Category: Professional practice
Category: Professional practice |
| Teaching and Learning Forum 2005 [ Refereed papers ] |
Robbie Collins
Shoalhaven Campus
University of Wollongong
Reflecting on the experiences of a small remote campus in a change management process, this paper foregrounds the importance of the collegial development of part time casual tutors. The discussion documents the way reflective practice is developed where these staff are facilitated in becoming a community of learners. Reflective practice refers to the interrogation of current practices through discussion, reflection and the potential process of improvement as a result. Development of part time casual tutors in the learning community on the campus and in the wider community is critical on a small campus where subject delivery is controlled from a remote home campus.Community engagement provides the means by which the learning community on campus becomes part of the wider potential learning in the community. This is especially so with the development of knowledge intensive industries where universities can act as 'knowdes' in the knowledge web of the community. Where the tutors are employed in other businesses in the community, synergy is gained in the process. Developing the community of learners supports university learning and teaching policy and strategy, and in particular, the embedding of graduate attributes into subjects and courses.
Because of the size of the campus and its remote location relative to the home campus, it is possible that the practices reflected upon provide insights for universities generally as they tussle with the development of learning communities inclusive of part time casual tutors.
The writer is cognisant of the subjective view underlying what is presented here. This is reflection on reflection in action. (Schon 1983) It is an attempt to put in perspective the strategies that were developed and reviewed in a change management process. The change was to find ways to develop the Campus and, particularly, University operations, out of the plateau in development reached prior to 2003. Like many remote campuses sparked in the late nineties under Federal policy, Shoalhaven Campus needed to revisit strategic planning and develop its vision.
The vision to be part of 'inspiring imagination in the Shoalhaven' was very much associated with the development of the Campus. Historically there was belief in the value of the Campus, yet growth had stalled.[1] Imagination, that creative process which has at its roots finding new ways of doing, seeing and experiencing, was needed. In terms of reflection on educational practice, a critical element was the value of what was developing; as part of the community generally, as a learning group on the campus and as part of a maturing university with geographically distributed operations.
To develop beyond the 'cringe' mentality of being a small campus with limited offerings, especially one quite near to its large, diverse and award winning home campus, it was essential to find ways to celebrate learning, and to be imaginative about this process. This has been done on a number of levels but in terms of learning and teaching development, the importance of part time casual tutors in a remote campus environment cannot be underestimated. They loom much larger in the student view of learning than the academics who mostly exist away from the physical site. This is not distance learning. This is learning in face to face situations where a tutor facilitates the process. Often ICT methodologies designed or delivered by a subject coordinator or lecturer are also used and may be an integral part of the process. The tutor is the most visible face of learning facilitation. Weaving together of the elements of student experience is one of the roles of tutors at Shoalhaven Campus.
Tutors are part time and casual. The contract nature of the employment impacts on the learning space. The dynamics of the learning community change when the workforce is not fostered to be part of the organisation's vision. Engaging casual part timers in organisational development provides a particular set of challenges which is increasingly being faced in the delivery of education at all levels. The experience in remote small campuses thus potentially provides insight for the wider university experience.
University of Wollongong Learning and Teaching Policy and Strategy [http://www.uow.edu.au/about/teaching/] sees integration as a significant impetus to development of student learning and graduate attributes (Skillen, Merten, Trivett, & Percy, 1998). Weaving teaching staff into the process is critical.[2] As soon as we recognise the importance of tutors in the learning and teaching process at a 'remote' campus, it becomes essential that these role players be provided with opportunities and encouragement for development.
This paper does not dwell on the strategies directly facilitating development at the Campus. Others provide insights including some discussion of tutor development processes. (Albury, 2001; Albury, Lefoe, Littler, & Trivett, 2001; Curtis, Lefoe, Merten, Milne, & Albury, 1999) As well, particular initiatives in learning development in the last eighteen months are being reflected upon in other papers under development. This paper focuses on community and on collegial development with regard to tutors in the change management process at Shoalhaven Campus.
Cooperative philosophy and practice are evident both in the history of the Campus and in its current operation though, of course, like many co located ventures in education, improvements in cooperation and collaboration can be identified. Notwithstanding this, there is already one cooperatively offered course, Bachelor of Business Administration (Hospitality), which provides a TAFE Diploma and University degree in the time for completion of the degree only. Other cooperative endeavours are envisaged.
