Academic Advising: Yes, but who is learning from whom?

Ivan Moore

Director, Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Promoting Learner Autonomy

Cal Weatherald

Head of Student Guidance

Sheffield Hallam University

An outline

• Background– Who are we? Where are we from? What do we do? Why are we

here?• activity

• Context– of our separate roles– conceptualising students who come to student support services

• activity• What was our research about?• How have we re-conceptualised students in the light of this?• What does this mean for the link between professional and

academic staff activities?• activity

Don't let your cell phone spoil this meeting!

An outline

• Background– Who are we? Where are we from? What do we do? Why are we

here?• activity

• Context– of our separate roles– conceptualising students who come to student support services

• activity• What was our research about?• How have we re-conceptualised students in the light of this?• What does this mean for the link between professional and

academic staff activities?• activity

We are from here

We are not from here!

. Sheffield

Where are we from?

Sheffield?

• Its an old place– populated since the last ice age– 'a field on the river Sheaf'

• Its a nice place– "Sheffield, I suppose, could justly claim to be

called the ugliest town in the Old World". George Orwell

– "architecturally a miserable disappointment" Nikolaus Pevsner; noted architecture historian

Sheffield?

• Its a nice place• five rivers

– Sheaf, Don, Loxley, Rivelin, Porter• Seven hills• Two million trees (4 per resident)

– more than any other City in Europe!• The largest amount of green space in any city in

Europe

Sheffield?

• Its a cosmopolitan place• Yes, a population of just over half a million

– the fourth largest in England• Significant minority ethnic communities,

including Indian, Pakistani, African-Caribbean, Yemeni, Somali, Polish

Sheffield?

• What's it famous for?– Sheffield steel (and crucible steel)– First football club in the world– Sheffield Steelers (Ice hockey team)– Climbing and walking (Peak District National Park)– Gritty movies (The Full Monty)– Gritty movie stars (Sean Bean)

• Oh yes, and its famous for its twin city

Sheffield?

• Sheffield Hallam University– 28,000 students– 4,000 staff– 6th largest in the UK– 'Best modern university' in the UK

• Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning– Promoting Learner Autonomy– Employability– Inter-professional e-learning

Government white paper:'The future of Higher Education' 2003

Two main aims:reward excellent teaching practiceensure substantial benefits to students, teachers and institutions

January 2005: funding awarded for 74 centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs)

£2,000,000 capital£500,000 per year to 2010

At SHUCPLAEmployabilityinter professional education

What is an autonomous learner?

• Discuss this briefly with your neighbour

• Someone qualifies as an autonomous learner when (s)he independently chooses aims and purposes and sets goals; chooses materials, methods and tasks; exercises choice and purpose in organising and carrying out the chosen tasks; and chooses criteria for evaluation.

• Holec 1982

A definition of learner autonomy

• An autonomous learner takes responsibility for his/her own learning

• They can identify:– their learning goals (what they need to learn)– their learning processes (how they will learn it)– how they will evaluate and use their learning

Characteristics of ‘effective’ autonomous learners

• they have well-founded conceptions of learning• they have a range of learning approaches and skills• they can organize their learning• they have good information processing skills• they are well motivated to learn

WILLINGNESS TO LEARN Balance of vocational, academic,

personal and social motivations to learnIntrinsic motivationExtrinsic motivation

GoalsShort - Medium - Long

Confidence

MANAGEMENTStudy Skills

Planning and problem solvingEvaluation & Metacognition

Self-assessmentFocus & ‘stickability’

Time and project managementBalancing social, work and learning

needsAssessment

INFORMATION SKILLSRecognise information needAddressed information ‘gap’

Construct strategies for locating information

Locate and access information Compare and evaluate informationOrganise, apply and communicate

informationSynthesise and build upon existing

information

STANCE TOWARDS LEARNING

Orientation to learningAppropriate conceptions of learning

Deep approach to learningA range of appropriate learning

strategies

WILLINGNESS TO LEARN Balance of vocational, academic,

personal and social motivations to learnIntrinsic motivationExtrinsic motivation

GoalsShort - Medium - Long

Confidence

MANAGEMENTStudy Skills

Planning and problem solvingEvaluation & Metacognition

Self-assessmentFocus & ‘stickability’

Time and project managementBalancing social, work and learning

needsAssessment

INFORMATION SKILLSRecognise information needAddressed information ‘gap’

Construct strategies for locating information

Locate and access information Compare and evaluate informationOrganise, apply and communicate

informationSynthesise and build upon existing

information

STANCE TOWARDS LEARNING

Orientation to learningAppropriate conceptions of learning

Deep approach to learningA range of appropriate learning

strategies

The SHU social model

• learning is a social activity• people are not only a resource• sense of belonging• sharing, supporting, discussing, debating• working in partnership

