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Student'Champions'
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A'competency'framework,'process'model'and'developmental'approach'
for'engaging'students'in'the'enhancement'of'learning,'teaching'and'the'
student'experience'in'Higher'Education'
'
Dr.'Robert'O’Toole'NTF,'University'of'Warwick'
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TABLE!OF!CONTENTS!
1.!Introduction,!methods!and!user’s!guide!..............................................................................!3!
Methods!.........................................................................................................................................................!8!
2.!What!is!a!competency!framework!and!how!do!we!develop!one?!.............................!12!
A!competency!framework!counters!imposter!syndrome!..........................................................!12!
“Competency”!defined!...........................................................................................................................!15!
The!definition!...........................................................................................................................................................!21!
The!problem!of!“wicked”!competencies!in!employability!.........................................................!22!
Flipping!the!problem!in!enterprise!education!..............................................................................!27!
A!balanced!framework!that!works!for!everyone!..........................................................................!29!
3.!What!do!we!want!to!enhance!and!why?!.............................................................................!32!
Three!core!ambitions!for!LTSE!enhancement!...............................................................................!32!
A.!Achieve!appropriate!flexibility!for!students!and!staff!.......................................................................!33!
B.!Ensure!coherence,!quality!and!fairness!for!students!and!staff!......................................................!44!
C.!Enable!opportunities!for!pedagogic!innovation!and!new!signature!pedagogies!...................!48!
The!need!for!a!balanced!approach!to!the!enhancement!of!LTSE!............................................!50!
Avoid!technology!bias!...........................................................................................................................................!52!
Avoid!periphery!bias!.............................................................................................................................................!53!
Avoid!showcase!bias!.............................................................................................................................................!53!
Summary:!eating!the!elephant!............................................................................................................!54!
4.!A!model!for!enhancing!LTSE!across!a!large,!complex!and!diverse!organisation!.!55!
Tweaks,!remixes,!sprints!and!marathons!.......................................................................................!55!
Develop!the!capability!for!tweaks,!remixes,!sprints!and!marathons!....................................!57!
Define!a!range!of!projects!and!methods!at!each!scale!................................................................!57!
Support!the!whole!organisational!learning!and!design!loop!...................................................!58!
1.!Awareness!.............................................................................................................................................................!61!
2.!Recognition!...........................................................................................................................................................!61!
3.!Sufficient!Understanding!................................................................................................................................!62!
4.!Adoption/adaptation!.......................................................................................................................................!63!
5.!Continuation/reflection!..................................................................................................................................!64!
6.!Informed!Advocacy!...........................................................................................................................................!65!
7.!Design!Participation!.........................................................................................................................................!66!
Provide!opportunities!for!innovation!and!signature!pedagogies!..........................................!67!
Professional!services!in!the!loop!.......................................................................................................!67!
5.!The!role!based!competency!framework!............................................................................!69!
Key!roles!and!their!competencies!.....................................................................................................!70!
1.! Informed!advocate!........................................................................................................................................!70!
2.! Technical!facilitator!(spaces,!learning!designs,!technologies!etc.)!..........................................!73!
3.! Social!facilitator!..............................................................................................................................................!75!
3.! Admin!process!facilitator!...........................................................................................................................!76!
4.! Project!facilitator!...........................................................................................................................................!77!
5.! CriticalScreative!friend!................................................................................................................................!79!
6.! Researcher!........................................................................................................................................................!80!
7.! Horizon!watcher!and!visionary!...............................................................................................................!81!
8.! Design!participant!.........................................................................................................................................!82!
6.!How!to![self]organize!our!champions!................................................................................!84!
Have!high!expectations,!but!don’t!demand!too!much!.................................................................!86!
Anyone!can!be!a!champion!–!beyond!the!early!adopters!...........................................................!86!
Everyone!should!be!a!champion?!......................................................................................................!86!
Champions!working!in!responsive!and!proactive!modes!..........................................................!87!
Inter`disciplinary!and!trans`disciplinary!partnerships!............................................................!88!
Recognition!and!reward!.......................................................................................................................!88!
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1.#Introduction,#methods#and#user’s#guide#
Student!Champions!are!great!!In!the!resourceSconstrained!and!timeSlimited!
world!of!the!university,!having!an!extraSeager!student!with!spare!energy,!time!
and!knowledge!to!give!is!a!wonderful!thing.!To!see!such!students!snapSup!and!
run!with!opportunities,!growing!in!capability!and!competence,!and!eventually!
using!their!abilities!postSgraduation!–!that!is!always!rewarding.!Students!can!
bring!fresh!eyes!and!unSexpected!knowledge!and!capabilities!to!bear!on!!
problems!and!ambitions,!and!such!teacherSstudent!partnerships!have!on!many!
occasions!refreshed!a!teacher’s!interest!in!teaching.!Many!of!Warwick’s!award!
winning!teachers!have!been!inspired!by!their!Student!Champions.!
!
Over!many!years!at!the!University!of!Warwick!we!have,!on!a!small!scale,!
exploited!these!effects!and!characteristics!in!the!name!of!enhancing!learning,!
teaching!and!the!student!experience!(LTSE)!–!especially!with!regards!to!
enhancing!LTSE!through!new!technologies.!The!Arts!ESSquad!(2007S2010)!
project!started!with!a!small!group!of!Arts!Faculty!undergraduate!students!(6)!
and!grew!into!a!larger!selfSsustaining!network!spanning!the!whole!university.!By!
successfully!attracting!funding,!it!acquired!its!own!equipment!and!a!room!used!
as!a!base!for!technical!work!and!for!networking.!Some!of!the!students!used!this!
as!a!springboard!into!more!independent!work!and!careers!beyond!the!
university.!One!student!started!a!company!while!at!Warwick,!developed!out!of!
her!ESSquad!work,!and!then!a!further!two!companies!after!graduation!(in!
Birmingham!and!London).!And!all!the!time!this!had!a!positive!effect!upon!LTSE!
enhancement!within!the!university.!For!the!ESSquad,!their!biggest!achievement!
was!to!establish!video!making!and!the!use!of!videos!as!a!more!normal!practice,!
leading!into!the!adoption!of!techniques!like!digital'storytelling!in!the!formal!
undergraduate!curriculum.!Similar!teams!of!students!were!established!in!other!
faculties!–!the!FLAG!Team!in!Social!Sciences,!and!more!recently!the!Digichamps!
in!Life!Sciences.!Further!Student!ChampionSlike!work!is!acknowledged!to!take!
place!in!many!other!contexts,!including!Careers!and!Skills,!the!Library!(especially!
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the!Learning!Grid!study!facility),!the!Students’!Union,!and!for!extending!our!work!
on!Widening!Participation!through!outreach.!!
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All!of!these!experiences!have!fed!into!this!report.!But!most!importantly,!
reflecting!with!Student!Champions!on!the!limitations!of!the!projects!has!
motivated!us!to!undertake!this!investigation.!
!
We!have!been!keen!to!pursue!the!Student!Champion!approach!for!two!sound!
reasons:!
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Student!Champions!can!have!a!positive!effect!upon!the!change!processes!
of!a!complex!institution,!and!can!contribute!in!ways!unique!to!students.!
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Student!Champions!can!access!valuable!opportunities!for!selfS
development!through!this!work.!
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In!fact!the!Arts!ESSquad!was!initially!motivated!by!the!idea!that!the!availability!of!
such!opportunities!would!make!university!more!of!an!attractive!and!feasible!
choice!of!pathway!for!students!from!nonStraditional!backgrounds!–!it!was!
initially!funded!as!a!widening!participation!project.!
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However,!in!reality!the!value!of!our!Student!Champions!has!been!limited!by!two!
omissions!from!the!design!of!the!scheme:!
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We!have!not!gone!far!enough!in!helping!Student!Champions!and!others!to!
recognize!the!competencies!that!they!develop!through!doing!such!work.!
This!has!negative!consequences!for!the!students,!making!it!harder!for!
them!to!use!and!build!upon!their!development!opportunities.!It!also!limits!
the!ability!of!the!network!of!Student!Champions!to!grow!–!a!clearer!
understanding!of!the!competencies!allows!for!better!recruitment,!
training,!mentoring,!personal!development!planning,!matching!of!student!
to!projects,!and!showcasing!the!value!of!the!approach.!
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We!have!not!placed!Student!Champion!projects,!competencies!and!roles!
within!a!cohesive!processSmodel!that!informs!the!selection!and!design!of!
projects,!the!application!of!competencies!for!specific!purposes,!and!the!
overall!cohesive!growth!of!their!enhancement!work!and!a!shared!
repertoire!of!design!solutions.!
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In!other!words,!we!have!not!optimised!the!approach!for!the!institution!and!the!
students,!so!as!to!get!the!most!from!the!available!opportunities.!
!
This!investigation!and!the!subsequent!framework!aims!to!address!these!
omissions.!!The!key!outputs!are:!
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Section!4!:!An!account!of!an!institutionSwide!process!for!cohesively!supporting!
enhancement!activities.!This!is!a!sophisticated!and!multidimensional!model,!but!
based!upon!an!understanding!(from!experience!and!research)!of!how!
innovations!are!recognized!as!useful!by!teachers!and!students,!how!they!gain!
sufficient!understanding,!how!they!adopt!and!adapt,!continue!and!reflect,!and!
how!this!can!become!a!virtuous!circle!in!which!successful!adopters!may!become!
“informed!advocates”!for!change!and!“design!participants”!for!further!design!
refinement!and!innovation.!Our!understanding!of!LTSE!enhancement!work,!and!
the!possible!involvement!of!Student!Champions,!is!further!simplified!through!a!
taxonomy!for!describing!the!scope!of!enhancement!work:!tweaks,!remixes,!
sprints!and!marathons.!This!way!of!thinking!has!two!benefits:!we!can!design!
repeatable!and!transferable!projects!at!each!level!of!scope/difficulty,!meaning!
that!there!are!offStheSshelf!projects!available!for!staff!and!students!to!take!on!(for!
example,!moving!a!module!to!the!Moodle!VLE);!we!can!help!students!to!buildSup!
their!competency!towards!more!challenging!kinds!of!project,!but!at!the!same!
time!ensure!that!they!are!retaining!a!sense!of!achievement!with!more!feasible!
projects.!
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Section!5:!Based!around!the!process,!an!account!of!the!roles!and!competencies!
that!are!required!to!make!this!process!work!effectively!and!sustainably!across!a!
large!and!diverse!institution.!This!is!where!the!competency!framework!is!
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formulated!in!detail,!but!only!with!competencies!that!serve!the!process!
(however,!its!is!argued!in!Sections!2!and!3!that!these!are!transferable!and!highly!
valuable!competencies).!The!competencies!are!organised!into!roles!(e.g.!the!
informed!advocate),!although!we!would!expect!Student!Champions!to!be!
competent!in!a!range!of!roles,!if!not!all!–!the!roles!are!not!job!descriptions,!but!
rather!roles!in!the!process!that!may!be!undertaken!by!the!same!or!several!
different!people.!
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Section!6:!So!how!do!we!make!this!happen?!The!roles!and!competencies!
described!in!Section!5!may!seem!challenging.!But!we!have!seen!that!students!can!
develop!some!or!all!of!them.!And!furthermore,!when!working!in!a!cohesive!team!
and!network,!they!can!complement!each!other’s!capabilities.!But!how!would!we!
go!about!generating!such!a!network!with!many!more!students?!Perhaps!reaching!
the!level!currently!operating!at!Sheffield!University!(65!in!2014S2015).!And!how!
do!we!do!that!without!great!cost!to!the!institution!and!burden!on!the!students!
themselves?!In!this!section!a!progressive!approach!to!developing!the!network!is!
described,!with!the!students!themselves!taking!on!the!work!of!making!it!selfS
sustaining!over!time.!What!do!we!need!to!do!to!kickSstart!the!development?!And!
what!will!we!need!to!do!to!sustain!it!continually!and!to!help!it!to!grow?!
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The!reader!might!wish!to!skip!directly!to!Sections!4,!5!and!6!for!the!main!outputs!
of!the!report.!However,!Sections!2!and!3!offer!more!depth!in!explaining!why!
these!approaches!have!been!taken.!Section!2!gives!a!philosophical'and'practical!
account!of!what!it!means!to!be!competent!–!this!situates!the!competency!
framework!in!the!ultimate!goal!of!creating!a!competent!system!with!competent!
people.!The!specific!idea!of!competency!is!derived!from!research!into!the!
competency!of!academic!technologists,!eSlearning!advisors!and!LTSE!advisors!
working'within'the'LTSE'enhancement'context.!If!you!are!keen!to!get!to!the!
implications,!we!suggest!reading!the!definition!of!competency!on!page!21!and!
then!moving!on!to!the!next!section.!Section!3!considers!the!many!various!goals!of!
LTSE!enhancement!work,!along!with!some!tensions!that!are!inherent!between!
the!different!ambitions!and!tendencies.!This!is!in!itself!of!importance!to!the!
Student!Champions.!As!the!network!matures,!Champions!will!move!from!a!
!
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reactive!mode!(being!fed!projects)!to!a!more!proactive!mode!(generating!new!
projects)!–!as!did!the!Arts!ESSquad.!An!awareness!of!the!ambitions!that!drive!
enhancement!work!is!useful!in!directing!our!energies.!But!it!is!a!complex!field,!in!
need!of!some!simplification!and!cohesion.!
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In!Section!3!we!outline!three!categories!of!ambition,!showing!the!potential!
conflicts!between!these!interests,!and!suggest!that!Student!Champions!may!help!
in!pursuing!these!ambitions!in!a!balanced!way:!
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A. Achieve!appropriate!flexibility!for!students!and!staff.!
B. Ensure!coherence,!quality!and!fairness!for!students!and!staff.!
C. Enable!opportunity!for!pedagogic!innovation!and!new!signature!
pedagogies.!!
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Experience!has!taught!us!that!this!only!works!where!individual!interests!can!be!
balanced!with!the!collective!good.!For!example,!an!individual!might!have!a!selfS
interested!bias!towards!a!project!that!uses!a!specific!technology,!so!as!to!gain!
experience!in!that!technology!for!the!furtherance!of!their!career.!That!motivation!
is!not!a!bad!thing!in!itself,!but!it!can!cause!complications.!Similarly,!we!should!
actively!consider!the!compatibility!of!enhancement!projects!and!the!wider!
higher!education!system!context,!social!contexts!and!the!global!perspective!
(especially!now!universities!are!positioned!in!global!partnerships!spanning!
multiple!continents).!
!
But!what!interest!do!students!have!in!working!on!projects!that!have!these!wider!
organisationSandSbeyond!benefits?!Indeed!why!would!a!student!commit!to!doing!
enhancement!work!that!may!only!bear!fruit!once!they!have!graduated?!In!a!
recent!blog!entry!by!the!Student!Engagement!Partnership!(concerning!their!
work!on!partnerships!for!sustainability),!Felix!Spira!acknowledged!this!
challenge:!
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“Creating!successful!long!term!collaboration!can!be!difficult!with!a!
student!population!that!lacks!continuity!across!years,!come!exams!many!
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students!have!moved!on!from!the!institution.!Whilst!staff!have!become!
accustomed!to!slow!bureaucracies!many!students!find!these!lengthy!
processes!very!frustrating.”!1!
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Perhaps!this!is!the!biggest!contribution!that!this!framework!can!offer!to!students!
and!the!university!–!the!competency!framework!and!its!associated!processes!
make!learning!and!achievement!more!visible,!easier!to!understand!and!build!
upon,!more!easily!communicated,!and!more!readily!committed!to.!
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Methods#
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At!a!high!level,!the!approach!taken!to!deriving!the!competency!framework!has!
been!one!of:!
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1. Through!reflection,!observation!and!research,!identifying!how!experts!in!
LTSE!enhancement!achieve!successful!results,!capturing!their!wisdom!
and!techniques,!making!their!tacit!knowledge!explicit!–!this!has!included!
Academic!Technologists,!Learning!and!Development!Advisors!(for!
academic!staff),!Careers!and!Skills!professionals!as!well!as!successful!
teachers!and!teaching!innovators.!
2. Creating!a!highSlevel!framework!through!which!we!can!categorize!and!
understand!the!reasons,!the!ambitions!and!needs,!that!motivate!LTSE!
enhancement!(in!greater!detail!than!appears!in!this!report).!
3. Considering!how!Student!Champions!have!worked!in!the!past,!and!how!
they!have!selfSorganised!and!selfSdeveloped!competency!with!capabilities!
that!fit!with!the!model!of!expert!enhancement!work,!and!in!some!cases!
contribute!in!studentSspecific!ways.!Two!inSdepth!interviews!contributed!
greatly!to!this:!successful!ESSquad!student!Catherine!Allen!(now!working!
creative!digital!design!and!development)!and!Engineering!undergraduate!
Sarah!Chen!(who!has!worked!on!many!Student!ChampionSlike!roles!at!
Warwick,!and!who!provided!valuable!advice).!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1!http://tsep.org.uk/2015/07/472/!!!
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4. Synthesising!this!into!a!process!model,!deducing!roles!and!competencies!
from!the!model!and!expert!approaches!to!achieving!its!goals.!
5. Working!with!students!to!identify!what!they!might!be!able!to!achieve,!
how!and!when!(in!the!student!lifecycle)!–!this!has!included!dialogue!
concerning!values!and!expectations,!and!a!major!coSdesign!workshop!
with!18!students.!
6. Based!upon!the!process,!the!competency!framework!and!research!into!
what!works!at!Warwick!and!other!universities,!proposing!a!design!for!a!
selfSsustaining!Student!Champions!network!through!which!competencies!
may!be!developed.!
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Many!people!have!been!consulted!as!part!of!this!process,!including!students!and!
staff.!!One!of!the!most!productive!methods!was!simply!to!bring!18!students!into!a!
coSdesign!workshop!with!expert!facilitation!(Tim!Hunter!of!IT!Services,!
independent!enterprise!consultant!Nigel!Sykes)!and!a!graphic!visualization!
artist.!From!this!we!built!a!rich!picture,!along!with!a!closer!understanding!of!
current!and!potential!Student!Champions.!Two!current!projects!(funded!through!
this!investigation)!!were!presented!to!the!students.!They!were!welcomed!with!
great!interest!and!enthusiasm.!Some!of!the!roles!and!competencies!presented!in!
Section!5!were!explained!in!the!context!of!these!projects.!The!descriptions!made!
sense!to!the!students!and!were!seen!to!be!of!value!in!understanding!the!value!of!
being!a!Student!Champion.!
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The!rich!picture!developed!by!Laura!Brodrick!(of!ThinkBigPicture)!during!the!
coSdesign!workshop!is!shown!below.!The!important!highlights!of!the!discussion,!
coming!from!students,!are!well!represented.!For!example,!the!students!were!
keen!to!say!that!it!should!reduce!bureaucracy!rather!than!adding!additional!
layers!of!administration!and!management!–!the!idea!of!a!selfSsustaining!network!
was!well!received.!The!students!also!emphasised!the!need!of!enhancement!work!
to!enable!greater!flexibility!–!automated!lecture!capture!being!one!of!the!things!
they!would!like!to!support.!However,!innovations!have!to!be!useful,!not!just!cool!
–!that!is!to!say,!in!the!phrase!that!emerged!from!the!discussion!–!“awesomely!
usefully!cool”!(and!that!could!become!a!catchphrase!that!we!use!when!talking!
!
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about!Student!Champions).!However,!the!students!expressed!their!concerns!
about!the!availability!of!appropriate!equipment!and!support,!as!well!as!a!
physical!space!to!act!as!a!hub!for!their!work.!They!were!especially!keen!on!there!
being!more!academic!technologists,!easier!to!reach!and!understanding!
disciplinary!contexts!and!needs!in!more!detail.!They!are!keen!to!see!ways!in!
which!the!scheme!may!be!set!up!to!support!academic!rigour,!digital!skills!and!
confidence,!(time!and!space!for)!innovation,!relationships!that!span!across!
stakeholders,!and!coSproduction!skills!with!confidence.!
Out!of!all!of!these!conversations!with!students,!one!clear!message!emerged!that!
sums!up!what!our!approach!should!always!be.!It!can!be!summarized!as:!
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“Expect!great!things,!but!don’t!demand!too!much.”!
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All!of!these!ideas!have!fed!into!the!creation!of!this!report,!the!framework!and!the!
recommended!approach!to!developing!a!Student!Champion!network.!
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We!are!now!supporting!two!very!different!Student!Champion!teams,!one!in!
Classics!(with!the!academic!Clare!Rowan)!and!another!in!Life!Sciences!(building!
upon!the!Digichamps!work!(with!the!academics!Leanne!Williams!and!Kevin!
Moffat,!Student!Experience!experts!Rebecca!Freeman!and!Annunziata!Videtta).!
These!different!projects!offer!quite!different!perspectives!on!how!Student!
Champions!work!in!different!contexts.!We!have!learned!much!from!them!
already,!and!will!continue!to!test!out!the!framework!with!them!as!they!develop.!
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2.#What#is#a#competency#framework#and#how#do#we#develop#
one?#
A#competency#framework#counters#imposter#syndrome#
Competency!is!an!important!measure!of!success!in!personal!and!organisational!
development.!!But!it!is!not!a!simple!concept.!What!do!we!mean!when!we!say!
someone!is!“competent”?!And!how!can!we!translate!that!into!a!framework!of!
“competencies”!that!may!be!used!to!guide!personal!and!organisational!
development!towards!greater!success?!We!can!answer!these!questions!by!
examining!the!relationships!between!trust,!truth,!competency,!competencies!and!
developmental!processes.!This!then!gives!us!key!insights!into!how!we!can!define!
a!range!of!competencies!for!Student!Champions,!with!scope!that!is!both!definite!
but!open!to!many!applications!and!variations!(that!is!to!say,!is!developmental),!
and!which!are!easily!recognized!and!evidenced!–!and!then!how!we!can!help!
students!to!develop!and!apply!those!competencies!in!a!meaningful!way!towards!
outcomes!that!are!of!value!to!the!individual!and!collective!good.!
!
Competency!is!about!trust.!Do!you!feel!competent?!Do!you!trust!yourself?!Do!
people!feel!that!you!are!competent?!Do!they!trust!you?!How!confident!are!you!in!
your!assessment!of!competency?!True!competency!brings!justified!confidence!
and!enables!trust.!It!is!the!foundation!for!successful!people!and!organisations.!In!
recent!times!philosophers!and!sociologists!have!turned!their!attention!back!
towards!competency!as!the!wellSspring!of!social,!psychological!and!ethical!
flourishing.!Richard!Sennett!has!reconsidered!how!the!hardSwon!competency!of!
craftspeople!in!narrow!domains!of!practice!creates!mutual!respect!amongst!
diverse!people!(Sennett,!2009).!Matthew!Crawford!examined!the!satisfaction!to!
be!found!in!competently!fixing!unexpected!breakdowns!in!mechanical!systems!
(Crawford,!2010).!Lucy!Suchman!has!for!many!years!studied!the!ways!in!which!
designers!and!innovators!find!excitement!and!satisfaction!in!competently!
framing,!deconstructing!and!reframing!problems!so!as!to!deal!with!
supercomplex!domains!(Suchman,!2011).!
!
However,!in!academia!all!is!not!quite!so!rosy.!
!
12!
On!a!few!occasions!in!my!work!for!our!Student!Champions!project,!as!well!as!in!
earlier!initiatives,!staff!and!students!have!talked!openly!and!unprompted!about!
what!they!call!“imposter!syndrome”.!This!seems!to!be!a!common!concern,!along!
these!lines:!
!
