Distributive Leadership and Phenomenography

Professor Mike KeppellPro Vice-Chancellor, Learning

Transformations

1 October 2015

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Overview• Distributive leadership• Blended learning• Fellowship Scheme• Research approach• Phenomenography• Perceptions of fellows• Implications

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What is Distributive

Leadership?

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Shared PurposeDistributive leadership focuses on collaboration, shared purpose, responsibility and recognition of leadership irrespective of role or position within an organisation.

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Characteristics•Collegial sharing of knowledge, practice and reflection

•Building of trust

•Creation of a learning culture

• Sharing and disseminating of information

•(Brown and Littrich, 2008)

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Why is it Important?• Leadership focused

on principles of distributive leadership may have potential in creating widespread strategic change.

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• The disintegration of the distinction and the growing acceptance that learning occurs in different ‘places’ presents both exciting and challenging opportunities for higher education.

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Blended Learning

•Flexible learning provides opportunities to improve the student learning experience through flexibility in time, pace, place, mode of study, teaching approach, forms of assessment and staffing.

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Flexible Learning

•Blended and flexible learning is a design approach that examines the relationships between flexible learning opportunities, in order to optimise student engagement.(Keppell, 2010, p. 3; Garrison & Vaughan, 2008).

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Blended and Flexible Learning

•Development of potential leaders across multiple levels and multiple areas of the university

•Facilitation of collaborative professional relationships between the schools and faculties.

•The proactive development of course and subject learning and teaching.

•Recognition of learning management system as a pivotal teaching and learning hub.

Teaching Fellowship Scheme

•Engaged 26 Fellows across four faculties, 23 schools and nine different campuses.

•A community of practice focused on peer learning

•Teaching fellows widened the awareness of blended learning strategies within the school

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Teaching Fellowship Scheme

•It was essential that each fellow remained within their school to maximise their influence as a distributive leader.

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Teaching Fellowship Scheme

•The Teaching Fellowship Program provided a 50% release from regular teaching duties over a 12-month period.

•2008 - 2012.•

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Teaching Fellowship Scheme

Fellowship Projects• Design and implement a virtual microscopy

teaching resource • Design of twelve subjects in Information

Studies • To refine and implement changes to the

pedagogy, support and learning experience within the newly created cross-campus B.Ed (EC & Primary) • Development of a blending learning model that

will stimulate increased technology adoption by Faculty

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Fellowship Projects• The virtual horticultural crop: An innovative blended learning approach in distance education•Professional development for blended learning and teaching in the 21st century digital classroom •Pattern Recognition for Learning through Simulation using Captivate in Policing •Campus Learning: Exploring the nexus between space, time, teaching and learning •Shifting to student-centred facilitation of learning: Development of blended professional development initiatives for police educators within a student problem-based learning (PBL) environment

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Research• Analysis/problem: Need for

innovation in blended and flexible learning• Development: Teaching fellows

redesigned at the coalface in their own discipline• Evaluation: interviews: before, during

and after the project - Transformative learning & Distributive leadership• Reflection: Refined after each year

e.g. conducted interviews six months after project. Continued for five years.

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Phenomenography• The research goals are interpretivist in nature

and “focus on portraying how education works by describing and interpreting phenomena related to teaching, learning, performance, assessment, social interaction and innovation” (Reeves 2000, 23).

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Design-based Research• Anthropologically driven design-based

research seeks to understand the nature of the introduced changes and their consequences from the perspective of the participants, and often it provides them with a voice and a source of influence on shaping changes to their settings. (Bell, 2004, p. 245)

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Reeves (2000)

Transformative Learning• An enhanced understanding of pedagogy

and of their own pedagogical approach.• An increased capacity and willingness to

reflect upon their own practice.• A willingness to think critically about

received ideas and conventional approaches.• Readiness to innovate, to accept

technological change and to build effective pedagogic connections between face-to-face and online teaching strategies.

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Transformative Learning• Renewed confidence with regard to leading and

adopting change and innovation among their peers and within their own schools.• Being empowered to negotiate perceived

technological and institutional barriers to change.• Preparedness to maximise the time/space

opportunity of the Fellowship to actively engage in meaningful and relevant activities for their individual context.

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Leadership Roles after Fellowship•Course Director, Faculty of Science, 2011.•School of Medical Sciences' Learning and Teaching Committee in 2009 and in 2011 won an ALTC Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, and also in 2011 was awarded the CSU Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching and Learning. •Appointed Sub-Dean Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Business.•Appointed Course Director and managed the Pathways Programs and in building connections with external education organisations and bodies.•Awarded the Vice-Chancellors Award for Excellence in Sustainability in 2011 and has been awarded substantial funding for several sustainability and environmental projects.•Associate Head of School since the start of 2011, was acting Sub-Dean Learning and Teaching during semester 1, 2011 and acting Head of School for 3 months in late 2011.•Awarded the Vice Chancellor and Faculty of Arts Awards for Teaching Excellence in 2009 and also received an ALTC Citation for Outstanding contribution to student learning 2010.

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Outputs• Scholarly outcomes have

included:• 14 external conference

presentations, 17 internal conference presentations, an ARC discovery grant application, 26 refereed publications and a number of internal research collaborations resulting from the FLI Teaching Fellowship Program.

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Implications for Swinburne

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2015 Technology Outlook: Trends

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2015 Technology Outlook: Challenges

Rethinking the Roles of Educators

Blended & Online

Learning Analytics

Personalised Learning

Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning

Open EducationOERsDigital

literacies

Authentic Assessment

SpacesMobile

Formal On-campus

InformalOn-campus

Formal/InformalOff-campus

Blended Learning

Face-to-Face Campus