And now, the end is near.........

I read this and thought I really couldn't say it any better.

And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out

I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way

I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside
I find it all so amusing to think I did all that

And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, oh, no, not me, I did it my way

For what is a man, (or woman - I added this bit) what has he (she - and this bit) got?
If not himself, (herself - you've got the idea) then (s)he has not
To say the things (s)he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels

The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

Yes, it was my way


Thank you to everyone on the course for making me feel welcome - as a direct entry to Year 2 you made it easy for me to fit in.  Thank you to all the tutors but especially Caroline (who has helped me through the terrible APEL thing) and Simon (who has had to put up with me waffeling my way through two Modules).

Onwards and upwards xxxx



[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/f/frank_sinatra/i_did_it_my_way.html ]

A good day

I had a good day with the students on Friday.  They have to complete a Proposal Proforma for their Final Major Project (FMP) which constitutes Unit 7 of the course.  I felt that I was really able to assist the students with this as I helped them to clarify and refine their ideas.  I was also able to help them express these in written form and making sure spelling and grammar was accurate.  I was able to pull together my experience as a designer and a learning support tutor so I felt confident that the feedback I gave the students was accurate and appropriate.

The approach the tutors have taken with regards to learning outcomes, unit criteria and grading has been good so helped with the process.  From the moment the FMP was presented to the students the criteria, learning outcomes and grading descriptors were printed out and made available to the students.  This is consistent with the approach that has been taken throughout the course on project work.  The students have always been told what is expected from them. In this way the students have time to assimilate the language and plan their approach; whether all the students take advantage of this is another question.

Extended Professional Role

I'm now back to work and studying after a long break and I feel a bit scared.  Not about the unit as the tutor, Mark Flagg, has made what could be a dry and boring topic interesting and relevant to my teaching practice.  He's quite funny as well so at least we had a laugh.  I am however worried about getting all the assignments completed on time.  I haven't slacked off on the course but I still have loads to do.  I'll just have to be completely boring and attach myself to my laptop on my dining room table surrounded by bits of paper.  My only consolation is that I'm not the only one who feels a bit daunted by the end date.

I think this will be a really interested unit as I can see how management theory can easily apply to my role as a tutor; and my future.  I have loads more reading to do but at least I am looking forward to it.......... however, ask me again in a few weeks and this may have changed. 

Over and out for now.

Context of Post Compulsory Education and Training Assignment

At the moment I feel that I have made quite a good start on the ‘Context of Post Compulsory Education’ assignment.  I had a really nice discussion with Bella Kerr, the course director on the Foundation Course, a few days ago about the topic of the assignment as I thought that it was important to get some input from established staff so I could complete a study which would be useful.  We discussed a number of issues around assessing and grading learner’s art work and the impact this may have on learners.  We also discussed some of the difficulties around assessing and marking project work and the value of the learners development work.  It reminded me of something I read about the role studio-critiques have as both a learning process and assessment tool (I can’t think where I read this but I’ll have to do some research to find it).  This really helped me to clarify my ideas around the assignment and has given me the confidence to move forward. 

However, I have haven’t had to complete this type of research assignment before so I am not 100% sure on the approach I should take.  I have some idea of the questions I should use on the student questionnaire and some idea of where I can get some previous research but apart from that I don’t really know the best approach I should take.  Can anyone out there give me some tips on the best way to go about completing this research assignment?

Motivation - who needs it?

Learners on the course have now been given their Final Major Project and I have to say they are freaking out a bit.  The title is ‘Power of Making’ but that is all the guidance they have been given.  On previous projects the students have been given a project brief which gave indications of the direction the project should take and some idea of timescales. I think some learners were shocked about the open nature of their Final Major Project and at this point don’t know what direction to take.

At this point on the course learner resilience and motivation really comes into play which I started me thinking about where motivation comes from.   Does it only come from within?  Is it something that can be learnt?  Can other people give you motivation?  So I started reading into ideas around motivation - which has also come in handy for Simon’s research assignment.  I found out that there are two forms of motivation; intrinsic and extrinsic.  ‘Intrinsic motivation is said to come from an inner drive and is related to the human need for self-esteem and self-confidence and a desire to satisfy curiosity……. Extrinsic motivation on the other hand is externally produced’ (Armitage et al, 2007: 68).

