As usual, the net is flooded with sites providing various ways to get the most out of your ipad. Gizmodo site floats up first on a google search. The most useful one here is to be able to take a screenshot – especially useful for maps of places you are about to visit.
Tech radar does a one up by providing 75 tips!! Many useful with iphone / ipod touch but a good review of the various shortcuts and ways to maximise use of the iphone OS. How to geek has a ‘definitive list’ with well laid out instructions and many tips not covered in the previous two sites, well worth a good look. Also some interesting tips on ipad news daily including 12 little known features and the evolution of various technologies which culminate in the ipad.
All above useful toward how we can leverage the use of net tablets to enhance student learning at CPIT. Have just purchased the ipad camera kit and the ipad dock connector to VGA adaptor which I will test out over the next couple of days.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
CPIT research week - Outputs 2010
The annual CPIT research week ran this week with each school which had research capacity presenting a range of reports on various research activities the staff. Posters, produced for various conferences, were also displayed and the library featured their information retrieval / support systems supporting research activities for staff and students.
This is the third year CPIT has run the research week. In previous years, it has provided me, in my role as staff developer supporting research activities at CPIT, a good opportunity to gain an overview of the diverse research taking place. Many of research projects undertaken explore pedagogical aspects rather than pure subject focuses. In all, over 40 presentations of which about a third have a teaching/learning focus. Most schools have at least one or more project related to enhancing student learning, so lots of good work undertaken, of note are the presentations from the school of computing, all of which have a student focus.
On Tuesday, the week was launched by our new CE, Kay Giles. The School of Humanities started things off with three presentations. First up, Gerry Duignan with his work towards his Masters on ‘ cross cultural perspectives in adult education’ based interviews/ focus groups with Saudi teachers who have been doing short adult education courses at CPIT. Then Phillip McFedries presented on his proposed project, to produce a collection of stories of refugees’ experiences. The resulting collection will be disseminated via hard or soft copy which is to be decided by the students. Then I did a summary of the ‘perspectives of first year apprentices’ project, with good questions at the end.
On Wednesday, the invited guest speaker was Dr. Tim Lindley, who provided a very informative and interesting hour on the Food and Crop project on carbohydrates and how the research is now used in a fully online weight lose programme called Aspire. A good example of how research can have wide ranging applications and the ways in which fundamental research can be commercialised.
Thursday, I attended the presentations by the Schools of Computing, Broadcasting and Nursing. Unable to get to the School of Art and Design due to another meeting. School of Computing presented a four projects of relevance to my work. Rob Oliver presented work he has been doing with Dave Kennedy, using tablet computers. I have blogged previously on Dave and Daphne’s work using class presenter. Rob has now been working on a PC based variant of class presenter, ubiquitous presenter, freeware from the University of California) which needed some tweaking but now running via Firefox and used with database and programming classes. In summary, it allows students to submit answers to questions and for the whole class to see various submissions. The learning conversations which flow from the answers provide for great learning opportunities.
Then Malcolm Weick presented on how to teach classes of mixed abilities and why it is important to also support the ‘top’ students as well as the ‘struggling students’. Institutional support more prevalent for ‘struggling’ students but students who begin a course with prior knowledge and skills also at risk of not completing due to initial boredom and lack of engagement. Some good ideas Flip and I will be able to use on how to motivate more able students.
Chris McCartney presented 4 student ‘research projects’ where by students work with a tutor to produce a conference presentation based on student’s project work. Lastly, Armit Sarkar and Ranran (Monica) Bian did a energetic presentation on their ‘virtual vending machine’ using a unit testing framework with programming students.
Thursday evening, there was 9 presentations from the School of Nursing, which included items from the ‘social work’ team. Of note were Isabel Jamieson’s Phd project on Gen Y and what they think about nursing, Jane Maidment on ‘using craft as a vehicle for social cohesiveness’ , Chris Taua on ‘ people with intellectual disability as active participants in nursing research’ and Ada Campbell’s Diploma in Tertiary Teaching project ‘ searching for the threads of cultural safety in the Bachelor of Nursing programme’.
Chris Taua’s project is of interest as obtaining ethics for her project will be a challenge. Of note, her intention to use the approach taken by the Donald Beasley Institute which uses clear and simple language in their reports to ensure the reports are accessible to the intellectually disabled community.
On Friday, only managed to get to the afternoon sessions as I shifted offices in the morning. So attended a couple of sessions from the midwifery section and then 8 presentations from the School of Business and Recreation. In midwifery, Rae Daellenbach and Mary Kensington presented on the experiences of midwifery students of the blended learning programme now offered jointly by CPIT and Otago Polytechnic with students from all parts of the South Island.
In the school of business, presentations of relevance to me were from David Irwin on ‘exploring the roles of identity change and change agency within organisations moving towards sustainability’ - based on precepts of 'sense making'; Jo Straker on ‘meaning making: whose meaning’ (trying to define whose outdoors and which outdoors) and Adam Hollingworth and Teresa Schwellnus’ project on ‘ influence of numeracy ability on success rates in business qualifications’ using NZ numeracy progressions. as a base for diagnostic tests for students on entry to see if students who have high levels suceed better and to offer students who may struggle appropriate assistance before they start to have difficulties.
In all, a rich variety of research being produced at CPIT and it is always great to attend presentations and to shares the presenters enthusiasm and knowledge for their work.
This is the third year CPIT has run the research week. In previous years, it has provided me, in my role as staff developer supporting research activities at CPIT, a good opportunity to gain an overview of the diverse research taking place. Many of research projects undertaken explore pedagogical aspects rather than pure subject focuses. In all, over 40 presentations of which about a third have a teaching/learning focus. Most schools have at least one or more project related to enhancing student learning, so lots of good work undertaken, of note are the presentations from the school of computing, all of which have a student focus.
On Tuesday, the week was launched by our new CE, Kay Giles. The School of Humanities started things off with three presentations. First up, Gerry Duignan with his work towards his Masters on ‘ cross cultural perspectives in adult education’ based interviews/ focus groups with Saudi teachers who have been doing short adult education courses at CPIT. Then Phillip McFedries presented on his proposed project, to produce a collection of stories of refugees’ experiences. The resulting collection will be disseminated via hard or soft copy which is to be decided by the students. Then I did a summary of the ‘perspectives of first year apprentices’ project, with good questions at the end.
On Wednesday, the invited guest speaker was Dr. Tim Lindley, who provided a very informative and interesting hour on the Food and Crop project on carbohydrates and how the research is now used in a fully online weight lose programme called Aspire. A good example of how research can have wide ranging applications and the ways in which fundamental research can be commercialised.
Thursday, I attended the presentations by the Schools of Computing, Broadcasting and Nursing. Unable to get to the School of Art and Design due to another meeting. School of Computing presented a four projects of relevance to my work. Rob Oliver presented work he has been doing with Dave Kennedy, using tablet computers. I have blogged previously on Dave and Daphne’s work using class presenter. Rob has now been working on a PC based variant of class presenter, ubiquitous presenter, freeware from the University of California) which needed some tweaking but now running via Firefox and used with database and programming classes. In summary, it allows students to submit answers to questions and for the whole class to see various submissions. The learning conversations which flow from the answers provide for great learning opportunities.
Then Malcolm Weick presented on how to teach classes of mixed abilities and why it is important to also support the ‘top’ students as well as the ‘struggling students’. Institutional support more prevalent for ‘struggling’ students but students who begin a course with prior knowledge and skills also at risk of not completing due to initial boredom and lack of engagement. Some good ideas Flip and I will be able to use on how to motivate more able students.
Chris McCartney presented 4 student ‘research projects’ where by students work with a tutor to produce a conference presentation based on student’s project work. Lastly, Armit Sarkar and Ranran (Monica) Bian did a energetic presentation on their ‘virtual vending machine’ using a unit testing framework with programming students.
Thursday evening, there was 9 presentations from the School of Nursing, which included items from the ‘social work’ team. Of note were Isabel Jamieson’s Phd project on Gen Y and what they think about nursing, Jane Maidment on ‘using craft as a vehicle for social cohesiveness’ , Chris Taua on ‘ people with intellectual disability as active participants in nursing research’ and Ada Campbell’s Diploma in Tertiary Teaching project ‘ searching for the threads of cultural safety in the Bachelor of Nursing programme’.
Chris Taua’s project is of interest as obtaining ethics for her project will be a challenge. Of note, her intention to use the approach taken by the Donald Beasley Institute which uses clear and simple language in their reports to ensure the reports are accessible to the intellectually disabled community.
On Friday, only managed to get to the afternoon sessions as I shifted offices in the morning. So attended a couple of sessions from the midwifery section and then 8 presentations from the School of Business and Recreation. In midwifery, Rae Daellenbach and Mary Kensington presented on the experiences of midwifery students of the blended learning programme now offered jointly by CPIT and Otago Polytechnic with students from all parts of the South Island.
In the school of business, presentations of relevance to me were from David Irwin on ‘exploring the roles of identity change and change agency within organisations moving towards sustainability’ - based on precepts of 'sense making'; Jo Straker on ‘meaning making: whose meaning’ (trying to define whose outdoors and which outdoors) and Adam Hollingworth and Teresa Schwellnus’ project on ‘ influence of numeracy ability on success rates in business qualifications’ using NZ numeracy progressions. as a base for diagnostic tests for students on entry to see if students who have high levels suceed better and to offer students who may struggle appropriate assistance before they start to have difficulties.
In all, a rich variety of research being produced at CPIT and it is always great to attend presentations and to shares the presenters enthusiasm and knowledge for their work.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Alternatives to Ipad
I had a chat with automotive tutor – Peter Sauer – who is interested in making use of the tablet as a resource tool in the automotive workshop. There is already a large computer screen and computer set up in the automotive workshop but the students rarely make use of it as it is parked in a corner of the workshop and using it means everyone else in the workshop is able to see what the user is looking for / at. Ipod touches may be a solution but the screens are too small. The mobility of the tablet along with the screen real estate will provide opportunities to use some very effective automotive reference resources to be accessible in the workshop. Some of the resources include 3D models of engines which can be ‘exploded’ out and the details of each engine part scrutinised.
The cost of ipads makes it expensive for apprentices to purchase. Also, we will probably need a robust tablet which will stand up to the hard surfaces in an automotive workshop. The screen will also need to withstand being continually prodded by greasy fingers! So the hunt is now on for an appropriate device which is not too expensive but robust. There are alternatives to the ipad including 7 here and 10 here plus a NZ specific report.
Android OS tablets seem to be about to take off and there is a blog with the latest news on various Android OS tablets about to be launched. We might have to source these on the internet as I can not see many of these devices making it on to the NZ market. I will need to keep an eye out for them when I am in Hong Kong and Singapore in October. I am only in each country very briefly, so will need to do some research before I go, to work out the best places to view and do some hands on try out with any that are available by October this year.
The Palmpad using Web OS might be also launched by then, although early 2011 seems to be a more likely date. I have always been a fan of the Web OS on palm devices having used 4 palm devices. So it will be interesting to see what comes about.
Windows 7 powered tablets seem to have struck a bit of a challenge, with several reviewers, including this one, providing poor reviews. So, there seems to be many about to be launched and a few already available. The ipad will still be the standard most people will use as a reference point for other tablets.
The cost of ipads makes it expensive for apprentices to purchase. Also, we will probably need a robust tablet which will stand up to the hard surfaces in an automotive workshop. The screen will also need to withstand being continually prodded by greasy fingers! So the hunt is now on for an appropriate device which is not too expensive but robust. There are alternatives to the ipad including 7 here and 10 here plus a NZ specific report.
Android OS tablets seem to be about to take off and there is a blog with the latest news on various Android OS tablets about to be launched. We might have to source these on the internet as I can not see many of these devices making it on to the NZ market. I will need to keep an eye out for them when I am in Hong Kong and Singapore in October. I am only in each country very briefly, so will need to do some research before I go, to work out the best places to view and do some hands on try out with any that are available by October this year.
The Palmpad using Web OS might be also launched by then, although early 2011 seems to be a more likely date. I have always been a fan of the Web OS on palm devices having used 4 palm devices. So it will be interesting to see what comes about.
Windows 7 powered tablets seem to have struck a bit of a challenge, with several reviewers, including this one, providing poor reviews. So, there seems to be many about to be launched and a few already available. The ipad will still be the standard most people will use as a reference point for other tablets.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Ipad - convenience and mlearning tool
The mobility of netbooks / ipad along with Wifi has changed the way in which my family interacts. Both my ‘kids’ (one 22 , the other 25) are currently back at home. The younger establishing herself into work after completing uni. last year & the older back home a month ago, after a 6 month break in Thailand and a couple of years working in Melbourne. He is now back at Polytechnic doing a Cert. in Fitness course. Most evenings, we are gathered around the TV, each with netbook (2 eee PCs), ipad or ipod touch (2 of them), surfing the web, playing games, reading etc. while the 6pm news does its best to bring our attention back to things happening in the big wide world. The husband now has the daily newspapers all to himself but does borrow the ipad for his bit of web surfing as well, he finds the ipod touch screen too small. So besides comments on what is happening on the news, we also share sites we are surfing, latest videos, music, compare scores on games (Scramble2), plan movies to see or walk/tramp/ski trip over the weekend. In the past, we tended to each be busy at our computers & four to five years ago, just before both of them left home, they had TVs in their rooms. We actually now interact socially much more in the evening then we used to!!
From the education focus, I have never been a great fan of teaching in computer suites. The students ‘hide’ behind their computers and group activity, peer interaction is difficult when the physical barrier of a large computer screen prevents people from seeing each other properly. Access to WIFI and encouraging students to make use of laptops/netbooks/ipads presents teachers with a much better physical environment which can be flexibly reorganised to enhance learning activities taking place in the classroom. Untethered web access leads to mobility and the opportunity for students and teachers to centre learning on the tasks at hand.
The classroom then becomes a true learning space as access to information relevant to the lesson is much more easily sourced. This information can then form the basis of learning moments for students and teachers.
Here and here are comprehensive lists of links to various ipod touch/ipad apps – many educational including a good list from Rasmussen college. Also an example of an interactive book in the digital form of a well loved NZ book - Hairy Maclary of Donaldson Diary with a video trailer.
