Capturing teachers' experience of learning design through case studies

This article distinguishes three dimensions to learning design: a technological infrastructure, a conceptual framework for practice that focuses on the creation of structured sequences of learning activities, and a way to represent and share practice through the use of mediating artefacts. Focusing initially on the second of these dimensions, the article reports the key findings from an exploratory study, eLIDA CAMEL. This project examined a hitherto under-researched aspect of learning design: what teachers who are new to the domain perceive to be its value as a framework for practice in the design of both flexible and classroom-based learning. Data collection comprised 13 case studies constructed from participants' self-reports. These suggest that providing students with a structured sequence of learning activities was the major value to teachers. The article additionally discusses the potential of such case studies to function as mediating artefacts for practitioners who are considering experimenting with learning design.

A case study of the effectiveness of the electronic survey as a research tool for measuring students' experience of e-learning

This paper uses a case study approach to consider the effectiveness of the electronic survey as a research tool to measure the learner voice about experiences of e-learning in a particular institutional case. Two large scale electronic surveys were carried out for the Student Experience of e-Learning (SEEL) project at the University of Greenwich in 2007 and 2008, funded by the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA). The paper considers this case to argue that, although the electronic web-based survey is a convenient method of quantitative and qualitative data collection, enabling higher education institutions swiftly to capture multiple views of large numbers of students regarding experiences of e-learning, for more robust analysis, electronic survey research is best combined with other methods of in-depth qualitative data collection. The advantages and disadvantages of the electronic survey as a research method to capture student experiences of e-learning are the focus of analysis in this short paper, which reports an overview of large-scale data collection (1,000+ responses) from two electronic surveys administered to students using surveymonkey as a web-based survey tool as part of the SEEL research project. Advantages of web-based electronic survey design include flexibility, ease of design, high degree of designer control, convenience, low costs, data security, ease of access and guarantee of confidentiality combined with researcher ability to identify users through email addresses. Disadvantages of electronic survey design include the self-selecting nature of web-enabled respondent participation, which tends to skew data collection towards students who respond effectively to email invitations. The relative inadequacy of electronic surveys to capture in-depth qualitative views of students is discussed with regard to prior recommendations from the JISC-funded Learners' Experiences of e-Learning (LEX) project, in consideration of the results from SEEL in-depth interviews with students. The paper considers the literature on web-based and email electronic survey design, summing up the relative advantages and disadvantages of electronic surveys as a tool for student experience of e-learning research. The paper concludes with a range of recommendations for designing future electronic surveys to capture the learner voice on e-learning, contributing to evidence-based learning technology research development in higher education.

Creative leadership & communities of practice

This Second Wave presentation focused on 'Creative Leadership and Communities of Practice', with particular reference to issues of trust affecting young people, unemployment and wider uncertainties in an economic recession when people were facing job cuts and in a social environment characterised by cynicism and a downturn in trust. Young people who join Second Wave are brought into a community of practice (CoP) (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1999) involving a dynamic, fluid process which is distinctive in its transformative power to change people's lives. The philosophy behind this involves Dewey's notion of the 'active self' (Dewey, 1916) and the theories of 'social constructivism' (Vygotsky, 1978). The process fosters trust, confidence and social learning (Bandura, 1977; Vygotsky, 1978) in which young people join in with a dialogue involving participation in the youth-centred creative space. The 'border zone' (Heath, 1994) in that creative space enables young people to connect with each other in the specialist field of youth arts. The youth-centred partnerships involved lead to greater confidence and development in a range of important artistic, social, cognitive and emotional skills and opportunities. Ultimately, the young person may become engaged in multi-agency working with Second Wave's external partners. Throughout all of these processes, young people are encouraged progressively to develop a more 'active self' to engage proactively with many different beneficial opportunities relating to the performing arts. In an era in which there has been a loss of trust in public life this is particularly important. If trust is defined in part as a belief in the honesty, competence and benevolence of others, it tends to act like 'social glue', cushioning difficult situations and enabling actions to take place easily that otherwise would not be permissible. The Edelman Trust Barometer for 2009 has recorded a marked diminution of trust in corporations, businesses and government, as a result of the credit crunch. While the US and parts of Europe were showing recovery from a generalised loss of trust by mid-year 2009, the UK had not. Social attitudes in Britain may be hardening - from being a nation of sceptics we may be becoming a nation of cynics: for example, only 13% of the population surveyed by Edelman trust politicians to tell the truth. In this situation, there is a need to promote positive measures to build trust. The presentation aims described key aspects of Second Wave's approach to identify and disseminate its model of good practice to make this more explicit and accessible to others. It is with awareness of the profoundly challenging circumstances facing young people, particularly but not exclusively in inner city urban areas such as Deptford, and the valuable contribution youth arts work can make to their well-being and development, that the presentation was carried out. In an era of generalised mistrust, the work done at Second Wave is crucial in empowering and supporting young people to find a positive and creative direction as part of the community.

