HEA Annual Conference 2009
The Future of the Student Learning Experience
University of Manchester, 30 June – 2 July 2009
Conf Sub-theme:Designing Higher Education of the Future
Paper Title:Cultivating communities of teaching practice through HEA subject
centres
Authors:Philippa Hunter-Jones (University of Liverpool),
Stuart McGugan (University of Liverpool),
Heather Farley (University of Ulster) and
Carol Reid (University of Ulster)
Lead Contact:Dr Philippa Hunter-Jones
University of LiverpoolManagementSchool
Chatham Street
Liverpool
L69 7ZH
T: 0151 795 3018
F: 0151 795 3001
E:
Cultivating communities of teaching practice through HEA subject centres
Philippa Hunter-Jones, Stuart McGugan, Heather Farley and Carol Reid
SUMMARY
One mechanism for enhancing the student experience is to ensure that those responsible for their learning are suitably equipped to fulfil this role to the best of their capabilities. However teachers in Higher Education (HE) are often appointed on the basis of their knowledge, qualifications and experience, and can often lack pre-service teacher training. Within this context, this paper builds on previous work undertaken into teaching communities of practice in HE (Warhurst, 2006) by considering the contribution that subject centres, in partnership with institutions, can make to the cultivation of these communities.
For this purpose the authors make use of empirical data collected through a Business, Management, Accounting and Finance (BMAF) subject centre project: Support for the Development of New Lecturers/Academic Staff in Business-Related Disciplines. Stage one of the project: the pilot study, conducted during the autumn of 2008, collected data from two UK HE institutions. Stage two: the main project, includes six UK HE institutions and is currently ongoing. This paper focuses primarily upon the pilot stage by outlining the qualitative research process adopted and some of thekey findings.
In particular our data reveals the significance of informal workplace learning in both pilot organisations and it’s location within communities of teaching practice. It is revealed that this form of learning is likely to continue and indeed, be the dominant influence on practice throughout the teaching careers of these lecturers. The paper concludes by outlining some suggestions on how BMAF might effectively engage with and enrich these communities:
- Provision of both generic and subject specific networking events for New Lecturers.
- Support for the transition of international staff joining the UK HE system.
- Development of mechanisms to expose new staff with no industrial experience to the corporate environment.
- Provision of training and resources to support the e-learning agenda.
- Subject linked resource database including case studies.
- Checklist of generic issues a New Lecturer might encounter within their initial period of appointment, including for example module details, assignment documentation, external examiner requirements, class lists,meeting and deadline timetables etc.
- Subject linked on-line support modules.
HEA Annual Conference 2009
The Future of the Student Learning Experience
University of Manchester, 30 June – 2 July 2009
Conf Sub-theme:Designing Higher Education of the Future
Paper Title:Cultivating communities of teaching practice through HEA subject
centres
Authors:Philippa Hunter-Jones (University of Liverpool),
Stuart McGugan (University of Liverpool),
Heather Farley (University of Ulster) and
Carol Reid (University of Ulster)
Lead Contact:Dr Philippa Hunter-Jones
University of LiverpoolManagementSchool
Chatham Street
Liverpool
L69 7ZH
T: 0151 795 3018
F: 0151 795 3001
E:
Cultivating communities of teaching practice through HEA subject centres
Philippa Hunter-Jones, Stuart McGugan, Heather Farley and Carol Reid
INTRODUCTION
Through empirical research, this paper shows that informal workplace learning, located within a lecturer’s community of practice, contributes significantly to their development as teachers. It is argued that learning in this way continues to retain importance throughout career progression in Higher Education and that subject centres can continue to support and indeed enhance this process in their provision of relevant resources and in their support for groups of learners. This support may include formal support facilitated through events and projects and/or the development of informal networks across the sector.
LEARNING IN WORKPLACE SETTINGS
Theories of learning in the workplace can be broadly grouped into two contrasting paradigms. The first of these emphasises that learning is something to be acquired as an outcome of a directed process. This has been referred to as the standard paradigm of learning (Beckett and Hager 2002) with the outcome of the process being some form of desired behavioural or cognitive development.
Located within this paradigm a number of pedagogic models of workplace learning can be identified (Fuller and Unwin 2002). Firstly,atransmission model is based on the belief that relevant workplace skills and knowledge can be passed to learners in a formal way by a teacher/trainer in the workplace or other setting (College, University). Secondly, acompetence or outcomes based modelpromotes a greater degree of self regulation on the part of the learner, for example in determining when this learning will be achieved. Typically with such an approach, the learner is provided with a list of outcomes/competencies to be achieved either with or without the help of a teacher/trainer. The teacher acts in the role of a facilitator or guide to help the learner reach their full potential, prior to some form of verification process that the learning has been realised. Thirdly an experiential model of learning has, as its focus, the acquisition of tacit knowledge that emerges through the informal processes of learning. The importance of reflection as a way to make sense of experience becomes a key component of this model. It is argued that reflection is the process through which tacit knowledge is made explicit and has given rise to the concept of reflective practice (Schön, 1983)which has been identified as a key concept in the accreditation of postgraduate certificates in higher education teaching and learning in both Australasia and the United Kingdom (Kandlbinder and Peseta, 2009).
