to someone leading in their industry, to see how their profile compares.
Assessment through use of their “product”	Performance assessment and authentic assessment	Students can see if their product “works” i.e. submit 3 job/placement applications; obtain feedback from employers on the quality of their applications.
Assessment of their “product” by users	Authentic assessment	In an apprenticeship, the “proof of the pudding is in the eating”. Does their application succeed in getting them a job?
Assessment of their “product” by colleagues	Peer assessment	Novice apprentices often have their work checked by older apprentices, or the journeymen. Use Level 6 returning students to assess Level 5 students’ placement applications; and alumni to assess Level 6 graduate job applications.
Assessment by responsibility	Self-assessment	Students use a reflective diary to assess group activities, so they can reflect on how they demonstrated teamwork, problem-solving skills. Self-assessment is often used in the workplace (e.g. the PDR process), so encouraging students to reflect on their own performance at University will help them to make the most of PDR processes during graduate employment.
Assessment as a task ladder of increased responsibility	Reinforcement by access to more complex tasks	Students who perform well during, for example, live briefs with a company are invited back by the company to undertake a more complex, paid piece of work.

 

 

3.0 STUDENT LEVEL ISSUES

3.1 Use of peer feedback and self-assessment

3.1.1 DISCUSSION

It is widely accepted that feedback is essential to support students in their learning and development and the research evidence for this is strong. Feedback is understood to be a key component of quality teaching (Ramsden, 2003) and that individuals learn much faster and more effectively when we have a clear sense of what we are doing and how we might need to improve (Carless, 2006). However, despite this the literature on feedback highlights that students are often dissatisfied with their feedback and that academic staff are dissatisfied with students’ responses to their feedback. Two of the barriers to students using and responding to their feedback effectively highlighted in the literature are that students do not understand the feedback that they are given (Channock, 2000) and that they often respond by perceiving themselves in a negative light i.e. taking the feedback personally (James, 2000).

The introduction of peer assessment (assessing the work of fellow students and giving them feedback) and self assessment (students assessing their own work) can go some way to overcoming these barriers. The implementation of these approaches can help to ensure that students are more readily engaged in the feedback process and that feedback received by students enhances their learning and aids their future development.

The research evidence for peer and self assessment highlights the potential learning benefits for students. Themes emerging from the research include; students develop an enhanced understanding of the assessment process and the importance of feedback, students develop greater skills in critical analysis, students develop empathy and understanding the difficulties that teachers have when undertaking assessments and students develop skills in giving feedback to others which can apply to the workplace and the world outside of academic life (Hanrahan and Isaacs, 2015; van den Berg, Admiral and Pilot, 2006).

One of the criticisms applied to the use of peer and self assessment is that the approaches are time consuming and difficult to implement. Hanrahan and Isaccs (2015) in their research on the use of peer and self assessment found that the administrative load in implementing these approaches totalled about 40 hours. This clearly has implications for staff workloads. However, if the benefits to students are high with regards to their learning and development, students are likely to leave university with a better degree. In the world of NSS, this will have a positive knock on effect on the status of the university, hence it is in the interests of the university to ensure that courses are well staffed and resourced to enable them to apply alternative forms of assessment.

3.1.2 CONCLUSIONS

• That peer and self assessment are embedded into the assessment process
• That staff are appropriately trained, supported and given the time to develop peer and self assessment processes
• That students are adequately supported to meaningfully partake in peer and self assessment processes
• That rubrics are developed to support students to provide feedback to their peers

 

3.2 Managing and directing student expectations

3.2.1 DISCUSSION

The scenario illustrated shows the students perception of lack of feedback. Nationally, students show dissatisfaction with feedback (NSS) also, as students are consumers of education, HE institutes need to provide accurate information on how feedback on assignments is provided. This allows students to make an informed choice of where to study (Competition and Markets Authority 2015) and provides evidence for HE institutes to show the standard of feedback they provide when competing for students business.

In order for feedback to be effective it must be understood, individual beliefs about learning will influence how it is viewed (Price et al 2010)). Feedback on assessments can be used to show where work is not meeting the goals of assessment when used to aid learning (Sadler 1989) However students may not understand the comments in relation to the subject or their writing (Bloxham 2009). Although the learner is in the best position to judge the effectiveness of feedback, they may not recognise the benefits of feedback for learning or how the feedback given can improve their work (Price et al 2010).

 

3.2.2 CONCLUSIONS

Students and staff may have different views around ; the concept of feedback, the understanding of the assessment, what tutors mean by comments and how students can use them needs to be clarified (Carless 2006). This can be addressed by

• Holding group feedback tutorials around commonly occurring themes to develop assessment and feedback literacy (Carless 2006) and to enable feedback to be viewed as a relational part of the learning process (Mann 2001, Askew & Lodge (2004)
• Avoiding general or vague statements that lack guidance and only focus on negative (Weaver 2007).
• Focusing on the concepts presented in the students writing and should apply to the context of the assessment criteria and learning outcomes (Weaver 2007).
• Develop peer/self-assessment (See above)

 

 

References

Askew, S., & Lodge, C. (2004). Gifts, ping-pong and loops-linking feedback and learning. in S. Askew (Ed.), Feedback for learning. (pp.1-17). Retrieved from http://samples.sainsburys
ebooks.co.uk/9781134558087_sample_479779.pdf

Biggs, J. B., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.

Black, P., & William, D. (1998). Inside the black box: raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139–148.

Bloxham, S. (2009). Marking and moderation in the UK: false assumptions and wasted resources. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 34(2), 209-220.

Boud, D. (2000). Sustainable Assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society. Studies in Continuing Education, 22(2), 151–167. doi:10.1080/713695728

Boud, D., Falchikov, N., Dochy, F., Segers, M., Gijbels, D., & Struyven, K. (2007). Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education. Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the Longer Term. Abingdon: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203964309

Brookhart, S.M. (2008). How to give effective feedback to your students. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Carless, D. (2006). Differing Perceptions in the feedback process. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 219-233. doi: 10.1080/03075070600572132

Cooke, A. (2015). Assessment and feedback for taught awards policy. Retrieved from www.salford.ac.uk/university/governance/policies-and-procedures.

Competition and Markets Authority. (2015). Higher Education, Undergraduate students: Your rights under consumer law. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads
/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415732/Undergraduate_students_-_your_rights_under_consumer_law.pdf

Department for Business Innovation and Skills. (2011). Students at the heart of the system. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment
_data/file/31384/11-944-higher-education-students-at-heart-of-system.pdf

Hanrahan, J., & Isaacs, G. (2001). Assessing Self- and Peer- assessment: The students views. Higher Education Research and Development, 20(1), 53-70. doi: 10.1080/07294360123776

Hattie, J., & Timperley, H.(2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4624888

Higher Education Funding Council for England. (2015). Differences in employment outcomes: equality and diversity characteristics. Retrieved from http://www.hefce.ac.uk
/media/HEFCE,2014/Content/Pubs/2015/201523/HEFCE2015_23.pdf

Higher Education Academy. (2012). A marked improvement – Transforming assessment for higher education. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/a
_marked_improvement.pdf

Kluger, A.N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance: a historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254–284. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.254

Knight, P., & Yorke, M. (2003). Learning, curriculum and employability in higher education. doi: 10.4324/9780203465271

Mann, S. J. (2001). Alternative perspectives on the student experience: alienation and engagement. Studies in Higher Education, 26(1), 7-19.

National Union of Students. (n.d.) Assessment and feedback bench marking tool. Retrieved from https://www.ucl.ac.uk/teaching-learning/pdfs/NUS-assessment-and-feedback
-benchmarking-tool.pdf

Price, M., Handley, K., Millar, J., & O’Donovan, B. (2010). Feedback: all that effort, but what is the effect?. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(3), 277-289.

Quigley, D. (2015). Brief case study on technology-enhanced feedback. Retrieved 24 November, 2015, from https://blackboard.salford.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-1748199
-dt-content-rid-3775472_1/xid-3775472_1

Race, P. (2002). Using feedback to help students learn. Retrieved from https://www
.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/using_feedback.pdf

Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18(2), 119-144.

Smith, R (2014) Tackling assessment and feedback issues with technology-enhanced solutions. Retrieved 24 November, 2015, from https://www.jisc.ac.uk/blog/tackling
-assessment-and-feedback-issues-with-technology-enhanced-solutions-12-nov-2014

Universities UK. (2013). The Funding Challenge for Universities. Retrieved from http://www
.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2013/FundingChallengeForUniversities.pdf

Weaver, M. (2006). Do students value feedback? Students perceptions of tutors; written responses. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(3), 379-394. doi: 10.1080
/02602930500353061

Wiggins, G. (2015). Educational Leadership:Feedback for Learning:Seven Keys to Effective Feedback. Retrieved 18 November, 2015, from http://www.ascd.org/publications /educational-leadership/sept12/vol70/num01/Seven-Keys-to-Effective-Feedback.aspx

Sargeant, J., Mann, K., Sinclair, D., van der Vleuten, C., & Metsemakers, J. (2007). Challenges in multisource feedback: intended and unintended outcomes. Medical Education, 41(6), 583–591. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2007.02769.x

van den Berg, I., Admiral, W. & Pilot, A. (2006). Peer assessment in university teaching: evaluating seven course designs. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(1), 19-36, doi: 10.1080/02602930500262346

 

 

 

 

 

Report 1: “What’s in a Mark?”

GROUP TWO

REPORT #1

 

INTRODUCTION

Group 2 has been asked to advise a university academic school on a number of issues relating to assessment.

We have identified two general themes that appear to be having an impact on assessment in the school:

• Quality assurance and quality enhancement
• Inclusivity

These general issues have manifested in a number of specific problems which we wish to consider under two headings:

• Internal inconsistency – variance in marking between different modules within the school
• External inconsistency – variance between grades awarded by the school and the sector average

 

 

 

 

 

1.0   GENERAL THEMES  

1.1       QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY ENHANCEMENT

1.1.1   DISCUSSION

Bloxham and Boyd (2007) consider four purposes of assessment: certification, student learning, quality assurance and lifelong learning capacity. Quality assurance enables judgements to be made on the appropriateness of standards and assessment of learning (Gibbs 1999). However these purposes of assessment can often be in conflict with each other (Biggs & Tang 2011).  When assessment tasks are designed to show students’ knowledge of intended learning outcomes, declarative knowledge can be assessed through essays and exams and assured through the use of rubrics for example (see 2.1.1) This offers strong evidence of quality assurance as measurable, comparable and consistent outcomes can be gained and moderated in line with the QAA indicators of sound practice (QAA 2013).

These methods are efficient and assume that assessment is objective and can accurately show learning has been achieved in a scientific manner (Eisner, 1983). While a reductionist approach may be possible in the natural sciences, which only look for standard outcomes (Koetting, 1988), it can be seen as over simplified when applied to assessment in areas such as arts and humanities (Eisner, 1983). Traditional assessment of learning methods which focus on the monitoring function of HE (McDowell 2012) and that learning has taken place, can lead to a reductionist and fragmented approach using solutions that do not take an informed pedagogical approach (Quinn 2010).  However, an assessment for learning approach is thought more relevant (McDowell 2012) as knowledge acquisition is recognised as infinite and dynamic, with learners expected to constantly acquire new knowledge independently and solve problems (Birenbaum 1996).