Despite the cooperative philosophy, there are problems in jointly engaging students and staff from the two sectors on campus. Efforts are currently being fostered to develop social activities which can be shared by the students of both institutions and the community in the development of 'life' on campus. Lately, this is student driven which has become part of the process of developing a sense of community at the campus and with the wider community. Disengagement of staff between the two institutions has been an issue. Attempts are being made to address this disengagement with benefits anticipated for both groups. In the past year there have been social events shared by staff, as well as moves to enhance access to administrative processes and meetings to improve operation and cooperation at the campus.
In particular, an event to mark the arrival of the new Head of Campus entitled a 'Celebration of Education at Shoalhaven Campus' was staged. At this was presented a vision of the Campus as a place of excellence in education at all levels. Image and metaphor were used extensively to weave a view of the potential in the learning community. A braided belt was presented as a rich metaphor of the benefit of cohesive development woven from different threads of experience. Attendees, mostly University and TAFE teaching staff including many part time casual tutors, were invited to share in creating a collage of colour and sparkling materials to celebrate their interpretation of the journey of the Campus. Inviting the Pro Vice Chancellor Academic to lead in making the first marks on this canvas identified 'top down' support for collegiality. All present made distinctive contributions to what is now a framed collage in a place of pride on the Campus. Comments from TAFE and University staff demonstrated a positive response to the symbolic enactment of a shared vision. The view of the Campus as part of developing a community of learners was supported by media reportage of the collegial vision of educational development associated with the Campus.
This social construction of the meaning of the Campus by the media accorded with the original vision that the Campus would be an educational precinct with multiple players at all levels of education including schools. The development of educational aspiration at the Campus and in the Shoalhaven is part of the Campus 'inspiring imagination in the Shoalhaven'; encouraging regional development through inspiring changes in regional mindset. (Collins & Stevenson, 2004)
The use of the word 'imagination' is significant here. The Shorter Oxford Dictionary defines 'imagination' as 'the mental consideration of actions and events not yet in existence; scheming or devising; a fanciful project; the power which the mind has of forming concepts beyond those derived from external objects'. Specifically then, imagination is all those individual creative envisionings which work together to lead to development; individual, social, economic. Imagination is essentially a creative activity and plays a part in the manifestation and development of a regional self consciousness or mindset. This is a crucial ingredient in a world which is facing '...a number of new realities many of which have a strong regional dimension'. (OECD, 1999, p. 10) Raising the aspirational mindset in the Shoalhaven with regard to education is part of the process being suggested here.
The development of staff as part of a community of learners, where reflection is part of the community's interaction, furthers this process. This is based on the notion of the kind of learning which Schon (1983) calls 'reframing' and which Russell and Munby (1991) refer to as the essence of Schon's reflection in action by 'hearing differently' and 'seeing differently'. Shoalhaven Campus is making significant steps towards engaging staff, especially University staff, in a collaborative process to encourage reflection as a tool for learning in their community. Reflection and reflective practice refer to the interrogation of current practices through reflection and discussion and the potential process of improvement as a result. As was suggested by the 'Celebration of Education', reflection by teaching staff is a tool to enhance the imagination by unleashing potential. We come to hear and see differently and discover ways to foster learning that offer new opportunities.[4]
University of Wollongong at Shoalhaven Campus operates as a remote campus with flexible delivery from lecturing staff at Wollongong Campus using distributed modes of learning supported by part time casual staff. Because of the way the subjects are delivered at Shoalhaven Campus these part time casual staff play a different role than tutorial staff on large campuses. Their engagement both literally and figuratively becomes important in the dreams for education in Shoalhaven. That they are engaged, and that 'imagination' inspires the way they are engaged, becomes important for the University's operational success.
Notwithstanding this variation, tutors and administrative support staff loom large in student perception of subject delivery and awareness of assessment processes. Tutors deal with most student consultation needs and with identified difficulties associated with subjects. Many students proceed through subjects with one way communication from the subject coordinator. Some students seem to fail to notice that there is a subject coordinator. Shoalhaven campus staff members have attempted to encourage greater amounts of contact with subject coordinators both by tutors and by students.[5] This is integral in the process of empowering members of the Shoalhaven Campus learning community vis a vis the larger University of Wollongong learning community.