From the education focus, I have never been a great fan of teaching in computer suites. The students ‘hide’ behind their computers and group activity, peer interaction is difficult when the physical barrier of a large computer screen prevents people from seeing each other properly. Access to WIFI and encouraging students to make use of laptops/netbooks/ipads presents teachers with a much better physical environment which can be flexibly reorganised to enhance learning activities taking place in the classroom. Untethered web access leads to mobility and the opportunity for students and teachers to centre learning on the tasks at hand.
The classroom then becomes a true learning space as access to information relevant to the lesson is much more easily sourced. This information can then form the basis of learning moments for students and teachers.
Here and here are comprehensive lists of links to various ipod touch/ipad apps – many educational including a good list from Rasmussen college. Also an example of an interactive book in the digital form of a well loved NZ book - Hairy Maclary of Donaldson Diary with a video trailer.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Integrating competency standards into project work - example from engineering section CPIT
Attended a lunch time session from staff of the engineering/manufacturing section in the Trades Innovation Institute (TII) today. ATheir presentation was a subset of one presented at a the recent Adult Literacy and Numeracy Symposium 2010 held at Unitec in Auckland. John Morgan, Tony Smith, Bernie Streeter, Chris Cato, Rayn Baker and Peter Harrison presented on “Embedding Literacy, Language, & Numeracy into Project based learning” – their M-WAU project.
Basically, the delivery of the 6 months pre-trade engineering courses will be re-structured to remove the current 28 summative assessments and be replaced with completion of projects (I.E. making products). Enbedded into the projects, will be the various performance criteria required to be completed. Numerary and literacy will also be included in situated learning activities. Assessment then involves completion of the projects which requires a complicated set of spreadsheets to track student progress and match their progress to the competency standards completed.
Of interest is the way in which marks are allocated to projects, changing a competency based assessment into a 'norm referenced' one based on 'tolerances' achieved by students as they work through various projects. The marks then appear on a graph which can be linked to affinities students may have to various dispositional aspects of the manufacturing trade identifies in vocational roles (toolmaker, fitter /turner, fabricator, welder etc.)
A worthwhile and well throught through project which will be interesting to follow as delivery begins next year. As all the material related to course delivery is now available digitally, it will be a good project at some stage to see how mobile technology (ipods, ipads, phones) may be useful for students to access learning materials, revision and self track progress.
Basically, the delivery of the 6 months pre-trade engineering courses will be re-structured to remove the current 28 summative assessments and be replaced with completion of projects (I.E. making products). Enbedded into the projects, will be the various performance criteria required to be completed. Numerary and literacy will also be included in situated learning activities. Assessment then involves completion of the projects which requires a complicated set of spreadsheets to track student progress and match their progress to the competency standards completed.
Of interest is the way in which marks are allocated to projects, changing a competency based assessment into a 'norm referenced' one based on 'tolerances' achieved by students as they work through various projects. The marks then appear on a graph which can be linked to affinities students may have to various dispositional aspects of the manufacturing trade identifies in vocational roles (toolmaker, fitter /turner, fabricator, welder etc.)
A worthwhile and well throught through project which will be interesting to follow as delivery begins next year. As all the material related to course delivery is now available digitally, it will be a good project at some stage to see how mobile technology (ipods, ipads, phones) may be useful for students to access learning materials, revision and self track progress.
Monday, August 02, 2010
ITP Trades Forum @ Weltec
At the ITP trades forum on Friday, held at Weltec in Petone, Wellington. This is an intermittent one day forum attended by tutors and managers from trades faculties/ schools throughout NZ. The forum was opened by convenor, Ken Whittle after welcome and housekeeping messages from Alan Peck (from Weltec) who was the convener/organiser of the forum. Ken provided some background on the history of trades training which was set up just over a hundred years ago in NZ. Message is of change as various political /social changes influence the way in which trades training is delivered.
First up, Peter Mellow on '21st century learners and Web 2.0 - implications for learners' with a focus on learning environments / learning spaces and role of teachers in setting up / bringing about change within trades teaching. Peter ran an interactive session supported with multimedia clips. He began with a warm up to start and provided opportunities for participants to work together on several feedback sessions. He ran through characteristics of 21st learners, how technology now connects people (not only young people), how elearning can help students assess learning where & when they need to. Many teachers at level 1/2 (competent but still need help) with technology, need to be at level 3 - automous explorer in order to make the most use of technology for teaching/learning - perhaps teachers as educational technologist/technological educators. Good, M. (2001)- in the book Teaching and Learning online: New pedgogies for new technologies. On the way to online pedagogy. Learning spaces involve some lateral thinking. Whiteboards on all walls (Resene sells white board paint), whiteboards on tables, lecture chairs which turn 360 degrees etc. to assist with building learning communities which can then be continued after class either physically (whole campus learning space) or virtually. 'your primary influence is the environment you create' Peter Senge. Web 3.0 - semantic web, 3D AI driven, data driven, web 4.0 all about activity, not data. gotoweb20 is a website which collects web 2.0 sites. Used blogging as an example of using web 2.0 to enhance student learning and showed Seth Godlin/Tom Peters video on blogging - and openforum event. also covered wikis, podcasting (Pt England in NZ as an example & AUT Maori language on ipod/ipod touches), eporfolio (Mahara), microblogging (Twitter - flash cards or announcement system). Ends with encouragement to give it a go :)
After morning tea, my session on 'becoming a trades tutor - crossing identity boundaries' went well and touched a cord with several tutors who are new to the ITP sector and their roles as trades tutors.
Then Lee Baglow from Unitec on 'self - exploration - a fresh look at pre-trade auto education. Programme change driven by staff dissatisfaction with the current ways things were being done. Involves a 'living curricula' which involves complex conversation, curiosity etc. creative skills. Examples provided of how programme adapted with improvement in retention, completion rates and increase in staff:student ratio. Includes the use of Web 2.0 to create eportfolios. Begins with students obtaining gmail accounts, use google docs. as repository for learning resources which students use to access resources and templates for students to work through, tutors are able to mark and feedback. Material also available via class blogger site. Students issued with Dell netbooks but all information stored on the cloud. Also 8 HD JVC video players to increase access to video material/powerpoints etc. Students are encouraged to store to maintain a learning journa/eportfolio on Blogger.com. Flexibility in delivery allows students to lead their own learning and set individual learning goals. Tutors build capability by using youtube videos to teach them how to use google docs etc.
After lunch, Julia Bruce from Wintec presented on 'principle-based teaching practice' and encouraging students to live their dreams. Developing her own teaching philosophy was a key towards becoming a better teacher and also in helping her students learn better. Her presentation provided examples of teaching resources aligned to her teaching philosophy. She started things out with a 'speed dating' activity in order to get conversation going on how to bring about change in tutor's approach to change, being change agents and working in an environment which is continually changing. Strategies to bring about authentic and collaborative learning including the use of photo shoots to collect hairdressing students' work, production of 'newspaper' by groups of students on theory aspects of the course, presentations by groups of students on other students' work, review teams to revise concepts using group work & kinesthetic resources (play dough, paint, markers etc.). Online discussion groups also used to explore case studies based around customer relationships etc. students encouraged to use journal tool on Moodle to reflect on learning. Possibilities for hairdressing beyond local opened out by using comparative tasks. Quizzes on Moodle also used for revision. Web based books turned into ebooks which are accessible on ipod touches. Julia has a Ako Aotearoa funded project to build guidelines for hairdressing tutors to engage with online learning. Work experience and polytech salon/client days assist with the attitudinal/dispositional skills. Salon teams are used so that each 'salon' has a concept of ownership and sense of purpose. Second interactive session with groups working on individual tutors' approaches/philosophies to teaching followed by groups sharing their discussion. Good sharing and discussion ensued :) opportunities for feedback on the session or for further questions offered as the presentation completed.
Then Ken Whittle from EIT on the development of new trades facilities at EIT which replace facilities that were 35 years old. Design of the facility driven by 'the curriculum' and focused on future industry needs. Curriculum based on feedback from industry / employers for greater emphasis on employability skills (communication, lit/num, info tech. time management etc.) rather than just technical skills. There is an increase in use of flexible learning materials to allow for smaller class numbers and greater access to p/t students. Therefore facilities designed to allow flexible use of space, integration of practical/theory and technician support centralised. Professional development provided to staff to adapt to teaching in new learning environment and in project based learning. Change over in curriculum along with implementation of embedded lit/num has increased both outcomes and retention.
The last session of the day was with James Cannan from MIT on 'Tertiary High School' a concept which CPIT is also going to put in place in 2011. This is for students still at high school to attend courses usually offered at tertiary institutions, so not only trades subjects but also computer studies, horticulture etc. Presentation began with a video from Dr. Stuart Middleton who blogs on edtalk. He has been championing the concept of tertiary high school but is out of NZ and unable to present f2f. He introduced the 'leaking education pipeline' in NZ including 20% of students disappearing from education by age 16, 30.000 secondary truants a day!, 4,000 excluded from school, 85% of youths who present in the youth courts are not attending school on a regular basis. All sobering stats. This 'leak' presents social issues, disengagment, youth inactivity and skills shortages. Disengagement - physical (not in school), virtual (at school but no school quals) and unintended (good intentions, right move, but little or no success post school - esp. in first year of tertiary ed.). Tertiary high school have a programme at polytech offered collaborative with secondary schools. Students identified as having potential but likely to not complete at year 10 are targeted for the programme. Mix of polytech and school qualifications offered with high credit bearing activities based on NZ curriculum. Included with be the development of work and personal skills including the development fo personal pathway plan, literacy (lit/num/digital) support and structured self-directed activities. Year 1 to inform student choice and provide discipline foundation skills. years 2 - 4 in mainstream polytechnic programmes.
Forum clossed with last thoughts / summary from Ken Whittle. An interesting day which the ITP sector needs to continue organising. There does not seem to be any other forum, apart from specific trade groups, in which trades tutors are able to meet and share ideas. Most other ITP conferences are focused on elearning or on general teaching & learning, so a specific forum, open to all trades tutors, should be considered for the future. In particular to allow innovative tutors to share their work and for tutors to network beyond their own specialist areas and teaching institutions.
First up, Peter Mellow on '21st century learners and Web 2.0 - implications for learners' with a focus on learning environments / learning spaces and role of teachers in setting up / bringing about change within trades teaching. Peter ran an interactive session supported with multimedia clips. He began with a warm up to start and provided opportunities for participants to work together on several feedback sessions. He ran through characteristics of 21st learners, how technology now connects people (not only young people), how elearning can help students assess learning where & when they need to. Many teachers at level 1/2 (competent but still need help) with technology, need to be at level 3 - automous explorer in order to make the most use of technology for teaching/learning - perhaps teachers as educational technologist/technological educators. Good, M. (2001)- in the book Teaching and Learning online: New pedgogies for new technologies. On the way to online pedagogy. Learning spaces involve some lateral thinking. Whiteboards on all walls (Resene sells white board paint), whiteboards on tables, lecture chairs which turn 360 degrees etc. to assist with building learning communities which can then be continued after class either physically (whole campus learning space) or virtually. 'your primary influence is the environment you create' Peter Senge. Web 3.0 - semantic web, 3D AI driven, data driven, web 4.0 all about activity, not data. gotoweb20 is a website which collects web 2.0 sites. Used blogging as an example of using web 2.0 to enhance student learning and showed Seth Godlin/Tom Peters video on blogging - and openforum event. also covered wikis, podcasting (Pt England in NZ as an example & AUT Maori language on ipod/ipod touches), eporfolio (Mahara), microblogging (Twitter - flash cards or announcement system). Ends with encouragement to give it a go :)
After morning tea, my session on 'becoming a trades tutor - crossing identity boundaries' went well and touched a cord with several tutors who are new to the ITP sector and their roles as trades tutors.
Then Lee Baglow from Unitec on 'self - exploration - a fresh look at pre-trade auto education. Programme change driven by staff dissatisfaction with the current ways things were being done. Involves a 'living curricula' which involves complex conversation, curiosity etc. creative skills. Examples provided of how programme adapted with improvement in retention, completion rates and increase in staff:student ratio. Includes the use of Web 2.0 to create eportfolios. Begins with students obtaining gmail accounts, use google docs. as repository for learning resources which students use to access resources and templates for students to work through, tutors are able to mark and feedback. Material also available via class blogger site. Students issued with Dell netbooks but all information stored on the cloud. Also 8 HD JVC video players to increase access to video material/powerpoints etc. Students are encouraged to store to maintain a learning journa/eportfolio on Blogger.com. Flexibility in delivery allows students to lead their own learning and set individual learning goals. Tutors build capability by using youtube videos to teach them how to use google docs etc.
After lunch, Julia Bruce from Wintec presented on 'principle-based teaching practice' and encouraging students to live their dreams. Developing her own teaching philosophy was a key towards becoming a better teacher and also in helping her students learn better. Her presentation provided examples of teaching resources aligned to her teaching philosophy. She started things out with a 'speed dating' activity in order to get conversation going on how to bring about change in tutor's approach to change, being change agents and working in an environment which is continually changing. Strategies to bring about authentic and collaborative learning including the use of photo shoots to collect hairdressing students' work, production of 'newspaper' by groups of students on theory aspects of the course, presentations by groups of students on other students' work, review teams to revise concepts using group work & kinesthetic resources (play dough, paint, markers etc.). Online discussion groups also used to explore case studies based around customer relationships etc. students encouraged to use journal tool on Moodle to reflect on learning. Possibilities for hairdressing beyond local opened out by using comparative tasks. Quizzes on Moodle also used for revision. Web based books turned into ebooks which are accessible on ipod touches. Julia has a Ako Aotearoa funded project to build guidelines for hairdressing tutors to engage with online learning. Work experience and polytech salon/client days assist with the attitudinal/dispositional skills. Salon teams are used so that each 'salon' has a concept of ownership and sense of purpose. Second interactive session with groups working on individual tutors' approaches/philosophies to teaching followed by groups sharing their discussion. Good sharing and discussion ensued :) opportunities for feedback on the session or for further questions offered as the presentation completed.
