What to expect this morning
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Brief introduction - UK Transnational Higher Education
& Brief question - UKPSF as a framework (?)
•
Conceptualisations of Learning & Teaching:
(1) Concept mapping exercise – Your conceptualisations of
key aspects of learning and teaching
(2) Insights from a work in progress – Conceptualisations of
learning and teaching from three international contexts
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In 2011/12 UK TNE:
• 126 UK institutions, accrediting
– c5,000 TNE courses, enrolling
– c60,000 HE students, generating
– £330 million – value to UK economy
Sources: HM Government 2013, International Education: Global Growth and
Prosperity; and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/2014/03/20/what-impact-istransnational-education-having-on-host-countries/
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“…estimate that TNE will become the largest
mode of international education by 2020”
Conference flyer for Universities UK/UCAS/International Unit conference on
Transnational Education, London, October 2013.
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/events/Documents/TNE_ConferenceBrochure.pdf
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“QAA and the Higher Education International Unit will consult
the sector in the autumn of 2013 on how to strengthen the
quality assurance of higher education delivered overseas. The
consultation will propose a significantly strengthened risk-based
element to focus resource and attention where they are most
needed. It will also propose robust
models and
mechanisms to demonstrate the commitment of
individual UK TNE providers to high quality
provision and the protection of the UK sector’s
strong reputation.”
HM Government 2013, International Education: Global Growth and Prosperity, p 8
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QAA UK Quality Code - B10
Indicator 12
Indicator 17
The awarding institution is ultimately
responsible for ensuring that
The awarding institution should be able to
satisfy itself that
the quality of
learning opportunities
staff engaged in delivering
or supporting a collaborative
programme are appropriately
qualified for their role
offered through a collaborative
arrangement is adequate to enable a
student to achieve the academic standard
required for its award.
and that a partner organisation has
effective measures to monitor and
assure the proficiency of such staff.
QAA. 2011. Quality Code for Higher Education. Chapter B10: management of collaborative arrangements.
London. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Documents/Quality-Code-ChapterB10.pdf
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Successful and sustainable TNE
programmes…
…are those that are developed to meet the
needs of the partner institution, host
country, and local students. In other words,
successful TNE is a mutually beneficial
relationship between international
partners
Source: British Council. 2014. Exploring the impacts f transnational education on host
countries: a pilot study. London: British Council.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/britishcouncil.uk2/files/tne_report_2014.pdf
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Thinking about the quality of learning and teaching practice,
to what extent do you think your own institution is meeting
the QAA expectation
through the provision of appropriate
development and support for academic staff in
the UK/ in your overseas partner institutions
involved in the overseas delivery of your provision?
UK - OS
•
•
•
•
Very Well
Adequately
Minimally
DK/not say
6-4
5-5
3-3
0-2
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Conceptions of Learning & Teaching
A Concept Mapping Exercise
A study of teaching conceptions is seen as important because they have
been shown to be related to measures of the quality of student learning.
Conceptions are modelled as influencing teaching approaches which in turn
effect student learning approaches and subsequently learning outcomes.
An understanding of teaching conceptions then becomes important if
measures to enhance the quality of teaching are to have any impact. If
teaching approaches are strongly influenced by the
underlying beliefs of the teacher, quality assurance
measures should take into account conceptions rather
than concentrate exclusively upon approaches. Real
changes in teaching quality are only likely to be brought about by changes in
the beliefs about teaching of faculty.
Kember, D. 1997. A reconceptualisation of the research into university
academics' conceptions of teaching. Learning and Instruction 3: 225-275. p 273
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UKPSF
“…staff engaged in
delivering or supporting a
collaborative programme
are appropriately qualified
for their role”
Areas of Activity
Core Knowledge
Professional Values
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Concept Mapping
Developed in the 1970’s (Novak and Musonda 1991).
The process involves “high levels of cognitive
performance, namely evaluation and synthesis of
knowledge” (Novak and Cañas 2006: 12)
“It may at first look like a simple arrangement of words into a hierarchy, but
when care is used in organizing the concepts represented by the words, and
the propositions or ideas are formed with well-chosen linking words, one
begins to see that a good concept map is at once
simple, but also elegantly complex with profound
meanings” (Novak and Cañas 2006: 29)
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Source: Novak, J. D., and A. J. Cañas. 2007. "The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to Construct Them, technical,
Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01." Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Accessed: September 2012 at:
http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf
Leeds Metropolitan University
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What do you consider to be the key dimensions
(e.g. components, roles and relationships) in an
effective TNE partnership with regard to
ensuring equitable quality in learning
opportunities?
Leeds Metropolitan University PGCAP
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Concept Mapping – Conceptualisations of
Learning & Teaching
Stage 1 – Identifying the
concepts
On the post-its provided note
down the key concepts (one
concept per post-it) which you
think dimensions to an
effective TNE partnership
Each concept should be a
single word or a short
descriptive phrase.
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Stage 2 – Provisionally arranging the concepts
Arrange your post-its on the flipchart
provided. Put the most general concepts
towards the top and more
detailed/specific concepts towards the
bottom. You may add any further
concepts on additional post-its if you
think of them. This is all provisional, and
the ordering can be freely changed
during the later stages.
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Stage 3 – Creating an initial
concept map
With a pencil draw lines with
directional arrows to connect
concepts. Write a label for
each line which shows the
relationship between the two
concepts.
As you progress with this, you
can move concepts, erase
lines, add new concepts, etc.,
as appropriate.
