One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Tim Beaumont,

Teaching and Learning Unit,

The University of Melbourne,

btj@unimelb.edu.au

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

“Neither the discipline-embedded nor the e-learning approach to developing academic literacy are new, however a combination of both seems to be rare” (Wingate and Dreiss, 2009, p.14).

E-learning in ALL: An unclear picture

Image: http://www.uofr.net/~greg/puzzle/

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Initiatives

e.g. SNAPVU (VU), SkillSoup podcasts (ANU), AIRport (UoM), Use of RSS feeds

and Facebook, UNSW)

Events

e.g. 2012 AALL Symposium: eLearning: The good, the bad and the ugly; 2011,

Learning Technologies for ALL

Publications

e.g. Kirkwood, 2010; Wingate & Dreiss, 2009

+ Conference presentations, postings on Unilearn and PASS mailing lists etc.

Considerable activity is apparent:

Image: http://www.uofr.net/~greg/puzzle/

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

 1. Student learning support

2. Academic development

3. Research

4. e-learning and multimedia

The Teaching and Learning Unit, Business and Economics, the University of Melbourne

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

The Teaching and Learning Unit, Business and Economics, the University of Melbourne

E- Learning and Multimedia

• Filming and editing• Online subject development• e-Learning discussion group• e-Learning Twitter account• Graphic design: online & print• Equipment lending • Resource linking to LMS pages• LMS Support for academics

• Online Tutor • Critical Analytical Learning in

Macroeconomics• Groupworks• Feedback & Assessment Tests• Online Assignment Tool• Audio streaming• Publications

http://tlu.fbe.unimelb.edu.au/online/

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

• Short filmed conversations • Linked to LMS subject pages• Participants may include: advisers, lecturers, tutors and librarians

Sessions may focus on either:

• Academic material• Generic skills• Integrated academic learning

Link to paper: http://journal.aall.org.au/index.php/jall/article/view/147

Electronic Just in Time Sessions

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

• Slides• Screen capture• Web links• Links to related resources• Activities• Assessment tasks• LMS discussion boards• Wikis

Optional extras

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Ingredient 1. Video camera

Image: http://www.globalmediapro.com/dp/A28S82/Sony-DSR-PD177P-DVCAM-Camcorder-PAL/

Ingredient 2. LMS

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Ingredient 3. Editing software

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Image: http://community.avid.com/forums/p/67668/378855.aspx

Ingredient 4. Ability to use the equipment

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Pre-Shoot On the day After the shoot

Preparatory discussions

Q & A preparation

Venue booking

Room set up

Practice

Shoot

Editing

Related resource creation

Uploading

Promotion

Evaluation

Process

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Why the Electronic Just in Time session?

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Up to 4000 hits in a semester*

Student use of:• The LMS • The web • Online video • Mobile devices

The format

content-rich, assessment-task specific, user-friendly, flexible,

non-didactic, non-remedial, built on multiple sources of expertise

*4047 hits in a subject feat. 1010 students

Accessibility and flexibility

Integrated session (face to face)

Electronic Just in Timesession

Time and place specific Anywhere, any time

Increased attendance → impact on venues and staffing

Increased popularity → no effect on administrative demands

Timing and content broadly aligned with needs of the student group

Content can be skipped, skimmed, scrutinised or replayed according to needs of the individual

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

AALL Principles2. That we collaborate with institutional colleagues on student learning goals, curricula, teaching and assessment, in order to improve the teaching and learning culture within higher and further education institutions;

5. That in our role we are integral to the process of improving the quality of learning and teaching in higher and further education institutions.(Association for Academic Language and Learning, 2010)

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Potential for broader teaching and learning impact

Advisers as "catalysts for systemic change, facilitators of organisational learning, [and]…partners in the transformation of university teaching and learning" (Webb, 2002, in Skillen, James, Percy, Tootell, & Irvine, 2003)

Multiple Sources of Expertise

Only 62% of first year students in Australia report that “staff are good at

explaining things” (James, Krause & Jennings, 2010, p. 58)

