OPSITAra - day 2 morning - Notes

 Arrived yesterday evening to Dunedin after the Whitireia and Weltec research hui to join the OPSITAra research conference, an annual event to share the research that is undertaken across Otago Polytechnic, Southern Institute of Technology and Ara Institute of Canterbury. 

I made it to the book launch and caught up with things and people.

Friday morning dawned fine. Breakfast presented some time to touch base with several with similar research interests.

I then presented on our AI journey thus far, proposing that teachers using AI, shift from being 'guides on the side' to 'conductors of learning'.

Following on is Joe Taylor and Phil Osborne from OP on 'Making Feedback Matter: Exploring Student Engagement with Summative Assessment Feedback in the Bachelor of Applied Management Programme'. Shared the need to improve the summative feedback process. Provided background and rationale. We do not understand how students use (or not use) summative feedback. Summarised the literature on feedback. Focused on the work of Hattie (2015) on visible learning to higher education. Overall feedback is high, meaning feedback has a powerful influence on learning. However, feedback for formative assessment is more impactful than summative feedback. Summarised the work of 'delivering effective student feedback in higher ed. (Williams, 2024). Stressed the importance of feedback literacy. It is teacher responsibility to ensure students understand the importance of feedback to their learning. 

Then a presentation with Phil Osborne from OP on 'Exploring Neurodiverse Learners’ (NDL) Use of Artificial Intelligence in Tertiary Education' on work with Mairead Fountain and Rachel van Gorp. Sought to find out what are the best practice uses of AI by NDLs. Participants from a range of disciplines, length of time in study and range of neurodiversity. Qualitative through interviews (transcribed using Teams - and 24 turnaround back to interviewees for their comment), Use a copilot agent ' thematic analysis assistant' with reference to University of Auckland (Braun and Clarke) site on thematic analysis. Shared the prompt used. Also examples, key themes and process of cross checking / triangulation processes across the data. Preliminary insights include that NDLs use AI in nuanced and strategic ways; emotional support, accuracy concerns, ethical awareness and need for institutional clarity were other common perspectives. Shared whether the agent could then connect the data to the literature. However, as it was an analysis agent, this did not work well. 

Poster presentations then took place.

The second keynote at the conference is with Dr. Gianna Leoni, who presents on 'Kaitiakitanga: Protecting Mana Motuhake in the Age of AI'. Began with setting the context and the objectives of Te Hiku media, committed to revitalisation of Te Reo Māori. The maintain a large archive of the language and a digital transition of these began in 2013. In 2018 they began work to teach computers to speak in Māori. Today the emphasis is on indigenous language revitalisation. Access to the language is important for the Māori diaspora with a large population of Māori living outside of Aotearoa. Currently, AI is able to play a role but its used carefully. Presented on the importance of the transcription of video archives and the challenges with accents and dialects in Māori. AI can accelerate the process but needs careful training to deal with the variants of Te Reo. AI needs sufficient CPU/computing capacities; specialised / contextualised algorithms and 'clean data'. Important to understand how machine learning/AI brings together the key principles of computer science and linguistics. The contribution from Te Hiku is to advise on domain knowledge (needs to be accessible and authentic to stakeholders; investing in people; ); data (authentic data required; currently most of the data is crowdsourced and not necessarily accurate or trustworthy; unbiased data; secure; whakapapa-based; gathered through community events). Shared the mainstream automatic speech  recognition, OpenAIs whisper model and its lack of capability with Te Reo Māori therefore the need for a local focus. 

Data on bilingual data is especially difficult as for many Māori's main language, especially away from Aotearoa is not Māori. Shared how their work is being shared and used by the communities who need the tools, information, and knowledge. Through apps - whare korero, live streaming and Māori learning resources and apps based on traditional Māori pedagogy. Shared the work on a Māori parts of speech tagger, to help produce reliable translations (see Kaituhi, spell/grammar checkers, speech to text transcribers, life captioning, text to speech technology to generate synthetic voices, screen reader in Māori etc. Encouraged feedback on the apps and other tools so that they can be improved. There is a Kaitiakitanga licence for Kōrero Māori. Open to collaborative projects :) 

The conference closed with prizes best presentation and best presentation by a new/emerging researcher. Scott Klenner provided closing address, thanks, acknowledgements and karakia. 

I then join the Ara contingent to back to Christchurch by van. It was a warm NW summer day, so tops were made to top up on drinks, and snacks :) 

OPSITAra - day 2 - notes

 The day begins with a keynote from Dr. Mazharuddin Syed Ahmed who speaks on 'empowering through education:meaningful refugee participation in NZ society. Mazhar began overview of the various communities he is involved in including the joint research group on Islamic New Zealanders. He summarised his participation in the Royal Commission formed to look at what happened during and after the mosque shootings. Followed with his development of a deep sense of belonging to Aotearoa. 