As I continued my research motivation, and learner resilience, seemed to be closely linked with issues of self-efficacy which were developed by psychologist Albert Bandura’s (1995) in his social cognitive theory.  Bandura’s theory emphasised the role of observational learning and social experience has in the development of individual character or personality traits.  This consisted of an individual’s attitudes, abilities and cognitive skills; this is what Bandura called the self-system.  This has a major impact in how individuals perceive different situations and how they respond to those situations.  Therefore self-efficacy is ‘the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations’ (Bandura, 1995: 2). 

So, in simple terms self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their ability to be successful in a particular situation.  Therefore individuals with a high level of self-efficacy see challenging problems as tasks to be overcome, engage more actively in the activities in which they participate and recover more quickly from setbacks or problems.  On the other hand, individuals with low levels of self-efficacy avoid difficult tasks and situations, focus on their weakness and negative outcomes and lose confidence quickly if they experience a negative outcome.

But what does this mean to the learners on Foundation Diploma course and their final major project. Those learners who have a high level of intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy will probably embrace this stage of the course and deal with the challenges.  Those learners who have lower levels of intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy will probably need more support.  ‘For extrinsic motivation to be sustained, students must have attainable goals to work towards, be given immediate feedback on their performance and be rewarded for success’ (Armitage et al, 2007: 68).

There is, however, a further issue that needs to be considered.  Due to the nature of this course learners need to show a level of self-directed study and explore their own creativity and visual literacy skills.  It would therefore be unethical to offer too much support to some learners, especially if you consider the purpose of the course which, in the main, is to prepare learners for higher education.  I would argue that learners need to receive the support that is appropriate for them to achieve.  so each one is able to achieve their potential.

References

Armitage, A., Byant, R., Dunnill, R., Hayes, D., Hudson, A., Kent, J., Lawes, S. & Renwick, M. (2007) Teaching and Training in Post-Compulsory Education, 3rd Ed, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Bandura, A. (1995) Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies. New York: Cambridge University Press_.

Bibliography

Bandura, A. (1977) Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change, Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.

To be entrepreurial or not to be entrepreneurial?

I seem to continue to have issues with this unit.  My understanding of this unit was that it was about being entrepreneurial, in other words creative and innovative, within teaching but was not about teaching enterprise.   Obviously, there are links between the two. ‘Both entrepreneurship and learning are behavioural and social processes, so they are not just about ‘knowing’ but also acting, and are not simply individual, but constantly involve interaction with other people as an inescapable part of the learning process’ (Rae, 2008: 40-41).  I have enjoyed listening to the guest speakers but the emphasis from all of them has been, in my opinion, is a traditional view of enterprise as a business activity.  I am struggling to sit and listen because I think the information I am getting doesn’t really help me with knowing what to put into my pitch and then my assignment.

I can see the appeal of Enterprise Projects and Enterprise activities.  Television programmes like Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice have brought a heightened awareness to lots of people about what it means to be ‘entrepreneurial’.  They therefore provide a helpful starting point for students as ‘successful participants go through a process of auditioning, presenting and pitching, honing their skills through criticism and turning themselves into a brand...These programmes are all about self-improvement and risk-taking in a creative and entrepreneurial economy’ (DCMS, 2006 :23).  As educators we also recognise the value of the transferable skills students can develop, such as teamwork, problem solving, initiative, creativity, independence and resilience.  However, it’s just not what the pitch or the assignment is about.

References

Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2006) Nurturing Creativity in Young People, London: DCMS.

Rae, D. (2008) Entrepreneurship: from opportunity to action, 2^nd edition, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

My first observation - yeah

I had my first observed session today - I was really pleased with how it went.  I think I was lucky that I had a really good group of students who engaged well and worked together effectively.  The activities I had planned worked well as the learners were able to learn for themselves instead of me just spoon feeding them the information.  I think that this is the best way to learn.  If I think back to school and university the things that I remember were connected to personal experiences and when I had some input in my own learning.  ‘The key to effective, long-term is based upon experiential learning which has the following features: personal involvement, stimulation of feelings and thinking, self-initiation and self-evaluation….. Active learning by doing is seen as the key, but some form of reflection through evaluation is essential’ (Reece and Walker, 2007: 87).

