Holding on to institutional learning in response to swift change

We are now into our third week of Level 4 'lockdown' in New Zealand, with another week to go. Indications are promising, with a decline in number of covid-19 cases in the last several days. A decision will be made Monday next week (20/4) on what will happen next. Whether the country will continue at L4 or move progressively to L3. Even at L3, most schools and VET institutes and universities will likely remain closed for the short term.

Therefore, we continue with distance/remote delivery for the short term, with plans to move back into normal delivery soon. Planning for the next month or so, will therefore be difficult, given the uncertainties. At the moment, after 3 weeks of intense activity providing professional development and support to our lecturers to move to distance delivery, we move into the next stage of ensuring distance delivery challenges are provided with sufficient advise and information to solve these. Coupled with this work, is the next step of ensuring learning and teaching for the rest of the semester is also well resourced and supported. One key task will be to help lecturers re-configure summative assessments to allow for distance learning. We have begun looking into on-line invigilation/proctoring platforms. These tools come at some costs and summative assessments online have not been encouraged. However, there will be a few programmes requiring traditional exams, due to registration board requirements and we will need to find, evaluate, test and implement a process very quickly, if exams have to be run online.

The Easter 'break' has also provided some time to reflect on the swift changes. I have been ambivalent about the range of on-line tools we have been supporting our lecturers to use. In the main, these tools (LMS, video conferecing, video lecture capture), provide a way for our lecturers to replicate f2f teaching on-line. The 'push' content out to learners model, is still the majority approach instead of a 'pull' and co-constructed model of learning which is possible. Digital literacy challenges and some equity issues with learners access to hardware and infrastructure (wifi) mean some programmes have been able to move into a holding pattern of sorts. However, in the main, we still see the teacher directed model as predominant. Therefore, in a way, as with the earthquakes, the opportunity to sift practice has been lost, due to constraints of time and capability.   However, there will be pockets of innovation, these we need to record, evaluate, celebrate and disseminate.

Derek Wenmouth provides some ideas for moving forward. There is need to think through what is to be emphased, going forward. Is education to meet compliance/'quality'/learner outcomes? or should we transition to something better? In the VET sector, the combination of the sudden move to another mode of delivery, unfamiliar to many institutes, and the formation of the NZ Institute of Skills and Technology, provide a once in a generation opportunity to shift practice. We learnt much from coping with the earthquakes, almost a decade ago. However, may initiatives moved back to the status quo once the market driven model of education took precedence. After all, Canterbury providers had to compete with all the other institutes and 'doing thing differently' was often 'less cost efficient'

Hopefully, this time around, some of the learnings from having to move to another form of delivery, will provide the nucleus for really actioning the mantra of 'the learner at the heart of learning'. As meeting the covid-19 challenge has shown, we have the technology and much of the capability with some innovation being shown. These need to be tapped into, going into the future, to ensure VET is 'seamless' as far as the learner is concerned and that 'delivery' is driven by the learner, not by the educational provider, as has been the case thus far.

Are you zoomed out?

I think I can speak for many when I say 'I am zoomed out!'. Last week, our team ran 4 workshops for our lecturers as they prepare to embark on distance learning. We had daily zoom team meetings to coordinate the workshops, debrief and additional meetings with our learning technologies to work out the technology. Average number of video conferencing meetings - 4 per day! All of this activity, left little time to do actual work.

This week, we are only offering one workshop this morning, to tie things together and bring the series of 'distance learning teaching' workshops to a close. However, we will be supporting the learning technologies team with their workshops covering our core learning platforms, Moodle, Panopto (for video sharing) and zoom (for video conferencing). They are offering 5 workshops this week, Taking that is a short week as Friday is a public holiday, it will be another busy week on-line in virtual meetings.

Therefore, it was good to read through this blog by Daniel Stanford on iddblog on alternatives to video conferencing. Our lecturers have become attached to zoom as it provides an easy entry into distance teaching. However, the 'stage on the sage' delivery approach is prevalent when all you do when you move to teaching on-line, is replicate the lecture. Therefore, the blog provides a platform for thinking through, more critically, the other ways possible to connect with and engage our learners.

A week of working from home and 2 days into NZ 'close down'

It's been a hectic week. After a series of meetings on Monday, my division headed home due to NZ being put on L2 which required as many people as able, to work from home. Levels 1 - 4 are NZ responses to the spread of covid-19 into NZ.

Then, just after lunch on Monday, NZ prime minister raised the level to 3 - requiring as many people as possible to work from home and a shutdown of all non-essential commercial activity (Level 4) as from midnight Wednesday.

So today, is day 2 of the 'shut down' which sees all schools, community facilities, non-essential commerce closed. The entire population is not to venture from their homes except to shop for groceries or pick up meds at the pharmacy. Going for a walk is OK but has to be within your neighbourhood. Driving to the Port Hills for a walk is not allowed :( Today, it is wet, so staying at home, warm and dry, and getting lots of work done is not a hardship. It is the sunny, blue sky days which are difficult, when the hills or beach beckon.

The shutdown is to last 4 weeks. With Ara closed, my work team will be working with our teachers to get their courses running as distance learning courses - by just after Easter. Hence, we have been busy setting up resource sites and there will be a series of workshops on 'how to teach from a distance', next week.

I checked linkedIn just after lunch and see some of our heads of department have posted. Nigel Young, head of department of business and computing, who is relatively new to Ara but with a strong background in developing elearning posted good hints.  Michael Edmonds, head of department for engineering and architecture, reminded us about how we in Christchurch are well practiced in dealing with the unexpected due to shared experiences from the earthquakes and mosque shootings.

Also from linkedIn is Mark Nichols advise on shifting modes of learning.  Mark was elearning leader for the Open Polytechnic in NZ for a time and well-recognised for his expertise in 'distance delivery'. He has practical advise for 'administrators' and 'educators'.

Derek Wenmouth posted on 'connectedness' and some tips on ensuring that 'remote' discussions can be undertaken by being prepared and a summary of the protocols for non-f2f interaction.

So, time away from the physical busyness of the workplace, has allowed many to also do some reflection and consolidation. It will be interesting to see how things are, at the end of next week :)

Working from home

We live in challenging times. Although the number of covid-19 cases in NZ is still low and almost all originating from returning Kiwis or tourists, the government has raised alert level to 2 on Saturday, out of a 4 level scale.

Following have been persistent calls to raise the level to 4 , basically to snuff out any possibility of virus spread NOW rather than wait until there is clear evidence of community dispersal.

Given the dire experiences in China, Europe and now Australia (with a lockdown imminent in NSW and Victoria), it is perhaps best to pay attention to the calls for lockdown now rather than later :(

As part of level 2 alert, all employees who are able to are called to work from home. So today, after a series of planning meetings, all of my division will be working from home. We have had several 'tryout' days in the past two weeks. Zoom, our video conferencing platform and microsoft Teams have been mainstays for work productivity along with email and the Teams 'chat function'. As an institution, we are better placed than nine years ago, when the Christchurch earthquake struck and we lost all access to our internal networks and physical entry to our main campus for a whole semester.

