are you future ready? preparing students for living and working in a digital world - ian pirie

Self-designed Learning and ‘future-proofing’ graduatesIan Pirie, Emeritus Professor, University of Edinburgh

Self-designed Learning and ‘future-proofing’ graduates

Wednesday 15th March 2017

IAN PIRIEEMERITUS PROFESSORUniversity of Edinburgh

Context

• a rapidly changing world

• changing expectations of employers

• changing expectations of students

• issues and challenges for Higher Eduction

a rapidly changing world

“Digitally savvy graduates are essential for shaping tomorrow’s entrepreneurial

activities”JISC - Technology for EmployabilityDr Peter Chatterton and Geoff RebbeckNovember 2015

A rapidly changing world

• increasingly connected 24/7 by digital networks

• information rich and easily accessible from

everywhere

• no longer static but mobile

• instant access to information and ‘live’ media

streams

The socialised learning environment

Phones

Laptop

Laptop

Phones

changing expectations of employers

Kaplan, Graduate Recruitment Report: Employer Perspectives 2014

The world is changing around us - and fast.

‘Every business is feeling the unprecedented impact of rapid demographic changes, economic shifts, increasing resource scarcity, urbanisation, and technology breakthroughs.

To keep up, leaders are urgently searching for the people who can help their organisations adapt to what is now the new reality.’

CBI Survey Data• Use of IT• Technical skills• Basic numeracy skills• Basic literacy and use of English• Analysis skills• Problem solving• Positive attitude to work• Team-working• Communication skills• Knowledge of chosen job or career• Self-management / resilience• International cultural awareness• Relevant work experience• Business and customer awareness• Foreign language skills

changing expectations of students

What students want and how universities are getting it wrong

http://theconversation.com/what-students-want-and-how-universities-are-getting-it-wrong-10000

All of our students’ are unique

What students would like

1. Personalised academic guidance, advice and support

2. Clarity in what is expected of them and what they can expect in return

3. Clarity in assessment criteria with associated timely and effective feedback

4. An academic community comprised of vertical peer groups and academic

staff

5. 24/7 access to online information in support of their studies: ideally in one

place

6. Increasingly an assurance that their education will best prepare them for

the future

What students would like

1. Personalised academic guidance, advice and support

2. Clarity in what is expected of them and what they can expect in return

3. Clarity in assessment criteria with associated timely and effective feedback

4. An academic community comprised of vertical peer groups and academic

staff

5. 24/7 access to online information in support of their studies: ideally in one

place

6. Increasingly an assurance that their education will best prepare them for

the future

issues and challenges for Higher Education

Issues and challenges for Higher Education

1. Often slow to accept the need for change and to actually change

2. The need to radically change the focus from TEACHING to LEARNING

3. To completely reinvent and re-focus the role of a traditional academic

4. A priority need to embrace and fully develop the potential of digital

technologies

5. And to accept responsibility for; a) ‘future proofing’ the whole persond) and developing ‘digital literacy’ to advanced levels in all students

1. Often slow to accept the need for change and to actually change

anything !!!!!!!

2. The need to radically change the focus from TEACHING to LEARNING

3. To completely reinvent and re-focus the role of a traditional academic

4. A priority need to embrace and fully develop the potential of digital

technologies

5. And to accept responsibility for; a) ‘future proofing’ the whole persond) and developing ‘digital literacy’ to advanced levels in all students

Issues and challenges for Higher Education

Issues and challenges for Higher Education

1. Often slow to accept the need for change and to actually change

anything !!!!!!!

2. The need to radically change the focus from TEACHING to LEARNING

3. To completely reinvent and re-focus the role of a traditional academic

4. A priority need to embrace and fully develop the potential of digital

technologies

5. And to accept responsibility for; a) ‘future proofing’ the whole persond) and developing ‘digital literacy’ to advanced levels in all students

Future Vision: Future Curriculum

A portfolio approach for a complicated and unpredictable future develop a curriculum that maximises the value of the breadth offered by a four-year degree to enable students to learn widely and develop an individual academic pathway towards a degree

Giving students agency to create their own learning put active and engaged students at the heart of their own journey through a degree; the student and their academic mentor are the centre of the process rather than the pattern of courses that compose a degree programme

Extend learning beyond the traditional knowledge-centred course use the length and credit pattern of our degrees to facilitate time spent developing graduate attributes through, for example, credit bearing self-directed study, international or service experience, interaction with employers, entrepreneurship.