A pedagogic method which incorporates assessment as learning is the constructive alignment method (Bigg & Tang 2011). This uses assessment as part of the teaching approach to promote students’ active engagement in appropriate learning for the intended learning outcomes of the course. Through the assessment of solving complex problems, team-work and effective communication it provides methods for assessing student learning in essential skills (Biernbaum, 1996) thus enhancing student engagement and quality enhancement (Bigg & Tang, 2011).

 

1.1.2   RECOMMENDATIONS

• A institutional wide approach should be taken to quality assurance and quality enhancement including;
• A holistic pedagogic approach to teaching, learning and assessment in line with the literature.
• Consideration of the QAA indicators of sound practice which incorporates the subjects outlined below.

 

 

 

 

1.2       INCLUSIVITY

1.2.1   DISCUSSION

The evidence obtained from the academic school indicates a lack of an inclusive teaching and assessment environment for students – specifically a reluctance to use rubrics or to share marking criteria with students.

Indicators of an inclusive environment include embracing student perspectives in developing rubrics and ensuring that all students, irrespective of their background, are capable of achieving good degrees. Before moving on to discuss how the School can adopt a more inclusive approach to assessment, we must first acknowledge that there is a problem with defining inclusivity (Wray, 2013) in HE. Some institutions use an older definition which argues that an inclusive teaching environment is only required for disabled students. More progressive institutions use a definition that includes a wide group of students when designing inclusive teaching and assessment environments (Hockings, 2010). This group includes students who are the first in family to go to university, international students, mature learners and students from religious and ethnic minorities.

Underpinning the concept of inclusive teaching are the values of fairness and equality: the UKPSF devotes two out of four values to inclusivity (UK PSF, V1 and V2), which highlight the importance of respecting and promoting equality of opportunity for a diverse student population.

 

1.2.2   RECOMMENDATIONS

• Develop a statement on inclusivity, involving both staff and students, to clarify expectations on what is meant by an inclusive approach to teaching and assessment. This should be  based on existing best practice statements from other HE providers (Hanesworth, 2015). The School could then assess the level of inclusivity in existing teaching and assessment mechanisms (Ward, 2009).
• Review existing teaching and assessment mechanisms, to understand how inclusive existing practice is at a module level. This could include principles of Universal Design in assessment design (Hockings, 2010), which is a concept borrowed from designing buildings for disabled people, whereby the design principle is “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” (Center for Universal Design, 2008).
• Develop an understanding that moving to an inclusive agenda will be a difficult process, involving understanding and challenging the personal and professional assumptions we bring to teaching (Burke & Crozier, 2012). However, the School can learn from other HE institutions, who have revitalised their inclusivity agenda, and can provide practical recommendations (Thomas and May, 2010).

 

 

2.0       SPECIFIC ISSUES

2.1       INTERNAL INCONSISTENCY – VARIANCE IN MARKING BETWEEN
            DIFFERENT MODULES WITHIN THE SCHOOL

2.1.1   DISCUSSION

Marking is a largely subjective and unreliable practice (Bloxham 2009; Bloxham, den-Outer, Hudson,& Price, 2015). This is clearly manifested in the variance in marking between different modules within the school which may be attributed to a range of factors including:

• Varying knowledge and experience of tutors (Read, Francis and Robson, 2005; Smith and Coombe, 2006) in addition to personal values (de Fries, 1999).
• Staff applying their own criteria and ignoring institution standards (Price & Rust, 1999).
• Difficulties in applying generic guidelines to specific pieces of work (Price, 2005)
• Some tutors judge the value of certain aspects as more important than others, for example, accurate grammar (O’Hagan & Wigglesworth, 2015).

The role each factor play requires more detailed examination to properly assess the impact on the different types of assessment used by the school. However, it is clear that the use of rubrics in assessments has been inconsistent across the school and contributed to the internal and external insistencies seen in the school’s performance.

 

Use of rubrics

A commonly used definition of a rubric is a document that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing the marking criteria and describing levels of quality from excellent to poor (Reddy and Andrade, 2010). They can be used to improve reliability of assessment and the quality of learning.

Reliability of assessment:

The appropriate use of rubrics can ensure a greater consistency in marking practices. The implementation of rubrics can address some of the barriers to ensuring reliability of assessment including the lack of consistency of individual markers (intra-rater reliability) and the lack of consistency between markers (inter-rater reliability).

• Intra-rater reliability

One of the major barriers to reliability of assessment is the lack of consistency of an individual marker themselves (Brown, Bull and Pendlebury, 1997 and Jonsson and Svingby, 2007). Although there are few studies on intra-rater reliability, those that have been undertaken indicate that rubrics seem to aid raters in achieving high internal consistency when scoring performance tasks (Jonsson and Svingby, 2007).

• Inter-rater reliability

There are several studies which focus on inter-rater reliability. Whilst there is ample evidence of disagreement between assessors using rubrics (Oakleaf, 2006; Boulet et al, 2004) several studies have shown that rubrics can allow instructors to reliably assess performance (Reddy and Andrade, 2010). Factors that influence inter-rater reliability include benchmarking, training of staff and the use of topic specific rubrics.

Quality of students’ learning:

Students who have rubrics to guide their work generally show higher achievement and deeper learning (Reddy and Andrade, 2010). A major theme in the research has been that of transparency for students i.e. if students are clear about what is expected of them, the assessment will be more meaningful. Hence students need to develop a clear understanding of each element of the assessment task and how this is going to be assessed.

 

2.1.2   RECOMMENDATIONS

• Development and implementation of programme level and module level rubrics as agreed by subject specialists within the teaching team. It is possible for academic teams to develop shared standards (Elwood & Klenowski, 2002).
• Training, support and/or mentoring on marking for inexperienced or new academics.

 

2.2       EXTERNAL INCONSISTENCY – VARIANCE BETWEEN GRADES
            AWARDED BY THE SCHOOL AND THE SECTOR AVERAGE

 

2.2.1   DISCUSSION

Concerns over quality assurance and standards in Higher Education became a focus of attention in the mid 1980s (Green, 1994) and led to increased efforts in assessment research especially in the area of measurement instruments, validity, reliability, and controlling bias (Joughin, 2010).

The target of a positivist researcher is to ensure maximum objectivity in assessment methods to ensure the quality of the process as well as the output (Orr, 2007). In order to ensure measurement of assessment as a reliable tool of for grading the overall performance of students, it must be inclusive in nature (Keating, Zybutz, & Rouse, 2012; Davies & Elliott, 2012).

This academic school is awarding 5-10% fewer good degrees (2:1 and first) than comparable courses and lower than the sector average. This indicates a lack of students’ awareness of and involvement in the assessment process (Boudrias, Bernaud, & Plunier, 2014). Research has shown Grade Point Average (GPA) is the major item of value that institutions can offer (Joughin, 2010) so addressing this external inconsistency in assessment could create an opportunity to students to graduate with high class of quality degrees.

 

Students missing out on higher classifications by 1% or less

A key feature of the inconsistency with the sector average appears to lie with the number of students missing out on higher classifications by 1% or less. This suggests a fundamental problem is a failure of assessment to produce sufficient distinctiveness resulting in students missing out on higher classifications by meaningless margins of 1% or less. The use of percentages as opposed to broader grades amplifies this issue. Snyder’s ‘hidden curriculum’ (1971) appears to be alive and well in this school. Joughin (2010) may challenge the validity of the concept of the ‘hidden curriculum’ but it seems likely there are staff expectations which exist over and above the formal, declared curriculum.

This gives rise to a discussion of the validity of percentages as a grade descriptor. Bloxham (2009) describes a ‘positivist‘ approach in which assessment is seen as a process of divining an objective truth measured against objective standards – this appears to be the underlying approach taken in this school where less than 1% difference is held to represent a meaningful and objective distinction between levels of student performance. While this may be the ambition a greater acceptance of the influence of what Bloxham describes as an ‘interpretivist’ approach may be useful in solving this specific problem, thereby accepting the role of tutor preconceptions, expectations (both declared and undeclared) and prejudices.

Finely applied percentage grades have superseded broad marking categories (A, B, C etc) but, at the margins, these simply codify subjectivity – a 39 is not good enough, a 40 is. Such fine degrees of distinction are unhelpful and suggest a process of dogmatic summative assessment which is unsupported by constructive formative assessment to help students decode that hidden curriculum.

2.2.2   RECOMMENDATIONS

This issue requires proactive management and a fundamental review of the assessment process. The response should involve:

• A recognition of the importance of inclusive assessment to Increase student involvement in the assessment exercise
• Providing timely formative feedback to students could enhance students’ performance

• Review marking policies to encourage distinctive assessment (e.g peg marking).
• Review moderation policies (e.g specifically moderate marks at or close to the grade boundary to make a clear judgement of classification). To develop inclusivity, this targeted moderation process could be done by students.

3.0       ACTION PLAN

Common themes have emerged through the consideration of the use of assessment in this academic school. These should form the basis for an action plan to address the internal and external inconsistencies identifies. These themes are:

QUALITY ASSURANCE

This is a fundamental issue and must be considered both in terms of staff and students. A process of consultation, training and refinement is required to create a shared understanding and common objectives among all school members (staff and students).

INCLUSIVITY

The information provided suggests tutors are applying their own specific assessment policies and these are not being made clear to students. There is an opportunity to embrace the opportunities offered by a more inclusive approach (detailed above) to enhance both consistency and performance.

MARKING POLICY

Rubrics have a significant role to play in reducing internal inconsistencies – the appropriate design of marking criteria and grade descriptors will assist in creating clear expectations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Biggs, J. B., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.

Birenbaum, M. (1996). Assessment 2000: Towards a pluralistic approach to assessment. In M. Birenbaum & F. Dochy (eds.). Alternatives in assessment of achievements, learning processes and prior knowledge. (pp. 3-29). doi: 10.1007/978-94-011-0657-3

Bloxham, S., & Boyd, P. (2007). Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Bloxham, S. (2009). Marking and moderation in the UK: false assumptions

and wasted resources. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 34(2), 209-220. doi: 10.1080/02602930801955978

Bloxham, S., den-Outer, B., Hudson, J., & Price, M. (2015). Let’s stop the pretence of consistent marking: exploring the multiple limitations of assessment criteria. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, (ahead-of-print), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2015.1024607

Boudrias, J.S., Bernaud, J. L., & Plunier, P. (2014). Candidates’ integration of

individual psychological assessment feedback. Journal of Managerial Psychology,

29(3), 341–359. doi: 10.1108/JMP-01-2012-0016

Burke, P. J. & Crozier, G. (2012). Teaching Inclusively: Challenging Pedagogical Spaces. York: Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/uploadedFiles/Pages_Assets/PDFs_and_Word_Docs/Research_Centres/CEREPP/Teaching-Inclusively-Resource-Pack.pdf

Davies, M., & Elliott, S. N. (2012). Inclusive Assessment and Accountability: Policy to

evidence-based practices. International Journal of Disability, Development and

Education, 59(1), 1–6. doi: 10.1080/1034912X.2012.654932

Eisner, E. W. (1983). Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism. In Evaluation models (pp. 335-347). Springer Netherlands.