Proposed that meaningful refugee participation in includes voice in policies and in education begins with lowering educational integration barriers. For many refugees, their host country also contributes to atrocities occurring in his home country. Shared the stories of Bariz Shah to illlustrate the challenges refugees faced before and after their arrival.

Discussed why people migrate and summarised history of immigration across the millenium. Refugees are displaced not through choice, making it more challenging as the move is not through choice. Refugee intake in Aotearoa is still very low. For refugees, it is a long journey to Aotearoa. When they arrive, there are many continuing challenges and stress etc. Summarised why NZ is seen to be a good country to settle in. 

Shared the Aroha project he initiated after the mosque shootings. Used the murmuration of starlings as an example of the contribution of individuals to the wider activities - they do not have a leader as such. After the mosque shootings, it was individuals' actions which made a difference for the people affected. 

As a small country, NZers have 2 degrees of separation. We are born to be kind and care about others. Hate comes because we are taught to hate! The role of teachers is one key towards shifting from hate to love. Important to help students understand cognitive biases and what to do to check their own biases. Arts of bias lead to a downward spiral towards attitudes which support genocide! hence important to create opportunities for learners to understand the influence of bias.

Therefore, encouraged the need to be kind as it is contagious and good for our well-being and contributes to a better society.

After morning tea, I follow the Education 1 stream.

First up, Jamie Vaughan (Institute of IT professionals), Samuel Mann and Henk Roodt from Otago Polytechnic present on their work 'Hiapo framework - weaving professional identity in IT'. Sam presented work from Jamie's Doctoral work. Ongoing challenge of AI as being 'cowboys in suits'. In Jamie's masters, he found a mismatch of IT professionals and what was required in organisation practice. A comparison between nursing - 90% describes nursing IT but SFIA IT skills international) focuses 90% on technical skills. Applied Porter's value chain to bridge the nursing approach and SFIA. How to layer identity and values associated to bicultural practices (for example) is a output of Jamie's work as it is not only adding more 'skills' to SFIA but looking at holistic ways to integrate professional identity. The Niuen Hiapo (tapa cloth) to weave in meaning and narratives of 'being'. 

Following on we have, 'winning, doing and finishing: an account of externally funded research, with pointers for colleagues' with Cath Fraser and Judith Honeyfield from Toi Ohomai. Began with the challenges represented through the aged care industry and the rationale for studying older adults and aging. Study participants were Māori and Chinese people. Study looks at how health care education is constituted and delivered to look at how aged care  curriculum is enacted and student perspectives of older people. Ako Aotearoa project about to be completed. Provided and discussed research methodology and some findings. Shared some of the narratives/video resources as part of reporting the project. 

Then, Graeme Harris from Ara shares his work 'looking at teaching practice to develop a new high interest course'. He introduced the topic 'engineering systems analysis motorsport flavour'' how the level 7 course was developed, reflected on and reviewed. Described the rationale and process of drawing on industry expertise and feedback to select the content for the course (that could be logistically possible with current lab /industry equipment). Course is 2 and and half week block course and 50-100 hours to complete a specific project. Block course is hands on to learn the principles of testing, use the equipment, CAD software etc, to solve a problem along with industry visits. Block course finishes with a test and the post project project to complete the course is progressed through the semester and worth 35% of the course. Course outcomes are good with many students obtaining jobs with the industry supporters. Shared improvements going into the future. 

After morning tea, the last group of presentations:

Faye Wilson-Hill and Niki Hannan (Ara) with Hemi Hoskins (Te Wānanga o Aotearoa) and Hēperi Harris (Hawaiki Hou) present their ongoing work on 'Māui te Pūkenga: the evolution of the expert kaiako. The project sought to understand the experiences of kaiako as they expereince Maori culture and integrate these into their teaching, Data was collected through collaborative narrative inquiry yielding over 50 narratives. These kaiako were always travelling in the direction of learning and developing their culturally responsive pedagogy. They were already engaged in creating culturally responsive teaching environments. A re-framing mindset was also crucial to continually recognising and understanding bias so that indigenising and normalising mātauranga Maori continued. Not knowing was ok, but the important approach was to be comfortable with not knowing. 

Narratives were read out for the audience to better understand the concepts discovered, recognised, and honoured. 

Then with the team from Otago Polytechnic for the last two sessions in Education 2 stream. 

Layered drivers framework with Samuel Mann, Ruth Meyers, Dave Guruge, Jamie Vaughan and Mawera Keretai (University of Otago). Shared data collected from two participants, with their stories of working through disconnections between their individual identities within a discipline and organisational practices. Introduced the concept of levers in practice from the work of Mawera. Using stories of people subjected to decolonisation and ask participants to redo these stories to remove biases participants already hold. From there, the values required for inclusion into a curriculum can be distilled. Shared website with the information on the project.

Genre prompts as reflective tools in professional practice with Samuel Mann, Dave Guruge, Ruth Meyers and Kylie Wright. Modelled how the prompts can be useful to help people tell the stories of their practice / reflections  / challenges etc. 

