Developing the congruent academic through an integrated coaching approach

Turbulent times in academia have resulted in a workforce that is stressed and overworked. In this reflection on practice, I propose that taking an integrated coaching approach to academic development can support academics in making sense of their whole congruent self and how their roles in teaching, research, leading, and living fit together. I explore three key elements of lifewide learning, heutagogy, and an asset-driven approach to coaching individuals and teams and suggest future implications for the academic development community

Rebels with a cause -- can we disrupt assessment practice in professional education?

Professional education allows learners to meet the required standards of proficiency in their chosen future profession, for example as a nurse, social worker or teacher. Therefore, much of the content and associated proficiencies are defined by the relevant professional body. In this session, we will share our experiences of developing the assessment strategy for Pre-registration Nursing programmes at the University of Central Lancashire and initiate round table discussions on disruptive innovation of assessment practice. Our newly designed programme reflects an active learning approach in which students are engaged in meaningful activity to put them at the centre of their own learning. Assessment for/as learning rather than merely testing memory (Medland, 2016) is a key feature of this design and has required us to reflect on what the future nurse will be required to do in a professional context. To develop the assessment strategy, we have intensively engaged with a wide range of students, staff, patients and user/carers which has been a messy complex process. By bringing a range of stakeholder groups together to make collective decisions, tensions will inevitably surface and require attention to resolve (Lock et al., 2018). We have taken a coaching, co-creative approach to inspire the culture shift from traditional to contemporary approaches to learning and teaching. As Flavin and Quintero (2018) demonstrate in their strategy review, universities are “more likely to pursue sustaining or efficiency than disruptive innovation”. This is similarly true for professional bodies therefore creating a range of flexible, inclusive assessments has challenged us to find and walk the line between creativity and constraints. We are optimistic that the resulting authentic assessments will prepare graduates for working and living in their global, digitally enabled future. We also believe this change process has increased staff confidence and capability in disrupting assessment practice

Digital shifting in doctoral supervision: different routes to the same destination

The coronavirus pandemic activated an emergency shift to remote supervision which is now shaping longer term changes to our supervision practice. Through a narrative lens on experience, this paper shares the perspectives of two doctoral supervisors who have different relationships with remote supervision. Our means towards similar ends present interesting contrasts in practice and attitudes to online learning. Our experiences during this transition have been different, which may resonate with challenges facing other supervisors across the Higher Education sector. The informal ‘corridor conversations’ with our doctoral students are seemingly a thing of the past, so we explore the strategies we have put in place, or, re-evaluate the online opportunities which were already in place, that now form a critical lifeline to build and maintain those relationships. Through our stories, it is hoped useful lessons may be learned, with the aim of improving the supervisory experience for doctoral students

Hard Graft: Collaborative exploration of working class stories in shaping female educator identities

This empirical qualitative study investigates the ways in which working-class roots have shaped educator values and identity. Using collaborative autoethnography, we share an honest insight into the stories of seven female educators drawn together from a variety of health and social care disciplines. The five themes emerging from this research: Connection through differences and commonalities; graft; inner tensions; authenticity ‘I am who I am’ and the bigger picture are tightly interconnected, generating a complex and rich picture of contemporary female educator identity. This supportive and collaborative approach has been transformational in the realisation we are not alone, and it has provided a space to celebrate our ‘otherness’. As a result, we have embraced our collective responsibility to challenge inequalities and foster a more open, accessible and authentic HE future for all

Hard Graft: Collaborative exploration of working class stories in shaping female educator identities

This empirical qualitative study investigates the ways in which working-class roots have shaped educator values and identity. Using collaborative autoethnography, we share an honest insight into the stories of seven female educators drawn together from a variety of health and social care disciplines. The five themes emerging from this research: Connection through differences and commonalities; graft; inner tensions; authenticity ‘I am who I am’ and the bigger picture are tightly interconnected, generating a complex and rich picture of contemporary female educator identity. This supportive and collaborative approach has been transformational in the realisation we are not alone, and it has provided a space to celebrate our ‘otherness’. As a result, we have embraced our collective responsibility to challenge inequalities and foster a more open, accessible and authentic HE future for all

Hard Graft: Collaborative exploration of working class stories in shaping female educator identities

This empirical qualitative study investigates the ways in which working-class roots have shaped educator values and identity. Using collaborative autoethnography, we share an honest insight into the stories of seven female educators drawn together from a variety of health and social care disciplines. The five themes emerging from this research: Connection through differences and commonalities; graft; inner tensions; authenticity ‘I am who I am’ and the bigger picture are tightly interconnected, generating a complex and rich picture of contemporary female educator identity. This supportive and collaborative approach has been transformational in the realisation we are not alone, and it has provided a space to celebrate our ‘otherness’. As a result, we have embraced our collective responsibility to challenge inequalities and foster a more open, accessible and authentic HE future for all

Like the sea: living communityship as a form of participatory leadership within the creativity for learning in HE (#creativeHE) community

The global pandemic has led to an explosion of open learning opportunities for academics to connect, share and develop ideas together. This paper presents a collaborative autoethnographic case study on the educational leadership approaches enacted and experienced in the voluntary Creativity for Learning in Higher Education (#creativeHE) community. The authors reflect, critically analyse and review the leadership of this open peer support community as it is experienced by them using visual metaphors and paired conversations. Insights gained through this inquiry seem to suggest that the leadership within this community is characterised by and experienced as communityship, a highly participatory and democratic way of leading that brings harmony, offers refuge and stretches the leadership team. Their humane and affective bonds as a collective provide a safe and calm working space in which everybody can flourish