However, many of our programmes, due to their vocational nature, will be hard pushed to go fully on-line. The practice-based / hands-on emphasis for our courses makes going fully into on-line and distance delivery, a major challenge. The focus for these courses is to develop small and well-structured 'projects' or inquiries for students to apply what they have learnt so far, to complete. We will evaluate how this approach has worked after things calm down.

For the moments, it will take some adjustment for all our team and the wider Ara community to adjust to working from home, whilst still being able to support each other as we move through the challenge.

Identity, pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning: supporting the processes of becoming a tradesperson -- previews access

Apart from the short previews of each chapter on my book's publisher's website, other means of access include:

• Amazon - hardcopy of book - has preview of parts of the Foreword written by Professor Stephen Billett and the preface which has summaries of chapters.
• Google books - has portions of chapter 1 and 2.

Happy reading :)

Horizon report 2020

The latest issue of the Horizon report is now up on the Educause library.

There is a good infographic, summarising the various emerging technologies and trends.

This year, there is a change in how the report is structured. The familiar 'horizons' of xx years to adoption, anchoring past reports, are not used. Instead, wider social/global trends - political, economic, social, technological, and higher education trends are reviewed as the influences and future trajectory for emerging technologies and practices.

The usual suspects featured in pass reports show up but this time around, rationalised better against the wider influences listed above.

The main technologies are also reported in a broader sweep. These are:

• Analytics for student success
• Adaptive learning technologies - related to above of applying analytics to enhance learning
• artificial intelligence and machine learning - ditto
• Open education resources 
• extended reality - ie. XR = AR/VR/MR (haptic)
• Elevation of instructional design - to bring pedagogy into the planning, development and deployment of promising technologies.

All in, a good summary, as always of potentialities. This time around, better linkages to the many societal influences on how technology may assist learners. Plus the need to attain expertise in understanding the pedagogical issues related to introducing the many enablers of technology enhanced learning.

Identity, pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning: book now published

My book, a product of last year's academic study leave, is now published and available on Springer website. The book's subtitile: supporting the processes of becoming a tradesperson, draws from my framework of trades work learning as being a phased journey of belonging to a workplace, becoming  and eventually being a trades person.

It's a significant milestone for me, being my first monograph. I enjoyed the process of writing the many chapters and am grateful to my colleagues and my ex PhD supervisor, Professor Stephen Billett from Griffith University. for support as proofreaders and advisers.

I am hopeful the book fills a gap in the literature of work derived from a practitioner's perspective, both as a tradesperson and a teacher of trades work. No doubt large component of scholarship is also consolidated in the book. However, it is the learnings attained through my apprenticeship and work as a pastrycook/baker that inform the direction and premises woven through the book. My aim through each chapter being to answer the query - how is this useful to a trades teacher? and what can be applied to teaching trades work from these concepts?

I am now working towards bringing together a collaborative project to leverage off the coming merger of all the polytechnics in NZ into one entity - tentatively called Pukenga Aotearoa/Skills NZ. A 'small' project to gauge the digital literacy and affordances of vocational education learners will help be bring together a team of vocational educator researchers. I am hopeful this initial project will pave the way to a larger, externally funded project to implement and consolidate the system/process of consolidated off and on-job support for trades learners. In essence, if we are to 'put the learner at the heart of the learning' then we seriously need to 'hear the learners' voice' and to support their learning from their perspective (i.e. the experienced curriculum) and not impose from logistical/institutional/funding requirements.

Slow adoption of VR in education

A follow up on a blog written in 2016 on slowness of VR penetration in education with some discussion on potentialities for Vocational Education.

BBC has a good summary from the business point of view on 'What went wrong with VR?

Reasons reiterated by livemint as to difficulties with headsets, costs and availability of relevant VR content. Fortune magazine has a similar article, discussing the issues in some depth.The main challenges are costs of hardware and software development.

From the vocational education perspective, the main challenge is to provide authentic learning experiences. VR has a role, as evaluated recently through two of the sub-projects on the e-assessment project. In these projects, VR was used to support novice learners with learning welding skills and pre-trade training carpenters with acquiring 'safety' awareness.

The challenge with both sub-projects was maintaining authenticity. Even though students were new to the trade, small differences between virtual and real could be discerned. Leading to inconsistencies of 'object behaviour'  as described by Fowler. The specialised aspects of vocational learning require constant updating as equipment and contexts change, adding costs to the already expensive investment in developing VR scenarios. Trying to maintain currency is therefore a continual cost to ensuring VR does not appear to be 'dated'. Humans have learnt from birth, how to gauge authenticity in the environments they interact within. Many of the signals denoting authenticity are tacit and individualised leading to a wide range of aspects ot consider when developing authentic VR environments. With applications exampled by gaming, slight inconsistencies can be waived as the gamer accepts the 'fictional' aspect of the VR environment they have entered. Applying VR to authentic lived worlds is therefore a much more daunting challenge.

Therefore, still work to be done to bring VR into education. There are promising advances and increase in computing power can only improve authenticity of VR experiences. There is a need for VR developers to be cognisant of the human experience, with its myriad variety, to ensure VR experiences support learning outcomes.

English for vocational purposes: Language use in trades education - book overview

This book, written by Coxhead, A., Parkinson, J., Mackay, J., and McLaughlin, E. and published by Routledge in 2019, is the academic output from the Language of the Trades project funded by Ako Aotearoa as a National project.

The Ako Aotearoa project report provides the 'nuts and bolts' descriptions along with the various outputs, including word lists and guides for trades teaching practice.

The book, along with several articles, are the academic outputs, providing deeper details of the scholarly underpinnings and findings from the project. As there is very little literature on the topic of literacy pertinent to the learning of trades work, the work is of great importance. Of note, is the project's work in identifying 'key words' or most commonly used words in a range of trades - building/carpentry, automotive engineering and engineering (fabrication and tool-making). The corpus of vocabulary is also extended into Pacific languages exampled by Tongan.

First chapter summarise the rationale for undertaking the project. The rationale include the importance of understanding the complexities of the specific language, used in the trades and the specialised terms prevalent in trades work but not often recognised as being difficult to learn.

Chapter 2 provide an overview of the project as per the Ako Aotearoa report. 

Chapter 3 uses a case study of automotive technology classroom practice and the ways tutors in NZ engage students in the trades language discourse. In short, a summary of situated learning as undertaken in workshop based learning across Aotearoa. 

In the fourth chapter, the builders diary is used as the data to better understand the writing requirements of trades learners.The builders diary is often used in NZ to track the learning of carpentry students and includes diagrams and 'reflective learning' collected as work-based learning progresses through apprenticeship.

Chapter 5 surveys the visual literacies requires in trades learning. How diagrams are prevalent in trades text – manuals, brochures, textbooks – and how visual literacies are taught and learnt. The spatial awareness required to match 2D diagrams to 3D objects is important in many trades. This is an area for extensive follow up and study.

