Akoranga issue 3 (June 2008) by Adon Moskal

Akoranga Akoranga

A periodical about learning and teaching from the Higher Education Development Centre ISSUE 3: JUNE 2008

- TEACHING FOR CRITICAL ACTION - A COLLOQUIUM PUTTING THE SPOTLIGHT ON TEACHING AND LEARNING - PASS: STUDENTS ASSISTING STUDENTS - TIPS FOR SUPPORTING TUTORS AND DEMONSTRATORS - STARTING TO PUT TOGETHER THE HIGHER EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABILITY JIGSAW

www.hedc.otago.ac.nz

Welcome from the Editorial Team

Akoranga ISSUE 3: JUne 2008 Akoranga is produced by the Higher Education Development Centre (HEDC) at the University of Otago for all University staff. Design: Peter Scott Marketing and Communications University of Otago Printing: Southern Colour Print This newsletter is printed on recycled paper Editorial Team: Nell Smith and Candi Young Contact Details: Nell Smith nell.smith@otago.ac.nz Copyright: We welcome reprinting if permission is sought. Cover photo: Recipients of the Otago Excellence in Teaching Awards 2008: (from left to right) Dr Ian McAndrew, Associate Professor Mike Colombo and Dr John Reynolds. We would like to acknowledge and thank all contributors to this newsletter.

Kia ora koutou! We’d like to welcome all readers to this, our third, issue of Akoranga, which we’re proud to say also marks the first anniversary of our step into the world of ‘newsletterhood’. We hope you’ll enjoy and also be provoked by our offerings, and we can certainly promise a varied clutch of both reports and articles. The University of Otago, you’ll agree, is a happening place. The first ‘happening’ we’re going to bring you this time will be the Otago Teaching Awards, the ceremony for which took place on May 26. This is not only a celebration of teaching excellence here at the University, but also marks a step, for the three teachers involved, towards the annual National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards in Wellington. Even though we function in a PBRF environment, it’s encouraging to know that good teaching continues to be valued and rewarded. You can read about the Otago ceremony, and also about the background and processes involved in these awards, in Jenny McDonald’s article. A second ‘happening’, scheduled to take place in November, is the two-yearly Spotlight on Teaching and Learning Colloquium. This year’s event will be funded both by the University and the Otago Polytechnic and we include the aims and brief for this very useful get together later in this issue. Most of us would acknowledge that we live these days in a highly competitive world and, whether we like it or not, this competitiveness has ramifications for course co-ordinators in terms of the pressure it creates for students. In light of the need to provide help mechanisms for students, the Student Learning Centre, in collaboration with the School of Business, is piloting a PASS programme which involves students helping students. More information on this innovative approach can be found a few pages further on. Another help role many students take on is that of a tutor or demonstrator; and when you think about it, these students, many of them involved in postgraduate study themselves, form a workforce that the university relies on quite heavily. Does your department offer them the support they need? Read the checklist compiled by Dr Sarah Stein and Rob Wass – the first in a series designed to highlight the needs and rights of tutors and demonstrators. Knowing that we are the Higher Education Development Centre, you won’t be surprised at the emphasis on the various aspects of teaching in this newsletter. And so, along with recognising teaching excellence, we’d also like to challenge some of your ideas about the process – and in this issue the role of provocateur falls to Associate Professor Tony Harland, who questions the nature of the connection between critical thinking and critical action. Still on the topic of teaching and learning, and continuing her exploration of the E-side of things educational, Jenny McDonald takes a look at something tantalisingly named the “Gradient of Ease.” How does this relate to your use of E-aids? Well, the best way to find out is to read on. Those of you familiar with HEDC and Akoranga will also be familiar with our interest in sustainability in all its various aspects. In this issue, Professor Kerry Shephard fits together the pieces to share a possible perspective on environmental sustainability as it relates to this University. Puzzled? You soon won’t be – as long as you’re good at jigsaws, that is. All in all, I think you’ll agree this issue contains quite a variety of items and outlooks within its covers. Thanks for reading and good luck for Semester Two. Candi Young

2008 Teaching Awards

Otago Excellence in Teaching Awards Announced

Anatomy and Structural Biology Senior Lecturer, Dr John Reynolds, describes his approach to supporting student learning in the 2008 Teaching Awards. Professor Kerry Shephard and Professor David Skegg look on.

