an institutional voice to support teachers and learners in blended and distance education

Institutional Voice:Power of Place &

Community Engagement

What strategies and approaches are required at institutional level to support the higher education workforce in the provision of distance learning opportunities for students in culturally and linguistically, socially and economically diverse communities?

1. Learning relationships as both a condition and consequence of learner-learner interaction in online contexts

2. Graduate attributes & curriculum design implications

3. Online learning networks & communities of practice for teachers’ professional development

4. Workforce planning and the integration of casual academics in a blended & distance education system

Institutional Voice

Learning relationships: A condition and consequence of learner-learner interaction

in online contextsDr Dolene Rossi d.rossi@cqu.edu.au

• Rapid evolution of distance education

• Change: In pedagogy, curriculum, infrastructure, policy, organisation and governance

• Demand for new skills: Educators and learners

• Capacity versus capability

• Opportunities and unrealised potential

Online learning contexts

• Learner-content

• Learner-teacher

• Learner-learner

• Teacher-teacher

• Teacher-content

• Content-content

• Learner-interface

A typology of learning interactions

Learning relationships

Developing relationships

Mediated interaction

Participation

Constructing and reconstructing knowledge

A substantive theory of learning relationships in online contexts

Course design

Social structure

Sense of place

Learning context

Communication strategies

A sense of community

Knowledge and understanding

Transformation (personal and collective)

Increased awareness (self and others)

• Fiona (W3LGD) …There are distinct advantages to communicating online because the noise factors are reduced through lack of physical/environmental interference to the "conversation". Visual and non-verbal distractions are non-existent allowing a clearer, uncomplicated climate for discourse...

Mediated interaction

 Asynchronous communication

Group 2 (n=3)

Group 3 (n=4)

Group 4 (n=5)

Group 6 (n=3)

Group 9 (n=5)

TotalSmall groupposts

Total Large group  posts (n=20)

W1 3 4 11 16 8 42 55W2 12 11 10 43 13 89 49W3 18 13 14 29 26 100 38W4 12 14 38 23 15 102 49W5 31 12 52 55 11 161 72W6 15 5 38 52 8 118 107W7 18 10 33 34 20 115 59W8 29 10 37 32 28 136 66W9 22 8 26 19 16 91 45W10 12 4 40 14 23 112 50W11 10 1 49 38 29 127 57W12 20 5 28 30 21 104 56Total learner posts

221 97 376 385 218 1297 703

• Jane (W8SG6-AS) ...This is definitely a good example of increase in size = decrease in participation...A lot of the things that I want to say are already said...hence participation in my case has decreased.

• Avril (W8LGD)... I feel no cohesion within a group this large as nothing seems personalized or related to me. There is less contribution from each member...it is not worth the effort when trying to learn in the class discussion board...

Social structure

• Kelsie (W8SG9-AS)... Although I am a member of two groups for this online course I feel I have only experienced a bonding with my smaller group with which I conduct my group activities... In this small group we have worked together and communicated towards reaching a mutual goal ... The small size of the group has allowed our communication to flow beyond our task topic and include personal information that has highlighted our differences and similarities...

Actions and interactions

• Kirin (W8LGD) ...I am keeping up to date with my readings and trying to have the weekly tasks finished on time, I am putting so much effort into this subject, mainly because I don’t want to let my group down...

• Jenny (W8SG2-AS) I know that we are classed as a group (of) ladies but do you think that we are evolving into a team, due to the intimate knowledge we are collecting of each other, achieving more independence as our abilities grow and not needing as much tutor help, the ability for us to co-ordinate ourselves and resolve issues to achieve the end goal and work as a unit? If we were disbanded and made to reform to other groups we would not have the cohesion required to work as well as we do…

Actions and interactions con’t…

• Learner-learner interaction– Instructional design: Required

participation and the size of learning groups

• Dialogic learning– Textual communication– Learner control and responsibility

• Development of a sense of community– Learning relationships: personal

knowledge investment of time and commitment to group goals

Conditions conducive to:

A whole of university approach to embedding graduate attributes:

A reflection

Julie Fleming, Robyn Donovan, Colin Beer, Damien Clark

The project

• Lack of clarity• Perceived ‘top-down’ approach• Lack of ownership

CommunicationCritical thinkingProblem solvingInformation literacyInformation technology competenceCross-cultural competenceEthical practice

Community concerns:

Our attributes:

Key activities

• Implementation plan adopted - Feb 10

• GA project group established - April 10

• Project launch - April 10

• Development of online tool - April - July 10

• Implementation of tool - July 10

• Visits to all schools - Apr - Sept 10

• Establishment of ARG - June 10

• Term 2 pilot - July 10

Reflections

• Successes• Increased awareness of GA’s• Trust issues with ‘top-down’ approach• Whole of university approach

• Recommendations• Understanding the resistance to change• Building ownership of processes and project• Accrediting body compliance

Summary

• Government funding increasingly important

• DE is very complex

• Managing resistance to change

• Developing ownership through academic conversation

• Whole of university approach.