The conference closed and moved on to join the Ara 'Blues and Brews' end of year celebration. 

OPSITAra - Day one - notes

 Today, the OPSITAra conference begins at Ara Institute of Canterbury. The conference brings researchers from Ara, Otago Polytechnic, and Southern Institute of Technology predominantly and with other ITPs, to together to share their work.

The conference begins with a Powhiri (Māori welcome) followed by catch up networking with morning tea :) Darren Mitchel, the Ara CE  and currently also for Rohe 4 for Te Pūkenga, welcomes all conference participants. Dr; Jamie Smiler, research / rangahau director for Te Pūkenga reiterated the welcome and updated on the activities across the week with similar conferences at Unitec, the Pacific forum and a virtual conference yesterday. He encouraged research to be relevant to our communities and that research should not just live on a bookshelf, but be applied to supporting and improving the lives of many.

Scott Klenner, research manager for Otago Polytechnic and Ara introduces the first conference keynote Dr. Waikaremoana Waitoki, who discusses 'growing researcher practice and praxis' - He piko he taniwha, he taniwha rau -on every bend a chief. Began with a tribute to Professor Angus Macfarlane, who passed on last week and who shoulder tapped Moana to present this keynote. Moana summarised her whakapapa and her research objectives. She wanted to ensure the kaupapa of supporting research impact was followed through. What does it mean to conduct research that critically engages with the lived realities of communities?How can researchers ensure their work meaningfully contributes of societal transformation? and also covered some of the critical indigenous research methodologies emphasise relationality, reciprocity, cultural integrity and the co-creation of solutions, rooted in community values. Anchored work in 'the politics of distrction' - especially in the current political climate. Referred to the work of Smith (1999) - the indigenous research agenda - what are the factors that support self-determination? 

Posed the challenge to researchers to think through what is indigenous Māori? what is mātautanga Māori and how these inform ethics, funding proposals, student research, responses to complaints from lobby groups etc. Discussed racism and what happens when different groups of people, think of others as different and classify them. Used the example of the government's cutting humanities and social science research through the Marsden fund, to devalue Māori research. 

Shared a recent Marsden funded project on mātauranga Māori in psychology. Explained what was Mauri - as the energy that influences the emotional and spiritual aspects of life. Developed the concept of Mauri Ora Tai Pari - a awareness of how various influences from other people, environment etc. activates and arouses us and these cycles are now applied to mental health, alcohol/drug addictions etc. to inform care and support. The Mauri ora tako is a consolidation of the many frameworks to support wellbeing (Waitoki & McLauchlan, 2020) and applied to the work of psychologists. with a inter-relational and holistic approach. Application of the approach during the Waakari (White Island) eruption.

Then shared several other projects including raranga, raranga taku takapau: Hapū ora for tamariki and examples of implications. Recommended 3 books to follow up and the people we should be reading. Shared that Mauri books also available online and for tamariki - children. Shared current project and work. Encouraged researchers to ensure Te Tiriti is honored and the importance of making a submission to the current treaty principles bill submission.

After the keynote, I chair the first sessions in the Education 1 stream.

First up, John G. Mumford from Southern Institute of Technology on 'machine learning rules interpretability: critical perspectives for postgraduate IT students. Shared the research scope, background, focus of the presentation, implications and conclusion. Study explored the application of critical thinking to understand how cognitive biases play a role in hindering the interpretability of machine learning rules, some of the ways debiasing strategies can be used, the existence of the interpretability / accuracy trade off, and shed light on the black box of AI. key themes brought together through a scoping literature (2020 onwards) review. Key cognitive biases - awareness of selected cognitive biases, awareness of interpretability/accuracy trade off, debiasing strategies, clarifying ML rules and enhanced interpretability and the ML black box. Cognitive bias through primacy effect, information bias, and misinpretation, ambiguity aversion and insensitivity to sample size. Implications include helping students to navigate the black box, apply logic and statistical knowledge to Ml roles, navigate teachers and students biases and help learning techniques for debiasing. 

Then Robert Nelson, Sam Mann and Ruth Meyers from Otago Polytechnic  (OP) present in 'raging with the machine: Collaborating with AI in learning.' Sam presented on a chapter from Robert's Doctorate in Professional Practice thesis, studying collaborative project-based learning. Context is a one semester course where a project is formulated and 'solved'. The actual way the brief is formed, impinges on the context, collaborations and authenticity of the project. AI now pervasive and authenticity requires that AI is deployed. AI can be part of how the work is undertaken but AI can also be a collaborator with more that one AI possible in the project. Another option is to get AI to do the work and the human is the 'conductor' or the human could just be the observer of AI as they complete the project. Experimented with a project and found that the job tasks have accelerated! - from weeks to 2 hours. Raises the challenge of why we take a project across a whole semester. With AI, several projects can be undertaken in a semester! and is this desirable? 