The sixth chapter discusses the technical vocabulary of trades work. The specialised terms and the learning of these, provide opportunities for learners to become part of the trades community. Learning a trade is therefore not only learning the skills and knowledge but also learning to 'be' through learning and adopting ways of speaking and communicating which include the ability to use trades language in context.

Chapter 7 explores the listening and speaking skills required in trades work. Communicating whilst engaged in trades work is again, a vocationally/occupationally specific form of language use. Not only listening and speaking, but understanding the underlying body language and 'response' are learning requirements.

The eight chapter looks into reading in trades – what is required, how this is being taught within the situated learning context of trades classrooms and how this can be improved.

Chapter 9 draws the threads together to recommend how to apply the learning from the project into actual trades teaching and learning.

The last chapter draws the book to a conclusion with reflections, implications and proposes directions for future research.

All in, a worthwhile read covering a neglected aspect of literacy research. The research team has many possible follow up and extension projects. All to add to a better understanding of 'learning a trade' as more than just learning how to do, but to also learnig bow to become and be tradespersons.

Neurogastronomy - book overview

Brief book overview of book read over the weekend to inform the writing of an article on 'learning to taste'.

The book is by G. M. Shepherd, Professor of neurobiology at Yale and published by Columbia University Press in 2012.

27 chapters in 4 parts. All chapters are short and pithy with good supporting diagrams. Short references for each chapter are provided at the end of the book for further follow up.A good introduction to the neuro foundations of human/mamalian senses. 

The book argues for the due recognition of the role of smell in tasting. Hence, parts 1 and 2 are related to smelling. 

Part 1 provides the background on the evolution of smell and flavor. Uses the comparison between how dogs and humans smell to explain how smelling works. The contribution of the mouth is then summarised along with the molecular basics of flavor.

Part 2 delves into the workings of smell. How do smell receptors work? Leading on to how the brain forms sensory images of smell, which is actually difficult to describe due to its multivariate nature and the personal biases and social expectations surrounding how smells are perceived, appreciated or disliked.

Part 3 brings in the roles of taste, mouth sense, seeing, hearing and flavor. 

Part four draws the various topics together through discussions on flavor and influences through emotions, role of memory, contribution to obesity, neuroeconomics effect on flavor and nutrition, brain plasticity and the human brain flavor system, contribution of language, consciousness and human evolution.

Comprehensive review  of the book found here.

NZIST establishment board regional briefing

This morning, I attended a briefing offered by the NZIST establishment board, itself an outcome of the Reform of  Vocational Education (RoVE) in NZ. The roadshow began last week with the intention of briefing every ITP (Institute of Technolgy Polytechnic) in NZ as all will become one entity - provisionally called NZ Institute of Skills and Technology -NZIST and with a recommended name of Pukenga Aotearoa.

The briefing was presented by Murray Strong appointed as Executive Director to lead the establishment process. He provided an overview of what lead to the formation of the NZIST establishment board - being one of 7 key changes to come out of the ROVE process -, what is currently now taking place to ensure that the new institute is up and running on the 1st of April and some indication of the impact / implications following the 1st of April.

On 1st of April, it is envisaged there will be no real change to the day to day running of ITPs. All will become subsideries of NZIST / Pukenga Aotearoa. There will be one academic board, and the ITPs will have sub-committees of the NZIST academic board. The new board will take over governance with the newly appointed CE, Stephen Town, to begin in July. Business as usual with regards to marketing, finance, teaching and learning, research etc. with an emphasis on collaboration across the ITPs replacing the 30 plus model / mindset of competition.

ITOs - industry training organisations - who will morph into Workforce Development Councils (WDCs) are working on a transition plan to ensure a smooth shift of learners supported by ITOs to the ITPs. Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) have been set up in two sectors but many more will be forthcoming. NZIST / Pukenga Aotearoa will work with WDCs, CoVEs and Te Taumata Aronui to ensure the learner journey is supported and there is a seamless/ 'joint up' vocational education system for all NZers.

A positive briefing, with Q & A from the floor addressed well and respectfully. The briefing was well attended by Ara colleagues and a follow up briefing was also provided for stakeholders. The higher level strategy and management of the new entity look to have been thought through, despite the short timeframe. No major changes really for teaching and learning delivery to students. The devil will, as always, be in the implementation. Leadership and communication will be key to bringing everyone on board and working collaboratively.

40 years of teaching, scholarship, research and learning

Last week, my colleagues put on a surprise morning tea to celebrate 40 years work at my institute. How the time has flown by! I arrived from Wellington in 1980, a week before starting work, still in the process of settling into a flat, found for us by an ex-colleague of my mother. They were the only people we knew in Christchurch. Through them, we gained a ready-made community of support and for that I am eternally grateful.

I started teaching a few days after starting at the institute, at that time, probably only 1/5 or less in size. Everyone was very welcoming and supportive. My initial teaching sessions were often challenging but my students were forgiving and I could fall back on my trade expertise. So, began 25 years of teaching a trade. Apart from a couple of years off when my kids arrived, I have worked full-time. The changes over the 25 years have been immense in terms of digital technology enhanced teaching and learning, the shift in focus from teaching to student centred learning and various changes in how qualifications are structured.

From early in my teaching I found the lack of easily accessible resources to inform vocational education to be a challenge. To try attain a better understanding of how ‘learning a trade’ occurred and could be supported meant engaging with formal education in teaching and learning. Starting in the mid 80s with a Diploma in Tertiary Teaching and culminating a decade ago with a PhD, the journey into scholarship and research has been personally enriching. Of importance was not only the attainment of a qualification and title, but the application of learning to practice and the gradual transition into research.

So where to next? ROVE affords opportunities, through collaboration across the entire ITP sector in NZ, to actually truly attain the mantra of ‘the student is at the heart of learning’. Learners should have access to the combined expertise and resources across the country. Large numbers in each cohort, especially for trades apprentices, will bring economies of scale and allow for personal learning environments (PLEs) to be availed to each learner. Shared resources will also provide for well designed, pedagogically effective and engaging supporting learning resources, whether digital, virtual or f2f, to be developed and deployed. I am hopeful that the larger organisation will not be bogged down in red tape! If it is, it will be time to retire ☹ If not, the expertise, will, enthusiasm and tools are there for the taking. Let’s see what the next few years hold 😊

Pukenga Aotearoa - up for discussion, the proposed name for the joint NZ polytechnics from April

Via the Tertiary Education Union's  this afternoon, is the link to the NZ Institute of Skills and Technology's  (NZIST)establishment home page update. An embedded 4 minute video with the proposed name of the new entity as - Pūkenga Aotearoa. The many meanings of pūkenga include skill, skilful, versatile, intellectual and technique.

The video also lists many other alternative names both in Maori and in English, but Pūkenga Aotearoa is the preferred choice from the establishment board. There will be consultation from mid-February across the sector and with the many stakeholders involved, to come to consensus.