Associate Professor Mike Colombo, Dr John Reynolds and Dr Ian McAndrew all received Otago Excellence in Teaching Awards at a function in the Clocktower Building on the 26th May, 2008. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Skegg, presented the awards which included a sum of $10,000 for individual staff development. Introducing each of the recipients, Professor Kerry Shephard, Director of HEDC, emphasised that the purpose of the awards is to celebrate excellence in teaching, and commented that excellence can embrace very different teaching styles. “Good teaching is a HEDC passion. But what is it, how do we know it when we see it, how do we encourage it, develop it and promote it? Here we have three very different teachers, with different approaches to teaching. All are judged excellent by

students, by their peers and by a panel of senior teachers at the University.” All candidates for the awards had to compile extensive teaching portfolios, supported by testimonials from students and peers. The final recommendation for awards was made by a sub committee of the Committee for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT). Otago award recipients are nominated by the University for National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards. Last year Associate Professor Kath Dickinson and Associate Professor Donna Buckingham went on to win national awards The individual teaching portfolios for each of the winners are available for reference purposes from HEDC’s Resource Room.

PASS: Students Assisting Students Earlier this year the Student Learning Centre, in collaboration with the School of Business, started a pilot of the Peer Assisted Study Sessions Programme (PASS). PASS is a programme where students wanting to improve their understanding and their grades can work together with ‘peer leaders’, students who have excelled at the subject in the past. This article provides a brief overview of the programme and the Otago pilot.

What is PASS? The Peer Assisted Study Sessions Programme (PASS) is aimed at assisting students in achieving success in courses that have high stakes (e.g. compulsory in order to progress with their studies, or requiring high marks in order to compete for limited entry courses), or courses that are perceived by students as difficult. The focus of the programme, then, is not remedial, nor does it seek to provide uniquely for identified high-risk students (although students in this category might clearly benefit). The study sessions are facilitated by students who themselves have achieved well in these courses, or students who are regarded as high performers in the discipline concerned. The study sessions do not replace lectures or tutorials; they are supplementary to them.

Background The programme has its origins in an approach developed in North American universities; it is known there as “Supplemental Instruction” (Martin & Hurley, 2005). Deanna Martin originally developed this programme in the University of Missouri in the 1970s. It has since been validated by the U.S. Department of Education, and is supported by effectiveness studies using longitudinal data (Martin & Hurley, 2005). Since 1973 Supplemental Instruction programmes have been implemented widely across the U.S. and include such universities as Cornell, Purdue, Amherst and Rutgers. A wide range of Australian and New Zealand universities have also introduced similar programmes. Amongst the latter are Victoria University (Wellington), and Massey University. In Australia, it is noteworthy that both the University of Melbourne1 and the University of Sydney have implemented the programme. The effectiveness of the programme has also been commented on in New Zealand literature.

Organisation Central units in a university typically coordinate peer assisted study programmes - units like the Student Learning Centre (SLDG) at the University of Otago. However, the actual study sessions are normally held in subject classrooms. In Australasia, an accredited trainer provides training for PASS programmes coordinators in Australia and New Zealand. The University of Otago coordinator has attended a training

programme at the University of Woollongong. The designated coordinator within SLDG, Carole Scott, has undergone this training. The University of Woollongong has also provided a range of resources. The coordinator and lecturers within HEDC (from the Student Learning Development Group) are involved in training the students who will facilitate the study sessions. These students are sometimes referred to as PASS leaders, or PASS “facilitators”.

Otago Pilot The PASS programme is new to Otago. In discussion with the School of Business, we identified one of its new core first-year papers, BSNS101, as a good candidate for a pilot. The School of Business provided the bulk of the funding for this pilot. It is expected that we will learn from the first year of operation before we consider a more comprehensive implementation of this programme. At the end of 2007 we trained students who performed well in BSNS101 during the first semester. Further training was provided in the first week of the semester. In the second week of the semester, 15 PASS leaders started the study support sessions. A total of 220 BSNS101 students have enrolled in this free programme. The programme will also be offered in the second semester.

Evaluation of the programme At the conclusion of the semester, final grades will be compared between the groups of participants and non-participants. Although there are some limitations to this method, research suggests that such comparative figures provide a good measurement of effectiveness (Martin & Hurley, 2005). Other forms of evaluation that could inform future improvement to the programme could also be conducted.

References

Beasley, C. (1997). Students as teachers: the benefits of peer tutoring. Retrieved 15th August, 2006, from http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf1997/ beasley.html Martin, D., & Hurley, M. (2005). Supplemental Instruction. In M. Upcraft, J. Gardner & B. Barefoot (Eds.), Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A handbook for improving the first year at college (pp. 308-319). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Prebble, T., Hargraves, L., Leach, L., Naidoo, K., Suddaby, G., & Zepke, N. (2004). Impact of student support services and academic development programmes on student outcomes in undergraduate tertiary study: a synthesis of the research. Wellington: Ministry of Education.