Third presentation is with Bruno Balducci from OP who updates on his ongoing project with 'AI-safe: An assessment design tool for the safe use and against the misuse of Gen AI.' The focus of the project is about assessment validity and reliability but not about AI integrity. Information on the applied findings are at the aisafe site. This has a 'thinking tool' for use by vocational education teachers that was user-friendly, efficient and effective. AIsafe is not for or against AI in teaching, it provides a practical solution by focusing on non-exam assessments. Defined AI misuse and AI safe design. What is being assessed, how and why are the basic principles whether AI is used or not. Concepts include context-specific, authentic, collaborative, process driven or generative (as in new information being created). Provided examples of the importance of the concepts. 

After lunch, I continue in the Education stream.

I begin by presenting the outcomes of the many projects undertaken at Ara from mid-2023 to the present with 'AI in vocational education: pedagogical support vs academic literacies'. I overview the many projects taken - most drawing on the work of Sharples (2023) whereby AI plays a role to support socially constructivist learning. From the many projects, from foundation through to degree learning and across many disciplines, the main purposes of introducing and integrating AI include modelling industry practice, using AI to support pedagogy and/or to support academic literacies. However, there is a natural tension between pedagogy and academic literacy skill attainment as using AI to 'do the learning' may mean practicing academic writing skills is compromised. Therefore, important to have clear learning outcomes, with regard to using AI to support teaching and learning. 

Then Marie-Louise Barry (Ara but now at University of Canterbury) and Gus Walken (Ara) present their work 'reflection on using Gen AI in tertiary education: the case of a project management and marketing course. Summarised the learning activities using AI in project management and marketing. Project management level 6 needed to be updated, especially for currency. Used ChatGPT to develop new resources, templates etc. Learning how to prompt and fact checking required and subject expertise is imperative. Also used AI to create quizzes using XML for Moodle :) Gus described how he used ChatGPT to engage learners in a Level 6 customer engagement marketing. Asked ChatGPT to suggest 4 padlet active learning activities. Selected best, implemented and edited version. Ran this and recorded the class. Ask ChatGPT to identify any student misunderstandings from transcriptions of the recording. Then used ChatGPT to create a quiz for students to revise from analysis of the transcript. 

Following is Michelle Simbuland, Jaikaran Narula and Nick Cordery from Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) who share their work on 'teachers' perceptions on the validity, reliability, and fairness of assessed tutorial as an assessment method: addressing AI-related challenges in designing assessments.' Assessed tutorials used as classrooms unavailable due to closure of the campus from Cyclone Gabrielle. Proposed the used of assessed tutorials as an option to also meet the AI challenge. Assessed tutorials are an oral assessment. Students research the topics covered and share insights and understanding of the tutorial. Peers can also critique answers from others. Students given a list of questions a week before. For each question, there will be a first, second and third responder but the students will not know which questions will be asked and whether they will be first, second or third responder. Session is recorded for moderation. Assessor ask the question and selects the student responders. 

Semi structured interviews with kaiako to find out their perspectives of the validity, reliability and fairness of using assessed tutorials and thematically analysed the data. 79% agreed validity can be achieved but questioned if 3 questions sufficient to evidence. Ditto with reliability but requires carefully designed marking rubrics and active cross moderation. 87% agreed that the method is fair, oral assessment increases modality of assessments. Agreement that this method addresses AI related issues. Next step is to collect learner perspective.

The last presentation before afternoon tea is with Vanessa Scholes (Open Polytechnic), Rachel van Gorp (Otago), Jessica Tupou (Victoria University) and Grayson Orr (Otago). They share their work on 'can AI assist us to address cognitive load for neurodivergent online learners? starting our journey. Began by introducing AI, the concepts of cognitive load, neurodivergence and online learning. Tested the hypothesis if brief summaries of online course content could reduce cognitive load for neurodiverse learners. Summarised the key points from the literature review - cognitive load and neurodivergent learners and online learning. AI's potential role to support the challenge and the risks of of using AI. Approaches include learner led - but may be patchy as the learner has to find the tool, work out how to use it and may obtain poor quality outputs. Provider-led will provide tools but quality may still be inconsistent. Educator-led is a balance between but entails more time and work from teachers. 

Tested AI tools to see if feeding course content would yield useful summaries. ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Brave's Leo AI. Both Leo AI and Copilot had some problems with large amounts of content. ChatGPT seems to produce succinct summaries and Claude also worked but more verbose. Next steps shared - ongoing testing and development, collaboration with learners, teachers and tech to test, more research and evaluation and advocacy and awareness of using AI to support neurodiverse learners. 

After afternoon tea, the last group of presentations for the day in the Education stream were presented.

First up, 'advancing pedagogical strategies in Chinese transnational education: lessons from Te Waipounamu with Jeremy Taylor from Otago. Introduced the concept of transnational education - international education delivered in a different country. Over 1200 programmes at degree level but 35 + joint programmes between NZ and China. Study occurred in China (Chengdu and Dalian) with interviews, 8 in each city. Comparison between what the UK does in this space as they have large numbers. Study investigated teaching practices and learner motivations in business management in Chengdu and mechanical engineering in Dalian. Participants were learners, teachers and programme managers. Push/pull factors established for how learners select/or have selected for them, the programmes they enrol in. 