A second, alternative way to think about learning in the workplace is to conceive learning as a dimension of everyday social practice. This emerging paradigm has as its core the idea of learning as participation (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Here learning is seen as an integral part of life and not something that only takes place in a formal educational context guided by a recognised teacher. For example in the work-based setting of schools and polytechnics, research into the early careers of teachers has pointed to the importance of relationships with colleagues in teacher development (McNally et al 1997, Viskovic, 2006). This has given rise to a theory of learning as participation in a community of practice(CoP). This has been described as follows:
‘Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an on-going basis (...).These people don’t necessarily work together every day, but they meet because they find value in their interactions’.
(Wenger et al, 2002, p.4.)
As Fuller (2007, p.21) noted, these groups of people are a distinctive form of social network which engage ‘around the activity that has brought people together’. Moreover, it is argued (Wengeret al, 2002) that belonging to a community of practice offers benefits to members both in the short and long term. These are summarised in Table 1.
Benefits to Community Members / Short-term value: Improve experience of work / Long–term value: Foster professional developmentHelp with challenges / Forum for expanding skills and expertise
Access to expertise / Network for keeping abreast of a field
Better able to contribute to team / Enhanced professional reputation
Confidence in one’s approach to problems / Increased marketability and employability
Fun of being with colleagues / Strong sense of professional identity
More meaningful participation
Sense of belonging
Table 1: Communities of Practice: Short and long term value to community members
(Wenger et al, 2002, p.16)
However, the extent to which the benefits of CoP membership are realised by individuals have been subject to some debate and has been shown to be particularly significant in the case of novice or trainee workers (Fuller and Unwin, 2003, Lyon 2004). The sense of belonging or not belonging to a community of practice is captured by Lave and Wenger(1991) through the idea of becoming legitimate to other co-participants in the community.
‘If a community [of practice] (...) rejected a newcomer for some reason, that person would have a hard time learning (…) legitimacy can take many forms: being useful, being sponsored (...) being the right kind of person (...) Granting the newcomers legitimacy is important because they are likely to come short of what the community regards as competent engagement. Only with enough legitimacy can all their inevitable stumbling and violations become opportunities for learning rather than cause for dismissal, neglect, or exclusion.’ (Wenger, 1998, p.101).
Communities of practice have been an influential concept within the social sciences and have opened up new areas of empirical investigation (Hughes et al, 2007, Viskovic 2006; Myles et al 2006; Bathmaker & Avis 2007; Yandell and Turvey, 2007). In this body of work it has been Lave and Wenger’s (1991) ideas about the learning opportunities that are situated in the performance of an activity that is the analytical frame. However, as has been noted, access to the potential learning that can be derived from community membership is socially negotiated, and may not be accessible to everyone. This may be a particular issue for newcomers to a particular activity. This will now be explored in the context of newcomers to teaching.
METHODOLOGY
The study set out to identify the needs of new teaching staff in BMAF disciplines and to ascertain how BMAF can best offer support to individuals, departments and universities. Understanding who constitutes a new lecturer however, is complicated. For the purposes of the pilot study the following was required:
- permanent full-time or part-time members of lecturing staff, even if fixed term
- those primarily employed in a BMAF discipline area
- those within the first 3 years of their first academic post, or possibly just into their 4th year.
Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) were intentionally excluded from the sample. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with targeted staff at the two pilot institutions (the University of Liverpool and the University of Ulster) during the autumn of 2008. 10 new lecturers across the two institutions were interviewed alongside strategic staff with an overall responsibility for academic staff resourcing, quality management and learning and teaching within each institution’s Business/Management School and operational staff within this context too. Additionally, input from the Head of the Educational Development Unit (EDU) or equivalent was also sought. Interviews explored new lecturers’ learning and development support, particularly in relation to induction, mentoring and CPD/training, before identifying areas for future support. These themes provide the framework for the presentation of findings.
FINDINGS
Induction
Differences existed in the induction processes of the two institutions. At Ulster, the three pronged approach (strategic level, departmental level and course level) was perceived to more than adequately introduce new staff to the Institution and culture within, whilst the involvement in the Corporate Induction of senior members of staff at Liverpool was appreciated by those participating in the event, although more local level offerings received a mixed response. Where respondents did agree was in the role that informal processes can and should play in this important area:
“It is impractical to expect new lecturers to meet everybody in the building, but if a meeting or coffee could be organised with some key people who the lecturer should know then that would be grand”
Respondents also perceived induction to be an ongoing process. The availability of information, during and post the formal induction period, whether utilised or not, was favourably received by respondents. Newsletters, e-mails, magazines, for example linked to Knowledge Transfer and the uploading of materials (e.g. policy documents) onto the intranet were all welcomed. Whilst a number of staff admitted to a limited engagement with these materials, their availability, usually via the intranet, proved to be a comforting factor:
“You can get all these documents very easily online from our website (...) if there is something and you want to check the university policy you can do it”.