Carole Scott Contact: carole.scott@otago.ac.nz Jacques van der Meer Contact: jacques.vandermeer@otago.ac.nz 1

In Melbourne, it is particularly the Faculty of Economics and Commerce who has taken an interest in this programme. See their website: http://tlu.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/undergraduate/PASS.html

Spotlight on Teaching at Otago On 19-20 November 2008 the University of Otago and the Otago Polytechnic will host the second Spotlight on Teaching and Learning Colloquium.

The event aims to:

Themes to be explored within the Colloquium are: • catering for diversity • designing curricula for engagement

• promote and share tertiary education research and best tertiary teaching practices

• developing communities of practice

• foster cross-institutional, cross disciplinary exchanges and networks among tertiary teachers dedicated to examining the art and practice of teaching through professional interaction and critical reflection.

• the first year of tertiary study

The keynote speaker for the Colloquium is Keith Trigwell, Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning at the University of Sydney. Until September 2006 he was Director of the Oxford Centre for Excellence in Preparing for Academic Practice, a Fellow of Kellogg College and Reader in Higher Education at the University of Oxford. He has a PhD in chemistry, university teaching experience in chemistry and education, has published over 100 journal articles, conference papers and books, including Understanding Learning and Teaching: The experience in higher education, which is a summary of 10 years of learning/teaching research. His research work in Oxford and Sydney focuses on investigations into qualitative differences in university teaching and in the students’ learning experience, as well as on teaching-research relations and the scholarship of teaching generally.

• learners’ experiences • workplace learning Note that e-learning and flexible learning will be embedded in these themes, rather than having them as separate strands.

All academic staff of the University of Otago with an interest in teaching and learning are invited to attend. For presentation and registration details please go to the Colloquium website: hedc.otago.ac.nz/spotlight or contact: Carol Bond Academic Director Student Learning Development carol.bond@otago.ac.nz Candi Young Administrative Assistant candi.young@otago.ac.nz

What could Barnett mean by The idea of critical thinking has been around for a long time and I suspect that most academics would accept it as a fundamental concept that truly defines what a higher education might be. There are many theorists working in this field but one has stood out for me because of his insistence that critical thinking is simply not good enough on its own. This writer is Professor Ronald Barnett of the Institute of Education in London and he suggests that critical thinking requires an additional step in the form of critical action. The thinking bit happens in one’s head but then a decision is made to do something with it. However, not any old action will qualify and the action itself has to be critical in nature and based on some prior critical thinking. Unfortunately Barnett’s arguments only hint at critical action beyond a conceptual level, and I remain puzzled by what this could mean for the day to day practices of the university teacher and the student, both in and out of the classroom. I have presented my research on critical thinking in a number of seminars and conferences, and in each one have introduced Barnett’s ideas. I ask the audience what they think teaching for critical action might look like in practice. Both students and teachers have contributed to some lively discussions and I share these explorations in this article.

Critical action for activism In all discussions the first reaction is that critical action is linked to social and political activism. When I think of students taking action in this context I am mindful of the protests in Paris in May 1968. As an impressionable teenager at the time I followed events closely and concluded that it was the duty of every student to have a say in their world, even if this required a radical form of action. Barnett has activism on his agenda too and in his book on the critical project of higher education1 he uses the striking image of the student in Tiananmen Square standing in front of a line of tanks. It seems that students will always want to do something about issues that are important to them, and the student body still provides a countervailing force in society. As academics we may not feel comfortable attending to the relationship between our teaching and student activism. We may not even be comfortable expressing our social and political beliefs in class. Some suggest that such values have no place in education but there are two counter arguments. First, there is a bottom line for many issues that the university and its community may wish to stand for, and these are value laden and ideological: for example, freedom of speech or the concept of critic and conscience of society. Secondly, teaching is about helping students understand their own knowledge claims,

while recognising that knowledge is not independent of the societies we live in. At a bare minimum, teachers need to equip students with the capacity to understand their knowledge, beliefs and actions so that if they choose to act, they may do this critically and with a foundation in critical thought. Should academics also be active outside of their classrooms in bringing about social or political change? Again, this is not so clear cut. A recent example that should concern the entire academic community came from an article in the Times Higher Educational Supplement. Professor Paul Ramsden, Director of the UK’s Higher Education Research Academy, was reported to have sacked his deputy for publicly criticising the utility of a theory of student learning. There was widespread outrage at such a challenge to academic freedom. The event shows that the right of an academic to criticise and take action is fragile and needs to be guarded. As I read the news reports I wondered what I should do about it, what action to take. I considered taking my copy of the book Ramsden wrote on academic leadership and burning it on the Union Lawn after contacting the Otago Daily Times for publicity (not a serious consideration). However, my choice to use this story to illustrate academic activism is a form of critical action in itself.

