Whitireia and Weltec teaching and research hui - notes

 At the Teaching and Research hui in Wellington, convened at Whitirea and Weltec today. I was invited to provide a keynote on AI and presented on our AI projects, with an emphasis on the scholarship of teaching and learning. There was much to cover and I hope the general message got across. AI is here to stay, we need to apply it to supporting teaching and learning, teacher AI literacy is a pre-requisite and they then need to integrate AI literacies and use AI in a structured way to support teaching and learning.

I then stayed on for several of the sessions (across 6 streams) before leaving for the airport.

I kept to the technology, innovation and business stream as there were presentations across this that had relevance to our work on AI and programme development.

The conference began with a mihi whakatau (Māori welcome). Marie Merdan (research manager/ head of academic success) covered the usual housekeeping/safety briefings. and Leanne Ivil  Operations manager / director of teaching and learning welcomed the participants.  

I then presented the keynote on ‘AI in vocational education: The journey to personalised learning environments’ with an emphasis on the scholarship of teaching and learning and the potential for AI to support personal learning environments. I shared the journey thus far to build capability amongst our teachers, raise AI literacies with both students and teachers, and the challenges presented to integrate AI into various programmes of learning.

Then attended one stream of the presentations.

Akaike’s Information Criterion for Linearly Separable Clusters presented by Maria Eda Arado (presenter) with Roberto Padua. Technical topic on dataset management. Interesting from the point of view of how data is used/drawn on/organised etc.  across various industries and AI. Clustering of data is applied towards optimising data handling. Used the example of marine reserve ecosystems. Shared how clustering evolved and the most popular partitioning techniques, their challenges and some viable solutions.

Adopting AI Technology in Architecture Practices in New Zealand: A Practical Roadmap presented by Minh Nguyen. Discussed if there is future for architects in the age of AI. Overviewed the history of innovation in architectural design technology, From manual (pre-1980) to CAD (up to 2000s) to BIM (2000s), programmable design (2010s) and AI powered design (2020s). Discussed pros and cons of the parametric design process which is complex and takes a lot of learning and how AI supports and accelerates this process. Shared the ways AI can be applied to architecture. Presented the challenges of incorporating AI including costs, capability and the difficulties with reliability. A solution is to use Open Source AI architectural tools. To develop AI literacies with students, identify tasks into visual and text-based tools and help students coordinate these as and when required. Important to realise trust and relationships which are human traits.

Scaffolded Teaching Approach for Improved Engagement and Success in Engineering with Gopal Krishan (presenter), Christy Mathew, Maria Eda Arado & Glynis Valli. Shared a pedagogical intervention, used over the past few years, to increase student success and engagement with engineering mathematics. Traditional high-stakes exams cause high failure rates and stress, a more learner-centred approach is required, shared ways to help reduce stress and improve success. Introduced bi-weekly small tests, scaffolded the sequence of theory, practice and experiment. Placed a focus on feedback, consistency and designed for learning. Shared increased success rates from undertaking the shift with average marks increasing across the board. Student feedback concurred that stress was reduced and understanding improved. The approach is scalable and replicable through using frequent low stakes tests which reduce stress, builds confidence and increases success.

Poster presentations along with brunch followed where I caught up with two researchers (Dr. Brenda Saris and Alice Moore) conducting studies on bridging the learning/cultural divide when teaching Chinese students in the creative disciplines. 

Then a professional development session on ‘Plan smarter. Teach creatively. Hands-On with Copilot’ Alex Craven, Mike Laing, Angela Yates and Josh Clemen. A session for beginners using the standard Copilot365. A Kahoot ice breaker quiz starts the session with questions on level one AI literacy – what is AI? Summarised key points on what is Gen AI and how it can/cannot be used and the need to use Copilot for its corporate security. Went through the differences between the premium and vanilla Copilot365. Demonstrated standard ways to use Copilot to support teaching and admin work tasks.

I leave for the airport partway through the above to travel back down South to Dunedin for OPSITAra, which is the research hui for Otago Polytechnic, Southern Institute of Technology and Ara Institute of Canterbury.

