Review of 2019

This has been the year of the book. The book, titled 'Identity, pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning: Supporting the processes of becoming a tradesperson' will be published by Springer early next year. Almost all of my time, not taken up with educational development duties, have been devoted to writing the book. In a way, the work has reminded me of the two to three years of concentrated effort put into completing my PhD thesis. I hindsight, a productive period of intense scholarship. Much of the writing for the book has come from the studies completed over the last decade. My main task has been to refresh the work and to collate the various studies into themes which come together into a smooth narrative. It has also been a good opportunity to re-engage with newer literature. The experience of being steeped back into scholarship has been enjoyable J

Apart from the book, the final report for the eassessmentsfor learning report now completed. Several conference presentations and papers have been completed in disseminating the findings and guidelines. The 4 months of sabbatical has also provided time to do some in-depth reading, the completion of a book chapter on ‘tacit knowledge’ and to draft several articles coming out of the e-assessment project.

The writing has been interspersed with short 3 – 5 day rest and recreation opportunities. Time out in the outdoors, biking, tramping or travelling has provided for much needed thinking time. In particular, to workout a strategy for moving on ‘post-book’ and to make some decisions about the future. Included in the decision making process will be how long I will engage with work before retiring. There are many personal reasons for retiring, not least of which has been the arrival of a grandchild. However, it has taken several decades to amass sufficient competency as a scholar and researcher. The sabbatical has provided some weeks when work and study have been put on hold, to think about life beyond work.

So, this year has provided an opportunity to take stock and to reflect on and refresh the work undertaken over the last decade. The outcomes of the NZ review of vocational education (ROVE) will colour any future prospects of VET research and funding. These will influence my short term decisions regarding research direction and work. The two weeks of leave over the Christmas and New Year will provide for another opportunity to reflect on and plan for the year ahead.