Critical action for the knowledge project One action that students might take with their developing critical thinking abilities is to use these to contribute to their disciplines. Contribution is about having a sense of duty to both the discipline and the disciplinary community. Students come to university because they are interested in a subject (usually) and they need to be encouraged to give something back to that subject. Contributions can be assured by using authentic inquiry-based courses for our teaching. Students on these programmes undertake a form of research, understand the conditional nature of knowledge and take a lot more responsibility for their own and others’ learning, including their teachers and peers if they work in groups. Academics often think of the early years as foundational to developing higher learning at a later stage, but some universities focus on inquiry the moment students enter their institution and long before postgraduate study. So it can be done, but a cultural shift is required if we want to bring students into the knowledge project sooner. One requirement for the success of such an educational experience would be a new relationship between teacher and student that is more like ‘research supervisor’ than, say, ‘teacher as teller’. A willingness to engage with such a curriculum could be seen as a critical action for the academic.

Critical Action?

Actively investing in intellectual freedom It has been observed that today’s university students rely too much on teachers and tend to be passive in their attitudes to learning. If true, then a critical action would be to encourage students to embrace the older Oxbridge concept of ‘reading for a degree’. In our modern mass higher education systems this may sound like an anachronism, but there is merit in the idea because the student becomes an important determining factor in their own learning. This approach to education has given rise to the term ‘active learning’ which focuses the responsibility for learning on the student rather than the teacher. There is a huge literature on active learning techniques but we need to take the concept further by insisting that active learning also aims to be critical. In this sense the students learn to critically evaluate their own learning, and in so doing emancipate themselves from authority structures that may actually constrain higher learning potential. Freedom also comes because students learn to deal more easily with the complex and changing worlds they face. In this model, however, there is no automatic link between using knowledge to enhance one’s own life and contributing more widely to society’s social and democratic projects. I would argue that

critical actions are often about doing something for others, and as such require agency and a willingness to enter a community that has a culture of critical discourse. Such spaces may not always be easy to find in universities. So Barnett has challenged higher education to think about the concept of critical action in the context of developing an understanding of what we might achieve in the modern university. I doubt that we set out to produce activists, even though we might value what they stand for. Academics may, however, agree on the idea that we should be helping students become aware of their own critical potential as thinkers who take a more active part in their academic community and wider society. Bringing such concepts into our practices would surely pose challenges for the teacher, but any discussions about the purposes and values of a higher education should include the idea of critical action. Tony Harland Barnett, R. (1997) Higher education: a critical business (Buckingham, SRHE & Open University Press).

Supporting Tutors and Demonstrators in your Department

Do you specify the extent to which casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff should be available for student consultation time outside scheduled class hours? Are they paid for this time?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff aware of, and given access to, policies and processes that affect them? For example, is there a generic handbook for all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff?

Is adequate notice given, and an agreed process followed, where casual tutoring/demonstrating staff contracts are to be terminated or not renewed? 2.

Training and professional development

Do all appointees participate in a formal induction process (including teaching and learning issues, completing administrative tasks, location of facilities, etc.)? Are they paid to attend?

Does your Department have a resource (such as a kit, handbook or website) that contains all relevant information on policies and procedures that affect casual tutoring/demonstrating staff, including Department assessment policies, plagiarism policies, equity policies, teaching philosophy etc.?

Are job expectations explained to, and contracts discussed with, all new casual tutoring/demonstrating staff before the start of semester?

Are induction programs regularly evaluated?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff provided with written guidelines that will assist them in teaching and other tasks?

Is there a Department-based policy for recruiting casual tutoring/demonstrating? Is it analogous with full-time staff recruitment practices and agreements? Is it widely distributed to course/paper coordinators/programme directors?

Do all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff receive training in marking studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work and other aspects of assessment? If so, are they paid for this?

Are employment practices equitable and do they encourage diversity in terms of gender, race, disability, etc?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff provided with training to use the University or Department systems that are necessary to complete teaching and other tasks? Are they paid for this?

Do all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff receive appropriate payment according to their responsibilities and in line with award rates and agreements?

Are all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff informed about Occupational Health and Safety responsibilities and procedures?