“Am!I!really!the!person!they!think!I!am?!Have!I!let!them!assume!that!I!am!
more!capable!and!qualified!than!I!really!am?!I!feel!dishonest.!And!I’m!
worried!about!letting!people!down.”!
!
These!feelings!seem!especially!strong!amongst!people!who!are!advocating!
change,!even!more!so!when!they!are!advocating!technologySenhanced!change.!
Academics!seem!especially!wary!of!the!sensation!that!they!are!straying!into!
territory!that!might!cause!such!worries.!I!have!heard!these!thoughts!expressed!
by!even!the!most!successful!of!academics!and!teaching!practitioners.!For!
example,!it!was!a!key!consideration!for!my!work!in!introducing!technology!into!
the!already!very!sophisticated!practices!that!I!encountered!in!the!HEA!funded!
OpenSspace!Learning!in!RealSworld!Contexts!project!(2009S2012).!Why!would!a!
highly!competent!academic,!competent!in!one!form!of!practice!and!knowledge,!
risk!being!seen!as!incompetent!in!another!form!of!practice!and!knowledge?!The!
same!effects!may!occur!in!interdisciplinary!projects!–!and!we!might!consider!a!
technology!enhanced!LTSE!project!to!be!a!kind!of!interdisciplinarity,!between!
several!disciplines!as!well!as!that!of!the!subject!that!is!being!enhanced.!Or!even!a!
more!radical!transdisciplinarity,!transforming!the!disciplinary!matrix.!
!
As!for!students,!my!work!with!Student!Champions!indicates!that!a!minority!are!
able!to!cope!with!imposter!syndrome,!or!are!largely!immune!to!it.!Although!first!
year!undergraduate!students!are!by!definition!novices!in!being!university!
students,!and!we!might!forgive!them!for!uncertainty,!some!of!them!are!able!to!
cope!with!or!completely!avoid!such!feelings.!They!just!get!on!with!conquering!
new!challenges!and!transforming!themselves!in!the!process.!They!seem!to!have!
something!a!little!special!–!a!bravery!and!perhaps!a!naivety,!and!a!calm!
determination!to!develop.!In!feedback!from!staff!working!with!Student!
Champions,!this!“specialness”!is!very!often!the!focus!of!their!views!of!the!
!
13!
students.!What!we!have!to!do!is!look!beyond!the!specialness,!and!consider!
how!we!can!help!all!willing!students!to!be!champions.!Competency!is!the!
key.!
!
In!the!most!successful!cases,!where!students!have!gone!on!from!Student!
Champion!style!roles!to!highly!successful!careers!(with!a!high!degree!of!
entrepreneurship!and!selfSmotivation,!working!in!entirely!new!fields)!their!often!
astonishing!bravery!is!matched!with!a!selfSreflexive!ability!to!assess!their!own!
capabilities!and!plan!to!develop!them!S!or!complement!them!with!other!capable!
individuals.!In!my!interview!with!Arts!ESSquad!graduate!Catherine!Allen!(now!
successful!in!the!app!development!industry),!this!was!obvious.!She!talks!about!a!
point!during!her!first!year!as!an!undergraduate!and!member!of!the!ESSquad!in!
which,!with!a!little!reassurance!from!me,!she!sat!down!and!wrote!a!masterSplan!
for!developing!her!capabilities!and!her!business!(video!production,!developed!
out!of!her!ESSquad!work).!This!had!three!elements:!
!
1. a!clear!comprehension!of!the!capabilities!required!for!the!successful!
development!of!her!enterprise;!
2. a!selfSreflexive!appreciation,!gained!through!practice,!of!her!own!areas!of!
talent!and!her!limitations!(for!example,!she!admits!to!not!being!a!great!
camera!operator);!
3. an!ability!to!recognize!where!she!needed!to!complement!her!own!limited!
capabilities,!matched!with!an!ability!to!network!and!find!good!people!to!
fill!the!gaps!(solution!–!get!connected!to!a!network!of!film!making!
techies).!
!
Catherine!describes!how!she!decided!to!focus!her!energies!on!becoming!a!
producer,!rather!than!trying!to!do!everything.!But!what!is!a!competent!producer!
like?!With!only!a!little!guidance!from!me,!she!set!about!the!task!of!finding!out!–!
the!task!of!defining!and!acquiring!the!competencies!of!a!film!producer!working!
in!the!university!context!and!beyond.!
!
!
14!
But!the!prevalence!of'imposter!syndrome!indicates!that!not!everyone!can!do!this!
all!of!the!time.!Recognized!and!relevant!competency!counters!imposter!
syndrome.!A!sound!recognition!of!one’s!own!competency!in!a!given!domain!of!
action!counters!imposter!syndrome,!or!at!least!gives!appropriate!developmental!
pathways!a!chance!to!be!identified.!But!many!people!find!it!hard!to!get!started!
with!developing!that!selfSunderstanding,!or!even!understanding!how!to!get!that!
sense!of!competency.!At!which!point!the!worries!begin!to!build.!It!is!a!classic!
chickenSegg!problem.!Hence!the!need!for!an!understanding!of!competencies,!
organised!into!an!easily!understood!framework,!to!act!as!a!scaffold!around!which!
people!can!develop!their!own!understandings!and!development!so'as'to'counter'
imposter'syndrome.!
!
So!competency!then!is!in!this!way!opposed!to!imposter!syndrome.!And!therefore!
we!need!to!get!a!better!understanding!of!how!it!works,!so!as!to!effectively!create!
this!framework!of!scaffolding!and!help!people!out!of!the!negative!feedback!loop!
of!negative!thoughts!and!discouraging!experiences.!
!
A!competency!framework’s!main!job!is!to!provide!the!scaffolding!through!
which!people!can!grow!their!capabilities,!to!counter!imposter!syndrome,!
negative!thoughts!and!discouraging!experiences!together.!
“Competency”#defined#
I!will!define!“competency”!and!subsequently!“competencies”!through!the!
common!use!of!the!concept!–!its!application!in!guiding!relationships!and!action.!
!
Trust!is!an!increasingly!essential!component!of!modern!life.!But!in!unfamiliar!
contexts!or!times!of!change!trust!is!hard!to!establish!and!sustain.!At!the!
University!of!Warwick,!I!work!as!a!Senior!Academic!Technologist!in!a!wellS
established!and!widely!respected!team!(the!Academic!Technology!Service).!My!
mission!is!to!persuade!what!seems!to!be!an!infinitely!diverse!population!of!
academics,!support!professionals!and!students!to!adopt!new!practices!and!to!
adapt!their!existing!practices!–!or!at!the!very!least,!to!have!an!openSminded,!
reflective!dialogue!about!practices!and!the!potential!of!technologies!to!enhance!
!
15!
learning,!teaching!and!the!student!experience!(LTSE).!Ideally,!we!would!like!lots!
of!them!to!do!this!together,!adopting!the!best!possible!practices!supported!by!a!
cohesive!and!sustainable!set!of!technologies!and!services.!
!
Much!of!this!dialogue!concerns!the!potential!of!technology!to!enable!greater!
levels!of!flexibility!in!the!“where,!when,!what!and!how”!of!LTSE!–!or!more!
precisely,!achieving!appropriate!levels!and!forms!of!flexibility!in!the!many!
varying!contexts.!For!example,!the!automated!recording!of!lectures!enables!
flexibility!for!the!student!(watch!it!again!later!when!it!may!have!even!more!
impact)!and!the!teacher!(perhaps!don’t!give!the!same!lecture!again,!use!the!time!
for!student!presentations,!“flipping!the!classroom”).!It!might!also!enable!greater!
flexibility!in!room!allocation!and!lecture!scheduling,!if!that!is!appropriate.!!!
!
Another!focus,!which!may!be!in!tension!with!flexibility,!is!the!need!to!develop!
greater!degrees!of!cohesion!and!levels!of!quality!across!the!diverse!learning!
landscapes!of!the!University.!Both!of!these!ambitions!easily!lead!to!difficult!
conversations!with!people!who!should!change!but!have!genuine!(and!imagined)!
reasons!not!to!change.!
!
In!such!changeSseeking!conversations,!the!“senior”!status!in!my!job!title!might!
carry!some!weight.!Add!to!that!the!responsibility!vested!in!my!team!by!the!
University’s!management,!our!extensive!network!of!colleagues!and!supporters,!
our!catalogue!of!successes,!all!communicated!nicely!through!many!different!
media!and!channels.!It!should!build!into!a!convincing!picture!of!competence:!
!
A!competent!person!representing!a!competent!service!using!technologies!
and!techniques!competently!designed!and!applied.!They!have!the!
necessary!knowledge,!skills,!understanding,!techniques,!resources,!values!
and!commitments!(and!there!are!many!other!attributes)!to!do!the!right!
things!in!the!right!way!at!the!right!time.!They!are!competent.!
!
In!other!contexts,!where!the!allegedly!competent!person!is!not!representing!a!
service!(like!the!Academic!Technology!Service),!we!might!replace!the!word!
!
16!
“service”!with!“approach”!or!“profession”!–!“a!competent!person!representing!a!
competent!approach”.!!
!
But!of!course!there!is!more!to!it!than!that.!What!we!have!to!offer!must!fit!with!a!
specific!need!or!ambition!recognized!and!valued!by!the!other!party!in!the!
discussion!–!even!if!that!need!is!just!for!something!interesting!or!different!to!
investigate!(although!with!most!people!the!need!has!to!be!more!pressing).!In!
many!such!conversations!a!glimmer!of!a!need!emerges,!and!the!competent!
academic!technologist!works!with!the!client!to!shape!their!understanding!of!the!
need,!to!tease!out!its!characteristics!and!details!–!but!not!to!force!it!to!match!
some!already!defined!product.!We’re!not!salespeople,!we!are!there!to!help!and!
listen.!
!
Someone!who!listens!to!me,!my!needs!and!my!capabilities,!and!takes!that!
into!account!with!great!consideration!and!care.!
!
If!all!goes!well!trust!is!established!and!the!client!is!prepared!to!handSover!to!the!
academic!technologist!some!of!the!responsibility!for!defining!an!understanding!
of!the!need!and!a!specification!for!the!solution.!Although!it!should!always!be!coS
owned!and!carefully!reconfirmed!along!the!way.!CoSownership!leads!into!
commitment!and!the!necessary!application!of!resources!and!attention!from!
everyone!involved!in!implementing!the!changes.!So!competency!also!indicates!to!
the!client!that!we!are:!
!
A!sound!person!to!whom!I!can!devolve!some!of!my!responsibilities,!to!
share!the!responsibility!and!the!work!with.!
!
Importantly,!in!the!context!of!my!work!as!an!academic!technologist,!those!
handedSover!responsibilities!include!determining'what'to'learn'and'how'to'
develop'as'a'person'(and'sometimes'also'as'a'group'of'people,'perhaps'even'a'
whole'academic'department).!So!for!example!when!an!academic!chooses!to!adopt!
the!Moodle!VLE!they!also!have!to!commit!to!learn!some!new!concepts!and!skills.!
In!reality,!the!scope!and!depth!of!that!learning!emerges!interactively!through!
!
17!
their!own!engagement!with!the!platform,!the!learning!materials!and!events!with!
which!they!connect,!and!the!guidance!provided!by!the!Academic!Technology!
team.!We!aim!to!be!seen!as!competent!sources!of!guidance,!and!hope!that!people!
will!trust!us!enough!to!handSover!the!responsibility!for!designing!their!own!
learning.!We!also!aim!to!choose!technologies!that!are!easily!adopted!without!
onerous!demands!to!follow!training!courses!and!read!manuals.!A!competent!
academic!technologist!is!then:!
!
Someone!who!I!can!trust!to!guide!my!efforts!in!learning!new!things!and!
adopting!new!practices.!
!
In!some!cases!we!achieve!success!in!all!of!these!factors.!Competency!is!accepted,!
trust!is!established,!and!change!occurs!collaboratively!with!satisfactory!results.!
This!may!then!allow!us!to!refine!our!competency,!and!to!spread!the!message!that!
we!are!the!good!guys!to!work!with.!
!
In!a!few!cases!we!just!get!it!wrong,!but!hope!to!learn!from!our!mistakes.!
!
In!other!cases!trust!is!less!easily!won,!and!our!competency!competes!against!
other!influences!and!messages:!colleagues,!students,!rumour,!deliberate!
misinformation!(often!generated!to!promote!inertia)!and!random!sources!from!
the!Internet.!
!
Imagine!the!unstated!subtext!of!such!a!conversation,!what!passes!through!the!
client’s!mind.!All!the!time!they!are!asking!themselves:!
!
Will!this!be!a!horrible!timeSconsuming!can!of!worms?!
!
Perhaps!my!colleagues!will!resent!me!for!upsetting!the!status!quo?!
!
Maybe!there’s!a!better!system!just!on!the!horizon!and!they!don’t!want!me!
to!know!about!it?!
!
!
18!
Do!they!really!know!what!they!are!talking!about?!!
!
They!sound!like!experts,!but!are!they!experts!in!what!really!matters!to!
me?!!
!
Are!they!just!geeks!doing!technology!for!its!own!sake?!
!
Do!they!understand!what!really!matters!to!me?!!
!
Do!they!even!care!about!what!matters!to!me?!!
!
Are!these!guys!really!competent!as!advisors!and!as!technologists?!
!
There!are!many!other!such!worries!capable!of!deterring!adoption.!Often!the!
hoped!for!“openSminded!reflective!conversation”!just!never!gets!to!happen.!
These!and!other!worries!may!simply!block!conscious!attention!from!being!
focussed!in!our!direction.!We!don’t!even!get!a!foot!in!the!door.!
!
Perhaps!we!should!aim!to!eliminate!the!potentially!negative!influences!at!play!in!
these!conversations?!Switch!off!the!Internet.!Stop!the!gossip.!Brainwash!the!
academics!and!students.!Or!at!least!we!could!assert!that!our!competency!in!these!
matters!is!fundamentally!greater!than!that!of!everyone!else?!That!would!
certainly!kill!the!chatter.!But!what!would!we!lose?!!
!
There!are!good!reasons!why!people!seek!information!from!multiple!sources.!
!
Confirmation!of!belief!coming!from!multiple!trusted!sources,!and!compounded!
by!hearing!the!same!message!from!unexpected!sources!(for!example!overheard!
in!a!lift),!gives!a!more!convincing!confirmation.!Humans!are!certaintySseeking!
intelligences.!As!a!consequence,!especially!in!timeSpressured!situations,!trust!
most!often!emerges!from!the!social!field.!And!we!use!these!so!called!“network!
effects”!all!of!the!time.!They!are!the!necessary!short!cuts!in!a!world!of!limited!
opportunity.!The!rumour!of!our!competency!spreads,!sticks!and!grows!through!
!
19!
these!multiSvarious!and!semiSmanaged!channels,!and!may!achieve!great!power!if!
all!goes!in!our!favour.!
!
Secondly,!trust!is!very!much!personal,!based!on!connecting!with!individual!
circumstances.!If!what!I!say!and!do!connects!closely!with!a!person’s!perception!
of!their!own!specific!circumstances!(rather!than!a!case!study!in!a!text!book)!then!
that!helps!to!build!trust.!However,!people!get!to!know!and!enframe!their!own!
circumstances!through!dialogue!and!reflection!with!others.!They!need!that!wider!
network!so!as!to!form!their!ideas!of!what!they!already!do,!what!they!need!to!
change!and!how!they!might!successfully!change.!And!sometimes!that!might!also!
lead!to!what!we!recognize!as!innovation!–!the!dialogue!leads!someone!to!realise!
that!common!solutions!do!not!work!for!them.!By!adapting!to!individuals!and!
their!innovations!we!build!trust!and!appear!more!competent.!!
!
In!these!ways,!trust,!competence!and!innovation!are!fundamentally!social!
processes,!made!more!powerful!by!the!richness!of!the!social!field.!
!
These!considerations!therefore!take!us!beyond!the!competency!of!a!single!
academic!technologist!(no!matter!how!senior)!or!the!team!in!which!they!are!
embedded.!Instead!we!can!see!that!competency!as!a!perceived!and!represented!
attribute!is!a!product!of!something!more!complex:!
!
A!meshwork!of!wellSfounded!mutually!supportive!competent'people,!
covering!all!aspects!of!!the!process!that!leads!to!the!adoption,!
continuation!and!continual!improvement!of!best!practice.!
!
This!is!selfSevident!in!many!fields.!For!example,!the!competency!of!a!doctor!is!
limited!or!amplified!by!the!competency!of!the!wider!health!system!in!which!they!
operate.!
!
But!that!cannot!be!the!whole!story.!Competency!as!described!so!far!is!too!close!
to!reputation.!And!unfortunately,!reputation!is!too!easily!manufactured!through!
the!manipulation!of!mass!media!messages!and!social!networks!–!the!very!same!
!
20!
network!effects!that!help!us!to!build!trust!amongst!timeSpressured!people.!We!
should,!for!example,!be!concerned!if!our!doctor’s!reputation!for!competence!is!
based!upon!their!ability!to!use!Facebook.!But!that!rarely!happens.!We!assume!
that!the!professional!status!of!the!doctor!implies!that!their!competency!is!filtered!
and!directed!by!their!training!and!accreditation.!Surely!they!have!passed!all!the!
tests,!have!been!assessed!and!qualified!by!a!competent!authority!–!one!assumes!
a!medical!school!approved!by!the!General!Medical!Council!or!some!international!
equivalent?!
!
The!competence!of!professionals!is,!we!assume,!based!upon!verifiable!truths!
about!their!abilities!–!certainties!about!how!they!can!and!will!apply!knowledge,!
experience,!wisdom,!understanding,!techniques!and!technologies!to!do!the!right!
things!in!the!right!way!at!the!right!time.!We!assume!that!competency!is!based!
upon:!
!
CriticalSreflective!processes!that!counter!selfSinterest!and!errorS
amplifying!network!effects.!
!
Competency!then!is!about!truth!as!well!as!trust.!
The#definition#
A!more!extensive!definition!has!now!been!constructed:!
!
A!competent!person!representing!a!competent!service!using!technologies!
and!techniques!competently!designed!and!applied.!They!have!the!
necessary!knowledge,!skills,!understanding,!techniques,!resources,!values!
and!commitments!(and!there!are!many!other!attributes)!to!do!the!right!
things!in!the!right!way!at!the!right!time.!Someone!who!listens!to!me,!my!
needs!and!my!capabilities,!and!takes!that!into!account!with!great!
consideration!and!care.!A!sound!person!to!whom!I!can!devolve!some!of!
my!responsibilities,!to!share!the!responsibility!and!the!work!with.!
Someone!who!I!can!trust!to!guide!my!efforts!in!learning!new!things!and!
adopting!new!practices.!They!are!competent.!And!they!are!backedSup!by!a!
!
21!
meshwork!of!wellSfounded!mutually!supportive!competent'people,!
covering!all!aspects!of!!the!process!that!leads!to!the!adoption,!
continuation!and!continual!improvement!of!best!practice.!Plus,!they!use!
and!are!embedded!within!criticalSreflective!processes!that!counter!selfS
interest!and!errorSamplifying!network!effects,!so!as!to!ensure!that!the!
perception!of!competency!is!wellSfounded.!
!
In!an!ideal!world,!this!is!what!we!want!Student!Champions!to!be!seen!as!–!or!to!
develop!towards!this!status.!And!we!want!Student!Champions!to!believe!in!
themselves!as!being!competent!(or!developing!competency)!in!these!ways.!We!
might!go!further!and!argue!that!we!would!like!all!students!to!be!like!this.!
The#problem#of#“wicked”#competencies#in#employability#
!
The!challenge!of!describing!a!framework!of!competencies!for!Student!Champions!
is!similar!to!the!challenge!of!describing!a!framework!of!competencies!for!
employable!graduates,!and!the!same!as!the!challenge!of!constructing!a!
framework!for!enterprising!graduates.!
!
And!this!is!where!it!gets!complicated.!So!far,!competency!has!been!treated!as!
something!that!we!accept!as!present!in!a!person,!people!and!their!systems.!A!
kind!of!threshold!that!our!feelings!towards!them!may!pass,!unlocking!new!
possibilities!for!collaboration.!It!is!a!belief.!But!now!we!need!it!to!become!a!
justified!belief.!And!we!need!to!ensure!that!it!may!be!a!justified!belief!for!people!
to!hold!even!when!they!haven’t!got!time!to!check!it!out!in!person!(as!is!most!
often!the!case).!It!needs!to!be!quickly!and!enduringly!convincing.!Reputation!
soundly!founded!in!truth!and!accuracy.!To!achieve!that!quality,!it!needs!to!be!
recognizable!to!everyone!(using!it!as!a!basis!for!judgement),!and!observable!and!
testable!to!some!(who!imbue!the!individual!with!the!mark!of!competency)!–!
including!the!individual!themselves.!This!is!the!case!for!Student!Champions,!as!
for!the!employability!of!graduates!in!any!field.!
!
!
22!
As!described!above,!competency!is!an!attribute!that!we!assign!to!people!when!
we!want!them!to!take!some!of!our!work,!our!responsibilities,!off!us.!In!the!case!
described!above,!that!of!the!academic!technologist!working!with!staff!and!
students!to!change!practice,!we!can!try!to!divideSup!the!work!and!
responsibilities!into!discrete!tasks,!each!requiring!different!sets!of!knowledge,!
understanding,!experience,!techniques,!attitudes!etc.!For!example,!we!expect!the!
advisor!to!understand!our!needs,!our!capabilities,!our!existing!practices!–!as!well!
as!the!other!people!who!will!be!effected!by!the!proposed!changes.!We!expect!
them!to!understand!the!available!technologies!and!their!fit!(or!misfit)!with!these!
needs!and!capabilities,!and!to!understand!how!to!arrange!features,!workflows!
and!interconnections!into!solutions!that!might!work,!might!be!sustained!and!
might!lead!to!further!enhancement.!Just!as!importantly,!we!expect!the!academic!
technologist!to!be!aware!of!when!the!method!and!the!solution!are!not!working,!
or!not!fitting!quite!right.!This!is!just!a!small!subset!of!what!is!expected!of!
academic!technologists,!but!already!it!is!quite!daunting.!But!to!get!to!a!sound,!
evidence!based,!sense!of!the!academic!technologist’s!competency,!we!might!
think!that!we!need!to!be!able!to!make!all!of!the!important!aspects!of!their!work!
observable!and!testable.!But!as!already!described,!competency!sits!within!a!
meshwork!of!various!people!and!systems.!So!to!be!certain!it!seems!that!we!need!
to!get!the!full!picture,!and!then!deduct!the!areas!of!competency,!the!specific!
competencies!and!levels!of!competency!that!an!academic!technologist!and,!
importantly!for!this!report,!a!student!champion,!would!want!to!attain!in!the!
whole!system.!What!are!they!responsible!for?!
!
However!as!will!be!seen,!there!is!a!danger!that!in!making!all!of!this!observable!
and!testable,!we!create!a!monster!–!an!inflexible!and!overScomplicated!system!
that!demands!continual!bureaucratic!and!technocratic!resources.!Perhaps!even!a!
vast!document!specifying!all!of!the!complexity,!making!it!recognisable!through!
examples,!and!giving!criteria!through!which!a!persons!approximation!towards!
the!many!competencies!may!be!assessed.!!That!isn’t!what!we!want.!We!need!this!
framework!to!be!usable!now!and,!through!its!continual!adaptation!and!
reinvention,!in!the!future.!
!
!
23!
Fortunately!there!are!other!ways!to!ensure!the!effective!workings!of!“criticalS
reflective!processes!that!counter!selfSinterest!and!errorSamplifying!network!
effects,!so!as!to!ensure!that!the!perception!of!competency!is!wellSfounded.”!!