Then John Howse from Toi Ohomai sharing an aspect of his PhD with 'exploring vocational education and training's role in just transitions: a practice-based approach to researching VET through a case study in apiculture. Began on the way 'transitions' fit into the vocational educational system. VET is couched as an economical requirement. However, VET's constant change, makes it difficult to keep to the fundamental objectives. Summarised how theory of practice architecture  applied to explore VET practices. Applied the theory beekeeping practice. Worked as a bee keeper and completed the studying of bee keeping in a formal institution. Compared his experiences with what was observed at work and what the qualifications required. Found qualifications can not encompass the nuances of practice, especially 'the affective dimension of care' which underpin bee keeping. Summarised plans to continue similar studies across other industries. Stressed the importance of connecting authentic practice to the qualifications. 

OP's Rachel McManamara, Amy Benians and Helen Mataiti share their work on 'planning a practice focused inquiry in Universal Design for Learning utilisation: questions we asked ourselves. UDL used mostly in the compulsory sector and there is a need to understand how UDL can be better aligned to VET. Project still in planning stage but as the conversations came about, the questions that arose became important to also analyse. Questions were looked at individually (thematic, linguistic and discourse) and to identify commonalities and differences. What does each know already? How to narrow the analysis tool? Where does UDL sit? What are the strengths in each researcher to see things differently? what is not being seen? A focus on this initial practice, has build relationships and shared values. 

Last session for the day is with Neeru Choudhary and Muhammad Arsian from Open Polytechnic with 'AI for higher education - trends, future challenges, and opportunities. Systematic literature review to identify gap to inform future research. AI is not new, perhaps since 1943 but Gen AI in 2023 has popularised the concept. AI in education used in profiling and prediction, intelligent tutor systems, assessment and evaluation and adaptive systems and personalisation. Rationalised the use of systematic review. Inclusion and exclusion criteria important - last 10 years, written in English and peer-reviewed in higher education. Used PRISMA methodology to refine to 246 papers. Current AI technologies include personalised leanring, administrative efficiency and language learning support. Future trends include, high precision education advanced learner tracking, collaborative learning environments and development of sophisticated educational platforms. Challenges are the ethics, data privacy/security and the digital divide. Opportunities to improve educational outcomes, personalised student support, reduced administrative burdens and transformin the educational landscape. Important to better understand student performance and engagement when AI is introduced. Quantitative study planned. 

A busy day with many good presentations to unpack. 

OPSITAra - Day 2

 Day two dawns fine but cloudy, after a drizzly day yesterday.

The conference begins with presentations across three streams. I attend and present within the teaching and learning 2 stream. 

First up, Bruno Balducci from Otago Polytechnic presents on 'meeting the challenges of AI and assessment security'. Aims to develop strategies for assuring the integrity of assessments. Control measures include preventing AI misuse through well-designed tasks. Used a pragmatic research design to find out what aspects were more vulnerable to AI. Research questions included - could AI be used to 'cheat' in selected assessments now and into the future. If so, in what ways? What are the common features. Semi-structured interviews with tutors (25), reviewing assessments (30+), checking AI use by students and running trials with ChatGPT to see what could be achieved. Identified strategies of specificity, practicality, process, personalisation and information flow to design and manage assessment tasks. Provided examples and discussed pros and cons.  Good summary of how good assessment design is usefully deployed to ensure assessments are personalised, authentic and locally contextualised.

Then, Rehan Masood with Maria Grace, James Flanders and David Finnie also from Otago Polytechnic, on 'Are we prepared for assessing AI content?'. Presented an overview of AI including the differences between discriminative and generative AI. Summarised the ways in which AI could be used in education. In assessments, there is a need to move away from stop-test approach towards meaningful learning activities. Summarised the ways teachers can use prompts for AI content creation. Study investigated how to us AI to generate content for assessments (in a construction courses context). Summative, formative assessments and rubrics generated. Missing from AI is contextual understanding, creative innovation, common sense/intuition and ethical considerations. Therefore, assessing these is one way forward. When creating questions using Gen AI, prompt literacy important. Recommended framework to improve assessment and assessment submission design.

I then present interim findings from our AI@Ara project. Provide summary of the project including what each of the 6 sub-projects did to integrate AI into their learning activities as framed by Sharples, 2023 concepts of social Gen AI for education. Then, preliminary findings reported which include interim framework for embedding AI literacies and recommendations.

