“I think we should make sure that, in addition to the ‘answers’, we should identify the main concepts we want students to understand. Remember that we’re using our paper patient (i.e. the case) as a framework for students to learn about concepts. Then, they apply those concepts in the real world to patients. They reflect on those real-world interactions and identify dissonance between their experienced reality (the patient contact) and their abstract conceptions of reality (how they originally conceived of the patient contact). After the patient contact, they feed back to their small groups and facilitators, who together help students create new relationships between concepts. So, in short, the clinical concepts are learned initially through the paper patient, tested in the real world with an actual patient, discussed online (maybe) and then brought back to the classroom for further reflection and refinement. The next week they are exposed to new concepts that build on their previous experiences, and then they get to test those abstractions in the real world again.”

I’m trying to take an intentional approach to using Laurillard’s conception of academic learning that I’m exploring in “Rethinking University Teaching”

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Crossing (some) traditional borders
Prof Delia Marshall

There needs to be wider social, historical, ethical and environmental dimensions of science

Students need to graduate not only with domain expertise but with broader attributes that contribute towards the public good

Start with “modern” physics, with an emphasis on new ideas and concepts, rather than an equations

Resist scientism: science as “a” way of knowing about the world, not the only way

Draw in wider cultural dimensions and interests e.g. students who play instruments come in when there is a discussion on vibration / sound, etc.

“Border crossing” inot the sub-culture of science

Learning as a process of identity formation through accessing a disciplinary discourse

Looking at interactive engagement in classroom communities e.g. SCALE-UP classrooms using “lec-torials” → short lecturer inputs, working in groups, extensive and immediate feedback, learning happens in class, you can’t pass by borrowing notes

University needs to be a place for the “difficult dialogues”

Conceptualise academic literacy, not as skills, but as the social practices of discipline communities

If learning is social, then commitment from the whole department is vital. You can’t have a marginalised programme within the department

Len Steenkamp
Students appreciate honesty from teachers, especially when we say “I don’t know, let’s find out together”

Teachers need to be compassionate, every student has their own story
Teachers need to be humble
Teachers need to change, but not for it’s own sake, must be driven by a need

Engage in research because you want answers, not because you have to

Be generous with your time

21st century teaching tales
Liezel Nel

Electronic worksheets before attending class, must answer questions to familiarise students with content, class is used for discussion, not covering content. Worksheets also used for self-assessment (what tools?)

Students can practice using the tools in a non-assessed environment, tools introduced gradually

Uses reflective activities mid-semester and end-of-semester, much more useful than official course evaluations at end of year

Lecture recordings in audio and video, posted afterwards, useful for students with language difficulties

Students submit digital assignments, feedback in same format

Uses SMS for regular communication with students, establish a sense of caring and trust (community) “I felt a little bit special”

Glogs: online, interactive posters, students add interactive elements to their posters (glogster

Scholarship not just about publications

Digital storytelling and reflection in higher education: a case of pre-service student teachers and a University of Technology
Eunice Ivala, Daniela Gachago, Janet Condy, Agnes Chigona

There is a focus on passing exams, rather than on the learning process
No research on digital storytelling in higher education in South Africa, as well as limited evidence that reflective opportunities are effective

Digital story: short, 5 minute first person video-narrative, created by combining voice, still and moving images, and music or other audio

Project took place over 8 weeks, with the intention of reflecting-on-action on 7 roles of a teacher, a seed story was created to demonstrate to students, had to be 500 words

Students could choose a paper-based portfolio, or to use the digital story (half chose either one → students made their own choices)

Students had to be shown how to write their stories, learn how to find relevant images or music. Some students asked colleagues to sing for them and recorded their own music, and also took their own pictures. Also needed training in digital manipulation tools.

