Promoting Transformational Change
in e-learning
QE seminar, 21 April
David Beards, Senior Policy Officer
dbeards@sfc.ac.uk
Key messages
• It’s about learning, not technology
• Economies of scale require
collaborative solutions
• Incremental and transformational
change
• Strategic change requires reengineering of institutional processes
Current actions
• Maintain the infrastructure: SJ5
• Analyse training needs: HETNA to run
from June
• Develop institutional toolkit (with JISC
InfoNet)
• Collaborate with national agencies
• Promote transformational change…
Transformational change?
• Embedded in mainstream processes
• Core business, not peripheral
• Substitutes for existing practice, not an
‘optional extra’
• Step change in functionality
• Financially sustainable within
institutions’ own budgets
1. Reid Kerr College
(with: Cardonald College, Coatbridge College, Dundee College,
Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, COLEG, JISC Regional Support
Centre S&W, Langside College)
‘Blend-Ed’
Problems:
 learner retention and achievement
 need for more flexible provision
 too much didactic teaching
 expensive for single college to develop materials
Approach
• consortium to collaborate in developing approaches
to course re-design and re-engineering
• introduce a pedagogically sound blended delivery
model within mainstream provision
• reduce didactic teaching and allow staff to focus on
learner needs
• test model in four HN courses which are widely
offered: Business, Social Care, Social Science, and
Administration and IT
• Improve retention by more effective delivery and by
introducing continuous assessment and feedback
• flexible delivery to meet the needs of learners who
find it difficult to access traditional courses
2. Moray College
(with Glasgow Metropolitan College, North Highland College,
Inverness College, Aberdeen College, CITB, Learndirect,
Historic Scotland)
‘e-Construction’
Problems:
 industry skills gaps
 class times and location of placements are barriers
 providers offer a diverse range of units in
construction; competition and duplication of effort
 lack of fit between provision and learner needs
Approach
• introduce flexible and resource-based learning
• reduce level of didactic teaching during block release
• develop learner autonomy (and increase time for staff
CPD)
• develop employer mentoring role
• develop materials with CITB approval
• focus on generic high level units such as craft,
technical and management studies, prioritising those
which are widely offered
• reduce the diversity of construction units currently
offered by colleges
• deliver and disseminate through Learndirect centres
3. Strathclyde University
(with Glasgow Caledonian University and the
University of Glasgow)
‘Re-engineering Assessment practices’
Problems:
 current models of assessment increase staff
workloads, not student learning;
 students need to develop their ability to
assess themselves
Approach
• pilot new models of assessment at three universities
• (including online testing, simulations, classroom
communication systems, virtual learning
environments and e-portfolios)
• focus on large enrolment first year classes
• Departments to identify the scope and scale of the
target reductions in teacher workload and the ways in
which quality will be improved
• apply systematic cost-benefit analysis tools to assess
the effectiveness of the approaches
• evaluate the impact of curriculum redesign on
organisational structures and processes and staff
roles.
4. Dundee University
(with Napier University, Falkirk College,
Interactive University, SQA)
‘Collaborative
e-Learning in the Life
Sciences’
Problems:
 learner access, achievement and transition
 Inefficient use of staff resources; didactic teaching,
updating materials and marking assessments
Approach
• agree core curricula for degree and Higher National
programmes in life sciences
• develop interactive materials for the core parts of
each course, along with develop case studies,
assignments and formative assessments
• focus on SCQF levels 7 and 8
• deploy student-centred learning methods
• reduce didactic contact hours (lectures)
• increase level of supervised tutorials and practicals
• academic staff to devote more time to course design
and the development of materials
• Interactive University (IU) to handle materials
development and project management
5. Napier University
(with Lauder College and Telford College)
‘Transforming and Enhancing the Student
Experience through Pedagogy’
Problems:
 learner transition, retention and progression
 lack of fit between provision and learner needs
 high student:staff ratios
 slow pace of change
Approach
• pool expertise to create and implement new pedagogic
models for the FE and HE sectors
• collaborate in evaluation of new design models
• develop critical mass of new practice in e.g. health and
computing
• reduce didactic teaching and increase learner support
• create communities of practice where practitioners from
different institutions can share experience and
approaches
• cascade the expertise within and outside the institutions
• produce staff development materials, exemplar case
studies, learning design tools and models
6. University of Paisley
(with University of Abertay Dundee, Angus College, Ayr College, Bell College,
Dumfries and Galloway College, Glenrothes College, Fife College, James Watt
College, Motherwell College, Queen Margaret University College)
Individualised Support for Learning through e-Portfolios
Problems:
 learner progression, retention and employability
 Inefficient use of staff resources
Approach
• develop a common pedagogical framework for
personal development planning, using an ePortfolio
framework
• share expertise and resources in learning support
• automate processes such as diagnostic testing and
feedback
• increase the level of online interactions
• in HE, personal tutors to spend less time on
developing threshold skills and more time developing
graduate level learning
• in FE, guidance tutors to reduce their reliance on face
to face support
David Beards
dbeards@sfc.ac.uk
0131 313 6520