Lastly, presentation from Lesley Brooks with Michael Greaves, Megan Kitching and Leoni Schmitd (Otago Polytechnic) on 'alternative modalities of postgraduate research assesssment'. Questioned why there are limitations to written thesis. Māori and Pacific learners have strong oral cultures, learners with disabilities disadvantaged and professional practice uses a range of methodologies that do lend themselves to thesis format. Investigated alternatives, their issues and risks and to find and offer solutions wherever possible. Interviews with 29 stakeholders. Caveats included modality being grounded in existing research; documentation, timeline with gateways to manage risks, institutional supports and awareness of the equivalence across the different modalities. Delphi technique then launched into with survey to 49 stakeholders. A key concept was the definition of assessibility - including availability of suitable assessors, ability to assess to the criteria, ability of programme to support the process and approach - Schmidt, L., Greaves, M. Brook, L. abd Kitching, M. (2022). Modalities of assessment matrix workflow. 

Recorded teaching and learning presentations follow morning tea. There were 10 recorded presentations across a range of disciplines. 

After lunch, a series of short presentations in the communities and institutions stream. There are presentations on local food growers, cyber security, prompt engineering and ChatGPT, performance-based research funding on accounting academics, and virtual exchange programme in environmental management. Presenters are from SIT, OP, and Wintec)

Then attend the last group of Teaching and Learning 3 presentations. 

Beginning with Ana Terry from Otago Polytechnic presenting 'the big picture: visual literacy in teaching and learning'. Defined visual literacy in teaching and learning as ability to design robust visually-led tasks and assessments, using visual thinking tools and methods, visual design principles to clearly communicate, select and /or create relevant graphics, and ethical, social and cultural issues in using and sharing visual media. Visual content often an 'add-on' and often not used to support the text, just as an aesthetic. Shared findings of a survey to find out how ITP teachers understand visual literacy and to use the findings to improve visual literacy professional development for teachers. Teachers generally confident with basic creation of graphics etc. but less so when integrating into the teaching objectives - support other literacies and discussing ethical and cultural issues. Indicates a text based biased to teaching and learning. As people progress through education, visuals reduce becoming dominated by text. In vocational education and training, graphics are more acceptable. Especially useful for diverse learners, to provide better representation across various media, rather than just text. Proposed the formation of a Visual Literacy community of practice to continue work in this area.

Followed by James Mackay and Helen Jeffrey with Hana Cadzow, Ema Tokolai & Rita Robinson reporting on progress of degree apprenticeships with 'the tale of two degree-apprenticeships: embedding work integrated learning degrees'. Two degree apprentices - one in Bachelor of Engineering Technology on Infrastructure Asset management (now in its fourth year) and Bachelor in Occupational Therapy (OT) (first delivery in semester 2 2024). Each shared the challenges. Both had skill labour shortages, and with OT there was a high demand for Māori occupational therapists. Generally, effective school and community liaison important, marketing and employer relationship development, collaborative programme development, developing institutional readiness and ongoing evaluation. Also, addressing local, regional and national skills shortages, institution has capability, clear employer demand, career progression pathway and the institution must have competitive advantage. Differences in each criteria between each degree apprenticeship. see guidelines - Gorb, E. (2022). Guiding principles for Degree apprenticeship - Manchester Metropolitan University. 

Last up, Danny Friburg with Amy Benians and Kath Danaher presented on 'Communities in the mist: Exploring CoP model for professional development. Reports on phase 3 on -neurodiversity CoP outcomes, established in 2022 with teachers working in the context. Defined CoPs (see Wenger & Snyder, 2000 and Alison Viskovic's 2005 work).  Study to understand the value of CoPs to individual PD; what are the percieved benefits and how to better support CoPs. Check Kennedy, 200f on increasing capacity for professional autonomy from transmissive (training, award bearining, cascade), to transitional,  standard based, coaching, CoP) and transformative (action research and transformative). Surmised that 6 year threshold signals a shift from transmissive to more transitional teaching approaches. 98 participants in pre-survey and 96 in post-survey. Shared findings. In general, teachers saw value in partcipating in the CoP. Awareness, knowledge increased including ability to find solutions , develop community and profesisonal networks and contribute to equity across the institution and meeting institutional values. Correlation between years of teaching and confidence in teaching neudivergent ākonga in post-survey but not in pre-survey. 

Video played of Jamie Smile - who is the recently appointed Ragahau and Research Director for Te Pūkenga. 

Various conference awards close the conference. 

OPSITAra - Day One

 At the local research forum ) OPSITAra, held this year at Invercargill and hosted by Southern Institute of Technology (SIT). The forum is an opportunity for researchers from Otago Polytechnic, Ara Institute of Canterbury and SIT to share research findings and to network across the three institutes. As we are all now Te Pūkenga, we also have participation from researchers across Aotearoa with researchers travelling from the North Island and the North of the South Island to also present.

The conference opens with Mihi Whakatau (welcome) hosted by Reniera Dallas, Daryl Haggerty, and Drs. Sally Bodkin Allen and James Savage. Dr. Megan Potiki, Executive Director Te Pūkenga Rohe 4 (which includes OP, SIT and Ara) provided an overview of her story and the mission required going forward to work with iwi. 