Staff in administrative and support roles at Shoalhaven Campus deal with issues brought by students and by tutors as and when necessary. These interactions are conveyed to Wollongong staff on various levels. When effectively carried out, there may be a seamless response from the subject coordinator facilitating students' awareness that the subject coordinator really is aware of their existence. For example, a recent problem with the Internet streaming lectures in one class lead to the streaming support staff at Wollongong Campus organising for the lecturer/subject coordinator to directly email students to alleviate their concerns and thus to have him appear as the resolver of problems. The intention was that students would feel valued by the subject coordinator and that this would enhance their communication with that person and with luck, generalise this experience to other subject coordinators. The downside was that this happened after week six of lectures, at the point where the problem had been drawn to the attention of the Head of Campus. Had tutors and students dealt directly with their subject coordinator in the first instance, the problem could have been addressed.
The plethora of information students have thrust upon them as they enrol, and the way some students fail to behave as actors having personal power in the learning process hinder students engaging with academic staff. Finding ways to encourage students to be active in their learning and to interact proactively with academic staff at all levels of the university, is an aim of staff at Shoalhaven Campus. Tutors need to role model such assertive behaviour. Where tutors are providing appropriate role models, they should be supported and acknowledged. Because part time casual tutors are the most visible players in facilitation of learning, where they exhibit powerlessness relative to subject coordinators, students are further disempowered. To overcome this, development of a community of learners where collegiality supports reflective practice, is part of this empowering process. In a collegial situation, tutors with positive relations with their subject coordinators, provide role models and share strategies with others for empowerment.
Some adjustments are about understanding the problem rather than making assumptions. For instance, in the streaming example above, there was an initial perception that the problem was technological and associated with the students' home computer or ability to use same. Tutors act as a conduit in clarification, along with support staff at Shoalhaven Campus. Thus, the kind of staff room, office, corridor and front desk discussion that leads to better understanding of particular problems is important.
Encouraging the development of the community of practice fosters this discussion which may occur in places other than formally constituted meetings to which tutors are invited, but which part time casual tutors rarely attend. In other words, encouraging discussion and reflection on action can lead to better practice on the part of lecturer and subject coordinators as well as that of the tutors. It is about developing a shared view of what is happening. This is because reflection on action 'refers to the ordered, deliberate, and systematic application of logic to a problem in order to resolve it; the process is very much within our control' (Russell & Munby, 1991). Where Shoalhaven Campus tutors are acting collegially to support students in their learning there are patterns which can be addressed because of the knowing and experience of staff. Sharing this knowing is important so that the community of learners, both staff and student, can develop in an action learning process.
What is clear from the above example is that students and tutors may and often do feel distant from the subject coordinator and that this distance may inhibit their learning in a subject. There is a huge difference between a tutor saying "I tried everything but she just didn't understand" and saying "We worked together to find solutions to the challenges". Where collegiality is developed, tutors and students are empowered. Their interaction with the lecturers, many of whom do want to be in contact with their remote students, may be enhanced because of support to encourage communication with the home campus. If Shoalhaven Campus is part of University of Wollongong, then there must be clear and strong links with the University at all levels of operation from the remote sites. Thus, strength is sourced from the muscle of the wider university, while the Campus benefits from the advantages of small campus operation with greater potential for personalised interaction with students.
Subject and course offerings at Shoalhaven Campus reflect research undertaken with the community about local needs and expectations of subjects and courses. The resultant degrees centre on business and accountancy in the Commerce Faculty and Community and Environment in the Arts. Courses were intended to ground student potential in the local job market. The most recent response to community identified need is a Graduate Diploma of Education. Garlick & Pryor (2002, p. 66) identify operations like this as effective community engagement. Maintaining responsiveness to community need is a challenge for organisations as large and distributed as universities in this century. Collins & Stevenson (2004) posit that to address this, universities need to be 'wired into the community' as part of the processes of community development. They suggest that the University can function as a 'knowde' in the web of knowledge worker development as the community responds to the challenges of the knowledge economy.
Where universities form such a knowde in the community, there is greater chance of them being part of the creative development of their community and responding to student and community needs. University policy envisions such a response and seeks to rise to the challenges of demonstrating their relevance to modern society. On a small campus with strong engagement with the community, with a flow of ideas amongst a community of learners, there is potential for learning to become more meaningful both in the university and across the wider community. Tutors' part in this process at a small campus needs recognition.
Expertise of Shoalhaven tutors is not necessarily in the continuing research activities of studying post graduates.[7] Expertise at Shoalhaven Campus comes from a range of experiences: teaching in schools and TAFE, local knowledge, business, working and life experience, and also, research. For example, tutors in accountancy subjects are employed at local accountancy firms and thus for these subjects, many of which are grounded in real world practice, the tutors provide a significant resource. They also provide a depth of knowledge of employment practice in accountancy that means students are gaining the graduate attributes. (UOW Graduate Attributes 2005) This is community engagement and embedding of graduate attributes in a desirable synergy.
In developing a community of learners in the university operation and having the Campus 'wired' into the business activities of employers in the town, there is a potential spread of the community of learners. Tutors, in part, are mentors for their students. The literature on mentoring abounds in examples of mentors learning from their interaction with their mentees. (eg. Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. 2000) Such is the case here as well. The old adage is that there is nothing quite like teaching a thing to learn it thoroughly, and in the case of committed teachers, to make teachers keep abreast of developments in their field. Thus, Shoalhaven Campus is having a generative effect on the operation of businesses employing graduates, at the same time that those who employ tutors, benefit from the flow of ideas and of inspiration.
There are tutors in both Faculties who provide services to the TAFE and the local Adult Education provider, as well as to the university. They thus cross institutions of education and bring to each a depth of knowledge which benefits both sets of students. This also assists in developing the notion of pathways to learning in the community, an adjunct to the development of a community of learners. Tutors working across the institutions have been instrumental in influencing the flow of bodies between the institutions, as well assisting the development of shared knowledge across the institutions.
At Shoalhaven Campus, there are tutors who demonstrate a commitment to success for their students, often at the expense of their own recompense.[8] Frequently, tutors say things like, 'I will offer an extra tutorial in study week for anyone who comes'; just one measurable example of the willingness to give of their expertise but which does not reveal the full extent of commitment. Students' limited relationships with subject coordinators provides room for such commitment, especially in small classes. Subject coordinators are perceived by students as too distant to be contacted and are frequently little more in their vision than talking heads on a screen or names on a subject outline. Tutors necessarily play a more significant role in the scheme of things, given delivery methods at Shoalhaven Campus.
Recent practice in administration at Shoalhaven Campus has been geared to both rewarding this commitment and concomitantly developing collegial behaviour amongst a community of learners. Acknowledgement of the commitment is critical. While tangible reward would be desirable, less tangible acknowledgement and thanks for effort are essential in developing success. A community of learners on a small campus has potential to work across subjects and faculties in a way that is generally not possible on a large university campus. In fact, it may be argued that cross faculty links and fertilisation are very likely where tutors share common spaces if their interaction is supported and facilitated; something the collegial development seeks to do.
In past years, Shoalhaven students' performance is some six per cent better on average compared with the same subjects offered on the Wollongong Campus. Various interpretations of this phenomenon can be made. However, in the past eighteen months there has been a very conscious attempt to engage tutors' commitment and enthusiasm in their community at Shoalhaven Campus. Acknowledgement of tutors' importance in the delivery of subjects has been made public through celebrating their value to Shoalhaven Campus and efforts have been made to provide a collegial base in support of their commitment and enthusiasm. Tutors are encouraged to have ownership of the Campus.
Where previously tutors spending time at the Campus was not cultivated, they are now encouraged to see themselves as part of the successful operation of the Campus. The recognition is supported by the practice of tutors being provided keys to the tutors' room, pass words for after hours use of the facility, encouragement to see the spaces as theirs to use for both university and other related endeavours. This recognition has been commented upon by tutors. As simple as it might seem, the provision of free tea and coffee along with this creation of ownership has gradually led to a culture of tutors spending more time on campus.
This recognition has benefited tutors in the change from a past view held by students and tutors that this was a 'drive through university': one where you arrive, go to class and spend as little time as possible between car and tutorial room on arrival and departure. In pursuit of developing a community of learners whose mutual support is palpable, there has been a concerted effort to change this culture of disengagement. Further support has been provided by regular communication to tutors as a group via group emails and informal discussions. Tutor emails saying "I have had four emails from the Head in as many weeks and none for the past two years" highlight the change in leadership and culture.
In the past year there has been significantly more discussion between tutors from the same faculty as well as increased cross faculty discussion. To some degree this is facilitated by being in the same space at the same time and feeling like it is space that they own. But, it is also because tutors now see the space as a useful environment for preparation, marking or their own research. The sense of collegiality, of the university coming to life, has been facilitated by the presence of part time casual staff, in the absence of full time academic staff.
Tutors comment favourably on these changes. An anonymous quote from a staff member identifies the creation of a 'dynamic organisational environment which flourishes on initiative, motivation and team value'. Importantly this has led to tutors spending time reflecting on their practice. Where there is a collegial group, in a shared welcoming space, immediately there is opportunity for the kinds of reflective activity which happens in the 'off stage' environment of all teaching institutions. What is interesting is that in seeking to support the collegial communal behaviour, there are tutors who are rethinking their teaching practice. There is, of course, a range of inputs to this, but consider the following example.
Thus, the conversation became speculation on engagement of students other than via a 'whiteboard marker and talk' method; the preferred style of Tutor A. This led to the offering a video on teaching styles prepared by the University's Centre for Educational Development and Interactive Resources (CEDIR). Tutor A went away to reflect, to do some 'reframing'. (Russell & Munby 1991, p. 185) That the tutor was willing to express concerns and to accept offered mentoring in the perceived learning community and then to enter into peer discussion is suggestive of a community working effectively to foster development.
Some months later, discussion of this matter was initiated once more by Tutor A. This time he wanted to say that he was keen to try other methods, especially given some of the challenging behaviours he was encountering. But, he wasn't sure how to develop his work in groups and doubted his students' capacity for taking personal responsibility. On this occasion the Head suggested that the Learning Developer would firstly, have the expertise to assist, and secondly, know where useful resources and lists of ideas were located in the University's learning and teaching resources. Tutor A followed this up, but also talked with another, Tutor C, who arrived in the Head's office asking to borrow the video on teaching styles suggested by Tutor A.
Another piece of serendipity? Or perhaps, an effective method for creating a learning community amongst tutors?
At remote campuses across Australia like Shoalhaven, where learning is distributed from a home campus[9], developing a sense of self worth in part time casual tutors is important in creating effective learning and teaching. Should the campus grow, there will be full and part time academics. But in the period where there are not, there needs to be sensible discussion about how to develop tutors' roles and responsibilities such that the students, the university, the campus and not least, the tutors themselves, benefit. It is essential to recognise the importance of such casual part time tutors. They are marginalised from university learning and teaching by being at something called a 'remote' campus. They need to be brought into the warp and weft of the community of the university with concomitant enhancement of the university in its learning and teaching process and in its community engagement. Both the university community and the wider community benefit from the links that come from engagement.
Beyond this, for all campuses, there is the need to realise that in times where part time casual tutors are used broadly for many undergraduate subjects, perhaps there needs to be consideration of the cultivation of their skills and commitment. Small campus experience provides a petrie dish to look at the ways to build reflective practice amongst a community of learners and to see that the two go hand in hand.
Albury, R., Lefoe, G., Littler, C. & Trivett, N. (2001). Creating partnerships in a distributed learning environment: Some lessons learned. Proceedings HERDSA 2001 Conference. Newcastle.
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Collins, R. & Stevenson, L. (2004). Inspiring imagination - education and learning: The university experience in the regional development cocktail. Paper presented at the Australian and New Zealand Regional Science Conference, The Regional Development Cocktail: Shaken Not Stirred, Wollongong, 28 September - 1 October.
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| Author: Robbie is currently Head of University of Wollongong's Shoalhaven Campus. She has worked in varying educational institutions in teaching, facilitatory and management roles. A theme in her life is the empowerment of others. Robbie has a history of linking communities with the processes of education. She is committed to enterprising approaches to problem solving and her management approach is framed by her experiences as facilitatory director in community theatre. Finding a shared vision and transparency of process are key issues for her.
Email: robbie@uow.edu.au Phone: 02 4448 0888 Postal address: PO Box 5080, Nowra DC NSW 2540 Please cite as: Collins, R. (2005). Small campus, collegial development, a community and learning: Some reflections on developing reflective practice amongst part time casual tutors. In The Reflective Practitioner. Proceedings of the 14th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, 3-4 February 2005. Perth: Murdoch University. http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf2005/refereed/collins.html |
Copyright 2005 Robbie Collins. The author assigns to the TL Forum and not for profit educational institutions a non-exclusive licence to reproduce this article for personal use or for institutional teaching and learning purposes, in any format (including website mirrors), provided that the article is used and cited in accordance with the usual academic conventions.