Are all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff aware of policies and related procedures concerning ethical issues that might arise with students or other staff members?

Are the staff development needs of casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff regularly reviewed?

Are staff development opportunities available to casual tutoring/demonstrating staff, including those that lead to certification?

Are staff development activities regularly reviewed and evaluated?

Are there opportunities for casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff to meet and liaise with one another (face-to-face or electronically)?

Tutors and demonstrators play a major role in supporting student learning. Not only do they consolidate disciplinary knowledge, but they are often also called upon to design teaching sessions, assess studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; assignments, provide feedback to course co-ordinators, and act as a role model for post-graduate study. For these reasons, providing appropriate and adequate support for tutors and demonstrators is essential. Departments and co-ordinators of tutors/demonstrators may find the following checklists to be useful in their planning, implementation, and evaluation of the support they provide for this important staff group. The checklists were developed out of an Australian University Teaching Committee (AUTC) project on Sessional Teaching www.tedi.uq.edu.au/sessionalteaching and are also available via the HEDC website http://hedc.otago.ac.nz/hedc/asd/Tutoring-Demonstrating.html. This is the first in a series of four checklists.

Supporting Casual Tutoring/Demonstrating Staff â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Department Level Checklist (after AUTC Sessional Teaching Project checklists www.tedi.uq.edu.au/sessionalteaching) 1.

Recruitment and employment practices

Is there an over-reliance on casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff in any courses run through your Department? How do you ensure that casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff are not inadvertently exploited or that full-time staff do not overload them?

Is the work of paper coordinators in supervising casual tutoring/demonstrating staff recognised? How do you ensure that supervisors are not overloaded due to supervisory responsibilities? Is there sufficient support to ensure that they effectively carry out their supervisory duties?

Do all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff have a document of agreement or a statement of generic duties listing the specific roles and tasks that each appointee will undertake?

Have all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff received a work agreement or contract? Have coordinators discussed the contracts with their casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff?

Do all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff receive access to office space, necessary supplies, telephone, fax and computer facilities, email, library rights and support services (where applicable and appropriate)?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff aware of resources, including publications and websites, which describe and commend effective teaching and learning practices?

Are supervisors of casual tutoring/demonstrating staff encouraged to reflect on and improve their supervisory practices?

Evaluation and recognition

Are inexperienced, newly appointed casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff provided with mentoring or coaching?

Do procedures exist for recognising casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff that are similar to general and academic staff (e.g. for excellence in teaching or longstanding service)?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff encouraged to provide feedback on the perceived adequacy of the training and support they have experienced?

Integration and communication

Is there an administrative system which allows staff and supervisors to contact casual tutoring/demonstrating staff when need be (e.g. via email lists, etc)?

Do all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff clearly understand all of their roles and professional responsibilities? Are these roles and responsibilities clearly defined to begin with?

Do casual tutoring/demonstrating staff know what to do if students have concerns or needs external to their course or programme of study? Do they know to direct students, where appropriate, to the relevant University student support services?

Is there a staff member assigned to act as a contact person for casual tutoring/demonstrating staff with regards to training, employment and pay issues? Are all casual tutoring/demonstrating staff aware of who this is?

Are there any forums for supervisors of tutors/ demonstrators or paper/course coordinators to share ideas and strategies for best practice with supporting, training and managing casual tutoring/demonstrating staff?

Do coordinators have regular team meetings (faceto-face or electronically) with casual tutoring/ demonstrating staff (and full-time staff) to discuss, review, outline and/or implement paper/course requirements?

Do casual tutoring/demonstrating staff have access to facilities, including workspace, letterbox, email, supplies, telephone, photocopier, course materials and texts, Blackboard and library borrowing rights (where applicable and appropriate)?

Do casual tutoring/demonstrating staff regularly conduct student evaluations of their teaching?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff encouraged to reflect on their own performance and to develop their teaching skills?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff subject to performance review? Does training or other support follow if performance problems are found?

Do opportunities or forums exist for collegial interaction between casual tutoring/demonstrating staff and with full-time academics?

Is the information obtained in the evaluation and review process used for making decisions about subsequent or future appointment of casual tutoring/demonstrating staff?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff able to, or encouraged to, make contributions to the development of teaching and learning practices or course curricula? Are they aware of the organisational structures within the Division, and of any Department-based teaching and learning interest groups that they can access?

Are the supervision practices of casual tutoring/ demonstrating appointees regularly evaluated?

Do guidelines exist concerning the ownership of course materials and casual tutoring/demonstrating staff access to previous yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; materials?