Techological change and the future of work - NZ Productivity Comission draft reports

The NZ Productivity Commission has released 4 draft reports on Technological change and the future of work.

The reports are informed by two pieces of work carried out by the NZ Council of Educational Research (NZCER). The reports are titled - Subject choice for the future of work - insights from the research literature carried out by Rosemary Hipkins and Karen Vaughan and an accompying report featuring data from focus groups by Jan Eyre and Rosemary Hipkins.  The findings from the report are not unexpected. At the moment, there is still a wide gap between formalised education and the needs of industry. Students from lower socio-economic backgrounds struggle with the culture and practices of school. Schools lack flexibility in offering a range of pathways to learners. Parents are not always well informed about pathways and the future of work. Thus, rather a lot has to be done to the structure of school and to 'careers education' across NZ society.

The four reports were released at the end of last year, with submissions required through the beginning of this year. As always, a short timeline challenged with the Xmas/New Year summer break in NZ.

The four draft reports are:

- NZ, technology and productivity - technological change and the future of work.
- Employment, labour markets and income - reports informing this include 'measuring the gig economy', occupational drift in NZ, the impacts of job displacement on workers by educational level, and unemployment insurance - what cant it offer NZ
- Training NZ's workforce 
- Educating NZ's future workforce

All interesting reading. Will keep track of final reports as these influence NZ political decisions down the track.

Technology enhanced learning - into another decade

Put some time into catching up with various 'readings' on how technology is moving along and how this will impact education.

Edsurge provides a series of short articles reviewing the past 10 years of technology introduction and use within the education sectors - with a US of A K-12 slant. The overall premise is that is is NOT about the technology but about teachers and human connection. Therefore, technology is the tool, not the destination.

The World Economic Forum provides an overview of the effects of 5G on the world. There has been mixed views on 5G ranging from warnings that the pervasive effects of 5G will lead to poorer health outcomes for people exposed to 5G continually and the 'big brother' possibilities afforded to governments for observation and control of citizens TO the benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT). As usual, there will be a 'balancing out' and some of the hyped up possibilities may never eventuate. For education, 5G brings many possibilities and promises but as with the Edsurge article, it is the human factor which will and should prevail. 

311 Institute provides an overview of smartphones and the future developments over the next 50 years!! 120 pages with some good discussion albeit mainly supporting forward momentum rather than critical take on what may actually occur. The usual promises of 3D printing, AI, blockchain, quantum computing, robotics, synthetic biology and VR are rolled out as drivers informing where smart phones possibilities will go. 3 horizons are proposed for the next 10 years. Then the following decade and a more 'future gazing' 2040-2070 horizon.

Possiblities for 3D printers are summarised in this video including the 'printing' of houses, boats and complex / intricate components. However, plastic is still the key material and environmental concerns around the use of plastics need to be thought through.

As it is, education is still, as always, ,many steps behind the introduction of technology into supporting learning and teaching. Articles in this blog provide a summary of possibilities but also the important need to remember that human learning is founded on sound relationships. Technology may assist the building of relationships and access but is still someway from providing 'authentic' learning environments, especially with regards to vocational education contexts.

Using inaturalist - citizen science and vocational education

As blogged earlier in 2018, I have been using inaturalist(previously naturewatch) to archive photos of plants found on walks in the NZ outdoors. Photos are taken on my phone (currently a Samsung Galaxy s5) which automatically transfer to my Google photos. I sort these when I have wifi access and shift the best shots / notable plants into my flora and fauna album.

I then work through the photos, providing an indicative identification. The date and location is captured on the phone although I input locations manually when the phone is used off line.

When I get home, I transfer the photos along with my ‘best guess’ identification on to inaturalist. The site has a ‘suggestion’ feature which is about 50% accurate. Given photos of plants are often ‘busy’ with lots of other plants lurking in the background and being photo bombed by strands of tussock /ferns or lichen, the AI on inaturalist is actually quite good at honing in on the target plant.

The version of inaturalist on my ipad has a google lens feature which does a similar thing but is perhaps not as focused as google lens is not specialised on plants only.

A check on location is also important as many plants have regional specialisation.

Once the post is up, there will usually be affirmation or suggestions within the hour. The main identifiers on inaturalist NZ are more often then not, professional botanist. Some plants, exampled by orchids, are shifted automatically into the NZ native orchid site. No doubt, many botanist use the site to build distribution maps of the species they are studying / interested in. An example of citizen scientists' contributions is provided in this article and a NZ example from NZ Geographic. Therefore, for novices / amateurs like myself, there is ready access to expertise which is timely and collegial. I have learnt much about the nuances of plant identification, along with the challenges of identifying plants which are comparable.

Field trips, bio blitzes, nature 'weeks' etc. are all hosted on inaturalist, providing a means to archive a portfolio of learner generated data for later reflection and reference. Therefore, inaturalist provides a good exemplar for similar endeavours in other fields. Vocational education project-based learning approaches will be well supported if there is availability of related platforms. 

Plans for 2020 - a new decade to look forward to

Its back to ‘normal’ after 4 months on study leave and the annual Xmas / New Year break. 

2020 promises to be an interesting year, with all of the NZ ITPs being brought together into one entity from the 1stof April. Details of the general workings of the new institute are still hazy but one certainty is that there will be changes, all with major and minor consequences on my work into the foreseeable future.

For the moment, I will pick up ‘new’ projects as they begin to accumulate on our work register. The projects I handed across to my colleagues when I embarked on study leave last year, are now either complete or progressing well. Therefore, best to make a fresh start with programme development and other support projects.

I have submitted an abstract for the annual AVETRA conference,to be held in Melbourne at the end of April. No other conferences planned for the moment accept for the end of year Talking Teaching conference convened by the Ako Aotearoa Academy.

There are now articles to be honed for submission to various journals and networking across the ITP sector to gauge the likelihood for joint research projects in the VET space. The plan will be to scope up a worthy approach and direction for submission in the 2021 year. By then, some of the details with regards to my educational development work and possibilities for VET research will be better known.

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.

On writing and future VET research possibilties

I am about to complete almost 4 months of academic study leave. Most of this time has been devoted to getting a book completed. This period of intensive writing has been productive. I have also submitted a book chapter on tacit knowledge and drafted the structure and initial plans towards several articles. Along with the writing, has been the opportunity to catch up on reading. Some of the books read will now appear as summaries in blogs across the next few months.

I have been inspired over the years by other bloggers - one of which  - brainpickings.org - has been motivating and stimulating. She encourages reflection on the process of blogging and uses the process to work through how to blog and to use the process of writing as a springboard for collating and ruminating on thoughts and initiatives.

My challenge going forward for next year, is to try to maintain mometum with scholarship. How to fit into a busy work programme, the time to read, reflect, think and write. At the moment, there are no official 'research projects' in the pipeline. Although I have several ideas, it will be best to await the outcomes of the current reforms on vocational education (ROVE) in NZ to better gauge possibilities and potentials. I have learnt it is best to 'go with the flow' in times of change and some of the outcome of  ROVE, will create opportunities for better collaborative VET research efforts. However, there is need to allow for the initial settling in period as the new 'mega polytechnic' entity, finds its feet.

