As always, with FERRN events it was a great day, with a mixture of research, theory and practice. As a FERRN member, Stevenson staff can attend the seminar for free, and I would really encourage you to attend these events in the future.
The focus of this event was 'leaner engagement'. Although there have been plenty of events nationally and locally on leaner engagement, very little attention has been given to the theory and research - what does it all mean?
The first presentation was given by Cathy Walsh, Principal of Barking and Dagenham College. Cathy came over as someone who genuinely wanted to connect with staff and students, and believed in the importance of creating an innovative and creative culture within the college.
She discussed the problems of a 'command and control' approach to leadership in colleges, and the dangers in constantly restructuring. She focused on the importance of fostering excellence, working together, being positive role models and creating a college which was 'good enough for our own'. Often this can be a good bench-mark for evaluation. Is this service, resource, learning and teaching good enough for our own children, family or friends?
Cathy also discussed the current economic climate, and the importance of real work opportunities for students. She gave examples of how students have been involved in designing and promoting aspects of the college, and the ways that links with employers have been developed over the past few years. Of particular interest was the Enterprise Academy that is run by students , who tender for jobs within the college.
Cathy particularly emphasised the importance of the different roles within the college. She discussed the crucial role played by admission and support staff: the people who often make initial contact with learners. The key message being that we won't engage learners if we don't welcome them into the college and make them feel valued.
Similar to other advocates of learner engagement, Cathy was keen to stress that we need to go beyond representation, and really equip tutors, teachers, lecturers with the skills to help learners learn. She discussed the learner engagement team, the coaching system for staff, study support and the personalised learner support service as some of the initiatives which help develop learner confidence and skills. One of the key developments for tutors has been training in motivational dialogues: identifying goals and risks, exploring ambivalence, setting targets, and maintaining behavioural change.
When asked about managing change with staff, Cathy talked about the need to be open and transparent. She felt it was essential to be engage in dialogue with staff about the issues that were of concern, and to involve staff in creating solutions. She did admit that there were times when staff did not like what she had to say, but respected her honesty. She felt it was important for senior staff to be visible within the college, and ensured that during the induction period senior staff were around , visiting the canteen, talking to students and generally there to welcome students.
Cathy's presentation was followed by Anne Gillen, Research Manager at Adam Smith College, who gave some feedback on the research Holding Up The Mirror: behaviours that impede good tutor-student relations. This was the outcome of a study completed by five Scottish colleges, including Stevenson.
The research findings were really interesting and gave rise to quite a debate. I think we: Stevenson, Scotland's Colleges and FERRN need to give some consideration to how we can best use the information, but I've no doubt that both staff and students will be interested in each others' perceptions. I'll give out the completed findings at an EDDG meeting and also to Carole for further dissemination, but for now here's some to ponder:
Learner Perception of Tutor Behaviour - Irritating Behaviours
1. Talks too much/too long
2. Assumes we already know things we don't know
3. Treats students differently (has favourites/picks on individuals)
4. Is patronising or condescending
5. Doesn't give clear information about course/unit requirements
Tutor Perceptions of Learner Behaviour - Irritating Behaviours
1. Has poor or irregular attendance
2. Expects to gain unit without putting effort into developing skills/knowledge
3. Disrupts teaching (e.g. chatting/laughing)
4. Is rude or disrespectful towards me or fellow students
5. Comes unprepared to class (e.g. without pen/folder/kit)
The research also covered helpful behaviours, which we can focus on at a later date...
The morning was drawn to a close by Professor Terry Mayes, who was examining the theoretical underpinnings of learner engagement. He explored the difference between learner engagement (the willingness to enter into a joint enterprise) and learner empowerment (the capacity and skills to take advantage of engagement).
Professor Mayes critically examined different models of learning, seeing this as key to learner engagement. In particular he examined learning cycles (of which there are many), drawing attention to cognitive, associative and situative perspectives. Interestingly he discussed the painfulness of learning, and our tendency as teachers to forget what it is like to learn something new: the affect gap. He drew our attention to the work of Vygotsky, Wenger and Michelene Chi who is currently doing a lot of work around tutoring. Her findings will be of little to surprise to those working in FE: learners learn best from observing other learners learn; tutors need to scaffold learning; tutors need to go in at the right level ; need to develop communities of practice which encourage peer learning, peer tutoring and peer assessment.
Some strategies identified for promoting learner engagement included giving more control over the learning through project and resource based work and the use of discussion. Professor Mayes also discussed developing communities of practice, focusing on tasks, formative assessment and giving frequent feedback. He emphasised the personalisation of learning and teaching, through content being downplayed, except where the content has been created by learners. Again, I don't think there are any surprises here, but it's good to know this is in keeping with CfE and the topics we have discussed in previous EDDG meetings.
Further useful websites mentioned were http://www.reap.ac.uk/ and http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/
Please get in touch if you want to know more about the FERRN seminar and I look forward to seeing you at the next EDDG meeting.
Karen