Then Ken Whittle from EIT on the development of new trades facilities at EIT which replace facilities that were 35 years old. Design of the facility driven by 'the curriculum' and focused on future industry needs. Curriculum based on feedback from industry / employers for greater emphasis on employability skills (communication, lit/num, info tech. time management etc.) rather than just technical skills. There is an increase in use of flexible learning materials to allow for smaller class numbers and greater access to p/t students. Therefore facilities designed to allow flexible use of space, integration of practical/theory and technician support centralised. Professional development provided to staff to adapt to teaching in new learning environment and in project based learning. Change over in curriculum along with implementation of embedded lit/num has increased both outcomes and retention.
The last session of the day was with James Cannan from MIT on 'Tertiary High School' a concept which CPIT is also going to put in place in 2011. This is for students still at high school to attend courses usually offered at tertiary institutions, so not only trades subjects but also computer studies, horticulture etc. Presentation began with a video from Dr. Stuart Middleton who blogs on edtalk. He has been championing the concept of tertiary high school but is out of NZ and unable to present f2f. He introduced the 'leaking education pipeline' in NZ including 20% of students disappearing from education by age 16, 30.000 secondary truants a day!, 4,000 excluded from school, 85% of youths who present in the youth courts are not attending school on a regular basis. All sobering stats. This 'leak' presents social issues, disengagment, youth inactivity and skills shortages. Disengagement - physical (not in school), virtual (at school but no school quals) and unintended (good intentions, right move, but little or no success post school - esp. in first year of tertiary ed.). Tertiary high school have a programme at polytech offered collaborative with secondary schools. Students identified as having potential but likely to not complete at year 10 are targeted for the programme. Mix of polytech and school qualifications offered with high credit bearing activities based on NZ curriculum. Included with be the development of work and personal skills including the development fo personal pathway plan, literacy (lit/num/digital) support and structured self-directed activities. Year 1 to inform student choice and provide discipline foundation skills. years 2 - 4 in mainstream polytechnic programmes.
Forum clossed with last thoughts / summary from Ken Whittle. An interesting day which the ITP sector needs to continue organising. There does not seem to be any other forum, apart from specific trade groups, in which trades tutors are able to meet and share ideas. Most other ITP conferences are focused on elearning or on general teaching & learning, so a specific forum, open to all trades tutors, should be considered for the future. In particular to allow innovative tutors to share their work and for tutors to network beyond their own specialist areas and teaching institutions.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Ipad - ebooks and elit
The ipad launched in NZ last Friday. Although I have had the ipad for a couple of weeks, I have not had much time to really play with it. So far, I have been able to evaluate the ipod touch apps I want to keep and update any ipod touch apps which have ipad versions. Of note is Stanza which is my present ebook reader platform. The added capability which I love is being able to add files off my computer easily and transfer these on to the ipad. Stanza allows various ebooks I have purchased over the years which are .epub files to be read along with .pdf files. So I am now able to more easily access my rather large collection of study / research articles on the ipad. I have always been a fan of reading with a digital device and the ipad’s display really enhances the experience. As recommended on the Stanza FAQ, calibre can be used to convert various file formats into .epub or .pdf. which is user friendly and not only converts the books but also had a nifty ebook reader as well.
However, reading print books on an ipad is rather old hat although more ebooks are now sole through Amazon than hard cover books. So the next thing to work on is to evaluate the collection of elit and also here. This article features the multimodalities possible by bringing digital technologies into books. All require multimedia players and the ones which run on shockwave or flash will not run on an ipad (sigh). However, many of the examples are reminiscent of music videos, with audio of poems running with visual presentations, often with fast moving or scrolling images or using animations. Some have interactive sections or use text graphics to tell the story. Many are art forms rather than actual narratives but all tell a story of sorts. Here is an example which runs on a Mac. A guide to writing elit provides for some interesting approaches and ideas.
So it will be worthwhile looking into the future of textbooks and also children's literature which has been the natural home for interactive books for a while, exampled by one Kiwi company's approach to putting Kiwi classics on the ipad.
However, reading print books on an ipad is rather old hat although more ebooks are now sole through Amazon than hard cover books. So the next thing to work on is to evaluate the collection of elit and also here. This article features the multimodalities possible by bringing digital technologies into books. All require multimedia players and the ones which run on shockwave or flash will not run on an ipad (sigh). However, many of the examples are reminiscent of music videos, with audio of poems running with visual presentations, often with fast moving or scrolling images or using animations. Some have interactive sections or use text graphics to tell the story. Many are art forms rather than actual narratives but all tell a story of sorts. Here is an example which runs on a Mac. A guide to writing elit provides for some interesting approaches and ideas.
So it will be worthwhile looking into the future of textbooks and also children's literature which has been the natural home for interactive books for a while, exampled by one Kiwi company's approach to putting Kiwi classics on the ipad.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Ako Aotearoa tertiary research in progress colloquium - day 2 afternoon
After lunch, the Carl Weiman(University of British Columbia) model of science education was then presented by Dr. Ben Kennedy from University of Canterbury. Carl Weiman measured science learning and attitudes and focused on science education reform. Project involves 6 classes, year 1 - year 3 from two universities. Four phases to the project. First phase of observation and measurement of lectures /teaching styles plus measure student engagement by attention through observation, just begun. Learning goals, concept tests etc to be developed followed by implementation and eventual evaluation to see if interventions are effective. Canadian Resources to refine and align goals & assessments (pre/post diagnostic) to allow for local limitations need to be undertaken.
Tatou tatou: success for all - improving Maori students success in health professional degree level programmes was presented by Dr. Elana Curtis with Dr. Mark Barrow & Dr. Arini from University of Auckland. This project builds on from 18 month qualitative study funded by TLRI on factors which assisted Maori students learning in university settings. Critical incident technique is used to study 40 students' narratives on how non-lecture based activities/settings help or hinder Maori student success. These include tutorials/seminars/workshops, labs, small group clinical teacihng, case studies/PBL, work based placement/internships. Critical incident (trigger, action, outcome) used - can you describe a time when teaching/learning practices helped (or hindered) your success in x? Emerging issues include the importance of MAPAS (Maori and Pacific Admission Scheme) support; MAPAs specific study space/resources; hints of experiences of stigma & racism hinders sucess; efficacy of 'Maori health week'; whakawhanuangatanga; Tuakana/teina - peer support.
Last session of the symposium on 'learning enviroments & student engagement with learning in tertiary settings from Dr. Nick Zepke & Dr. Linda Leach. A summary of a project studying student engagement with nine case studies undertaken at 2 universities, 4 ITPs, one Wananga, one PTE and one community organisation. Presentation also on why multiple case study chosen, key findings and major implications. Key findings include significant differences between institutions; engaging students is complex; teachers and teaching have important impact on student engagement; intrinsic motivation, particularly perceptions of competence, agency and relatedness, very important; and non-institutional influences only impact moderately. Key implications are the importance of teachers and teaching which requires development of teachers and reward good teaching. Teacher development should focus on developinb positive working relationships with learners; enhance student self belief; create challenging, enriching and extending educational experiences for students; and ensure institutional cultures are welcoming to students from diverse backgrounds.
Dr. Peter Coolbear then closed the symposium with a summary/wrap-up and reflection. The National Project fund - 2.1 million so far, needs to be a change fund. The correct type of research seem to be funded so how do we now build on what has be completed? Work is exciting, has a diverse portfolio, robust work (multiple methods, strong sampling, nature of evidence, Kaupapa Maori & Pacific frameworks) and with strong capability building elements. Emerging themes of colloquium include identity (learners, participants in a bicultural society, participants in a discipline, participants in a trade or profession - so identity as professional tertiary teachers? - perhaps accreditation ? Alison Holmes doing a lit review of professional teaching plus Ako Stocktake about to be launched); Building communites (ideas, practice, tertiary education researchers); meaninful, critical relationships; building coherent, accessible knowledge bases to inform practice; learner voice. Most important, how do we get research in front of decision makers?, dissemination is an important next step - peer reviewed publications are not enough, good practice guides / workshops etc. to try to influence at the organisation, system & policy level.
Overall the symposium was a great opportunity for me to connect with the NZ tertiary research landscape and to meet with other researchers, pondering similar challenges and working towards providing for research based information which will better learning opportunities for students/learners in NZ. I will be doing a report to the CED on the various projects, so that the team is informed about ongoing and completed work completed within the NZ context. Look forward to next year when many of the interesting projects will be reporting on their findings plus also what the next crop of projects will be working on.
Tatou tatou: success for all - improving Maori students success in health professional degree level programmes was presented by Dr. Elana Curtis with Dr. Mark Barrow & Dr. Arini from University of Auckland. This project builds on from 18 month qualitative study funded by TLRI on factors which assisted Maori students learning in university settings. Critical incident technique is used to study 40 students' narratives on how non-lecture based activities/settings help or hinder Maori student success. These include tutorials/seminars/workshops, labs, small group clinical teacihng, case studies/PBL, work based placement/internships. Critical incident (trigger, action, outcome) used - can you describe a time when teaching/learning practices helped (or hindered) your success in x? Emerging issues include the importance of MAPAS (Maori and Pacific Admission Scheme) support; MAPAs specific study space/resources; hints of experiences of stigma & racism hinders sucess; efficacy of 'Maori health week'; whakawhanuangatanga; Tuakana/teina - peer support.
Last session of the symposium on 'learning enviroments & student engagement with learning in tertiary settings from Dr. Nick Zepke & Dr. Linda Leach. A summary of a project studying student engagement with nine case studies undertaken at 2 universities, 4 ITPs, one Wananga, one PTE and one community organisation. Presentation also on why multiple case study chosen, key findings and major implications. Key findings include significant differences between institutions; engaging students is complex; teachers and teaching have important impact on student engagement; intrinsic motivation, particularly perceptions of competence, agency and relatedness, very important; and non-institutional influences only impact moderately. Key implications are the importance of teachers and teaching which requires development of teachers and reward good teaching. Teacher development should focus on developinb positive working relationships with learners; enhance student self belief; create challenging, enriching and extending educational experiences for students; and ensure institutional cultures are welcoming to students from diverse backgrounds.
Dr. Peter Coolbear then closed the symposium with a summary/wrap-up and reflection. The National Project fund - 2.1 million so far, needs to be a change fund. The correct type of research seem to be funded so how do we now build on what has be completed? Work is exciting, has a diverse portfolio, robust work (multiple methods, strong sampling, nature of evidence, Kaupapa Maori & Pacific frameworks) and with strong capability building elements. Emerging themes of colloquium include identity (learners, participants in a bicultural society, participants in a discipline, participants in a trade or profession - so identity as professional tertiary teachers? - perhaps accreditation ? Alison Holmes doing a lit review of professional teaching plus Ako Stocktake about to be launched); Building communites (ideas, practice, tertiary education researchers); meaninful, critical relationships; building coherent, accessible knowledge bases to inform practice; learner voice. Most important, how do we get research in front of decision makers?, dissemination is an important next step - peer reviewed publications are not enough, good practice guides / workshops etc. to try to influence at the organisation, system & policy level.
Overall the symposium was a great opportunity for me to connect with the NZ tertiary research landscape and to meet with other researchers, pondering similar challenges and working towards providing for research based information which will better learning opportunities for students/learners in NZ. I will be doing a report to the CED on the various projects, so that the team is informed about ongoing and completed work completed within the NZ context. Look forward to next year when many of the interesting projects will be reporting on their findings plus also what the next crop of projects will be working on.
Ako Aotearoa research in progress colloquium - day two morning
Day begins with Dr. Stephen Marshall from Victoria University presenting on 'elearning & higher education: Understanding & supporting organisational change in NZ'. Introduced the the elearning maturity model (eMM) which was used along with interviews and monitoring of institutional change to find out how technology impacts on the institution's activities. So introduced the concepts for quality enhancement which are knowing what to measure, knowing how to measure and knowing how to improve what has been measured as foundation to the project. Several findings shared comparing PTEs, ITPs, Universities and Wananga.
Second up, Kelby Smith-Han, an Ako Aotearoa Phd scholarship receipient, supervised by Dr. Chrysl Jaye at the University of Otago, presented on his investigation into the undergraduate medical students' discourses of general practice. Kelby went through background of the project, method used and some preliminary findings. Project came about due to increasingly small numbers of medical students moving into general practice. Medical students in their second and sixth/last year of medical school were interviewed to find out their perspectives on vocational choice in general practice as compared to surgery. Also supported with written documents (e.g. medical student magazines) and possible focus groups. Preliminary findings indicate lack of valuing of GP profession with both cohorts of students.
Then Haani Huata, from CPIT, presented the teacher/student view on Te Kawai Kumara - a pilot for the synchronous delivery of a common postgraduate programme in Te Reo Maori across multiple sites - AUT, Victoria University and CPIT. Paper written by Professor Tania Ka'ai from AUT. Haani began with a waiata/song. The programme is a taught Master of Arts using smart boards and video conferencing with 5 papers, Tikanga Rangahu (research), Tikanga (culture), Koreor Whaterei (Maori text), Tuhinga Totoko (creative writing/performance arts) & Te Whanaketanga o te Reo. The aim of the project is to build research capability and capacity of Maori scholars to advance their skills in teaching and learning through research in Maori language. Emerging issues were presented including institutional timelines, impact of weather on video conferencing, teachers/students using technology, breaking silos between teaching sites and limited number of staff available to mark thesis in Maori. Highlights include the nature of the programme which enables, financial benefits for students related to access and potential from understanding technology capabilities.
After morning tea, a presentation on 'maximising learning dialogue opportunities in professional field-based experiences, in the student teacher/counselling context, from Dr. Marion Sanders representing a team from the Bethlehem Tertiary Insititute and also working with NZ Tertiary College and Wintec. Workplace learning is enhanced if students & supervisors are encouraged to undertake learning talks which is intentionally cultivated. This study is an intervention study to find out how Four intentional strategies may enhance the interaction between students and supervisors. The strategies are partnership map (clear roles); belief inventory(shared beliefs); professional article (read article related and students asks questions based on article); and critical incident discussion. Four phases to be undertaken, with stage one, the pre-intervention phase just completed. Baseline data from students through questionnaire and repertory grid and from mentors through a questionnaire collected. Phase two is the interventions phase, followed by post intervention data collection & analysis and post intervention resource development.