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Concept Mapping with TNE
Partners
Review of Pilot Project
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Overview
Objective is to inform the development/enhancement of
our approach to academic staff development around
learning & teaching around TNE provision
• Courses from our Faculty of
Business and Law
• UG & PG provision
• Partners in
– Nepal
– Swaziland
– Malawi
• Concept mapping as first
part of two-day
development workshop
• Six ‘course’ teams
• Concept maps constructed
• Presentations of concept
maps
• Interim analysis of maps
and recorded presentations
utilising the dimensions of
the UKPSF
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• Transformed map
http://www.ihmc.us/cmaptools.php
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Focus Question
What do you consider to be key aspects of
learning, teaching and assessment in higher
education in general, and on the Leeds
Metropolitan award(s) in particular?
‘aspects’ might be principles guiding good design, delivery and assessment;
factors concerning your students and their approaches to learning; issues
driving or inhibiting how a course is designed, delivered and assessed; etc.
Leeds Metropolitan University PGCAP
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Headline Figures
Dimensions of the UKPSF
• Aspects of three dimensions (A, K, V) featured in all six
course teams
• Most included overall was Areas of Activity, least was
Professional Values
• Most included in single category were K3, How students
learn, and V4 Acknowledging the wider context
• No specific references were made to K1 – Knowledge of the
subject material or V5 Promoting participation in HE
• Only 1 or 2 course teams referred to Feedback (part of A3),
CPD (A5), Methods for teaching and learning (K2), Learning
Technologies (K4), Use of Evidenced-informed approaches
(V3)
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Instructor As Teacher
• The teacher here has additional responsibility to
make content applicable to the students. (NS3)
• So the instructor's experience will mean he can
meet the student needs and give practical help
(NW2)
• We design the course and teachers see whether
the course is practical or not...and if it's not
practical, then again redesign it... If OK, then
implement it. (NW2)
• When we start the course we need to build in
interactions. (NW2)
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Student-Centredness
• Prior knowledge affects the teaching itself whilst it also
affects the learning. (NS2)
• If the student motivation is down and the level teaching
and learning, whatever they can learn, decreases. (NW1)
• Ultimately learning is about developing the attitude and
then the aptitude, then we see that the students will meet
the learning outcomes.(NW2)
• [Learning] will also depend on the reward in learning and
the confidence which is developed in the student. (WM1)
• the needs of our learners and influence the design of the
curriculum
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Socio-Cultural Contexts - Finance
• We must first have financial resources
• the family is also part or the society, and will
provide the finance, which in turn develops
the will to learn
• finances determine the educational policy
because it limits the educational policy.
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Socio-Cultural Contexts – Influence on
Learner
•
•
•
Then the society assists also in the discipline of the learner.
Socio economic background of students will affect how they can connect with the content
their learning will depend on the sort of family they come from...so it is culture that has a role in making the
student absorb whatever they are learning in the college
•
•
the home environment is … instrumental in supporting the teaching and learning experience of our student
When it comes to home and family environment, that adds to student motivation. So if there is no... backing up of
the students at home, the student motivation is down and the level teaching and learning, whatever they can
learn, decreases
•
The social environment is also key because it limits what information will be accessed and also influence the
learners' needs
•
students might bring prior knowledge from their context and experience which is different from the syllabus from
outside and might disadvantage the student here
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Socio-Cultural Contexts – Relationship
to Curriculum
• what happens in the cultures of the society will assist
in shaping the discipline.
• teaching should be relevant to the needs of the society.
• educational policy itself will influence teachers' minds
and the curriculum, which will also then determine the
objectives within the teaching process, and these
objective will influence that content that builds the
teaching
• Local contexts can affect the relevance of the syllabus
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Complexity
• The learning environment will also affect self-discipline and attitudes (NS1)
• You can't separate learning from teaching and assessment (NS2)
• Finance affects the learning and the environment influences the learning
itself, whilst the prior knowledge affects learning (NS2)
• Class relations also might affect your students commitment and motivation.
And their learning skills also affects their motivation (NS3)
• Student support will bring about student motivation, but that depends on
the student attitude. It will also depend on the reward in learning and the
confidence which is developed in the student (WM1)
• The curriculum sets out the content and this informs the choice of teaching
materials, and of course teaching materials delivery is influenced by ICT
(WM1
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Deficit Models
The assessments are not that rigorous and students know that to study
one week before the exam and one week before the exam is fine...
Whereas I've experienced that in the UK programmes they have on
line cases every week, they have workshops and seminars to attend
every week, so it pushes them so they have no time to spare for any
other thing. That is something very different between the two
systems.
Like students studying here [on British degress] no matter what school
they have come from, they come from a culture of being spoon fed
and then they come to university programme and they are required to
do 200 hours plus of independent learning...they are lost, "what do
your mean by independent learning?" Moreover, even to some level,
even teachers are unaware of what is meant by independent learning..
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Aspirations
• We want to deliver that ideal course to
students
• That is our overall aspiration, we are trying to
get responsible citizens, better employability
and better quality of life.
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Plenary
Key learning
For thought or action
• Value of sharing across
institutions and disciplines
• Many of the issues/solutions
which apply in TNE apply in UK
• Importance of genuinely twoway collaboration between
staff/students/staff across TNE
provision – evolving to an
inter-dependent relationship
• Affects everybody/area of the
institution
• TNE adds complexity at many
levels and in many areas
• How to maintain the
momentum of this forum? A
blog or Wiki?
• Need for spreading
involvement/concern for these
issues beyond evangelists –
upward persuasion
• Need to critique strategic
drivers and push towards
more complex/ethical agendas
• Push focus on learning and
teaching agenda in TNE
partnerships – AND in UK
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