!
These!other,!lower!cost,!ways!also!need!to!conquer!what!has!been!called!the!
“wickedness”!(explained!below)!of!the!most!valuable!competencies!(Knight!&!
Page,!2007;!Reedy!&!Mordaunt,!2010).!And!as!will!be!demonstrated,!cost!(in!
terms!of!technical!and!bureaucratic!resource)!tends!to!increase!as!an!ineffective!
response!to!this!wickedness.!We!therefore!need!an!approach!to!the!required!
competencySassuring!“criticalSreflective!processes”!that!avoids!unsustainable!
and!unnecessary!cost.!
!
In!reality!it!turns!out!that!there!is!a!significant!gulf!between!what!is!required!of!a!
student!in:!
doing!very!simple,!preSdetermined,!procedural!tasks!for!relatively!low!
pay!and!little!developmental!reward!–for!example,!copying!content!from!
one!location!to!another;!
and!
being!a!Student!Champion,!embedded!into!and!having!a!positive!effect!
upon!the!change!processes!of!a!complex!institution.!
!
In!the!first!case,!competency!with!simple!procedural!tasks!requires!lower!level!
abilities!to!repeat!behaviours,!perhaps!with!some!predetermined!variations,!and!
a!minimal!degree!of!selfSmonitoring!to!ensure!that!the!process!is!being!applied!
accurately.!We!can!easily!define!the!competency!and!create!simple!tests!to!
ensure!that!the!required!level!of!accuracy!is!achieved.!But!at!that!level!of!
simplicity!we!might!decide!that!testing!is!simply!not!worthwhile!–!and!
furthermore!we!risk!insulting!the!intelligence!of!students!with!such!an!approach.!
We!need!to!carefully!pitch!the!level!of!training!and!testing!to!ensure!that!the!
required!skills!are!developed,!but!without!patronizing!students!–!experience!will!
tell!us!where!the!line!should!be!drawn.quire!
!
!
24!
In!the!latter!case!(working!as!change!agents),!variation!increases!exponentially.!
As!already!described,!far!more!sophisticated!capabilities!are!demanded:!
information!gathering,!processing,!synthesis,!storySmaking,!creating!testable!
conjectures!and!testing!in!nonSintrusive!ways!and!so!on.!And!furthermore,!such!
complex!work!is!best!tackled!in!teams,!thus!introducing!further!challenges!of!
communication,!dialogue!and!understanding.!And!as!different!people!will!be!
involved!in!different!project,!or!worse!still!the!personnel!in!a!single!project!may!
change!over!time,!the!styles!and!methods!used!for!this!group!work!will!vary!in!
unpredictable!ways!across!projects.!Then!add!to!that!the!dangers!of!“group!
think”!and!the!need!to!guard!against!“cognitive!bias”!and!“skilled!incompetence”!
(defined!by!Chris!Argyris!as!the!tendency!of!experts!to!do!some!things!really!
well,!but!to!end!up!doing!the!wrong!things!because!they!are!expert!in!them).!We!
end!up!with!a!high!degree!of!complexity.!Or!as!Ron!Barnett!might!say,!
supercomplexity!(Barnett,!2000).!To!deduct!from!this!a!set!of!competencies!that!
are!right!for!Student!Champions,!and!can!be!easily!recognized,!observed!and!
tested!for,!is!quite!a!challenge.!But!we!can!try.!
!
Beyond!the!more!straightforwardly!technical!aspects!(which!form!one!level),!the!!
competencies!required!to!operate!successfully!in!such!work!are!what!Peter!
Knight!and!Anna!Page!(Open!University,!UK)!have!called!“wicked!competencies”,!
following!Jeff!Conklin’s!definition!of!“wicked!problems”!(reported!by!Knight!&!
Page!as):!
!
1. The!problem!is!not!understood!until!after!formulation!of!a!solution.!!
2. Stakeholders!have!radically!different!world!views!and!different!frames!for!
understanding!the!problem.!!
3. Constraints!and!resources!to!solve!the!problem!change!over!time.!!
4. The!problem!is!never!solved.!!
!
The!problem!of!defining!higherSlevel!competencies!for!Student!Champions!is!
certainly!wicked!in!Conklin’s!terms.!
!
!
25!
In!their!paper!on!“The!Assessment!of!Wicked!Problems”,!Knight!and!Page!are!
concerned!with!assessing!students!for!the!kinds!of!competencies!that!graduateS
level!employers!say!they!value.!They!draw!upon!a!range!of!sources!that!aim!to!
describe!such!attributes!as!demanded!by!employers!(including!Harvey!et'al.!
1997;!Yorke,!1999;!Brenna!et'al.!2001).!Typical!terms!identified!by!those!sources!
include:!
!
Knowledge;!intellect;!willingness!to!learn;!selfSmanagement!skills;!
communication!skills;!teamSworking;!interpersonal!skills;!oral!
communication;!handling!one's!own!work!load;!teamSworking;!managing!
others;!getting!to!the!heart!of!problems;!critical!analysis;!summarising;!group!
problemSsolving;!being!able!to!work!under!pressure;!commitment;!working!
varied!hours;!dependability;!imagination/creativity;!getting!on!with!people;!
willingness!to!learn;!initiative;!working!independently;!working!under!
pressure;!accuracy,!attention!to!detail;!time!management;!adaptability;!
working!in!a!team;!taking!responsibility!and!decisions;!planning;!
coordinating;!organizing.!!
!
An!extensive!and!certainly!not!exhaustive!list!of!the!kinds!of!intuitively!
meaningful!but!hardStoSmeasure!attributes!that!frequently!appear!in!appraisal!
meetings!and!personalSdevelopment!plans,!and!which!universities!seek!to!
mirror!in!“graduate!attribute!frameworks”!(see!the!Warwick’s!latest!framework!
specification!included!in!the!appendices!at!the!end!of!this!document).!As!Gabriel!
Reedy!and!Jill!Mourdant!note!in!their!HEA!report!on!“Assessing!‘Wicked!
Competences’!at!a!Distance”!(2010),!realSworld!work!contexts!are!hard!to!
understand,!even!for!experts!working!within!them.!Identifying!with!any!
precision!what'about'a'person’s'actions'really'makes'the'difference'between'
success'and'failure!is!not!an!easy!task.!For!example,!they!consider!group!work,!
which:!
!
“…in!the!real!world!of!business,!is!rarely!a!simple!and!structured!
experience!with!clearly!laidSout!tasks!and!an!inSbuilt,!atSaSglance!
management!system.”!(Reedy!&!Mourdant,!2010)!
!
26!
!
Work!is!in!reality!more!adBhoc!and!mixedSup.!And!that!is!why!it!can!be!so!hard!to!
derive!a!clear,!simple!and!final!set!of!competencies!through!an!examination!of!
real!people!working!in!real!contexts.!We!end!up!with!lots!of!quite!vague!
attributes!that!are!illSdefined!and!mean!different!things!to!different!people!in!
different!contexts.!As!Knight!and!Page!argue,!they!are!hard!to!assess!reliably,!and!
impossible!to!assess!through!traditional!highSstakes!tests!(especially!attributes!
that!relate!to!risk!taking).!John!Biggs!and!Catherine!Tang!(in!Teaching'for'Quality'
Learning'at'University)!take!this!as!evidence!that!a!more!sophisticated!approach!
to!“graduate!outcomes”!(as!opposed!to!“attributes”)!is!required,!with!
specifications!linking!disciplines!to!realSworld!requirements!and!constructively'
aligned!assessment.!And!most!importantly,!they!say,!these!specifications!need!to!
be!actively!reviewed!and!refreshed!(Biggs!&!Tang,!2011:!p.115).!In!this!enlarged!
sense,!constructive!alignment!(Biggs’!big!idea)!requires!an!alignment!of!course!
objectives,!teaching!and!learning,!assessment!and!realSworld!competencies.!
Flipping#the#problem#in#enterprise#education#
Knight!and!Page!recommend!selfSassessment!and!peerSassessment,!especially!
through!the!use!of!portfolios,!as!a!better!mechanism!for!gaining!a!feel!for!wicked!
competencies.!Through!recording,!reflection!and!dialogue,!an!understanding!of!
the!competencies!develops!in!context,!alongside!an!evidence!base!concerning!the!
individual!and!the!opportunities!that!allow!them!to!develop!competencies.!An!
essential!part!of!this!should!be!an!additional!reflective!evaluation!of!the!
relationship!between!such!opportunities!(in!formal!or!informal!education)!and!
in!other!contexts!(such!as!specific!work!contexts).!!
!
In!recent!years!the!idea!of!the!eSportfolio!has!become!wellSknown,!but!not!
necessarily!wellSadopted.!The!problem!is!that!we!need!more!than!just!the!
platform!to!achieve!its!successful!integration!into!personal!and!organizational!
development.!We!need!the!additional!developmental!dialogue!described!above!
to!take!place,!between!the!student!in!their!context!and!representatives!from!
other!contexts!who!can!help!refine!competencies!and!the!understanding!of!them,!
!
27!
and!the!opportunities!and!evidence!that!we!use!to!make!sense!of!the!actions!(of!
all!participants)!developmentally.!
!
In!the!domain!of!enterprise'education,!which!in!reality!is!a!hybrid!between!
education,!personal!development!and!business!development!(for!real),!there!
seems!to!be!a!natural!route!into!kickSstarting!this!dialogue:!it!begins!with!a!
definite!but!flexible!model!for!how!success!is!achieved!(how!an!enterprise!
succeeds),!works!out!the!actions!and!roles!that!people!need!to!be!perform!to!
achieve!success!following!that!model,!and!deduces!knowledge,!skills,!techniques,!
values,!attitudes!–!all!the!elements!of!competencies!–!that!are!needed!for!those!
roles!and!actions.!From!the!outset!of!this!project!we!have!been!struck!by!the!
similarities!with!work!currently!being!done!to!develop!a!model!for!enabling!
student!enterprise!at!Warwick.!The!reason!for!this!synergy!is!now!obvious.!They!
have!started!with!a!clear!model!of!how!enterprises!develop,!worked!out!the!roles!
necessary!for!it!to!work!across!several!different!university!initiatives!(each!
producing!many!different!enterprise!opportunities)!and!are!learning!about!the!
competencies!required!for!those!roles!–!building!knowledge!of!competencies!as!
embedded!in!real!roles!as!part!of!real!enterprises.!Enterprise!education!expert!
Nigel!Sykes!(formerly!of!the!Warwick!Business!School)!is!facilitating!the!
developments,!but!all!the!time!he!is!listening!and!learning,!acting!as!the!person!
who!records!and!refines!what!is!learned!and!created!through!the!work!of!the!
student!enterprise!network.2!
!
In!a!very!different!context!we!can!see!something!similar!in!action!–!albeit!far!
more!mature!in!its!development!and!application!on!a!national!scale.!The!
education!of!doctors!in!the!UK!is!overseen!by!the!General!Medical!Council!(GMC).!
The!GMC’s!Tomorrow’s'Doctors!(2009)!framework!is!a!sophisticated!and!
evidenceSbased!specification!for!the!many!competencies!that!are!expected!of!
practicing!doctors.!It!is!valueSled,!but!not!overSprescriptive!as!to!the!
opportunities!and!methods!that!are!used!to!develop!doctors!with!the!required!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2!An!earlier!version!of!the!Sykes!model!is!available!online!as!a!working!paper!at:!
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/research/ei/research/working_pape
rs/wp92.pdf!!
!
28!
competencies.!It!leaves!much!open!to!the!institution!and!the!individual,!thus!
enabling!a!reflective,!developmental!and!innovative!dialogue!to!emerge!at!the!
institutional!and!systemSwide!level,!and!for!individuals!to!create!their!own!
personal!approach!to!being!a!doctor!(which!is!a!necessarily!diverse!profession).!
It!works!well!because!despite!all!of!the!diversity!there!are,!at!its!core,!shared!
process!models!as!to!how!success!is!achieved,!with!various!roles!that!may!be!
played!in!the!overall!system!by!different!doctors,!or!in!some!cases,!by!a!single!
person!with!multiple!roles.!That!common!core!acts!as!the!pivot!point!for!the!
many!dialogues!that!enrich!our!health!system.!
!
In!both!of!these!cases!a!kind!of!“flipping!the!classroom”!has!occurred.!The!
teacher!no!longer!has!to!be!the!sage!on!the!stage!regarding!roles,!competencies!
and!their!coherent!development!(at!a!personal!and!organisational!level).!By!
starting!at!a!systems!and!processes!level,!with!a!shared!model!and!an!open!
dialogue!involving!the!right!people!(including!students),!the!responsibility!for!
fleshingSout!the!competencies!in!a!framework!is!distributed!across!the!
community!and!its!extended!network.!
!
And!that!is!how!to!develop!a!competency!framework.!
!
A#balanced#framework#that#works#for#everyone#
In!the!case!of!the!Student!Champions,!we!can!start!with!a!common!model!
describing!the!process!that!leads!to!success!–!if!we!define!success!as!something!
like!“more!widespread!adoption!of!technologySenhanced!LTSE!practices!that!
create!greater!coherence,!flexibility!and!innovation”!(this!is!developed!further!in!
the!next!section!of!the!report).!It!is!a!model!that!can!be!directed!through!the!lens!
of!a!relatively!consensual!set!of!values,!and!developed!in!a!dialogue!with!quite!a!
closeSknit!university!community.!Our!only!real!limitation!comes!from!the!timeS
pressured!existence!that!most!university!people!live!–!especially!those!most!
likely!to!have!valuable!insights!for!the!rest!of!the!community.!In!section!5!on!
“how!to![self]organize!our!champions”!consideration!is!given!as!to!how!we!can!
make!this!dialogue!easier!and!more!efficient.!
!
29!
!
However,!a!word!of!caution!is!necessary.!By!developing!the!Student!Champions!
competency!framework!to!fit!with!a!model!that!is!designed!to!serve!the!interests!
of!the!University,!and!consequently!to!develop!Student!Champions!along!those!
lines,!we!might!lose!one!of!the!key!benefits!of!such!a!scheme:!the!development!of!
transferable!competencies,!or!at!least!the!development!of!students!who!are!
flexible!enough!to!transfer!learning!and!accelerate!new!learning!in!new!contexts.!
For!example,!an!overSemphasis!on!universitySspecific!processes!and!systems,!
without!a!corresponding!focus!on!the!competencies!involved!in!adapting!to!
specific!systems.!At!which!point!the!scheme!my!descend!into!serving!only!the!
interests!of!the!University,!perhaps!not!even!the!wider!higher!education!sector,!
and!certainly!not!the!many!other!kinds!of!organisation!and!industry!into!which!
our!graduates!might!graduate.!!
!
An!additional!level!of!dialogue!is!needed!to!question!the!relationship!between!
the!Student!Champions!competency!framework!(and!its!underlying!process!
model)!and!other!contexts.!Some!initial!work!has!been!done!along!these!lines.!
Nigel!Sykes!has!been!an!invaluable!collaborator!from!the!enterprise!business!
perspective.!Catherine!Allen!has!also!provided!essential!advice!from!a!creative!
digital!industries!perspective.!Catherine!has!the!advantage!of!having!once!been!a!
Student!Champion!(in!the!Arts!ESSquad),!and!is!ideally!situated!to!join!the!
dialogue.!This!also!illustrates!how!a!virtuous!circle!may,!over!time,!emerge!–!
with!Student!Champion!alumni!feeding!back!into!the!development!of!the!
competencies,!the!model!and!our!support!approach.!We!also!should!not!rule!out!
the!input!of!the!Student!Champions!themselves,!who!can!actively!research!and!
develop!the!connections!between!the!Student!Champion!scheme!and!other!
domains.!It!was!suggested!by!one!of!the!student!participants!at!the!first!coS
design!workshop!in!the!summer!of!2015!that!a!conference!should!be!held,!
organised!by!students,!to!share!experiences!and!knowledge!about!technologies!
and!the!process!through!which!they!are!designed,!developed,!adopted!and!
adapted.!
!
!
30!
Finally,!I!should!add!that!the!development!of!the!model!and!the!competency!
framework!is!already!being!informed!by!work!from!a!wide!range!of!disciplines,!
professions!and!industries.!My!own!recently!completed!PhD!research!examined!
the!synergies!between!the!designSinnovation!domain!(theory!and!practice)!and!
higher!education.!The!model!presented!in!this!report!was!first!developed!from!
that!research!project,!as!a!synthesis!of!some!of!the!most!influential!ideas!from!a!
range!of!fields!including:!
!
•
Design!Thinking!(in!the!work!of!the!IDEO!company,!and!more!broadly!
from!design!researchers!such!as!Nigel!Cross,!Richard!Buchanan,!Lucy!
Suchman,!Bryan!Lawson).!
•
Emotionally!Durable!Design!–!as!defined!by!Jonathan!Chapman.!
•
Diffusion!of!Innovations!–!especially!the!work!of!Everett!Rogers.!
•
Organisational!research!–!Chris!Argyris!and!Donald!Schön!and!their!
“double!loop!learning”!model.!
•
The!dynamic!capabilities!based!approach!to!enterprise!development!–!
David!Teece.!
•
Cognitive!bias!research!–!Richard!Thaler,!Carl!Sunstein,!Daniel!Kahneman.!
!
A!full!bibliography!is!available!online!from!http://www.inspireslearning.com!!
!
!
!
!
31!
3.#What#do#we#want#to#enhance#and#why?#
!
As!demonstrated!above,!the!Student!Champions!Competency!Framework!is!more!
effectively!derived,!applied!and!further!developed!if!it!is!based!around!a!clear!
and!appropriate!model!describing!how!we!achieve!our!aims.!But!what!are!those!
aims?!What!is!it!that!we!want!to!change,!to!enhance,!and!why?!Answering!these!
questions!is!essential!for!deriving!the!competency!framework!and!for!giving!
purpose!to!the!work!of!Student!Champions!within!a!broader,!strategicallyS
aligned,!context.!
!
Put!in!simple!terms,!we!are!concerned!here!with!the!enhancement!of!the!
practices!that!are!used!in!learning,!teaching!and!the!student!experience!(LTSE).!
But!by!“practices”!we!mean!the!arrangements!of!people,!techniques,!
technologies,!spaces,!resources!and!services!to!enable!the!best!possible!LTSE!
across!the!whole!institution.!And!that!is!a!very!broad!collection,!encompassing!
much!of!what!happens!in!the!University!and!beyond.!Even!getting!a!firm!
definition!of!the!boundaries!of!LTSE!is!not!straightforward.!For!example,!many!of!
the!enhancement!projects!that!I!have!supported!in!our!Arts!Faculty,!especially!in!
the!History!and!Classics!departments,!have!spanned!seamlessly!across!practices!
that!would!in!other!disciplines!remain!quite!separate.!Many!of!these!projects!
would!now!be!classifies!as!“digital!humanities”.!They!see!students!using!exactly!
the!same!methods,!working!with!the!same!materials,!as!research!staff.!Students!
are!directly!involved!in!live!research,!not!just!through!extraScurricula!projects,!
but!as!integrated!directly!into!formally!assessed!coursework.!
Three#core#ambitions#for#LTSE#enhancement#
Instead!of!attempting!to!enumerate!all!of!the!possible!aspects!of!LTSE!upon!
which!enhancement!activities!might!focus,!we!have!taken!a!more!dynamic!
strategy!for!describing!the!kinds!of!work!that!Student!Champions,!and!indeed!all!
those!involved!in!enhancement!projects,!might!undertake.!In!practice!our!focus!
is!determined!by!localScollective!strategy!(the!Extended!Classroom!set!of!
technologies!and!techniques!described!below).!But!as!a!generic!and!transferable!
tool!which!will!help!us!over!time,!it!helps!to!take!a!higherSlevel!approach.!We!
!
32!
have!therefore!divided!this!up!into!three!themes!that!should!complement!each!
other,!but!which!can!sometimes!come!into!conflict.!!Each!of!the!themes!
represents!a!set!of!highSlevel!ambitions!–!the!fundamental!motivations!that!
should!drive!LTSE!enhancement!projects.!These!very!highSlevel!categories!will!
make!it!easier!for!Student!Champions!to!recognize!the!contributions!that!they!
are,!or!could!be,!making!–!recognized!following!a!common!meaningful!schema!
that!goes!beyond!the!diverse!fine!detail!of!LTSE!practice!and!enhancement!
projects.!This!represents!the!first!aspect!of!the!overarching!model!around!
which!the!competency!framework!is!built.!The!categories!have!been!tested!
with!a!wide!range!of!students!and!staff,!and!as!part!of!the!initial!Student!
Champions!coSdesign!workshop!in!the!summer!of!2015.!They!are!recognizable!
and!meaningful.!The!themes!are:!
!
A. Achieve!appropriate!flexibility!for!students!and!staff.!
B. Ensure!coherence,!quality!and!fairness!for!students!and!staff.!
C. Enable!opportunity!for!pedagogic!innovation!and!new!signature!
pedagogies.!!
!
We!believe!that!these!highSlevel!categories!are!generically!applicable!across!
educational!institutions.!We!also!believe!that!specific!enhancement!objectives!
and!methods!(e.g.!“improve!the!quality!and!impact!of!feedback!and!feedS
forwards”)!may!be!considered!in!and!across!these!highSlevel!terms.!We!should!
now!look!at!each!of!these!in!a!little!more!detail,!before!considering!how!Student!
Champions!may!contribute,!and!then!moving!on!to!infer!some!basic!
competencies!that!they!require.!
A.#Achieve#appropriate#flexibility#for#students#and#staff#
Our!current!work!on!Student!Champions!(2014S2015)!has!been!undertaken!
under!the!umbrella!of!the!HEA’s!Flexible!Learning!Strategic!Enhancement!
Programme!and!our!response!to!FLSEP,!the!Extended!Classroom!initiative.!In!his!
report!for!the!HEA!on!the!“Conditions!of!Flexibility!–!Securing!a!More!Responsive!
Higher!Education!System”,!Ron!Barnett!states!that:!
!
!
33!
“At!the!heart!of!the!flexible!learning!agenda!is!the!notion!of!student!choice'
in!how,!when,!where,!what!and!at!what!pace!they!learn.”!(Barnett,!2014:!
p25)!
!
Life!today!is!in!many!ways!more'flexible.!I!am!writing!this!sitting!in!a!café!using!
wifi,!fitting!some!writing!into!the!gap!that!I!have!before!a!medical!appointment.!
Recent!research!undertaken!by!Warwick!Business!School!(WBS)!has!shown!how!
most!of!their!students!work!in!such!a!flexible!manner,!and!demand!systems!that!
enable!flexibility!–!students!life!is!busy!and!mobile,!greater!flexibility!helps!them!
to!get!the!most!out!of!their!opportunities.!
!
This!is!not!however!to!call!for!a!freeSforSall!of!unlimited!flexibility!–!whatever!the!
student!wants,!whenever!they!want!it.!Barnett!lists!15!“conditions!of!flexibility”!
(Barnett,!2014:!p.9S10)!–!that!is!to!say,!enabling!constraints.!The!15!points!
identify!what'the'move'to'greater'flexibility'should'ensure!–!or,!what'we'should'
make'sure'we'don’t'lose.!We!will!repeat!them!here,!as!they!should!inform!our!
work!with!Student!Champions,!and!the!thinking!and!acting!of!the!Student!
Champions!themselves.!Barnett’s!list!is,!in!full:!
!
1. lead!to!a!qualification!that!contributes!to!major!awards!(such!as!degrees!
or!their!equivalent);!!!