Community of practice or networked learning: A matter of design

Wendy Fasso

Context and research question

• Questions: – What is the nature of design that can lead to

predetermined outcomes in an online learning environment?

– Can the pedagogical design of online activities lead to different patterns of interaction?

Methodology

• Content analysis – wikis and forums

• Survey – on commencement of course and on reflection at end

• Social network analysis of surveys and forum discussions

• Analysis: PMI reflection, teleconferences

Data and analysis

• Total Participants: 32

• Participation in collaborative activities:

• Why?

Difficulties however with aggregation

Communication type Average participationForums 23Group wikis 32

Data and analysis

Facilitator role

Forum 1 (early)

Forum 2 (later)

Data and analysis

1: Sharing, opinions, application2. Challenge, dissonance and debate3. Conceptual exploration and negotiation4. Modification based on new knowledge5. Consensus and application

22 active

25 active

Data and analysis

• Felt welcome: 100%• Quality of learning: 79%• Learning preferences catered for: 79%• Confidence as leader: 89%• Value as PD: 95%• Facilitation: 95%• Support: 90%• Created vision: 84%

Conclusion and future directions

• Value of collaboration tools outside of forums, for consensus-building

• Clear episodes of networking and group activity, linked to tool and pedagogy

• Importance of design for socio-emotional impact on learning

• Future research: alignment of Defensible Pedagogical Design: – Moral (socio-emotional and development of online “self”)– Cognitive– Collaborative

The casual academic in distance education:

From isolation to integration – a prescription for change

Katrina Higgins & Bobby Harreveld

Presenter: Katrina Higgins

Higher Ed reform in Australia

• The ALTC RED Report (2008)– Highlights deficiencies in casual academic use– Analysed good practice in casual academic management– Sector wide change needed (Percy et al., 2008).

• The Bradley Report (2008)– If implemented will result in increases in HE– Has implications for regional and remote areas and as a

result DE (Bradley et al., 2008).

• The National Tertiary Education Union (2009)– Expressed concerns over Bradley et al. (2008) proposals

• Infrastructure and workforce planning issues• Increased reliance on a casual workforce (NTEU, 2009).

Casual Academics in Distance Ed.

• Scant research is noted in this area, especially within an Australian university context.

• Within a South African University study, isolation was identified as significant (Fouche, 2007)

– Isolation from colleagues– Isolation from unit/coordinators

• When academics are isolated from colleagues casual issues are further compounded (Fouche, 2007).

• This is an area that my PhD research is exploring.

The University casual academic

• Casual numbers are high (Percy et al., 2008)

• Experience marginalisation (Gottschalk & McEachern, 2010; Brown, Goodman & Yasukawa, 2010; Bradley et al, 2008; Churchman, 2005; Keogh & Garrick, 2005; Junor, 2004; Wheeler, 2004 and Bassett, 1998).

– Aspects from this literature include:• Poor professional development opportunities • Lack of career progression • Lack of resources• Lack of communication and integration with faculty• Job insecurity • High workloads

• Identified in literature as the working underclass!!!!!! (Churchman, 2005; Bassett, 1998).

What is currently being done?

• Systematic sustainable policy in managing casual academics is rare across the sector (Percy et al., 2008)

• Within past studies:– Effective management of casual academics is

not well evidenced; – Some isolated strategic directives have been

noted, however these have been primarily evidenced at a faculty level only

• Strategies identified all focus on the integration of casual academics through:

– Communities of Practice (Beaumont, Stirling & Percy, 2009;

Cornelius & Macdonald, 2008; Wenger, 1998)

– Professional Conversations (Tait, 2002)

– Collaboration (Brown, Goodman & Yasukawa, 2010; Beaumont, Stirling &

Percy, 2009; Cornelius & Macdonald, 2008; Churchman, 2005; Junor, 2004; Tait, 2002)

– BUT - More is needed

Strategic directives

In Conclusion

• Change will be necessary to meet the future demands of higher education, in particular, distance education.

• Few examples of effective strategies for the integration of casual academics have been identified; but how can large, sector wide integrated improvements be made?

The Key Message

More exploration is required NOW as understanding the needs of casual academics in distance

education will be a precursor to the provision of suitable

management, leadership and support throughout the sector.

Questions?