Used Strampel and Oliver (2007) to determine levels of reflection and stages of cognitive processing

Structuraction theory (Giddens, 1984): material resources influence social practices through their incorporation

“I’ve always known what the 7 roles were but I didn’t know what they meant and what they meant to me, but now, after incorporating it into my story, I kind of understand what they are about” (paraphrased quote from student)

The Structure of digital storytelling enabled the Agents (students), whereas before students were not enabled

“Paper-based reflections lose the personality along the way. You lose the effect of you wating to show somebody what this reflection really means. In a digital story you get the tone and atmosphere across with your own voice”

Students reflected at descriptive, dialogic and critical levels (not all students though, some only at a descriptive level)

“We can use these stories for our future employers…this is who I am, this is what I am about”

Question: why did some students not reflect at the higher cognitive levels?

Focus should be on the content of the story, not the technology because technology does nothing, except as implicated in the actions of human beings (Giddens and Pierson, 1982:82)

Improving teaching and learning in higher education through practitioner self-enquiry action research (action research for professional development)
Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan, Mark Schofield, Lesley Wood, Omar Esau, Joan Conolly (panel discussion)

An approach to action research in which the object of the study is the self

Trust is important for encouraging “nervous and novice” researchers (“The speed of trust” – Stephen Covey)

Integrity and honesty builds trust

Courage and generosity (“Courage to teach” – Palmer Parker)
See also, Jack Whitehead (actionresearch.net)

Recognise the unique and situated nature of the novice researcher

Learning through direct experience is more valuable than being told about something

Emphasis on “critical friendship” as part of validation

Be more understanding of the “lived experiences” of others

“People get smarter by having conversations with people who are smart”

Action research is a paradigm i.e. more than a research method

In South Africa we need critical, emancipatory paradigms that promote social change and uphold the values of the constitution

There is a lack of participatory, learner-centred pedagogies

Action research gives rise to dynamic, personal and life changing theories that operationalise the values of inclusion, people-centredness, democracy, social justice, compassion, respect. It is critical, evaluative, participatory and collaborative. It holds people to be accountable, self-evaluative and focuses on lifelong learning.

It is difficult to validate action research i.e. it must be trustworthy

Action research has the potential to minimise the hard borders between curriculum design and its delivery. The academic operates simultaneously as a researcher, designer, practitioner, and evaluator, while following an iterative and systematic process that leads to continual improvement in the curriculum, as well as teaching and learning practices.

Finding a balance between support and challenge

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Explaining, naming and crossing border in Southern African higher education
Prof Piet Naude

This was one of the most challenging presentations I’ve ever listened to. I didn’t agree with a lot of what Prof Naude said, but he made me question my own beliefs and biases.

Ontology: language is the house of reality (language shapes reality)
In political discourse, language precedes actual violent acts. In Rwanda, people called each other “cockroaches”, and it’s much easier to kill a cockroach than to kill a human being.

Crossing interpretive borders in higher education:

• Utilitarianism: views universities as vehicles for the promotion of sectarian interests e.g. religious, political, economic → doctrines dictate the boundaries of science and denies the search for truth without fear nor favour (religious language abundant in university e.g. professor, sabatical, rector). University as a vehicle to continue the doctrine or belief e.g. when universities in South Africa advanced the notion of Apartheid in different fields (biology, politics, religion, etc.). “Truth” would be based on doctrine.
• Scientism: views “real knowledge” on the basis of empiricist, quantitative assumptions and a correspondent theory of truth. Science is the future, Humanities is the past. Some scientists are blind to the social construction of scientific paradigms. Blind to the link between science and the power or use of science. Blind to the complexity of personal and societal development.
• Liberalism: rests on presumed a-contextual and unversalist assumptions about the human person, rationality and knowledge whist actually reflecting post-Enlightenment, Western thinking. “Professional training is vicious”. I think therefore I am vs. ubuntu = I am who I am because of who we all are. “Vicious ideological nature of Western scientific thinking”. Are there non-empirical forms of validation that are equally valid as scientific ones? Are all forms of non-Western knowledge subject to verfication by Western evaluation practices?