In my past position I had, what I considered, unfair observations form my manager who had very little positive things to say about my teaching.  I feel I am willing to listen to constructive criticism as I do want to continually improve but I don’t respond well if I think comments are not valid or fair.  As a result I have built up a bit of a barrier in my own mind about observations.  On the positive side it has made me aware of the importance of treating students fairly and giving good quality feedback.  This prompted me to do a bit of research into feedback and I came across the research carried out by John Hattie (2009) who was interested in determining exactly what has the greatest influence on student learning.  ‘Hattie shows that feedback has more impact on learning than any other general factor, but it requires an activity and a product’ (Petty, 2009: 85).  I think this is really important.  I do think about the feedback I give learners, especially as this is an art and design course where continuous dialogue is an intrinsic element of improving students art and design practice, but reading this information has made me consider it in more depth.

References

Petty, G. (2009) Evidence-Based Teaching; A Practical Approach, 2^nd edition, Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd.

Reece, I. and Walker. S (2007) Teaching, Training and Learning; A Practical Guide, 6th edition, Tyne and Wear: Business Education Publishers Ltd.

On 'PAR' ..........sorry about the bad joke

Not that I think anybody needs it, but I wanted to share a teaching model that really works for me when I am planning a session.  This is the PAR model (look on page 171 of Geoff Petty, 2009: Evidence-Based Teaching) where P stands for Present, A stands for Apply and R stands for Review.  This model also suggests that about 35% of the time should be spent on presenting information, about 60% of the time should be spent of applying knowledge in activities and tasks and about 5% of the time should be spent on reviewing the session.  I find it easier to use than Klob’s Learning Cycle (sorry Klob) as the terminology is easier to understand and therefore access.  When you plan a session you have so much to think about (making sure there are a range of teaching strategies, LLUK standards are incorporated, all learning styles are considered and different abilities are taken account of) that it is nice to have something easy to follow.

Hope it helps – let me know.

Entrpreneurial Educators - The Pitch!

Well done everyone.  I don’t know about you but I found last night’s class pretty full on and quite demanding.

Everyone worked hard but I especially enjoyed the pitches from Dawn, Andy and Nia.  I thought they had really thought about how they could improve their current teaching practice.  I was impressed that Dawn had identified how she really improve the learning experience of her learners and how they could apply what they had learnt to make a difference in their real lives.  She had even gone a step further by talking to the prison governor so that her ideas could be applied rather than just being an activity she planned in order to fulfil the needs of an assignment.  Andy, again, had really thought about the needs of his learners and how he could meet these needs in a creative and interesting way.  This showed that he had a great deal of understanding and respect for his subject and his learners.  The pitch was clear, concise and thought provoking but was delivered with a good sense of fun so it was enjoyable to listen to.  Nia showed, in my opinion anyway, that she had understood the brief and delivered exactly what was required.  She gave real life practical examples of how she could improve her current practices and make them more relevant, creative and innovative.

Group Dynamics ..... um interesting

This was the first week of the Entrepreneurial Educators module.  There was a lot going on in this session as there were a number of guest speakers, as well as a lot of new learners, in this session.  Clearly, there is a lot of interest in this module from the Welsh Assembly.

I enjoyed some aspects of the class but did find it quite hard and demanding.   I don’t know whether this was because it was a completely new module and was not what I expected or because there were new learners which changed the group dynamics or because the session was a bit disjointed with lots of teaching staff.   

 I like to see myself as a friendly and welcoming person but I did find it a bit strange having new members of the class.  It made me think about the psychologist Bruce Tuckman (1965) who developed the memorable phrase "forming, storming, norming and performing" as a model of group development.  He used it to describe how high-performing teams work together. He later added a fifth stage which he called "adjourning", which is also known as "mourning". 

 I had a vague awareness of this model but this session has prompted me to learn more about it.  I’ve looked on the internet and in some text books and found it quite interesting.  It then started me thinking about groups I have worked in and the theory did, in the main, apply in practice.  However, like any model it doesn’t apply to all groups as group dynamics can vary so much; according to both the purpose of the group and the nature of the individuals within the group.  I have been in groups where the “forming”, “storming” and “norming” happened very quickly as everyone got on well and had the same priorities.  This meant that the group spent most of the time “performing”, so I would say it was an effective group.  On the other hand I have been in groups where the “performing” stage never really happened as there was too much conflict within the group.

Bibliography

Armitage, A., Byant, R., Dunnill, R., Hayes, D., Hudson, A., Kent, J., Lawes, S. & Renwick, M. (2007) Teaching and Training in Post-Compulsory Education, 3rd Ed, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Smith, M. K. (2005) Bruce W. Tuckman - forming, storming, norming and performing in groups, The encyclopaedia of informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/tuckman.htm. [Accessed 12th January 2012].