Responding to learners

Helen Beetham Rhona Sharpe

“a consumer revolution for students”

Higher Ambitions: the future of universities in a knowledge

economy

problems with the consumer model... at an individual level,

not developmental, not ambitious

at a societal level, rhetorically allows next year’s cohort of students and this year’s top graduate employers to define purposes of FE/HE: in practice sidelines the debate

The consumer or client replaces the learner... [and] as the language of performance and management has

advanced, so we have lost a language of education which recognises the

intrinsic value of pursuing certain sorts of question...

needs and expectations... how are they framed?

are they the same thing?

can needs be met by having expectations challenged?

how can we avoid charges of patronage, normalisation, elitism, being ‘supply-side’ driven...?

we need to debunk a couple of

myths learners are digital natives

have high expectations of technology-supported learning

we need to debunk a couple of

myths learners are digital natives

have high expectations of technology-supported learning

we need to debunk a couple of

myths what practices and capabilities do learners need for a digital age?

how do we enable learners to develop them?

What counts as an educated 19-year-old

in this day and age?

Helen BeethamLou McGillAllison Littlejohn

Small-scale JISC studyFinal report May 09

what capabilities will today's learners need in 2020?

economic uncertaintyhigh competition for employment in the global knowledge

economyincreased alternative, contract-based and self-employment

inter-disciplinarity and multi-role work teams climate change: increased migration

multi-cultural working and living environmentsdigitally-enhanced environment: geo-tagging, embedded datablurring boundaries of real/virtual, public/private, work/leisure

increasing ubiquity, availability and reusability of digital knowledge

distribution of cognitive work into (human+non-human) networks

personal 'cloud' of information, personal/wearable devicesrapid social and techno-social change

As knowledge is increasingly accepted as being multi-modal, always potentially capable of digital capture and sharing, then the significance of 'the digital' as a separate space for living, learning and working may recede

We are not rethinking some part or aspect of learning,

we are rethinking all of learning in these

new digital contexts

How will we manage multiple identities in a world where public and private are being redefined? How will we act safely and responsibility in hybrid spaces?

Creative appropriation

What would you describe as the priority for graduates in the C21st?

A high level skills for a knowledge economyB creative production of ideas in multiple mediaC critical information and technology literacyD digital participation and citizenshipE personal and social resilience

what capabilities are being supported

in UK HE and FE today?

academic and prof literacies

Competence frameworks

information and media literacies ICT skills

slow change, cultural and institutional inhibitors

rapid change, economic and techno-social

drivers

critical thinkingproblem solvingreflectionacademic writingnote-takingconcept mappingtime managementanalysis, synthesisevaluationcreativity, innovationself-directed learningcollaborative learning

searching, retrievinganalysing, interpreting critiquingevaluatingmanaging resourcesnavigating info spacescontent creationediting, repurposingenriching resourcesreferencingsharing content

web searchingusing CMCusing TELEusing digital devicesword processingusing databasesanalysis toolsassistive techsocial softwareimmersive envtspersonalisation...

A developmental model

Creative appropriati

on

hand-out: mapping capabilities to the

developmental model

hand-out: mapping capabilities to the

developmental modelStrategies tend to focus on 'employability' – occasionally 'graduateness' – both very poorly conceptualised. In practice, how should the curriculum change? How will learners benefit? How will they be supported, challenged and progressed?

creativeappropriation

Learners over-estimate their information skills

Many lack general critical and inquiry skills

Most learners still strongly led by tutor / course practices

Most learners unwilling to explore or creatively appropriate technologies

Separate 'skills' provision poorly engaged with

Need support integrating skills at task/practice level

Problems transferring skills from personal/social contexts to study

Potential clash of academic/personal knowledge cultures

what are the challenges for learners?

how might institutions respond?

What do learners arriving in HE and FE need to make the best of their learning experience?

A info/digital literacy module integrated into all programmes in semester 1B intensive study skills support including ICTC student mentors with strong digital skillsD teaching staff with strong digital skillsE personal development plan that centres on digital literacies

Rethink the capabilities graduates need

Rethink how they are taught, supported, assessed

Rethink how different capabilities and practices are valued by the institution

Digital participation, production and enquiryMultiple modes of knowing, multiple media, multiple communities

Self-management of learning, career and reputationCreativity, innovation and agility...

Peer learning, informal learning, 360 degree support and reviewAuthentic contexts for practice, including digitally-mediated contextsIndividual scaffolding and support Making explicit community practices of knowledge and meaning-makingAnticipating and helping learners manage conflict between practice contextsRecognising and helping learners integrate practicesInterdisciplinarity? Cross-contextual learning? Learner-generated contexts?

Transparency over processes and valuesRecognition and reward (staff and student, cultural and financial)

Digital scholarship = learning and teaching practice, research and innovation, content production

Digital professionalism recognised and nurtured

Learning, living and working are understood to take place in a digital society: there is no separate space of learning which is

'digital'Learners are blending their own learning environments

There is an entitlement to access and basic skills of learning in a digital age, plus a recognition of diverse personal goals and

needsLiteracies for learning are continually assessed and supported:

the emphasis is on producing digitally capable lifelong learners

The focus is on what formal post-compulsory education uniquely offers in the digital age

References and resources JISC Responding to Learners pack

Sharpe, R. et al (2009) Learners’ experiences of e-learning synthesis report: Explaining learner differences, available from https://mw.brookes.ac.uk/display/JISCLE2

Beetham, H., et al (2009) Thriving in the 21st Century: report of the JISC Learning Literacies for a Digital Age project, available fromhttp://caledonianacademy.net/spaces/LLiDA/

ELESIG, next event 21 January 2010, Reading

Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age, Routledge (Spring 2010)