Fieldwork Coordinator as Academic Leader

Developing Fieldwork Coordinator Leadership Capability

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this

Land, the Wajuk Nyungar people, and pay respect to the Elders of their community

DVC (Education) Welcome

On behalf of Curtin I would like to welcome you to the Academic Leadership for Fieldwork Coordinators Program and thank you for the significant commitment you are making to improve the quality of teaching and learning through fieldwork and improving graduate employability within our courses.

The Team

Program Overview

Learning outcomes and plan

On successful completion participants will:• Understand the role of the fieldwork

coordinator as an academic leader• Understand the concept of academic

leadership in the context of fieldwork education

• Recognise the importance of building the scholarship of teaching and learning in fieldwork education

Group Demographics

• 50 % are UG coordinators, 19% PG, and 43% both UG and PG

• Most of you are in health (50%), 28% society and culture, 14% in education and the rest are in architecture, information technology and management and commerce

• 44% have been FCs for < 1 yr, 19 % for 1-3yrs, 19% 4-6 yrs, and 19% 10+ yrs (120yrs+!!)

• 47% spend 10-20% of your time on FC, 27% spend ≥80% and 14% spend 40-50% of time on FC

Pre-Participant Survey - Leadership

Prior knowledge of leadership theory

Studied leadership

View AL as different from leadership

Committed to taking action to improve leadership

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

NoYes

What You Want From the Program

• More awareness of own skills/gaps and formulating a plan to improve• Understanding what is involved in FW for large nos students• See/ hear how others apply WIL• Skills to provide a better fieldwork learning experience for students• Assistance in managing students to ease workload• Networking, ideas for creatively engaging fieldwork partners,

innovation in fieldwork, leadership ideas• Clearer understanding of Curtin’s philosophy, political stance and

processes relating to industry partners• Dealing with partners who have a particular approach and are unwilling

to align with Curtin's processes, academic regulations and stds• How to manage time & people and translate vision into reality/action• Learn to negotiate effectively

• Introduce yourself to two other people (at least one with different coloured sticker)

• Review cards and discuss the relationship with your own leadership style

• Discuss one aspect that is great and one that ‘grates’ about your role

Discussion

Great!• People• Variety • Successes (students and

industry partners)• Setting up a new partnership• When it all works out!• Value to students—being

part of that• Proactive positive students

Grate!• People• Poor performance (students and

industry partners)• Paperwork/administration• Inflexibility from partners• Managing industry expectations• Students lack of appreciation• Tension in finding common

ground• Student negative behaviour

effecting partnerships

Why Leadership in Fieldwork?

• CEQ – GSS (DEEWR compacts); GDS• Growing competition• Graduate employability• AUQA recommendation – WIL opportunities equitable• Opening up of access → diversified student body• Changes in funding (esp Health; base funding review)• Pressure to generate new sources of income• Rapid growth in HE export market• Challenge of maintaining standards with changing nature of

the student cohort• Students seeing themselves as consumers• Changing characteristics of a new generation of students

(GenY/Z)

• Leadership succession crisis

• Focus on effective change mgt and implementation

• Excellent leadership needed at all levels to remain competitive

• Fieldwork Coordinators (FC) not represented

FC Survey Results

Demographic Information• Majority of respondents were women (58.5%)• From education and health sciences• Curtin University (63%), CSU (37%)• Most respondents had ≤ 3 years of FC experience

(Curtin 47%, CSU 59%)• Some had >10 yrs (Curtin 26.5%, CSU 27.3%)

10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-800

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CurtinCharles Sturt

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Time on Fieldwork

Focus of Fieldwork

Undergrad Postgrad UG&PG0

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Capabilities and Competencies Identified by FCs

1. Interpersonal capabilities (empathising and influencing)

2. Cognitive capabilities (flexibility, responsiveness, strategy, diagnosis)

3. Personal capabilities (commitment, decisiveness, self-regulation)

4. Skills and knowledge (self-organisational skills, university operations, T&L)

Fieldwork Coordinators

• Dedicated staff • Enjoy helping and seeing students develop

and grow• Enjoy implementing effective fieldwork

programs• Liaising with industry – Building partnerships, keeping up with current

practice

Challenges

• Competition for placements and no. of placements required

• Slow admin processes, bureaucracy

• Lack of recognition, reward and institutional support

• Lack of time!!!• Workload—life/work

balance• Managing partnerships• Managing poor

performance (students/ staff)

• Managing student diversity and incivility

Development Priorities

• Time management• Leadership development• Networking• Assessment and moderation• Scholarship of teaching and learning

The road to masteryFrom novice to expert…

1. Novice Learn facts and rules

2. Advanced beginnerApply the rules and Discover certain basic patterns

3. Competence Develop your own rules-of-thumb and Engage in calculated risks

4. Proficiency Calculation and analysis disappear – you unconsciously

“read” the situation5. Expertise

Adapt to constant change, and Intuitively acts upon different situations appropriately

Chapter 10: Integration and the road to mastery.Quinn et al. (2007). Becoming a master manager. A competing values approach. NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

What you… Know

Know you Don’t KnowDon’t Know you Don’t Know

Backward Reasoning …

..…. Forw

ard Reasoning

1. My Ideal Self: Who do I want to be as a FC?2. My Real Self: Who am I now as a FC?

3. My Learning Agenda4. Experimenting w New Behaviours5. Developing Trusting Relationships

My Strengths My Gaps

Boyatzis’s 5 Discoveries (Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee, 2002)

Coaching

Information fro

m

360 degree assessm

ent

Leadership Capability Framework Scott et al (2003)

Capability

Competency

Personal Inter-Personal Cognitive

Generic Rolespecific

Capabilities that count!

