Educational Autobiography

Educational Autobiography

Introduction

This educational biography is to be submitted in part fulfilment of the Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice at the University of Salford in the UK.  It should be of 500 words equivalent, though more is acceptable (just not less) and should map against the UK Professional Standards Framework (PSF) specifically addressing the Core Knowledge Standard 1 “How students learn both generically and in the subject”

The Module Handbook states that the educational autobiography should outline my understanding of my own approach to learning, my learning journey and how this has impacted on my teaching and support of learners. It should conclude with a needs analysis and action plan which will allow me to describe my existing skills and areas for further development through the module.

The autobiography is self evaluated against the following criteria:

• Competance and engagement within an area of relevance to the module and to the UK PSF.
• Engagement and application of relevant literature and theory.
• Reflection on your learning and the development of your practice.

As this is a reflective piece I have decided make explicit use  of a model of reflection to guide my thinking. Reflection is a key component of occupational therapy education and our students are assessed on their ability to use Gibb’s (1988) reflective cycle. It seems to make sense therefore that I choose this model for my own reflection. I am pleased to have this opportunity having previously wondered about the heavy emphasis on reflection as a learning, teaching and assessment strategy (for example Moon 2004) given the fact that it’s effectiveness in healthcare education has not been empirically proven (Mann et al 2009).

Description

My educational trajectory is fairly straightforward. Having changed schools during my primary education I was more concerned with ‘fitting in’ than learning, and this continued through secondary school and 6^th form college.  I generally performed at the top end of average, doing enough to get by,  but loved school for the social opportunities and friendships that I made there. I was happy with my grades (which looking back were more at the bottom, rather than top end of average) and they were good enough to gain me access to study for a Diploma In Occupational Therapy and achieve my goal of becoming an Occupational Therapist. My first experience of high academic achievement was with my MSc which I studied for part-time whilst working as a lecturer and I was delighted to achieve a distinction having been motivated by one inspiring tutor and a fear of public failure. My most enlightening learning experience, and the one that I believe has had the most impact on me as a teacher, was not classroom based but work based.  I volunteered to co-develop an online MSc programme in Advanced Occupational Therapy with absolutely no knowledge of the pedagogy of e-learning, nor the technology that would be used to enable it.

Feelings

Beginning the project was daunting but exciting. It was frustrating and overwhelming at times, as I ploughed and stumbled my way through a myriad of primarily online resources, built a network of people who would  become my human learning resources and immersed myself in the experience of being an online learner in order to understand the experience and use this to inform my practice.

Evaluation (what was good and bad)

Learning this way was time consuming and absorbing, and at times I got the balance wrong and my work/home balance was affected. In the early stages, particularly before I had my networks I felt directionless and I made so many mistakes and walked so many blind alleys that my confidence in my ability to learn and in elearning itself was affected badly.  This made me doubt the validity of the project and there were times when I had to step away from it, take stock, and resume. Although at times I despaired of ever completing the project I did get there sucessfuly and created a product of which I am immensely proud. I do feel I have discovered my preferred and most productive style of learning but I have struggled to embed similar opportunities for self directed learning into a rigid, assessment focused formal curriculum.

Analysis

I now realise that I was engaging predominantly in informal learning, which has been characterised as ‘ learning which takes place in the work context, relates to an individual’s performance of their job and/or their employability, and which is not formally organized into a programme or curriculum by the employer’ (Dale and Bell 1999). It has been useful for me to realise that many of my experiences were congruent with features of informal learning, particularly lack of  imposed direction and lack of feedback. I see now that in developing a high density, low diversity supportive network (Dobrow and Higgins 2005) I was mitigating against these features and creating my own personal learning environment (Costa 2011), which was probably one of the major factors in  energising and motivating me to continue in that it became my primarily feedback mechanism. Until reading Race (2010), I had not appreciated the significance of formative feedback in relation to engagement and motivation.

