Learning from peers. Online professional development for university staff

Professional development has long been associated with the provision of events or alternatively of accredited courses, often supplemented by texts or websites. At the same time we are aware that much of what is learnt about university teaching happens 'on the job' as staff try out new approaches, or meet each other for a chat in the corridor. In a distance environment such ad hoc arrangements are less likely to take place particularly for part-time staff, and both online courses and informal communities have a particular role in joining staff who otherwise have little opportunity to meet. We have been exploring the opportunities for harnessing the potential of peer learning in two online professional development courses at the Open University (UK) both of which are concerned with the adoption of new online tools for teaching and learning. This paper describes a case study of the two initiatives which deliver professional development at scale: some 2000 staff have undertaken the courses to date, including an astonishing 1000 staff over the last 12 months. We discuss some of the lessons we have learnt on the reasons for the widespread success of these initiatives and some of the factors influencing effective engagement on the courses. We have demonstrated the value of a near-synchronous strategy in a small cohort which enhances a sense of presence, while providing sufficient flexibility to accommodate working practices. An experiential approach which gives participants the opportunity to experience first hand the sense of being an online student is valued by many staff who are new to it, and it provides a safe environment in which to try out new techniques and tools and to reflect on what is a pressing concern for many staff. The affective, confidence building aspects of this experience seem to have been important to many participants. At the same time we have also found that a self study route can work for some individuals who value the added flexibility to work on their own. Further work will be needed to establish the extent to which the courses have resulted in new or enhanced working practices. But if we have succeeded in helping staff to develop the confidence to experiment for themselves, then this will have been a worthwhile endeavour

Does anyone want to talk to me? : Reflections on the use of assistance and companion robots in care homes

Held at the AISB'15 ConventionFinal Accepted Versio

Co-Constructing Writing Knowledge: Students’ Collaborative Talk Across Contexts

Although compositionists recognize that student talk plays an important role in learning to write, there is limited understanding of how students use conversational moves to collaboratively build knowledge about writing across contexts. This article reports on a study of focus group conversations involving first-year students in a cohort program. Our analysis identified two patterns of group conversation among students: “co-telling” and “co-constructing,” with the latter leading to more complex writing knowledge. We also used Beaufort’s domains of writing knowledge to examine how co-constructing conversations supported students in abstracting knowledge beyond a single classroom context and in negotiating local constraints. Our findings suggest that co-constructing is a valuable process that invites students to do the necessary work of remaking their knowledge for local use. Ultimately, our analysis of the role of student conversation in the construction of writing knowledge contributes to our understanding of the myriad activities that surround transfer of learning

Space Resource Discussions within the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Legal Subcommittee: The Past, Present and Future

The sixtieth session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) Legal Subcommittee occurred virtually between May 31st, 2021 and June 11th, 2021. The sixtieth session of the Legal Subcommittee included the highly anticipated scheduled informal consultations on “potential legal models for activities in exploration, exploitation and utilization of space resources” (United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs, 2021f, p.2), which concluded with the establishment of a COPUOS Legal Subcommittee Working Group under a five-year workplan (United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs, 2021f, p.33). The establishment of a Legal Subcommittee Working Group on space resource activities emphasizes the growing importance of the issue internationally. Therefore, in this White Paper, I draw upon the previous COPUOS sessions and the recent COPUOS scheduled informal consultations on space resources to analyze the overarching themes within the previous and current COPUOS space resource discussions, in order to identify opportunity areas for the Canadian government to increase its leadership in future space resource discussions and initiatives

Once the door is closed: An ethnographic description of one content-based english language program as four teachers implemented it

In the mid-1980s, the federal government designated the community in which this study was conducted as a relocation site for Southeast Asian refugees. The local school district received more than 300 students in grades k-8 from Cambodia and Laos. The students had limited formal schooling, had lived in refugee camps for 2-5 years, and less than 5% spoke any English. The district director asked me to work with the teachers and a consultant to develop a program to teach academic subjects to the students while they learned English. Together we designed an ethnographic study to document the program implementation process, understand the ways the program was implemented in individual classrooms, and identify effective instructional practices to work with refugee students who had little or no English or formal schooling. This PhD case details the process and methods of conducting an ethnographic study in a school district, including entry into the field, earning the trust of the participants, and the importance of long-term on-site participant observation. It examines the role of assumptions I made as an ethnographer and the need to make explicit those assumptions and understand their impact on the research design and data collection

International Scholarship Graduates Influencing Social and Economic Development at Home: The Role of Alumni Networks in Georgia and Moldova

Many students from low- and middle-income countries seek scholarship support to pursue higher education overseas. Often scholarship programs mandate that recipients "give back" to their home countries following their studies so scholars "apply" their experiences to aid their countries of origin. In this comparative qualitative study, 40 Georgian and Moldovan scholarship alumni who studied in the United States were asked how alumni networks assist their ability to influence social and economic change in their home countries. The comparative findings point to the value of alumni networks in terms of graduates backing each other's activism projects and feeling part of a community of like-minded individuals who seek change. Where these networks were not present, alumni desired a supportive association to assist in their attempts to influence reform. Findings suggest the development of alumni networks facilitate individual scholarship participants' efforts to "give back" to their countries of origin

Retaining American Indian/Alaskan Native Students in Higher Education: A Case Study of One Partnership between the Tohono O’odham Nation and Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ

Curriculum developers and faculty working with American Indian students in traditional Eurocentric higher education institutional settings face many challenges. These include the development of culturally responsive, community-based programs that meet students\u27 needs, encourage and support student persistence and retention, and integrate culturally relevant materials into required coursework. Licensing programs must also meet institutional, state and federal professional certification requirements. The purpose of this paper is to examine the complex contextual factors that influenced the development of one educational partnership with a student completion rate of just over 40%. The functional/collaborate model used to plan, design and implement the program is discussed. Variables are examined that influenced the development of a culturally responsive English and writing curriculum. Factors are identified and discussed that resulted in a successful partnership in which all stakeholders participated. Implications of those factors for curriculum planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs serving American Indian students are discussed