Leadership Capability Scales & Items

Personal• Commitment to FW excellence; achieve best

outcome• Self regulation (considered decisions, knowing

self, life/work balance, calm under pressure)• Decisiveness (take hard decisions, tolerate

ambiguity, values/ethical)• Commitment (energy & passion,

perseverance)

Leadership Capability Scales & Items

Personal• Commitment to T&L excellence;

achieve best outcome• Self regulation (considered

decisions, knowing self, work/life balance, calm under pressure)

• Decisiveness (take hard decisions, tolerate ambiguity, values/ethical)

• Commitment (energy & passion, perseverance)

Interpersonal• Influencing (peers, FW partners

& up; motivating; networking; feedback)

• Empathising & working productively (transparent & honest, cultural competence)

• Develop & contribute to teams• Motivating others• Giving/receiving feedback

constructively

Leadership Capability Scales & Items

Cognitive• Diagnosis (underlying

causes, recognising patterns, identify core issue from mass of information)

• Strategy (see & act on opportunities, creative, best way to respond, priorities)

• Flexibility & responsiveness (adjusting, sense of learning, no fixed answers)

Leadership Capability Scales & Items

Cognitive• Diagnosis (underlying

causes, recognising patterns, identify core issue from mass of information)

• Strategy (see & act on opportunities, creative, best way to respond, priorities)

• Flexibility & responsiveness (adjusting, sense of learning, no fixed answers)

Generic and Role-specific Competency• Learning & teaching (fieldwork

pedagogy)• FW curriculum and assessment

design• Evaluation• Dissemination of good practice• University operations• Self-organisation skills

Integrated Competing Values Framework (ICVF)

A leadership model that is designed to build your capabilities at an academic level now and in the future

The ICVF conceptualises academic leadership as:• Having competing demands (paradoxical)• Requiring behavioral and cognitive complexity• Involving critical observation• Involving reflection and learning

Review ICVF

In groups of 5• Using the ICVF model - write some words or

phrases a fieldwork coordinator would use when in each role

Role Managerial application*

Fieldwork Coordinators application

Innovator Creative Encourages, envisions and facilitates change

Sees need for new placement models/ delivery approachesDevelops new T&L approach

Role Managerial application*

Fieldwork Coordinators application

Innovator Creative Encourages, envisions and facilitates change

Sees need for new placement models/ delivery approachesDevelops new T&L approach

Broker Develops, scans and maintains networks Acquires needed resources

Maintains necessary networks within and outside of the University Secures necessary teaching resources in the community

Role Managerial application*

Fieldwork Coordinators application

Innovator Creative Encourages, envisions and facilitates change

Sees need for new placement models/ delivery approachesDevelops new T&L approach

Broker Develops, scans and maintains networks Acquires needed resources

Maintains necessary networks within and outside of the University Secures necessary teaching resources in the community

Deliverer Work focused Motivates behaviour Sets goals Clarifies roles Does scheduling, coordination and problem-solving

Ensures work placements designed & delivered Motivates supervisory staff Sets clear and achievable T&L goals for FW stakeholders Communicates and clarifies goals with FW staff Schedules and coordinates FW placements and solves teaching issues

Role Managerial application*

Fieldwork Coordinators application

Monitor Sees rules and standards are met Collects and distributes information Checks on performance

Regularly collects and distributes information on supervisor and agency performance Monitors supervisors’ teaching performance Keeps accurate agency records, contracts, etc…

Role Managerial application*

Fieldwork Coordinators application

Monitor Sees rules and standards are met Collects and distributes information Checks on performance

Regularly collects and distributes information on supervisor and agency performance Monitors supervisors’ teaching performance Keeps accurate agency records, contracts, etc…

Developer Aware of individual needs and facilitates development Develops teams

Develops fieldwork staff Participates in mentoring and peer coaching sessions as a mentor and coach Aware of strengths and weaknesses of supervisory team Develops and maintains FW staff and supervisors Arranges for appropriate development strategies for FW partners and students

Scholarship of T&L

• Evidence based approach to FW– Design, implementation, evaluation, processes and

outcomes• Improve recognition of FW coordinators• Evaluation of interventions, dissemination of

findings• Mechanism to demonstrate– Scope of influence and responsibility, levels of

performance, outputs, quality and impact of work, reputation and recognition

How Will This Process Benefit You?

Use it:• For academic promotion• At your performance management meeting• To develop your academic leadership

capability• Progress an action related to improving your

fieldwork program

Program Overview

• FC as academic leader• Delivering an effective FW

program• Role of quality in FW

programs • Developing FW Partners for

student learning• Creating and sustaining FW

partnerships• Innovation in FW and

managing change• Personal leadership

capabilities and their development

• Theoretical framework• Experiential learning

– case/problem-based• “Toolkit”• 360° feedback ICVF• Peer coaching/self-

reflection/ journaling• Online resources (refer to

file)