A strategic approach to making sense of the “wicked” problem of ERM

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an approach to viewing the “wicked” problem of electronic records management (ERM), using the Cynefin framework, a sense-making tool. It re-conceptualises the ERM challenge by understanding the nature of the people issues. This supports decision making about the most appropriate tactics to adopt to effect positive change. Design/methodology/approach – Cynefin was used to synthesise qualitative data from an empirical research project that investigated strategies and tactics for improving ERM. Findings – ERM may be thought of as a dynamic, complex challenge but, viewed through the Cynefin framework, many issues are not complex; they are simple or complicated and can be addressed using best or good practice. The truly complex issues need a different approach, described as emergent practice. Cynefin provides a different lens through which to view, make sense of and re-perceive the ERM challenge and offers a strategic approach to accelerating change. Research limitations/implications – Since Cynefin has been applied to one data set, the findings are transferrable not generalisable. They, and/or the approach, can be used to further test the propositions. Practical implications – The resultant ERM framework provides a practical example for information and records managers to exploit or use as a starting point to explore the situation in particular organisational contexts. It could also be used in other practical, teaching and/or research-related records contexts. Originality/value – This paper provides a new strategic approach to addressing the wicked problem of ERM, which is applicable for any organisational context

Becoming a teacher: conceptual and practice development in the learning and skills sector

Drawing on a mixed-methods study of in-service learning and skills sector (LSS) trainees, comprising beginning- and end-of-year surveys and six longitudinal case studies together with literature on trainees’ development in the LSS, schools and higher education sectors, conceptual and practice development continua are proposed. Conceptions become more multi-dimensional and increasingly link teaching and learning whilst initial concern with the practicalities of teaching is followed by recognition of learners’ needs. Next, greater emphasis is placed on learner autonomy and catering for individuals’ needs and finally assessment and evaluation is used systematically to shape practice. The continua offer an understanding of the subtleties and complexities of trainee development allowing for different starting and end points and accommodating varied work contexts. I argue that this provides a more adequate basis for the development of initial teacher education (ITE) than the prescriptive approach embedded within recent LSS ITE policy reforms

Creative Teaching for Tomorrow: Fostering a Creative State of Mind Deal

`Creative Teaching for Tomorrow: Fostering a Creative State of Mind' is a study by distinguished authors Teresa Cremin, Jonathan Barnes and Stephen Scoffham. Based on a research project undertaken during 2004-2005 by Canterbury Christ Church University and Future Creative, the book explores the characteristics of creative teachers, identifying the behaviours and environments that support the development of these attributes. `Creative Teaching for Tomorrow' involves a survey of 20 schools, revealing evidence that creative thinking benefits students economically, socially and academically. Real-life interviews with teachers and students, complete with questions and answers, attest that creative approaches do help to increase learners' personal curiosity and desire to learn, to realise the importance of risk-taking and to become more engaged with the learning experience as well as the world around them

Learning landscapes for universities: mapping the field [or] Beyond a seat in the lecture hall: a prolegemenon of learning landscapes in universities

This is the first in a series of project working papers. Its aim is to commence the development of a shared vocabulary so that visioning learning landscapes can be realised in the appropriate development of academic estate. The paper explores first, how the terminology of learning landscapes has been employed elsewhere. Secondly, its connections with university conceptualisations past and present are explored as this project aims to retain the strengths of traditional academic environments together with new designs. The impetus to its emergence is next reviewed , its constituent elements and any evidence of estates-related literature. Finally a definition is essayed. Includes an abbreviated version (p.11-14)

Helping students connect: architecting learning spaces for experiential and transactional reflection

Given the complex and varied contexts that inform students’ consciousness and occasion their learning, learning spaces are more than physical and virtual spaces. Learning spaces are also a range of situations sedimented in our continuum of experiences that shape our philosophical orientations. As such, this article, written from the perspectives of two faculty members in an English department at a four-year public university, describes our efforts to do the following. First, to draw upon models of instructional design we have experienced in our own educational backgrounds; and equally importantly, to develop learning spaces that support learning that is continuous, situated, and personal. Specifically, we critique the ways in which learning has been segregated from the rest of our life contexts for us throughout our educational histories. The irony is that this de-segregation has motivated us to create diverse learning spaces that provide our students with a more realistic set of tools and techniques for integrative life-long learning

Double strength, maximum gain: optimising student learning via collaborative partnerships @ QUT

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) demonstrates a commitment to lifelong learning and strives to foster graduates who can function as competent professionals. In response, the University identifies a number of generic capabilities which all students should gain during the course of their study, the development of which has been undertaken as a shared responsibility by teaching staff and centralised academic-related support staff. It is within this context that QUT's teaching and learning support services (TALSS) and the library assumes responsibility for facilitating the development of information literacy and technology literacy. TALSS and the library have collaboratively developed and implemented a range of teaching and learning strategies and initiatives. This paper highlights a number of these initiatives. These initiatives are also supported by a network of specialists such as liaison librarians, student computing advisors, a transition officer and an information literacy coordinator

To use or not to use software? An exploration of the use of software for qualitative data analysis

This paper discusses the potential of specialist software to enhance qualitative data analysis and to substantiate the researchers’ conclusions. An example from an enquiry on using music education as an inclusion tool in a post-conflict context is considered. A number of suggestions on how to support the researchers’ claims are made. It is argued that the use of specialist software can enhance knowledge generation and, ultimately, if analyses processes are fully disclosed, improve the perception of educational research

Learning through work experience

How students learn and develop through work experience is here analysed. We draw upon contemporary learning theory, recent developments in the adult education and curriculum theory in developing a critique of current thinking and explore how far this provides the basis for a new pedagogic model for supporting learning through work experience. We discuss the concept of 'context' and the learning which occurs within and between the different contexts of education and work and argue that most models of work experience have either ignored the influence of context upon learning or have approached this issue mechanistically. New curriculum frameworks are needed to and to allow work in all of its forms to be used as a basis for the development of knowledge, skills and identity. We present a typology of work experience which identifies models of work experience, including a model which embodies the concept of 'connectivity'. We suggest that this may provide the basis for a productive and useful relationship between formal and informal learning