Next up, Helen Hughes & Gordon Suddaby from Massey University presented on their project studying how to engage learners in 'the sciences' from the secondary to tertiary transition point of view. Lower levels of school students engaging with science subjects (sciences, technology, maths & engineering) at school led to this project. Key observations include student engagement being influenced by their teachers; there are different perceptions between students and university lecturers; content not so important as delivery; science students want to develop scientific methods skills; and student engagement is now lost during transition from school to university. Derived from questionnaires, interviews, focus groups with university students (1st year, college of science), lecturers, school students (year 12, taking more than 1 science subject) and teachers. Implications include institutional data already available but not used; science disciplines research-led not teaching focused; need to find better ways to manage and gather student expectations; communications need to be improved between schools and universities.
Dr Rhys Jones, representing a team from the University of Auckland, presented on assessing Hauora Maori (cultural competence) in medical students in clinical settings. Two phases, with the first phase involving collaborative work to develop two assessment tasks (modified case report and reflective commentary) completed end of 2009. Second phase, beginning this year, to pilot, implement and evaluate these as used in a clinical setting. Key findings indicate new assessments to be acceptable and students percieve they add value to their learning. Building capacity for clinical teachers to teach, learn and assess Hauroa Maori needs to be undertaken in order for sustainable continuance of this concept.
Second up, Kelby Smith-Han, an Ako Aotearoa Phd scholarship receipient, supervised by Dr. Chrysl Jaye at the University of Otago, presented on his investigation into the undergraduate medical students' discourses of general practice. Kelby went through background of the project, method used and some preliminary findings. Project came about due to increasingly small numbers of medical students moving into general practice. Medical students in their second and sixth/last year of medical school were interviewed to find out their perspectives on vocational choice in general practice as compared to surgery. Also supported with written documents (e.g. medical student magazines) and possible focus groups. Preliminary findings indicate lack of valuing of GP profession with both cohorts of students.
Then Haani Huata, from CPIT, presented the teacher/student view on Te Kawai Kumara - a pilot for the synchronous delivery of a common postgraduate programme in Te Reo Maori across multiple sites - AUT, Victoria University and CPIT. Paper written by Professor Tania Ka'ai from AUT. Haani began with a waiata/song. The programme is a taught Master of Arts using smart boards and video conferencing with 5 papers, Tikanga Rangahu (research), Tikanga (culture), Koreor Whaterei (Maori text), Tuhinga Totoko (creative writing/performance arts) & Te Whanaketanga o te Reo. The aim of the project is to build research capability and capacity of Maori scholars to advance their skills in teaching and learning through research in Maori language. Emerging issues were presented including institutional timelines, impact of weather on video conferencing, teachers/students using technology, breaking silos between teaching sites and limited number of staff available to mark thesis in Maori. Highlights include the nature of the programme which enables, financial benefits for students related to access and potential from understanding technology capabilities.
After morning tea, a presentation on 'maximising learning dialogue opportunities in professional field-based experiences, in the student teacher/counselling context, from Dr. Marion Sanders representing a team from the Bethlehem Tertiary Insititute and also working with NZ Tertiary College and Wintec. Workplace learning is enhanced if students & supervisors are encouraged to undertake learning talks which is intentionally cultivated. This study is an intervention study to find out how Four intentional strategies may enhance the interaction between students and supervisors. The strategies are partnership map (clear roles); belief inventory(shared beliefs); professional article (read article related and students asks questions based on article); and critical incident discussion. Four phases to be undertaken, with stage one, the pre-intervention phase just completed. Baseline data from students through questionnaire and repertory grid and from mentors through a questionnaire collected. Phase two is the interventions phase, followed by post intervention data collection & analysis and post intervention resource development.
Next up, Helen Hughes & Gordon Suddaby from Massey University presented on their project studying how to engage learners in 'the sciences' from the secondary to tertiary transition point of view. Lower levels of school students engaging with science subjects (sciences, technology, maths & engineering) at school led to this project. Key observations include student engagement being influenced by their teachers; there are different perceptions between students and university lecturers; content not so important as delivery; science students want to develop scientific methods skills; and student engagement is now lost during transition from school to university. Derived from questionnaires, interviews, focus groups with university students (1st year, college of science), lecturers, school students (year 12, taking more than 1 science subject) and teachers. Implications include institutional data already available but not used; science disciplines research-led not teaching focused; need to find better ways to manage and gather student expectations; communications need to be improved between schools and universities.
Dr Rhys Jones, representing a team from the University of Auckland, presented on assessing Hauora Maori (cultural competence) in medical students in clinical settings. Two phases, with the first phase involving collaborative work to develop two assessment tasks (modified case report and reflective commentary) completed end of 2009. Second phase, beginning this year, to pilot, implement and evaluate these as used in a clinical setting. Key findings indicate new assessments to be acceptable and students percieve they add value to their learning. Building capacity for clinical teachers to teach, learn and assess Hauroa Maori needs to be undertaken in order for sustainable continuance of this concept.
Ako Aotearoa Tertiary research in progress colloquium 2010 - day 1 afternoon
After lunch, I presented on the project 'belonging, becoming & being: first year apprentices' experiences of the workplace' supported by Charles Hayworth from the Boating ITO & Loretta Garrow from the Building & Construction ITO from 2 of the 7 ITOs participating. Good feedback from the audience with some questions contributing to enhancing the project.
Next up, 'Tertiary bridging tracks: holistic teaching & learning practices of Pacific PTEs' from Lindsay Huthnance and Tautalo Fiso from the NZ Institute of Sport. The project draws on existing literature to build on recommendations for using more holistic approaches of teaching and learning to engage Maori and Pasika people. Firstly to identity approaches which epitomise holistic approaches, then to evaluate how effective these are and to then recommend the approaches which work best. Project has just begun so an overview was presented.
Then Professor Mike Thomas & Barbara Kensington-Miller & Dr. Hannah Bartholomew of Auckland presented on a TLRI funded project - 'mathematics undergraduate teaching: perspectives & interactions' . The project studies lecturers and how they develop as teachers (Lecturer's component); interactions which assist with student learning in the lecturing environment lecturing interactions component); and approaches students take to engage with material presented during lectures (student perspective component). It uses Schoenfeld's Knowledge, Orientations & Goals (Schoenfeld's website), framework to analyse the decisions made by teachers. Mike provided an example of how to apply the KOG in discussions with lecturers on video of their lecture. Barbara provided method used to explore student perspectives and some interview transcripts, exploring students' identity and their relationships with maths. Also the ways in which lecturing can engage students, improve mathematical understanding and find out how questioning strategies may help student understanding of maths concepts.
Following was 'building kaupapa Maori in early childhood education' by Ngaroma Williams, Te Pari Puna Ora o Aotearoa & Mary-Liz Bradley from the Open Polytechnic. This project, which has just begun, is to develop good practice models & frameworks for student & registered teacers / practitioners to learn and apply cultural competency within the NZ early childhood context. The project will be carried out using kuapapa Maori methodology for all aspects. Tikanga research team guidelines include, a call to find knowledge. In order to support this search, support required from all participants via mentorship and organisational support.
After afternoon tea, Professor John Bitchener from AUT & Dr. Martin East from the University of Auckland. Their presentation was on 'best practice in the types of feedback given to thesis students in NZ universities. There seems to be a gap in the literature on response/feedback on thesis drafts. Areas studied included strengths and weaknesses of students' writing; aims and priorities in providing feedback; nature/focus of the feedback and how feedback is provided; expectations and student experiences to feedback; feedback effectiveness; nature of supervisor training and recommendations to new supervisors. Similarities and differences within and across disciplines and between native and non-native writers also considered. An overview of findings, challenges of the project and recommendations for further research was presented.
Last presentation of the day from Mike Hay from Trade & Commerce Ltd. who presented on 'strength-based learner engagment'. Three PTEs involved with Tertiary Opportunities programmes (TOPs) in various areas including trades, computing, alternative ed., retail and automotive. Generally with students with no school qualifications and disengaged from school. Approach is a facilitated programme called 'My Voice' that builds on student abilities to help them discover, explore and understand their strengths. based on work undertaken in the Uk, USA and NZ on positive psychology. This project evaluates tools designed to faciliate strength-based education and involves student/tutor questionnaires and focus group discussions. Tutor provided with training on using the strengths based approach. Comparisons made between cohorts of students who had learning using strengths based approach & students not exposed to approach at all. In general cohort with embeded strengths based approach had more positive learning experiences.
Day closed with Justin Sampson promotion of Ako Aotearoa website and a short reflection fom Peter Coolbear on day 1 session before much anticipated time for drinks & nibbles and time to refresh over the evening for tomorrow's sessions.
A very full day!! Learnt just as much from the questions which came after each presentation, many of which added different perspectives to each project. A good range of projects with several projects exploring similar aspects of student learning including enhancing student engagement, feedback and need for continual teacher professional development albeit in different contexts and with different approaches/ lenses.
Next up, 'Tertiary bridging tracks: holistic teaching & learning practices of Pacific PTEs' from Lindsay Huthnance and Tautalo Fiso from the NZ Institute of Sport. The project draws on existing literature to build on recommendations for using more holistic approaches of teaching and learning to engage Maori and Pasika people. Firstly to identity approaches which epitomise holistic approaches, then to evaluate how effective these are and to then recommend the approaches which work best. Project has just begun so an overview was presented.
Then Professor Mike Thomas & Barbara Kensington-Miller & Dr. Hannah Bartholomew of Auckland presented on a TLRI funded project - 'mathematics undergraduate teaching: perspectives & interactions' . The project studies lecturers and how they develop as teachers (Lecturer's component); interactions which assist with student learning in the lecturing environment lecturing interactions component); and approaches students take to engage with material presented during lectures (student perspective component). It uses Schoenfeld's Knowledge, Orientations & Goals (Schoenfeld's website), framework to analyse the decisions made by teachers. Mike provided an example of how to apply the KOG in discussions with lecturers on video of their lecture. Barbara provided method used to explore student perspectives and some interview transcripts, exploring students' identity and their relationships with maths. Also the ways in which lecturing can engage students, improve mathematical understanding and find out how questioning strategies may help student understanding of maths concepts.
Following was 'building kaupapa Maori in early childhood education' by Ngaroma Williams, Te Pari Puna Ora o Aotearoa & Mary-Liz Bradley from the Open Polytechnic. This project, which has just begun, is to develop good practice models & frameworks for student & registered teacers / practitioners to learn and apply cultural competency within the NZ early childhood context. The project will be carried out using kuapapa Maori methodology for all aspects. Tikanga research team guidelines include, a call to find knowledge. In order to support this search, support required from all participants via mentorship and organisational support.
After afternoon tea, Professor John Bitchener from AUT & Dr. Martin East from the University of Auckland. Their presentation was on 'best practice in the types of feedback given to thesis students in NZ universities. There seems to be a gap in the literature on response/feedback on thesis drafts. Areas studied included strengths and weaknesses of students' writing; aims and priorities in providing feedback; nature/focus of the feedback and how feedback is provided; expectations and student experiences to feedback; feedback effectiveness; nature of supervisor training and recommendations to new supervisors. Similarities and differences within and across disciplines and between native and non-native writers also considered. An overview of findings, challenges of the project and recommendations for further research was presented.
Last presentation of the day from Mike Hay from Trade & Commerce Ltd. who presented on 'strength-based learner engagment'. Three PTEs involved with Tertiary Opportunities programmes (TOPs) in various areas including trades, computing, alternative ed., retail and automotive. Generally with students with no school qualifications and disengaged from school. Approach is a facilitated programme called 'My Voice' that builds on student abilities to help them discover, explore and understand their strengths. based on work undertaken in the Uk, USA and NZ on positive psychology. This project evaluates tools designed to faciliate strength-based education and involves student/tutor questionnaires and focus group discussions. Tutor provided with training on using the strengths based approach. Comparisons made between cohorts of students who had learning using strengths based approach & students not exposed to approach at all. In general cohort with embeded strengths based approach had more positive learning experiences.
Day closed with Justin Sampson promotion of Ako Aotearoa website and a short reflection fom Peter Coolbear on day 1 session before much anticipated time for drinks & nibbles and time to refresh over the evening for tomorrow's sessions.
A very full day!! Learnt just as much from the questions which came after each presentation, many of which added different perspectives to each project. A good range of projects with several projects exploring similar aspects of student learning including enhancing student engagement, feedback and need for continual teacher professional development albeit in different contexts and with different approaches/ lenses.
Ako Aotearoa Research in Progress Colloquium 2010 - day one morning
Was at the ako aotearoa research colloquium Thursday & Friday of last week. Pretty full on two days & this & the next three posts consolidate my notes from presentations on the various projects in tertiary education
funded by both Ako Aotearoa and the Ministry of Education Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) Fund. The symposium provides an opportunity for researchers to share findings and work in progress plus to do the usual networking. I am especially interested in research methodology and approaches used by the many projects along with catching up with other researchers in the field.
The symposiusm was formally opened with a mihi whatatau from Ngahiwi Apanui, Kaihautu Maori for Ako Aotearoa and an introduction and warm welcome from Dr. Peter Coolbear, the director of Ako Aotearoa.
First up, Dorothy Spiller from University of Waikato and Stuart Terry from Otago Polytechnic present on 'Unlocking the impact of tertiary teachers' perceptions of student evaluations of teaching.' Project on 3 tertiary institutions - 2 universities and 1 ITP. Project seeks to find out if student evaluations influence teacher thinking and behaviour, does institutional use constrain teaching innovation, why teachers undertake evaluation and do teachers use student evaluation feedback to improve teaching, do they engage in dialogue with students about evaluation feedback and how can findings from the project be used to enhance the use of evaluations to improve teaching and learning. Progress to date includes literature review and collection of survey data. Lit review reveals gap between acceptance and use of evaluation to inform practice; could using multiple sources of evaluation help? teacher emotions and receiving student feedback important and are there relationships between teaching beliefs and using evaluations to inform teaching? PD/guidance required to support use of evaluations to inform teaching; institutional support & incentives help; perceptions of the ownership of the student evaluation process important. Online survey used with a 45% return rate from 2445 staff. Interviews to be conducted with 10 staff from each institution. Early data indicate new staff tend to use evaluations although established staff in two institutions use them too. Further data analysis to compare commonalities and differences between insitutions to be undertaken form next semester.