Leadership and management standards in the UK Lifelong Learning sector

Leadership and Management Standards in the UK Lifelong Learning Sector. Presentation on research findings on leadership and management in the LLS sector, in the context of UK government policy changes introducing the 2007 Principals' Qualifying Programme (PQP) delivered by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL)/Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS). Discusses the role of standards in leadership and management professional practice and development and sums up the history of development of standards in relation to the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Leadership and Management, based on the UK Management Standards Centre (MSC) Institute for Leadership and Management Standards. Discusses the Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) Benchmark Role Specification for Principals in FE, Sixth Form and Specialist Colleges and the fact that the LSIS PQP has adopted those as part of its programme for Principal development. In the context of the implementation of standards for leadership and management, discusses the importance of values-based and research-informed leadership and the development of trust in lifelong learning sector institutions, given the multiple challenges facing vocational education and training (VET) institutions and the relative lack of recognition and support for the difficult roles taken on by Principals and senior leaders.

Trust, leadership and economic necessity in post-compulsory education

Trust is a complex concept that has increasingly been debated in academic research (Kramer and Tyler, 1996). Research on 'trust and leadership' (Caldwell and Hayes, 2007) has suggested, unsurprisingly, that leadership behaviours influence 'follower' perceptions of leaders' trustworthiness. The development of 'ethical stewardship' amongst leaders may foster high trust situations (Caldwell, Hayes, Karri and Bernal, 2008), yet studies on the erosion of teacher professionalism in UK post-compulsory education have highlighted the distrust that arguably accompanies 'new managerialism', performativity and surveillance within a climate of economic rationalisation established by recent deterministic skills-focused government agendas for education (Avis, 2003; Codd, 1999, Deem, 2004, DFES, 2006). Given the shift from community to commercialism identified by Collinson and Collinson (2005) in a global economic environment characterised by uncertainty and rapid change, trust is, simultaneously, increasingly important and progressively both more fragile and limited in a post compulsory education sector dominated by skills-based targets and inspection demands. Building on such prior studies, this conference paper reports on the analysis of findings from a 2007-8 funded research study on 'trust and leadership' carried out in post-compulsory education. The research project collected and analysed case study interview and survey data from the lifelong learning sector, including selected tertiary, further and higher education (FE and HE) institutions. We interviewed 18 UK respondents from HE and FE, including principals, middle managers, first line managers, lecturers and researchers, supplementing and cross-checking this with a small number of survey responses (11) on 'trust and leadership' and a larger number (241) of survey responses on more generalised leadership issues in post-compulsory education. A range of facilitators and enablers of trust and their relationship to leadership were identified and investigated. The research analysed the ways in which interviewees defined the concept of 'trust' and the extent to which they identified that trust was a mediating factor affecting leadership and organisational performance. Prior literature indicates that trust involves a psychological state in which, despite dependency, risk and vulnerability, trustors have some degree of confident expectation that trustees will behave in benevolent rather than detrimental ways. The project confirmed the views of prior researchers (Mayer, Davis and Schoorman, 1995) that, since trust inevitably involves potential betrayal, estimations of leadership 'trustworthiness' are based on followers' cognitive and affective perceptions of the reliability, competence, benevolence and reputation of leaders. During the course of the interviews it also became clear that some interviewees were being managed in more or less transaction-focused, performative, audit-dominated cultures in which trust was not regarded as particularly important: while 'cautious trust' existed, collegiality flourished only marginally in small teams. Economic necessity and survival were key factors influencing leadership and employee behaviours, while an increasing distance was reported between senior managers and their staff. The paper reflects on the nature of the public sector leadership and management environment in post-compulsory education reported by interviewees and survey respondents. Leadership behaviours to build trust are recommended, including effective communication, honesty, integrity, authenticity, reliability and openness. It was generally felt that building trust was difficult in an educational environment largely determined by economic necessity and performativity. Yet, despite this, the researchers did identify a number of examples of high trust leadership situations that are worthy of emulation.

Critical friends benefit realisation

The U&I programme Critical Friends (CFs) are developing guidelines on the role of the Critical Friend and the way in which this links with U&I programme model, projects and outputs. The critical friends are also in the process of building a new online community of shared effective practice for current and future critical friends. The CF Benefits Realisation project aims to synthesise existing CF U&I, JISC Curriculum Design and Delivery, JISC Institutional Innovation and related programmes, activities, methodologies and approaches to produce a range of specialist guidelines and other outputs for effective CF practice, within the context of the aims and objectives of the JISC U&I programme. We aim to disseminate these to a wide range of interests within the JISC HE-FE communities, following consultation.