“Activities and standards require disciplinary and contextual interpretation if

they are to be understood, yet discussion of processes and reference

points for determining standards are relatively rare.” (Boud, 2010, p. 2)

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Adviser as Outsider

Image: http://www.rowthree.com/2010/05/05/maya-deren-meshes-of-the-afternoon-late-night-wanderings/

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Developmental, discipline-specific learning

‘English’, ‘skills’, ‘Academic discourses’, ‘academic literacies’, ‘everyday

literacies’, ‘professional literacies’ (Melles, 2001; Harper, Prentice & Wilson

2011)

“Advisers are quickly sucked beneath the surface of their students’

texts and immersed in the intellectual matrix of each discipline, to grapple

with questions of ‘-ography’ (i.e. of writing in and for a discourse

community) ... What is lacking is regular institutional means of bringing us

into the same conversations, to share what we know on the basis of

mutual respect” (Chanock, 2007, p. 274)

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

“Many Australasian students do not ever discuss their grades, ideas from

classes or career plans with their teachers – 32.2 per cent, 46.7 per cent

and 52.6 per cent respectively” (Australian Council for Educational

Research, 2010, pp. 22-23).

“Student-teaching interaction appears impersonal and distant for many

students” (James, Krause & Jennings, p. 5)

Expanding Conversations

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

Where to from here?

Image: http://wallpaperblog.wordpress.com/2007/12/21/blue-sky/

One on one to thousands: Expanding the conversations of the ALL practitioner

ReferencesAustralian Council for Educational Research. (2010). Doing more for learning: Enhancing engagement and outcomes. Retrieved from 1 October, 2011 from http://ausse.acer.edu.au/images/docs/AUSSE_2009_Student_Engagement_Report.pdf

Association for Academic Language and Learning. (2010). Association for Academic Language and Learning Position Statement, 2010. (based on Carmichael, E., Hicks, M., McGowan, U. & van der Wal, A. (1999), The Position of Academic Language & Learning Skills Advisers/Lecturers in Australian Universities1995-1999, Revised and updated by Annie Bartlett. Retrieved May 17, 2011 from http://www.aall.org.au/sites/default/files/AALLpositionStatement2010Final.pdf

Chanock, K. (2007). What academic language and learning advisers bring to the scholarship of teaching and learning: Problems and possibilities for dialogue with the disciplines. Higher Education Research and Development. 26 (3), 269-280.

Harper, R., Prentice, S. & Wilson, K. (2011). English language perplexity: Articulating the tensions in the DEEWR “Good Practice Principles”. The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 2(1). 36–48. doi: 10.5204/intjfyhe.v2i1.51

James R., Krause, K. L., Jennings, C. (2010). The First Year Experience in Australian Universities: Findings from 1994 to 2009, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne. Retrieved May 14, 2010 from http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/research/FYE_Report_1994_to_2009.pdf

Melles, G. (2001). LAS Centre identities and practices within higher education: Fragments for negotiation. In B. James, A. Percy, J. Skillen & N. Trivett (Eds.), Changing Identities: Proceedings from the National Language and Academic Skills Conference. University of Wollongong. Retrieved, July 12, 2011, from http://learning.uow.edu.au/LAS2001/unrefereed/melles.pdf.

Percy, A. (2011). Making sense of learning advising: An historical ontology. Doctoral thesis. University of Wollongong, 23 September 2011

Ransom, L. & Grieg, J. (2007). Benchmarking the LLSU: An investigation into the policies and practices at ten partner institutions for quality improvement purposes. Retrieved 28 October, 2011 from http://cms.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/471378/Benchmarking_the_LLSUnew.pdf

Skillen, J., James, B., Percy, A., Tootell, H., & Irvine, H. (2004). From integration to transformation. In P. Zeegers & K. Deller-Evans (Eds.) Refereed Proceedings of the Biannual Language and Academic Skills in Higher Education 2003 Conference, Flinders University. 127-138.

Wingate, U. & Dreiss C. (2009). Developing students’ academic literacy: an online approach. Journal of Academic Language & Learning 3(1), 14-25. Retrieved May 14, 2010 from http://journal.aall.org.au/index.php/jall/article/viewArticle/65

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