 

 

Peformance based research funding in Aotearoa New Zealand -

 Last week, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) announced that the University Advisory Group, has been tasked with reviewing the mechanism for recognition and funding of research in tertiary institutions. The Performance-based Research Funding (PBRF) is the main conduit for the funding of research at universities and polytechnics 

Taking this into account, the current collation of evidence towards the 2018-2026 evaluation round, has been cancelled. The Tertiary Education Union (TEU) have always contended that the PBRF system was unwieldy and expensive, taking up much of academics' time without any real benefits for them. 

What happens next, will hopefully be more manageable and fair. Across three posts, Roger Smyth has discussed some possibilities. Firstly, he overviews the system as it stands and summarises the inherent challenges. Then, he presents some possible solutions. A postscript was then added providing examples of how the possible solutions proposed, may play out. Of note is that PBRF is a funding regime that is derived from the university sectors' research volume. Smaller tertiary providers in the form of  Wananga (Māori Universities) and Polytechnics which participate in research as they offer degree level and above qualifications, will always have much smaller volumes of research outputs. Therefore, their share of the PBRF, has always been much smaller. 

The recommendations from the University Advisory Group on PBRF will therefore, always be a balancing act between how funding drives research activity and the costs of measuring the quantity and quality of the activity. The current system is very costly, in terms of time, for individual institutions and individual researchers. Hopefully, a better, more efficient method is presented that does not penalise non-university research. 

Challenges and solutions in ethnographic research - book overview

 This is an open access book - challenges and solutions in ethnographic research - edited by Tuuli Lähdesmäki, Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto, Viktorija L.A. Čeginskas, and Aino-Kaisa Koistinen, all from or associated with the Finnish University of Jyväskylä. 

The 2020 book is published by Taylor and Francis and 14 chapters organised into 4 sections two of which are of interest and relevance to my work. 

Before the main chapters, the editors provide the 'Introduction: Ethnography with a twist' which covers the motivations and rationale for the book. These are mainly due to the movement to more social practices, globalisation providing an ever expanding and rich tapestry of human life to be investigated; and the importance of ethics and reflexivity underpinning all research.

The background to the book is summarised, being a conference held at the university in 2019. Short overviews of each chapter are then provided.

 Section one covers 'new collaborative practices in ethnography' with 3 chapters.

The first chapter is by Johanna Turunen, Viktorija L. A. Čeginskas, Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus, Tuuli Lähdesmäki, Katja Mäkinen titled Polyspace: creating new concepts through reflexive team ethnography. The chapter writes on a collaborative effort, derived from experiences the authors had whilst convening at a heritage site. They define the distinctive elements of polyspace as being made up of an element of suddeness or surprise; a bizarre experience; requiring social agency and interaction; and something that draws on affect, emotion and empathy. The chapter details how the concept of poly-space was developed through the sharing of fieldwork experiences and sense making through intepretive reflexivity. Of importance is the development of a collaborative ethnography and collective interpretive reflexivity. 

Following is a chapter on 'embodied adventures: an experiment in doing and writing multisensory ethnography by Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto, Tytti Lehtovaara. This chapter details and describes sensory ethnography. The challenges include the interpretation of embodied experiences, the verbal expression of things that are often difficult to describe and then to communicate these in ways which will other people understand. The chapter uses the experiences of the authors as they navigate into the group as an example.

Chapter 3 is with Matthew Cheeseman, Gautam Chakrabarti, Susanne Österlund-Pötzsch, Simon Poole, Dani Schrire, Daniella Seltzer, Matti Tainio on 'Ramblings: a walk in progress (in the minutes of the International Society of the Imaginary Perambulator). Here, the authors experiment with a study on and responses to each other's walking practices. 

The next part focuses on 'Visuality and multi-modality in ethnography'.

Chapter four by Riitta Hänninen is on 'participant-induced elicitation in digital environments'. Draws on two studies by the author on Finnish lifestyle blogging and older adults as ICT users. Traditionally, photos or used to help draw out responses from participants. The photos may be taken by the participants, the researcher or selected to ground a topic. In this chapter, blogs and 'device use' were the anchors for participant induced elicitation. The advantages and disadvantages of each are presented and discussed.