Are casual tutoring/demonstrating staff provided with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;official documentationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; regarding their performance?

Rob Wass and Sarah Stein

Forgotten Sliver and the Gradient of Ease* In 1913 Thomas Edison opined, “Books will soon be obsolete in schools….It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture.” (Quoted in Reiser 1987). 95 years later, in 2008, books are not obsolete in schools or anywhere else. But if Edison’s prediction of obsolescence for print was wrong, his assertion that it is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture may not be. All we need to do to prove Edison wrong on this second count is to find just one branch of human knowledge that cannot be taught by the motion picture. The problem here then is to conceive of a situation where the context in which the moving pictures are being used is appropriate, the affordances of the moving pictures are used to support understanding, but the outcome for those watching the moving pictures is no discernible pedagogical effect. If this situation exists, it might also challenge the foundations of teaching. Undaunted by the intractable nature of the problem at hand, researchers in Higher Education box-on. A recent search of the Australian Journal of Educational Technology (a modest Antipodean volume published quarterly) returned around 50 articles on the subject of video and its use in teaching in the last 3 years alone. What on earth do they all have to say? Fundamentally and unsurprisingly, they point to no general truths about video and teaching but they probably do provide a useful resource for teachers looking for a source of inspiration or experience, and who are considering using video in their own teaching. This problem of general truth in teaching and learning goes far beyond the humble film or video. Prof. Rod Ellis, in his review of second language acquisition in the classroom points out,

“..whereas research seeks out general truths, pedagogy must be necessarily contingent and local. Thus, research findings based on one particular context of learning may have little relevance to the particular classroom contexts that individual teachers find themselves working in.” (Ellis, R. 2005) The forgotten sliver of truth is that there is no general truth about teaching and learning, much less about doing teaching and learning with technology, of which video is but one example. Setting to one side the institutional requirements of compliance and assessment, in practical terms this means that teachers should do what good teachers have always done: Find ways of engaging students in the teaching context, find resources and materials that are appropriate to the teaching context, and take advantage of the affordances of specific media within the teaching context. Easy eh? No, not really. The problem now moves from the heady realms of academic discussions around what is teaching, and what is learning, to the very concrete realisation that doing this stuff (teaching and learning) is hard. Worse still can be the uncertainty over whether a particular technology or media is actually offering affordances or aggravation. The trick here is to understand the Gradient of Ease. First a definition: The Gradient of Ease. A semi-permeable membrane (in cyberspace) between the University and the Rest of the World. Members of the University will naturally cross the membrane down the gradient of ease. In practice this means:

a) Where things are harder to achieve inside the University than outside, members will move outside the University in order to achieve what they want to.

Further details are available below.

References

b) Where things are equally hard inside and outside, members of the University will stay where they are.

Ellis, R (2005). Instructed Second Language Acquisition – A literature review. Report to the New Zealand Ministry of Education. Auckland UniServices.

c) Where things are easier to achieve inside than outside the University, members will move inside the University.

Reiser, R. A. (1987). Instructional technology: A history. In R.M. Gagne (Ed.) Instructional technology: Foundations (pp. 11-48). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Moving from hard options to easy ones is both easy and natural. The challenge for institutions like Otago is to try to ensure that technology is at least as easy to use within the institution as it is outside.

*If the title sounds familiar it is a play on the videos, Forgotton Silver (Costa Botes and Peter Jackson) and Cinema of Unease (Sam Neill).

There will be almost nothing that you want to do in your teaching that has not been tried before in some shape or form, but equally almost no situation will be exactly like yours. If you don’t know how to do something and feel that it ought to be possible, come and see us at HEDC. If we can’t help you to do exactly what you want we can usually find a way to achieve the same thing. Avoid getting locked into specific technologies or buying into the ‘right’ way of doing things. Do what you need to do in ways that work for you and for your students. Use the Gradient of Ease. Share your discoveries with others. Take full advantage of the fact that Otago has a relatively open stance toward accessing open Internet resources. Many tertiary institutions in NZ severely restrict what sites and web services their staff and students can visit. Rejoice in the fact that ours doesn’t.... at least for now. In an attempt to make life inside the institution at least as easy as outside, in Educational Media, we have developed a system called UniTube. UniTube is intended to work like YouTube and supports not only video files but also audio, and office files like powerpoint, excel and so on. UniTube is not ready for full scale release yet but it is available to try out and provide feedback.