Elwood, J., & Klenowski, V. (2002). Creating Communities of Shared Practice: The challenges of assessment use in learning and teaching. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(3), 243-256. doi: 10.1080/02602930220138606

The Higher Education Academy. (2011). The UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in Higher Education, Universities UK. Retrieved from

Joughin, G. (2010). The hidden curriculum revisited: a critical review of research into the influence of summative assessment on learning. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(3), 335-345. doi: 10.1080/02602930903221493

Koetting, J. R. (1988). Educational Connoisseurship and Educational Criticism: Pushing beyond Information and Effectiveness. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology : 14-19 January 1988, (pp.1-15). New Orleans.

McDowell, L. (2012). Assessment for Learning. In L.Clouder., C.Broughan., S.Jewell., G.Steventon (Eds.), Improving student engagement and development through assessment; theory and practice in higher education (pp. 73- 85).

Quinn, J. (2010). Learning communities and imagined social capital: Learning to belong. London; New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Smith, E., & Coombe, K. (2006). Quality and Qualms in the Marking of University Assignments by Sessional Staff: An Exploratory Story. Higher Education, 51(1), 45-69. doi: 10.1007/s10734-004-6376-7

Snyder, B.R. (1971). The hidden curriculum. New York: Knopf.

Green, D. (1994). What is Quality in Higher Education ? What is Quality in Higher Education?

Jonsson, A. and Svingby, G. (2007). The use of scoring rubrics: Reliability, validity and educational consequences, Educational Research Review 2, 130-144. Doi: 10.1080/00131911.2014.929565

Keating, N., Zybutz, T., & Rouse, K. (2012). Inclusive assessment at point-of-design.

Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 49(3), 249–256. doi:10.1080/14703297.2012.703022

Knight, P. T. (2006). The local practices of assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(4), 435–52. doi: 10.1080/02602930600679126

O’Hagan, S. R., & Wigglesworth, G. (2015). Who’s Marking My Essay? The Assessment of Non-native-speaker and Native-speaker Undergraduate Essays in an Australian Higher Education Context. Studies in Higher Education, 40(9). doi:10.1080/03075079.2014.896890.

Orr, S. (2007). Assessment moderation: constructing the marks and constructing the

students. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 32(6), 645–656. doi:10.1080/02602930601117068

Price, M. (2005). Assessment standards: The role of communities of practice and the scholarship of assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(3), 215–30. doi: 10.1080/02602930500063793

Price, M., & Rust, C. (1999). The experience of introducing a common criteria assessment grid across an academic department. Quality in Higher Education, 5(2), 133–44. doi :10.1080/1353832990050204

Read, B., Francis, B., & Robson, J. (2005). Gender, ‘bias’, assessment and feedback: analyzing the written assessment of undergraduate history essays. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(3), 241-260. doi: 10.1080/02602930500063827

Reddy, Y. M. & Andrade, H. (2010). A review of rubric use in higher education. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(4), 435–448. doi: 10.1080102602930902862859

 

Hanesworth, P. (2015). Embedding equality and diversity in the curriculum: a model for learning and teaching practitioners. York: Higher Education Academy.

Hockings, C. (2010). Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education: a synthesis of research. York: Higher Education Academy.

Thomas, L. & May, H. (2010). Inclusive teaching and learning in higher education. York: Higher Education Academy.

Ward, C. (2009). DIY Toolkit for Alternative & Inclusive Assessment Practice, Nottingham Trent University

Wray, M. (2013). Developing an inclusive culture in higher education: final report. York: Higher Education Academy.

 

Reflections on Problem-Based Learning

This blogpost is the first to be submitted in part fulfilment of the Assessment for Feedback and Learning , which is the second module of the Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) at the University of Salford in the UK. The posts should demonstrate my ability to meet the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching in Higher Education. Specifically, the posts should be:

“an individual reflection (2000 words max) considering:

– your experience of PBL in this module

– your developing ideas on assessment and feedback for learning

– the implications for your own practice.”

 

This blogpost starts with describing on my experience and feelings during the PBL exercises, then moves on to discuss my developing ideas on AFL. This blogpost will end with the implications for my own with a needs analysis and action plan which demonstrate how I intend to show continuous improvement of my teaching abilities

Description – Experience of PBL

Our group of six were asked to develop two consultancy-style reports, which addressed various assessment problems of University X. We developed a report structure in class, each chose an area and elected to write 500 words each. Ian quickly emerged as our project manager, chasing deadlines, editing and co-ordinating the presentation. After our first report, we reviewed our feedback and working practices and decided how improve for the second report. Writing and presenting the second report was achieved more quickly as each of us had each developed a team role (Belbin, 2004), which was tacitly understood, and helped smooth over any initial difficulties.

Feeling

I frequently felt overwhelmed with the demands of a part-time job, PhD, family life and the AFL module. Additionally, I felt guilty that I hadn’t contributed my best to the team as I was on holiday for the initial presentation. Finally, I grateful to my team members, proud of our work and (as the Belbin “Teamworker”), organised a team “cake and coffee” to celebrate after the end of the course.

Photo 1: The AFL Team from left to right: Bev, Abu, me, Viv and Ian

 

Developing Ideas on Assessment and Feedback

The PBL approach was valuable in directing my learning about definitions of assessment and feedback (UK PSF, K2), in helping me to develop an understanding of how to include a diversity of learners (V1)and equality of opportunity (V2) when designing assessment methods. . I am currently a part-time Employability Officer at Salford Business School (SBS), a part-time lecturer and therefore my role involves assessing and providing feedback on employability teaching and also Masters-level workplace dissertations.

The AFL module helped me develop my ideas to assessment and feedback in the following ways:

1. I have offered to design Intended Learning Outcomes for the Employablity Programme, based on the principles of designing an effective curriculum (A1) that follows the principle of “constructive alignment” (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 99). I will assess and modify the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) for the “Professional Development” module for Level 5 students. Firstly, I will ensure that teaching activities are supported by the ILOs (A2) and that the ILOs flow through to assessment (A3) tasks. This may require redevelopment of the assessment activities, which currently have over 10 small, summatively assessed tasks. The Professional Development module on Blackboard should have the rubrics clearly signposted on the website, with all students being clear on how they are assessed. Tenet 1 (Higher Education Academy, 2012) hints at, and the NUS Charter (National Union of Students, 2014) endorses rebalancing the curriculum in favour of formative assessment. Our group discussions highlighted a further danger: that that the summative assessment can easily become the focus for students, leading to superficial learning and discouraging critical reflection (Sambell, McDowell, & Montgomery, 2013, p. 121). This has become the case in the Professional Development module, where summative assessment is used to ensure, for example, that students attend a careers fair; I have therefore introduced a workshop which will help students understand how to prepare for a careers fair, how to network effectively during the careers fair and how to assess how successful their attendance at the careers fair has been for their career plans, which will be an example of formative assessment, that will also involve peer assessment, as students are asked to observe and comment on each others’ interactions. A well-designed, group-working environment is key to learning, as the complex achievements related to the higher order functions of Bloom’s taxonomy, such as synthesis and evaluation (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2000), come from a well-designed learning environment, rather than formal instruction (Boud et al., 2007, p. 73). While the senior leadership of SBS is supportive of my ideas and has given me the approval to review the module, it may be harder to convince the teaching staff that any resulting changes are necessary. The result will be that students gain “assessment literacy”, which will give them more confidence, but which may also result in more direct challenges to teachers (Smith, Worsfold, Davies, Fisher, & McPhail, 2013).

 

Image 1: Assessment literacy leads to challenges to teachers

2. The PBL method encourages students to take responsibility for writing one section, and therefore enabled me to specialise in inclusivity, which is particularly relevant in my role as many of the students who seek help with employability are from BAME, disabled and/or “first in family” backgrounds. I therefore assessed the inclusivity assessment criteria of the Professional Development module (UK PSF, A1, A4) to see whether we were unintentionally disadvantaging certain types of students . Initially, I wanted to use the University of Salford’s “Assessment and Feedback for Taught Awards Policy” (Cooke, 2015); however this is a process-heavy document and is light on practical advice on how to make programmes more inclusive. I therefore turned to the matrix developed by Nottingham Trent University (Ward, 2009) to produce the assessment below.

Assessment Method	Characteristic medium
	Written	Oral	Visual	Practical	Timed	Other[1]
Class test
Continuous	√
Computer-assisted
Critique (paper)
Case study
CV (online)	√		√
Directed learning	√
Dissertation/Thesis
Examination
Essay	√
Field/Placement work
Group work	√
Log/diary/journal
Negotiation exercise
Oral presentation/ Debate/ Moot
Peer-Assessment
Project
Portfolio	√
Practical test
Placement report	√
Report/review
Research exercise/ literature review/ annotated bibliography	√
Self-Assessment
Class participation		√
Simulation/game

 

I have shared this assessment with my colleagues in the “Employability Committee”, which is a community of practice, in order to diversify the assessment methods and media, in order to make the module assessments more inclusive and easier to mark. (A4, A5, V1, V2). Like many UK institutions, Salford Business School has implemented US-style Semesters and modularisation, which has increased the assessment workload, while decreasing resources per student (Higher Education Academy, 2012). Reducing the burden of summative assessment for the Professional Development module will reduce the workload requirements for marking this module.

 

Image 1: “The Death of Marking” by Cinderella2b via DeviantArt

3. I have joined the e-learning group at SBS and am attending their first meeting in January 2016. I have also joined the “Show and TEL” forum, which is an e-technology, cross-University forum, and also attending a course on “Technologies for Increasing Classroom Engagement” in November 2015. As a result, I will include technologies such as Screencast-O-Matic, Padlet and Kahoot to rebalance my Employability teaching in favour of easy-to-mark summative assessment, and more engaging formative assessment. For example, the “minute paper”, which is a type of formative self-assessment, asks students to spend the final few minutes of a session writing down their key learning points (Bloxham & Boyd, 2007, p. 35). This task can be done interactively using Padlet, so that other students can read what each other has learned. As a humanist and constructivist teacher, I believe that one of the core purposes of teaching , including assessment, should be to develop students’ ability to think critically and question assumptions. The writer and teacher, bell hooks, refers to this, “teaching to transgress” (hooks, 1993) and requires the classroom to include a combination of the analytical and experiential. Using modern technologies, which encourage students to use their mobile devices to research and engage with their subject will give students the confidence to question assumptions . Additionally, many SBS students lack this confidence, perhaps because English is not their first language or because they are the first students who are the first in their family to go to University. Designing an inclusive curriculum is therefore imperative.

 

4. Finally, the PBL scenario and AFL module more widely, encouraged me to read widely, using web resources such as the resources and frameworks section of the HEA https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ , the Academic Development and Quality section of the Nottingham Trent University http://www.ntu.ac.uk/adq/ the Eberly Centre for Education at Carnegie Mellon University, which provides a comprehensive teaching programme for new faculty https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/index.html . I have used articles from the journal of Teaching in Higher Education as discussion points not only for assessment, but to understand wider trends in business schools. I have also invested in a number of specialist assessment books that will be useful throughout my academic career: see below.