A portfolio approach for a complicated and unpredictable future develop a curriculum that maximises the value of the breadth offered by a four-year degree to enable students to learn widely and develop an individual academic pathway towards a degree

Giving students agency to create their own learning put active and engaged students at the heart of their own journey through a degree; the student and their academic mentor are the centre of the process rather than the pattern of courses that compose a degree programme

Extend learning beyond the traditional knowledge-centred course use the length and credit pattern of our degrees to facilitate time spent developing graduate attributes through, for example, credit bearing self-directed study, international or service experience, interaction with employers, entrepreneurship.

Future Vision: Future Curriculum

Every student a researcher/practitionerstudents are linked to research or practice groups and activities from year one. By year four they are deeply embedded in the active research/practice culture of their area of academic interest. Credit-bearing courses in multiple years value and permit evaluation of this engagement.

Course design for 21st century learnersdevelop all courses within the curriculum towards the appropriate use of technology and student-centred pedagogy and away from passive learning styles. An ongoing focus on small group interactions with academics will be key to this, with a reduced emphasis on the ‘traditional’ lecture / closed exam model of teaching.

Focus on multiple learning experiences and learning for lifeexpect all of our students to experience online learning within their degree, to broaden their variety of effective learning styles and help prepare them for lifelong learning. These will include courses provided by the University of Edinburgh and by partner institutions elsewhere (Virtual Mobility).

Future Vision: Future Curriculum

Every student a researcher/practitionerstudents are linked to research or practice groups and activities from year one. By year four they are deeply embedded in the active research/practice culture of their area of academic interest. Credit-bearing courses in multiple years value and permit evaluation of this engagement.

Course design for 21st century learnersdevelop all courses within the curriculum towards the appropriate use of technology and student-centred pedagogy and away from passive learning styles. An ongoing focus on small group interactions with academics will be key to this, with a reduced emphasis on the ‘traditional’ lecture / closed exam model of teaching.

Focus on multiple learning experiences and learning for lifeexpect all of our students to experience online learning within their degree, to broaden their variety of effective learning styles and help prepare them for lifelong learning. These will include courses provided by the University of Edinburgh and by partner institutions elsewhere (Virtual Mobility).

Future Vision: Future Curriculum

Student-Led Individually Created

Courses SLICCs

• University-wide framework contextualised to the discipline by each student

• Student created, owned, managed and formatively self-assessed

• Deliberate minimal input and supervision from academic staff

• Academic input at the ‘front-end’ for induction and preparation of proposal

• Key role to approve academic validity and viability of learning experience

• And assess at the end

SLICC - principles

• University-wide framework contextualised to the discipline by each student

• Student created, owned, managed and formatively self-assessed

• Deliberate minimal input and supervision from academic staff

• Academic input at the ‘front-end’ for induction and preparation of proposal

• Key role to approve academic validity and viability of learning experience

• And assess at the end

SLICC - principles

For students to:

• design, manage, complete and successfully assess aspects of their own learning

• consolidate and expand upon their prior learning and apply in a defined context

• be actively engaged in experiential learning

• develop their abilities in self-critical reflection, analysis and evaluation

SLICC - key aims

SLICC - student journey

SLICC - process cycle

• Students must attend the induction workshops in person

• Thereafter all learning interactions are facilitated online

• This includes the approval, guidance, feedback, submission and assessment

• Students decide what they need to submit to evidence the learning outcomes (LOs)

• To-date this has included; Text, Video, Audio, Photography and Research Data

• Student must also submit a self-graded assessment constructively aligned to the LOs

• A critically-selective web folio is submitted along with an (up to 2000 word) report.

SLICC - management, submission and assessment

• The benefits of doing a SLICC were that I was able to teach myself something that

my degree doesn't cover, reflect on my learning process, and get credit for it.

• I think my organisation on the project was a mess and I think that (even though it’s

only the third week [of the new academic year]) I have improved my organisation as

a result for the whole of my academic studies

• It made me realise what I had learnt on my journey

• In the end, I was able to identify the areas of my learning process I need to improve

the most, and I think I worked on them as well.

SLICC - student feedback 2016

• A reflexive attitude towards learning; increased confidence; a refreshed less harsh

attitude towards personal development

• It allowed me to reflect and process my experience which otherwise would have been

confined to the three weeks I was away. Within the SLICC framework I was able to

evaluate and internalise lessons I was learning.

• It taught me research skills and also helped me to engage with my work experience in

a unique way

• It made me take control of my own learning.

SLICC - student feedback 2016

Professor Ian Pirieian.pirie@ed.ac.uk

Dr Simon RileyMEDICAL SCHOOLSimon.C.Riley@ed.ac.uk

Dr Gavin McCabeEMPLOYABILITY CONSULTANT gavin.mccabe@ed.ac.uk

http://www.ed.ac.uk/employability/slicc

SLICC Pilots

> >Slide 03/05/2023

Self-designed Learning 36

Ian PirieEmeritus Professor, University of Edinburgh