From YouTube to UniTube UniTube is an exciting new application developed by Richard Zeng in Educational Media. It provides an easy, quick way to upload video and many other file types onto the web. These files can then be linked to or embedded into your web page. All you need is your University login to use this application. The application accepts a wide variety of file types, including; Flash, mov, mpeg-2, mpeg-1, mpeg-4 and H.264, wmf, mp3, powerpoint, PDF, Microsoft Office Files such as .doc and .xls, and Open Office files. UniTube is not ready for full scale release yet but you are welcome to try it out and provide feedback. This pilot service is provided this year on an “as is” basis. http://hedc.otago.ac.nz/unitube/

A higher-education-studies perspective on 1 Knowledge, skills and values What our students know, what they can do and what they choose to do. Does a higher-education experience influence what our graduates choose to do with their knowledge and skills?

3 Are some academic disciplines value-free with respect to sustainability?

2 University of Otago graduate attributes “The University seeks to produce graduates who are able to reflect upon and evaluate the ethical and social implications of their knowledge and who are willing to act upon that awareness whatever the ethos of their ultimate employment. The ethical and social values of a university education should transcend the pragmatism of the workplace.”

“At Otago Polytechnic, we have made a commitment to specialise in education for sustainability. This is because we recognise the need for a sustainable future, where economic, social and environmental dimensions are in balance”. www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/about/sustainability.html

www.otago.ac.nz/about/official_documents.html#tlp On what basis might a graduate evaluate the ethical and social implications of their knowledge from an environmental or global perspective? Should all graduates possess a degree of scientific, social or environmental literacy? Stegal, on design, said: “We must practice observing the natural world and how people relate to it, improve our ability to recognize the difference between health and decay in natural systems, and to discover the causes of both, and then take that knowledge of the situation and ask “What then?” Stegall, N. (2006) “Designing for Sustainability: A Philosophy for Ecologically Intentional Design” Design Issues, Spring 2006, Vol. 22, No. 2: 56-63.

4 ‘Greening the curriculum’ Did Chaucer have a view on environmental degradation? Is it relevant to maths, to anthropology or to linguistics? If it were, what would we teach and how would we teach it? “Real change in thinking about sustainability requires creative pedagogy which acknowledges the different ways that people think about sustainability, and provides spaces in which their ideas can be developed” Reid, A. and Petocz, P. (2006) “University lecturers’ understanding of sustainability” Higher Education 51 105-123.

environmental sustainability 5 Creative pedagogy; a role for educational developers? HEDC seeks “To work in partnership with staff and students of the University to promote, support and enhance the ideals, knowledge and values of higher education.” http://hedc.otago.ac.nz/hedc/about.html

6 Many higher education teachers emphasise the importance of Critical thinking and reasoning but “Our responsibility as adult educators goes beyond merely teaching critical reflection, important as that is. Our responsibility is to work to bring about transformation at the individual and societal level … ”

8 Institutional Role Models The American Council on Education (http:// www.acenet.edu//) has launched, “Higher Education Goes Green,” a website that offers news and videos on green campus initiatives. The University of Otago has many green initiatives (see, for example, ‘5 Star” green building for Psychology Otago Bulletin 2008 (3) 1 and the most recent discussion document (www.otago.ac.nz/administration/sustainabilitydiscussion.html) from the Working Party on Sustainability.

Mezirow J. & Associates (2000) Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass

9 Research into Education for Sustainability

Does a higher education experience influence what our graduates choose to do with their knowledge and skills? How would we know?

How important are university teachers as role models? Ottewill, Roger (2001) “Tutors as professional role models, with particular reference to undergraduate business education”. Higher Education Quarterly, 55, (4), 436-451. “Particular attention needs to be given to technical competence with respect to not only subject specialism but also pedagogic acumen and course management skills; standards; an ethical imperative; the exercise of autonomy; and reflective practice”.

Professor Kerry Shephard Director of HEDC

Higher Education News Briefs The Etiquette of Authorship Campus Review (Australia)(12/02/08 page 5) Two Australian academics have developed a protocol for ‘rationally’ determining the, often problematic, order of authorship on academic papers. Dr Christine Beveridge and Dr Suzanne Morris from the University of Queensland have developed a multi-criteria decision making approach in which a group of authors: 1) discuss the publication’s important items (such as the original ideas behind the development of the research question) and score each person’s contribution to each as a percentage 2) assess the relative importance of each item (eg the original idea or the manuscript writing) and tally up each authors relative contribution and order the names accordingly. Their work was been published in Nature (Volume 448, July 2007).