I will put aside at least 1/2 a day a week towards 'writing'. In part, to keep up the number of 'outputs' expected to maintain research capability and to ensure currency with the contemporary VET literature. The other objective will be to keep a close eye on the outcomes of ROVE and network sufficiently to be able to put forward the right kind of research proposal, the the appropriate funding body, when the time is ripe. Noting that the 'new entity' is focused on VET and that it will be an opportunity to ensure appropriate and useful 'research' is undertaken to inform and challenge VET teaching and learning.

PISA 2019 results - some reflections

The latest Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) results are out. Carried out every 3 years since 2000, the number of countries participating has increased at each iteration. The assessment was carried out with 15 year olds in 2018 for 3 subjects - reading, maths and science and included survey of student attitudes to study and their school experiences.

Various countries reported on their country's results, most defending their results and offering critique of the type of assessment process being used to quantify school students' learning.
China, pipped Singapore  for top spot. NZ schooling has always fared quite well  but there was a drop in the ratings across all three subjects, similar to the results from other similar countries - Australia, Uk (slight rise) and the U S of A.

Mass hand wringing from parents and 'teacher blaming' ensue as a result of the PISA results, leading to some governments working towards supporting policies to improve results. In NZ, the top students perform at as high a level as in other countries, but the difference between the strugglers and the top strata, is wide. Closing this gap across the almost 20 years PISA has been running has been a challenge as social equity has declined across many countries across the same timeframe.

PISA results also do not account for the wider emphasis in many countries on wider competencies and skills required to be learnt. There is a place of 'drill and repeat' processes in the learning of fundamental skills but PISA does also test beyond these with questions that challenge students beyond 'set answers'.

However, the future of work does not depend on school leavers being able to be exam savvy or able to perform well in a test environment. Future workers need the skills to be resilient, flexible and able to continually learn, un-learn, re-learn and innovate. Having good reading and maths skills provide a good foundation. Reading, especially the ability to quickly understand, interpret, evaluate and operationalise (if that is the case) processes, concepts and complex information is a key to future success. So, as always, PISA ratings need to be taken circumspectly and are not always good predictors of future learners' success. 

Design of Technology-enhanced Learning - Integrating research and practice - book overview

Bower, M. (2017) published by Emerald Publishing Company.

After the preface (rationalisation for the book and summaries of chapters), acknowledgements and foreword (by J. Hedberg), there are 12 chapters.

1)     Technology integration as an educational imperative

Begins with setting up the broader context for the need to design learning with supporting TEL. Introduces, rationalises and details the role of ‘design thinking’ and the field of learning design and argues that teaching is a design science (as per Laurillard’s work). The work of Laurillard, Siemens and Conole are compared, discussed and critiqued. The six approaches of learning design are introduced – technical standards, pattern descriptions, visualisations, visualisation tools, pedagogical planners and learning activity management system.

2)      The Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and its implications

Here the TPACK framework is introduced and critiqued. Provides examples of TPACK in practice and recommendations on how teachers are able to develop the capacities for applying TPACK. There is a comprehensive literature review of TPACK as well.

3)      Pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning

Provides an overview of the relevant pedagogies. The pedagogies include the usual – behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, socio-constructivism and connectivism. Pedagogical approaches are also overviewed, including collaborative learning, problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, constructionist learning, design-based learning and games-based learning. Each is described with examples and brief critiques. The role of the teacher in applying the relevant pedagogical approaches is summarised.

4)      Technology affordances and multimedia learning effects

In this chapter, the two frameworks applied to the use of TEL – affordances and the learning effects from multimedia are introduced, detailed and discussed. The focus with ‘affordances’ is to understand the potentialities of the multimedia with relevance to the learning objectives to be achieved and matching both to maximise learning. With learning effects, the different ways for using text, images, audio, video etc. and their impact on understanding and learning are introduced and discussed.

5)      Representing and sharing content using technology

Applies the taxonomy of learning, teaching and assessing (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) towards how technology may be used to represent and share content. The representational requirements of core subject areas – English, maths, science, history, geography, IT) are presented.

6)      Design thinking and learning design

Introduces and substantiates the principles of design thinking, design science and learning design as ways forward to integrate TEL into teaching and learning. The educational design models of Laurillard, Siemens and Conole are revisited.

7)      Design of Web 2.0 enhanced learning

Reviews the work on Web 2.0 and its impact on teaching and learning. Defines, Web 2.0, defines opportunities and presents a typology to assist with matching the benefits to learning outcomes. The advantages and challenges are also presented. Two case studies are provided to underpin the typology.

8)      Designing for learning using social networking

A review of social networking in education from a design perspective us provided. The various benefits, issues and implications for using social networking are presented through the chapter.

9)      Designing for mobile learning

Mobile learning is rationalised as one forward to engage learners. Examples in school and higher education are provided. Benefits are summarised along with issues. Recommendations are synthesized towards the development of mobile learning. Examples from school and higher education are provided and recommendations for learning design, implementation are provided.

10)   Designing for learning using virtual worlds

Virtual worlds are defined and contrasted. These virtual worlds include Second Life, Active Worlds, Open Sim and Minecraft. The benefits are distilled from the literature along with other forms of virtual worlds including 3D simulations, role-plays, construction tasks and immersive learning. Examples from school and higher education are provided and recommendations for learning design, implementation are provided.

11)   Abstracting technology-enhanced learning design principles

From applying learning design to the design of learning through Web 2.0, social networking and virtual worlds, design principles are synthesised.

12)   Technology-enhanced learning – conclusions and future directions

Brings the various discussions through the book together through presenting some future scenarios for TEL.

The book fills a gap and brings in academic research across the last two decades, to inform the deployment of TEL into teaching and learning practice. Research and teaching and learning inform each other and one should not take place in isolation from the other.

The book is well-structured and readable with pragmatic application of research towards the integration of TEL for the improvement / enhancement of teaching and learning.

Talking Teaching - DAY 2

DAY 2

After a late finish yesterday which included the conference dinner, the day dawns fine and warm. I follow the sessions in the stream ‘learning outside the classroom’.

First up, Timothy Lynch from Otago Polytechnic, Food Design Institute, with ‘the inevitability of change in work integrated learning’. Drawing from his work for from his professional practice studies, he reflects on ‘reflection’ and ‘reflection on teaching’. What is the role of teaching when the discipline has requirements which are at odds with ‘reflective learning’. Hospitality industry has emphasis on regulatory compliance, speed of production, cost and accuracy! Summarised his philosophies towards ‘product design’ and overview of principles of design informing his work. There is a clash between design driven work integration and traditional work-based product development. Design work is fuzzy and has many iterations but industry generally more linear. Traditional ‘work-integrated learning’ has a power relationship skewed towards the employer. Proposes a design driven integrated learning so that learning takes precedence over productivity. Therefore, helping to convert the ‘push’ system of supplier driven production to ‘pull’ system for custom driven needs. Overviewed a student’s project as an example – developing cocoa husks added value products – including sustainable process of developing a range of short term (immediate, low cost, no training required), medium term and long term (higher development costs, production changes required etc.) Future work demands higher range of capability and skills to cope with more changeable markets etc.

