Dr Simon Paul Atkinson (PFHEA)
Enhancing Institutional Outcomes
(Extracted for a draft Working paper) In the previous four posts I have outlined the changing nature of student support demands, the existing basis for current support, the need to embrace epistemological orientation as a necessary function of higher education institutions and suggested one project that attempts to resources such an effort. I should also …
Continue reading “An Opinion on a new approach on Personal Tutorial Systems”
(Extracted from a Draft Working Paper) In the belief that student success in learning requires an awareness of one’s own epistemological belief structures one recent project, the POISE project, sought to acknowledge and reinforce the diverse cultural contexts in which learning occurs. It aimed to provide a toolkit to enable a consistent, supportive and transformative …
Continue reading “POISE Project: an institutional response to epistemological beliefs”
(Extracted for a Draft Working paper) Distributed institutions face an increasing challenge to be able to afford, or deliver efficiently, the central services to meet diverse student needs. Changing contexts, notably the move towards the notion of the lifelong learner, means changing support structures and given the limitations of costs it becomes clear that foundations …
Continue reading “Starting with Epistemological Foundations”
(extracts from a draft Working Paper) Following a review of institutional websites in October 2014 it is clear that the vast majority of UK higher education institutions have explicit policy statements relating to the provision of personal tutoring (80%) with the remainder stating such support in more obtuse references or in delegated documents at faculty …
Continue reading “The research basis on which institutions respond to the case for learning support”
(Extracted from a draft working paper) One might expect this diversity in provision in Higher Education to be reflected in the personal tutoring support provided however there is remarkably little difference in the way in which support for students is organised and delivered. It suggest that there is value in unshackling support systems from existing …
Continue reading “Changing Student Demand for Tutorial Support”
Version 3.0 of the SOLE Toolkit has been released on the solemodel.org website today. The toolkit is an integrated spreadsheet workbook that supports implementation a learning design based on the SOLE Model. The SOLE model advocates a holistic approach to learning that encourages designers to recognise that the student spends significant time away from formal …
Continue reading “Version 3.0 of SOLE Toolkit released.”
I have updated the SOLE Model website with a reflection on some staff development guidance offered by London Metropolitan University on their eMatrix website. They were kind enough to list the SOLE Model as one of four models for conceptualising distance and blended learning. It’s a privilege to be listed alongside Professors Terry Anderson and …
Continue reading “Update to SOLE Model reflections”
It is always a privilege to be listed with others whose work one admires. I was pointed recently to a page produced by Laura Heap at the London Metropolitan University in May 2014 on their eLearning Matrix pages. On a page where Laura outlines possible answers to the question “What models are there for blended …
Continue reading “Models of Distance and ‘Blended’ Learning”
This new resource is called the Internet Archive Book Images and is available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/ Kalev Leetaru, an American Academic, has uploaded over 2.6 million pictures to Flickr, with searchable tags automatically added. Sourced from more than 600 million library book pages scanned in by the Internet Archive organisation making this a free resource. This …
Continue reading “Flickr archive promotes historic images”
The Higher Education Academy is currently running a Teaching International Students project which aims to support teaching staff in the classroom (either at ‘home’, online or overseas) rather than issues of pre-arrival support. However, the project team advocates a coordinated approach to supporting international students and believes in a ‘life-wide’ approach. To this end they …
Continue reading “Resources: Pre-arrival and pre-sessional support”
I am very pleased that the model and the toolkit continue to attract attention despite the relative neglect that I have subjected it to. There have recently been to academic enquiries that give me some calls to think that the model and toolkit continues to have significant value. One was a request to use the …
Continue reading “Universal application of the SOLE toolkit”
The following article may prove helpful to Personal Tutors wanting to understand how different students respond to the process of cultural adjustment. Yakunina, E. S., Weigold, I. K., Weigold, A., Hercegovac, S. and Elsayed, N. (2013), International Students’ Personal and Multicultural Strengths: Reducing Acculturative Stress and Promoting Adjustment. Journal of Counseling & Development, 91: 216–223. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2013.00088.x …
Continue reading “Faculty Resource: Update”
It was a great please to share the new POISE resource with colleagues at The University of Gloucestershire on Friday 13th September. A busy workshop attended by staff on the PGCert, and colleagues from the Royal Agricultural University, as well as interested others across the University explored faculty responses to dealing with fundamentally different approaches …
Continue reading “Sharing POISE with University of Gloucestershire”
The UK Council for International Student Affairs has a website crammed with useful information for students planning to come to the UK to study. It deals mostly with the official and procedural information, but there is also advice on choosing courses and some information about the cultural adjustments that may be necessary for many as …
Continue reading “Study in the UK: A Practical Guide”
An excellent resource for those wishing to explore their own preparedness to study, particularly overseas students looking to come and study in the UK, is ‘Prepare for Success’. The comprehensive website, which needs a reasonable level of English to navigate, has resources that explore the different types of Universities, courses, and patterns of study that …
Continue reading “Prepare for Success Resources: Student Support”
Sharing a paper today on the visualisation of educational taxonomies. I have finally got around to putting into a paper some of the blog postings, discussion, tweets and ruminations of recent years on educational taxonomies. I am always struck in talking to US educators (and faculty training teachers in particular) of the very direct use …
Continue reading “Visualisation of Educational Taxonomies”
I’ve been looking recently at a range of new builds in Universities and colleges in the UK and have been struck by the relative lack of any learning theory behind the designs. Beyond, that is, the Vice-Chancellor’s evident pride at being able to point to the new coffee franchise and padded benches and say wisely …
Continue reading “Evolving faculty roles and emerging learning spaces”
I delivered a webinar recently on technology enhanced learning. It was a 90-minute session (possibly too long) in Adobe Connect attended by some 15 faculty. Several of the evaluation comments suggested that the first third of the webinar, dealing with shared understandings of terminology and a history of the subject under discussion, was unnecessary, superfluous. …
Continue reading “Kaupapa Māori and the Pragmatic Pill”