Then, 'Help or hindrance: A blended approach to learner engagement' from John Milne, Gordon Suddaby and Dr. Andrew Higgins from Auckland University of Technology presented by Dr. Lynne Jeffrey from Massey University. Based on Dewey's principles of learning through experience, engagement in activities of personal relevance and learning collaboratively and promise promoted by introducing and using technology to enhance learning. However despite heavy investment in technology infratructure within education, may students still tend to learn through informal, outside of school engagement with technology. Study of 8 2nd year business classes from 4 NZ tertiary institutions to find out what engagement strategies may work. These include interactive activities, matching student learning style influences with engagement strategies and collect student feedback on what works or does not. A toolkit is to be developed to help teachers select appropriate blended approaches. Toolkit includes, needs assessments (student, course, curriculum characteristics), development and delivery (design, engagement strategies, communication /inteactive activies, student support, diagnostic/formative activities and evaluation strategies) and evaluation and teacher reflection. Use of blended learning seen as one way to build student engagement with the institution and also the content of their study. Engagement requires a'grab attention phase involving using building on the curiosity of students and need for relevance; Removing both student and organisational barriers; and building social presence through integration of students to obviate feelings of alienation and isolation, helping cohorts/groups congregate /consolidate, personalisation and teacher presence (immediacy and attention).
After morning tea, an overview of the various TLRI tertiary projects was provided by Associate Professor Nick Zepke and Dr. Linda Leach from Massey University. The main objective is to provide information on the projects to date as TLRI has a focus for future projects to build on existing / completed research it has already funded. 18 post-school projects funded so far with 11 reports now available with several more about to come up on website. There are connections between Ako Aotearoa and TLRI projects which can be build on for instance learning dialogues in field- based education( Ako Aorearoa) and learning communities (TLRI). Both focus on teaching practice / building research capability and capacity, also on building relationships between students/ teachers / communities, assessments. Other emerging themes include competence (teachers and students), transition to independent learning, diversity of students, teaching is complex and challenging, impact of institutional and organisational cultures on teaching and learning. Need to network within the small tertiary education community in NZ and to look beyond own little project, to liaise and work on collaborative projects where possible.
Following the overview, a presentation on'Integrating information literacy and discovering voice in the NZ tertiary context', presented by Angela Feekery from Massey University who is an Ako Aotearoa PhD scholarship recipient in 2009. Angela's supervisor is Dr. Lisa Emerson. She reported on the participatory action research (PAR) research project focused on integrating / embedding the development of info. literacy (IL) skills and improving writing. Who provides students with IL debated but the collaborative model between library staff and academic staff most common. The main objective of study is to identify and implement ways students can appropriately work with a wide range of information and relate these to their assessment tasks within their discipline. To begin, semester one studied with a group of 'planning' students. This found many things related to IL which required working with. Last semester, interventions like draft submission/feedback, guided peer review, using i-maps, reading/learning log and evaluating sources. Now investigating key skills via interviews with programme staff and then develop model for IL for this discipline.
Then Dr. Willem Fourie, Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) and Beverly McClelland, Counties Manukau District Health Board DHB present on their project 'dedicated education unit: enhancing clinical teaching and learning. The project now completed so report on findings and recommendations undertaken at this presentation. Concept of Dedicated education unit (DEU) originated in Australia with DEUs established with CPIT/Canterbury District Health Board collaboration since 2007, MIT and Manukau DHB in 2008 and Middlemore in 2009. This study uses action research to identify best practice. In each cycle of the action research, commonalities and dis-similarities were identified. Findings include importance of orientation and planning for both staff and students, roles within DEU, teamwork expectations especially between clinical learning nurse and academic learning nurse, support required from peers, students learning at different levels/years and staff, student learning needs with relevant feedback and enhancing self-confidence for all concerned. Final recommendation is for a continuation with the DEU model. Other recommendations include structure for 3rd year students to support 1st year students, selection of CLN, work on feedback from both staff and students who participated in project, continuing collaborative approach, perhaps a DEU coordinator role to be established and engagement of a multi- disciplinary team across various DEUs, consult with Maori PHOs and to consider student rotation.
A full on morning with a convivial lunch to recover and ready for the afternoon.
funded by both Ako Aotearoa and the Ministry of Education Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) Fund. The symposium provides an opportunity for researchers to share findings and work in progress plus to do the usual networking. I am especially interested in research methodology and approaches used by the many projects along with catching up with other researchers in the field.
The symposiusm was formally opened with a mihi whatatau from Ngahiwi Apanui, Kaihautu Maori for Ako Aotearoa and an introduction and warm welcome from Dr. Peter Coolbear, the director of Ako Aotearoa.
First up, Dorothy Spiller from University of Waikato and Stuart Terry from Otago Polytechnic present on 'Unlocking the impact of tertiary teachers' perceptions of student evaluations of teaching.' Project on 3 tertiary institutions - 2 universities and 1 ITP. Project seeks to find out if student evaluations influence teacher thinking and behaviour, does institutional use constrain teaching innovation, why teachers undertake evaluation and do teachers use student evaluation feedback to improve teaching, do they engage in dialogue with students about evaluation feedback and how can findings from the project be used to enhance the use of evaluations to improve teaching and learning. Progress to date includes literature review and collection of survey data. Lit review reveals gap between acceptance and use of evaluation to inform practice; could using multiple sources of evaluation help? teacher emotions and receiving student feedback important and are there relationships between teaching beliefs and using evaluations to inform teaching? PD/guidance required to support use of evaluations to inform teaching; institutional support & incentives help; perceptions of the ownership of the student evaluation process important. Online survey used with a 45% return rate from 2445 staff. Interviews to be conducted with 10 staff from each institution. Early data indicate new staff tend to use evaluations although established staff in two institutions use them too. Further data analysis to compare commonalities and differences between insitutions to be undertaken form next semester.
Then, 'Help or hindrance: A blended approach to learner engagement' from John Milne, Gordon Suddaby and Dr. Andrew Higgins from Auckland University of Technology presented by Dr. Lynne Jeffrey from Massey University. Based on Dewey's principles of learning through experience, engagement in activities of personal relevance and learning collaboratively and promise promoted by introducing and using technology to enhance learning. However despite heavy investment in technology infratructure within education, may students still tend to learn through informal, outside of school engagement with technology. Study of 8 2nd year business classes from 4 NZ tertiary institutions to find out what engagement strategies may work. These include interactive activities, matching student learning style influences with engagement strategies and collect student feedback on what works or does not. A toolkit is to be developed to help teachers select appropriate blended approaches. Toolkit includes, needs assessments (student, course, curriculum characteristics), development and delivery (design, engagement strategies, communication /inteactive activies, student support, diagnostic/formative activities and evaluation strategies) and evaluation and teacher reflection. Use of blended learning seen as one way to build student engagement with the institution and also the content of their study. Engagement requires a'grab attention phase involving using building on the curiosity of students and need for relevance; Removing both student and organisational barriers; and building social presence through integration of students to obviate feelings of alienation and isolation, helping cohorts/groups congregate /consolidate, personalisation and teacher presence (immediacy and attention).
After morning tea, an overview of the various TLRI tertiary projects was provided by Associate Professor Nick Zepke and Dr. Linda Leach from Massey University. The main objective is to provide information on the projects to date as TLRI has a focus for future projects to build on existing / completed research it has already funded. 18 post-school projects funded so far with 11 reports now available with several more about to come up on website. There are connections between Ako Aotearoa and TLRI projects which can be build on for instance learning dialogues in field- based education( Ako Aorearoa) and learning communities (TLRI). Both focus on teaching practice / building research capability and capacity, also on building relationships between students/ teachers / communities, assessments. Other emerging themes include competence (teachers and students), transition to independent learning, diversity of students, teaching is complex and challenging, impact of institutional and organisational cultures on teaching and learning. Need to network within the small tertiary education community in NZ and to look beyond own little project, to liaise and work on collaborative projects where possible.
Following the overview, a presentation on'Integrating information literacy and discovering voice in the NZ tertiary context', presented by Angela Feekery from Massey University who is an Ako Aotearoa PhD scholarship recipient in 2009. Angela's supervisor is Dr. Lisa Emerson. She reported on the participatory action research (PAR) research project focused on integrating / embedding the development of info. literacy (IL) skills and improving writing. Who provides students with IL debated but the collaborative model between library staff and academic staff most common. The main objective of study is to identify and implement ways students can appropriately work with a wide range of information and relate these to their assessment tasks within their discipline. To begin, semester one studied with a group of 'planning' students. This found many things related to IL which required working with. Last semester, interventions like draft submission/feedback, guided peer review, using i-maps, reading/learning log and evaluating sources. Now investigating key skills via interviews with programme staff and then develop model for IL for this discipline.
Then Dr. Willem Fourie, Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) and Beverly McClelland, Counties Manukau District Health Board DHB present on their project 'dedicated education unit: enhancing clinical teaching and learning. The project now completed so report on findings and recommendations undertaken at this presentation. Concept of Dedicated education unit (DEU) originated in Australia with DEUs established with CPIT/Canterbury District Health Board collaboration since 2007, MIT and Manukau DHB in 2008 and Middlemore in 2009. This study uses action research to identify best practice. In each cycle of the action research, commonalities and dis-similarities were identified. Findings include importance of orientation and planning for both staff and students, roles within DEU, teamwork expectations especially between clinical learning nurse and academic learning nurse, support required from peers, students learning at different levels/years and staff, student learning needs with relevant feedback and enhancing self-confidence for all concerned. Final recommendation is for a continuation with the DEU model. Other recommendations include structure for 3rd year students to support 1st year students, selection of CLN, work on feedback from both staff and students who participated in project, continuing collaborative approach, perhaps a DEU coordinator role to be established and engagement of a multi- disciplinary team across various DEUs, consult with Maori PHOs and to consider student rotation.
A full on morning with a convivial lunch to recover and ready for the afternoon.
Monday, July 12, 2010
iPad evaluation
I managed to pick up an iPad just before I left Perth, from the recently opened local Apple Store – a beautifully laid out and designed store with ultra friendly, knowledgeable & young staff. There has been a real demand for the iPads in Perth and I had been following a thread on the local discussion forum as to where there might be one about. So when I went into the Apple store last Wed. morning and had to leave my email to be advised of the next shipment, I was not holding out much hope of getting my hands on one there. It would have to be at least another month or more before the iPad gets to NZ. Anyway, a shipment did arrive & I was able to pick a 16G WIFI model up :) on Thursday evening. Too busy to do much with it until I got back home yesterday and then was able to upload apps, music, videos and photos from iTunes on to it.
Synching everything across went well but the photos were not ported across as my iPad was only 16G & the ipod touch I have been using has 32G. So had to delete several apps & tidy up music to allow for more space. All apps work well although being ipod touch apps, they do not make use of the whole of the iPad’s screen. Will need to explore iPad specific apps next and evaluate a few which may be useful in a voc. ed. context. So if I want to also access email etc. will have to be careful with the types of media the iPad will hold. So 16G may not be the best option if you have lots of media to access. Other option is to store things on itunes and only sync across media you intend to use, archiving others for access when required.
As with the ipod touch, user friendliness of the interface is a great plus factor. The one thing which is really impressive about the iPad is the screen display and this makes it a worthwhile piece of hardware to undertake work on introducing it as a mobile learning device. There have been several articles on how to use the iPad in education including pros & cons, with two Universities in the U S of A making it a compulsory piece of hardware for their students to bring to college.
The screen real estate makes the use of the iPad as a ebook reader & hence a text book a logical progression especially if the text book was much more interactive and there was WIFI available both within & without the classroom to allow students to explore topics in greater depth through featured website links, embedded interactive quizzes, links to relevant discussion forums etc. So lots of possibilities to explore.
Synching everything across went well but the photos were not ported across as my iPad was only 16G & the ipod touch I have been using has 32G. So had to delete several apps & tidy up music to allow for more space. All apps work well although being ipod touch apps, they do not make use of the whole of the iPad’s screen. Will need to explore iPad specific apps next and evaluate a few which may be useful in a voc. ed. context. So if I want to also access email etc. will have to be careful with the types of media the iPad will hold. So 16G may not be the best option if you have lots of media to access. Other option is to store things on itunes and only sync across media you intend to use, archiving others for access when required.
As with the ipod touch, user friendliness of the interface is a great plus factor. The one thing which is really impressive about the iPad is the screen display and this makes it a worthwhile piece of hardware to undertake work on introducing it as a mobile learning device. There have been several articles on how to use the iPad in education including pros & cons, with two Universities in the U S of A making it a compulsory piece of hardware for their students to bring to college.
The screen real estate makes the use of the iPad as a ebook reader & hence a text book a logical progression especially if the text book was much more interactive and there was WIFI available both within & without the classroom to allow students to explore topics in greater depth through featured website links, embedded interactive quizzes, links to relevant discussion forums etc. So lots of possibilities to explore.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
NCVER 2010 day two morning
A later start today, which allowed me to get into town to the local Apple store (beautiful layout) to try to get an ipad. Alas, none available, so put in my registration to be on the list. Not likely I will get one by the time I leave on Saturday. Will have a trawl around the other prospectives this evening if I can fit it in.
First keynote at 9.30am by Trevor Gale from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Ed. at the University of South Australia who spoke on 'Has equity's time come for VET? How can we embed it into the system. He provided the guidelines between difference & similarity. These include the following myths, difference being innate, social difference is the result of hard work & commitment, difference is everything, difference, difference is about equality:treating everybody the same. Much has been changed but much still stays the same :( VET in Oz has not received the same attention from policy makers on equity issues as compared to schooling. In thi, there is perhaps a clear difference between NZ & Oz, where NZ has for a longer time, had policies to support Maori & Pacific peoples. He proposed 10 equity observations & principles. These 10 equity policies may form a foundation for the development of VET approaches to equity. A thought provoking presentation which covered key principles related to issues of equity.