Photo 2: The 6 assessment in teaching texts I’ve used most often.

Implications for my own practice

The implications for my own practice are given in the form of an action plan below, which lists my individual needs, and the relationship to the UKPSF:

Needs Analysis	Action Plan (Date, Activity, Outcome)	UKPSF
Develop clearer rubrics for the employability module	–          Review rubrics with course tutors in January/February 2016 in order to raise the issue of rubrics not being explained in sufficient detail to students. –          Improve on clarity of rubric, particularly relating to employability skills in order to understand what does “good teamworking” look like? –          Incorporate research from journals & books such as Education & Training; Knight & York (2003)	A1, A2, A5   K2, K4, K5   V1, V2, V3
Work with the SBS community of practice to improve assessment methods in the the Professional Workplace module and in the school more widely	Develop a more inclusive and wider variety of assessment methods for this module during Jan-Feb 2016 to improve student engagement with assessment   Learn from best practice elsewhere in the sector by reading websites and attending conferences e.g. Nottingham Trent University and other business schools, to understand how to improve assessment given limited resources.   Continue to work with the “Show and TEL” forum and the SBS e-learning group to discuss and implement best practice in assessment, teaching technologies and teaching more widely.	A1, A2, A5   K2, K3, K4, K5   V1, V2, V3, V5

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the PBL scenarios, and our own discussions, changed my approach to assessment and feedback by clarifying that students frequently perceive feedback to be irrelevant, vague or delivered too late (Chen & Hoshower, 2003). It is therefore the quality of student engagement with feedback, not the quality of feedback, which is important for student learning (Bryan & Clegg, 2006). One of the few studies on assessment in employability teaching, found that high-achieving students routinely assess themselves as under-performing, and weak low-achieving students assess themselves as over-performing, in relation to the academic and employers assessment (Jackson, 2013). The disparity suggests that, in line with Tenet 3, assessment lacks precision. My actions to date and subsequent action plan will clarify rubrics, make ILOs consistent across the Professional Development module and use technology to improve the quality of student engagement with feedback, and to rebalance feedback in favour of formative assessment.

 

 

 

Bibliography

Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (2000). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Pearson.

Belbin, M. (2004). Belbin Team Roles. Management Teams Why They Succeed or Fail, 1–1.

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Fourth.). Open University Press.

Bloxham, S., & Boyd, P. (2007). Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Boud, D., Falchikov, N., Dochy, F., Segers, M., Gijbels, D., & Struyven, K. (2007). Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education. Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the Longer Term. Abingdon: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203964309

Bryan, C., & Clegg, K. (2006). Innovative Assessment in Higher Education. Abingdon: Routledge.

Chen, Y., & Hoshower, L. B. (2003). Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness: An assessment of student perception and motivation. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(1), 71–88. doi:10.1080/02602930301683

Cooke, A. (2015). Assessment and Feedback for Taught Awards Policy. Salford, Manchester. Retrieved from http://www.salford.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/610669/AssessmentFeedbackTaughtAwardspdf.pdf

Higher Education Academy. (2012). A Marked Improvement – Transforming Assessment for Higher Education. York. doi:978-1-907207-65-5

hooks, bell. (1993). Teaching to Transgress – Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge.

Jackson, D. (2013). Self-assessment of employability skill outcomes among undergraduates and alignment with academic ratings. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(1), 53–72. doi:10.1080/02602938.2013.792107

National Union of Students. (2014). NUS Charter on Feedback. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from https://wiki.ucl.ac.uk/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=42009080

Sambell, K., McDowell, L., & Montgomery, C. (2013). Assessment for Learning in Higher Education. Abingdon: Routledge Ltd.

Smith, C. D., Worsfold, K., Davies, L., Fisher, R., & McPhail, R. (2013). Assessment literacy and student learning: the case for explicitly developing students “assessment literacy.” Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(1), 44–60. doi:10.1080/02602938.2011.598636

Ward, C. (2009). DIY Toolkit for Inclusive Assessment. Nottingham. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/clare_ward.doc

 

[1] ‘Other’ could include assessment that is predominantly aural, by video/film, computer, or any medium not expressly listed within the table.

Reflection on the Professional Discussion

This long post is the final requirement of the core module of the PGCAP: a reflection on the professional discussion, and on my PGCAP journey.

1.                   Lego Photo

Lego Teaching Model – the bridge

My Lego model shows me (the bald one) having constructed a teaching bridge. My student (the red-head) is now able to walk over the bridge, to reach me on the other side, in the world of business knowledge. The model reflects that my effort is in constructing a teaching environment; the student’s effort is in taking the first steps to cross the bridge. The model reflects that teaching is contingent and that learning requires the student to put in their own effort. The model also reflects that each student may require their own bridge, and part of my skill as a teacher is creating the right type of teaching environment for each student.

2.                   Review of Goals set in the Reflective Journal

My goals and the extent to which I met them are described below:

Needs Analysis	Action Plan	Progress and challenges
1.                   Ensure my teaching remains relevant to the needs of business.	Develop a plan for regularly involving business in lesson planning and delivery.Continue to conduct relevant research into business needsConsider offering consultancy and advice to business	Met: as a PhD student, I am constantly meeting businesses and involving their observations in lesson planning and delivery. I have scheduled a “research update” day in November 2015, where businesses involved in my research will be invited to discuss my initial findings. This core group will become my “business advisory board”, which will meet annually to discuss updates to my lesson plans and delivery.A colleague on the course explained how their courses are revised annually, based on job descriptions found in industry journals. I will discuss this idea with my course colleagues, as it seems a good way to ensure the skills and knowledge we are teaching remains up to date.
2.                   Improve the abilities of all students, including those who are not academically confident, those who have disabilities and international students.	Identify students who require additional assistance.Improve lesson planning and pre-lesson preparation and specialist support for these studentsAssess my teaching programme for developing academic assertiveness, problem-solving and critical thinking Obtain regular feedback from students to ensure they are all at the correct level of understanding.	Partly met: I have not been able to identify all students who require additional assistance, due to the large class sizes and limited time available in block delivery teaching. Nor have I been able to improve lesson planning for these students. However, I have explicitly discussed personal circumstances, loneliness and cultural differences with my dissertation students and have been able to arrange university-wide support with housing and finances in some cases.I have been able to improve my teaching programme using Intended Learning Outcomes (Biggs & Tang, 2011, pt. 3). I increasingly ask divergent questions, intended to develop deep thinking and higher-level activities: theorising, reflecting, hypothesising.I now encourage students to ask for clarification during the class if they do not understand: if a large number of students ask for clarification, then this can disrupt my lesson plan. However, it is better for students to fully understand a concept before moving on.
3.                   Assess new teaching and learning technologies and delivery mechanisms (i.e. the flipped classroom)	Target learning from materials and people within and outside the PGCAP for learning new technologies	Partly met: one member of my learning set regularly uses film to record her students’ progress. I have planned my next session on employability will film students being interviewed, so they can reflect on their performance.I have not yet restructured my teaching to include the flipped classroom as I find that students already do not do their required reading prior to the class.I will enrol on the FDOL course, as my second module in the PGCAP. This will further develop my use and knowledge of learning technologies.
4.                   Ensure my knowledge of my subject matter is up to date, beyond the duration of my PhD	Develop a plan for systematically updating knowledge of teaching areas	Met: my knowledge of subject matter will be kept updated through producing at least two papers a year for conferences: ISBE and EIASM, and also by submitting two journal articles each year. One of these articles may well be to a teaching journal!
5.                   Understand what plans are in place in my institution to monitor the retention, progression and completion of all groups, including BME groups	Speak to the Head of Learning at SBS to obtain this data.	Partly met: as an hourly paid lecturer, I do not have full access to all this data for BME group retention and progression within Salford. I am waiting for access to be granted.
6.                   Develop a tailored programme for learners to assimilate complex concepts and develop self-confidence.	Build in less content and more spaces for structured reflection during seminars and one-to-one sessions.Use the Academic Assertiveness framework to develop learners’ confidence.	Partially met: I have yet to start developing a special critical thinking programme. Instead, I have tried to build in more space for reflection during one-to-one sessions by asking questions that encourage critical judgements to be made e.g. “How can you justify the inclusion of X theory?” or the develop of hypothesis e.g. “What could you predict about the future of this company, based on what you have experienced during your work placement”?I have used the Academic Assertiveness Framework to monitor student behaviour in small groups: however, I have not progressed beyond noting that many students struggle to listen to others’ viewpoints, preferring instead to respond to my statements.
7.                   Establish emotional security in large classes	Develop ILO teaching/learning activities to improve emotional security	Met: I have am very happy to have introduced activities such as the Minute Paper (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 143), Peer Teaching (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 144) and Model Co-counselling (Moon, 2004, p. 147). Students have also reported enjoying the class more as a result, and energy levels in the classroom are much higher. A barrier is that large class sizes and these types of activities break students into groups early on; I have been warned that students will complain if they are put into a group for an exercise and the group does not function well. However, I will try to switch the groups around to avoid “cliques” forming.
8.                   Instil critical thinking	Find and assess the beta version of AHELO	Partly met: I have asked the OECD for a beta version of AHELO but in the meantime will use a self-assessment test (similar to what we completed at the start of our course) to test students’ improvement in knowledge. I am worried that the beta version is not yet available. I am keen to find other tools for assessing critical reading and writing which I can use in until AHELO is released.
9.                   Develop an interactive lecture plan	Observe colleagues who have an interactive lecture styleDevelop a lecture plan which incorporates interactive and group work	Met: I have observed two more experienced teaching colleagues at the Business School, and have incorporated their ideas into my lecture plan: the ideas include:-                      State the ILO at start of meeting, based on Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2000)-                      The lecturer does not speaking for longer than 10 minutes –                      A divergent thinking activity, which asks students to generate alternatives and other assessments of value –                      Students to write a 1 minute summary at the end I am delighted to have successfully met this action. Taking the risk of creating a more interactive lecture has been worth it. Although more work is required upfront in designing and planning the session, overall the session has been very successful. A barrier has been that students do not experience this type of teaching consistently through the school, which makes them persistently ask for me as a tutor, even when the school has allocated them other colleagues as tutors.
10.               Understand the “threshold concepts” in business studies and incorporate them into my teaching.	Order the “Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines” book via the Library.Consult with colleagues to confirm the “threshold concepts” for business education.	Partly met: The Threshold Concepts book has been ordered, which will help me to identify Threshold Concepts within the Business School. I continue to revise expand my list of threshold concepts in my own research and teaching.I have briefly discussed the idea of the threshold concept for two courses on which I teach with my colleagues. A barrier to achieving confirmation of the threshold concepts is that the tendency was for the number of threshold concepts to increase, to the point to which nearly every concept we teach is “threshold”. The challenge will be to refine this list to a core few, which we can teach in-depth.
11.               Understand where creative teaching aids can improve my teaching.	Incorporate visual teaching aids and seek feedback as to their effectivenes.	Partly met Chopsticks, clogs and a sweatshirt have all been used to teach the “threshold concept” in class. I already use short video and audio clips to teach transcription and interviewing techniques. I will continue to read the HE journals to identify creative teaching aids.