Second with Dr. Linda Kestle, Kath Davis and Neil Laing from Unitec and Alysha Bryan from Hawkins on ‘balancing the seesaw – the ups and downs of delivering vocational education’. Developed a programme at 3 levels – project delivery staff – managers etc. and cadets at year 1 and 2. 4 years of shared delivery so far. 5 – 6 modules per year – 150 staff. Work-based learning with assessment event for each module (group and individual) and final capstone presentations. Challenges for cadets include range of educational attainment. For managers was range of years of experience in the industry, some working for Hawkins and other were sub-contractors. Focus of group work with discussions situated in projects and practice drawing on the experience of students. Delivery now shared between Unitec and Hawkins. Continual need to work closely with industry partner, leadership, co-developed course outlines / content and input from domain-knowledge experts. Challenge between academic vs industry expectations. Assessment submissions an ongoing challenge and there are continual industry needs. Encouraged others to accept the challenges as there are benefits both for provider and industry based on continued goodwill and generosity from both parties.

Followed on by Rashika Sharma from Unitec presenting on ‘sustainability learning opportunities through campus research projects – when student (trades students) involvement matters’. Rationalised the importance of integrating sustainability into the learning of TVET as skills, productivity and economics take precedent. However, ‘green TVET’ now a requirement to address environmental concerns. Curriculum in TVET still deficient in sustainability content. Australia has Green Skills agreement implementation plan and ‘skills for sustainability standards framework. In NZ, even after post TROQ (review of qualifications) sustainability skills are still not visible. Need for TVET institutes to create the change in the absence of govt. intervention – green campus, green curriculum, green community, green research and green culture (Majumdar, 2011). Good range of topics for green research in TVET for students – waste minimisation, alternative energy, sustainable garden, sustainable housing design etc. provided example with carpentry students on ‘waste minimisation’. Survey and focus group with students, also interviews with academic leader and institute sustainability manager. Found that there is a need to ‘make visible’ and formal, the sustainability initiatives. The learning sessions are too busy for students to notice the modelling being availed on waste minimisation. Emphasis must be put on and students’ attention drawn to sustainability initiatives. Teachers need to be actively involved and be champions of sustainability. Inclusion into curriculum will be ideal.

Last presentation in the stream from Peter Mathewson from Unitec on ‘social work and poverty theory and practice: challenges and proposed research’. Defined social work as proposed by the International Federation of Social Work. Also defined poverty as condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation of resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of adequate standard of living. In developed countries, there is relative rather than absolute poverty, In NZ, 27% of children live in poverty and 7% in severe poverty. Summarised the intersection between poverty and social work. Historically, there was a individualised / moralistic approach. Moved on to influence of counselling. More recently, neo-liberal dominated practice focused on individualised or family risk factors and behaviours. Summarised the approach of poverty aware social work. Make poverty visible, work together – practitioners and poor, more egalitarian relationship between social and material needs, active part to challenge the system. How about social work students? Survey reveals high levels of need compared to average in NZ. Need to align with radical/critical social work to assert social justice. Poverty is not necessarily the fault of individuals but social structural issue. Casework not adequate, needs to be individually orientated. Proposed personal/ political strategies to support the radical/critical approach. Look into anti-poverty practice framework for social work in Northern Ireland. Summarised potentialities in NZ. Shared some proposals for his own research.

After morning tea, I follow the sessions in the ‘lucky dip’ stream.

Firstly with Pavitra Dhamja from Toi Ohomai (Rotorua) and Mary Cooper (ditto) on ‘seeing is believing – facilitating realism and recreating experiences’. Demonstrated VR using anko Hololens VR box/goggles. Presented on advantages and challenges of using AR. Hands-on learning as pairs of participants try out VR box with phones running YouTube videos. 360 tour of cell, earthquake simulation etc.

Support colleague Jane Bates from Ara Institute of Canterbury with her presentation on ‘programme design and development – from zero to hero’. Introduced rationale for and details / including the team involved, for the Ara programme design and development process. Presented an overview and then detailed each of the 4 phases – approval, design, development and delivery. Emphasis is on learning and how to support the learner. Philosophies underpinning the process were shared.

Followed by session with Dr. Wang Yi from Wintec on ‘its about THEM – exploiting learners’ stories for adult ESOL beginners’ literacy development’. Covered ‘who are our learners’ and rationalised the use of students’ stories. Learners range in age from late teens to 70s, educational backgrounds from nil to degree level in their home language. Generally, only have elementary English. Objective to help develop life long learners. Provided examples of how stories are created from templates and by using students’ experiences. Also examples of ‘back up’ and spontaneous stories drawing on daily activities.

The Yusef Patel from Unitec with ‘design studio – collaboration with Panuku Development Auckland’ with third year Batchelor of Architectural Studies Students. Covered the process of ‘finding common ground’, working with students towards their objectives, timeline and outcomes. Detailed the parameters of the agreed ‘project’. Opportunities to ‘stretch’ students and work on items not normally covered by Architects (e.g. roads). Detailed principles (Unitec and Panuku) to be followed as students proceeded with their design.  Described critique process from Panuku, tutors, peers, past students and other industry representatives and students allowed to address the critique in their final presentation. Shared reflections on the positive aspects of the collaboration.

After lunch, there is a plenary address with Dr. Te TakaKeegan from University of Waikato on ‘using humour in teaching’. Provided examples of how he used humour in his teaching of computer science. Encouraged audience to find their own path and create / develop their own approach. Humour is useful in establishing a connection and to engage. Humour activates the dopamine reward system assisting with long term memory, increases attention and interest, breaks down barriers, provides avenue to connect, relaxes and reduces stress. Appropriate topic related instructional humour can be very effective in topic retention. Provided guidelines as to when humour is inappropriate and presented strategies for incorporating humour.

Audience discussion followed.

Talking Teaching - Day 1 afternoon presentations

After lunch, I run a session centred around the sociomateriality and the possibilities of supporting the learning of these withe-assessment approaches. Introduced the background conceptualisation of learning as becoming. In this workshop, we concentrate on the sociomaterial aspects of learning, required to attain occupational identity, a goal of vocational education. Digital tools may be useful in accessing, archiving nuances of and reflection on the learning of the sociomaterial. Matching the most effective tool to harness the feedback from others to help learn better the sociomaterial is an objective of the workshop.