Then three presentations this morning relating to VET teacher training or teaching. First up, Hugh Guthrie from NCVER on initial teacher training. Research undertaken in late eighties, early nineties and later half of the nineties. Since then, not much done, hence this piece of research. Currently, VET teachers need to have a qualification over & above the level at which they teach & the Cert IV qualification. Also, VET teachers need to also keep competency & currency in the their specialise area. Plus the need to build skills as a teacher. NCVER stats show large number completing Cert IV (26,000) but only small numbers go further (800!) & perhaps 400 complete HIgher Dip. in Voc Ed.There seems to be very few Higher Ed. institutions offering further Voc. Ed. qualifications (only 14). Advocates individual organisations should offer PD relevant towards upgrading VET teachers. Perhaps too many expectations placed on Cert IV & there may need to be recognition of alternative approaches. One reason being that Cert IV tends to replace a need for organisations to put in place their own PD programmes.
Next, Emma Curtin from the L.H. Martin Institute at University of Melbourne on the quality of VET teaching. Emma provided an overview of the project including the conceptual model used. Also provided the context, project phases & some themes. This research is to eventually makde recommendations on quality of VET teaching, VET teacher quals & continuing PD (CPD) & the impact this has on student teaching. Project one of 3 concurrent, the other two mapping existing VET teacher prep programmes (Hugh Guthrie in presentation just before this one) & exploring perceptions of recent Cert IV grads (Berwyn Clayton from yesterday's pecha kucha). Literature review available on ACE website. Data collection mainly completed, data analysis to continue with final report due end of 2010. Initial findings include Cert IV a starting point but needs to be extended further with mentoring / expert guidance for new tutors, CPD needs to be formalised with opportunities for maintaining industry currency, attaining pedagogical knowledge with quals. & CPD as being interdependent. Mixed responses to how quality in teaching can be quantified. there seems to be need from some to recognise VET teaching as a profession - pehaps registration or accreditation? Some thoughts raised by initial data - one size does not fit all, may need to rethink structure of profession, more research needed on VET pedagogy.
Last session before lunch, by Susanne Francisco from the Canberra Instititute of Technology on 'how novicel TAFE teachers learn how to teach' based on her proposed doctoral research. This is a very under-researched area which has implications on VET quality of delivery etc. There is demand for TAFE teachers to have an increasingly sophisticated pedagogical repertoire (Guthrie et al, 2006). Focus of project on finding out how novice teachers learning how to teach through their practice both within and outside of TAFE. Uses Schiatzki which proposes 'bundles of practices & material arrangements'. Practice is made up of 'actions & structures which consist of know how, rules, teleogical - affective structuring and understanding. Also uses Kemmis (2009)who premises practice as doings, sayings and relatings.
First keynote at 9.30am by Trevor Gale from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Ed. at the University of South Australia who spoke on 'Has equity's time come for VET? How can we embed it into the system. He provided the guidelines between difference & similarity. These include the following myths, difference being innate, social difference is the result of hard work & commitment, difference is everything, difference, difference is about equality:treating everybody the same. Much has been changed but much still stays the same :( VET in Oz has not received the same attention from policy makers on equity issues as compared to schooling. In thi, there is perhaps a clear difference between NZ & Oz, where NZ has for a longer time, had policies to support Maori & Pacific peoples. He proposed 10 equity observations & principles. These 10 equity policies may form a foundation for the development of VET approaches to equity. A thought provoking presentation which covered key principles related to issues of equity.
Then three presentations this morning relating to VET teacher training or teaching. First up, Hugh Guthrie from NCVER on initial teacher training. Research undertaken in late eighties, early nineties and later half of the nineties. Since then, not much done, hence this piece of research. Currently, VET teachers need to have a qualification over & above the level at which they teach & the Cert IV qualification. Also, VET teachers need to also keep competency & currency in the their specialise area. Plus the need to build skills as a teacher. NCVER stats show large number completing Cert IV (26,000) but only small numbers go further (800!) & perhaps 400 complete HIgher Dip. in Voc Ed.There seems to be very few Higher Ed. institutions offering further Voc. Ed. qualifications (only 14). Advocates individual organisations should offer PD relevant towards upgrading VET teachers. Perhaps too many expectations placed on Cert IV & there may need to be recognition of alternative approaches. One reason being that Cert IV tends to replace a need for organisations to put in place their own PD programmes.
Next, Emma Curtin from the L.H. Martin Institute at University of Melbourne on the quality of VET teaching. Emma provided an overview of the project including the conceptual model used. Also provided the context, project phases & some themes. This research is to eventually makde recommendations on quality of VET teaching, VET teacher quals & continuing PD (CPD) & the impact this has on student teaching. Project one of 3 concurrent, the other two mapping existing VET teacher prep programmes (Hugh Guthrie in presentation just before this one) & exploring perceptions of recent Cert IV grads (Berwyn Clayton from yesterday's pecha kucha). Literature review available on ACE website. Data collection mainly completed, data analysis to continue with final report due end of 2010. Initial findings include Cert IV a starting point but needs to be extended further with mentoring / expert guidance for new tutors, CPD needs to be formalised with opportunities for maintaining industry currency, attaining pedagogical knowledge with quals. & CPD as being interdependent. Mixed responses to how quality in teaching can be quantified. there seems to be need from some to recognise VET teaching as a profession - pehaps registration or accreditation? Some thoughts raised by initial data - one size does not fit all, may need to rethink structure of profession, more research needed on VET pedagogy.
Last session before lunch, by Susanne Francisco from the Canberra Instititute of Technology on 'how novicel TAFE teachers learn how to teach' based on her proposed doctoral research. This is a very under-researched area which has implications on VET quality of delivery etc. There is demand for TAFE teachers to have an increasingly sophisticated pedagogical repertoire (Guthrie et al, 2006). Focus of project on finding out how novice teachers learning how to teach through their practice both within and outside of TAFE. Uses Schiatzki which proposes 'bundles of practices & material arrangements'. Practice is made up of 'actions & structures which consist of know how, rules, teleogical - affective structuring and understanding. Also uses Kemmis (2009)who premises practice as doings, sayings and relatings.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
NCVER 2010 day one afternoon
After lunch my paper on Perspectives of new trades tutor was presented to an interested audience.
The afternoon keynote from Linda Howard who is from Macmahon & Doorn-Djil Yoordaning. She presented on the key success factors to indigenous pre-employment training. She reports on the indigenous pre-employment & workplace training at the Macmahon Pilbara operation. Doorn-Djil Yoordaning is a subsidary of Macmahon focused on indigenous people based at Newman which is in the centre north/west of WA. No challenges teaching indigenous trainees how to drive dump trucks but dispositional & interpersonal communications capabilities plus also literacy/numeracy. Students, stakeholders, employers, community etc. consulted as to contents of the programme. Programme run through Pilbara TAFE Newman campus & concentrates not only on practical skills but also the enabling skills – self-esteem, conflict resolution, communication, goal setting, team work, money management, healthy lifestyle plus resume writing & interview skills. Success factors of this programme include the acknowledgement of the importance of relationships (including family, mentors etc.)
The attended paper on 'getting our hands dirty: Participation in a trades communities of practice' with Brett Hoggard (construction) & Tom Colley(plumbing) from Victoria University which has good connections to my paper. They detailed the COP established, through funding from Office of Training & Tertiary Education (OTTE), to assist with the development of better teaching strategies and to provide opportunities for tutors to network. They presented their experiences on how the COP was set up and the advantages agendered by participating in the COP. These include the ability to 'build bridges' between schools in faculties, creates a forum to discuss innovative ideas and opens up sharing of what others are doing.
Day ended with Pecha Kucha sessions - I attended the ones with a voc.ed. /literacy - numeracy focus. These include:
Berwyn Clayton on the Cert IV in Training & Assessment (TAA) - graduate perspectives - completed as an online survey from a range of RTOs. wanted to find out the perspectives of new teachers on the training afforded through the TAA. Did TAA prepare them for teaching? 6 months later, did a follow up (indepth interview) to find out what they used from their TAA course. 97% said after the course, they could deliver learning & 80% confident to conduct assessments. All wanted opportunity to practice new skills & how to motivate learners. novices tended to find the course more useful then people who had already experienced teaching practice.
Shi Sion Tang on 'narrowing the gam between engineering & practice' whereby a study on what engineering work actually involves is reported on. There is a need to go beyond the general perception that engineering is onlye involved with 'nuts & bolts' but needs to also include many 'soft skills'. These include coordinating, collaboration, communication, interacting, importance of teamwork, dealing with subordinates, superiors, customers etc.
Unfortunately, the sessions between the two rooms were not synchronised and by the time I got to the second room, they had finished the other two presentations! Ones I would have liked to find out more about wer Andrew Vodic on 'supprting the transition from practice to research - change management perspective' & Rachael McMahon on 'measuring the 'unmeasurable' benefits of literacy training. Also a session by Wendy Kennedy on the literacy & numeracy support needs of VET lecturers would have been to attend but this one clashed with the session on engineering practice
The afternoon keynote from Linda Howard who is from Macmahon & Doorn-Djil Yoordaning. She presented on the key success factors to indigenous pre-employment training. She reports on the indigenous pre-employment & workplace training at the Macmahon Pilbara operation. Doorn-Djil Yoordaning is a subsidary of Macmahon focused on indigenous people based at Newman which is in the centre north/west of WA. No challenges teaching indigenous trainees how to drive dump trucks but dispositional & interpersonal communications capabilities plus also literacy/numeracy. Students, stakeholders, employers, community etc. consulted as to contents of the programme. Programme run through Pilbara TAFE Newman campus & concentrates not only on practical skills but also the enabling skills – self-esteem, conflict resolution, communication, goal setting, team work, money management, healthy lifestyle plus resume writing & interview skills. Success factors of this programme include the acknowledgement of the importance of relationships (including family, mentors etc.)
The attended paper on 'getting our hands dirty: Participation in a trades communities of practice' with Brett Hoggard (construction) & Tom Colley(plumbing) from Victoria University which has good connections to my paper. They detailed the COP established, through funding from Office of Training & Tertiary Education (OTTE), to assist with the development of better teaching strategies and to provide opportunities for tutors to network. They presented their experiences on how the COP was set up and the advantages agendered by participating in the COP. These include the ability to 'build bridges' between schools in faculties, creates a forum to discuss innovative ideas and opens up sharing of what others are doing.
Day ended with Pecha Kucha sessions - I attended the ones with a voc.ed. /literacy - numeracy focus. These include:
Berwyn Clayton on the Cert IV in Training & Assessment (TAA) - graduate perspectives - completed as an online survey from a range of RTOs. wanted to find out the perspectives of new teachers on the training afforded through the TAA. Did TAA prepare them for teaching? 6 months later, did a follow up (indepth interview) to find out what they used from their TAA course. 97% said after the course, they could deliver learning & 80% confident to conduct assessments. All wanted opportunity to practice new skills & how to motivate learners. novices tended to find the course more useful then people who had already experienced teaching practice.
Shi Sion Tang on 'narrowing the gam between engineering & practice' whereby a study on what engineering work actually involves is reported on. There is a need to go beyond the general perception that engineering is onlye involved with 'nuts & bolts' but needs to also include many 'soft skills'. These include coordinating, collaboration, communication, interacting, importance of teamwork, dealing with subordinates, superiors, customers etc.
Unfortunately, the sessions between the two rooms were not synchronised and by the time I got to the second room, they had finished the other two presentations! Ones I would have liked to find out more about wer Andrew Vodic on 'supprting the transition from practice to research - change management perspective' & Rachael McMahon on 'measuring the 'unmeasurable' benefits of literacy training. Also a session by Wendy Kennedy on the literacy & numeracy support needs of VET lecturers would have been to attend but this one clashed with the session on engineering practice
NCVER 2010 day one morning
At the annual NCVER 'no-frills' conference at Polytechnic West/ Central Insitute of Technology in Perth today & tomorrow. Perth weather has been nice & sunny with cold starts but pleasant afternoons. A great change from the rather gloomy weather we have been getting in Christchurch over the last two months.
Staying with my sister and being well looked after by my Mum & Dad. Took the train in this morning, clean, modern & not too crowded. Looking forward to several papers at this conference and to catching up with some of the researchers from Oz.
First up, A welcome from Mr. Wayne Collier, Polytechnic West and Reverend Seer with a welcome to the land, then the opening address by the Hon. Peter Collier, Minister of Energy; Training & workforce development who has contributed to bringing up the status of 'training' as no longer just a 'non-academic' option but as an important contribution towards building a skilled workforce. WA has just formed the Dept. of Training & Workforce Development (end of 2009) to provide structures for the long term development of work skills.
First keynote from inaugural CEO for the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in India, Dilip Chenoy. He spoke of the challenges through tapping into opportunities for collaboration & cooperation to skill 150 million people by 2022. He covered the skill challenge presented to developing countries, the Indian National skill development framework, the role of the NSDC and then the opportunities for collatboration & cooperation both nationally & internationally. An interesting presentation on a different perspective towards developing skills for large numbers of people in a developing country. Presented a concept on the 4 collar workforce, white, grey - knowledge workers, blue & rust - skilled workers in construction etc. Skills strategy needs to increase skill training /development eight fold from what is currently available. Currently, need to improve overall quality/outcomes, increase retention & ensure seamless integration between school & work - very similar challenges to developed countries. NSDC has a role to try to be a implementation partner to coordinate training from both the public & private sector towards meeting Indian skill development framework requirements. From TAFE point of view, expertise in'train the trainers' would be sought.
First paper of the concurrent sessions (5 in each stream) with Sandra Condon who manages 'disability services' at Polytechnic West on 'Breaking down the barriers for apprentices with learning disability (LD) '. She presented her research experience, the project & its 'after effects'. Her study investigated teaching & learning strategies that contribute to unit of competency completion rates for apprentices with a LD'. Review of literature revealed some correlation between students who left school early with low literacy / numeracy completion rates to completion rates of students diagnosed with LD - ie low completions. Therefore, important to identify students and also to provided relevant support to assist with completion of qualifications.