Bridging the gap with teamwork: collaborative leadership for communities of practice in the learning and skills sector

Collaborative approaches in leadership and management are increasingly acknowledged to play a key role in successful institutions in the learning and skills sector (LSS) (Ofsted, 2004). Such approaches may be important in bridging the potential 'distance' (psychological, cultural, interactional and geographical) (Collinson, 2005) that may exist between 'leaders' and 'followers', fostering more democratic communal solidarity. This paper reports on a 2006-07 research project funded by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) that aimed to collect and analyse data on 'collaborative leadership' (CL) in the learning and skills sector. The project investigated collaborative leadership and its potential for benefiting staff through trust and knowledge-sharing in communities of practice (CoPs). The project forms part of longer-term educational research investigating leadership in a collaborative inquiry process (Jameson et al., 2006). The research examined the potential for CL to benefit institutions, analysing respondents' understanding of and resistance to collaborative practices. Quantitative and qualitative data from senior managers and lecturers was analysed using electronic data in SPSS and Tropes Zoom. The project aimed to recommend systems and practices for more inclusive, diverse leadership (Lumby et al., 2005). Collaborative leadership has increasingly gained international prominence as emphasis shifted towards team leadership beyond zero-sum 'leadership'/ 'followership' polarities into more mature conceptions of shared leadership spaces, within which synergistic leadership spaces can be mediated. The relevance of collaboration within the LSS has been highlighted following a spate of recent government-driven policy developments in FE. The promotion of CL addresses concerns about the apparent 'remoteness' of some senior managers, and the 'neo-management' control of professionals which can increase 'distance' between leaders and 'followers' and may de-professionalise staff in an already disempowered sector. Positive benefit from 'collaborative advantage' tends to be assumed in idealistic interpretations of CL, but potential 'collaborative inertia' may be problematic in a sector characterised by rapid top-down policy changes and continuous external audit and surveillance. Constant pressure for achievement against goals leaves little time for democratic group negotiations, despite the desires of leaders to create a more collaborative ethos. Yet prior models of intentional communities of practice potentially offer promise for CL practice to improve group performance despite multiple constraints. The CAMEL CoP model (JISC infoNet, 2006) was linked to the project, providing one practical way of implementing CL within situated professional networks.The project found that a good understanding of CL was demonstrated by most respondents, who thought it could enable staff to share power and work in partnership to build trust and conjoin skills, abilities and experience to achieve common goals for the good of the sector. However, although most respondents expressed agreement with the concept and ideals of CL, many thought this was currently an idealistically democratic, unachievable pipe dream in the LSS. Many respondents expressed concerns with the 'audit culture' and authoritarian management structures in FE. While there was a strong desire to see greater levels of implementation of CL, and 'collaborative advantage' from the 'knowledge sharing benefit potential' of team leadership, respondents also strongly advised against the pitfalls of 'collaborative inertia'. A 'distance' between senior leadership views and those of staff lower down the hierarchy regarding aspects of leadership performance in the sector was reported. Finally, the project found that more research is needed to investigate CL and develop innovative methods of practical implementation within autonomous communities of professional practice.

Rethinking the digital divide

The ALT-C 2008 conference theme of 'Re-thinking the Digital Divide' was highlighted in relation to the Greenwich conference theme of ‘Learning from the Learners' Experience of eLearning’ in a plenary session in which the Co-Chair of ALT-C 2008 introduced the forthcoming ALT-C conference at Leeds.

The eLIDA CAMEL nomadic model of collaborative partnership for a community of practice in design for learning

A nomadic collaborative partnership model for a community of practice (CoP) in Design for Learning (D4L) can facilitate successful innovation and continuing appraisals of effective professional practice, stimulated by a 'critical friend' assigned to the project. This paper reports on e-learning case studies collected by the JISC-funded UK eLIDA CAMEL Design for Learning Project. The project implemented and evaluated learning design (LD) tools in higher and further education within the JISC Design for Learning pedagogic programme (2006-07). Project partners trialled professional user evaluations of innovative e-learning tools with learning design function, collecting D4L case studies and LD sequences in post-16/HE contexts using LAMS and Moodle. The project brought together learning activity sequences within a collaborative e-learning community of practice based on the CAMEL (Collaborative Approaches to the Management of e-Learning) model, contributing to international D4L developments. This paper provides an overview of project outputs in e-learning innovations, including evaluations from teachers and students. The paper explores intentionality in the development of a CoP in design for learning, reporting on trials of LD and social software that bridged tensions between formalised intra-institutional e-learning relationships and inter-institutional professional project team dynamic D4L practitioner interactions. Following a brief report of D4L case studies and feedback, the catalytic role of the 'critical friend' is highlighted and recommended as a key ingredient in the successful development of a nomadic model of communities of practice for managing professional e-learning projects. eLIDA CAMEL Partners included the Association of Learning Technology (ALT), JISC infoNet, three universities and five FE/Sixth Form Colleges. Results reported to JISC demonstrated D4L e-learning innovations by practitioners, illuminated by the role of the 'critical friend'. The project also benefited from formal case study evaluations and the leading work of ALT and JISC infoNet in the development of the CAMEL model.