Reviewing this list, I notice that only 4 out of 11 actions have been fully met. Given self-image of a “successful overachiever”, I have probably included far too many actions. It is also possible that “becoming a better teacher”, which was my goal at the start of the PGCAP, is not simple or quick. I will have to develop patience and persistence in order to fully meet these goals.

Most challenges have been institutional: as an hourly paid academic, I am not able to change course content or course delivery. However, I can influence how courses are delivered by discussion with the academics who are in charge.

 

3.                   How has reflection helped me to enhance my practice?

I have taken reflective learning into my classroom. In my last group teaching session in March, I opened the first day by asking each student to explain their reason for studying the course: this exercise in “standing back” (Moon, 2004, p. 144) helped some students to develop realistic expectations for the day.

The PGCAP has transformed my view on teaching and learning. Informed by the definitions provided by Biggs and Tang (2011), Moon (2004), Ramsden (2003), I have moved up Bloom’s revised taxonomy and created a my own definition of reflection in academic life: reflection is a process of consciously evaluating our experiences, modifying them in the light of new knowledge;

I recently re-read one of the poems I studied at the beginning of my educational journey, English O-level:

“And what you thought you came for
Is only a shell, a husk of meaning
From which the purpose breaks only when it is fulfilled
If at all. Either you had no purpose
Or the purpose is beyond the end you figured
And is altered in fulfilment.”

T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”

Little Gidding is the final piece in Eliot’s masterpiece: the Four Quartets (Eliot, 1962). Written after his despairing attack on the modern world in his earlier works, the Four Quartets is more hopeful: both a warning and an encouragement to the reader. This passage is a warning to a lone traveller, walking through an icy, midwinter landscape: that his reasons for travelling may never be fulfilled. Or that the destination is so changed when he arrives, that he must continue onwards.

Winter Landscape by K Melling http://www.kmelling.com/index.php/7/219978/

Reflection, as in the poem, can be a troubling, joyous and unpredictable process, with outcomes that may never have initially been intended.

Reflection in my learning journey has also altered my intended purpose as I come to the end of the LTHE journey:” what [I] thought [I] came for” was to imbibe absolute knowledge: my original purpose was to discover the one, best way of teaching in HE, and that my teachers would impart it to me. My original purpose: to become a better teacher, is “beyond the end [I] figured”. I have moved from being an “absolutist learner” at the start of the course(Moon, 2004, p. 38), through a “transitional learner. I moved from being frustrated at the focus on reflective learning, when I took a superficial attitude to completing the learning tasks, such as the “creative game” in the Arndale centre, to finally appreciating the structure and discipline that using the reflective cycle in each post. The focus on considering actions at the end of every post was particularly useful and every couple of weeks I checked my progress on the action plan before starting a new post.

4.                   Engagement with the UK PSF

The table below evidences my engagement with the PSF areas of activity, knowledge and values. Wherever possible, I have given specific examples of how my thinking and practice have changed.

UK Professional Standards Framework	Change in thinking and practice
Activity A1 Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study   K2 Appropriate methods for teaching, learning and assessing in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme	I have introduced creative teaching aids, interactive lesson plans and have embarked on a “flipped classroom” approach for my next teaching module.Where the lecture-style delivery is unavoidable, I have “chunked up” the hour into 7-10 minute segments. The segments include a variety of topics, including group-work, individual work, self-checking and writing summaries.Bloom’s revised taxonomy and ILO have helped me to align key learning skills with module design
A2Teach and/or support learning  K3 How students learn, both generally and within their subject/ disciplinary area(s)	I have learned that teaching and learning are two separate and independent activities.   Good teaching does not always results in good learning, as the individual student may have barriers (personal, intellectual, cultural) to learning taking place.
A3Assess and give feedback to learners	I have tried to increase the amount of formative assessment in the classroom, introducing activities such as peer marking and asking students to teach a concept to their peers.The TESTA checklist of good assessment principles have helped me to improve my assessment and feedback strategies. In particular, I have introduced a short session at the start of every supervision, to discuss feedback and how the student has addressed it.Following the lead of my PGCAP tutors, I am also asking students to be specific in asking where they would like me to provide feedback.
A4Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance   V1 Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities   V2 Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners	In the classroom and individual session, I have tried to maximise educational gain: providing more support to learners who do not have the critical thinking and writing skills to perform well at postgraduate level.I have learned more about the additional support provided by the University, including support for learning skills, support for international students and for disabled students. International students at Salford Business School are often preparing themselves for a career in a global community; these students view the classroom as a “community of practice” and use their interactions with teachers and students to increase their “cultural capital” – Bourdieu’s term for the language, social skills and confidence that gives certain students an advantage in education.   My role has been to introduce non-academic sources of “cultural capital” for international and non-traditional learners: online news and opinion channels, free tickets to cultural events in the city etc.
A5Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practice  V3 Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development   V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice	I have enjoyed reading the teaching and learning literature and buying the core texts mean that I can revisit them as needed, in future. Graham Gibbs’ books on teaching large classes and assessment are particularly useful for being practical (G Gibbs, 1988; Graham Gibbs, 1981)I have submitted an abstract for the ISBE 2015 conference on my experience developing a Year 9-10 teaching module from my PhD thesis.I hope to submit a paper in 2016 to one of the HE journals on “teaching for work-based learning”.
K1The subject material	As a PhD student, I am up to date with my subject area. I have committed to submitting papers to two conferences annually, once I have graduated, in order to keep my knowledge up to date.
K4The use and value of appropriatelearning technologies	I have introduced on-line quizzes so students can access the internet during their classroom sessions, and am planning a “flipped classroom” approach for my next module design.My next course will be FDOL, so as to learn more about the appropriate use of online technologies.
K5Methods for evaluating theeffectiveness of teaching	I have requested the use of online feedback forms for the courses which I teach, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching.
K6The implications of quality assuranceand quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching	I have found ILOs a useful method for developing quality assurance for my teaching practice. I have also found the NSS and REF frameworks useful for understanding wider expectations for the quality of teaching. I now give students’ feedback within 3 working days and sooner if possible.

5.                   Engagement in the Action Learning Set

This section will explain how I collaborated with members and how the set and the wider class influenced my understanding of teaching practices.

My learning set gave me the confidence to articulate my evolving thinking in the classroom-organised discussions. While we have not been able to find time to meet outside the classroom, we collaborated by observing each other’s teaching practice. I was able to take the idea of using film for a group teaching session from observing my colleague’s teaching session. Additionally, discussing the educational experience of growing up in a Steiner school with a colleague helped me to realise that critical thinking and critical discussion can be taught at a very early age. Overall, the learning set helped me to realise that many of the challenges in teaching are common across all disciplines, for example, large class sizes, motivation levels of students. The wider classroom helped me realise that, even though we are all teachers, we returned to student-style behaviour in class: turning up late, chatting while the tutor was talking etc. Some students complained vociferously about the requirement for reflective practice. I reacted to them with frustration and impatience , yet the PGCAP tutors skilfully turned their complaints into discussion points for the wider class. This made me realise how important it is to deal effectively and promptly with disruptive students.

 

At my professional discussion, I was asked how I would maintain my enthusiasm for teaching. This will require a concrete and practical plan, that I can follow and update over the coming months/years.

1. Maintain links with the PGCAP Learning Set: I’ve emailed the group to ask if we can meet before the final PGCAP picnic. and also on a monthly basis, for coffee, to share our experiences and reflections.

2. Contribute to the Programme Team: my supervisor heads up the Employability Programme Teama at the Business School. I will use the last 15 minutes of my monthly supervision sessions to contribute ideas for improving the theory-practice link in the teaching of these programme.

3. Contribute to the Module Team: as a teacher on the Research Methodologies module, I can make some immediate and practical suggestions regarding groupwork and formative assessment on this module.

4. Keep up to date by reading blogs: the following blogs are interesting and relevant:

Teaching Academic http://blog.ung.edu/ctll/page/2/

Just Higher Ed: https://blogs.jobs.ac.uk/just-higher-ed/category/blogroll/

Learning Spaces http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/learning-spaces/

5. Peter Knight (2002) recommends taking an organic approach to change, which allows for colleagues to psychologically adapt to change. He reminds us that teaching is a collegial activity and that, as an individual, I have limited power to change anything outside my own classroom. I will follow his  to “simpify and tinker” (Knight 2002, pg 195), in order to create manageable change. In order to maintain enthusiam, I will also follow his advice to look for help outside my activity system, so I can be part of  wider group of academics, trying to change and improve teaching.

6.                   Conclusion

Explain with examples of how the module overall assisted you in developing a more informed and critical understanding of learning and teaching in HE with examples.

In summary, the PGCAP course has developed my understanding of learning and teaching in HE in the following main areas:

• Understanding of teaching and learning theories in the areas of classroom technologies, assessment and feedback, quality and evaluation of teaching.
• The importance of reflective practice in teaching and the creation of a WordPress site to record my journey
• Introduction to HE journals and literature for lifelong learning in this area
• Confidence to try new things in the classroom

I have the following plans for further and ongoing professional development.

• Brilliant Club: I have applied for, been interviewed for and been accepted as a tutor on the the Brilliant Club , a charity which places PhD students as tutors to high-achieving children in low-participation communities. Using the theories of teaching and learning from the PGCAP, I will develop a short course for Year 11 and year 12 children, based on my PhD thesis.
• FDOL: I will enrol on the FDOL course, as the business schools increasingly require expertise in online and distance based teaching in
• NARTI – I have been an enthusiastic supporter of our membership of this university-based network, which offers training and development to doctoral students. I co-taught on our university’s contribution to the 2015 programme: a course on developing an online academic profile and have been invited to the NARTI annual dinner as a result.

Finally, going back to the TS Eliot poem, “Little Gidding”, I have come full circle in my learning journey. The poem, is a delicately balanced contradiction, much like the man. A man who claimed to be devoted to women, he filled his writing with terrifying female characters. The most revolutionary poet of his age, he was reviled by later generations as a fascist. A famously intellectual poet, he wrote limericks about cats in his spare time.

My students and I are also a mass of contradictions. At the conclusion of the PGCAP, I have realised that teaching is also a complex and evolving activity; knowledge is constructed and that my reactions, as evidenced in the reflective blog, are far from consistent. For me, learning to adapt my teaching to different situations will be crucial: in business schools students come from a wide variety of countries, faiths, ages and life experiences. The PGCAP has enabled me to become a lifelong learner. As I continue with the course, T.S. Eliot’s words will continue to inspire me:

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”

Bibiliography

Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (2000). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Pearson.

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Fourth.). Open University Press.

Eliot, T. S. (1962). T.S. Eliot: The complete poems and plays, 1909–1950. New York: Harcourt.