Then Sonia Davids from Dept. of Educationa and Training, Queensland. Leading change - vision to reality - a study of the PD strategy for the QLD VET sector.
Developed to assist with PD for VET to run 2007 to 2010 & this presentation on the review of this with proposals for improvement. Sonia provided a background on the QLD skills plan 2006 which led to the VET PD strategy and an overview of the strategy itself. Outcomes of the VET PD include the website, products/services, research,VET futures & VET PD pathways. Large numbers of VET teachers / trainers have engaged through this programme via access to the website, workshops, training opportunities etc. Good outcomes also include focussed PD plan for the sector, initiated & nurtured sector wide collaboration & involvement and provided key resources for RTOs to access & share. The 4 priorities will be interested to the NZ context.
Review undertaking using interviews, electronic survey & discussion forums/interviews with wide range of VET organisations. Results will be used to establish the VET PD strategy for 2011 to 2013. Review revealed the important categories within each of the 4 PD priorities so that the next strategy able to support the ongoing PD process.
Staying with my sister and being well looked after by my Mum & Dad. Took the train in this morning, clean, modern & not too crowded. Looking forward to several papers at this conference and to catching up with some of the researchers from Oz.
First up, A welcome from Mr. Wayne Collier, Polytechnic West and Reverend Seer with a welcome to the land, then the opening address by the Hon. Peter Collier, Minister of Energy; Training & workforce development who has contributed to bringing up the status of 'training' as no longer just a 'non-academic' option but as an important contribution towards building a skilled workforce. WA has just formed the Dept. of Training & Workforce Development (end of 2009) to provide structures for the long term development of work skills.
First keynote from inaugural CEO for the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in India, Dilip Chenoy. He spoke of the challenges through tapping into opportunities for collaboration & cooperation to skill 150 million people by 2022. He covered the skill challenge presented to developing countries, the Indian National skill development framework, the role of the NSDC and then the opportunities for collatboration & cooperation both nationally & internationally. An interesting presentation on a different perspective towards developing skills for large numbers of people in a developing country. Presented a concept on the 4 collar workforce, white, grey - knowledge workers, blue & rust - skilled workers in construction etc. Skills strategy needs to increase skill training /development eight fold from what is currently available. Currently, need to improve overall quality/outcomes, increase retention & ensure seamless integration between school & work - very similar challenges to developed countries. NSDC has a role to try to be a implementation partner to coordinate training from both the public & private sector towards meeting Indian skill development framework requirements. From TAFE point of view, expertise in'train the trainers' would be sought.
First paper of the concurrent sessions (5 in each stream) with Sandra Condon who manages 'disability services' at Polytechnic West on 'Breaking down the barriers for apprentices with learning disability (LD) '. She presented her research experience, the project & its 'after effects'. Her study investigated teaching & learning strategies that contribute to unit of competency completion rates for apprentices with a LD'. Review of literature revealed some correlation between students who left school early with low literacy / numeracy completion rates to completion rates of students diagnosed with LD - ie low completions. Therefore, important to identify students and also to provided relevant support to assist with completion of qualifications.
Then Sonia Davids from Dept. of Educationa and Training, Queensland. Leading change - vision to reality - a study of the PD strategy for the QLD VET sector.
Developed to assist with PD for VET to run 2007 to 2010 & this presentation on the review of this with proposals for improvement. Sonia provided a background on the QLD skills plan 2006 which led to the VET PD strategy and an overview of the strategy itself. Outcomes of the VET PD include the website, products/services, research,VET futures & VET PD pathways. Large numbers of VET teachers / trainers have engaged through this programme via access to the website, workshops, training opportunities etc. Good outcomes also include focussed PD plan for the sector, initiated & nurtured sector wide collaboration & involvement and provided key resources for RTOs to access & share. The 4 priorities will be interested to the NZ context.
Review undertaking using interviews, electronic survey & discussion forums/interviews with wide range of VET organisations. Results will be used to establish the VET PD strategy for 2011 to 2013. Review revealed the important categories within each of the 4 PD priorities so that the next strategy able to support the ongoing PD process.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Interactive ebooks with Inanimate alice and istories
An great example of the future of ebooks via Evan McIntoch’s edublog. Inanimatealice has been released since 2006 and currently has 4 out of 10 episodes available for download and viewing/reading. The book details how a young girl grows up to become a game digital designer. Each chapter seems to improve in sophistication as the techniques possible through interactive ebooks are explored and modelled. Also, each chapter increases in length, fro 5 minutes to 30 minutes, with greater use of interactive sections. There is some work still to be done on navigation, for instance if you are part way through an interactive section and are interrupted, when you click on the icon to go back to the relevant bit, you need to repeat the entire interaction. So a criteria I would like to see for interactive ebooks is to be able to dip in and out where ever you want to, like in a real book.
There is a discussion on the impact of interactive ebooks on publishingperspectives. Interative ebooks will have many possible applications in education. It is also possible to purchase the platform on which inanimatealice has been developed. Istories is promoted as a straightforward way to construct digital stories which include pictures, text, videos, interactive sections and sound/music. Does cost a bit though.
I have been reflecting on the different literacies our staff bring with them and how to better introduce staff unfamiliar with academic tasks like reading education journal articles. The end objective is to encourage a deeper engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning. Will think through a possible project to develop an example of an interactive ebook that can be useful to introduce some of the concepts or theories of adult education. Staff can then build their own versions to share with other staff and this can then be a shared resource we can use for future courses. This ebook could be consolidated using powerpoint or better still using something like voicethread or perhaps even live binders. Live binders featured on Jane Hart’s tools this week and seems to be imminently suited to eportfolios with a show and tell type structure. So there are possibilities to explore for interactive ebook authoring and application.
There is a discussion on the impact of interactive ebooks on publishingperspectives. Interative ebooks will have many possible applications in education. It is also possible to purchase the platform on which inanimatealice has been developed. Istories is promoted as a straightforward way to construct digital stories which include pictures, text, videos, interactive sections and sound/music. Does cost a bit though.
I have been reflecting on the different literacies our staff bring with them and how to better introduce staff unfamiliar with academic tasks like reading education journal articles. The end objective is to encourage a deeper engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning. Will think through a possible project to develop an example of an interactive ebook that can be useful to introduce some of the concepts or theories of adult education. Staff can then build their own versions to share with other staff and this can then be a shared resource we can use for future courses. This ebook could be consolidated using powerpoint or better still using something like voicethread or perhaps even live binders. Live binders featured on Jane Hart’s tools this week and seems to be imminently suited to eportfolios with a show and tell type structure. So there are possibilities to explore for interactive ebook authoring and application.
Monday, June 21, 2010
App Stores, new hardware and mLearncon 2010
Did a catch up over the course of last week on technology in teaching and learning. First up, App stores.Popular mobile operating systems all now have an app store of some kind or other. Apple's itunes App store has over 200,000 apps for iphones and ipod touches. Other app stores include the up and coming Android with it's market, blackberry world, Nokia's ovi stores and Palm's app catalog.
There are also sites which provide assess to multiple platforms with this report featuring getjar and others including Handago recently acquired by Pocketgear and also Handmark and Appboy. For free apps,
Mobango provides a comprehensive list featuring all the popular OS. I will be keeping at eye on these and may put in a formal project to further explore how many of our students actually access and use apps and how readily CPIT caters for students' mobile usage. Also if some apps may be useful in some specific content areas and the apps availabity / integration with Moodle.
Caught up with Engadget's posts from the last two weeks and a few new hardware of interest to the education community. Firstly, an etext book called the kno which is like two ipads joined together. Innovative and a good way forward into interactive books and how to leverage possibilities for learning using ebook technology. Secondly, launch of the iphone 4 OS with video calling capabilites using 'facetime'. will be interesting to see if anyone develops this one further to allow for conference video calling on mobile phones to be a reality. And the launch of the new Xbox360 and kinect provides educators with another challenge, to harness games technology to enhance learning.
Ingnatia from ignatiawebs was attending mlearncon 2010 organised by the elearning guild in San Diego. A foretase of mlearn 2010? Of note was the presentations by Toni Ahonen on the future of learning.
There are also sites which provide assess to multiple platforms with this report featuring getjar and others including Handago recently acquired by Pocketgear and also Handmark and Appboy. For free apps,
Mobango provides a comprehensive list featuring all the popular OS. I will be keeping at eye on these and may put in a formal project to further explore how many of our students actually access and use apps and how readily CPIT caters for students' mobile usage. Also if some apps may be useful in some specific content areas and the apps availabity / integration with Moodle.
Caught up with Engadget's posts from the last two weeks and a few new hardware of interest to the education community. Firstly, an etext book called the kno which is like two ipads joined together. Innovative and a good way forward into interactive books and how to leverage possibilities for learning using ebook technology. Secondly, launch of the iphone 4 OS with video calling capabilites using 'facetime'. will be interesting to see if anyone develops this one further to allow for conference video calling on mobile phones to be a reality. And the launch of the new Xbox360 and kinect provides educators with another challenge, to harness games technology to enhance learning.
Ingnatia from ignatiawebs was attending mlearncon 2010 organised by the elearning guild in San Diego. A foretase of mlearn 2010? Of note was the presentations by Toni Ahonen on the future of learning.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Trip to Singapore - wrap up
Back home after almost a week in Singapore. Left Singapore’s balmy 30’C plus weather to return to wintry Christchurch. Cycled in to work this frosty morning and checked the temps. at 10am to be 1’C.
Managed to do the obligatory catch up with various aunties, cozzies and my mother-in-law. Good to catch up with news in Singapore on what all the various family members are up to. The Temasek Polytechnic International Conference on Teaching & Learning went well. All the keynotes provided good presentations and workshops. There was a wide range of presentations / papers and I have been catching up with the full papers this morning. Of note are: Gary Poole’s paper to support his presentation on ‘I care & I can’; two papers with a problem based learning focus, one on student experiences by Chan Chun Ming (Temasek Polytechnic) and the other by Lisa Lim and Madeliene Lew (Republic Polytechnic) on first year students perception of one day/one problem PBL strategy; and two on feedback – one by Daphne Pan and Kiruthika Ragupathi from National University of Singapore and the other by Min Yan, David Carless, Diane Salter and Joy Lam on Feedback.
The staff at the local Polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) seem to all be very young (perhaps it’s just me feeling old), enthusiastic about teaching and keen to learn. Networked with a few of the Polytechnic & ITE academic / staff development staff and they seem to all be focused on student centred forms of learning including an emphasis on problem based learning, especially at the polytechnic level.
Singapore, as usual, has changed physically since I was last there almost two years ago. New buildings including three tall buildings on the waterfront with what looks like a ship on the top of it. The MRT and most public areas were even more crowded that before. Where do all the people come from?? And how many more will be packed into a very small island? So good to come back to NZ where I did the grocery shopping at the local supermarket on Saturday afternoon. Just the usual small number of people about, enough to know that the supermarket was not closed.
Managed to do the obligatory catch up with various aunties, cozzies and my mother-in-law. Good to catch up with news in Singapore on what all the various family members are up to. The Temasek Polytechnic International Conference on Teaching & Learning went well. All the keynotes provided good presentations and workshops. There was a wide range of presentations / papers and I have been catching up with the full papers this morning. Of note are: Gary Poole’s paper to support his presentation on ‘I care & I can’; two papers with a problem based learning focus, one on student experiences by Chan Chun Ming (Temasek Polytechnic) and the other by Lisa Lim and Madeliene Lew (Republic Polytechnic) on first year students perception of one day/one problem PBL strategy; and two on feedback – one by Daphne Pan and Kiruthika Ragupathi from National University of Singapore and the other by Min Yan, David Carless, Diane Salter and Joy Lam on Feedback.
The staff at the local Polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) seem to all be very young (perhaps it’s just me feeling old), enthusiastic about teaching and keen to learn. Networked with a few of the Polytechnic & ITE academic / staff development staff and they seem to all be focused on student centred forms of learning including an emphasis on problem based learning, especially at the polytechnic level.
Singapore, as usual, has changed physically since I was last there almost two years ago. New buildings including three tall buildings on the waterfront with what looks like a ship on the top of it. The MRT and most public areas were even more crowded that before. Where do all the people come from?? And how many more will be packed into a very small island? So good to come back to NZ where I did the grocery shopping at the local supermarket on Saturday afternoon. Just the usual small number of people about, enough to know that the supermarket was not closed.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Temasek Polytechnic International Conference on Teaching & Learning - day 3
The last day cosists of two workshops sessions, one in the morning with either Prof. David Boud on 'assessment reform in education' and the other with Ass. Prof. Gary Poole on ' Self-directed projects as assignment options'. The second workshop sessions are in the afternoon. Workshop sessions bracketed with one lot of concurrent sessions along with usual refuel /networking sessions.
I chose to attend the session/seminar Ass. Prof. Gary Poole with the other 1/2 of the CPIT team attending the session facilitated by Prof. David Boud. The objectives of Gary's seesion were to define 'self-direction' in student learning, identify key elements of an effective self-directed project option and to begin designing our own self-directed project option. He is keen to use the workshop, where everyone is prepared to come to do the work and shop for ideas as well :) to achieve the session's objectives.
When self-directed projects are used, the logistics, structure and preparation are crucial to ensure students are provided with sufficient support to complete their project. In particular, the negotiation process to agree to criteria for doing the project, meeting project objectives and assessing or evaluating the project is crucial. This allows for moderation of various self-directed projects to ensure parity between various self-directed projects.
After morning tea, last concurrent sessions take place. I attended the sessions which had an academic/ teacher development focus. First up, Tay Sing Leong & Roger Khoo from Insitute of Technical Education on 'staff active and reflective learning (ARL)' to enhance student management. ARL to assist staff with career exploration, public responsibility, leadership development, intellectual pursuits and professional development. ARL should be a facilitated process. The facilitator's role is to encourage active participation, create a safe space be mindful of power and who has it. Provides a forum for support, building a COP and increasing teaching practice skills.
