Just a buzz? Exploring collaborative learning in an open course for professional development of teachers in Higher

Education

Chrissi Nerantzi Academic Developer Manchester Metropolitan University, UK @chrissinerantzi

Neil Withnell Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, University of Salford, UK @neilwithnell

Building communities of open practice, 28 – 29 April 2014, Centre for Life, Newcastle

Abstract

This poster provides insights into the experience of open learners of the Flexible, Distance, Online Learning (FDOL) course http://fdol.wordpress.com/ which was offered to teachers in Higher Education from September to December 2013. It was a non funded open course developed by two educational developers from the UK and Sweden who had the vision to enable open cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional development in this area of teachers in HE. The FDOL course was used as a case study for a PhD research project in open cross-institutional academic practice for the professional development of teachers in Higher Education (HE). The overall aim of the PhD research is to develop a flexible collaborative learning framework for cross-institutional open courses. A collective case study approach is used to investigate the learners’ experience in different natural settings. Preliminary findings from the FDOL case study are shared and data gathered and analysed from survey instrument that helped first conclusions to be drawn regarding the profile of the participants, their motivations, prior related experiences and learning habits. We will discuss how these factors influenced engagement with the course, linked to collaborative learning.

Context

Gibbs (2013) Academic Development to lead innovation and influence change Browne Report (2010) Teaching qualification for all staff teaching in HE Redecker et al. (2011) holistic changes are needed to transform education more

generally to foster personalisation, collaboration but also informalisation as these are features of learning in the future.

UK Quality Code (2012) and European Commission (2013) Initial and ongoing Development of Teachers essential

Gibbs (2010, 2012) ; Parsons et al (2012) Impact of teaching qualifications on practice

Wiley (2006) a shift towards ‘openness’ in academic practice as not only a positive trend, but a necessary one in order to ensure transparency, collaboration and continued innovation

European Commission (2013) Teacher Development programmes to use open and joined up approaches that foster collaborative learning

Ryan & Tilbury (2013) Flexible pedagogies to be modelled in Academic Development provision

higher education everyday

analog digital

tethered mobile

isolated connected

generic personal

consumers creators

closed open

(Wiley & Hilton, 2009, online).

How about a map for non-MOOC open educational

offers?

• Open cross-disciplinary professional development course for teachers in HE • Developed and organised by Academic Developers in the UK and Sweden • Developed using freely available social media • Offered from September – December 2013 • Pedagogical design: simplified Problem-Based Learning

NUmbers • Registered: 107 • FDOL132 community in G+ until now: 72 • Signed up for PBL groups: 31 • PBL groups: initially 8-9 in each x 4 > then 3 (group 2: 6, / group 3: 5 / group 4: 6) • PBL facilitators: 4 • Participants in webinars: 10-25 • Participants who completed: 13 (14%) all from groups (31 in groups then 42%)

•Countries • UK - 66 • Sweden – 17 • Canada – 4 • Ireland – 2 • also participants from: Hongkong, Argentina, Greenland, Switzerland,

New Zeeland, Slovenia, Belgium, New Zealand, Norway

FDOL132

Case study 1

Case study 1

Organisation of FDOL132

Nerantzi, Uhlin & Kvarnström (2013)

Step 1: Focus What do we see? How do we understand what we see? What do we need to find out more about? Specify learning issues/intended learning outcomes

Step 2: Investigate How and where are we/am I going to find answers? Who will do what and by when? What main findings and solutions do we/I propose?

Step 3: Share How are we going to present our findings within the group? What do we want to share with the FDOL community? How can we provide feedback to another group? What reflections do I have about my learning and our group work?

FISh a simplified PBL model

Nerantzi & Uhlin (2012)

• Preliminary findings of PhD research project

• Phenomenography (Marton, 1981)

– Main data collection individual interviews

– Complementary data via survey instruments (initial and final)

• Mixed-cased approach (Stake, 1995?)

– Case study 1: FDOL132

Method

Findings: initial survey

17 completed Countries: UK 37%, Sweden 37%, other 26%

Age range: 35-54 82% Gender: 35% male, 65% female Qualifications: 53% Doctoral qualification, 35% Postgraduate qualification, 12% undergraduate qualification

•All employed ( 88% HE and 12%Public Sector) •Participated in online courses before 88 % •Participated in an open online course before 47%

Learning values to be an open learner To connect with others To collaborate To be supported by a facilitator Application to practice

Prior experience Working in groups 77% Problem-Based Learning 30% Online collaboration 38% Social media in a professional capacity 50%

Findings: final survey

Final survey: 11 completed Mode of participation

Group member 91% Autonomous learner 9%

Study hours per week 55% 3 h, 27% 5h, 18% over 5

Main reason for not participating in a specific aspect of the course: TIME

Learning values •Structured course •Variety of synchronous & asynchronous engagement opportunities •Flexibility •Resources •Communication •Feedback from facilitators, peer and others •Recognition for study •Group work > participation was often a struggle

