Recognising Accustomed Ways of Learning
Design Pattern Tags : Course, Learning outcomes, Early assessment, Assessment
Recognising Accustomed Ways of Learning Robbie Guevara, Paul Battersby, Vandra Harris and Reina Ichii
December 2015
Abstract/Snapshot:
Early assessment in International Development postgraduate studies provides an opportunity for students to reflect on their educational experiences and introduces them to different approaches to teaching and learning that are responsive to the context of a changing world. These early activities help to establish the importance of developing the capacity for self-directed, independent and inquiry-based learning as the foundation of reflective practitioners who recognise the importance of ongoing learning.
Learning Context Students in their first year of postgraduate studies in an interdisciplinary field that aims to understand and respond to critical global issues like international development.
The following patterns were identified as linked to a broader view of early assessment from a programmatic perspective that builds towards the capstone course:
E-learning is a core academic and professional capacity (therefore, this is not limited to online students)
Self-awareness: Why do I want to become a Development Professional?
Career aspirations: How do I make the most of my studies to secure my dream career?
Academic skills awareness 1: Student self-awareness of their academic capacity for critical reading, writing and reflection
Academic skills awareness 2: Staff awareness of students' academic capacity in critical reading, writing and reflection
Peer Learning: Recognising the richness that can be learned from each other
Community of Practice: Recognising the value of building a community of colearners in International Development practice
Capstone course: Early weaving of all of the above.
Rationale This pattern moves away from early assessment focused on developing an awareness in the student of the gaps in his/her academic skills to self-assessment of the students' accustomed ways of learning and the need to be aware of other ways of learning that are able to adapt and respond to the changing expectations from International Development professionals.
Conditions/Critical Success Factors Factors that influence the use of the pattern and potential solutions include the following:
The course coordinator and tutors need to play the role of facilitator and mentor. Given the individual nature of self-directed learning, it is important that the teaching staff can provide a certain level of individualised mentoring, therefore, the current assessment limit of one hour per course is not sufficient.
For the cycles of critical reflection to make sense, the cycles must be repeated within the same course to allow students to identify lessons learned and then apply them in the next cycle.
Feedback can be provided in class and also supported by peer mentoring.
Resources/Technology The following resources are being considered for development:
1. International Development Induction Module (ID IM)
The current proposal is to develop an online International Development Induction Module (ID IM) that addresses self-awareness. We are proposing to structure it in quadrants. Each quadrant will engage students in reflecting on the following:
Accustomed ways of learning.
Self-awareness: ‘Why do I want to become a development professional?’
Career aspirations: ‘How do I make the most of my studies to secure my dream career?’
Academic skills awareness 1: Student self-awareness of their academic capacity for critical reading, writing and reflection.
The student can then find out more about themselves and how they relate to the student cohort (eg, preferred ways of learning), and staff are able to access cohort, not individual, data to help engage the students better. Aside from responding to each of the quadrants, the students are able to keep their results in a portfolio that travels with them throughout their degree so they can also reflect back on their self-awareness baseline at any point.
During their degree, students will be encouraged to upload reflections at the end of each semester either as course reflections or program learning outcomes reflections. We foresee that this information will form the Early Assessment task of the capstone course – a synthesis of their program/course reflections to help shape their capstone and career objectives.
The Self-Awareness on Academic Skills will contain elements from the current postgraduate On Track workshops conducted by the library http://www.rmit.edu.au/research-candidates/on-track-workshops and also the online reflective blog from the early assessment pattern.
2. More effective use of Blackboard courseware
One specific resource that can contribute to the ID IM is Blackboard. A program banner and a standard look for the Masters in ID Program can be developed and used across 11 core courses and the program shell. Blackboard and the course shells can also be linked to the ID IM and the students’ portfolios.
specialised theoretical knowledge;
advanced professional capabilities; and
effective practice in International Development.
Case Studies/Implementation The process involves more than a single activity and is relevant for the duration of the course/subject.
Self-reflection on accustomed or preferred ways of learning through the use of a self-rating questionnaire that plots learning styles across four quadrants (via an online questionnaire that plots the results and also perhaps maps the different students across the different learning styles).
Self-reflection on experiences where learning was taught rather than self-directed (eg, via online blogs).
Self-directed learning opportunities that:
Identify a relevant problem to investigate during the course/subject.
Identify from the literature how others may have approached this problem and, more importantly, why they have approached it in this manner, and the outcomes.
Consider the applicability of the proposed solutions from the literature in developing a response to the problem.
Critically reflect on the learning process by revisiting previously identified learning styles and how these learning styles are relevant within International Development professional practice.
It is important that these activities are conducted during the early part of the semester in a course/subject that is either in the first semester or first year of the program.
Outcomes An expected outcome is that students will develop an awareness of their preferred or accustomed learning style and also the existence of other ways of learning that will be used in postgraduate studies. These other ways of learning are valuable in professional practice.
Through the pattern, we hope students develop a capacity for self-directed, independent and inquiry-based learning that enables staff to engage in in-depth learning activities (transformative learning) rather than rote-learning activities.