2. offer!all!students!access!to!suitable!materials!and!appropriate!cognitive!
and!practical!experiences;!!!!
3. offer!academic!interaction!with!other!students;!!!
4. offer!access!to!tutors,!in!realStime!interaction;!!!
5. offer!prompt!and!informative!(formative)!feedback!from!tutors;!!!
6. offer!access!to!other!academic!services!(such!as!counselling,!academic!
and!careers!!advice);!!!
7. offer!financial!services!(appropriate!to!the!cost!to!students!in!financing!
their!studies);!!!
8. enable!students!to!offer!feedback!on!their!total!experience;!!!
9. provide!a!pedagogical!openness;!!!
10. be!academically!and!educationally!structured;!!!
!
34!
11. offer!ladder(s)!of!progression;!!!
12. !be!suitably!robust!and!reliable!(with!builtSin!safeguards!appropriate!to!
the!risk);!!!
13. be!costSeffective;!!!
14. have!sufficient!structure!so!as!to!enable!student!completion!to!be!a!likely!
outcome;!!!
15. contain!sufficient!challenge!that!students!are!likely!to!be!cognitively!and!
experientially!!stretched!and!to!be!informed!by!a!spirit!of!criticality!
appropriate!to!each!stage!of!a!programme!of!studies!(so!as!fully!to!realise!
the!promise!of!a!higher!education).!!!
!
Much!of!this!should!and!perhaps!can!only!be!addressed!at!an!institutional!level,!
as!part!of!a!strategic!change!programme.!However,!there!is!much!to!be!
interpreted!and!workedSout!at!the!local!and!institutional!level.!Barnett!makes!a!
distinction!between!“system!level”!and!“pedagogic!level”!flexibility!–!between!
flexibility!in!how!teaching!and!learning!happens!in!the!classroom!and!beyond,!
and!the!enablements!and!constraints!imposed!by!institutional!systems!and!rules!
(for!example,!how!degrees!are!constructed).!He!tells!us!that:!
!
“A!fundamental!distinction!lies!between!systems'flexibility!and!
pedagogical'flexibility!and!these!two!forms!of!flexibility!play!out!in!
complex!ways,!being!both!complementary!to!and!in!tension!with!each!
other.”!(Barnett,!2014:!p.8)!
!
Responding!to!the!conditions!for!flexibility!demands!much!redesign!and!
innovation.!It!also!requires!careful!design!thinking!–!especially!concerning!the!!
interaction!between!systems!and!pedagogy.!Barnett!tell!us!that:!
!
“…flexibility!is!not!an!absolute!good.!Educational!risks!attach!to!the!
injection!of!a!greater!measure!of!flexibility!and!so!its!pursuance!and!
moves!in!that!direction!have!all!the!time!to!be!subject!to!evaluation.!“!
(Barnett,!2014:!p.7)!
!
!
35!
We!interpret!this!as!meaning!that!the!campaign!for!increasing!flexibility!actually!
needs!to!be!a!design!process!in!search!of!appropriate'flexibility.!
!
Thinking!back!to!the!exploration!of!“competency”!in!section!1!above,!we!can!see!
how!it!might!be!difficult!to!make!a!convincing!case!for!competency!in!this!search!
for!appropriate!flexibility.!We!are!still!learning!about!flexibility,!and!there!are!
often!no!easy!answers.!And!furthermore,!as!techniques!and!technologies!evolve,!
so!will!the!opportunities!for!and!!subsequent!challenges!of!flexibility.!However,!
we!might!make!a!claim!to!being!competent!in!undertaking!the!design!process!
that!leads!to!more!appropriate!flexibility,!and!which!builds!upon!knowledge!
gained!in!that!process.!!
!
Student!Champions!can!help!with!this!in!two!ways.!!
!
Firstly,!they!can!take!principles!on!board!and!keep!them!in!mind!when!coS
developing!projects!with!academic!staff!–!most'importantly,'they'can'bring'the'
student'perspective'to'the'development'of'projects,'but'also'empathise'with'other'
perspectives'(such'as'those'of'teachers'and'service'professionals)'and'communicate'
that'broader'understanding'back'to'the'wider'student'population.!This!empathic!
process!of!mutual!understanding!could!then!feed!into!wider!studentSteacher!
interactions,!including!StaffSStudent!Liaison!Committees.!At!Warwick,!as!with!
many!other!institutions,!the!rollSout!of!automated!lecture!recording!using!
systems!like!Echo!360!is!currently!a!hot!topic.!Many!students!would!like!to!have!
every!lecture!recorded!and!available!online!as!fast!as!possible.!This!clearly!would!
increase!flexibility!for!students.!But!for!teachers!there!are!understandably!real!
issues!and!worries!to!be!addressed.!The!design!dialogues!is,!with!the!input!of!
students!(as!part!of!our!Lecture!Capture!User!Group),!building!mutual!
understanding!and!working!towards!compromises!and!designs.!
!
Student!Champions!may!then!help!in!a!second!very!significant!way,!helping!
us!to!interpret!the!conditions,for,flexibility!in!relation!to!our!institution,!its!
people!and!their!existing!practices.!!!At!Warwick!this!process!is!well!
underway.!We!have!interpreted!the!flexibility!agenda!into!an!achievable,!
!
36!
institutionSrelevant,!easily!understood,!widely!accepted!initiative:!the!Extended!
Classroom.!Students!are!beginning!to!work!with!us!in!a!wider!network!to!help!
academics,!professional!support!staff!to!interpret!!and!apply!this!in!their!many!
different!contexts!–!as!both!individual!incremental!implementations!and!as!
larger!(department,!faculty)!level!strategies.!
!
The!Extended!Classroom!is!an!institutionSwide!initiative,!bringing!together!
professional!services!and!academic!departments!at!Warwick.!It!has!involved!
events!and!communications!activities!that!reSframe!technologies,!spaces,!
practices!and!services!in!clear!and!simple!terms,!to!emphasise!their!value!in!
enhancing!LTSE.!It!is!also!in!part!a!response!to!Barnett’s!warning:!
!
“…a!conflation'between'flexible'learning'and'technologyBenhanced'learning'
should'be'avoided.!While!much!flexibility!is,!today,!significantly!enhanced!
through!technological!innovations,!it!is!entirely!possible!for!programmes!
and!modules!delivered!online!to!offer!little!if!any!flexibility!to!learners,!
especially!if!similar!enrolment!and!completion!dates,!together!with!
assessment!deadlines,!to!parallel!faceStoSface!delivery!are!imposed.”!
(Barnett,!2014:!p.25)!
!
The!Extended!Classroom!is!a!response!to!the!nature!of!our!institution!–!and!
Student!Champions!have!played!an!important!part!in!helping!us!to!understand!
our!institution!clearly.!Warwick!is!very!much!a!campusSorientated!university.!
Although!it!is!not!so!much!the!physical!place!that!matters,!rather!the!essence!of!
our!value!lies!in!the!richness!of!faceStoSface!synchronous!interaction!enabled!by!
the!place!and!its!practices.!We!therefore!knew!it!was!right!for!us!to!start!with!
this!principle:!
!
DisciplineSfocused!interactions!between!students!and!academics!are!the!
most!important!element!of!higher!education.!Everything!that!wraps!
around!such!interactions,!including!technologies,!environments!and!
support!services!should!be!designed!to!amplify'and!sustain!their!value.!
!
37!
We!call!this!wider!infrastructure,!and!the!design!value!putting!the!
academicSstudent!relationship!at!its!core,!the!Extended!Classroom.!
!
Note!that!we!believe!that!there!is!far!more!to!higher!education,!but!for!strategic!
reasons!(starting!where!most!people!in!our!institution!are!at),!we!took!this!slant.!
For!the!purposes!of!this!report,!and!the!development!of!Student!Champions,!the!
important!point!is!not!that!this!should'be!the!starting!point!in!all!institutions,!but!
rather!that!students!helped!us!to!get!the!focus!that!is!right!for!us.!
!
We!grew!our!ideas!out!of!that!simple!basis:!
!
The!Extended!Classroom!helps!students!and!teachers!to!be!better!
prepared!for!class,!better!equipped!in!class!and!better!able!to!continue!
learning!after!class.!It!enables!consistency!across!the!student!experience.!
!
The!need!for!consistency!will!be!addressed!shortly!(as!the!second!dimension!of!
the!three!deep!themes!and!ambitions!for!LTSE!enhancement).!So!far,!we!are!in!
familiar!and!unScontentious!territory.!But!we!then!push!on!much!further!and!
faster:!
!
Using!new!technologies!and!techniques!we!can!take!this!basic!principle!
much!further.!!The!idea!is!this:!high!quality!opportunities!for!people!to!
learn,!to!teach,!to!collaborate!and!to!think!should!never!be!unnecessarily!
constrained!by!physical!location,!availability!in!time,!disability!or!
ownership!of!specific!technologies.!!
!
People!should!be!able!to!participate!in!academic!activities,!on!an!equal!
basis,!regardless!of!such!constraints!and!using!the!devices!and!media!that!
suit!them!best.!They!should!be!able!to!flow!academic!activities!
continuously!across!multiple!times,!places!and!participants!as!required,!
with!no!additional!effort!necessary,!making!the!most!of!the!academicS
student!interaction.!!
!
!
38!
Again,!Student!Champions!have!played!an!important!role!in!developing!this!idea!
and!interpreting!what!it!means.!For!example,!in!a!design'thinking!event!at!the!
Students’!Union!(June!2014)!we!presented!and!debated!what!seemed!to!be!quite!
radical!ideas!concerning!future!patterns!for!learning,!teaching!and!the!student!
experience!along!Extended!Classroom!lines.!This!event!was!promoted!by!the!
then!new!plan!to!build!a!dedicated!teaching!and!learning!building!at!the!heart!of!
the!Warwick!campus.!The!architects!and!University!decision!makers!were!
present,!but!not!intrusively!so.!In!reality,!the!ideas!were!not!interpreted!as!
especially!radical!by'the'students.!This!allowed!us!to!gauge!even!more!accurately!
the!level!at!which!we!should!pitch!our!communications!and!design!dialogues!
(thus!illustrating!the!value!of!student!participation).!
!
We!began!with!a!summary!of!some!of!the!drivers!and!issues!that!we!see!as!being!
especially!strong!at!Warwick:!3!
!
•
The!deSstandardisation!of!education,!teachers!and!students.!
o Widening!participation.!
o Multiple!concurrent!formal!and!informal!modes!of!studying!(time,!
space,!format).!
•
Shift!in!the!balance!of!power!towards!students.!
•
Narrowing!the!gap!between!academic!practice!and!the!rest!of!the!world.!
•
New!kinds!of!academic!collaboration!and!creativity.!
•
Ubiquitous!computing!is!an!everyday!reality.!
•
Unstoppable!increase!in!scale!and!global!reach.!
•
Complexity,!diversity,!quality,!equitable!access!to!opportunity,!fair!
assessment!–!all!importance;!
•
From!researchSoriented!to!researchSteachingScreativity!oriented;!
•
Limited!capacity!and!willingness!for!reSskilling.!
!
This!was!a!list!generated!by!work!with!staff!and!students!at!Warwick.!It!is!given!
here!not!so!much!as!a!definitive!statement,!but!rather!as!an!indication!of!the!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3!For!a!full!set!of!slides,!see!http://www.inspireslearning.com/journal/theS
extendedSclassroomSrespondingStoStheSchangesSandSchallenges/!!
!
39!
thinking!that!Student!Champions!might!contribute!to,!and!to!show!how!we!
would!all!benefit!from!their!competent!engagement!with!current!challenges!and!
complexities!in!LTSE!enhancement!work.!
!
This!led!into!a!discussion!of!what!might!be!our!essential!design!values:!
!
•
We!(academics!and!students)!like!to!be!ad'hoc!but!also!reduce!risk!(the!
slide!was!accompanied!with!an!image!of!the!front!cover!of!the!design!
theory!classic!Adhocism!by!Charles!Jencks!and!Nathan!Silver).!
•
Integrated!spaces!and!technologies!to!enable!best!possible!learning!
design!and!outcomes.!
•
Personalisation!–!best!learning!design!for!each!student.!
•
Devolve!design!agency!where!appropriate!to!a!community!of!practice!
(teachers!and!students).!
•
Fair!access!to!opportunities.!
•
Sustainability!and!reliability.!
•
Growth!and!global!reach.!
!
We!then!discussed!a!series!of!design!patterns!(more!or!less!radical!for!the!
various!student!and!staff!participants!present).!The!ideas!are!presented!here!so!
as!to!give!a!sense!of!the!scope!of!challenges!and!designs!that!are!on!the!horizon,!
emerging!out!of!the!move!towards!greater!flexibility.!We!can!see!how!Student!
Champions!will!be,!and!are!beginning!to,!operate!in,!quite!complex!
environments,!requiring!greater!knowledge,!skills,!understanding!and!flexibility!
in!their!own!practices.!
!
1. MultiSmodal!lectures!!
a. Same!event,!accessed!by!participants!in!a!range!of!ways!without!a!
reduction!in!quality!or!fairness,!or!an!increase!in!teacher!
workload;!
b. Synchronous!or!asynchronous;!analogue,!digital!or!blended;!many!
possible!combinations;!
!
40!
c. Conventional!lecture,!online!student!at!home,!in!local!collaboration!
rooms,!in!distant!collaboration!rooms,!openSspace!learning!
workshop!–!many!different!possible!locations!for!participation.!
2. Seamless!classroom!
a. Seamless!flow!of!resources!between!devices,!between!people;!
b. Seamless!flow!from!analogue!format!to!digital!formats,!across!
devices!and!people;!
c. Seamless!flow!from!the!analogue!to!the!digital!and!back!(e.g.!3d!
printing).!
3. Smooth!interSspatial!flow!
a. Classrooms!are!becoming!enriched!with!a!wider!range!of!
resources,!practices!and!connections;!
b. Classrooms!are!becoming!increasingly!seamless!through!
ubiquitous!computing!technologies;!
c. Students!and!teachers!should!be!able!to!effortlessly!take!their!
resources!and!workSinSprogress!from!one!space!to!another.!
4. Persistent!project!spaces!
a. Persistence:!digital!and!analogue!artifacts,!postSit!notes,!
constructions,!annotations!etc.!are!created!in!one!session,!and!are!
available!in!their!previous!state!in!later!sessions!–!restored!to!as!
they!were;!
b. Currently!the!range!of!persistable!media!and!spaces!is!very!
constrained!–!how!can!a!space!be!used!in!this!way!by!many!
different!groups?!
c. Spaces!that!can!be!occupied!by!a!group!of!students!working!on!a!
project!for!a!longer!length!of!time;!
d. Clever!physical!storage!for!project!work,!allowing!for!rapid!closure!
and!reopening!of!sessions;!
e. Digitally!persistable/restorable!surfaces,!must!be!fast!and!simple!
to!use.!
5. Mass!networking!spaces!
a. Networking!(studentSstudent,!studentSteacher,!teacherSteacher)!is!
underdeveloped!and!underSsupported;!
!
41!
b. When!academic!success!is!supported!by!networking!opportunities,!
but!access!to!networking!opportunities!is!not!fairly!distributed,!we!
might!want!to!provide!better!facilitated!opportunities;!
c. The!traditional!lecture!theatre!presents!physical!barriers!to!
networking!events!like!“academic!speed!dating”!and!poster!
exhibitions;!
d. A!combination!of!flexible!design!and!networking!technologies!can!
overcome!these!limitations.!
!!
We!might!summarize!these!and!other!emerging!trends!as!signifying!a!
complexification!of!the!university!as'a'platform'from'which'we'assemble'designs'
for'learning,'teaching'and'the'student'experience.!Indeed!this!more!flexible!
“platformScentric”!approach!(thinking,!designing,!acting)!could!represent!a!
significant!Student!Champion!competency.!ESSquad!graduate!Catherine!Allen!put!
it!nicely!when!she!said!that!her!success!as!a!Student!Champion!hinged!upon!
being!able!to!capture!and!employ!“the!magic!of!the!platform”.!
!
The!idea!of!the!University!as!a!platform,!becoming!more!cohesive!and!flexible,!
inspired!the!Extended!Classroom!project,!and!may!give!a!powerful!framing!to!the!
work!of!Student!Champions!–!being!both!a!beneficiary!of!better!designed,!more!
cohesive,!easier!to!use,!more!reliable,!and!more!flexible!platforms.!For!the!
Extended!Classroom,!this!is!especially!significant!where!the!platform!joins!
together!spaces!(analogue!and!digital),!technologies!and!people.!This!diagram,!
created!during!the!development!of!the!Extended!Classroom!initiative,!sums!this!
up:!
!
!
!
42!
We!are!transitioning!from!rigidly!enclosed!walledSgardens!to!a!more!
interconnected!and!interoperable!world!of!flexibility!and!flow.!The!Extended!
Classroom!initiative!(more!of!which!will!be!said!below)!aims!to!take!pragmatic!
steps!towards!making!the!most!of!this!new!reality.!!Students,!working!as!adBhoc!
Student!Champions!have!been!essential!to!the!development!of!the!Extended!
Classroom!idea!and!its!implementation!as!a!joinedSup!way!of!framing!key!
practices,!spaces!and!technologies.!Fully!developed!Student!Champions!will!
accelerate!and!broaden!the!transformative!effects!further,!and!feedback!into!the!
continual!refining!and!extending!of!the!Extended!Classroom!ideas,!practices,!
spaces,!services!and!technologies.!
!
In!Section!4!we!go!on!to!examine!a!process!through!which!we!can!all!work!
towards!achieving!the!ambition!of!“enabling!appropriate!flexibility”!across!all!
aspects!of!learning,!teaching!and!the!student!experience!–!to!help!us!to!“extend!
the!classroom”!and!much!more.!It!is,!as!this!brief!exploration!suggest,!far!from!
simple.!However,!as!will!be!seen,!we!can!cut!through!the!complexity!by!focusing!
our!developmental!efforts!upon!building'a'repertoire'of'well'known,'well'
supported,'tried'and'tested'design'solutions'as'part'of'a'coordinated'institutional'
strategy'which'helps'with'their'collective'production,'spread'and'refinement'–'and'
the'Student'Champions'can'help'us'to'do'so'on'a'sustainable'and'institutionBwide'
basis.'
!
In!Section!5!the!competency!framework!is!built!out!of!an!analysis!of!the!roles!
that!are!necessary!for!achieving!these!ambitions!using!the!process,!building!our!
repertoire.!
B.#Ensure#coherence,#quality#and#fairness#for#students#and#staff#
This!second!category!of!ambition!might!seem!to!be!somewhat!oldSschool.!But!as!
Barnett!argues,!moves!towards!flexibility!(in!the!four!dimensions!of!what,!where,!
when!and!how)!and!diversity!can!create!an!incoherent!student!experience!within!
an!incoherent!institution.!This!incoherence!threatens!to!undermine!quality.!A!
programme!of!study!is!more!than!just!the!sum!of!its!parts.!The!active!synthesis!of!
learning!by!teachers!for!students!and!by!students!for!themselves!is!an!essential!
!
44!
aspect!of!quality.!And!furthermore,!although!flexibility!might!make!access!to!
learning!fairer!(for!example!enabling!students!to!overcome!disabilities),!if!
implemented!unevenly!some!students!will!gain!and!others!will!miss!out.!As!
Barnett!tells!us:!
!
“Too'little'flexibility'and!systems!will!lack!the!capacities!adequately!to!
respond!to!a!changing!environment!and,!ultimately,!will!start!to!wilt.!Too'
much'flexibility,!on!the!other!hand,!and!systems!will!lack!internal!integrity!
and!ultimately!might!fragment;!certainly,!they!will!run!risks!of!lowering!
standards!and!failing!quality!measures.”!(Barnett,!2014:!p.7)!
!
The!debate!around!automated!lecture!capture!has!illustrated!these!issues,!with!
no!simple!answers.!For!example,!if!we!record!and!make!all!lectures!available!
soon!after!they!are!delivered,!or!even!replace!future!lectures!with!recordings,!
this!makes!them!more!accessible.!But!if!that!leads!to!students!not!attending!inS
class!events!together,!will!that!impact!upon!the!coherence!and!quality!of!the!
experience?!
!
This!again!illustrates!the!need!to!embed!Student!Champion!work!within!a!wider!
and!deeper!institutional!initiative.!The!Extended!Classroom!packages!new!
practices,!based!upon!technologies,!spaces!and!services,!within!clear!and!wellS
thoughtSthrough!descriptions.!It!is!designed!so!as!to!communicate!new!practices!
that!may!be!used!throughout!the!university,!described!in!easy!to!understand!
terms,!and!with!straightforward!value!propositions!indicating!why!each!practice!
is!beneficial!in!terms!of!quality!and!flexibility.!To!begin!with,!we!have!worked!
with!seven!such!practices/technologies,!each!represented!by!an!Extended!
Classroom!card!(title!and!value!propositions!listed):!
!
1. Lecture!Capture!(automated!recording!in!lecture!theatres)!
a. Listen!again,!understand!more!
b. Great!lectures!made!unforgettable!
2. Personal!Capture!(for!use!on!lecturer’s!own!computers!and!in!rooms!
without!automated!lecture!capture)!
!
45!
a. Knowledge!in!bitesize!chunks!
b. Challenging!ideas!made!understandable!
3. ResponseWare!lecture!engagement!system!(clickerSless!personal!
response!system)!
a. Student!engagement!in!very!lecture!
b. Immediate!feedback!for!every!student!
4. Moodle!Quiz!(focusing!on!one!feature!in!Moodle)!
a. Building!confidence!in!smaller!steps!
b. Continuous!feedback!on!skills!and!knowledge!
5. Moodle!Module!Spaces!(a!broader!picture!of!Moodle)!
a. Access!to!resources!and!activities!simplified!
b. The!best!platform!for!extending!your!classroom!online!
6. MyPortfolio!(Mahara!based!eSportfolios)!
a. The!student’s!own!homepage!for!collecting,!recording!and!
reflecting!
b. Great!work!preserved!and!presented!beautifully!
7. Tabula!Student!Profiles!(our!student!information!system)!
a. Providing!continuity!in!the!student!experience!
b. Know!every!student!as!an!individual!learner!
!
There!is!throughout!the!cards,!and!extended!further!in!our!live!events!and!
consultancy!work,!an!emphasis!upon!coherence,!quality!and!(implicitly)!fairness.!!
!
An!example!card!is!shown!on!the!following!page!–!further!cards!and!!information!
may!be!found!at!http://www.warwick.ac.uk/extendedclassroom!
!
!
!
46!
ExtendedClassroom
1
Lecture Capture Service
A no-cost, no-hassle lecture recording
service that puts the lecturer in charge.
It produces decent quality video files
in a standard format, for you to
distribute in a controlled way.
Listen again, understand more
Great lectures made unforgettable
Provided by A/V team in IT services, an IT-supported service.
More
ExtendedClassroom: Lecture Capture Service
Lecture recordings can increase student engagement and understanding.
We have a growing number of centrally-timetabled rooms with built-in
Lecture Capture.
You can:
Schedule lectures for recording in a Lecture Capture-enabled room.
Use the Personal Capture system to record lectures in other rooms.
Control of the release and distribution of your lecture recordings.
Plugs into your Moodle module spaces.
Specify the rules as to how your recordings get used.
Offer lecture recordings in return for greater input from students in seminars.
Try replacing live lectures with recordings plus interactive in-class sessions
(flipping the classroom).