If universities don’t exist for the public good, they become playgrounds for the rich. Commercial language can change the direction of education e.g. when a “vice chancellor” becomes a “CEO”

Crossing 5 metaphorical boundaries

• Centre – periphery: where you are born will determine your ability to succeed in the world / geographical (in)justice
• Conceptual – technical / applied (epistemic justice). People who work with their hands are not as “smart” as people who can “think”. In South Africa, we need a greater emphasis on technical / applied knowledge. More colleges, fewer universities.
• Uniformity (globalism) – plurarility (glo-cality) (cultural justice): where everyone wears jeans, watches BBC and speaks English. Emphasise a system where I can function at a global level but remain true to my local context. What is the impact on language / culture of the homogenising effect of university?
• Anthropocentrism – cosmocentric thinking (ecological justice): it’s a problem when science and technology seeks only to improve the lot of human beings at the expense of everything else.
• Past / present – future (noogenic justice): the world is in a mess, we need to prepare students to improve the future. Challenge students to imagine a future that does not exist, and give them the knowledge and skills to create it.

Perceptions of PBL group effectiveness in a diverse pharmacy student population
Lindi Mabope

Study set out to evaluate student perceptions of differences in plenary vs small group work in a PBL context

4th years have better experiences with groups than 3rd years

Some students prepare only what THEY need to present in plenary sessions, whereas small groups mean that students must prepare better and more broadly

Students generally feel that the plenary sessions aren’t a “good way of learning”

Most students agree that working in small groups helps develop tolerance for language and cultural difference

Most students agreed that small group working helped them to work effectively

Cases in small groups helped students to clarify areas of difficulty

PBL seemed to work well across a diverse student group, perceptions were generally positive

Confusing / difficult conceptual work required the development of certain attributes e.g. communication, self-directed learning, tolerance

Some students found the small groupwork sessions frustrating and challening

Groups demand a large investment in time and energy, from students and staff

Problems must be resolved very early on

Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the PBL process is essential

Facilitators must pay regular attention of the changing needs of the students (students change and develop as part of the process, as do their needs, so facilitators must be aware of the changes and change the programme accordingly)

Use the positive benefits of diversity, rather than merely work around it (how can student diversity actually feed into the programme, encourage students to bring themselves into the cases, share their own life experiences in order to enrich the module)

Supporting and enabling PG success: building strategies for empowerment, emotional resilience and conceptual critical work
Gina Wisker

What are the links between students’ development and experiences: ontology (their sense of being in the world) and epistemology (how they construct knowledge)
Why do students undertake doctorates and what happens during their studies to help / hinder them?

Conceptual threshold crossing (Meyer & Land): the moments when you know that you’re being cleverer than you thought you were

What can staff do to enhance and safeguard research student wellbeing and nudge conceptual threshold crossing?

Building emotional resilience and wellbeing

Students kept learning journals for a duration of 3 years and included interviews during that period

“Troublesome encounters” (Morris & Wisker, 2011)

Doctoral learning journeys are multi-dimensional:

• Meeting course requirements (instrumental)
• Professional dimension
• Intellectual / cognitive development
• Ontological (how does it change the person?)
• Personal / emotional

How do doctoral students signify their awareness of working conceptually?

How do supervisors recognise students’ conceptual grasp of research (this applies equally well to UGs conceptual grasp of the discipline)

Conceptual crossing is evidenced by:

• Troublesome knowledge
• Movements on from stuck places through liminal spaces into new understanding
• Transformations (Meyer & Land)

Ontological change: seeing the self and the world differently and you can’t go back
Epistemological contribution: making new contributions to understanding and meaning

You have to find your own way, otherwise it’s a mechanistic process

Threshold concepts are:

• Transformative: developing an academic identity
• Irreversible: when you change how you perceive the world, you can’t go back
• Integrative: forming relationships between what seemed previously to be disparate ideas
• Troublesome knowledge: dealing with complexity

Learning moments that may indicate threshold crossings:

• Coming up with research questions
• Determining relationships between existing theory and own work
• Device methods and engage with methods
• Deal with surprises and mistakes
• Analsyse and interpret data

There needs to be a number of conceptual leaps, otherwise the thesis is a box-ticking exercise

Make sure that the doctoral project has boundaries. The work is part of a greater whole, and the more focused the work, the easier it is to define the boundaries

Research is a journey (risks, surprises, deviations, even though it looks mapped), but a thesis is a building (ordered, coherent, organised, linked)

Constructive, intellectually challenging relationships

Student wellbeing is essential for postgraduate success:

• Academic
• Personal
• Financial

There are factors in the learning environment that pose challenges to student wellbeing

What are the wellbeing issues for our research students?