Personal Learning goals achieved 100% Learning goals

•Technologies for learning •Problem-based Learning •Learning in groups •Open learning •Open course design

Facilitation (satisfaction) Support 100% Participation in online discussions 100% Provision of regular feedback 64%

Key observations importance for learning

initial survey final survey

group work 100% 74%

feedback 61% 97%

recognition for study 47% 94%

independent study 100% 100%

facilitator support 100% 100%

interview voices preliminary findings

•Motivations: to be a student, CPD, PBL, TEL to enhance own practice •Overwhelmed at the start •Valued group work but found very challenging – learning in a microcosmos made experience personal •Valued working with colleagues from different disciplines/countries – language barriers, different levels of commitment, time •Smaller groups worked better, learning from and with others valued •Time was a massive challenge •Seeing the other person made collaboration real (hangouts, webinars – also a challenge to participate) •Individuals working towards credits more motivated, but also seemed to motivate other group members •Tensions for learners working towards credits: assessment tasks separated from group tasks. Course assessment was prioritised. This meant less time for group work. Quality of output perceived as poor. Too much focus on output. •Active participation, facilitators’ presence and active engagement and interaction with individuals made a difference •Valuable and positive experience overall, learning and development, examples of application to practice

• Reviewed FDOL132

• Developed FDOL141 in collaboration with Lars Uhlin (shorter course, facilitator’s role defined, emphasising on support/feedback, more facilitators, different group formation strategy, streamlining of activities)

• Exploring a number of post-FDOL141 opportunities

Next steps

Browne Report (2010) Securing a sustainable future for higher education, Department for Employment and Learning, available at http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/publications/pubs-higher-education/browne-report-student-fees.htm [accessed 1 November 2013] Gibbs, G. (2013) Reflections on the changing nature of educational development. International Journal for Academic Development, V. 18, Number 1, March 2013,

pp. 4-14. Gibbs, G. (2012) Implications of ‘Dimensions of quality’ in a market environment, York: The Higher Education Academy, available at

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/evidence_informed_practice/HEA_Dimensions_of_Quality_2.pdf Gibbs, G. (2010) Dimensions of quality, York: The Higher Education Academy, available at

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/evidence_informed_practice/Dimensions_of_Quality.pdf [accessed 8 November 2013] European Commission (2013) High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education. Report to the European Commission on Improving the quality of teaching and learning in Europe’s higher education institutions, European Union, available at http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc/modernisation_en.pdf [accessed 20 February 2014] Marton, F. (1994) Phenomenography as a Research Approach, Husen, T. and Postlethwaite, N. (2nd ed) The International Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 8, Pergamon, pp. 4424-4429, available athttp://www.ped.gu.se/biorn/phgraph/civil/main/1res.appr.html [accessed 3 Jan 2014]. Wiley (2006) a shift towards ‘openness’ in academic practice as not only a positive trend, but a necessary one in order to ensure transparency, collaboration and

continued innovation Redecker, C., Leis, M., Leendertse, M., Punie, Y., Gijsbers, G., Kirschner, P. Stoyanov, S. and Hoogveld, B. (2011) The Future of Learning: Preparing for Change.

European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Prospective Technological Studies EUR 24960 EN Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=4719 [accessed 21 February 2014] Ryan, A. & Tilbury, D. (2013) Flexible Pedagogies, new pedagogical ideas, York: HEA, available at ttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/news/detail/2013/new_pedagogical_ideas [accessed 21 November 2013] Stake, R. E. (1995) The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage. The UK Quality Code for Higher Eduction (2012) Glouchester: Quality Assurance Agency, available at http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/quality-code-brief-guide.aspx [accessed 5 December 2013] Wiley, D. (2006) Open Source, Openness, and Higher Education, innovate, Oct/Nov, Volumne 3, issue 1, available at http://www.innovateonline.info/pdf/vol3_issue1/Open_Source,_Openness,_and_Higher_Education.pdf [accessed 20 February 2014] Wiley, D. and Hilton, J. (2009) Openness, Dynamic Specialization, and the Disaggregated Future of Higher Education, in: International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Volume 10, Number 5, 2009, pp. 1-16., available at http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/768 [accessed 20 February 2014]

References

Just a buzz? Exploring collaborative learning in an open course for professional development of teachers in Higher

Education

Chrissi Nerantzi Academic Developer Manchester Metropolitan University, UK @chrissinerantzi

Neil Withnell Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, University of Salford, UK @neilwithnell

Building communities of open practice, 28 – 29 April 2014, Centre for Life, Newcastle