Exploring action learning for academic development in research intensive settings

The potential of action learning (AL) for academic development has not received a lot of attention. Building from two case studies in which AL has been used in different ways in research-intensive universities in Australia and the UK, we suggest that the approach may be of benefit to developers in the changing landscape in which they are expected to function. The opportunities for and challenges of leadership for AL in educational development, particularly involving non-academic staff, are also briefly explored. We argue that AL offers a way to engage academic and related staff groups that fits with their institutional culture and is therefore likely to lead to the kind of continual professional learning (CPL) and positive change that will be both valued and valuable in academia. Furthermore, we believe that AL might offer productive ways forward for the further evolution of academic development work, especially, perhaps, in research-intensive settings

Realising pedagogical potencial of the bologna process third cycle

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has been achieved, at least in structure, remapping Higher Education as we know it. This scenario offers a new framework in which the role of universities can be rethought, independently of the field of the new degrees and post grade studies. More specifically, the roles of teachers and students need to be reconsidered. Achieving an enhanced doctoral experience for the next generation of PhD students represents a measurable practical outcome of the Bologna Process. This doctoral case study is contextualised within the issues of internationalisation, standards and standardization of degree credit ratings, collaboration and competition, and language and writing.Peer Reviewe

The place of trust in Continuing Professional Learning programmes: supporting authentic reflection in portfolio assessment

In this paper we consider why academics on Continuing Professional Learning (CPL) programmes often struggle with practice-based learning, and why they can find the reflective portfolio particularly challenging. We first argue that convenors should articulate the differences between ‘academic learning’ and ‘learning in academia’ for participants. Furthermore, in an environment where trust has been increasingly replaced by the monitoring of performance, CPL participants can find themselves on unfamiliar learning territory in conditions which are not conducive to risk-taking. We identify how convenors might build the trust required for participants to offer an authentic account of their practice

Evaluación y aprendizaje: ¿es ya el momento de replantearse las actividades del alumnado y los roles académicos?

Traditionally, assessment has been seen as something done by academics after the teaching and learning takes place. In this paper we argue that it is timely to rethink our approach to assessment, and who is implicated in the acts of judgement which lie at the heart of both formative and summative assessment. Assessment is more likely to lead to valued learning if some of the judgement employed belongs to students, and not just the academic-teachers (Boud, 1990; Nicol and McFarlane-Dick, 2006). Through two case studies, we illustrate how the development of students’ skills in assessment and especially self-assessment can become more prominent in our curriculum and learning objectives. Our experiences suggest not only that student learning can be enhanced in this fashion, but that there are efficiency gains for teaching academics too: outcomes that become especially important as we seek ways to overcome the challenging expectations experienced by modern-day academia.Tradicionalmente el profesorado se ha encargado de realizar la evaluación una vez que se ha producido la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. En este artículo hacemos algunas consideraciones que creemos oportuno presentar acerca de nuestro enfoque sobre la evaluación y sobre quiénes están implicados en los momentos de valoración que se consideran punto clave de la evaluación formativa y sumativa. Es más probable que la evaluación produzca un aprendizaje de más valor si algunos de los juicios empleados provienen de los estudiantes y no de los profesores (Boud, 1990; Nicol and McFarlane-Dick, 2006). En base a dos estudios mostramos cómo el desarrollo de las habilidades de los estudiantes en la evaluación y, concretamente, en la autoevaluación puede tomar más protagonismo en el currículum y en los objetivos de aprendizaje. Nuestra experiencia sugiere que no sólo se puede mejorar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes de esta manera, sino que los profesores también pueden ganar en eficacia. Se trata de resultados que cobran relevancia conforme intentamos encontrar formas de superar las expectativas que suponen un reto y que experimentan los académicos hoy en día

Leading entrepreneurial e-learning development in legal education: a longitudinal case study of ‘universities as learning organisations'

Purpose The study aims to review the entrepreneurial and educational innovations in technology-enabled distance education in practical legal education (PLE) accomplished by a unit “on the periphery” of a strong research-led university. It also aims to examine the learning organisation (LO) attributes associated with this initiative. Design/methodology/approach This is a longitudinal case study based on interviews and reflective analysis, and reviewed using three “models” drawn from the literature: breaking the “iron triangle” (containing costs; widening access; enhancing quality); a tailored version of distance education appropriate for research-intensive universities; a strategy for successful adoption of disruptive technologies in higher education. Findings Entrepreneurialism yielded growth (PLE student numbers went from 150 to 2,000 in 15 years) and diversification (two new programmes established). The PLE programme advanced in two “waves”: the first centred on widening access and the second, on enhancing quality. Costs were contained. Both the presence and absence of LO attributes are identified at three different organisational levels. Research limitations/implications Challenges to academic identity may act to inhibit educational change, especially in research-strong settings. Practical/implications Business logic, and the creation and institutionalisation of educational development support – an “internal networking” group, were keys to success. “Organisational learning” in complex institutional environments such as universities involves understandably lengthy timescales (e.g. decades or more). Practical/implications Technology-enabled disruption in higher education appears relentless. While institutional and individual performance metrics favour research, proven cases of “how to do things differently” in education may well not get exploited, thus opening the market to alternative providers. Originality/value This is the only empirical example of a tailored version of distance education appropriate for research-intensive universities that we know about

Risk behaviors in a rural community with a known point-source exposure to chronic wasting disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The emergence and continuing spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in cervids has now reached 14 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and South Korea, producing a potential for transmission of CWD prions to humans and other animals globally. In 2005, CWD spread for the first time from the Midwest to more densely populated regions of the East Coast. As a result, a large cohort of individuals attending a wild game feast in upstate New York were exposed to a deer that was subsequently confirmed positive for CWD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eighty-one participants who ingested or otherwise were exposed to a deer with chronic wasting disease at a local New York State sportsman's feast were recruited for this study. Participants were administered an exposure questionnaire and agreed to follow-up health evaluations longitudinally over the next six years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results indicate two types of risks for those who attended the feast, a <it>Feast Risk </it>and a G<it>eneral Risk</it>. The larger the number of risk factors, the greater the risk to human health if CWD is transmissible to humans. Long-term surveillance of feast participants exposed to CWD is ongoing.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The risk data from this study provide a relative scale for cumulative exposure to CWD-infected tissues and surfaces, and those in the upper tiers of cumulative risk may be most at risk if CWD is transmissible to humans.</p

Learning in academia is more than academic learning: action research in academic practice for and with medical academics

Academic learning traditionally involves research, and the production of journal papers, books, etc. 'Learning in academia' refers to academics becoming more skilful in what they do. It is what legal or medical clinicians would refer to as continuing professional education (or development) (CPE/D) which, by analogy, invokes the notion of CPE in academic practice. Action research and reflective practice through action learning processes in a graduate programme in higher education are used to promote such learning. Participants are mid-career medics. Five themes stand out: mapping the terrain to be addressed; creating the required 'space for learning'; keeping projects confined in scope; assessment and the shift in emphasis from 'content' to 'process'; and, achieving a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Many attributes of threshold concepts are evident, but conceiving of learning as progress along a continuum rather than crossing a singular threshold is favoured. Issues to do with promulgating CPE/D in academia, identity construction, rethinking learning, and universities are briefly addressed