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Developing academic practice

Helen Beetham Independent consultant for Jisc and CLLCLL Digital Literacy workshop | LSE | May 7th 2014

Outcomes from the Jisc Developing Digital Literacies programmerelevant to subject teaching in the disciplines

Digital 'literacies'...

… fluencies, capabilities, scholarship, professionalism...

It is the first part of the term that really matters because

digital information, data, networks and associated tools and services are fundamentally changing our society

(and specifically the knowledge practices of subjects)

but the changes are becoming less easy to discern

so we need to ask (right now, while we can)

what capabilities, aptitudes and attitudes will students need to thrive in a digital (post-digital) society?

what kind of experiences can we offer - rooted in our subject practices - that are going to be relevant?

Findings from DDL on curriculum teaching

Digital capabilities are multiple, discipline specific, hybrid, contextualised...

Digital activities should be authentically part of the courses of study in which students have invested

Digital identity involves the development of values which are owned by specific communities of practice: criticality, managing data, public/private boundaries, safety, originality...

Digital reputation is an important aspect of identity work for graduates, scholars and professionals

Formal learning in curriculum structures is most common route to using digital technologies for knowledge-building and in reflective, creative, critical, professional ways

Aspects of disciplinary practicethat digital technologies may be changing

LEARNINGAND

TEACHING

RESEARCHAND

SCHOLARSHIP

PROFESSIONALPRACTICE

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How is the subject area changing – due to digital technologies – e.g. in the different aspects of practice?

How are these changes communicated with students and explored in the curriculum?

What digital experiences can the subject offer that are not available to students through other routes?

What activities – already part of the curriculum – could have (public) digital outcomes?

What digital capabilities are a pre-requisite for engaging with the subject at a higher level (and how can we ensure this requirement does not become a barrier to access or a structural inequality)?

Questions for subject teams

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1. Subject-specific accounts of digital capability (process not product!)2. Professional development for teaching staff3. Partnerships between teaching and professional staff4. Mini-projects / case studies in departments5. Development of learning materials with students6. Students as pioneers/champions/change agents in depts7. Qualitative and quantitative research

(digital practice as both content and process)

What DDL projects have done

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Further resources

http://bit.ly/DLinfokit

http://bit.ly/DLdisc

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Digital practicesHybrid practices: informal/formal contextsinstitutional/personal/public technologiesacademic/digital know-howwork/home life

Hidden practices: personal study habits, outsourced curriculum, third party software/services,'coping' mechanisms, 'workarounds'

Often acquired from close peers, but specialised, complex and established practices still require formal support

Practice innovators may be ignored/undervalued e.g. teaching administrators, subject librarians, PGRs, GTAs

Students’ digital practices are predominantly developed and contextualised within their programmes of study

Additional note on digital practices