The fifth chapters 'ethical challenges of using video for qualitative research and ethnography: state of the art and guidelines' is by Marina Everri, Maxi Heitmayer, Yamin-Slotkus Paulius, Lahlou Saadi. Undertakes a brief overview of the use of video in ethnographic research and the need to review the guidelines as technology and its ubiquity and range of uses, changes the nature of video ethnography. A literature review is undertaken to review the gaps and these are then discussed. Issues requiring update include the researcher-researched rapport; the complexities of informed consent; participant's rights including anonymity, confidentiality, data ownership and release. Solutions are discussed and examples provided.

Chapter six by Plhla Maria Siim is on 'drawing and storycrafting with Estonian children'. This chapter is based on a study of cross-border mobility and its effects on family lives, lifestyles and everyday practices. Proposes storycrafting as a method to engage with and provide a voice for young children.

The next chapter 'Sharpening the pencil: A visual journey towards the outlines of drawing as an autoethnographical method is by Marika Tervahartiala. The chapter details the methodology, motivation to use the method, discusses advantages and disadvantages, and sketches and narrates examples  to illustrate the concepts.

The next two sections are good references but less relevant for the moment to my work. The third section has chapters on 'ethnography of power dynamics in challenging contexts'.

Firstly, Marie Sandberg writes on 'Retrospective ethnographies: Twisting moments of researching commemorative practices among volunteers after the refugee arrivals to Europe 2015'. Then Laura Stark with 'Ethnographic challenges to studying the poor in and from the global South'. Last chapter in this section is with Lotta Lounasmeri who write on 'Elite interviewing: The effects of power in interactions. The experience of Northern women.

The last section has four chapters on 'embodied and affective ethnography'.

Chapter 11 is by Marija Dalbello and Cathering McGowan who write on 'Memory narrations as a source for historical ethnography and the sensorial-affective experience of migration'. The following chapter is by Sofie Strandén-Backa on 'The involuntary ethnographer and an eagerness to know'. Then a chapter on 'Ethnography, arts production and performance: meaning making in and for the street' by Jessica Bradley.

The last chapter by Tom Boellstorff with 'Ethnographic twists and turns: an alternative epilogue' overviews the main themes and closes the book. 

The book has mix of articles written and presented at a conference and collaborative works which were initiated and completed post-conference. It provides good examples of the ethnographical writing genre and proposes and examples contemporary ethnography. That is ethnography that is no longer a privileged researcher observation of the culture and practices of others, but deeper immersion, collaboration and co-creation, and acknowledgement of ethnography's important contributions but tempered by it's ethical emphasis and more future looking approaches. 

AVETRA OctoberVET - Applied research presentations from Holmsglen TAFE

 

Andrew Williamson, Executive Director at Holmsglen (Melbourne) welcomed the participants and began with a welcome to country. Dr. Henry Pook, director for the centre of applied research and innovation at Holmsglen and MC for the session, covered ‘housekeeping’ and instructions. Then provided an overview of the centre and its vision, direction, and objectives.

Hopped in and out of most of the presentations until mid afternoon NZ time.

Two groups of presentations today.

Firstly, summaries and updates on current projects:

Dr Louise Shaw: Evidence-based methods for preventing and overcoming falls with expert reasoning. Summarised the problem of falls in hospitals, introduced the research partners (hospitals, universities and TAFE) for the 3-year project and overviewed the research method /interventions and findings. Of interest is the development of evidence-based patient self-management programme and the development of a Virtual community of practice to support implementation and behaviour change. A good example of the importance of ‘change management’ in changing practice.

Warren Guest: Presented a contextual view of the design and negotiation of VET Training packages: through an examination of how the process is influenced by industry, government, and VET institutions, and for what purposes and intentions. Provided the context of training packages and the rationale for the study. The process is complex, involving many stakeholders – both private and public. Who, why and how is the consultation conducted was summarised but little study has been undertaken into the process. Therefore how do the industrial parties withing VE design the intended curriculum of apprenticeship training? Whose knowledge is prioritised? What knowledge is considered important? What purposes would that knowledge serve? Use case study of food processing (apprentice bakers) training package. Interviewed 8 ‘designers’ from TAC, IRC, SSO and AISC) and reviewed the 29 public submissions. Found that each sector/sub-cultures (for example, artisanal bakers, large corporate bakers, TAFE representations) had clear ideas but felt they were not  sufficiently represented. Apprentices were not involved. Seemed to be an over emphasis on assessments (177 mentions) but fewer instances of skills (28), knowledge (8) or performance (5). Industry represents broad subcultures with divergent and discursive goals. Curriculum knowledge inclusions are influenced by material/financial and cultural (craft sills) interests of the industrial parties. Apprentice expectations rarely considered. Assessment inclusion used by industry for accountability and quality assurance.