Mentoring
Mentoring new staff was a feature of the support activities of both institutions. Discussions initially focused upon the formal mentoring system which was perceived by a number of respondents to offer them a security blanket:
“What do you believe your mentor’s role is? [interviewer] I would hope it would be to protect me and I believe it is to a certain extent (...) from too much administration, teaching and getting annoyed at the institution”,
and alsoa means of circumventing quite complex new systems:
“He [formal mentor] is well established and has been there for quite a long time. I quite often find that if I want something I will go and ask the question of my mentor and things will magically happen”.
Whilst staff welcomed this support, endorsement of the formal mentoring systems was less clear-cut:
“I think mentoring and all that has taken a rather formal face and it can be unhelpful sometimes”
and a number of participants questioned the process of appointing a formal mentor:
“I was quite surprised at the way it [allocation of a formal mentor] was done. I don’t think the person was necessarily asked if he wanted to be the mentor. We weren’t introduced in a room, “this is going to be your mentor.” So I just sort of thought, fine, now the person who was asked is a very nice lecturer but it was just a strange way to do it”.
Interestingly, some respondents saw their formal mentor as a means of establishing informal relationships:
“It doesn’t really matter at the start about building a good relationship with that person [formal mentor] as you know you will be introduced to other people and extend, within your department”.
Theinformal support received from academic and administrative staff was highly valued. It played an important and supportive role, both from the outset of employment and beyond:
“I was assigned a mentor formally when I took up the post but it didn’t hugely take up that much time because I didn’t really know the person (...) But, it did lead on to social relationships and really that’s what it is all about the social relationships I think”.
CPD/Training
General opportunities for staff development received praise both in terms of scope and operation. Staff spoke of attending a variety of workshops including those linked to research supervision, student retention, Web-CT, international collaboration and research methods, workshops delivered both internally and externally. Whilst access to such opportunities appeared similar across institutions, both institutions approached staff development linked to teaching delivery in a slightly different way. Differences of opinion also arose in relation to the contribution of the various support mechanisms offered. At Liverpool, new lecturers are required to complete the Certificate in Professional Studies (CPS). Findings suggest that new lecturers do not always recognise the value of this programme. In contrast at Ulster, new lecturers are required to complete the PGCHEP and also modules offered by the Staff Education Development Association (SEDA). In the majority of cases respondents spoke favourably of these programmes both in terms of formal skills development:
“I completed two SEDA modules and one of those I chose was teaching in higher education and it was very very useful. I got an awful lot from that module”.
and also informal networking opportunities that such presented:
“There are five of us who all did the first module and we all did the second module and then we all intentionally picked a third module together, as we all liked working together, and meeting up and we still meet up for coffee and I don’t think there would have been that opportunity if we hadn’t had the same module”.
These informal networking opportunities were also noted in other development contexts too, including the existence of an informal retention working group for instance.
Opportunities for future support
Reflecting upon the benefits and challenges they had faced in their new academic career, respondents spoke of the need for further direction and support from the outset of their contract, particularly in areas peculiar to the academic environment that they were unfamiliar with eg ordering books, assembling personal tutee information.Here the importance of mentoring was reinforced, with an added suggestion that mentors receive a time allocation for the role. Once again the informal context of settling in to a new post proved to be an area of comment:
“I would say for people who have just arrived, it would be important to maybe spend more time to try to socially embed those people into their environment, it probably already happens, I don’t know (...) I can imagine somebody who has arrived from another country maybe with a family or on their own you know, it would take them a lot longer to settle in, not just with their job”.
Interestingly, one respondent singled out the informal support received from colleagues, academic and administrative staff, as the most useful contribution to their overall workplace experience.
CONCLUSION
Professional roles such as teaching have traditionally been thought to demand a substantial specialist knowledge base which requires long periods of formal training to acquire (Sharpe 2004). Yet some commentators have argued (Viskovic, 2006) that teachers ‘gained most of their teaching knowledge and skills on the job, learning informally and experientially’ (p.323). The notion that purposeful learning is derived by newcomers through participation (with others) in activities, tasks, habits of the work community is certainly borne out from the experiences of the new teachers spoken to in this study. The task in hand then really is seeking ways of making the most of such experiences.HEA Subject Centres have an important role to play in this respect, particularly in enrichingLave and Wenger’s (1991) communities of practice through their provision of relevant resources and in their support for groups of learners, either formally through events and projects or in the development of informal networks across the sector. Indeed Wenger et al2002acknowledge the value ofthis type of ‘opendialogue between inside and outside perspectives’, using the metaphor of bringing the community ‘alive’ (p.51) to describe the potential of this process: