Here be dragons...

Heather GibsonQAA ScotlandApril 2015

http://tommcfarlin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/smaug.jpg

In ancient maps.. Dragons meant ‘bad things’ lurked

Like ‘sin’...

Psalter World Map, Westminster 1265, British Library

http://www.bl.uk/magnificentmaps/map1.html

Aim of session

• Why a map of transitions?• What is a ‘map?’• Nature of transitions• Some views of a transition map• Exercise• Plenary

Why a map of transitions?

• There are as many transitions as there are students as there are people

• A map helps us understand what the common transitions are

• A map helps us to talk about transitions, so that we all understand where we are

• A map helps us understand what we know and what we don’t know

• A map helps us see patterns and trends• A map helps us link things together

The national transitions map will:

• identify key transition points during the student experience in higher education

• locate transitions where the sector has developed good and interesting practice

• locate transitions where more work might be usefully carried out to support students, i.e., ‘fill in the gaps’

• contextualise, illustrate and promote the work that Scottish higher education institutions are carrying out to support students in transitions

What is a map?

• A map is a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, and themes. (wikipedia)

• You can map just about anything

From the biggest and the earliest...

http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/map/current/m_images.cfm

To the smallest...

From: http://mtdnatest.com/reagents-kits/mtdnatest-human/

Maps can save lives...

Dr John Snow, c1854

... they can communicate trends...

http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Disparities+and+change – Higher education spend

..imagine the future…

David McCandless, Knowledge is Beautiful, 2014, Collins

…image the past

http://www.life.illinois.edu/mcb/419/images/GeoTimeSpiral.jpg

We are Snook (Improving the learner journey, Scottish Government report, p. 103)

Inspirational map 1

Inspirational map 2

Dr John Snow, c1854

But….

Dr John Snow, c1854

What are we actually mapping?

Defining transitions

“Transition. 1. The process of changing from one state or condition to another; a period of such change. 2. (in music) a momentary modulation.” Oxford Concise Dictionary.

‘The real art of conducting consists in transitions.Gustav Mahler

http://www.brainyquote.com/

Academic views of transition

• Transition as induction• Transition as development• Transition as becoming

(Gale and Parker, 2011)

Academic views of transition

• Transition as induction– Linear through distinct (usually pre-determined) stages– Transitions are primarily managed at institutional level – Successful transition is one where a student is

inculcated into dominant institutional culture – Metaphor: pathway, journey– Examples: ‘ice-breakers’, providing sufficient IAG

• Transition as development• Transition as becoming

Academic views of transition

• Transition as induction• Transition as development– Focusses around linear (irreversible) development

of identity to university student and onwards– Transitions are primarily managed at

individual/group level– Metaphor: trajectory– Examples: student mentors, field placements

• Transition as becoming

Academic views of transition

• Transition as induction• Transition as development• Transition as becoming– Non-linear, common i.e. not related to ‘crisis’

points or restricted to HE– Transition is reality – built into the whole student

experience– Metaphors: Holistic, rhizomatic– Examples: flexible study modes, study pathways

The nature of transitions – linear

Beginning End

Middle

The nature of transitions- the curve

http://www.businessballs.com/personalchangeprocess.htm

The nature of transitions – the spiral

https://treyka.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/life-is-a-spiral/

‘Younger generations no longer see their lives as flat, linear progressions… Rather they are leading cyclical lives that demand they start over again and again.’

(Passages, Gail Sheehy, 2006, p. xviii)

Views of a transition map

• Mapping transitions as a temporal journey+Easy to create, just start at the beginning+The idea of a student journey is easy to understand– It soon becomes very complicated and there is a

danger that aspects of particular transitions become lost in the ‘noise’

– Reflects a linear process when in reality transitions are ongoing and repetitive

Mapping as linear journey

Gibson, 2015a

Two views of a transition map

• Mapping transitions as a series of events+ A more accurate representation of the non-linear

nature of transitions?+ Particular ‘types’ of transitions can be identified

and explored+ A less crowded and confused map- More difficult to get started!- Danger of overcomplicating the process

Mapping as event

In Through Out

Island of social frenzy

Boulevard of clubs and societies

Finals

Leap into the unknown

2nd year s lu mp

Zone of cultural shock

Tower of the first assessment

Flock of CVsHonours high jump

College gate

International arrivalsPhD thesis train

Well of homesickness

Gibson, 2015b

Activity

• Using the ‘materials’ provided, build a map of student transitions. Organise the map in anyway you see fit – you can use the completely blank side or the side that has some transitional domains laid out for you…

• Try to record as many transitions as you can• Be creative but be prepared to answer questions about

your choice of design!

(60 minutes)

Plenary

– Describe your map to your colleagues, consider the following:

• Why did you structure it in the way you did?• What were the benefits of doing it this way? What

were the limitations?• Would you do this differently next time?