Further information: http://www.warwick.ac.uk/about-lecture-capture
Get support from an advisor: http://www.warwick.ac.uk/extendedclassroom/support
More Extended Classroom technologies: http://www.warwick.ac.uk/extendedclassroom
The!Extended!Classroom!set!(which!will!grow!over!time)!is!designed!to!
encapsulate!individual!ways!in!which!LTSE!may!be!made!appropriately!flexible!
and'coherent,!with!good!quality!and!fairness.!Again!the!strategy!is!to!build!a!
repertoire!of!well!know,!sustainable,!effective!design!solutions.!The!seven!cards!
present!specific!and!achievable!enhancement!approaches,!which!may!be!take!up!
by!staff!and!their!Student!Champions!as!mini!enhancement!projects!of!varying!
scale!and!depth!–!for!example,!Moodle!Quiz!represents!a!small!step!towards!
adopting!Moodle,!which!may!lead!into!a!more!complete!Moodle!Module!Space!
designed!to!cohere!with!other!Moodle!Module!Spaces!at!the!programme,!
department!and!wider!levels.!!
C.#Enable#opportunities#for#pedagogic#innovation#and#new#signature#pedagogies#
Barnett!identified!“pedagogical!flexibility”!as!distinct!from!“systems!flexibility”.!!
This!third!category!of!ambitions!for!the!enhancement!of!LTSE!concerns!the!
pedagogic!dimension.!In!higher!education!academics!are!responsible!for!finding!
the!best!ways!in!which!they!can!teach!their!disciplines!–!and!that!can!involve!the!
use!of!many!different!techniques.!This!is,!again,!a!matter!of!extending!the!
repertoire!of!designs.!As!part!of!my!PhD!research!at!Warwick!I!interviewed!
many!academics!who!are!recognized!for!their!excellent!teaching!(National!
Teaching!Fellows,!winners!of!the!Warwick!Award!for!Teaching!Excellence).!They!
had!three!things!in!common:!
!
1. A!broad!repertoire!of!designs!from!which!they!would!select!to!meet!the!
needs!of!a!specific!objective!and!groups!of!students.!
2. A!commitment!to!refining!and!extending!their!repertoires!(and!an!
engagement!with!other!teachers,!students!and!support!professionals!who!
would!help!them);!
3. A!“try!anything!that!works”!attitude,!without!the!reservations!of!some!
less!successful!teachers.!
!
Their!openSminded!and!creative!attitudes!prove!especially!effective!for:!
!
!
48!
a. Finding!ways!to!help!students!get!over!especially!difficult!parts!of!the!
curriculum,!especially!what!have!been!called!“threshold!concepts”!(Land!
&!Meyer,!2013);!
b. Turning!a!module!or!even!a!seminar!into!a!selfSsupporting!learning!
community,!with!effective!feedback!and!feedSforward!loops!and!a!sense!of!
coSownership;!
c. Exploiting!opportunities!and!resources!as!they!emerge,!for!the!best!
possible!results;!
d. Getting!students!engaged!in!more!proactive!forms!of!learning!(at!
Warwick!,!especially!research!based!learning).!
!
However,!as!with!the!driver!towards!flexibility,!pedagogic!innovation!may!
conflict!with!other!design!values!–!coherence,!quality,!fairness.!Taking!a!more!
joinedSup!approach!to!extending!the!repertoire!through!innovation!should!
reduce!the!risk!of!disruption!and!fragmentation.!Student!Champions!can!play!
essential!roles!in!this!–!feeding!the!student!perspective!into!the!projectS
formation!and!implementation!stages,!providing!skills!and!knowledge!that!might!
(at!the!incubator!stage)!be!difficult!to!access!(not!provided!by!central!services),!
helping!to!manage!and!review!the!impacts!of!the!innovation!(perhaps!running!
trials),!helping!with!reviewing!the!process,!spreading!news!of!the!innovation,!
and!perhaps!most!importantly,!being!a!critical!friend!and!supporter!for!the!
academics!involved.!
!
The!concept!of!“signature!pedagogy”!is!especially!useful!for!helping!to!manage!
diversity!in!pedagogic!innovation.!A!signature!pedagogy!is!a!distinctive!approach!
to!teaching!and!learning!created!in!a!discipline!to!meet!its!specific!needs!in!a!way!
that!fits!with!the!discipline’s!values!and!practices.!It!is!influenced!by,!but!not!
constrained!to,!the!research!approaches!of!the!discipline.!We!might!think!of!it!as!
a!coSadaptation!between!the!discipline,!the!curriculum,!the!capabilities!of!
teachers,!their!resources!and!the!students.!However,!despite!being!anchored!in!
the!discipline,!it!is!neither!static!nor!hermetically!sealed!for!life.!The!various!
ingredients!in!the!coSadaptation!all!change!over!time!independent!of!each!other.!
Technology!is!a!disruptive!force,!in!that!it!may!radically!alter!the!capabilities!of!
!
49!
teachers!and!students.!Students!are!just!as!disruptive,!as!the!yearly!influx!
changes!over!time.!Ambitious!and!creative!teachers!provide!a!third!dimension!of!
change.!My!experiences!at!Warwick,!and!observations!of!schemes!elsewhere,!
have!found!that!Student!Champions!play!an!important!role!in!this!coSadaptation!
and!the!refinement,!or!search!for!new,!signature!pedagogies.!!
!
In!the!introduction!to!Exploring'Signature'Pedagogies!the!authors!argue!for!the!
importance!of!framing!the!development!of!signature!pedagogies!within!a!
disciplineSoriented!“Scholarship!of!Teaching!and!Learning”!(Chick,!Haynie!&!
Gurung,!2009).!We!might!argue!that!students,!especially!Student!Champions,!
should!be!deeply!engaged!in!this!scholarship,!as!an!aspect!of!their!learning!in!the!
disciplines!and!becoming!academic.!Such!an!approach!would!be!compatible!with!
the!Student!as!Producer!ethic,!which!promotes!partnership!with!students!in!
producing!LTSE!(Neary,!2012).!
!
Student!involvement!in!Scholarship!of!Teaching!and!Learning,!perhaps!through!
interdisciplinary!teams,!might!also!help!to!counter!the!fragmentation!that!a!
discipline!focus!may!develop.!Students!Champions!can!be!effective!in!sharing!
practices!and!experiences!across!disciplines,!and!may!help!to!refresh!dialogues!
in!other!staffSstudent!fora,!such!as!StaffSStudent!Liaison!Committees.!
The#need#for#a#balanced#approach#to#the#enhancement#of#LTSE#
!
Student!Champions!can!help!with!all!of!these!ambitions.!They!can!also!help!us!to!
achieve!a!balanced!organisationSwide!approach!that!ensures!development!in!all!
three!directions!at!the!same!time.!There!is!a!wellSdiagnosed!tendency,!for!
example,!to!privilege!opportunity!for!innovation!and!variation!over!coherence,!
quality!and!fairness.!Similarly,!demands!for!flexibility!need!to!be!tempered!with!
the!impact!of!flexible!learning!patterns!on!coherence!and!quality!–!and!smart!
solutions!found!that!help!us!to!achieve!the!appropriate!balance.!Barnett!
highlights!the!importance!of!aiming!for!balance.!
!
!
50!
These!considerations!point!towards!a!fundamental!competency!that!we!would!
want!to!develop!amongst!Student!Champions:!
!
An!awareness!of!the!three!enhancement!themes!and!the!need!to!achieve!
their!balance!in!enhancement!projects.!The!ability!to!initiate,!contribute!to!
and!help!resolve!debates!over!the!objectives!of!enhancement!projects!and!
the!details!of!proposed!solutions,!informed!by!the!need!to!achieve!a!
balanced!approach.!
!
This!might!seem!to!be!quite!a!highSlevel!competency.!!It!addresses!an!important!
area!of!deliberation!and!decision!making!undertaken!by!academic!technologists!
and!others!to!steer!enhancement!work!in!the!right!direction.!However,!my!
review!of!Student!Champion!projects!at!Warwick!and!beyond!found!students!
making!decisions!the!impact!of!which!creates!an!imbalance!–!especially!in!the!
choice!of!technologies.!The!presence!of!Student!Champions!with!capabilities!
(skills!and!knowledge)!that!would!otherwise!be!unavailable!to!academic!staff!has!
been!observed!to!encourage!the!formation!of!enhancement!projects!that!take!
advantage!of!those!specific!capabilities.!For!example,!if!a!student!is!able!to!make!
Adobe!Flash!interactive!animations,!why!not!use!that!capability!to!convert!a!
whole!module!into!Adobe!Flash?!The!choice!of!technology!might!not!even!be!
consciously!examined.!The!choice!of!Flash,!for!example,!has!consequence!for!
people!who!use!iPads,!and!may!reduce!accessibility.!Students!do,!in!these!ways,!
influence!the!formation!and!direction!of!enhancement!projects,!much!more!than!
we!might!think.!
!
We!therefore!need!to!involve!Student!Champions!in!the!operation!of!the!C4!
capability!by!members!of!staff!–!involve!them!in!the!criticalScreative!process!that!
forms!and!directs!good!enhancement!projects,!help!students!to!develop!a!
competency.!In!return!they!will!get!a!better!understanding!of!why!we!make!our!
choices!–!for!example,!why!we!do!not!simply!order!that!every!lecture!is!recorded!
using!our!Echo!360!lecture!capture!system.!
!
!
51!
The!“balance”!competency!then!counteracts!unhelpful!biases!that!may!drive!
LTSE!enhancement!projects!in!ways!that!are!contrary!to!a!sound!balancing!of!the!
three!ambitions.!Three!categories!of!bias!are!especially!significant:!technology!
bias,!periphery!bias!and!showcase!bias.!
Avoid#technology#bias#
At!the!University!of!Warwick!several!projects!have!used!a!partnershipSteam!
approach:!Arts!Faculty!ESSquad!(2007S2010),!Social!Sciences!FLAG!Team!(2007S
2010)!and!Life!Sciences!Digichamps!(2014Songoing!with!funding!from!this!
investigation).!Interestingly,!the!Warwick!focus!has!been!biased!
towards!technologyBenhanced'learning,'teaching'and'student'experience!(TES
LTSE)!projects,!with!some!natural!overlap!with!enhancing!the!research!
environment,!practices!and!resources!(in!the!Arts!Faculty,!Digital!Humanities!
activities!span!cohesively!across!undergraduate,!postgraduate!and!research!
activities;!in!Life!Sciences!the!Digichamps!have!transformed!how!seminars!work!
for!teaching!and!for!research!teams).!This!follows!a!wider!institutional!pattern!
going!back!at!least!fifteen!years:!LTSE!enhancement!work!has!often!been!carried!
out!by!individual!academics!with!an!interest!in!technology,!and!in!return!it!has!
been!inspired!and!motivated!by!a!widelySheld!(but!not!universally!accurate)!
belief!that!Warwick!is!behindStheScurve!on!the!adoption!of!new!technologies.!As!
a!result,!institutional!and!facultySbased!Teaching!and!Learning!Showcase!events!
and!Teaching!Quality!Enhancement!Fund!(now!defunct)!projects!were!biased!
towards!technologySbased!innovations,!even!when!efforts!were!made!to!
counteract!the!imbalance.!Those!at!Warwick!who!are!keen!to!enhance!LTSE!have!
themselves!often!found!technological!innovation!to!be!a!good!wave!to!ride,!with!
funding!and!attention!more!readily!available.!!
!
With!the!recent!introduction!of!the!Warwick!International!Higher!Education!
Academy!(WIHEA)!we!should!see!a!realignment!to!a!more!integrated!approach!
in!which!technology!is!an!enabler!and!an!inspiration,!but!not!the!main!
motivating!principle.!Student!Champions!will!be!central!to!WIHEA.!This!in!turn!
should!pull!the!focus!of!TESLTSE!efforts!away!from!the!endless!churn!of!the!
technologySinnovation!hypeScycle!towards!a!deeper!and!more!enduring!focus!
!
52!
upon!improving!core!LTSE!practices!for!everyone.!Student!Champions!with!the!
competency!should!be!there!to!help!with!this!reSfocusing.!
Avoid#periphery#bias#
A!second!direction!of!bias!has!existed!towards!interdisciplinary,!
transdisciplinary!and!transSinstitutional!projects,!which!are!still!positioned!at!
the!periphery!of!most!disciplines!(not!to!say!that!they!should!be!peripheral).!
Such!projects!might!be!called!enrichment!projects,!as!opposed!to!
the!enhancement!projects!that!are!targeted!at!improving!core!disciplinary!
activities.!Our!Student!Champions!work!might!encourage!a!focus!upon!student!
partnerships!for!enhancing!intraSdisciplinary!practice,!and!even!the!
development!of!distinctive!“signature!pedagogies”!(Gurung,!Chick!&!Haynie,!
2009)!–!there!are!two!recent!notable!cases!upon!which!the!present!project!
intends!to!build:!
!
•
In!Classics,!Undergraduate!Research!Support!Scheme!students!helped!to!
develop!a!signature!pedagogy!based!around!new!(digitally!enhanced)!
research!approaches!to!the!use!of!ancient!coins.!
•
In!Life!Sciences,!Digichamps!students!have!helped!to!develop!a!new!
approach!to!lab!work,!in!which!students!are!prepared!before!hand,!using!
MoodleSbased!online!interactive!lessons.!
!
This!might!also!steer!enhancement!work!towards!a!balance!between!enriching!
the!broader!student!experience!(with!activities!that!go!beyond!disciplinary!
curriculums)!and!enhancing!learning,!teaching!and!the!student!experience!within!
disciplines.!
Avoid#showcase#bias#
Finally,!there!can!be!a!tendency!to!favour!projects!that!are!more!easily!
showcased.!Warwick,!as!with!many!universities,!runs!regular!“learning!and!
teaching!showcase”!events.!Projects!are!showcased!as!short!presentations!or!
posters.!Some!projects!would!be!harder!to!present!in!these!formats.!Some!other!
might!appear!to!be!less!glamorous!and!hence!less!appropriate.!However,!in!some!
cases!we!have!seen!quite!complex!and!perhaps!notSso!glamorous!cases!
!
53!
presented!to!great!effect!–!for!example,!Case!Based!Learning!in!the!Warwick!
Medical!School.!This!involved!no!whizzy!technologies!or!fancy!learning!spaces.!
The!important!aspects!concern!attitude,!a!shared!set!of!rules!and!procedures,!
and!skillful!facilitation.!The!Showcase!session!involved!a!short!simulation!of!a!
CBL!workshop,!facilitated!by!students!(effectively!the!Student!Champions).!This!
additional!dimension,!and!the!work!of!the!students,!made!it!a!success.!We!can!
see!from!this!how!skillful!Student!Champions!can!help!overcome!showcase!bias!
to!make!hardStoScommunicate!practices!and!enhancements!easy!more!
observable!and!trialSable!(to!use!terms!from!Everett!Rogers’!model!of!the!spread!
of!innovations!–!Rogers,!2003).!
Summary:#eating#the#elephant#
This!section!has!presented!just!a!shallow!examination!of!the!landscape!and!the!
challenges!involved!in!the!enhancement!of!learning,!teaching!and!the!student!
experience.!However,!that!should!be!enough!to!illustrate!the!complexity!of!what!
we!might!expect!Student!Champions!to!be!involved!in,!but!also!the!great!
contributions!that!they!might!make.!This!might!imply!that!we!need!to!provide!
quite!significant!levels!of!training!and!support!for!Student!Champions,!if!we!are!
to!expect!them!to!do!worthwhile!work!with!the!kind!of!competency!defined!in!
Section!2!above.!However,!as!stated!in!Section!1,!the!competency!framework!
should!not!be!too!great!an!additional!burden!on!the!available!time!and!money.!!
How!can!this!be!achieved?!In!Section!4!an!enhancement!approach!is!described!
that!breaks!the!challenge!down!into!biteSsize!chunks!–!or!at!least!into!portions!
that!a!Student!Champion!may!tackle!more!confidently,!with!a!clearer!sense!of!
purpose!and!method,!and!through!which!they!can!develop!valuable!and!more!
easily!recognized!competencies.!And!furthermore,!the!process!and!the!roles!
within!it!are!transferable!to!any!domain!in!which!significant!design!change!needs!
to!be!carefully!directed,!motivated!and!implemented.!There!is!then!in!the!
expression!of!the!competencies!within!this!framework!a!clear!reward!for!
students!–!getting!good!at!developing!people!and!organisations.!
!
!
!
!
54!
4.#A#model#for#enhancing#LTSE#across#a#large,#complex#and#
diverse#organisation#
Tweaks,#remixes,#sprints#and#marathons#
The!enhancement!of!LTSE!happens!at!five!different!levels.!These!levels!define!the!
complexity!and!length!of!enhancement!“projects”!(although!the!first!two!levels!
do!not!need!to!be!thought!of!as!projects).!They!also!define!the!levels!of!
sophistication,!commitment!and!competency!required!from!people!working!on!
change!–!including!Student!Champions.!
!
Tweaks!–!an!already!operational!design!is!adjusted!to!optimise!its!functioning,!
for!example!we!might!reduce!the!number!of!PowerPoint!slides!and!increase!time!
allotted!to!discussion;!tweaks!may!be!made!without!requiring!further!substantial!
change!to!the!overall!design;!tweaks!should!be!identified!and!implemented!in!
response!to!selfSreflection!by!teachers!and!feedback!from!students;!this!might!
happen!through!the!operation!of!official!channels!such!as!the!StaffSStudent!
Liaison!Committee,!but!to!aid!swift!adjustment,!it!works!better!when!students!
and!staff!are!working!in!an!open!and!mutually!supportive!partnership!with!
frequent!opportunities!for!feedback!and!collaboration.!
!
Remixes!–!good!teachers!have!a!broad!repertoire!of!design!patterns!from!which!
they!can!select!appropriately!as!required;!this!remixing!of!designs!is!one!step!on!
from!tweaking,!and!will!require!more!consideration!of!impacts!upon!the!bigger!
picture,!and!we!need!to!be!wary!of!coherence!issues!and!increasing!extraneous'
cognitive'load!for!students!(who!may!have!to!adjust!to!the!alternative!approach);!
Student!Champions!can!help!with!identifying!and!motivating!the!remix,!within!
the!right!kind!of!mutually!supportive!context;!Student!Champions!may!help!by!
bringing!a!broader!repertoire!of!design!possibilities!through!their!contacts!
across!the!University;!they!can!also!help!with!implementation!and!with!
designing!for!a!smooth!transition,!supporting!other!students!and!reviewing!the!
impact!of!different!designs;!for!example,!a!series!of!lectures!might!be!remixed!
with!a!“flipped!classroom”!approach,!seeing!some!lectures!replaced!with!a!
combination!of!video!recordings!(to!be!watched!in!preparation)!and!inSclass!
!
55!
student!activities.!
!
Sprints!–!more!complex!design!changes,!such!as!changing!the!mode!of!
assessment,!can!in!some!cases!be!undertaken!within!a!shorter!time!span,!
perhaps!even!during!the!running!of!a!module;!there!are!benefits!in!such!an!agile!
approach,!allowing!students!and!teachers!to!coSdesign!methods!that!fit!with!
their!evolving!exploration!of!a!topic;!this!enables!a!more!radical!kind!of!Student!
as!Producer!partnership;!it!also!engenders!greater!engagement!by!students!in!
learning!–!for!example!they!see!the!benefits!of!their!extra!efforts!within!the!span!
of!their!own!formal!participation!of!a!module;!however,!sprints!are!more!
intensive!and!less!certain!than!remixes,!the!implications!are!not!so!clear!from!the!
outset,!and!may!require!much!more!effort!and!inventiveness!so!as!to!cope!with!
unforeseen!implications;!they!may!also!require!the!ad'hoc!recruitment!of!staff!
and!students!beyond!the!module!participants!in!order!to!achieve!success!and!
cohesion;!as!with!remixes,!Student!Champions!can!help,!but!may!require!a!higher!
degree!of!competency!and!greater!reward;!for!example!the!students!might!
identify!that!it!would!be!worth!building!a!wiki!as!the!central!focus!of!their!
learning,!adopting!a!Student!as!Producer!approach!and!being!assessed!for!their!
work.!!
!
Marathons!–!LTSE!designs!that!are!in!use!are!usually!wellSembedded!into!
contexts!that!constrain!the!possibility!of!change!–!including!institutional!rules,!
habitual!and!conventional!practices,!expectations,!physical!spaces,!technological!
systems,!the!skills!and!understanding!of!everyone!involved;!worthwhile!and!
sustainable!change!may!sometimes!require!the!coordination!and!active!
commitment!of!many!people,!sometimes!even!people!who!have!not!previously!
seen!their!own!involvement!in!determining!how!LTSE!works!in!a!specific!context!
(this!is!especially!true!of!administrators!and!technical!service!providers);!change!
of!this!scale!requires!formal!project!methodologies!and!strategic!management;!
most!importantly,!a!degree!of!wisdom!is!needed!to!trigger!the!realization!that!a!
project!has!to!be!done!as!a!marathon!rather!than!a!sprint;!at!this!level,!
professional!project!officers!and!change!management!consultants!are!essential,!
but!Student!Champions!may!still!contribute,!adding!their!own!student!
!
56!
perspective!so!as!to!inform!design!choices,!as!well!as!helping!to!get!views!and!
ideas!from!other!students;!however,!big!projects!like!moving!a!whole!
programme!to!a!“flipped!classroom”!approach!or!bringing!a!whole!department!
into!the!virtual!learning!environment!are!longer!term!projects,!and!there!is!a!
chance!that!students!who!take!part!in!them!will!feel!the!pain!but!not!receive!the!
benefits;!it!is!therefore!even!more!important!that!we!articulate!the!competencies!
that!Student!Champions!might!develop!from!involvement!in!such!projects!(for!
example!working!with!experienced!professionals)!and!the!transferability!of!
those!competencies!to!any!other!kind!of!organisation.!
Develop#the#capability#for#tweaks,#remixes,#sprints#and#marathons#
#
In!an!ideal!world!the!design!and!implementation!of!LTSE!would!be!matched!
perfectly!to!the!requirements!of!every!activity,!every!context.!A!broad!repertoire!
of!designs!would!be!available,!some!of!which!are!more!generic!in!usefulness!and!
others!of!which!accord!with!the!signature!pedagogies!of!different!disciplines.!
Students!and!teachers!would!remix!from!the!repertoire!as!required,!and!where!
small!tweaks!are!needed,!they!could!be!made!without!significant!effort!and!
complexity.!Development!would!be!more!incremental!and!less!demanding.!
Practice!would!be!more!flexible!but!at!the!same!time!assured!of!quality!and!
coherence.!
!
However,!the!need!for!sprints!and!marathons!would!not!be!completely!removed.!
Rather,!energies!could!be!focussed!more!precisely!on!big!change!where!big!
change!is!needed.!The!everyday!designing!of!LTSE!would!be!more!effortless,!
while!big!cultural!and!technological!changes!could!be!facilitated!using!
professional!methods.!
!
So!how!do!we!make!this!happen?!And!what!roles!may!Student!Champions!play?!!
Define#a#range#of#projects#and#methods#at#each#scale#
Our!approach!is!to!bring!as!much!enhancement!activity!as!possible!within!the!
range!of!wellSknown,!wellSdefined,!achievable!patterns!supported!by!coherent!
high!quality!spaces,!technologies!and!services!–!a!platform!for!appropriate!
!
57!
flexibility,!coherence,!quality!and!fairness.!The!Extended!Classroom!initiative!
aims!to!do!this!by!clearly!defining!practices!that!may!be!adopted,!the!value!that!
they!bring!to!teaching!and!learning,!and!the!pathways!that!can!be!followed!to!
effectively!integrate!them!into!practice.!They!represent!a!range!of!simple!design!
changes!(closer!to!the!remix!level)!with!some!more!substantial!changes!(closer!
to!the!sprint!level).!