There is then a series of research Community of Practice (CoPs). Each meeting to discuss the possibilities for collegial and cooperative work and to network across the three institutions in the rohe.

After lunch, I attend the session with presentations on Teaching and Learning. There are two other streams (one pre-recorded) with presentations of research on construction/infrastructure and health well-being.

First up in the teaching and learning sessions, Dr. William Jenkins from UCOL talks about 'the impact of 2 COVID-19 lockdowns on NZ tertiary education students studying at a regional polytechnic. Reviewed the pandemic and the NZ response. Shared some NZ-based studies on the topic. Mixed responses from studies conducted at NZ universities and 2 ITP-context studies. In general, lock-down was stressful but all studies small and difficult to generalise. His study looked at the effects of the 2nd lockdown compared to the first. What was the difference between those who were more stressed and those less so. Survey at the end of 2021 with 68 analysed. In general students handled the second lockdown better. Divided data into 3 groups, 1/3 negative experiences, 1/3 neutral and 1/3 positive. In general, does with family had a more positive experience. 

He is followed on by Rachel van Gorp from Otago Polytechnic presenting on 'lecturing for neurodiversity: a guide to inclusive teaching'. Presented on the findings from her Master in Professional Practice where she interviewed 13 students and used these data to form practice recommendations. Neurodivergent brain functions differently. Challenges include difficulties understanding a following instructions, staying focused maintaining social interactions and high sensory overload. Important to build relationship with learners and make visible teachers' awareness and understanding of neurodiversity. Teaching methods need to be flexible and adaptable - use simple language and avoid jargon, check colours on visual resources, remember it is the first time learner is coming across the topic (even if you have taught it many times). Be aware of the need for breaks. Use support and resources. Ensure environment is inclusive. Connection between teacher and learner is critical. Teacher need to have access to resources and know how to use them. Be neurodiverse centred. Keep current with evidence-based practice on the topic. Draw on institutional support. For teachers, give learners extra time, provide visual aids, break complex tasks down, over one on one tutor support. 

Helen Mataiti and Amy Benian with Rach MacNamara from Otago Polytechnic are next on 'learning for all: designing learning in our work-based context'. Introduced the principles of Universal Design of Learning (UDL). Began with the socio-cultural history of the UDL framework and how it can be translated into our Aotearoa NZ tertiary and vocational education context. UDL backed up by neuroscience research to ensure there is good design of representation (recognition networks, - visual, aural etc. what we learn), action and expression (strategic networks - how we learn) and engagement (affective networks - why we learn). Used a qualitative, storying and empowerment method to find out how UDL help to reduce barriers to learning and that it is not a reinvention of 'learning styles'. Provided examples as to how to apply the UDL principles. 

The last session in this collection is with Rachel Byars with Greta Bauer, also from OP who presents on 'creating a sense of community and wellbeing through events'. Outlined the project carried out by Greta with the OP Student Association. OPSA events were impacted by Covid. The aim was to find out how students felt about student events and their impact on wellbeing. Summarised importance of these events, wellbeing and how each intersects with the other (lit. review). Survey of all students and then interviews with 6 event organisers and students as target groups. In general, survey revealed the importance of events to socialise with friends, entertainment, take a break, improve wellbeing, gain knowledge and for individual and community rewards. Overall, events are important to students, helping to build a sense of belonging, community and wellbeing. Important to create an events representative on the OPSA executive committee,  increased coordination within OP schools and survey each year to gauge student perpectives on events.

I attend the Research CoP on the Scholarship of teaching and learning, convened by Sonja Swale (SIT) and Claire Goode (OP). 

Short 'lightning talks' then occur across teaching and learning, construction, and health and well-being themes. 7 presentations, each 7 minutes long! Topics covered include 'reimaging Bourdieu'; assessment practice, psychological safety, personal experiences on teaching practice; how to communicate the unknown. and big ideas with students. Presenters from SIT, OP, Nelson-Marlborough Polytechnic - Selena Coburn, Fiona McLaren, Mark Wilson, Andrea Jones, Wendy Olsen, Maria Grace and Tim Lynch. 

The evening ends with a networking event, allowing everyone to few posters and creative exhibits. There are also several presentations from researchers in the creative industries.

OPSITARA - local ITPs' research conference

 This local conference is an opportunity for researchers across three polytechnics (ITPs) to present their work. The conference name refers to Otago Polytechnic (OP), Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) and Ara Institute of Canterbury (Ara).

Due to the wide range of degree programmes across discipline areas provisioned across NZ ITPs, the conference offerings are eclectic.

I was unable to attend many sessions, especially yesterday when I travelled down to Timaru to facilitate workshops for our Southern campus colleagues. However, managed to drop in briefly to one of the sessions in the pedagogy/education (PE) section.

Yesterday’s sessions were:

-         Robyn Hill and Warren Smith (with Jeff Hoffman) from SIT presented on their experiences, perspectives and evaluative processes for an online-based Master of Applied Management.