Gibbs, G. (1981). Twenty Terrible Reasons for Lecturing. SCED Occassional Paper, No.8. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-800959-8.00021-3

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Reflective Gibbs – Study Skills – Upgrade Study Advice Service – Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved from http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/upgrade/study-skills/reflective-gibbs.html

Knight, P. (2002). Being a Teacher in Higher Education Philadelphia, Open University Press

Moon, J. A. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. Theory and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Handbook-Reflective-Experiential-Learning-ebook/dp/B000OT8BMQ

Blogpost 3 of 5: Reflections on Being Observed by my Mentor

Description

My mentor observed me holding a 1:1 dissertation supervision for a postgraduate student. She is a “Susan” (Biggs & Tang, 2011), motivated and confident, however her critical reading and writing skills are poor. A US study showed that 45% of university students emonstrated no significant gains in critical thinking or writing between their first and third years (Arum & Roksa, 2011). Critical thinking and writing is therefore a widespread problem which I, as an HE teacher, will need to address. I had completed a pre-observation form for my mentor prior to the meeting (A1). Later that day, I observed my mentor teaching a class of around 12 postgraduate students in a seminar setting and was able to compare and contrast our teaching style.

Feeling

I was nervous before the meeting: my mentor is an experienced and highly-qualified HE teacher and manager. This was my first supervision of the new work-based project, and I was wary of misunderstanding the nature of the scheme and of misinforming my student. I Afterwards, I was encouraged by my mentor’s detailed and positive feedback. I therefore felt confident observing, in a late afternoon session, how my mentor maintained student focus and energy during a late-afternoon teaching session.

Evaluation

My mentor’s evaluation was positive in terms of my activity and areas of knowledge (A1-5, K1-5): she noted how I had good subject knowledge (K1) and displayed emotional intelligence via good eye contact, tone of voice and listening skills. I was particularly pleased, given my intended focus on critical thinking, on how my questions encouraged deep learning, by asking the student to critically evaluate the dissertation structure and select which elements related to her theoretical concept.

I showed my student the updated Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2000), which has been illustrated by the Goldilocks story below, and asked her to check her writing used higher-order thinking verbs e.g.: “demonstrate”, “judge”, “compare”.

McGuire and Hoffman (2010)

McGuire and Hoffman (2010)

I also used learning technologies in my session, by showing the student how to search on business databases on my desktop (K4).

Analysis

I was pleased that my mentor judged I had shown the “emotional intelligence”, that is deemed essential for teaching (Moon, 2004, pp. 55–57). I saw in my mentor’s classroom setup (chairs set out in a circle, inspirational quotes on the wall) how “hierarchy of needs” theory (Maslow, 1968) had been applied to teaching: the creation of a physically and emotionally supportive learning environment. Furthermore, my mentor’s physical energy, laughter and positive verbal feedback to students created a safe environment, where students were able to take risks in learning (Jarvis, 2006, p. 48). This has given me the confidence to experiment with new room layouts and introduce more challenging discussions to the classroom. I  should not be afraid of radical change, as Eliot said in the preface to a controversial poetry collection (Eliot, 1931) (A1, K2, V3):

Image from http://www.thethingswesay.com

Image from http://www.thethingswesay.com

When comparing my mentor’s relatively small classroom with my large classes, I feel daunted by how best to establish emotional security in block delivery and large teaching sessions (V1, V2). Here there is little time to develop relationships with individual students (Ward & Jenkins, 1992, pp. 29–30). I could this could be to introduce peer learning opportunities, perhaps using learning technologies, so that students form relationships with each other (McGuire & Hoffman, 2010). This may overcome some of the challenges in diverse learning communities. (A5, K3, K4, V1)

Conclusion

I will overcome the problem of establishing emotional security in large classes, by improving academic confidence prior to the large group session. This will require students, not only to learn before class, but also to undertake self-study sessions during class. Biggs and Tang (2011, pg 243-251) have a number of creative solutions for assessment and feedback for ILOs in large class sizes, that do not require setting an exam.

On reflection, I do not know how much my student had improved her critical thinking. A wider problem is that, globally, there is no system of evaluating how much students’ have increased their learning. The OECD is trying to establish AHELO: a global assessment of tertiary level learning outcomes (OECD, 2012). My challenge will be to stay ahead of AHELO and other testing regimes, by introducing an assessment system for measuring the improvement in critical thinking skills since the start of their courses. (A4, V4)

Action Plan

Needs Analysis	Action Plan	UK PSF
Establish emotional security in large classes	Develop peer learning activities inside and outside the classroom	A1, A2, A3, K4, K6, V1, V2
Instil critical thinking	Administer the beta version of AHELO	A1, A2, A3, A4, K2, K4, K5, V3

Bibilography

Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (2000). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (p. 352). Pearson.

Arum, R., & Roksa, J. (2011). Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses (p. 256). University of Chicago Press.

Duncan, E. (2015, March). Policy options: Having it all. The Economist, 19. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21646990-ideas-delivering-equity-well-excellence-having-it-all

Eliot, T. S. (1931). Preface to “Transit of Venus” (Poems by Harry Crosby) (p. 4)

Howells, K., & Piggot, S. (1992). Guided Reading in Biology: A Modified Keller System. In G. Gibbs & R. Jenkins (Eds.), Teaching Large Classes in Higher Education (p. 167). London: Kogan Page.

Jarvis, P. (2006). Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Human Learning (p. 218). Psychology Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pqXM-s2cd_YC&pgis=1

Maslow, A. H. (1968). Towards a Psychology of Being. The British Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow

McGuire, S., & Hoffman, R. (2010). Learning and Teaching Strategies. American Scientist, 98(5), 378. doi:10.1511/2010.86.378

Moon, J. A. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. Theory and Practice (p. 252). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Handbook-Reflective-Experiential-Learning-ebook/dp/B000OT8BMQ

OECD. (2012). Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes Brochure. Retrieved April 14, 2015, from http://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-beyond-school/AHELO Brochure.pdf

Ward, A., & Jenkins, A. (1992). The problems of teaching and learning in large classes. In G. Gibbs & A. Jenkins (Eds.), Teaching Large Classes in Higher Education (p. 167). London: Kogan Page.

Blogpost 4 of 5 – Reflections on Observing a Peer Teaching

Description

I was fortunate enough to observe an hour-long workshop, led by a colleague from my learning set, with around 10 second year acting students (A5). My colleague explained the marking criteria for an upcoming assessment and conducted a mock-assessment with two of her students. The session was highly interactive, with a great energy and focus in the room. At one point, a technical hitch meant that students could not record their assessment. My colleague tried to fix the problem and then, when that was not possible, decided to do without recording, but encouraged her students to record themselves when practicing later.

Feeling

Unlike the previous week, where I quickly forgot I was being observed, I continued to feel awkward and out of place. This is even though my colleague kindly introduced me to her students. Eventually, I became absorbed in the performances of students. I enjoyed the opportunity to give my colleague positive feedback based on the learning and teaching theories we have covered during the PGCAP course. (A3, K5). I was also fascinated by her methods for evaluating the effectiveness of her teaching and was able to apply them to my my own methods (A5, K5)

Evaluation

I was pleased to feedback that my colleague displayed many of the features of a good teacher (Ramsden, 2003, p. 87): communicating her enthusiasm for the subject to her students; clarifying her expectations of what is required and the ability to improvise when the equipment failed. She also displayed a quality not mentioned by Paul Ramsden, Jenny Moon or John Bigg and Catherine Tang: the ability to learn from students. One student had returned from a casting interview and was talking about his experience: my colleague carefully listened and then endorsed his observations on the interview process. As I noticed with my mentor the previous week, my colleague also created a high-energy, but supportive atmosphere. This gave the students the reassurance to take risks, which is important for learning (Moon, 2004, p. 54). I have felt this type of atmosphere in the PGCAP and other classrooms, and believe is essential in creating “flow” for the student (K3) the state of being described by Csikszentmihaly (Csikszentmihaly, 2008) when you are fully and pleasurably absorbed in a task. The link below is to a TED talk by the author, on the importance of “flow” in creativity:

http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow?language=en

My colleague explained that her students have high extrinsic, social and achievement motivation (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 35) i.e. they seek a career in acting. I also noticed that she created a fun, yet realistic assessment scenario, using film technology, which increased their intrinsic motivation: enjoyment of the process of learning. What became apparent from observation, is that it was impossible to tell if the students were actually learning. Learning involves applying and modifying one’s own ideas. It is something that the student does, not that is done to the student (Ramsden, 2003, p. 111). I will apply my colleague’s ideas to my own assessments, by using film to assess student presentations for work experience placements. This technology will allow me, and the students, to gauge how effectively they have absorbed and applied their knowledge of presentation and interview techniques.

Analysis

My colleague provided immediate and constructive feedback on her student’s work, which, by using film, encouraged, rather than depressed them. This was a good example of how formative assessment can support student learning (Gibbs, 2004). My challenge will be to increase the quantity and quality of formative feedback, given increasing class sizes and diverse students, particularly in business schools (Buckley & Doyle, 2014) . A difference between the practice-based undergraduate acting students and my postgraduate dissertation students, is that theory and therefore, critical reading and writing, is an essential part of what students should learn. Using the SOLO (Biggs & Tang, 2011, pp. 87–91) or the revised Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2000), I will include intended learning outcomes (ILO) for my modules, that makes it explicit what students should learn and apply during their course on work experience placements (A1, A4, K5, V3). Assessment via a mock-interview, on film, will be a formative and encouraging experience.

                                                                                         

The session reminded me that the standard lecture is not my preferred style of teaching for my subject area and at postgraduate level (K1). Perhaps the pervasiveness of lecturing is due to our fear as a profession of losing our status “In lectures it is clear who the authority is. If we are not authorities, we are nothing.” (Gibbs, 1981). The former lecturer and author, Marina Warner, warned this week (Warner, 2015), that increasing student numbers could force universities to substitute high quality tutorials feedback, for low-quality lectures. If I cannot avoid lecturing, I will develop interactive lectures, which are better for encouraging deep and qualitative learning (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 156) (A1, A4, K2, K3, V3) . Despite my job title being “Lecturer”, I agree with Gibbs and tend to think of “lecturing” as being Charlie Brown’s un-named teacher, who produces a soporic effect on her students:

Conclusion  

Reflecting on all three of the teaching observations, I have started to understand what is distinctive about my teaching style: I excel in small group tutorials, but find it harder to meet the diverse learning styles in large groups. This is due to my educational background, which was mostly small group tutorials, which required me to intensively prepare in advance. I will therefore design large group teaching that breaks sessions into small chunks, requires active participation and provides formative assessment wherever possible (A1, A2, K2, K5, V1, V3).

When asked to draw my teaching style in the PGCAP class this week, I drew a bridge:

Image by JoaRosa, via http://www.deviantart.com/art/Bridge-410437989

If university is the interface between what is known about the world, and the world itself, then my role is to be a bridge: to offer students the opportunity to move from the world of theory, to the world of the practical, and back again (A2, K2, V4). Although, as my learning set colleague reminded me, this may mean getting walked over on a daily basis…

Action Plan

Needs Analysis	Action Plan	UK PSF
Develop interactive an lecture plan	Observe colleagues who have an interactive lecture style Develop a lecture plan which incorporates interactive and group work	A2, A4, A5, K3,K6, V1, V2

Bibliography

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Fourth., p. 389). Open University Press.

Buckley, P., & Doyle, E. (2014). Innovative Business School Teaching: Engaging the Millennial Generation. Routledge Ltd.