Support#the#whole#organisational#learning#and#design#loop#
We!now!need!to!add!to!these!ideas!some!cohesive!methods!for!identifying,!
developing,!spreading!and!refining!a!repertoire!of!design!patterns,!so!as!to!
enable!more!design!tweaks!and!remixing,!as!well!as!to!simplify!sprints!and!
marathons.!And!from!that!we!can!identify!roles!that!Student!Champions!may!
undertake!competently,!and!subsequently!what!it!means!to!be!competent!in!
those!roles!and!the!overarching!process.!
!
We!have!done!this!using!an!elaborated!“diffusion!of!innovations”!model!as!the!
basis!of!the!strategy!for!the!Extended!Classroom!initiative!at!Warwick.!But!the!
same!approach!works!in!other!contexts!to!develop!different!kinds!of!practice!–!
which!is!important!to!emphasise!to!the!students.!This!is!not!unique!to!Warwick!
University!or!to!education.!
!
The!model!is!called!the!“organisational!learning!and!design!loop”!and!emerged!
out!of!my!PhD!research.!The!loop!illustrates!an!ideal!pattern!through!which!
people!come!to!integrate!new!practices!and!continually!use!them!–!with!the!
emphasis!on!finding!innovations!that!fit!well!and!endure!(stick)!over!time,!in!a!
context!that!helps!them!to!spread!as!widely!as!possible.!There!is!also!an!
additional!reflective!dimension!that!leads!at!least!some!people!into!becoming!
“informed!advocates”!(spreading!innovations)!and!“design!participants”!
(growing!our!capability!for!further!innovation).!So!it!is!both!a!design!loop!and!a!
learning!loop!–!creating!and!embedding!design!innovations,!and!creating!fresh!
knowledge!about!people,!the!organisation!and!the!world.!Advocates!help!to!
spread!the!practice!to!more!people!and!into!more!uses.!Design!participants!feed!
!
58!
back!into!the!design!process,!thus!growing!our!capability!for!effective!designing!
and!innovation.!
!
To!achieve!our!aims,!and!the!overarching!imperative!to!develop!the!capability!
for!enhancement,!we!need!to!bring!many!more!people!through!the!loop!with!
many!new!practices.!Or!in!other!words,!we!need!to!help!people!to!become!
effective!adopters!of!Extended!Classroom!practices,!then!informed!advocates!
and!onto!being!good!design!participants.!And!Student!Champions!can!help!us!to!
achieve!this!in!several!important!ways.!
!
We!need!to!understand!the!detail!of!the!process,!so!that!we!can!see!the!
competencies!required!to!make!it!run!well:!
!
•
how!each!stage!acts!as!a!precursor!to!the!next;!
•
how!people!proceed!through!the!stages!most!effectively!(learning!from!
best!practice!in!a!range!of!industries);!
•
how!they!can!get!a!reflexive!appreciation!of!their!progress!through!the!
loop,!improve!it,!and!use!their!experiences!to!help!others.!
!
We!can!think!of!the!loop!from!the!perspective!of!an!individual!teacher!or!student,!
or!better!still!from!the!perspective!of!a!group!learning!and!designing!together.!
Each!run!through!of!the!loop!sees!them!learning!about,!and!adopting!and!
adapting!a!practice!(such!as!the!Extended!Classroom!practices).!But!it!doesn’t!
stop!there.!We!want!them!to!continue!using!it!and!reflect!on!its!use!in!the!context!
of!a!wider!reflection!on!practice.!This!reflective!stage!has!four!possible!
consequences:!
!
1. They!identify!tweaks!to!improve!their!practice.!
2. They!identify!gaps!and!seek!to!build!their!repertoire!further.!
3. They!become!experts!in!the!practice!and!its!value!–!informed!advocates.!
4. They!are!able!to!feedSback!into!the!design!and!development!process!of!
the!underlying!platform.!
!
!
59!
Now!we!should!examine!the!stages!in!more!detail,!so!that!we!can!identify!roles!
and!competencies.!
!
1.#Awareness#
!
Personally,!I!know!that!I!don’t!always!get!the!best!out!of!technology.!For!
example,!international!phone!calls!–!I!recently!had!a!conversation!with!a!student!
in!which!she!told!me!about!some!of!the!many!options!available!for!saving!money.!
So!I’m!aware!that!there!are!better!systems!available,!but!I!haven’t!got!enough!
knowledge!and!understanding!to!make!a!soundly!informed!choice.!That’s!not!
good.!But!it!gets!worse.!Often!within!an!organisation!word!gets!around!that!
there’s!a!new!innovation,!and!it!really!is!the!way!to!go!for!everyone.!The!rumour!
circulates!as!an!awareness.!And!as!people!make!sense!of!it!without!the!aid!of!
informed!advocates!or!good!communications,!the!story!gets!a!little!twisted.!I’ve!
even!known!of!cases!where!a!relatively!mundane!tool!becomes!the!Swiss!army!
knife!of!people’s!dreams.!However,!a!more!likely!outcome!is!that!the!innovation!
fails!to!gain!enough!attention!to!even!register!in!the!conscious!deliberations!of!
many!people.!We!are!all!overloaded!with!tasks!and!communications.!I!have!
observed!how!such!busy!people!will!make!snap!decisions,!often!barely!
conscious,!to!ignore!a!message!that!shows!any!likelihood!of!demanding!too!much!
time!and!energy.!Worse!still,!too!many!academic!technologies!are!tainted!with!
the!suspicion!that!even!showing!a!small!degree!of!interest!will!open!a!nasty!can!
of!worms.!Look!away!now.!Nothing!to!see!here.!Carry!on!as!before.!
So!in!the!organisational!learning!and!design!loop,!mere!awareness!is!bad.!Instead!
we!need!to!build!recognition!as!quickly!and!widely!as!possible.!
2.#Recognition#
!
Our!Extended!Classroom!cards!are!designed!to!boost!recognition.!We!give!the!
practice/technology!(and!its!associated!practices)!a!simple,!catchy,!meaningful!
and!honest!name.!We!associate!the!name!with!a!simple!idea!of!what!it!is!and!
what!it!does.!And!we!add!to!that!clearly!stated!value!propositions.!And!all!of!that!
is!designed!to!hook!directly!into!common!needs,!concerns,!values!and!ambitions.!
So!the!mental!process!is!for!example:!
!
!
61!
“Oh!yes,!Lecture!Capture,!that’s!where!a!lecturer!requests!for!the!lecture!
to!be!automatically!recorded,!they!choose!if!they!want!video,!chalkboard,!
visualiser,!and!the!recording!just!happens!automatically,!and!then!they!
get!to!decide!where!they!want!it!to!appear,!and!it!helps!students!to!
understand!the!lecture!better,!as!they!can!listen!to!it!again!and!again,!it!
makes!great!lectures!unSmissSable.”!
!
And!the!word!spreads.!Fresh!people!hear!the!same!story!from!multiple!sources,!
with!the!same!clear!and!meaningful!messages.!That’s!a!first!good!step!to!
widespread!adoption.!Although!it!might!also!be!a!first!step!towards!larger!
numbers!of!people!saying!“what?!no,!that!doesn’t!work!for!us”!which!is!also!a!
good!thing!to!hear!expressed!clearly!by!well!informed!people.!It!might!mean!that!
there!is!a!genuine!mismatch!between!the!innovation!and!its!potential!
users/uses.!Or!it!might!mean!that!it!is!being!miscommunicated!(although!we!
have!to!be!careful!not!to!make!the!politicians!mistake!of!assuming!the!latter).!
!
The!role!of!informed!advocates!in!boosting,!people!with!sound!understanding!of!
a!design’s!fit!and!value,!is!twofold:!
!
1. They!can!spread!knowledge!and!understanding!more!accurately!–!
advocating!for!the!design.!
2. They!use!their!domain!knowledge!(e.g.!of!disciplines,!students,!teachers)!
to!feed!back!into!the!process!of!defining!and!refining!messages!so!that!
recognition!is!achieved!more!effectively!and!widely.!
3.#Sufficient#Understanding#
!
In!Diffusion'of'Innovations!(2003)!Rogers!described!the!basic!conditions!that!
enable!adoption.!We!need!to!see:!(1)!relative!advantage,!(2)!compatibility,!(3)!
complexity,!(4)!trialability,!and!(5)!observability.!Effective!recognition!goes!some!
way!to!achieving!a!sufficient!understanding!of!relative!advantage.!But!in!most!
cases!we!need!to!do!more,!especially!in!helping!people!to!understand!how!an!
innovation!is!compatible!or!incompatible!with!existing!practices,!projects,!
values,!concerns!and!ambitions.!That’s!why!people!like!to!try!things!out,!or!at!
!
62!
least!get!a!strong!sense!of!what!adopting!will!really!be!like.!Our!job!(as!academic!
technologists!or!Extended!Classroom!Champions)!is!to!help!people!to!get!this!
sufficient!understanding!of!fit.!However,!if!an!innovation!is!too!complex,!difficult!
to!trial,!and!hard!to!observe,!then!building!sufficient!understanding!is!difficult.!
Many!innovations!in!education!are,!unfortunately,!hard!to!understand!without!
trying!them!out!for!a!length!of!time.!So!we!need!some!quite!clever!and!
sophisticated!strategies!and!methods!to!make!this!happen.!
!
At!this!third!stage!we!need!informed!advocates,!but!they!also!need!to!be!
competent!in!making!designs!observable!and!trialable,!to!enable!the!
development!of!sufficient!understanding.!They!should!also!be!good!at!helping!
people!to!understand!compatibility!and!relative!advantage!(for!the!specific!
context),!as!well!as!helping!people!deal!with!complexity.!!
4.#Adoption/adaptation#
!
I!will!admit!that,!in!the!past,!I!have!been!guilty!of!jumping!with!people!too!fast!to!
the!adoption!of!technologies!without!giving!them!a!chance!to!develop!sufficient!
understanding!and!think!things!through!clearly.!This!is!to!a!great!extent!a!
product!of!technologySbias!and!showcaseSbias,!and!perhaps!also!peripherySbias!
(peripheral!projects!are!lower!risk!and!more!open!to!rapid!change).!
!
If!the!groundwork!of!building!sufficient!understanding!has!been!done!well,!the!
pathway!to!adoption!of!the!innovation!should!be!relatively!smooth.!!
!
However,!people!are!only!human,!and!will!need!support!to!learn!new!techniques!
and!to!make!them!as!habitual!as!needed.!One!of!the!most!common!range!of!
problems!that!we!encounter!arises!from!unexpected!incompatibilities!with!other!
people!–!for!example!in!a!teaching!team,!or!amongst!unexpectedly!diverse!
students!(who!definitely!are!not!all!digital!natives).!Further!incompatibilities!can!
arise!much!later!on,!for!example!when!a!course!is!handed!over!to!different!
teaching!staff.!There!are!then!issues!that!need!to!be!resolved,!support!that!needs!
to!be!provided!to!enable!a!process!of!coSadaptation,!in!which!people!change!their!
capabilities!and!practices,!and!sometimes!modify!the!new!practice!to!fit!better!
!
63!
and!to!make!it!more!adoptable.!Again,!clever!strategies!are!needed.!But!also,!
continual!care!and!consideration.!
!
We!need!to!ensure!that!all!of!the!resources!are!available!to!make!this!happen.!
This!might!include!the!application!of!skills!that!are!required!to!get!the!new!
approach!in!place,!but!which!are!not!necessarily!needed!to!continue!with!the!
new!approach!over!a!sustained!length!of!time.!There!may!be!resource!
requirements!in!setting!up!–!which!may!also!include!building!content!(e.g.!
video),!as!well!as!in!transferring!knowledge,!skills!and!understanding.!Student!
Champions!are!especially!valuable!in!providing!this!extra!input,!as!technical!
facilitators!as!well!as!admin,!social!and!project!facilitators!(all!of!which!were!
observed!in!the!workings!of!the!Arts!Faculty!ESSquad!at!Warwick).!
5.#Continuation/reflection#
#
Adoption!is!not!the!endSpoint.!A!new!practice!needs!to!stick!for!a!length!of!time!
that!justifies!the!effort!of!creating!and!adopting!it.!Ideally,!people!gain!a!sense!of!
trust!and!care!for!the!practice!–!what!Jonathan!Chapman!(2005)!calls!
“emotionally!durable!designs”.!It!mitigates!against!both!inertia!and!innovationS
churn.!We!call!this!phase!continuation,!although!in!reality!it!can!be!difficult!to!
distinguish!from!adoption/adaptation.!Some!technologies!and!practices!are!
especially!difficult!to!continue,!requiring!continual!input!or!even!points!at!which!
they!demand!higher!degrees!of!attention.!This!is!especially!problematic!when!we!
have!to!do!something!that!is!quite!difficult,!perhaps!requiring!us!to!follow!a!
tricky!procedure,!but!we!do!it!very!infrequently.!The!“module!rollover”!process!
is!a!good!example.!It!happens!once!a!year!for!most!modules,!even!less!frequently!
for!modules!that!do!not!run!every!year.!The!responsible!academic!or!academic!
support!person!has!to!archive!content!and!activities!from!a!previous!year’s!
running!of!a!module,!knowing!what!to!archive!and!what!to!lose.!And!they!need!to!
reconfigure!the!module!for!the!coming!academic!year,!with!different!students!
and!teachers,!and!variations.!For!example,!the!Academic!Technology!team!at!
Warwick!have!in!response!designed!technology!features!and'support!processes!
to!help!people!to!continue!the!practice!year!after!year,!and!where!necessary,!to!
!
64!
help!hand!over!the!activity!to!new!people!as!the!module!personnel!changes.!
!
The!module!rollover!process!also!illustrates!the!value!of!ensuring!points!at!
which!reflection!on!practice!occurs.!It!is!a!good!point!in!time!for!academics,!
students!and!support!people!to!reflect!on!what!works!and!what!might!be!done!
differently,!as!well!as!on!the!workings!of!their!organisational!learning!and!design!
loop.!They!are!facilitated!in!doing!this.!However,!with!many!practices,!little!time!
is!put!into!such!reflection,!and!it!is!not!built!into!generic!practice!or!the!design!of!
services!and!tools.!
!
However,!in!timeSpressured!situations,!or!where!the!energies!of!those!involved!
have!already!been!largely!expended!(for!example!towards!the!end!of!a!module),!
reflection!can!be!neglected.!Student!Champions!can!help!with!this,!and!may!
contribute!to!keeping!the!reflective!review!process!positive!and!productive.!They!
can!be!essential!critical!friends.!They!can!help!with!the!creative!thinking!that!
turns!reflection!into!action:!criticalScreative!friends.!Although!it!has!to!be!
recognized!that!this!is!perhaps!the!most!difficult!of!roles!in!some!circumstances,!
requiring!a!sound!partnership!and!protocols!between!staff!and!students.!
6.#Informed#Advocacy#
!
But!reflection!is!essential!for!achieving!the!next!level,!at!which!we!might!say!
people!become!our!Champions!(staff!and!students).!Informed!advocates!are!able!
to!tell!realistic,!meaningful,!truthful!stories!about!the!use!and!value!of!a!practice.!
They!have!intimate!knowledge,!gained!from!first!hand!experience,!observation!
and!reflection.!And!furthermore,!they!can!advise!on!the!best!ways!to!adopt,!
adapt,!continue!and!reflect.!These!people!are!essential!for!spreading!the!practice!
more!broadly,!as!well!as!continuing!the!practice!in!places!where!it!is!already!in!
use!(the!can!help!to!induct!new!practitioners).!However,!this!does!not!
necessarily!happen!as!an!emergent!force!of!nature.!We!have!to!facilitate,!support!
and!reward!the!network!of!informed!advocates.!We!have!to!ensure!that!the!right!
people!speak!to!each!other!at!the!right!time.!And!we!have!to!ensure!that!hardS
won!knowledge!remains!fresh.!
!
!
65!
Student!Champions!can!help!in!two!ways:!
!
1. They!are!themselves!informed!advocates,!and!can!work!as!such!on!a!oneS
toSone!basis!or!in!organised!events.!They!should!also!be!skilled!at!
communicating!their!expertise!and!wisdom!through!other!digital!
channels,!such!as!blogs,!portfolios!and!videos.!At!Warwick!we!plan!to!get!
our!Student!Champions!contributing!to!an!institutionSwide!knowledge!
and!experience!repository!called!Technologies!for!Academic!Practice!
(TAP).!Hosted!as!a!network!of!MyPortfolio!(Mahara)!pages,!the!students!
will!review!technologies,!spaces,!techniques,!designs!(all!the!elements!of!a!
flexible!repertoire)!as!well!as!the!projects!that!they!have!worked!upon,!
with!a!reflexive!consideration!of!their!own!contributions!for!those!
projects!(and!the!development!and!application!of!their!competencies!
along!the!lines!documented!in!this!framework).!
2. They!can!help!others,!especially!members!of!staff,!to!become!and!act!as!
informed!advocates.!This!is!especially!powerful!and!persuasive.!The!
example!from!Warwick!Medical!School!of!staff!and!students!showcasing!
Case!Based!Learning!illustrates!just!how!extraSeffective!such!partnerships!
can!be.!
7.#Design#Participation#
!
Now,!having!been!through!the!loop!in!a!supported!manner!to!grow!their!
repertoire!and!to!adapt!their!practice,!we!should!have!people!who!can!feed!back!
into!the!review,!design!and!development!of!practices!and!technologies!more'
effectively.!In!addition,!they!will!have!acquired!greater!competence,!composed!
from!a!range!of!competencies,!in!the!overall!process!–!something!that!we!should!
reinforce!and!celebrate!as!they!themselves!grow!in!capability.!
!
Of!course!people!at!all!stages!should!be'participant'designers,!but!we!can!
improve!and!accelerate!the!loop!by!growing!a!community!of!more!sophisticated!
design!participants.!What!makes!for!a!good!design!participant?!There!are!many!
attributes,!the!nature!of!which!has!been!subject!to!much!research!and!theory!in!
recent!years!(the!IDEO!Design!Thinking!approach!is!an!especially!sophisticated!
!
66!
model).!Technical!understanding!is!clearly!important.!Thinking!big!picture!and!
small!detail!at!the!same!time!is!essential.!In!the!higher!education!context,!having!
an!understanding!of!the!three!areas!of!ambition!explores!in!Section!2!is!essential.!
OpenSmindedness!and!creativity!help.!But!in!making!the!leap!from!
continuation/reflection!through!informed!advocacy!to!design!
participation!helping'us'to'build'an'accessible'and'adaptable'University'as'a'
platform,!then'perhaps!the!most!important!capability!is!empathy.!
!
Student!Champions!can!make!excellent!design!participants,!especially!when!they!
have!acquired!the!additional!depth!of!understanding!and!competency!afforded!
by!going!through!the!loop.!
Provide#opportunities#for#innovation#and#signature#pedagogies#
!
Design!participation!might!be!oriented!towards!reflecting!upon,!reviewing,!
extending!and!refining!the!underlying!platform!from!which!LTSE!practices!are!
built!(spaces,!technologies,!services).!Or!they!might!focus!more!upon!the!design!
patterns!that!are!based!upon!those!platforms.!And!in!some!cases!that!will!mean!
the!development!of!signature!pedagogies,!as!described!in!Section!3.!For!many!
academicallySoriented!students,!thinking!forwards!to!a!career!in!academia,!this!
is!a!valuable!opportunity.!Our!Student!Champions!in!Classics!(including!two!PhD!
students!who!teach)!have!proved!to!be!especially!adept!at!this!level!of!work,!and!
are!designing!a!technology!enhanced!signature!pedagogy!with'widespread'
departmental'adoption'in'mind!–!in!the!first!instance!a!“sprint”!scope!project!with!
the!potential!to!go!much!bigger.!
Professional#services#in#the#loop#
Academic!technologists,!learning!and!teaching!advisors!and!other!such!paraS
academic!professionals!have!many!roles!to!play!in!facilitating!the!loop!and!
supporting!our!Champions!(staff!and!students).!!It!is!important!to!emphasise!
that!Student!Champions!make!their!work!more!effective!(growing!their!expertise!
and!helping!to!refine!their!services),!more!enduringly!impactful,!and!with!much!
wider!reach.!By!overseeing!the!development!of!practices!and!the!repertoire!of!
!
67!
designs!to!be!implemented!by!Student!Champions,!they!have!additional!means!to!
ensure!coherence!and!quality!across!the!institution.!
!
In!many!ways!we!can!see!Student!Champions!as!taking!on!some!of!the!
competencies!of!these!professionals,!so!as!to!allow!the!professional!services!to!
achieve!more!and!focus!on!more!challenging!platformSlevel!and!marathonSscope!
development.!In!return,!Student!Champions!benefit!from!their!expertise!and!
wisdom.!
!
!
!
68!
5.#The#role#based#competency#framework#
The!groundwork!has!now!been!prepared,!we!can!structure!a!framework!of!
competencies!derived!from!roles!that!fit!within!a!coherent!and!selfSdeveloping!
organisational!learning!and!design!loop.!As!promised!in!Section!2,!this!model!
makes!the!competencies!meaningful,!targeted!and!provides!the!scaffolding!
around!which!personal!and!organisational!development!may!be!perceived!and!
planned.!
!
If!we!now!reconsider!the!definition!of!competency!derived!in!Section!2,!we!can!
see!how!the!model!described!above!can!distribute!it!across!a!set!of!roles,!which!
may!in!turn!be!played!by!a!wellScollaborating!team!or!network!of!individuals!–!
so!long!as!they!understand!how!they!fit!together!across!projects!and!the!
organisational!learning!and!design!loop.!
!
Competent!people!representing!a!competent!service!using!technologies!
and!techniques!competently!designed!and!applied.!They!have!the!
necessary!knowledge,!skills,!understanding,!techniques,!resources,!values!
and!commitments!(and!there!are!many!other!attributes)!to!do!the!right!
things!in!the!right!way!at!the!right!time.!They!listen!to!me,!my!needs!and!
my!capabilities,!and!take!that!into!account!with!great!consideration!and!
care.!Sound!people!to!whom!I!can!devolve!some!of!my!responsibilities,!to!
share!the!responsibility!and!the!work!with.!People!I!can!trust!to!guide!my!
efforts!in!learning!new!things!and!adopting!new!practices.!They!are!
competent.!And!they!are!backedSup!by!a!meshwork!of!wellSfounded!
mutually!supportive!competent'people,!covering!all!aspects!of!!the!process!
that!leads!to!the!adoption,!continuation!and!continual!improvement!of!
best!practice.!Plus,!they!use!and!are!embedded!within!criticalSreflective!
processes!that!counter!selfSinterest!and!errorSamplifying!network!effects,!
so!as!to!ensure!that!the!perception!of!competency!is!wellSfounded.!
!
We!have!seen!how!some!key!roles!play!an!essential!part!in!this!(informed!
advocate,!facilitator,!criticalScreative!friend,!design!participant).!In!this!section!
we!will!examine!each!of!these,!and!a!few!more!essential!roles,!in!more!detail!so!
!
69!
as!to!be!more!specific!about!the!nature!of!their!competency!and!how!it!can!be!
recognized!and!evidenced!–!that!is,!the!detailed!specification!of!the!competency!
framework!and!how!we!(and!the!Student!Champions)!can!recognize!competency!
in!their!actions.!