• teamwork, leadership, inter-personal skills

Learning as a journey

• We become more autonomous as learners as we make more of our own choices about what we learn and how we learn it.

dependence

Independence or autonomy

interdependence

Knowledge(breadth and complexity)

Independence

Intellectual capacity

Level one

Level two

Level three

Learning as growth

Intellectual skills

• Evaluation

• Synthesis

• Analysis

• Application

• Manipulation

• Knowledge

Ability to make a judgment of the worth of something

Ability to combine separate elements into a whole

Ability to break a problem into its constituent parts and establish the relationships between each one

Ability to apply rephrased knowledge in a novel situation

That which can be recalled

Ability to rephrase knowledge

Education Guidance at Sheffield Hallam University

Education Guidance at SHU

Who are we?

Who are our users?

Education Guidance at SHU

Who are our users?

Individuals attending by client group 2006/07:

Staff users1%

Pre-entry/ other users

36%

SHU students

63%

Activity

• How do you conceptualise the students who come to you for advice?– what words do you use to describe them?– what words do you use to describe the issues they bring with

them?– what words do you use to describe the service you provide?

How do we listen?

Guidance is not about telling people what to do: rather, it is a process of finding and interpreting evidence, self-exploration, planning and review. Above all, it is a process of helping individuals to learn to be autonomous, to take control of their own decisions and to make decisions widely...This is a very different notion from the common perception of it as a kind of welfare service, picking up the pieces when student systems fail”

McNair, S (1996) ‘Putting Learners at the Centre’, Sheffield: DFEE.

Listening to learners

1500+ interviews per year

• describing

• reflecting

• exploring

• identifying challenges

• resolving difficulties

Guidance Conferences

Student autonomy (CPLA)

Annual Reports

Facultylearning and

teaching

Messages to Faculties

CPLA Research project:

Students managing their learning: an investigation into perspectives and patterns of behaviour of students using the Education Guidance Service

• Outline aims• To investigate ways in which students seek to develop an

autonomous approach to learning through the use of guidance

• To examine student behaviour in managing learning and highlight areas where real autonomy comes into conflict with institutional constraints

• The development of a sense of self• An intrinsic motivation to study• A perception of personal control over decision-

making • An acceptance of responsibility for the outcomes of

actions• A perception of competence in dealing with the

demands of higher education

Faizey (1996), Guidance and Learner Autonomy Project

Transition into higher education

• “In the first year I found the course was quite unorganised. But then I realised it was actually me who was unorganised, not the course. Because you have to – from ‘A’ level* you have been spoon-fed. You get the notes - what you are going to be reading, you get the homework, and what date it is supposed to be in. Whereas at university you have to go on Blackboard**, print off your notes, find out what you have to do for the next seminar. And I think – now I am quite organised, I realise it is not an unorganised course, but in the beginning I was really confused about everything.”

* High school leaving examination (usually taken at aged 18)

** SHU's Virtual Learning Environment

Student : tutor relationship

Experience of learningStudent: “I felt there were some lecturers, the way they present the lecture is not interactive. They are not aware whether the student understands or not, but they keep delivering. So I feel that interactivity is very important if you want the student to join the discussion. When the lecturer goes into the lecture room then the lecturer will start to read, sometimes just reading the lecture slides.”

Researcher: “So what do you do about this? Have you approached the tutor?”

Student: “Actually I didn’t approach this tutor, because during the seminar I felt this lecturer was very friendly. If you approach the lecturer personally she will explain a lot of the things, which is very helpful. But when she delivers the lecture this is not the case because ... may be she needs more training in terms of the delivery.”

What have we learned?

• 3 key emerging themes: – transition into higher education– relationship with the tutor– assessment and feedback

Activity - Linking professional and academic activities

• How closely aligned are your professional advisory roles with those of academic staff (faculty)?

• What processes does your university have in place to bring together the professional and academic activities?

• How closely (often) do faculty work with you in developing their learning and teaching (instructional) practices?

• How often do they ask for your advice?

Strategic themes

• Developing a conceptual Stance• Motivation and engagement (Willingness)• Supporting Intellectual development and Information skills• Organisation for learning (Managing learning)

• Peer support for learning• Transitions and year themes• Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL)• Assessment• Evaluating the student learning experience• Research and scholarship

Conceptual stance

Motivation and engagement

Information skills

Organisation for learning

Enquiry Based Learning

Student partnerships

Scholarship Teams

Student partnerships

• Staff Student Consultative Committees• Student representatives on Faculty and University Committees• Student feedback questionnaires and input into Quality Reports• National Student Survey

• Student Partnerships– Teamwork and group work– Peer mentoring– Peer assisted study support– Student volunteering scheme– Student involvement in evaluation– Co-curriculum developers– Co-producers of knowledge