Negative impacts cripples creativity and encourages you to take the path of least resistance, where the project is more about a qualification and less about innovation

Important to switch off from the process and engage in the world in different ways, as a coping strategy when experiencing difficulty

Crossing borders between face-to-face and online learning: the evaluation of an online tutoring initiative
Sanet Snoer

Collaborative learning has as its main feature a structure that encourages students to talk

Created an online module because student numbers increased, shortages of venues and tutors, timetable clashes, changing student profile and needs

Blended approach could help with logistical problems, expose students to a new way of learning, more challenging activities, develop wide variety of skills

Uses Gilly Salmon’s model for teaching and learning online as a point of departure, provides scaffolding to take students through a process of familiarising students with the environment

Students’ perceptions of online components were generally positive. However, students reported challenges with effective textual communication and typing, time management (which seems odd, since blended learning seeks to help with time issues), self-expression, understanding of concepts that are read rather than heard, poor familiarity with computers and the internet → disadvantage, feedback is immediate with face-to-face, relationships → face-to-face is a more personal interaction

Used Community of Inquiry framework to develop good online teaching practices (see Kleimola & Leppisaari, 2008 for breakdown of different “presences”)

Recommendations:

• Needs to be agreement about turnaround time for feedback from facilitators
• Purpose of each activity should be clear
• Understand the benefits of the activities
• Must model effective online behaviour
• Communicate expecations clearly
• Promote the mind shift that needs to take place
• Create a non-threatening environment
• Don’t assume students are familiar with the environment
• Explain the role of face-to-face and online activities

Was there integration of online and offline activities? Used real-world examples to develop conversation around activities

Students’ learning satisfaction from a blended learning environment for physiology
Saramarie Eagleton

What aspects of technology provide benefits / advantages to the learning process. NOT whether technology is inherently good or bad

How collaborative groupwork affects students’ writing
Shena Lamb-du Plessis, Laetitia Radder

Aim was to get the students to write in as many different ways, and as regularly as possible during the course

Used group journal reflections and group progress reports

Peer feedback is valuable when students know from the start that they will be sharing their work with others

Developing a writing identity means pushing students to think for themselves and to imagine themselves as writers

A process of developing and clarifying thoughts by sharing them with an audience

Groupwork can shape the meaning of the work

Group dialogue helped to define / outline the writing requirements

Students felt that personal expression validated their viewpoints

Helped to develop self-confidence when they realised that others shared their experiences

Must introduce conflict management strategies, orient students to role allocation, discuss writing tasks to restructure meaning

Exploring the tension between institutional learning management systems and emergent technologies: staff perspectives at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Daniela Gachago, Eunice Ivala, Agne Chigona

What are “emerging technologies” and can they disrupt teaching practice?

The impact of technologies in education falls short of the rhetoric:

• They are used to support and improve current teaching practices
• Teachers and students use a limited range of technologies
• Used to reproduce existing practice, as opposed to transforming practice
• Supports passive, teacher-centred and didactic instruction

Need to redefine e-learning: “can no longer be viewed as a purely institutionally based or narrowly defined set of activities” (HEFCE paper, 2009, 5). Difficult because institutions are reluctant to give up their power and control

There is a shift of the locus on control:

• Control moves to students and lecturers
• Transfer of authority of knowledge and ownership of technology

Type I technologies replicate existing practices, Type II technologies allow students and lecturers to do things that they couldn’t do before

In complex-adaptive domains, knowledge doesn’t provide prospective predictability but rather, retrospective coherence. Learning should be self-organised and collaborative (Williams, Karousou, Macness, 2011)

“Hard” technologies: constraining and limiting, stifles creativity e.g. LMS
“Soft” technologies: freedom to play

Soft technologies require skill and artistry. It’s not just what you do but how you do it.