Csikszentmihaly, M. (2008). The Flow of Thought. In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (pp. 117–142).

Gibbs, G. (1981). Twenty Terrible Reasons for Lecturing. SCED Occassional Paper, No.8. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-800959-8.00021-3

Gibbs, G. (2004). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, (1).

Moon, J. A. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. Theory and Practice (p. 252). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Handbook-Reflective-Experiential-Learning-ebook/dp/B000OT8BMQ

Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to Teach in Higher Education (2nd ed., p. 265). Routledge.

Warner, M. (2015). Learning My Lesson: on the disfiguring of higher education. London Review of Books, 37(6), 8–14.

 

 

Blogpost 2 of 5: Reflections on Being Observed by my PGCAP Tutor

Description

My tutor observed a 45 minute dissertation supervision with a postgraduate student. The student has been missing supervisions, her writing is descriptive, rather than critical and she written only 1500 words of her 15,000 word dissertation. She is not on track to complete successfully. My aim for the student was for the student to understand what was required for her complete her dissertation successfully. My objectives were to assess the feasibility of her project plan, provide constructive feedback on her critical writing skills and check that she understood what was required to get her back on track.

Feeling

I felt nervous before the session, although I eventually forgot that my tutor was present and was able to re-focus on the student. I reflected later teaching means that I am inevitably observed: if only by the student. In fact, up to 80 students will be observing me simultaneously in class, even while I’m focussing on a single person. The image below reminds me that while I’m focussing on a single person, others are watching from the sidelines:

http://v3nr3veng3.deviantart.com/

After the session, I felt sad for the student, whose family did not appear to support her studies, and felt powerless to improve her prospects. I realised that the complexity of the student’s social situation was outside my control and that much about her own personality was unknown to me. Recognising the constraints to a student’s learning is fundamental to improving your teaching practice (Jarvis, 2006, p. 198).

Evaluation

The tutor was broadly supportive of my performance, and praised my use of open questions to encourage feedback from a quiet student. In my previous blogpost, I included an action to encourage reflective thinking in students, in order to develop higher order thinking. I therefore asked probing questions, which projected into the future e.g. “What is stopping you from completing your weekly word-count”? Encouraging this type of reflection for my students will help them to develop good learning habits (Moon, 2004, p. 86) and will encourage “double-loop learning” (Argyris, 2002)…

When the student paused before answering, I often answered my own question. The tutor suggested that I should wait for the student to answer in her own time: tutors who use “wait time” to allow a listener’s brain to reflect and question enable better learning (Moon, 2004, p. 162). My impatience may be well be due to my educational experiences: I am a “Susan” (Biggs & Tang, 2011) and must learn to be patient with students who are less motivated than me.

Analysis

Having also reflected on my teaching in Blogpost 6/6, I’ve realised that I tend to fill a teaching session with too much content. Reflection slows the pace of learning. “Intellectual space” is necessary for students to engage in deep learning. I like the image below as it shows two friends on a (learning?) journey, stopping to chat and enjoy the sunshine.

Take a Break by Lidija-Lolic

Family is an important factor for BME students, particularly those living at home. A recent study by the HEA into BME students in UK Higher Education (Stevenson, 2012) showed that under-performing students considered one of the major factors to be “family, including parental lack of experience and understanding of higher education, class, poverty and prior schooling”. This got me wondering, what resources are available at the University of Salford to our BME students who have family problems?

At postgraduate level, I had hoped that this student would be capable of lifelong learning, which is defined pragmatically as the ability to apply theories in their chosen workplace, based on their field of study (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 174). However, the student said that she could not apply any of the theories learned, unless she started her own business. What I failed to ask was why she could not start her own business (perhaps her lack of confidence?) or why, in that case, she had embarked on a Master’s degree. Her behaviour seemed to lack both intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, but instead appeared to be “amotivated” (Ryan & Deci, 2000): not valuing the learning, not feeling competent to do it and not believing it will produce a desired outcome.  How can I give students the confidence to engage in debate? Perhaps by building trust: part of the emotional relationship between the student (the tiny bird) and the teacher (the stable hand):

Confidence by Patguli

Conclusion

As a humanistic teacher, it will be crucial for me to address personal growth (Rogers & Freiberg, 1994), specifically by improving academic assertiveness in students from non-academic backgrounds. I therefore plan to assess whether students’ display assertive behaviours in the HEA’s Academic Assertiveness worksheet in an upcoming class. My educational journey has shown me that students who see the relevance of the subject matter to their lives are more likely to take ownership of their learning (Biggs & Tang, 2011). For me, this means asking students to relate business concepts to their career plans. Reflecting on my tutor’s feedback, I’ve realised that the relationship between teaching and learning is problematic and will require working co-operatively with students to make their learning possible (Ramsden, 2003).

Action Plan

Needs Analysis	Action Plan	UK PSF
Understand what plans are in place in my institution to monitor the retention, progression and completion of all groups, including BME groups?	Speak to the Head of Learning at SBS to obtain this data.	A2, A4, A5, K3,K6, V1, V2
Develop a tailored programme for learners to assimilate complex concepts and develop self-confidence.	Build in less content and more spaces for structured reflection during seminars and one-to-one sessions. Use the Academic Assertiveness framework to develop learners’ confidence.	A1, A2, A3, A4, K2, K4, K5, V3

Bibilography

Argyris, C. (2002). Double-Loop Learning, Teaching, and Research. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 1, 206–218.

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Fourth., p. 389). Open University Press.

Jarvis, P. (2006). Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Human Learning (p. 218). Psychology Press.

Moon, J. A. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. Theory and Practice (p. 252).

Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to Teach in Higher Education (2nd ed., p. 265). Routledge.

Rogers, C., & Freiberg, J. H. (1994). Freedom to Learn (3rd ed., p. 431). Prentice-Hall.

Ryan, R., & Deci, E. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54–67. doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1020

Stevenson, J. (2012). Black and minority ethnic student degree retention and attainment (p. 28). Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/bme_summit_final_report.pdf

 

Blogpost 5 of 5: Reflections on Learning through Play and Intervention

Description

This week’s exercise was to develop a fun (and cheap!) teaching aid to describe a “threshold concept” (Meyer & Land, 2003): a threshold concept is defined as a concept which, once understood, is irreversible and which permanently transforms the learner’s view of the subject matter and even their worldview (Mezirow, 2000). Furthermore, a threshold concept leads to the acquisition of “troublesome knowledge”: counter-intuitive knowledge which is alien to the learner, and without which they cannot progress to a deeper level of understanding.

The picture below illustrates the closing moment of my favourite films, “The Truman Show”. Truman Burbank finally understands that he has lived his entire life in a fake world, and chooses to say farewell to his audience. He walks up a flight of stairs and steps through the door into the real world. Truman’s “threshold concept” is that he was born into a virtual reality TV show. He cannot go back to his life on a TV set. He has taken a huge risk by leaving the only world he has ever known. His learning experience has changed him forever.

I believe that threshold concepts are “jewels in the curriculum” (Cousin, 2006) and are key transformative points in the student’s mastery of a particular subject (K1, K2). It is worth noting that there are relatively few critiques of the theory of “threshold concept”, consisting of O’Donnell in 2010 and Rowbottom in 2007. Both authors make the powerful point that “troublesome” and “transformative” knowledge are an agent-relative property. I am already challenged in creating an effective learning environment for the increasingly wide range of abilities and experiences of students in today’s business school (A4, K6, V4). Therefore, defining the “threshold concept” for all students is not straightforward. One student may easily grasp a concept, which another does not; one student may have their worldview changed, and another just yawns.

Given these caveats, I generally like the idea of the “threshold concept”. The threshold concept in my research is “habitus”, a concept developed by Pierre Bourdieu to describe the lifestyle, physical and linguistic characteristics of a social group, that are influenced by the external environment. The image below shows how Bourdieu saw “habitus” as way of being that can control us, almost as a puppet is controlled by strings.

“Habitus” is a key concept for family business studies, as the lived values of a family affect the way their business is run. The ability for a family to change their habitus will affect their business growth: for example, in learning a new language so they can expand internationally. The aid I chose was a free pair of chopsticks from “Eat” café, to illustrate how I changed my “habitus” of eating with a fork and knife, to eating with chopsticks when I moved to Japan (A1, K2)

Feelings

The task: to find a teaching aid for less than £3 in the Arndale Centre put me well outside my comfort zone and was perhaps based on the theory that “harmony is a non-learning situation” (Jarvis, 2006). I felt frustrated for the first part of the session. On reflecting why afterwards, I realised it was because I was soaking wet from a rainy day and had not understood the importance of the “threshold concept”. The highlight of the session an enthusiastic biologist, who used a toy dinosaur and jelly snakes to teach natural selection.

Prior to the teaching session, I felt confident that I had a deep understanding of the “threshold concept” (K1) and prepared, from reading the literature, for students to struggle while in the “liminal” stage (V3). I used the session plan template to design a session for a small group of postgraduate students, with a learning outcome to: explain, apply and critique the concept of habitus (A1, A2, A3, K1, K2) . I designed a short questionnaire to assess student understanding of the threshold concept (A3, A4) and spent the final part of the session giving individual feedback as my students vary in English language ability and confidence (V2).

Evaluation

The questionnaire and individual feedback was useful, as I was able to assess how well students grasped the concept of “habitus” and how they could apply the concept to business. Students had not taken the “deep” approach that I had hoped for, as they were less clear on how habitus could help them to grow their own businesses. Students also found it hard to critique the threshold concept, focussing instead on critiquing Bourdieu’s wordy and confusing definitions of the concept.

Creative teaching aids can be useful in demonstrating that we all have interests outside the classroom (Rinkevich, 2011). In this case, the chopsticks teaching aid encouraged students to share their experiences of travelling abroad for work, and reflected on how travels changed their “habitus”.

Analysis

As always in the PGCAP, collaborating and sharing ideas with colleagues outside my discipline inspired me to think creatively (A5). We also discussed the importance of good teaching in the Student Satisfaction Survey: 18 out of 23 questions relate directly to the student’s experience of teaching and learning. http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/lt/publicinfo/nss/ .

During the chopstick teaching session, students displayed active and social learning, Even quiet students, for whom English was not their first language, were able to discuss the relative merits of the chopsticks as an illustration of habitus, and came up with their own suggestions (A1, A2, A4, K2, K3, V2). This means that I had successfully created a “constructivist” classroom where students debate, develop hypotheses and take viewpoints (Perkins, 1999). I realised that my assistance is required while students are working in the foggy zone which Vygotsky called “proximal development” (Berk & Winsler, 1994). Creative teaching can be a form of disruption (Gibson, 2010), and in this case, students became restless at being asked to constantly apply theory to their own life experiences.

Reflecting on my timings for the session, I may not have given students enough time to engage with the concept. Emphasising covering a wide content and giving insufficient time to engage with complex concepts is one of the teaching factors which encourages. the “surface approach” to learning (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 26).

The in-session survey and individual technique would not work for large groups, and will have to be modified – perhaps using an on-line poll and giving feedback in larger groups?