‘Nothing will prevent me from doing a good job’. The professionalisation of part-time teaching staff in further and adult education

Approximately 85,000 part-time teaching staff working in further education (FE) and adult and community learning (ACL) are often seen as ‘a problem’. The intrinsic ‘part-timeness’ of these staff tends to marginalise them: they remain under-recognised and largely unsupported. Yet this picture is over-simplified. This article examines how part-time staff make creative use of professional autonomy and agency to mitigate problematic ‘casual employment’ conditions, reporting on results from Learning and Skills Development Agency-sponsored research (2002–2006) with 700 part-time staff in the learning and skills sector. The question of agency was reported as a key factor in part-time employment. Change is necessary for the professional agency of part-timers to be harnessed as the sector responds to ambitious sectoral ‘improvement’ agendas following the Foster Report and FE White Paper. Enhanced professionalisation for part-time staff needs greater recognition and inclusion in change agendas.

The visibility/invisibility paradox of trust: Developing distributed educational leadership for online communities

A visibility/invisibility paradox of trust operates in the development of distributed educational leadership for online communities. If trust is to be established, the team-based informal ethos of online collaborative networked communities requires a different kind of leadership from that observed in more formal face-to-face positional hierarchies. Such leadership is more flexible and sophisticated, being capable of encompassing both ambiguity and agile response to change. Online educational leaders need to be partially invisible, delegating discretionary powers, to facilitate the effective distribution of leadership tasks in a highly trusting team-based culture. Yet, simultaneously, online communities are facilitated by the visibility and subtle control effected by expert leaders. This paradox: that leaders need to be both highly visible and invisible when appropriate, was derived during research on 'Trust and Leadership' and tested in the analysis of online community case study discussions using a pattern-matching process to measure conversational interactions. This paper argues that both leader visibility and invisibility are important for effective trusting collaboration in online distributed leadership. Advanced leadership responses to complex situations in online communities foster positive group interaction, mutual trust and effective decision-making, facilitated through the active distribution of tasks.

Trust and Leadership in Higher Education in the Downturn

This Leadership Academy Workshop presentation focused on 'Trust and Leadership in the Downturn', with particular reference to the public sector and to education. The presentation discussed a range of definitions of trust, including the view of Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) that trust can be described as 'the willingness of a person to be vulnerable to the actions of another, based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that action'. The presentation then focused on the reasons why this relational psychological state is important,particularly in an economic recession when people were facing job cuts and economic uncertainty in a wider political and social environment characterised by cynicism and a downturn in trust. If trust is defined in part as a belief in the honesty, competence and benevolence of others, it tends to act like 'social glue', cushioning difficult situations and enabling actions to take place easily that otherwise would not be permissible. A worrying state of affairs has recently been developing across the world, however, in the economic downturn, as reported in the Edelman Trust Barometer for 2009, in which there was a marked diminuition of trust in corporations, businesses and government, as a result of the credit crunch. While the US and parts of Europe was showing recovery from a generalised loss of trust by mid-year 2009, the UK had not. It seems that social attitudes in Britain may be hardening - it seems that from being a nation of sceptics we may be becoming a nation of cynics: for example, 69% of the population surveyed by Edelman trust the government less than six months ago. In this situation, there is a need to promote positive measures to build trust, including the establishment of more transparent and honest business practices and practices to ensure that employees are treated well. Following the presentation, a workshop was held to discuss the nature of a possible loss of trust in the downturn in the UK and its implications for leadership practices and development.

Part-time and fractional staff in the learning and skills sector

This Universities and College Union Launch Event presentation reported on the findings of Learning and Skills Research Network (LSRN) London and South East (LSE) Regional Research Project. The presentation reflected on research carried out during 2002-06 on the development and deployment of part-time staff in the Learning and Skills Sector. Although the lifelong learning sector is the largest UK education sector, little attention has as yet been paid to the role of LSC sector part-time staff. Worrying trends of an increasing casualisation of staffing have been reported. The role of part-timers as highly committed (philanthropic) but generally underpaid and exploited staff (ragged-trousered) emerged from the data collected by this investigation, which examined the role of part-timers in several colleges and adult education institutions in London and the South East. The metaphor of the 'ragged-trousered philanthropist' was consciously selected to investigate the interactivity between philantrophy, employment practices for PT staff, and education as social action, in addressing the need for good practice to achieve quality outcomes in learning and teaching. The results are to some extent transferable to other education and training sectors employing part-time staff, e.g. higher education institutions and work-based training organisations.