Then 'exploring transnational approaches to educational integrity: A showcase of work of the work of Asian Pacific Forum of Educational Integrity (APFEI)' by Ruth Walker, Tracey Bretag & Julianne East from the University of Woolongong, Australia. Integrity could be academic integrity / educational values (honesty, trust, equity, respect and responsibility). Generally, the onus seems to be on students to imbibe these values and assumption is that there is a shared understanding of the requirements of academic integrity. However, challenges posed by changing student profile including internation, lower socio-economical status students and changes to social conventions on copyright requires a rethink of perception of integrity. Therefore, need to move beyond 'student deficit' but need ot focus on educative rather than punitive approaches; align policies & practices; recognise need for academics, authors and teachers to model ethical practice; realise implications of using digital technologies & changed 'economies of effort' (competing pressures of popular media culture & pedagogical directives). Approaches to help students come to grips with the concept of educational integrity include various strategies around increasing students' awareness of issues.
Final concurrent session was with Lyn Williams & Robin Graham from CPIT run a workshop on 'the complexities of learning be a tertiary teacher: emerging perspectives on the boundaries between formal & informal learning in tertiary teacher professional development'. The presentation covered the development and initial implementation of a newly developed teaching qualification, research proposal to investigate effectiveness of new qualification and feedback on ideas on how the move forward with this project. Background of CPIT & the qualification within a NZ context was firstly covered. Then the research question 'what do new vocational tutors percieve as the significant influences on and themes of their emerging practice for improving teaching to enhance student learning?' was 'unpacked' to explain the direction & focus of the project. A collaborative participatory model is proposed as a research method. Then the audience asked for feedback and suggestions on what methods, questions, gaps etc. would be useful.
In the afternoon, the concurrent workshops ran with Prof. Stephen Brookfield running one on discussion as a way of teaching and the other with Prof. Diana Laurrilard on 'A learning design support environment for collaborative pedagogical innovation'. I attended Prof. Laurrillard's workshop in order to become more familiar with her ' conversational framework'. Outcomes of this workshop / seminar are to be able to appreciate the complexity of the learning design process; a sense of how this might be embedded in a design support environment and how collaborative online design tools could enable lecturers to act 'like scientists'. Collabortive pedagogy innovation includes teachers collaborating, sharing designs or capturing pedagogy, testing pedagogic design and challenging the technology. Theorectical background includes social constructivism, collaboration, constructionist learning and knowledge building. Need for teachers to be reflective practioners (like researchers as reflective practitioners) which means building on work of other teachers; working in collaborative teams of respected peers; seeking ways of rethinking their teaching; being able to experiment, and reflect on results; and disseminating findings for peer review and use by others. Used SMS aggregation system to provide for interactivity during the session.
Introduced the concepts for capturing good pedagogy (iCOPER - standardised description of instructional model) / and Learning Design Support Enviroment (LDSE) as software developed to try to represent methods of teaching. Founded on work of Beetham (2004) - teachers'knowledge is mostly implicit' Oliver et al (2009) & Dernlet et al (2009) - teachers are not used to recording or sharing their teaching methods and Sharpe & Oliver (2007) - process of course design is complicaed and often remains a private, tacit process. Existing learning design representations tend to not allow 'tweaking' so the two examples presented provide for opportunities by practioners to adjust and customise to their own context, student profile / learning and individual teaching pedagogical approaches. A comparison made of these two 'tools'.
Good pedagogy implies alignment between learning outcomes, assessments and learning activities. Activities are categorised by the nature of the learning activities and there should be a focus on learner time (less directed, more self directed learning time).
There are possibilites for taking an existing lesson and formulating a pedagogical pattern which is generic and can then be customised for other contexts. Example at http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/
Opportunity to work through an example was then used to help the seminar participants come to grips with the concept.
I chose to attend the session/seminar Ass. Prof. Gary Poole with the other 1/2 of the CPIT team attending the session facilitated by Prof. David Boud. The objectives of Gary's seesion were to define 'self-direction' in student learning, identify key elements of an effective self-directed project option and to begin designing our own self-directed project option. He is keen to use the workshop, where everyone is prepared to come to do the work and shop for ideas as well :) to achieve the session's objectives.
When self-directed projects are used, the logistics, structure and preparation are crucial to ensure students are provided with sufficient support to complete their project. In particular, the negotiation process to agree to criteria for doing the project, meeting project objectives and assessing or evaluating the project is crucial. This allows for moderation of various self-directed projects to ensure parity between various self-directed projects.
After morning tea, last concurrent sessions take place. I attended the sessions which had an academic/ teacher development focus. First up, Tay Sing Leong & Roger Khoo from Insitute of Technical Education on 'staff active and reflective learning (ARL)' to enhance student management. ARL to assist staff with career exploration, public responsibility, leadership development, intellectual pursuits and professional development. ARL should be a facilitated process. The facilitator's role is to encourage active participation, create a safe space be mindful of power and who has it. Provides a forum for support, building a COP and increasing teaching practice skills.
Then 'exploring transnational approaches to educational integrity: A showcase of work of the work of Asian Pacific Forum of Educational Integrity (APFEI)' by Ruth Walker, Tracey Bretag & Julianne East from the University of Woolongong, Australia. Integrity could be academic integrity / educational values (honesty, trust, equity, respect and responsibility). Generally, the onus seems to be on students to imbibe these values and assumption is that there is a shared understanding of the requirements of academic integrity. However, challenges posed by changing student profile including internation, lower socio-economical status students and changes to social conventions on copyright requires a rethink of perception of integrity. Therefore, need to move beyond 'student deficit' but need ot focus on educative rather than punitive approaches; align policies & practices; recognise need for academics, authors and teachers to model ethical practice; realise implications of using digital technologies & changed 'economies of effort' (competing pressures of popular media culture & pedagogical directives). Approaches to help students come to grips with the concept of educational integrity include various strategies around increasing students' awareness of issues.
Final concurrent session was with Lyn Williams & Robin Graham from CPIT run a workshop on 'the complexities of learning be a tertiary teacher: emerging perspectives on the boundaries between formal & informal learning in tertiary teacher professional development'. The presentation covered the development and initial implementation of a newly developed teaching qualification, research proposal to investigate effectiveness of new qualification and feedback on ideas on how the move forward with this project. Background of CPIT & the qualification within a NZ context was firstly covered. Then the research question 'what do new vocational tutors percieve as the significant influences on and themes of their emerging practice for improving teaching to enhance student learning?' was 'unpacked' to explain the direction & focus of the project. A collaborative participatory model is proposed as a research method. Then the audience asked for feedback and suggestions on what methods, questions, gaps etc. would be useful.
In the afternoon, the concurrent workshops ran with Prof. Stephen Brookfield running one on discussion as a way of teaching and the other with Prof. Diana Laurrilard on 'A learning design support environment for collaborative pedagogical innovation'. I attended Prof. Laurrillard's workshop in order to become more familiar with her ' conversational framework'. Outcomes of this workshop / seminar are to be able to appreciate the complexity of the learning design process; a sense of how this might be embedded in a design support environment and how collaborative online design tools could enable lecturers to act 'like scientists'. Collabortive pedagogy innovation includes teachers collaborating, sharing designs or capturing pedagogy, testing pedagogic design and challenging the technology. Theorectical background includes social constructivism, collaboration, constructionist learning and knowledge building. Need for teachers to be reflective practioners (like researchers as reflective practitioners) which means building on work of other teachers; working in collaborative teams of respected peers; seeking ways of rethinking their teaching; being able to experiment, and reflect on results; and disseminating findings for peer review and use by others. Used SMS aggregation system to provide for interactivity during the session.
Introduced the concepts for capturing good pedagogy (iCOPER - standardised description of instructional model) / and Learning Design Support Enviroment (LDSE) as software developed to try to represent methods of teaching. Founded on work of Beetham (2004) - teachers'knowledge is mostly implicit' Oliver et al (2009) & Dernlet et al (2009) - teachers are not used to recording or sharing their teaching methods and Sharpe & Oliver (2007) - process of course design is complicaed and often remains a private, tacit process. Existing learning design representations tend to not allow 'tweaking' so the two examples presented provide for opportunities by practioners to adjust and customise to their own context, student profile / learning and individual teaching pedagogical approaches. A comparison made of these two 'tools'.
Good pedagogy implies alignment between learning outcomes, assessments and learning activities. Activities are categorised by the nature of the learning activities and there should be a focus on learner time (less directed, more self directed learning time).
There are possibilites for taking an existing lesson and formulating a pedagogical pattern which is generic and can then be customised for other contexts. Example at http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/
Opportunity to work through an example was then used to help the seminar participants come to grips with the concept.
temasek Polytechnic International Teaching & Learning conference - day two afternoon
Concurrent sessions this afternoon. I attended the sessions on elearning.
First on was Jillian Lee & Carol Lee from Temasek Polytechnic Engineering school shared a 'case study of students' experience of online learning.' This was a case study of a support course set up for students who were in a remedial class for year one algebra. Instead of standard lessons, these students recieved online delivery via online videos, pop quizzes, a written test and evaluated using an online survey
Effectiveness of the online module showed 2/3 to 3/4 of students able to score 100% on pop quizzes / written test. Useability & student perceptions were evaluated through the online survey. Generally, good feedback for the online option.
The next session was on 'innovative use of technology for vocational education' from Judy Lim Kim Kee, Lim Juat Fong, Soh Guan Kiong and Lim See Yew who are from the Institute of Technical Education. Online portal created to encourage students to be more independent learners, collaborative learning and increase literacy. Blended learning suited to student context. Elearning seen to provide opportunity to differentiation and adaptation of teaching and learning to individualise instruction. mlearning seen as an alternative. This has a fact mode, quiz mode, SMS mode (including a real time quiz - fastest fingers quiz) and video mode (short instructional video clips). Access vis GPRS or by memory card.
Another approach is to use remote virtual educational laboratory (cyberlab). This provides access to and control of real laboratory instrumentation and experiences. Various virtual instruments were provided for students to practice how to set up and use equipment. Students are able to do independent study on equipment to ensure competency.
iDe'lite - used to provide real time / role play type training for service training. Videos used to run through procedures (e.g. facial massage) and especially useful with various service based programmes.
Last session for the afternoon with Noor Fariday A. Rahim from Temasek Polytechnic on ' Web 2.0 with blended e-learning in education to engage youthes and enhance their learning. A case study of using web 2.0, elearning & blended learning in one module 'effective internet research (EIR)', a cross disciplinary subject. Began with covering definitions and examples of Web 2.0 and blended e-learning. Used blogs, wikis, forums, live chats with audio, video, print, elearning with f2f tutorials. These provide a more flexible, stimulating and independent learning environment. Linked to the specialised subject by completing a subject orientated project and also topics which impact on youth. MSN live chat as a ice-breaker and for building rapport. Blogs to reflect on student's learning process. Twitter for tutor to connect with students. Wikis to virtually collaborate and share group project. Discussion forums to learn, exchange and share knowledge about their research interests with others and Web 2.0 with blended elearning activities linked to assessment (graded portfolio).
Need to support/scaffold students into processes like blogging which young people are not as keen to use. This can be done by using a template by providing the points to write about and also model by providing an example. Introduce concepts like metaphors to help students construct better reflective blogs.
Online survey results reveal satisfaction with the teaching approach with over 90% satisfied, learnt a lot, interesting, electures convenient and helped them learn how to search the internet more effectively.
First on was Jillian Lee & Carol Lee from Temasek Polytechnic Engineering school shared a 'case study of students' experience of online learning.' This was a case study of a support course set up for students who were in a remedial class for year one algebra. Instead of standard lessons, these students recieved online delivery via online videos, pop quizzes, a written test and evaluated using an online survey
Effectiveness of the online module showed 2/3 to 3/4 of students able to score 100% on pop quizzes / written test. Useability & student perceptions were evaluated through the online survey. Generally, good feedback for the online option.
The next session was on 'innovative use of technology for vocational education' from Judy Lim Kim Kee, Lim Juat Fong, Soh Guan Kiong and Lim See Yew who are from the Institute of Technical Education. Online portal created to encourage students to be more independent learners, collaborative learning and increase literacy. Blended learning suited to student context. Elearning seen to provide opportunity to differentiation and adaptation of teaching and learning to individualise instruction. mlearning seen as an alternative. This has a fact mode, quiz mode, SMS mode (including a real time quiz - fastest fingers quiz) and video mode (short instructional video clips). Access vis GPRS or by memory card.
Another approach is to use remote virtual educational laboratory (cyberlab). This provides access to and control of real laboratory instrumentation and experiences. Various virtual instruments were provided for students to practice how to set up and use equipment. Students are able to do independent study on equipment to ensure competency.
iDe'lite - used to provide real time / role play type training for service training. Videos used to run through procedures (e.g. facial massage) and especially useful with various service based programmes.
Last session for the afternoon with Noor Fariday A. Rahim from Temasek Polytechnic on ' Web 2.0 with blended e-learning in education to engage youthes and enhance their learning. A case study of using web 2.0, elearning & blended learning in one module 'effective internet research (EIR)', a cross disciplinary subject. Began with covering definitions and examples of Web 2.0 and blended e-learning. Used blogs, wikis, forums, live chats with audio, video, print, elearning with f2f tutorials. These provide a more flexible, stimulating and independent learning environment. Linked to the specialised subject by completing a subject orientated project and also topics which impact on youth. MSN live chat as a ice-breaker and for building rapport. Blogs to reflect on student's learning process. Twitter for tutor to connect with students. Wikis to virtually collaborate and share group project. Discussion forums to learn, exchange and share knowledge about their research interests with others and Web 2.0 with blended elearning activities linked to assessment (graded portfolio).
Need to support/scaffold students into processes like blogging which young people are not as keen to use. This can be done by using a template by providing the points to write about and also model by providing an example. Introduce concepts like metaphors to help students construct better reflective blogs.
Online survey results reveal satisfaction with the teaching approach with over 90% satisfied, learnt a lot, interesting, electures convenient and helped them learn how to search the internet more effectively.
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