This experience has lead me to value informal learning, however as stated I have not as yet sought to embed this into my own teaching practice believing that formal and informal education are separate and that I may inadvertently disadvantage some students by giving them permission to create their own learning journey. What if they missed something?  I now feel rather embarrassed by the arrogance of this approach. A discussion with a colleague, and a reference to a PGCAP video on Twitter entitled “Food for thought… learning is changing” has blown my previous reservations out of the water and left me feeling quite excited.  Followed up with some reading I see that I have been erroneous in assuming formal and informal learning are incompatible, indeed Malcom, Hodkinson and Colley (2003) make an extremely good case for suggesting that it is impossible to separate the two. I am further encouraged to read that this approach to learning is much more likely to facilitate “deep learning” as typified by an intention to understand and seek meaning rather than a surface approach as typified by and intention to complete a task (Fry et al  2009).  This has much resonance with my own experience of learning in this way.

Conclusion

As a result of this reflection I recognise that I  want to be an inclusive  teacher (HEA 2011) who can encourage and inspire students to have faith in their ability to follow their own learning journey an to support them along this path. I feel I have been given permission to embrace a constructivist approach to teaching and learning (Piaget 1950 cited in Fry et al 2009) and be much more creative in encouraging students to create their own personal learning environments. I also have tangible evidence that reflection can bring about new learning and perspectives, particularly when deepened through reading, discussing, and using social media.

Action plan (This is my first action plan. I have updated it below, based on feedback from my tutor. The updated version is based on the practical activities described here, but  is more closely linked to the UKPSF and the module learning outcomes).

I am shortly to begin teaching my module entitled Reflection in Practice.  As the module leader I have the freedom to set the groups learning parameters and I will introduce students to the concept of personal leaning environments and informal learning. I will give them permission to create their own learning pathway, highlighting the value of using social media to create learning networks (Junco  2010). I will build into the module lots of opportunity for formative feedback so that both they and I can be sure they are achieving what is required to meet the learning outcomes of the modules (Race 2011). There may be a tension between these and the student’s personal learning outcomes given a free reign.  I will reflect on this process through my blog, and look forwards to any feedback. I will also endeavour to focus one of my teaching observations around this module in order to help me continue to develop my thinking and my practice.

Updated Action plan

The action plan above has been formulated to  enable  me to meet my personal learning goals and partially achieve the following learning outcomes

• Examine effective teaching, learning and assessment strategies in a variety of educational and disciplinary contexts.
• Identify student learning needs in order to formulate relevant and inclusive learning support and guidance strategies
• Critically evaluate theoretical perspectives on, and approaches to, student learning and motivation within different educational contexts.

It also allows me to demonstrate compliance with the  following dimensions of the UKPSF

Activity

 A1 – Design and plan learning activities; A2 – Teach or support learning; A3 Give feedback to learners; A4- Develop effective learning environments; A5 – engage in continuing professional development.

Core Knowledge

K1- The subject material; K2 appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme; K3 How students learn; K4 The use and value of appropriate learning technologies; K5 – Methods for evaluating the effectiveness recognising of teaching.

Professional Values

V1- respect individual learners and diverse learning communities; V3 – Use evidence informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing personal development; V4 – Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates, the implication for professional practice.

 References

Dale, M. and Bell, J. (1999) Informal Learning in the Workplace. DfEE Research Report 134, London: Department for Education and Employment. Summary: DfEE Research – Informal learning in the workplace

Dobrow, S.R.  and Higgins M.C. (2005) “Developmental networks and proferssional identity: a longitudinal study”. Career Development International 10 (6/7), pp 567-583

Fry, H. Ketteride, S and Marshall, S. (2009) A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (3^rd Edition). London: Routledge.

Gibbs G (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods.: Oxford: Further Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic

HEA 20110 http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/hca/themes/inclusivity

Junco , R. Heiberger†, G. and  Loken, E (2010) “The effect of Twitter on College Student Engagement and Grades”,  Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 27 (2), pp 119-132

Malcolm, J. Hodkinson, P. and Colley, H. (2003) ” The interrelationships between formal and informal learning”, Journal of Workplace Learning 15 (7/8), pp 313-318

Mann, K. Gordon, J. Macleod, A. (2009) “Reflection and reflective practice in health professions education: a systematic review”, Advances in Health Science Education  14, pp 595-621

Moon, J.  (2004)  “A handbook of reflective and experiential learning: theory and practice”, Oxon: Routledge Falmer

Race, P. (2010) “Making Learning Happen” (2nd edition)  Sage Publications: London