-          James Harrison from Capable NZ (OP) summarised some of the frameworks emerging from his PhD on developmental practices of vocational and professional roles. His contention that learning is difficult to quantify. Foundational learning across skills, knowledge and attributes builds up over time and not necessarily constrained by occupational role markers but by the aspiration of individuals.

-          John Mumford from SIT the presented on Artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic biases: developing critical thinking for post-graduate information technology students. He unpacked the ways critical thinking / evaluative thinking etc. could be defined, as relevant to the IT industry.

 

Today’s sessions include:

-          Glenys Ker from Capable NZ then presents work undertaken with Glenys Forsyth and Jo Kirkwood on facilitating learning success in professional practice qualifications – the critical role of the mentor. Provided background on the programme which draws on professional practitioners’ work-based learning. A self-designed and self-managed by learners. Summarised epistemological and pedagogical foundations. Evaluation of perspectives of learners – impact on professional self and personal self and the value of the reflective process as a professional practice tool. Match between learners and mentors critical’ relationship a key; mentors’ interest crucial; ongoing and constructive strengths-based learning; availability across evenings and weekends; resilience – don’t give up; stay the distance. Covered mentor’s roles and mentoring. Stressed the importance of ‘fit’ between learners and mentors. 

-          Martin Andrew, Sam Mann & Jo Kirkwood from OP presenting on nurturing Doctorate of Professional practice – voices of three academic mentors. The presentation covered the challenges, considered the distinctiveness of the doctoral journey, unpacked the premises of self-determination theory, and identified a range of tensions in the degree and the mentoring required to circumvent these. Provided overview of the qualification – 360 credits, approved in 2017 with first enrolments in 2018, 2 learners completed and 45 currently enrolled. There are 35 academic mentors. Outlined the process – not quite the same of usual PhD but does require thesis to be produced. Thesis focused on workplace project/professional practice – often action-based/auto=ethnographical research. Proposed OP PhD a third generation qualification and summarised unpinning learning theories framing the programme – experiential, transformational, Cop, criticality, reflective practice – with alignment to bicultural, sustainability, mentors’ fit and support, and criticality. Also importance in selection of external peer reader and appropriate examiners.

-          Kam Cheng and Sundeep Daggubati (Ara) then outline their work on ‘Mapping the Southbase Competency Framework to credit requirements in the New Zealand Diploma in Construction Management’. Provided details of a proposed project to explore the ‘subject matter expert’, learner and industry perspective on the RPL process. Discussed and described the project’s process.

In

-        Leslie Gill from OP on emotional intelligence inteaching and learning. recommended her book - exploring practical perspectives on emotional intelligence as a good reference. The undertook a brief overview of varoius chapters i the book starting with the history of emotional development. Second chapter is on insights into self awareness followed by chapters on the power of resilience, handling rejection, and the journey through grief and loss. Then summarised key points from chapters on expressions of empathy, spiritual well-being, and emotion management.

       Ana Terry from OP with ‘joining the dots – visual literacy in higher education. Importance of visualisation in representing complex ideas - i.e. flow chart of larger picture and how certain concepts interrelate. argued for the importance of the visual and its efficacy. However, how these are used can be a challenge. Both learners and teachers need to have visual literacy made 'visible' to us within a certain context. However, often assumed both learners and teachers have the skills.Visual literacy includes 'reading', 'writing', attaining meaning, navigation, thinking etc. Provided example from motor engineering of how learners build visual and critical thinking skills through drawing motor parts and explaining how they work. Discussed the process of visual being integrated with oral and how these contribute to learning. Shared proposed research activity going into the future. 

      Liz Ditzel with Leoni Schmidt, Michael Greaves, Amndy Kilsby and Amber Paterson (OP) on ‘what learning capabilities contribute to graduate’s work readiness?’ This is an Ako Aotearoa National Project.

      What are employers looking for in a graduate? and how can OP meet these needs. Summarised the Learner Capability Framework. Provided overview of the research project and findings. Surveys/interviews of employers/industry, and alumni conducted in 2019 to establish a learner capability framework. 2020 focused on implementation - mapping and consultation with Māori, and with employers/students etc. Currently implementation by mapping to programmes at OP. Translations of framework into Māori worked through. Top capabilities were verbal communication, effective interpersonal behaviour and working in teams. Achieved validation of the framework for implementation into the ITP and Aotearoa context. Reflected on 'what could be done differently'. 

-         Amber Paterson (OP) followed through with ‘integrating learning capabilities (transferable skills) and EduBits (microcredentials) into Year 3 Bachelor of Nursing. Developed one microcredential to help students track and meet their goals for sustainable practice - a third year community-based project. This provides a raft of learning capabilities to be completed. Summarised several student projects - usually around working with communities on health/well-being projects. 

     A good range of presentations, some of completed and externally funded projects and others more emergent. Presentations when well and session chairs were effective in facilitating the presentations and the accompanying Q & A.

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