Dr. Peter Mellalieu from Peer Assess Ltd. And Patrick Dodd from Unitec present on ‘digital tools for enabling developmental feedback and teamwork grading by peer assessment’. Defined teammate peer assessment. Demonstrated tool (Peer assess pro) – supported by Ako Aotearoa funding – from the student and the teacher viewpoint. Compared this tool to alternative tools in the market. Presented criteria for selecting peer assessment platform. Sprague, Wilson & Mckenzie (2019) advocated that students are less likely to take a ‘free ride’ when they know that their contributions are considered towards determining their grade. Propositions also that awarding all team members the same grade is not valid, fair or motivating. Students have to receive training in teamwork and the assessment practices they will use. An effective peer assessment platform identifies inflated self-assessment and outlier team ratings. There are 10 other similar platforms and each fits a distinct purpose. Discussed the criteria for selection. 

Then last session of the day with Dr. Angela Feekery from Massey University and Carla Jeffrey from Ngai Tahu/ Massey with ‘enhancing students’ information evaluation capability using the Rauru Whakarareevaluation framework'. She teaches a large class on 'strategic business communication for first year students and Carla is the project librarian. The course is to prepare students for the information context they are studying /working with. Information literacy is a requirement for all aspects of academic literacy, disciplinary literacy, digital and media literary, adult and professional literacy. Information literacy includes skills of research, problem solving, transition, ethics, critical analysis, study skills, search skill, evaluation, social media, connectedness, creativity and innovation. Therefore involves the processes, strategies, skills, competenxies, expertise and ways of thinking to engage with information to learn across a range of platforms to transform the known, and discover the unknown. Shared resources used with the course to assist students to attain the information skills. Overviewed the framework - Rauru Whakarare - to be used holistically rather than just as a checklist. 

Talking Teaching - Day 1 morning

In Auckland for the next few days for the annual Ako Aotearoa Academy symposium. Yesterday was an academy members only day, followed by two days of the Talking Teaching Conference 2019.

Academy day

The main objective was to move the strategic vision of the Academy forward. Initial document created by executive has been workshopped last year and this year, time to refine and complete. Also, an update on the year and changes occurring along with up and coming future changes through our relationship with Ako Aotearoa.

Day 1

Day one opens with a powhiri and the plenary address by AssociateProfessor Faumuina Fa’afetai Sopoaga from University of Otago – winner of the Prime Minister’s prize for teaching excellence last year. Spoke on the theme ‘our past shapes the journey into the future’. Began with a song, learnt in her childhood, followed by welcome in Samoan, Maori and other languages. Used her personal history to weave the theme into the challenges of today and the future. Articulated the collectivist Pacific culture and how these have influenced her. Used an example from her early days in NZ, to illustrate the challenges of adjustment into new culture expectations. These influenced her approach to helping medical students learn cultural inclusiveness through immersion into cultures they are unfamiliar with. Encouraged conference participants to ‘step up’ their efforts to help learners connect with and attain empathy with other cultures.

After morning tea, there are 6 streams. I stick mostly with the ‘technology’ stream as I am facilitating a workshop after lunch.

First up, Dr. Lydia Kiroff and Taija Puolitaival from Unitec, on ‘digital natives and digital technologies in construction education’. Presented the initial results from a action research to support students to transition from simple online apps to full professional apps. Defined digital natives (Prensky, 2001) with extensions on this to account for Gen Y and Z, and digital technologies. Overviewed the evolution of construction digital technologies from manual drafting to 3D / VR building objects. For purposes of study, Level 5 construction communication (emphasis on online/freeware) and Level 7 BIM (desktop apps for CAD/BIM) courses were selected. Pre and post diagnostic questionnaires were used, along with lecturer diary, assessment results and formal course evaluations.

Findings indicate younger students use more apps more often. Desktop apps familiar to all. Installation of online apps tended to be easier for younger students. Older students more confident with desktop apps but hesitant with experimenting. Initial thoughts on how to help students become familiar with app interface and encourage experimenting with the different functions. Perhaps through online tutorials and encouragement of daily use through exposure across all courses.

Then Kim Watson from Toi Ohomai, on ‘gamification of quality management’. An encouragement for the introduction / integration of gaming into tertiary learning. Shared his experiences in ‘gamification of a lesson’ and then opened up the session to a discussion. Encouraged the development of the approach and the game does not need to be digital, but a form of simulation of a process. Through ‘doing’ the process, concepts and deeper learning occurred.

Move across to a workshop / discussion led by James Patterson from Toi Ohomai and Adrian Woodhouse from Otago Polytechnic on the ‘review of vocational education’ ROVE – affecting all polytechnics as they will all become one entity come 1^st of April next year.  The session's theme is 'more questions than answers'. James reflected on experiences from the formation of Toi Ohomai which was a merger between Wairiki (Rotorua) and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic. Stressed the importance of building good relationships between all partners. Adrian provided some background and challenged participants to 'construct the future' rather than allow ROVE to be done to them. Look to supporting learners through their work life, from novice to expert (Level 10 qualification). 

Opened up the conversation to the session to share opportunities perhaps provided by ROVE. Discussion revolved around the need to share practice from ITOs, be more formal about collaboration across the new entity, PTEs, employers, regional governments etc. There are experiences within the ITP sector of shared qualifications - exampled by the Bachelor in Engineering Technology and the NZ Certificates in Engineering - whereby innovations are shared and improved through collaborative efforts. Discussion then revolved around ways to record student learning so that learning becomes more transportable across NZ. Important to be cognisant of who will have the power - for instance the Work Developments Councils (WDC) whose role as standards setting bodies seems to also include the moderation and development of assessments.Important to value teaching and to put teaching and learning at the centre, not just as a service to industry. Definition of 'assessment' is important. Need to not take our eyes off the main goal, to be positive changeagents and supporters for learning.Important to keep in touch with the various working groups and to take the opportunity to provide feedback / submissions when they are invited.

NZ Institute of Skills and Technology - NZIST - establishment unit

The 'establishment unit' for the merging of all of the current NZ polytechnics and institutes of technology (ITPs) is now up and running.

The establishment board is made up of a group of people with backgrounds / interests in the ITP and Industry training organisation (ITO) backgrounds along with representation from the Tertiary Educaiton Union (TEU) and iwi.

The Day One Deliverables have been identified and there are 10 workstreams to prepare for the April 1st 2020 launch date of the new entity.

Plans include those required to ensure the NZIST is up and running at the planned date:

• selection of a Chief Executive
• establishment of implementation plan
• transitioning ITPs into subsidiaries
• Day one operational requirements --- etc.

Seven workstreams have been formed to work through the complexities of the merger. These are:

• student journey ma[
• employer and community engagement model
• education products and services
• work-based learning development
• new academic architecture
• online delivery model
• international education

Chair, facilitators and principal advisors for each of the workstreams and workstream members (10 people) have been set up (as of beginning of Ocotber). 

“The prime role of these working groups is to provide advice to the incoming permanent NZIST Council in April 2020. The new Council will consider the suggestions and recommendations of the working groups as it makes future decisions,” says Barry Jordan, Chair of the IST Establishment Board. “Co-designing the work programme outputs with wide ranging stakeholders and educators is an important foundation for the long-term sustainability of NZIST.”