Robyn Neeson: Entrepreneurship learning through a collaborative approach to student practical placement. Presented on findings from a collaborative project with the Institute of Public Accountants. Summarised the research process – interview of 44 students who participated in a 10 week internship on expectations, experience and perceived benefits; survey of 74 SMEs who had participated in student programme/internship about reasons or participating and perceived personal and business benefits; and survey of 80 plus IPA members on issues for not participating.

Found both students and SMEs benefited – students felt they attained additional skills and better understanding of the work; host businesses appreciated the new knowledge brought in by students and the extra time freed up for them to do other tasks.

Lisa Clements and Connie Castellan: The impact of Covid-19 and lessons learned from the perspective of Centre Directors in Early Childhood Education Centres. Covered the details of the method and journey and shared the progress onwards. Data gathered through a survey and followed up with interview of centres who opened and did not across the pandemic. Remote early childhood programmes explored. Little research carried out and little consultation made when policies were put in place which affected early childhood centres. Sector largely ‘invisible’ and ‘voiceless’ with poor pay and conditions.

Dr Mary Hughes and Julie Wright: Learning reconfigured for the 'new normal': Challenges and opportunities for HE and VET programs in a mixed sector institute. Shared a small scale single case study to explore the adaptation made to f2f delivery courses. What online instructional approaches were taken by teaching staff to replace f2f? what were the factors that positively influenced student participation and engagement and what hindered these. Participants included 6 students, a lecturer and a trainer. Change of pedagogy to digital technology including those considered ‘hands-on’ subjects. Students noticed increased workload. The students found access to effective and reliable internet and digital devices (not just mobile phone), personal wellbeing and connections to others and home/housing/family responsibilities. Teachers also notices increased workload and time required to learn how to use platforms like Panopto. However, once conversant, found the tool to be useful. Students also had to adjust to the change in delivery, including learning how to use zoom, discussion forums and view videos.

 

Then a look into the future possibilities for VET research.

Professor Debra Kiegaldie -Clinical chair for the health workforce and simulation: The future of applied research in health and community services: Where are we headed? Shared examples of projects. Began defining applied research as setting out to solving specific practical problems including a new design or product. Drivers of applied research include collaboration (seeing other universities and TAFEs as partners and not competition), capability, and investment (especially in people). Important to have leadership and research goals.

Building 4.0 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC): is a research partnership for 7 years involving Holmesglen, industry, and university research partners, to work on the development of new technologies that aim to modernise the building construction sector. The group presents two current projects.

Dr Ross Digby: Application of AR/VR and simulated technologies in civil construction training programmes. Proposed government (funding, role), market (entry to training, barriers and status) and the VET sector (role of teacher/trainer/facilitator. Knowledge transfer or learning facilitation, learning environment, affordances of technology) as shapers of the contemporary educational landscape. How is VR /MR selected – is it to improve learning outcomes; meet diverse learner needs; authentic learning. Presented two examples  of VR/MR habitat and scenario – VR interactive safety module using Maker Immersion and MR training video for a tunnel boring machine. Detailed simulation examples of the ThoroughTec simulator to teach operation of a ‘Long Driller’. Suggested a blend of simulation and various iterations of VR/MR to meet learning needs.

Dr Henry Pook: Technology, workforce change and industrial relations in the building construction industry. Rationale for the project being high costs, poor productivity, complex production systems, diverse workforce with work undertaken in challenging environments. Various commissions, government inquiries, industry taskforce etc. show the need to increase understanding of what drives industry to help improve it. Requires planned, collaborative approach to improve the future of work for the industry. Detailed the research process and how to apply this 'new knowledge' to technology integrations. education and training, and regulatory change.