Key#roles#and#their#competencies#
This!is!a!list!of!key!roles!that!can!be!played!by!Student!Champions!in!the!
enhancement!of!learning,!teaching!and!the!student!experience.!An!single!
individual!might!play!many!of!the!different!roles.!The!important!thing!is!to!
recognize!the!differences,!to!focus!upon!playing!each!role!appropriately,!and!to!
record!and!reflect!upon!work!done!within!relation!to!specific!roles.!We!might!
compose!a!project!team!to!ensure!that!the!right!range!of!competencies!are!well!
represented.!We!might!help!Student!Champions!to!see!the!value!of!what!they!
have!contributed!through'the!lens!of!the!various!roles.!They!might!focus!their!
development!upon!specific!roles,!so!as!to!gain!a!deeper!and!more!complete!set!of!
competencies.!We!might!also!use!these!roles!and!this!language!when!working!
with!academic!partners,!so!as!to!assure!them!of!the!competency!of!the!students!
who!are!taking!on!work!and!responsibility.!
1. Informed#advocate#
Student!Champions!do!not!have!to!have!all!of!the!answers,!but!they!should!be!
able!to!bring!some'possible'design!solutions!into!consideration.!They!should!be!
able!to!recognize!common!needs!and!ambitions,!suggest!solutions!drawn!from!
the!collective!repertoire,!and!explain!how!those!solutions!work!and!why!they!
might!fit!in!this!circumstance.!They!are!able!to!clearly!articulate!a!good!range!of!
named!solutions,!for!example!following!the!format!used!for!our!Extended!
Classroom!cards:!
!
Named!solution!(design!pattern,!doable!implementation);!
!
What!it!does;!
!
What!value!it!adds,!what!problems!and!ambitions!it!addresses;!
!
How!it!works,!what!technologies,!spaces,!services,!resources!etc.!it!uses;!
!
What!possible!variations!there!are,!what!different!configurations;!
!
How!teachers!and!students!can!go!about!adopting!it!into!practice,!
adapting!existing!practice,!ensuring!its!continual!use.!
!
70!
To!work!effectively!as!informed!advocates,!not!only!do!they!need!to!be!aware!of!
a!range!of!solutions,!but!also!they!need!to!be!able!to!recognize!the!range!of!
contexts,!problems!and!ambitions!for!which!each!is!appropriate.!This!is!essential!
for!achieving!the!level!of!trust!implied!in!competency.!They!need!to!accurately!
represent!the!salient!features!on!both!sides!–!problem!and!solution,!and!show!
how!matches!may!be!possible!using!existing!approaches.!In!some!cases!this!
might!not!be!clear!cut.!There!can!for!example!be!multiple!solutions!possible.!
Informed!advocates!are!not!simply!sales!people,!they!need!to!openSup!and!
facilitate!a!design!dialogue!through!which!choices!can!be!made.!
!
This!also!implies!that!they!are!able!to!acquire!the!knowledge!and!experience!
necessary!to!become!informed!advocates!with!a!wide!repertoire.!Some!of!this!
learning!can!be!achieved!through!classroomSbased!learning,!although!online!
asynchronous!selfSpaced!learning!might!be!more!appropriate,!giving!students!
the!flexibility!to!fit!this!work!around!their!degree!studies!(see!Section!6!below!
for!more!on!this).!An!alternative!approach!would!see!Student!Champions!
learning!about!solutions!and!their!applications!through!actively!researching!and!
creating!Extended!Classroom!style!cards,!articles!(in!the!networked!
MyPortfolio/Mahara!system)!and!videos.!They!should!also!evidence!their!
learning!and!its!application!through!such!channels!–!especially!in!the!
MyPortfolio.!This!should!take!the!form!of!continual!recording!and!reflection!on!
their!activities,!within!the!blog!aspect!of!a!portfolio,!and!then!the!selection!of!key!
articles!to!be!shared!and!used!more!widely!to!communicate!common!approaches!
from!the!repertoire!–!this!builds!confidence!through!demonstrating,!and!getting!
public!appreciation!of,!competence.!
!
There!are!then!some!essential!competencies!related!to!being!an!Informed!
Advocate:!
!
•
Knowing!and!being!able!to!clearly!explain!a!broad!repertoire!of!wellS
known!design!solutions,!following!the!Extended!Classroom!pattern!(title,!
purpose,!value!to!LTSE,!how!it!works!and!what!it!requires).!
!
71!
•
Understanding!how!enhancement!approaches!fit!into!the!broader!context,!
and!the!three!broad!categories!of!ambition:!
o Achieve!appropriate!flexibility!for!students!and!staff.!
o Ensure!coherence,!quality!and!fairness!for!students!and!staff.!
o Enable!opportunity!for!pedagogic!innovation!and!new!signature!
pedagogies.!!
•
Understanding!specific!academic!contexts,!their!differences,!similarities!
and!interconnections!(at!the!various!levels,!but!with!a!special!awareness!
of!disciplinary!differences).!
•
Listening!and!observing!so!as!to!build,!verify!and!communicate!a!sound!
understanding!of!the!problems,!needs,!capabilities!and!ambitions!of!staff!
and!students!in!different!contexts,!with!an!appreciation!of!variations!and!
similarities.!
•
Being!able!to!suggest!appropriate!design!solutions!for!consideration.!
!
They!should!be!able!to!proactively!look!for!opportunities!to!use!their!expertise:!
!
•
Networking!with!other!students!and!with!staff!to!maintain!an!open!design!
dialogue.!
•
Being!well!known!as!a!source!of!good!advice!and!useful!suggestions!–!and!
managing!the!spread!of!this!reputation!proactively.!
!
They!should!be!able!to!communicate!through!a!good!range!of!media!and!
channels:!
!
•
Publishing!well!written,!effective,!accurate!and!engaging!webScontent.!
•
Creating!videos,!including!screencasts.!
•
Posters!and!leaflets.!
•
Effectively!managing!the!distribution!of!media!in!the!University.!
!
And!they!should!be!able!to!set!up!and!manage!online,!synchronous!and!
asynchronous!channels!including:!
!
!
72!
•
Networked!portfolios!(at!Warwick!they!would!use!the!
MyPortfolio/Mahara!system).!
•
Social!media!(Twitter,!Facebook,!whatever!works!best).!
•
Poster!exhibitions.!
•
Live!faceStoSface!events!(networking,!presentations,!debates,!workshops).!
•
Live!online!and!blended!events!(streamed,!videoconferenced).!
!
All!of!these!mechanisms!use!technologies!and!techniques!that!are!the!same!as!
those!used!in!learning,!teaching!and!the!student!experience,!as!well!as!in!many!
contexts!beyond!the!university.!The!value!of!attaining!and!demonstrating!these!
competencies!is!therefore!very!significant.!
2. Technical#facilitator#(spaces,#learning#designs,#technologies#etc.)#
Student!Champions!can!work!as!Technical!Facilitators!throughout!the!process.!
Technical!facilitation!helps!to!build!sufficient!understanding,!eases!the!adoptionS
adaptation!process,!and!brings!clarity!to!reflection!on!practice!(helping!to!
diagnose!technical!issues!and!to!distinguish!them!from!design!issues).!From!an!
Extended!Classroom!perspective,!“technical”!pertains!to!the!workings!of!
technologies!and!spaces!that!are!physical,!digital!and!blended.!Student!
Champions!need!to!be!competent!in:!
!
•
Making!technologies!and!spaces!work!efficiently!and!effectively!in!the!
ways!in!which!they!are!designed!to!work.!
•
Explaining!the!limitations!of!technologies!and!spaces.!
•
Accessibility!and!usability!constraints!and!enablements.!
•
Problem!solving,!but!in!a!way!that!makes!best!use!of!existing!technical!
support!services!and!systems!(and!is!aware!of!the!importance!of!avoiding!
unsupportable!workSarounds).!
•
Identifying!and!explaining!the!consequences!of!configuration!choices.!
•
Being!aware!of,!understanding!and!communicating!common!problems!
and!solutions.!
•
Being!aware!of,!understanding!and!communicating!changes!being!applied!
to!systems!and!spaces!(for!example!software!updates).!!
!
73!
!
To!what!depth!do!they!need!to!have!this!technical!capability?!For!the!purposes!of!
developing!sufficient!understanding,!easing!the!adoption!of!new!practices,!and!
helping!students!and!teachers!to!develop!independent!capabilities!that!may!be!
sustained!without!further!support,!then!we!can!pitch!their!technical!capabilities!
as!being!those!of!an!expert!user!–!and!that!includes!being!an!expert!user!of!
support!services.!However,!this!might!include!an!extra!ability!to!make!new!
practices!(following!the!recommendations!of!Everett!Rogers)!more!observable,!
trialable,!compatible,!and!less!complex.!Three!key!competencies!are!implied:!
!
•
An!ability!to!setup!and!manage!meaningful!trials!and!demonstrations!for!
potential!adopters!of!new!practices.!
•
An!ability!to!translate!technical!features!and!issues!into!terms!that!make!
sense!to!specific!people!in!a!specific!context.!
•
An!ability!to!configure!a!technology!or!space!with!real!content!and!
activities.!
!
In!many!Student!Champions!projects,!their!efforts!are!focussed!on!the!third!of!
these!competencies!–!creating!or!migrating!content.!This!raises!a!dilemma,!which!
needs!to!be!considered!by!the!Student!Champions!and!at!the!project!design!
stage.!To!what!extent!do!they!do'this'work'for'students'and'teachers'so'as'to'get'
them'into'adoption'and'continuation'more'quickly?!Or!should!they!focus!upon!
working'with'students'and'teachers,'so'as'to'transfer'the'capability'more'
sustainably?!This!then!demands!an!additional!very!important!competency!from!
the!Student!Champion!(and!their!collaborators):!
!
•
An!ability!to!judge!the!limitations!that!should!be!imposed!on!the!work!
that!they!do!for!people,!judging!when!this!might!create!an!unsustainable!
dependency,!and!instead!focusing!upon!transferring!capabilities!to!
teachers!and!students.!
!
And!to!make!this!feasible:!
!
!
74!
•
An!ability!to!passSon!necessary!technical!capabilities!to!teachers!and!
students,!through!formal!and!informal!means,!through!directing!them!to!
training!content!and!activities,!or!in!some!cases,!designing!and!delivering!
content!and!activities.!
!
The!last!dimension!of!this!competency!again!illustrates!the!importance!of!
knowing!and!using!resources!that!already!exist,!and!where!they!do!not!exist,!
networking!with!others!with!similar!needs,!perhaps!with!the!aim!of!creating!new!
resources.!This!could!lead!to!the!creation!of!online!learning!content!with!
elements!of!assessment!to!demonstrate!competency,!and!the!involvement!of!
Student!Champions!in!creating!learning!content!and!assessment.!Technical!
capabilities!lend!themselves!more!readily!to!such!a!means!of!evidencing!
competency.!However,!we!should!be!wary!of!creating!extensive!learning!content!
and!assessment!for!already!busy!teachers!and!students.!We!might!conclude!that!
technical!competency!is!best!evidenced!through!examples!of!successful!work!–!
preferably!a!good!range!for!each!student.!Recording!this!in!a!personal!portfolio,!
and!sharing!good!examples!through!the!network,!would!be!the!most!appropriate!
route.!This!works!especially!well!with!digital!content,!but!Student!Champions!
should!be!encouraged!to!take!photos,!create!videos!and!write!about!their!
technical!work.!They!should!also!gather!feedback!from!teachers!and!students!
they!have!helped.!
3. Social#facilitator##
Our!successful!Student!Champions!have!been!excellent!facilitators!of!social!
networks!and!events.!This!is!important!for!two!reasons:!!
!
1. !They!facilitate!the!processes!through!which!the!repertoire!of!design!
solutions!spreads!and!grows!–!this!is!as!has!been!demonstrated!a!social!
process.!
2. Well!designed!social!events!and!use!of!social!networking!methods!are!
increasingly!integral!to!learning,!teaching!and!the!student!experience,!
Student!Champions!can!bring!additional!expertise!to!this.!
!
!
75!
Student!Champions!should!therefore!be!able!to:!
!
•
Work!effectively!within!existing!social!events!and!networks!to!further!the!
work!of!LTSE!enhancement;!spreading!ideas!and!practices,!helping!people!
to!identify,!explore,!adopt,!adapt!and!continue!using!design!solutions;!
drawing!diverse!people!into!the!network!and!making!it!more!like!an!
active!coSsupporting!community.!
•
Design!social!events!and!social!networking!approaches!to!further!the!
spread!and!growth!of!the!repertoire,!but!also!for!use!in!teaching!and!
learning!activities!themselves.!
!
This!is!again!something!that!is!best!evidenced!through!a!portfolio!of!work.!
However,!in!this!case!it!would!be!more!naturally!fitting!for!reflective!articles!on!
events!and!networks!to!be!coSwritten!with!other!participants!(including!other!
Student!Champions).!
3. Admin#process#facilitator#
The!bureaucracy!involved!in!making!changes,!as!well!as!the!everyday!
bureaucracy!involved!in!LTSE,!may!be!a!significant!barrier!to!change.!There!may!
be!cases!in!which!it!is!appropriate!for!Student!Champions!to!help!with!
administrative!processes.!More!important!is!that!they!get!an!understanding!of!
the!admin!requirements!facing!their!academic!partners.!Students!may!often!be!
impatient!in!demanding!change.!Seeing!matters!from!the!perspectives!of!
academics!and!administrators!means!that!projects!are!designed!better,!with!
more!reasonable!expectations,!and!Student!Champions!are!able!to!be!more!
helpful!and!understanding.!This!is!especially!essential!when!Student!Champions!
act!as!in!the!role!of!CriticalSCreative!Friend.!The!growth!in!empathy!that!students!
have!for!academics!and!others!has!other!collateral!benefits.!For!example,!it!can!
have!an!influence!on!the!growth!and!maintenance!of!studentSteacher!
partnerships!based!on!a!sense!of!being!part!of!the!same!community.!This!can!
feed!into!formal!processes!such!as!the!StaffSStudent!Liaison!Committees!(SSLC).!!
!
To!achieve!these!benefits,!Student!Champions!need!to!competently:!
!
76!
!
•
Appreciate!the!administrative!requirements!that!are!required!in!LTSE,!the!
processes!through!which!they!are!carried!out,!and!the!roles!played!by!
various!people!in!those!processes.!
•
Understand!how!this!constrains!change,!but!also!how!this!contributes!
positively!to!the!achievement!of!key!aims!(flexibility,!coherence,!quality,!
fairness).!
•
Be!able!to!suggest!ways!in!which!technology!and!techniques!can!reduce!
the!burden!of!administration.!
4. Project#facilitator#
We!want!Student!Champions!to!think!and!act!in!a!projectSoriented!way!–!that!is!
to!say:!
!
•
To!think!in!advance!about!and!plan!the!likely!pathways!to!success!in!work!
at!all!levels!(tweaks,!remixes,!sprints!and!marathons)!using!more!or!less!
formal!methods!as!applicable.!
•
To!source,!manage!and!apply!resources!of!all!kinds!to!get!the!job!done!
within!the!budget!(time,!money,!opportunity!and!goodSwill).!
•
To!track!and!communicate!progress!to!everyone!who!needs!to!know.!
•
Track!and!assess!work!done!by!themselves!and!(where!appropriate)!
other!team!members.!
•
To!keep!people!motivated,!focussed!and!organised.!
•
To!offer!support!and!guidance!as!project!mentors!to!other!participants,!so!
as!to!help!them!to!reflect!upon!experience!and!plan!commitments!in!a!
balanced!and!sensible!manner.!
!
These!competencies!apply!to!enhancement!projects!and!to!the!development!and!
sustenance!of!the!Student!Champion!network!itself.!Students!have!in!the!past!
played!an!active!role!in!this.!
!
As!the!Student!Champions!gain!in!competence!and!confidence,!we!would!expect!
them!to!move!from!a!more!responsive!mode!(we!find!projects!for!them)!to!a!
!
77!
more!proactive!mode.!Our!ideal!is!that!they!form!partnerships!with!academics!
and!other!students!to!inspire!the!formation!of!good!projects.!We!would!want!
them!to!go!from!Informed!Advocacy!to!active!Design!Participation,!using!the!best!
available!methods!from!the!world!of!design!innovation!–!as!described!by!the!
IDEO!design!company!as!Design!Thinking!(Brown,!2008!&!2009;!Kelley,!2001,!
2009,!2011).!This!broader!conception!of!project!facilitation,!beyond!project!
management,!is!best!understood!as!supporting!collaborations!of!users!and!
domain!experts!(in!this!case!students,!teachers!and!everyone!else!who!may!be!
involved!or!have!ideas)!through!three!connected!“spaces”!for!thinking!and!
acting.!The!“spaces”!are!both!metaphorical,!virtual!and!(if!possible)!physical!
spaces.!A!full!account!of!the!approach!is!given!in!Tim!Brown’s!Harvard!Business!
Review!article!on!“Design!Thinking”!(Brown,!2008).!This!implies!that!the!Student!
Champions!should!be!competent!in!facilitating!the!three!spaces,!and!the!flow!of!
ideas!through!the!spaces!–!which!maps!onto!the!flow!around!the!loop!from!
recognition,!through!sufficient!understanding!to!adoption/adaptation!(Design!
Thinking!is!a!means!to!accelerate!the!loop):!
!
•
Inspiration!Space!–!a!place!in!which!people!feel!free!to!share!experiences,!
ideas,!feelings,!fears,!problems!and!inspirations!openly!in!a!safe!and!
friendly!space!without!fear.!The!Ideation!Space!should!be!place!in!which!
crossBpollination!from!different!domains!occurs!(so!for!example,!the!Arts!
and!Sciences).!Facilitators!in!the!Ideation!Space!should!be!help!crossS
pollination!and!creative!syntheses!to!flourish.!Ideas!from!the!Inspiration!
Space!“bubbleSup”!into!the!Ideation!Space.!Facilitators!help!to!identify!
which!ideas!to!take!on!further,!but!the!community!of!design!participants!
must!feel!a!sense!of!ownership!in!the!ideas!(and!that!is!a!key!aim!of!
Design!Thinking).!!
•
Ideation!Space!–!the!place!in!which!ideas!are!worked!up!into!prototypes,!
as!quickly!but!as!realistically!as!possible,!and!tested!without!fear!by!the!
whole!community.!Ideation!Space!facilitators!are!expert!in!loSfi!
prototyping!methods,!which!may!include!storySbuilding,!drama,!interface!
mockSups,!process!models.!Technical!facilitation!skills!are!essential!to!
this,!but!empathy!with!potential!users!is!just!as!important.!
!
78!
•
Implementation!Space!–!projects!bubbleSup!from!the!Inspiration!Space!
and!through!the!Ideation!Space!to!the!Implementation!Space.!This!is!
where!we!plan!and!complete!projects!when!we!are!convinced!of!their!
feasibility!and!value.!Importantly,!the!Implementation!Space!is!populated!
by!people!who!can!make!implementation!happen,!and!participants!in!the!
design!process!are!given!extra!motivation!by!seeing!that!their!ideas!can!
become!reality.!
!
Finally,!there!is!a!project!facilitation!responsibility!that!is!often!overlooked:!
!
•
Student!Champions!should!record,!reflect!upon!and!share!stories!about!
successful!and!unsuccessful!projects,!in!a!way!that!makes!it!easier!for!
others!to!follow!in!their!paths.!This!includes!a!responsibility!to!curate!and!
communicate.!
!
At!Warwick!we!see!the!MyPortfolio!(Mahara)!system!as!an!ideal!way!to!do!this.!
Student!Champions!would!write!about!their!projects!in!a!common!form!(but!
with!variation!as!required),!and!collate!good!examples!for!the!benefits!of!the!
Student!Champion!network!and!the!rest!of!the!institution!(and!beyond!to!the!
rest!of!the!higher!education!community).!This!needs!to!be!done!in!such!a!way!
that!it!highlights!the!methods!used!and!the!contribution!made!by!the!students,!so!
as!to!also!evidence!their!competences.!
5. Critical\creative#friend#
The!broader!Project!Facilitation!role!described!above!necessarily!requires!that!
the!students!behave!as!CriticalSCreative!Friends!for!teachers!and!fellow!students.!
This!demands!an!especially!challenging!set!of!competencies!for!anyone,!but!it!is!
an!especially!high!ambition!for!students!to!aim!for.!In!the!interview!with!Arts!ES
Squad!alumnus!Catherine!Allen,!she!described!her!own!transition!from!being!a!
student!with!useful!technical!capabilities!(film!making)!through!to!being!more!of!
an!equal!partner!with!academics.!The!more!technicalSoriented!role!helped!her!to!
build!up!confidence,!competence,!connections!and!a!strong!identity.!She!then!
edged!further!towards!the!criticalSfriend!competency!by!taking!on!increasingly!
!
79!
sophisticated!projects!that!relied!on!her!design!abilities!and!allowed!her!to!make!
independent!decisions.!In!choosing!the!Design!Thinking!approach!described!
above,!and!the!competencies!implied,!we!specifically!built!upon!Catherine’s!
experiences!and!advice,!seeking!a!way!to!frame!the!criticalScreative!relationship!
that!would!help!students!to!achieve!this!most!powerful!of!competencies.!
However,!we!should!also!acknowledge!the!importance!of!maintaining!a!criticalS
creative!relationship!beyond!the!project!process.!In!our!organisational'learning'
and'design'loop!this!is!essential!to!the!continuation'and'reflection!phase.!
!
Student!Champions!can!be!catalysts!for!establishing!the!right!kind!of!partnership!
relationship!between!teachers!and!students.!So,!in!addition!to!the!Design!
Thinking!competencies!described!above,!we!should!add!that!Student!Champions!
can:!
!
•
Establish!and!maintain!informal!feedback!and!inspiration!channels!
between!students!and!staff,!in!a!positive!and!constructive!spirit.!This!
should!complement!existing!formal!systems!(SSLC,!module!evaluation),!
and!provide!ideas!that!can!be!acted!on!justSinStime!and!ideas!that!might!
be!of!use!in!the!future.!
!
This!should!the!enable!a!more!continual!and!proactive!process!of!continual'
improvement!as!the!norm.!
6. Researcher#
The!criticalScreative!approach!necessary!for!reflection!and!design!participation!
should!draw!upon!research!techniques!and!skills!already!present!in!the!
university.!Student!Champions!can!undertake!additional!research!that!might!not!
otherwise!take!place.!This!is!another!way!in!which!they!help!us!to!take!every!
opportunity!to!improve!and!accelerate!the!loop.!The!research!may!be!just!for!the!
purpose!of!enhancing!teaching!and!learning!in!a!specific!context,!however,!it!
would!make!sense!for!Student!Champions!to!use!it!as!an!opportunity!to!develop!
research!skills!within!a!peerSreviewed!context.!During!the!Student!Champions!
CoSdesign!event!in!July!2015,!students!expressed!an!interest!in!such!
!
80!
opportunities,!and!were!keen!to!present!their!research!in!various!academic!fora,!
including!print!and!online!publications,!posters!and!conference!presentations.!
This!could!also!link!with!student!research!initiatives!like!Warwick’s!
Undergraduate!Research!Support!Scheme!(supporting!250+!students!a!year!to!
undertake!extraScurricular!research!projects).!There!was!also!interest!expressed!
in!opportunities!for!interSdisciplinary!approaches!–!for!example!Student!
Champions!from!social!sciences!working!with!arts!and!science!students,!learning!
from!each!other’s!methods.!
!
Rather!than!specifying!in!depth!the!competencies!required!for!academic!
research!(which!are!already!well!known),!for!the!purposes!of!this!framework!we!
should!simply!state!that!Student!Champions!should!be!able!to:!
!
•
Initiate,!scope,!choose!methods,!plan!and!implement!research!using!
appropriate!methods!and!ethical!standards!to!inform!the!enhancement!of!
specific!LTSE!practices!and!to!further!our!collective!knowledge.!