Now a bit of a 'wait and see' if there will be 'reports on progress' before Christmas.

31 coolest jobs in the world

This came up on Stuff a couple of weeks ago.

Many of the jobs listed did not exist a few years ago and over half are in the craft / design/ technical specialist industries. Almost all require fine manipulative skills, high degrees of innovation and attention to detail.

Many of the jobs are related to providing niche services or products to the educated and affluent of the world's consumers. Included are jobs like bonsai tree horticulturalist, fugu chef, vehicle customiser, surfboard / guitar maker and cheese maker / parmesan taster.

Therefore, many jobs cater for the needs of consumers seeking self-actualisation beyond their paid work! Included are also jobs to assist consumers to 'move up' in the world - like etiquette trainer, interior / fashion designer.

Also, jobs to support the leisure industries like designers of 'letters', movie sets and figurines, motion capture actor etc.

What the article misses, is the mass of technologies required to support many of these 'cool jobs' including the infrastructure, technologies and other services. However, the existence of these jobs indicates the increase in the services industries and the need for people to be able to 'transfer' skills, perhaps learnt in other contexts, into the niche / specialist roles exampled by these types of work. These kinds of work are also supported by trends and many will morph or be extended as markets needs shift. So, there is still the need to ensure education prepares people for the future of work which will be always subject to change.

The body in professional practice, learning and education - book overview

This is a broad overview of the book - The body in professional practice, learning and education, published in 2015 and edited by B.Green and N. Hopwood. It is volume 11 of the professional and practice-based learning series published by Springer.

There are 4 parts across 15 chapters.

Part one – introduction -  has two chapters.

The main introduction by the editors provides rationale for the book and summaries of each chapter. The origins of the book are from a research programme developed over the last decade at Charles Sturt University through the Research Institute of Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE). Networking opportunities afforded the extension of the original group to include researchers from Canada and the University of Technology, Sydney. This book continues on from work published from 2008 onwards and is the fifth in the series.

Then a deeper introduction to the concepts, also by the editors is in the second chapter. The chapter re-introduces the concept of ‘the body in practice’ and in particular, the influence of the work of Schatzki on understanding the holistic intermingling of the body, mind and movement. The three dimensions of ‘bodyness’ as outlined by Schatzki are: being a body; having a body; and the ‘presence  of’ the instrumental body. There is a critique of how Schatzki sees the body as part of the material ‘lived’ world and discussion on how the body is represented, and how practice, when the contribution of the body is accounted for, takes on different connotations.

Part 2 has 6 chapters on ‘thinking with the body in professional practice’.

Chapter 3 by M. Somerville and K. Vella on ‘sustaining the change agent: bringing the body into language in professional practice’. Here, the authors apply feminist philosophies to understand how people develop and cope with organisationally imposed change. The relationships between the body and language are explored as there is a challenge in articulating bodily sensations when there is a lack of precision in language to allow for the nuances to be described.

Fourth chapter by N. Hopwood on ‘relational geometries in the body: doing ethnographic fieldwork. This chapter follows on well from the previous as it presents on how humans can better notice and understand the role of bodies in professional practice. He uses an auto-ethnographical approach to study his own movements (body geometries / bodily positioning) and those of the participants / spaces of his study.

Next chapter by M. C. Johnsson with ‘terroir and timespace’: body rhythms in winemaking. In this chapter, the context of a wine yard is used to understand practice patterns and body rhythms. How these impinge on practice is unravelled.

Chapter 6 with J-A. Reid and D. M. Mitchell writing on ‘inhabiting a teaching body: portraits of teaching’. Here the ‘habitus’ of being a teacher is explored. In particular, how the social practices, expectations, space/time etc. are learnt as they are influence the ways teachers’ attitudes, gestures, vocalisations and dispositions are ‘displayed’. A comparison is made between a highly effective ‘expert’ teacher and a novice to unpack the many ‘undescribed’ and ‘undefined’ characteristics that contribute to the ‘habitus’ of teacher.

Followed by D. Mulcahy on ‘body matters: the critical contribution of affect in school classroom and beyond’. Here, passions, emotions and desires are the focus. The study is undertaken in a school context using video case-studies. Actor-network and post-structuralist theories are used to analyse the data. Teaching and learning practices impinge strongly on the embodied and affective areas of ‘being a teacher’.

Last chapter in this section by B. Green titled ‘thinking bodies: practice theory, Deleuze, and professional education’. A philosophical discussion on the precepts proposed by Deleuze – affect, virtuality, multiplicity etc. on ‘thinking the body’.

Part 3 has 6 chapters focused on the body in the contexts of health professional education and practice.

Chapter 9 by S. Loftus is on ‘embodiment in the practice and education of health professionals’. Uses the concepts of ‘embodied narrative knowing’ or Todres’ ‘embodied relational understanding’ to better understand how health professional come to know and act.

The tenth chapter is by E. E. Katzman presenting on the topic ‘embodied reflexivity: knowledge and the body in professional practice’. Here feminist and post-structural literature, inform the study of ‘embodied reflexivity’ in the context of being an attendant health-care worker. There is a focus on the power relations and the ‘lived’ politics of knowledge, through the article.

Chapter 11 is by L. L. Ellingson on ‘embodied practices in dialysis care: on (para) professional work’. This chapter follows through from the previous, with a focus on vulnerability of patients and health professionals within the context of an out-patient dialysis treatment unit. The communicative aspects of embodied practice are analysed to understand the many facets of relationships and communication required.

Next chapter on ‘(per)forming the practice body: Gynecological teaching associates in medical education’ by J. Hall. The aspect of intimacy is the main focus of this chapter. How does the body react to and act, in the teaching of a specialised aspect of health studies.

S. DeLuca, P. Bethune-Davies and J. Elliot write on ‘the (de)fragmented body in nursing education’. Continuing on from the previous chapter, the ‘body work’ required to learning how to nurse are presented. How ‘phronetic practice and ‘practical wisdom’ are learnt and applied is the main focus of this chapter.

Last chapter in this part is by S. Denshire on ‘looking like an occupational therapist: (re)presentations of her comportment within auto-ethnographic tales’. Here, the ways in which the body is represented are unpacked through auto-ethnographic work. A personalised account is made of practice and how this constant interaction between what the body brings into practice, influences and must be continually reflected on to ensure the relevance and efficacy of practice.

The last part concludes with a reflective chapter by E. A. Kinsella with ‘embodied knowledge: towards a corporeal turn in professional practice, research and education’. This closing chapter, brings  together and summarises the many threads presented through the book.

Overall, a good introduction to the precepts of 'embodiment' and the implications of bringing in the myriad senses / feelings / perceptions from human activity. The continual work towards better 'knowing' is not only cerebral, but also bodily. One cannot be separted from the other. Yet, to date, there has been little emphasis on trying to understand the contribution of the body to learning. The book is therefore, a good introduction to considering the importance of understanding how humans live, through more holistic and integrated study.