Elearning, communities of practice and internationalisation

Dr Karen McKenzie & Mr Tim Fawns

Internationalisation of Pedagogy and Curriculum in Higher Education 2011

Content

• Context and Issues

• Identity & Learning

• Elearning and identity

• Example: developing online quandaries

Context

The University of Edinburgh:

• 8000 students from 137 countries;

• > 350 student exchange agreements in Europe, Asia, North America and South America;

• growing number of jointly awarded PhD degree programmes in partnership with international universities;

• strategic aims of increasing the proportion of our students attending another international institution by 50%.

Remix of Different Strokes by Abioa Lapite (CC BY-NC 2.0)

May include:

• Non-academic: racial discrimination, language problems, accommodation difficulties, separation reactions, dietary restrictions, financial problems, loneliness.

• Academic: Role/relationship with teacher, classroom interaction, assessment, language difficulties, learning style, academic writing conventions (From: Bailey, 2006).

All these can factors impact on identity

Issues faced by international students

• There are a range of barriers to international students accessing the CofP of other countries;

• informal aspects of CofP can be harder to communicate online

BUT

• aspects of elearning may facilitate the development of student identity for international students.

elearning and identity

Day 303: My Identity by KatB Photography (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Day 303: My Identity by KatB Photography (CC BY-NC 2.0)

How can elearning promote identity shifts?

• Anonymous nature allows identity to be changed and explored.

• Asynchronous nature allows engagement by students who may not otherwise engage.

• Helps develop skills in alternative communication methods.

• Avatars, role-play and game informed learning activities can all facilitate shift in identity.

A possible approach…..?

Creating elearning activities that:

• bridge the gap between CofP of the international student and that of the University/subject;

• enable an environment where mistakes won’t impact negatively on student or anyone else;

• capture formal and informal culture that constitutes the practice of being e.g. a geography student, a historian, a lawyer etc;

…

A possible approach…..? (cont.)

…

• facilitate the identity shift that underpins learning in a particular subject;

• provide feedback and ‘just in time’ information;

• allow for multiple routes and customisation to meet the needs of different students;

• are interesting and engaging, easy for students to use, cost effective and increase knowledge and skills.

Influences

• Work by Gee on the benefits of video games in education.

• Work by Lave & Wenger on communities of practice.

• Work by Begg & Macleod on game informed learning.

• Work by O’Shea on using clinical quandaries.

• Identify the key learning objectives.

• Create an identity:• locate within practice of the subject area/profession,• create a relevant back story,• ensure the game reflects real world constraints,• create a safe space where mistakes can be made.

• Provide situated learning (e.g., embed the game in the context, ensure the decisions reflect real life decisions).

The process

• Provide feedback (unexpected feedback can be good!)

• Set knowledge gateways (only players who have obtained the required knowledge points can move to the next stage)

• Ensure that in order to ‘win’ the game, the player must display ‘authentic professionalism’ (i.e. act in accordance with rules of profession/subject area)

The process (cont.)

Online Quandaries

• Have been used with trainee clinical psychologists, health staff, students and others.

• Significant increase in key knowledge.

• Significant increases in confidence.

• Rated by participants as interesting, useful and good learning tool.

Concluding points

• Elearning may offer particular benefits for introducing international students into a particular educational community of practice.

• Online quandaries offer one means of imparting key knowledge, facilitating an identity shift and creating a safe space to practice skills that can be adjusted to suit the needs of the learner.

References

For further information see:

• McKenzie, K., O’Shea, C., McLeod, H & Begg, M. (2008) An evaluation of the effectiveness of online clinical ‘Quandaries’ in promoting effective clinical decision making by trainee clinical psychologists. Journal of Practice Teaching in Social Work and Health, 8(2) 7-24(18).

• McKenzie, K. & Murray A.L. (2010) The role of e-Learning as a means of shaping professional identity in nurse education. Nursing Times, 105 (5), 17-19.

• McKenzie, K. & Fawns,T. (2011) Social networking, identity and professionalism in clinical psychology. Clinical Psychology Forum, 221, 46-49.

• McKenzie, K. & O’Shea, C. (2007) The Use of Online Clinical ‘Quandaries’ in Professional Training. Learning Disability Practice, 10(7), 16-21.