Oxford Brookes Conference on Graduate Employability: Oxford: 16/06/09
Learning about me as well as the subject: enhancing employability through critical reflective learning
John Buswell University of Gloucestershire
‘Learning to learn’ is the educational paradigm for the twenty-first century (Ruth Deakin Crick 2004)
“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself” (Galileo)
But what does it mean and how do we do it (if we think it is important)?
Outline of sessionStudent-centred learning- the why and
whereforeMetalearning and self-awarenessA structured, progressive and supported
processThe use of critical storytelling and learning
inventoriesTheir impact
Why is student-centred learning so important for employability?We are preparing students for a world of
increasing uncertainty;Increasingly electronic;Knowledge society;Learning in the 21st century requires active,
autonomous, flexible and lifelong learners;Increased emphasis on transdisciplinary
knowledge and competences?;
Changing HE context
Numbers, diversity, AWPOutcomes-based approachesDearing visionThe opportunities provided by active learning
and reflective thinkingThe centrality of reflective learning to PDP“Potential to transform the HE curriculum by
placing the student at the centre and moving away from content-based models” (Broadfoot 2006) What does this mean? Do you agree with it?
Links between PDP and employability The Leitch Report
The Leitch Report (December 2006)Even if the UK were to reach all of its skills
targets for 2010, it would still be trailing behind other key competitors in the knowledge economy
Complex based knowledge roles forecast to be 45% of workforce by 2014
Challenging targets for 2020, especially in higher order skills
Consequent importance of developing self-reliant, independent and collaborative learners who know and understand themselves; and are prepared for the increasing complexities of employability and citizenship;
Transferability“In our rapidly changing world, the ability to learn quickly, to be flexible, to be comfortable with newness, is a core skill. It might even be the most important” (Parker and Stone 2003:19)
This helps in presenting a clear and positive image to employers and others
“at the end of the day, it is the graduates of our universities and colleges who will need to have the clearest idea of their skills, capabilities and achievements, both in order to ‘sell themselves’ to employers and academic selectors and to manage their own careers in increasingly less supported working environments” (Burgess 2005)
The key lies in self-awareness and metalearning
MetalearningBourner points out that“developing students’ capacity for reflective
learning is part of developing their capacity to learn how to learn” (Bourner 2003:267)
“Employers are not interested in seeing extensive documented outcomes, but they do wish to see for themselves how candidates think and behave in new situations” (Edwards 2001:8)
Metalearning
Awareness and control of one’s own learning
How?
Self-empowerment and autonomy Self-awareness and strategic awarenessOwnership – self-regulated learningCapacity for lifelong learningReflective practice and reflective learning,
especially learning from experiences
Reflective thinking“experience is not quite the same thing as
learning from experience” (Moon 2004:105)
“Reflective learning is not what happens to a student; it is what the student does with what has happened” (Bourner 2003:4)
And it requires us to mediate and create the appropriate learning environment
“metalearning capacity requires a skill in learning that is quite different from, and superordinate to, the acquisition of complementary skills (such as how to take notes, use the library and so on” (Meyer and Shanahan 2004:444)
i.e. skills in learning as well as skills for learning
Metalearning
Emphasis on transdisciplinary learning Which depends on
SKILL OF TRANSFERABILITY
SELF-AWARENESS(Metacognition)
Self-management 1
Self-identity 2
Self-authorship 3
THROUGH
1. Tools/techniques of reflective writing2. Peer support3. Self-assessment of capabilities4. Language to describe learning5. Making sense of experiences6. Fully embedded model of PDP
1. Engagement by students andstaff
2. Action and reflexivity
Key challenges
Level
Metalearning throughConstructivist and socio-constructivist approaches
to learning; andAn integrated and progressive approach to PDP,
incorporating:
A model of progression in metalearning;The tools and techniques of reflective writing (including
recording and planning);Methods of peer support and mentoring;Learning inventories/self-assessment tools
ELLI ECI-U (Emotional Competence Inventory-University Edition
Reflective writing (but critically reflective)Learning agreements/diaries/logs/journals‘R’ cardsUnsent lettersPortraitsCritical incidentsCritical storytelling –see handout
1. Using Stories to reflect on placement experiences…
Creating social environments to encourage reflective thinking and peer support
Developing techniques for encouraging reflective writing and peer support
Creating a placement story which includes developing skills in reflective writing, listening and questioning techniques
“when we tell stories and process them, using reflective dialogue, we create the possibility for change in ourselves and others. Our capacity to express ourselves through narrative forms not only enables us to reshape, reassess and reconstruct particular events, it allows us to learn from discussing our experiences with individuals who raise alternative views, suggest imaginative possibilities and ask stimulating questions.” (McDrury and Alterio 2003:38)
2. The use of learning inventoriesSelf-assessmentConcepts of learningProvides language with which to understand,
evaluate and articulate learning and capabilities
They are an important element of learning to learn