The New Breed: Trends in Academic Demographics Campus Review (Australia)(20/11/07 page 6) With a “demographic tsunami of retirements” well and truly breaking in Australian universities there is a strong and growing focus being placed on early career academics. According to Professor Richard Johnstone from the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, there is a much greater sense of a professional pathway for young academics now and “we have seen a very deliberate effort on the part of institutions to ensure new staff receive support, guidance and mentoring”. In turn it is said that universities have new expectations of their academic employees. Professor Shelda Debowski from the University of Western Australia says that “academics have to politically manage their career, to build a network of supportive people and get to know who the key players are in both their faculty and university”. [At Otago HEDC offers a range of support services for new academic staff (see www.otago.ac.nz/hedc). There is also a Professional Development Programme (please contact candi.young@otago.ac.nz), HEDC staff who can assist on a one-to-one basis (please contact Tony Harland tony.harland@ otago.co.nz) and a Professional Development Programme for Women (please contact rachel.spronken-smith@otago.ac.nz).]

The Trailing Spouse: Trends in University Recruitment Education Review (New Zealand) (15/02/08) An American phenomenon referred to as the “trailing spouse” is thought to becoming increasingly common in New Zealand in recent years. A “trailing spouse” is described as – the spouse of an academic faculty member or applicant who has specialised qualifications and chooses to seek employment in the geographic area near his or her partner. University of Auckland’s director of human resources Kath Clarke says that “partner employment is a huge issue”. She notes that some US universities have offices devoted to finding employment for academics’ spouses, and that while New Zealand has not quite reached that stage spousal employment can definitely be a “deal breaker”.

CALT News Online Teaching and Learning Plan In 2005, the University of Otago published the Teaching and Learning Plan 2005-2010 (TLP). The TLP outlines a series of objectives and related strategies for teaching and learning at Otago. The Online TLP Database developed by Educational Media takes things one step further. In order to help teachers to implement particular strategies, concrete examples are provided in the form of illustrative Otago teaching case-studies, and links are made to informative and relevant resources. Resources include University of Otago documents, HEDC, ITS or Library workshops or seminars, as well as online resources made available by other tertiary institutions. Teachers can also contribute resources to the Online TLP that they have found useful, and share case-studies from their own practice. Have a look at The Teaching and Learning Plan Online by going to: http://hedc.otago.ac.nz/tlp/

Funding opportunity – Call for CALT grant applications, 2009 The Committee for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT) invites applications for several types of grants once each year. They are: e-Learning Enhancement Grants (up to $30,000), Innovation in Teaching Grants (up to $10,000) , and Otago Research into University Teaching Grants (up to $20,000). If you are a full or part-time member of staff with a substantial teaching responsibility, and if you have an innovative idea for improving the quality of university teaching and learning, or an interest in scholarly research into your teaching you may be eligible for one of the above grants. Full details are available on the CALT website: www.otago.ac.nz/calt/ Closing date for applications for e-Learning Enhancement and Innovation in Teaching Grants is Friday 1st August. Applications for Research into University Teaching Grants close on 1st November.

From the new Director of Distance Learning Nearly three months have passed since I took up the role of Director, Distance Learning. In that time I’ve met many people involved in teaching and managing the distance courses the University offers, and been impressed by the enthusiasm for and commitment to distance education that has been widely expressed. The commitment to distance learning is part of the University’s wider strategy too. This University has numerous areas of specific and quite distinctive expertise. There is commitment to engage learners throughout New Zealand, and internationally, in research-informed teaching in those areas of special expertise by means of distance education. Our distance learning activities reach out across the country, and beyond, communicating widely what it means to be part of the University of Otago. My role within the University is three-fold: to provide strategic leadership in distance education; to engage in planning for and direction of the distance learning programme; and to facilitate good practice in distance teaching and assist in the communication of good practice throughout the University community. An important part of my role involves working widely across the University to transform commitment into action in a range of locations and contexts. In particular, the last of these aspects of my role points clearly to the value of working closely with the Committee for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT). CALT’s focus on teaching learning and assessment, and on the promotion of excellence and innovation in learning and teaching, aligns very neatly with tasks I see ahead in distance education.

of current research. Quite a task! And, like all areas of teaching and learning, distance education is a dynamic context, the more so for its necessary engagement with technologies. However, no matter what technologies we employ to help us teach, and distance teaching is always mediated by technology, good teaching matters. Working as part of CALT will be an important part of maintaining the promotion of excellence in teaching in distance education throughout the University.

Distance education has a large role to play in helping people advance within their chosen careers, update their knowledge of their chosen field, improve their qualifications and stay abreast

Bill Anderson

We welcome feedback to the Editor: nell.smith@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

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