Conclusion

Habitus is indeed a threshold concept! Perhaps Rowbottom’s and O’Donnell’s critique of its relativism is valid in larger groups, but in my small group, all the students struggled to understand the concept and to connect the theory to their practice of business. Following suggestions from students (K5, V2), in future I will include another “threshold concept”: that management is a practice informed by theory (Wright & Gilmore, 2011), and that, in order to make best use of their postgraduate study, they should reflect on how the theory of “habitus” can help their business thrive or fail.

Action Plan

Needs Analysis	Action Plan	UK PSF
Understand the “threshold concepts” in business studies and incorporate them into my teaching.	Order the “Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines” book via the Library.Consult with colleagues to confirm the “threshold concepts” for business education.	A1, A2, A5, K1, K5, K6, V3, V4
Understand where creative teaching aids can improve my teaching.	Incorporate visual teaching aids and seek feedback as to their effectiveness: carrot for motivation & reward; lemons for making the best of a bad situation (e.g. business failure) etc.	A1, A2, A3, A4, K2, K4, K5, V3

Bibliography

Berk, L. E., & Winsler, A. (1994). Scaffolding Children’s Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education. NAEYC Research into Practice Series. Volume 7. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed384443

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Fourth., p. 389). Open University Press.

Cousin, G. (2006). An introduction to threshold concepts. Planet, (17), 4–5. doi:10.11120/plan.2006.00170004

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Reflective Gibbs – Study Skills – Upgrade Study Advice Service – Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved from http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/upgrade/study-skills/reflective-gibbs.html

Gibson, R. (2010). The Art of CreativeTeaching. Teaching in Higher Education, 15(5), 607–613. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13562517.2010.493349#abstract

Jarvis, P. (2006). Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Human Learning (p. 218). Psychology Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pqXM-s2cd_YC&pgis=1

Meyer, J. H. F., & Land, R. (2003). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: Linkages to ways of thinking and practising within the disciplines. In Improving Student Learning – Ten Years On. (Vol. 4, pp. 1–16). doi:10.1007/978-3-8348-9837-1

Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to Think Like an Adult: Core Concepts of Transformation Theory. In Learning as Transformation. Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. (pp. 3–33).

Perkins, D. (1999). The many faces of constructivism. Educational Leadership, 57, 6–11.

Rinkevich, J. L. (2011). Creative Teaching: Why it Matters and Where to Begin. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00098655.2011.575416?src=recsys#.VO7RHi4en2c

Wright, A. L., & Gilmore, A. (2011). Threshold Concepts and Conceptions: Student Learning in Introductory Management Courses. Journal of Management Education, 36(5), 614–635. doi:10.1177/1052562911429446

Blogpost 1 of 5: Educational Autobiography

Critical reflections on how my learning has influenced my teaching

This blogpost is the first to be submitted in part fulfilment of the Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) at the University of Salford in the UK. The posts should demonstrate my ability to meet the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching in Higher Education. This blogpost is an educational autobiography and will outline my understanding of my own approach to learning, my learning journey and how this has impacted on my teaching and support of learners. The post will conclude with a needs analysis and action plan which demonstrate continuous improvement of my teaching abilities.

Gibbs’ reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988) below is a powerful and practical model, which has also been used in the field of entrepreneurial learning, and will be used to structure this post.

Gibbs’ reflective learning cycle

I note the synergy between reflective learning theory and entrepreneurial learning theory, which explores how business entrepreneurs learn from mistakes in order to build a stronger business. Entrepreneurial learning theory dispels the myth that entrepreneurs are merely “doers,” “whose time is best spent in doing, not in dreaming or retrospective sense-making” (Bird, 1988). Reflecting on my educational autobiography below, I have an “entrepreneurial” approach to learning and teaching, which is inquisitive, pragmatic and focussed on the outcomes for my “customers” i.e. students.

1. Description

I have always derived a deep pleasure from academic study. I felt that most of my teachers have understood their subject, paid me individual attention and valued my input. I achieved high grades at school in the 1980s, and completed a BA in English and Russian and an MSc in Computation in the 1990s. I felt pride in my academic achievements, which had the desired outcome of allowing me to enter a graduate programme. My experience is of small class sizes, middle-class peers who have a high level of self-confidence and who are from supportive families. I am grateful to my HE teachers, who gave me transferable skills, including good reading, writing and problem-solving skills and specific IT and business knowledge. I have since spent 20 years working in the private, public and voluntary sectors, managing teams and IT projects in the UK and abroad. I enjoyed the camaraderie and stimulation of studying for a part-time MBA from 2008 to 2012. I took the career decision to become an academic in 2013 and am now in my second year of a PhD at Salford Business School. Having started teaching in 2013 without formal training, I have undoubtedly made mistakes and will reflect on them in subsequent posts. Learning from failure is an important part of entrepreneurial learning (Cope, 2011), and I hope to improve my teaching through reflective practice.

The frustration, inspiration and pleasure of “Academic Life” by Ennoki (2015)

 

1. Feelings

My academic journey has generally been a happy one. However, I felt that, at UMIST, my lecturers preferred working with men, and disliked teaching in general, which made me lonely and nervous. I have been inspired by the teaching of my colleagues at Salford Business School, particularly in their use of the flipped classroom and new technologies. My PGCAP mentor reminded me of the importance of compassion for the student: I felt this is a powerful and inspiring motto for teaching.

My parents took the brave decision to come to the UK in the 1970s, in flight from a civil war in Sri Lanka.

My parents visiting Trafalgar Square

Growing up in the UK, I was encouraged to value emotional intelligence and academic learning. Undergraduate students at Salford, who are often the first in their family to go to university, may not have the self-confidence, financial and emotional support from their wider circle. Having worked at a disability charity for many years, I am humbled by those who have overcome challenges to achieve great things. How can I support all students to achieve their potential? I hope this what the PGCAP will teach me.

1. Evaluation

Having described my educational journey, I realise that I am a focussed and conscientious student, an “academic” Susan (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 13). My approach is typical of many academics in universities, but is increasingly unlike our students. UK higher education participation rates have increased significantly: from 3.4% in 1950, to 8.4% in 1970, 19.3% in 1990, 33% in 2000 and 49% in 2011 (Bolton, 2012).

Additionally, international student numbers have risen in UK business schools (Fry, Ketteridge, & Marshall, 2014), particularly at post-graduate level, which is the level at which I am teaching. While my educational journey involves immigration to the UK at an early age, I am not familiar with the challenges of more recent immigrants and will need to learn how to support students who are feeling isolated from their home and families.

I find that the concept of “academic assertiveness” (Moon, 2007) is empowering, as I can assess in classroom and through written work whether students are displaying the set of emotional and psychological behaviours required to demonstrate critical thinking. I am frustrated that some students in business can be unwilling to challenge the literature and develop their own “voice”. Moon’s definition of “academic assertiveness” is also similar to the concept of “entrepreneurial know-how”: the confidence required from an entrepreneur to explore and exploit new opportunities (Politis, 2005).

The wider context of business schools is that they are accused of failing to keep up with the needs of business (Schumpeter, 2014) and of using inexperienced tutors who have no personal experience of business (Broughton, 2009). I must therefore ensure my teaching and experience remains engaged with and relevant to business.

Unlike my own educational experiences, in which teachers engaged with me at an academic, not a personal level, I would like to be able to reach an emotional core in students; Lisa Lee, in an inspiring talk at TedX, explains how human relationships are at the heart of teaching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJM6WUNDnhA&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Conclusion

Despite my privileged educational background, I must develop humility and develop higher order study skills in the SOLO taxonomy (Biggs & Tang, 2011) in all my students, no matter their background.

I will need to ensure that students are equipped with an understanding of reflective thinking. While I am unsure as to how I will teach this, I am convinced from my PGCAP reading so far, that this is crucial to the essential work of a university: teaching students how to move between theoretical work, such as the dissertation, and experiential learning, such as work experience. I take inspiration from W.E.B. Dubois, writing in 1903 at a time of profound change for African-Americans in American universities: “The function of a university is not just to teach breadwinning or to furnish teachers for the public schools, or to be a centre of polite society; it is above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilisation.” (Dubois, 1903, p. 52)

Finally, my educational journey has made me aware of wider societal and technological changes, as I have studied throughout the last 4 decades. Universities in the UK are undergoing profound changes, even an identity crisis (Collini, 2012). As a life-long learner, I have personally and professionally benefited from formal education. I therefore believe that my duty is to teach students how business, society and the individual are connected in an ever-changing world.

My own educational journey as an entrepreneurial learner continues with the PGCAP.

1. Analysis and Action Plan

Needs Analysis	Action Plan	UK PSF
Ensure my teaching remains relevant to the needs of business.	Develop a plan for regularly involving business in lesson planning and delivery. Continue to conduct relevant research into business needs Consider offering consultancy and advice to business	A1, A2, V3, K5, K6
Improve the abilities of all students, including those who are not academically confident, those who have disabilities and international students.	Identify students who require additional assistance. Improve lesson planning and pre-lesson preparation and specialist support for these students Assess my teaching programme for developing academic assertiveness, problem-solving and critical thinking Obtain regular feedback from students to ensure they all feel supported and respected	A2, V1, V2, V4, K3
Ensure my teaching improves the employability of students.	Embed employability skills in my teaching programme. Ensure teaching activities help employability outcomes for students.	A1, A2, A5, K1, K2, V4
Assess new teaching and learning technologies and delivery mechanisms (i.e. the flipped classroom)	Target learning from materials and people within and outside the PGCAP for learning new technologies	A4, A5, K2, K4, V3
Ensure my knowledge of my subject matter is up to date, beyond the duration of my PhD	Develop a plan for systematically updating knowledge of teaching areas	A1, A2, A4, A5, K2, K4,

References

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Fourth., p. 389). Open University Press.

Bird, B. (1988). Implementing Entrepreneurial Ideas: The Case for Intention. Academy of Management Review.

Bolton, P. (2012). Education: Historical statistics. House of Commons Library Standard Note (Social and General Statistics), SN/SG/4252(November), 20. Retrieved from http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN00620.pdf

Broughton, P. D. (2009). What they teach you at Harvard Business School – My Two Years inside the Cauldron of Capitalism. Penguin.

Ennoki (2015) Academic Life, http://www.deviantart.com/art/Academic-Life-Animooted-138531736

Collini, S. (2012). What are Universities For? (p. 240). Penguin Books Limited. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_k3pZxmPSVUC&pgis=1

Cope, J. (2011). Entrepreneurial learning from failure: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Business Venturing, 26, 604–623. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2010.06.002

Dubois, W. E. B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folk (1994th ed., p. 164). Dover Publications.

Fry, H., Ketteridge, S., & Marshall, S. (2014). UK higher education: an international context. In A handbook for teaching and learning in higher education: enhancing academic practice (Fourth., pp. 26–43). Routledge.

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Reflective Gibbs – Study Skills – Upgrade Study Advice Service – Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved from http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/upgrade/study-skills/reflective-gibbs.html

Moon, J. (2007). Academic Assertiveness. In Critical thinking (pp. 77–91). Routledge Ltd. Retrieved from https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9780203944882

Politis, D. (2005). The Process of Entrepreneurial Learning: A Conceptual Framework. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29, 399–424. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00091.x

Schumpeter. (2014). Those who can’t, teach. The Economist.