Qualities of disruptive technologies (Meyer, 2010):

• Student-centred
• Designed to offer options, motivate students, provide connections to the lives, jobs and communities of students
• Capitalise on willingness of students to experiment and fail, to improve, and to keep at problems until solutions are crafted

Laurillard (2002, 141): We’re playing with digital tools but with an approach still born in the transmission model. There is no progress therefore, in how we teach, despite what is possible with the new technology

Laurillard’s conversational framework: there’s no escape from the need for dialogue, there is a constant exchange between teacher and student:

• Discursive
• Interactive
• Adaptive
• Reflective

Laurillard (2002). Rethinking university teaching.

No one approach is better than the other. We need to have a mix of approaches to get the maximum benefit of using different tools

“It’s a way of doing life. It’s not about computers. It’s not about mobile learning. It’s just learning – it’s just life”

Analysing teaching and learning at five comprehensive universities
Sioux McKenna

What are the mechanisms in the world that exist in order for us to have the experiences that we do?

Move beyond the statistics of higher education, and ask what must the institution be like in order for this to be (im)possible?

What is the role of Culture (ideas), Structure (process), and Agency (people)?

Most institutions continue to reflect their individual histories as rural/urban, disadvantaged/advantaged, traditional/university of technology. There seemed to be little cohesion in terms of what it means to be a comprehensive university.

Comprehensive universities emphasise the management discourse that focuses on the “complexity to be managed” rather than a “knowledge discourse” i.e. what is knowledge / research, etc.

There are implications for academic identify and research output

“Powerful ways of knowing”

Often students are constructed as deficits i.e. they are deficit in language, life skills, motivation, etc.

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This is quite a long post. Basically I’ve been trying to situate my current research into a larger curriculum development project and this post is just a reflection of my progress so far. It’s probably going to have big gaps and be unclear in sections. I’m OK with that.

Earlier this week our department had a short workshop on developing the cases that we’re going to use next year in one of our modules. We’re going to try and use cases to develop a set of skills and attitudes that are lacking in our students. These include challenges with (text in brackets are stereotypical student perspectives):

• Problem solving and clinical reasoning (Tell me what the answer is so that I can memorise it)
• Critical analysis (Everything I read has the same value)
• Empathy (The patient is an object I use to develop technical skills)
• Communication (The use of appropriate professional terminology isn’t important)
• Groupwork (Assessment is a zero sum game…if you score more than me it bumps me down the ranking in the class, therefore I don’t help you)
• Knowing vs Understanding (It’s more important for me to know the answer than to understand the problem)
• Integration of knowledge into practice (What I learn in class is separate to what I do with patients)
• Integration of knowledge from different domains (I can’t examine a patient with a respiratory problem because I’m on an orthopaedic rotation)
• Poor understanding of the use of technology to facilitate learning (social networks are for socialising, not learning)

I know it might seem like a bit much to think that merely moving to case-based learning is going to address all of the above, but we think it’ll help to develop these areas in which the students are struggling. The results of my ongoing PhD research project will be helping in the development of this module in the following ways:

• The survey I began with in 2009 has given us an idea of digital literacy skills of this population, as well as some of the ways in which they learn.
• The systematic review has helped us to understand some of the benefits and challenges of a blended approach to clinical education.
• The Delphi study (currently in the second round) has already identified many of the difficulties that our clinicians and clinical supervisors experience in terms of developing the professional and personal attributes of capable and competent students. This study will attempt to highlight teaching strategies that could help to develop the above mentioned problems.
• I’ve also just finished developing and testing the data capture sheet that I’ll be using for a document analysis of the curriculum in order to determine alignment.
• Later next year I’ll be conducting an evaluation of the new module, using a variety of methods.