ELLI (Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory)Based on learning powerLearners are:
All differentConstantly learningAble to change to become better learnersAble to reflect on their learningMotivated to be better learners
ELLI contains seven dimensions of learning power
Positive polePositive pole Negative poleNegative poleChanging and learningChanging and learning Being stuckBeing stuck
Meaning makingMeaning making Data accumulationData accumulation
Critical curiosityCritical curiosity PassivityPassivity
CreativityCreativity Rule boundRule bound
Learning relationshipsLearning relationships IsolationIsolation
Strategic awarenessStrategic awareness RoboticRobotic
ResilienceResilience DependentDependent
ELLI measures ‘learning power’
•The qualities and dispositions that enable students to learn and go on learning throughout life•A research project in schools in 2002 led by Professors Patricia Broadfoot and Guy Claxton (University of Bristol)•Contains an online questionnaire (ELOISE)
ELLI contains an online survey that:
Takes approximately 20 minutes for each student to fill in
Comprises 97 statementsProduces individual profiles about each
student’s learning powerProduces class profiles to show how
groups of students view themselves as learners
ELLI can :
Identify dimensions of learning to work on with students
Focus students’ attention on learning
Give them am immediate profile and supportive material
Help students think about how to improve learning
Help to provide students with a language with which to understand and articulate their learning
Be a learning experience in itself
Individual Profiles can show:
how each student feels about learning
who are the fragile learners
which students could achieve much better if they worked on one or two aspects of learning
Example 1
Example 2
2. ESCI-U (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory-University EditionApplied to learning from 12 month placement
and other experiences;Focuses on self-awareness; social-awareness;
self-management; relationship management; and cognitive competencies
70 statements in paper-based questionnaire plus opportunity for feedback questionnaire from someone who knows the student well
Supported by a work book explaining each competency and containing sections for reflective writing
The growing importance of EI to employabilityEI is essential for
Self-management;Developing others;Facilitating relationships between others; andManagement of our relationship with others
(Sparrow & Knight 2006)
OK Corrall: Life Positions (Sparrow & Knight 2006: 40)
I’m NOT OK I’m OK
I-U+ I+U+You’re OK
You’re NOT OK Stuck Critical I-U- I+U-
Submissive EI
Student feedback on both inventoriesA little mixed on ELLI but overwhelmingly
positive on the ESCI-UPerhaps influenced by the stage of the
student’s progression in their degreeHowever, there was a correlation between the
perception of ELLI and the academic attainment of students in one group
Student feedback and student assessments suggested that their ability to learn from reflecting critically on their experiences was enhanced by the use of learning inventories, particularly in the following ways:
Identifying and analysing strengths and weaknesses;
Seeing themselves in a different light;Increased self-identity;Greater awareness of how others viewed them;A trigger for critical reflection (rather than simply
descriptive reflection) and strategic awareness;How to learn better
ConclusionsLearning about me as well as the subject
(particularly when it is ‘contextual knowledge’ and involves applying subject theory) can be effective and critical (including the highest order cognitive skills and metacognition)
“PDP is, I believe, helping to transform the higher education programme from one that is still primarily geared to the transmission of knowledge to one where self-identity is also important. When the specialist knowledge we acquire through a higher education becomes redundant, all we are left with is our capacity to keep learning. This has to be the key skill for life which higher education equips us with and it is the one that PDP serves” (Jackson 2005)
ReferencesBroadfoot, P (2006) ‘Empowering the learner:
theories, tools and techniques’. Keynote address to Researching and evaluating PDP and e-Portfolios, International Seminar, Oxford, October 2006
Bourner, T (2003) Assessing reflective thinking, Education and Training, Vol.45, Issue 5, pp 256-272
Burgess, R (2005) Measuring and recording student achievement: Report of the Scoping Group at http://bookshop.universities.ac.uk/downloads/measuringachievement.pdf
Deakin Crick, R (2004) in (Tew, M Deakin Crick, R Broadfoot, P & Claxton, G (2004) ELLI, Learning Power: A Practitioner’s Guide, Lifelong Learning Foundation, Manchester
Edwards, G (2001) Connecting PDP to Employer Needs and the World of Work, LTSN Generic Centre, Yorkwww.hea.ac.uk/resources
Jackson, N (2005) Towards the tipping point: an intensely personal view of Progress Files and PDP
www.recordingachievement.org/downloads?/ISSUE6PDPUKDEC05.pdfMcDrury, J & Alterio, M (2003) Learning through
Storytelling in Higher Education: Using Reflection and Experience to Improve Learning, Kogan Page, London
Further readingMeyer, J & Shanahan, M (2004) Developing
metalearning capacity in students: actionable theory and practical lessons learned in first-year economics, Innovation in Education and Teaching International, Vol.41, N.4 4, November 2004, 443-455
Moon, J (2004) A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning, RoutledgeFalmer, Abingdon
Parker, C & Stone, B (2003) Developing Management Skills for Leadership, Pearson Education, Harlow
Schon, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: how professionals think in action, Arena Publishing, Boston
Sparrow, T & Knight, A (2006) Applied EI: The importance of attitudes in developing emotional intelligence, Chichester, John Wiley & Sons