•
Use!research!knowledge!to!inform!the!choice!and!design!of!LTSE!
practices,!their!implementation!and!reflective!review,!and!the!creation!of!
innovations!and!variations!as!part!of!the![re]design!process.!
•
Disseminate!research!knowledge!through!multiple!channels,!including!
conventional!pathways!(conferences,!journals)!and!innovate!pathways!
(blogs,!performances,!videos).!
•
Play!a!part!in!the!creation!and!running!of!channels!for!the!dissemination!
of!their!research!knowledge,!including!conferences!and!publications.!
7. Horizon#watcher#and#visionary#
The!definition!of!this!role!aims!to!resolve!a!common!dilemma!in!LTSE!
enhancement!work:!often!our!most!active!people!are!driven!by!a!constant!
fascination!with!the!latest,!fastest,!coolest,!most!disruptive!new!gadgets!and!
apps.!The!danger!of!this!“technologySbias”!was!recognized!by!the!students!in!the!
CoSdesign!event.!They!came!up!with!the!phrase!“awesomely!usefully!cool”!to!
describe!what!we!really!want.!Horizon!watching!is!still!very!much!important,!and!
we!do!not!want!to!lose!the!energy!and!insights!that!such!people!might!add.!In!
!
81!
fact!we!want!to!get!everyone!involved!in!watching!out!for!the!awesomely!
usefully!cool.!Again!this!has!to!be!a!networkScommunity!activity,!supported!by!
our!Social!Facilitators!using!social!media!and!live!events.!But!also,!we!need!to!
ensure!that!these!energies!are!used!well!to!inspire!design!and!innovation!in!a!
sustainable!way!–!feeding!into!the!Design!Thinking!approach!described!above.!
Horizon!watching!should!be!accompanied!by!a!visionary!capability!for!imagining!
the!future.!In!relation!to!this,!we!can!describe!some!key!competencies:!
!
•
Find,!follow!and!share!good!sources!of!information!about!innovations.!
•
Be!critical!but!openSminded,!questioning!assertions!made!by!the!
technology!industries.!
•
Being!especially!concerned!about!usability,!sustainability,!emotionally!
durable!design,!fit!with!the!existing!capabilities!and!practices!of!students!
and!teachers!and!the!wider!institutional!context!–!so!as!to!avoid!
disappointment!and!innovation!churn,!but!also!to!ensure!that!
opportunities!are!not!missed.!
•
Able!to!easily!explain!innovations!to!others!following!the!
recommendations!of!Everett!Rogers,!illustrating!their!relative!advantage!
and!usefulness.!
•
Able!to!share!knowledge!of!innovations!at!just!the!right!time!in!just!the!
right!way!so!as!to!inspire!ideation!in!the!Design!Thinking!process.!
8. Design#participant#
To!some!extent!Student!Champions,!as!well!as!the!people!they!support,!work!as!
design!participants!across!all!of!their!roles!and!through!the!whole!of!the!loop.!
There!is!a!kind!of!“everyday!designing”!that!we!do!all!the!time!–!designing!
communications,!events,!learning,!teaching,!experiences,!created!from!the!
“platform”!of!tools,!technologies,!spaces,!services!and!practices!that!are!ready!to!
hand.!An!awareness!of!design!issues!and!methods!can!help!us!all!to!do!this!
better.!However,!as!we!progress!deeper!in!our!attentions!from!what!we!use!the!
platform!for!to!how!the!platform!is!actually!composed!–!the!design!of!tools,!
technologies,!spaces!etc.!–!the!need!for!more!sophisticated!competency!in!design!
rises.!Core!platforms!are!most!often!managed!and!designed!by!professionals!–!IT!
!
82!
Services,!Estates,!Space!Management.!To!work!most!effectively!they!need!the!
participation!of!users!and!experts!from!many!other!fields.!The!Design!Thinking!
approach!is!designed!to!facilitate!participatory'design!of!this!kind,!so!as!to!use!
the!knowledge,!experience,!insights!and!wisdom!of!real!people.!It!also!aims!to!
educate!design!participants!in!thinking!and!acting!like!a!designer,!so!as!to!
maximize!the!potential!of!their!participation.!Student!Champions!should!be!
expert!design!participants,!indeed,!expert!designers.!
!
As!with!research!competencies,!this!is!a!specialized!and!well!documented!field!
(see!Lawson,!2004;!Cross,!2007).!However,!we!can!pullSout!some!key!points!to!
give!appropriate!starting!points,!in!addition!to!those!described!above!as!Design!
Thinking:!
!
•
Be!able!to!visually!represent!and!explain!the!existing!design!of!things,!
including!workflows,!events,!interactions,!interfaces,!resource!stores,!
formats.!
•
Effectively!capture!and!communicate!the!salient!aspects!of!user!
behaviour,!capabilities,!ambitions,!constraints,!values!and!languages.!
•
Know,!adapt!and!apply!a!broad!repertoire!of!design!patterns!around!
which!prototypes!can!be!built!and!evaluated!by!all!relevant!participants.!
•
Understand!and!take!account!of!constraints!in!technologies!and!systems,!
using!this!to!guide!but!not!overSconstrain!the!design!process.!
•
Work!with!and!around!constraints,!exploiting!the!potential!of!
technologies!and!systems!as!much!as!possible,!and!in!unexpected!ways.!
•
Rapidly!create!and!alter!justSgoodSenough!loSfi!prototypes!so!as!to!help!
participants!imagine!their!use!and!assess!their!usefulness.!
•
Specify!designs!in!a!way!that!enables!their!accurate!implementation!by!
technical!experts.!
#
!
#
83!
6.#How#to#[self]organize#our#champions#
Universities!are!full!of!intelligent!and!creative!people.!How!do!we!motivate!them!
to!support!and!take!part!in!this!kind!of!work,!and!develop!these!competencies!
together?!Recalling!the!definition!of!competency,!we!might!think!this!to!be!an!
epic!task.!But!if!we!then!look!at!what!is!already!often!achieved!by!selfSorganised!
groups!of!students,!it!might!look!more!feasible.!For!example,!student!societies!
affiliated!with!the!Students’!Union!run!events!of!international!quality!(Warwick!
hosts!a!student!run!TedSX,!as!well!as!large!scale!student!run!academic!
conferences!in!Economics,!Politics,!Law,!Philosophy).!Students!work!in!and!help!
to!run!charities,!community!projects,!TV!channels,!outreach!networks!and!much!
more.!What!do!these!selfSorganised!initiatives!have!in!common!that!should!
inform!the!design!of!the!Student!Champions!initiative?!
!
•
Strong!motivating!purpose!–!studentSled!initiatives!are!clear!about!what!
they!aim!to!achieve,!often!with!a!strong!sense!of!being!part!of!worldS
enhancing,!worldSchanging!movement,!this!purpose!is!well!articulated!in!
the!name,!language!and!imagery!used!internally!and!externally.!To!
sustain!this!beyond!an!event!requires!grounding!it!in!a!bigger!idea!–!we!
have!gone!some!way!in!this!investigation!to!show!what!this!could!be!like!
(especially!the!three!ambitions)!and!to!connect!it!with!student!thinking!
(the!coSdesign!work)!but!more!needs!to!be!done!with'and'by'the'students'
themselves!to!pitch!it!effectively.!This!also!needs!to!address!the!“student!
as!consumer”!issue,!against!which!we!can!pitch!the!idea!of!coScreation!
and!coSdesign!(increasingly!common!in!other!industries).!
•
Sense!of!being!studentSrun,!giving!a!scaffolded!route!into!greater!
responsibility.!Student!societies!typically!have!a!hierarchical!management!
structure!(with!a!President),!but!actually!work!through!a!more!collective!
and!networked!basis.!Given!the!model!described!in!this!investigation,!we!
might!wish!to!emphasise!that!networked!structure,!as!a!looser!coalition!of!
individuals!and!distributed!groupings,!perhaps!with!many!more!
opportunities!to!take!management!and!leadership!roles!across!the!many!
individual!projects.!
!
84!
•
Well!defined!project!structures!and!practices,!but!with!scope!to!innovate.!!
•
Yearly!cycle!of!recruitment,!setup,!training,!events!and!celebrations.!We!
should!design!a!yearly!cycle!that!generates!participation!and!projects,!
which!then!feed!into!a!capstone!event!towards!which!Student!Champions!
work!(they!have!suggested!a!conference!would!be!good).!This!might!also!
produce!a!publication.!
•
InterSgenerational!–!experiences!students!(second,!third!years)!support!
and!transfer!competency!to!novices.!With!our!Classics!project!we!are!
exploring!the!benefits!of!bringing!together!PhD!students!(who!teach)!with!
undergraduates!and!academics.!This!seems!to!be!a!productive!mix,!with!
different!perspectives!and!capabilities!present!and!working!well!together.!
•
Alumni!networks!–!they!can!contribute!support!and!advice,!especially!in!
helping!Student!Champions!to!understand!the!meaning!and!value!of!the!
competencies!that!they!are!developing.!
•
Roles!–!studentSled!initiatives!are!especially!effective!at!designing!the!
necessary!roles!that!help!them!to!achieve!their!aims.!In!some!cases!this!
can!be!too!rigid,!but!it!has!been!observed!that!students!are!good!at!selfS
developing!a!portfolio!of!roles!for!themselves,!and!switching!as!required!
(just!as!we!describe!in!the!framework).!Additional!support!from!Careers!
and!Skills!advisors!and!personal!tutors!can!help!them!in!reflecting!and!
planning!personal!development!by!taking!on!different!roles.!We!are!
developing!an!eSportfolio!based!approach!through!which!students!can!
record!and!reflect!upon!the!full!breadth!of!their!academic!and!extraS
curricular!experiences.!
•
Competencies!–!do!studentSled!initiatives!have!a!clear!and!useful!sense!of!
the!competencies!that!they!develop?!There!is!some!evidence!of!this!
happening!on!a!tacit!basis,!and!the!more!reflective!students!are!able!to!
articulate!this!in!ways!beyond!simple!catchSall!terms!like!“team!working”.!
But!it!looks!as!if!more!should!be!done!to!support!students!in!reflecting!
upon!this,!articulating!competencies!and!evidence,!creating!appropriate!
opportunities,!and!building!this!into!their!studentSled!activities.!
!
85!
Have#high#expectations,#but#don’t#demand#too#much#
A!key!aspect!of!studentSled!initiatives!came!to!the!fore!in!our!discussions!with!
students.!They!commonly!articulated!the!need!to!expect!great!things!to!be!
achieved!but!at!the!same!time!ensure!that!the!burden!on!students!is!not!too!
great,!and!certainly!does!not!impact!upon!their!academic!work.!We!believe!that!
this!is!one!area!in!which!students!do!need!to!be!given!expert!advice!and!support.!
This!expertise!should!emerge!amongst!students!who!have!matured!as!Student!
Champions,!but!at!least!to!begin!with!they!will!need!help!in!estimating!the!
impact!of!potential!commitments.!We!therefore!suggest!that!a!well!organised!
and!closelySknit!team!of!mentors!should!be!available!to!help!students!with!their!
personal!reflection!and!planning.!This!should!begin!with!experienced!staff,!but!
with!students!taking!on!the!role!where!possible.!
Anyone#can#be#a#champion#–#beyond#the#early#adopters#
One!of!the!key!ideas!we!have!sought!to!illustrate!in!this!investigation!is!that!
Student!Champions!are!not!just!the!special!few,!the!geeks!or!the!extraSambitious.!
The!competency!framework!has!illustrated!the!breadth!of!the!roles!and!
competencies!required!for!success.!We!need!to!communicate!this!well!to!
prospective!Student!Champions.!This!will!fit!well!with!current!work!being!done!
on!articulating!“graduate!attributes”!–!or!what!graduates!can!gain!through!their!
time!at!university!that!will!then!be!of!use!in!the!outside!world.!
Everyone#should#be#a#champion?#
How!broad!should!membership!of!the!Student!Champions!initiative!be?!We!
propose!that!it!should!begin!with!very!broad!participation.!This!could!take!the!
form!of!an!initial!communications!and!learning!for!all!undergraduate!students!
around!the!theme!of!“how!to!be!a!champion!student”!–!drawing!links!between!
active!participation!in!the!enhancement!of!LTSE!and!success!as!a!student.!Open!
induction!sessions!and!MOOCSstyle!online!courses!should!seek!to!reach!as!many!
students!as!possible.!This!open!approach!should!be!continued!throughout!with!
development!opportunities!(especially!workshops!and!online!courses)!available!
to!staff!and!students!–!and!increasingly!designed!and!delivered!by!students.!
!
!
86!
From!this!broad!basis,!project!teams!could!be!developed!so!as!to!give!many!
students!a!chance!to!help!in!enhancement!work!at!the!“tweak”!and!“remix”!level!
(for!example!based!around!the!Extended!Classroom!designs).!This!should!also!
introduce!them!to!the!value!of!recording!and!reflecting!through!MyPortfolio,!as!
well!as!networking,!sharing!and!curating!experiences!and!knowledge.!
!
A!similar!approach,!more!oriented!towards!becoming!an!academic,!should!be!
designed!for!postgraduate!students.!This!will!work!especially!well!at!PhD!level.!
However,!additional!work!would!be!needed!to!fit!it!into!the!busy!lifecycle!of!
Masters!students.!
!
Second!and!third!year!students!could!continue!working!as!Student!Champions,!
repeating!the!types!of!project!already!undertaken,!or!extending!their!own!
repertoires.!Some!of!these!students!would!take!a!more!active!role!in!facilitating!
the!network!and!spreading!innovations.!This!should!include!running!workshops!
and!caseSbased!sessions!that!draw!participants!into!a!deeper,!creativeScritical!
engagement!with!design!and!innovation!in!LTSE.!Some!of!these!students!may!
then!go!on!to!involvement!in!the!longer!more!involved!kinds!of!projects!–!sprints!
and!marathons.!
Champions#working#in#responsive#and#proactive#modes#
As!described!above,!we!want!at!least!some!of!the!Student!Champions!to!move!
from!working!in!a!responsive!mode,!in!which!they!are!recruited!into!projects!
created!by!staff!and!other!students,!towards!a!more!proactive!mode,!in!which!
they!generate!new!projects!through!their!informed!advocacy!and!design!
participation!activities.!!We!need!to!ensure!that!such!students!are!recognized!
and!rewarded!appropriately,!and!that!they!are!able!to!showcase!their!more!
advanced!level!of!competency!to!external!audiences.!This!should!feed!into!
existing!award!schemes!–!for!example,!Warwick!is!developing!a!system!of!
Student!Fellows!in!its!internal!teaching!academy,!with!status!similar!to!winners!
of!the!Warwick!Award!for!Teaching!Excellence.!
!
87!
Inter\disciplinary#and#trans\disciplinary#partnerships#
As!Student!Champions!become!more!experienced!in!their!own!departmental!
contexts,!they!would!value!the!opportunity!to!see!their!competencies!and!ideas!
spread!to!other!departments.!This!is!an!important!conduit!for!the!spread!of!
innovations!and!good!practice.!We!are!experimenting!with!Student!Champion!
teams!from!departments!with!more!advanced!technology!enhanced!LTSE!
practices!working!together!with!teams!from!less!developed!departments.!The!
flow!of!ideas!and!experiences!will!not!just!be!one!way.!We!expect!this!to!give!rise!
to!fresh!opportunities!for!reflection,!critical!and!creative!thinking!on!all!sides.!
Recognition#and#reward#
Recognition!is!built!into!the!very!concept!of!the!Student!Champion!–!they!are!
after!all!champions!and!should!be!clearly!signaled!as!such.!The!progression!from!
first!year’s!gaining!basic!competencies,!on!to!participating!in!projects!that!tweak!
and!remix!LTSE!practice,!and!then!into!longer!more!complex!sprints!and!
marathons,!gives!us!a!sense!of!progression!which!can!be!matched!with!degrees!
of!recognition.!We!are!now!(in!mid!2015)!introducing!the!Open!Badges!system!to!
Warwick.!This!idea!was!received!well!at!the!coSdesign!workshop!in!July!2015.!
We!can,!through!the!Moodle!system,!link!badge!awarding!to!course!completion.!
But!we!want!to!go!a!step!further.!We!want!fellow!students!and!members!of!staff!
to!award!badges!to!Student!Champions!for!participating!in!projects!and!helping!
in!other!ways.!We!would!like!this!to!follow!the!competency!framework!as!a!way!
of!embedding!its!ideas!into!the!minds!and!practices!of!people!across!the!
university.!By!establishing!these!ideas,!connected!to!real!people!and!real!
examples!of!work!(especially!through!the!MyPortfolio/Mahara!system)!we!
deepen!our!collective!understanding!of!the!competencies,!and!develop!our!
capability!to!explain!them!to!others!–!including!people!from!beyond!the!
University.!Previous!generations!of!Student!Champions!have!done!this!in!an!
informal!way,!and!advocate!its!benefits,!we!now!need!to!take!it!much!further.!
!
One!further!very!interesting!idea!emerged!in!the!coSdesign!workshop,!and!we!
hope!to!investigate!it!further.!In!the!past!Student!Champions!have!been!paid!out!
of!central!funds!or!departmental!project!funds!per!hour!of!work!(we!have!a!
!
88!
University!temping!agency!that!makes!this!easy!to!administer).!The!rate!is!well!
above!the!living!wage,!and!includes!holiday!pay.!However,!we!have!seen!that!
Student!Champions!do!far!more!work!than!we!can!possibly!afford!–!especially!in!
supporting!each!other!and!developing!the!Student!Champion!network.!It!was!
proposed!that!we!could!establish!a!“time!bank”!system!along!side!paid!work.!
This!is!a!form!of!community!contribution!system,!in!which!people!offer!their!
skills!and!time!to!the!community,!their!contribution!is!recorded,!and!in!return!
others!seek!to!pay!that!back!with!different!contributions.!In!a!classic!time!bank!
community!a!gardener!may!help!an!accountant!with!their!gardening,!the!
accountant!in!return!helps!the!gardener!with!their!finances.!The!relationships!
can!be!more!complicated!–!gardener!helps!vicar,!vicar!helps!teacher,!teacher!
helps!gardener!etc.!This!has!the!collateral!benefit!of!adding!to!the!sense!of!
community!and!mutual!support.!The!feasibility!of!this!approach,!and!support!
mechanisms!to!make!it!work!without!too!high!an!admin!burden,!will!now!be!
investigated.!
!
!
!
!
89!
University!of!Warwick!Graduate!Attributes!Framework!(Draft!June!2015)!
!
Autonomy'
Able'to'take'the'initiative'
Able'to'think'for'themselves'
Able'to'use'own'judgement'to'make'decisions'
Generate'own'ideas'
Manage'own'time'
Reflects'on'own'ideas'
Seeks'out'and'accesses'information'and'knowledge'
SelfLaware'
SelfLmanagement'and'drive'
Takes'responsibility'for'own'learning'and'development'
Community#Engagement'
Actively'participate'in'seminar'and'other'learner'community'
activities'
Aware'of'own'social'position'&'culture'in'relation'to'others'and'its'
implications'
Contribute'to'the'wider'environment'
Critically'aware'of'the'role'of'a'University'and'their'discipline'within'
that'
Ethically'aware'
Takes'an'active'role'in'the'community'
Work'with'those'outside'of'own'discipline'
Enterprise'
Aware'of'external'factors'
Identify'and'use'resources'and'opportunities'
Responsive'to'opportunity'and'initiate'change'
Inter\culturally#Competence'
Able'to'communicate'appropriately'and'flexibly'
Able'to'understand'and'appreciate'other'ways'of'working'
Adaptable'to'unknown'or'changing'cultural'situations'
Analytical'and'reflective'
Appreciate'other'perspectives'
Curious'about'other'cultures'
Open'to'new'ideas'and'ways'of'behaving'
Work'with'others'from'different'back'grounds'(inter'culturally'
competent'
!
90!
Initiative'
Actively'participate'in'seminar'and'other'learner'community'
activities'
Awareness'and'confidence'in'own'attributes'
Be'a'driver'for'change'
Create'and'manage'change'
Determine'own'future'
Resilient'in'the'face'of'change'and'problems'
Seeks'out'and'accesses'information'and'knowledge'
SelfLmanagement'and'drive'
Takes'responsibility'to'engage'in'activities'
Takes'responsibility'to'initiate'change'
Use'their'initiative'and'act'without'waiting'for'instruction'
Professionalism'
Able'to'apply'transferable'(employability)'skills'
Able'to'leverage'technical'knowledge'
Able'to'represent'their'organisation'(could'inc.'the'Uni,'faculty,'
course,'team,'peer'group'in'HE'context)'
Awareness'of'the'environment'in'which'they'operate'
Communicate'in'a'range'of'mediums'(inc'.digital)'
Emotionally'intelligent'
Good'disciplinary'knowledge'
Orientated'to'/'maintains'Institutional,'professional'body'standards'
and'values'
positively'interact'interpersonally''
Reflective'and'selfLaware'
Reliability'
SelfLmanagement'&'drive'
Show'respect'for'others'
Reflective'
Able'to'make'considered'decisions'
Able'to'think'before'acting'
Adapt'understandings'to'new'or'unfamiliar'settings'
Appreciate'other'perspectives'
Emotionally'intelligent'
Objective'
SelfL'aware'
!
91!
Synthesise'knowledge'of'external'factors'into'own'understanding'
Take'responsibility'for'own'mistakes'
Takes'responsibility'for'own'learning'and'development'
Critical#Thinking'
Able'to'evaluate'authenticity'&'credibility'of'information'sources'
Applies'critical'thinking'to'themselves'through'reflective'practice''
Aware'of'and'critically'engage'with'external'factors''
Critically'challenge'orthodoxy'
Critically'evaluate'competing'knowledge'
Makes'informed'reasoned'decisions'
Objective'
Produce'analysis'that'is'grounded'in'evidence'
seeks'evidence'to'support'claims'
Big#picture#Thinking#(outward#looking#perspective)'
Able'to'synthesise'multiple'perspectives'
Appreciate'other'perspectives'
Aware'of'and'critically'engage'with'external'factors''
Aware'of'new'opportunities'and'possibilities'for'innovation'
Aware'of'perspectives'outside'of'own'discipline'
Awareness'of'ideas/cultures/factors'beyond'limiting'
geographical/cultural'exposure'
Critically'aware'of'the'role'of'a'University'and'their'discipline'within'
that'
Synthesise'knowledge'of'external'factors'into'own'understanding'
Think'objectively'
Collaboration'
Able'to'understand'and'appreciate'other'ways'of'working'
Appreciate'other'perspectives'
Open'to'new'ideas'
Work'with'others'from'different'back'grounds'(inter'culturally'
competent'
Comfortable'working'in'large'and'small'teams'
Finds'synergistic'solutions'
Shares'Ideas'
Able'to'support'others'initiatives'and'ideas'
Open'to'support'for'own'initiatives'and'ideas'
Able'to'balance'different'viewpoints'and'opinions'
!
92!
Work'with'others'beyond'own'discipline'
Innovation/#Creativity'
Able'to'consider'and'take'risks'
Able'to'find'new'or'unusual'solutions'to'common'problems'
Able'to'work'with'ambiguity'&'uncertainty'
Adapt'understandings'to'new'or'unfamiliar'settings'
Comfortable'going'outside'own'comfort'zone'
Critically'challenge'orthodoxy'
Intellectual'curiosity'
Open'to'new'ideas'
Originality'and'creativity'in'formulating'evaluating'and'applying'
evidence'based'solutions'
Problem'solving'
!
!
!
!
93!
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