All of the above information is being fed into the curriculum development process that we’re using to shift our teaching strategy from a top-down, didactic approach to a blended approach to teaching and learning. Development of the cases is one of the first major steps we’re taking as part of this curriculum development process. I’ll try to summarise how the cases are being developed and how they’ll be used in the module. This module is called “Applied Physiotherapy” and it’s basically where students learn about the physiotherapy management of common conditions.

In the past, these conditions were divided into systems and taught within those categories e.g. all orthopaedic conditions were covered together. The problem is that this effectively silo’s the information and students see little crossover. In fact, reality is very rarely so conveniently categorised. Patients with orthopaedic conditions may develop respiratory complications as a result of prolonged bed rest. Patients with TB often also present with peripheral neuropathy, as a result of the association of TB with HIV. So, the purpose of the cases is also to integrate different conditions to help students understand the complexity of real-world cases.

In the first term we’ll use 2 very simple cases that each run for 3 weeks. The reason that the cases are simple is that we’re also going to be introducing many new ideas that the students may have little experience with and which are important for participation in the cases e.g. computer workshops for the online environment, concept mapping, group dynamics, presentation skills, etc. The cases will increase in complexity over time as the students feel more comfortable with the process.

Each case will have an overview that highlights the main concepts, learning outcomes, teaching activities, assessment tasks and evaluation components that the case encompasses. The case will be broken up into parts, the number of which will depend on the duration and complexity of the case. After the presentation of each part, the students (in their small groups) will go through this process:

• What do I know that will help me to solve this problem?
• What do I think I know that I’m uncertain of?
• What don’t I know that I need to learn more about?

These questions should help the students develop a coherent understanding of the knowledge they already have that they can build on, as well as the gaps in understanding that they need to fill before they can move on with the case. Each part will involve students allocating tasks that need to be completed before the next session and role allocation is done by each group prior to the introduction of the case. During this process, facilitators will be present within the groups in order to make sure that students have not left out important concepts e.g. precautions and contraindications of conditions.

At the next session, each member of the small groups present to each other within the small groups. The purpose of this is to consolidate what has been learned, clarify important concepts and identify how they’re going to move forward. At the end of each week each small group presents to the larger group. This gives them the opportunity to evaluate their own work in relation to the work of others, make sure that all of the major concepts are included in their case notes, as well as opportunities to learn and practice presentation skills. Students will also be expected to evaluate other groups’ work.

There will be a significant online component to the cases in the form of a social network built on WordPress and Buddypress. We will begin by providing students with appropriate sources that they can consult at each stage of the process. Over time we’ll help them develop skills in the critical analysis of sources so that they begin to identify credibility and authority and choose their own sources. They will also use the social network for collaborative groupwork, communication, and the sharing of resources.

Finally, here are some of the tasks we’re going to include as part of the cases, as well as the outcomes they’re going to measure (I’ve left out citations because this has been a long post and I’m tired, but all of these are backed by research):

• Concept mapping – determine students’ understanding of the relationships between complex concepts
• Poetry analysis – development of personal and professional values e.g. compassion, empathy
• Reflective blogging – development of self-awareness, critical evaluation of their own understanding, behaviours and professional practices
• Peer evaluation – critical analysis of own and others’ work
• Case notes – development of documentation skills
• Presentations – ability to choose important ideas and convey them concisely using appropriate language

This is about where we are at the moment. During the next few months we’ll refine these ideas, as well as the cases, and begin with implementation next year. During my evaluation of the module, I’ll be using the results of the student tasks listed above, as well as interviews and focus groups with students and staff. We’ll review the process in June and make changes based on the results of my, and 2 other, research projects that will be running. We want the curriculum to be responsive to student needs and so we need to build in the flexibility that this requires.

After reading through this post, I think that what I’m saying is that this forms a basic outline of how we’re defining “blended learning” for this particular module. If you’ve managed to make it this far and can see any gaping holes, I’d love to hear your suggestions on how we can improve our approach.

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