UTS CRICOS PROVIDER CODE: 00099F

DEVELOPING RESILIENT AGENCY IN LEARNING: USE OF CLARA FOR FIRST YEAR SCIENCE STUDENTS WITH COACHING SUPPORT

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Alison Beavis, Andy Leigh, Peter Meier (Science), Georgina Barratt-See (HELPS) Ruth Crick (School of Education & CIC), Simon Buckingham Shum (CIC), and a team of our CLARA Student Mentors http://utscic.edu.au/projects/uts-projects/science-learning-power

UTS First Year Experience Forum 23 Sept. 2015

“CLARA-FYING” LEARNING

MOTIVATION •  To develop a student’s sense

of identity as a learner •  To explore strategies for

scaling the use of CLARA

OPPORTUNITY •  Creation of new first year

Science subject as a vehicle for integrating CLARA

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PROJECT OVERVIEW

Mentor Recruitment &

Training

Curriculum Integration

Mentor-led Coaching

Conversations

COLLABORATION

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Personal Development

Values, Attitudes, Dispositions,

Identity, Story

Learning Power

Competencies and skills for employability

Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

WHERE DID THIS CONSTRUCT COME FROM? 3 year project to identify the most important qualities shown by effective learners, and then devise a valid assessment tool

Experts & Practitioners consulted on overall process

Meta-analysis of the literature (empirical + theoretical)

Expert Workshops (policymakers + scholars)

Leading Practitioner input to survey questions

Survey design iterations and refinement

Factor analysis on survey data (N=2000)

Seven factors identified

ELLI: Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory

CRICK LEARNING FOR RESILIENT AGENCY (CLARA) SURVEY

Analysis of >40,000 learner profiles in ELLI led to an improved model of the core constructs underpinning CLARA Deakin Crick, R,. Huang, S., Ahmed-Shafi, A. and

Goldspink, C. (2015) Developing Resilient Agency in

Learning: The Internal Structure of Learning Power.

British Journal of Educational Studies,

Vol. 63, Issue 2, pp.121- 160. DOI:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2014.904038

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CLARA IS HOSTED IN AN ENTERPRISE-GRADE SURVEY PLATFORM, RUN BY A NFP PARTNERSHIP

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http://www.learningemergence.com/sola

Not-for-profit partnership @Learning Emergence CLARA resources for learners/educators

INSTANT VISUAL FEEDBACK TO RESPONDENT

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Immediate personal feedback to stimulate self-directed change

A framework for reflection and coaching conversation

CLARA survey responses

Taking responsibility for my own learning over time through defining my purposes, understanding and managing my feelings, knowing how I go about learning & planning my learning journey carefully.

Making connections between what I already know & new information & experience. Making meaning by linking my story, my new learning & my purpose.

Using my intuition & imagination to generate new ideas & knowledge. Taking risks & playing with ideas and artefacts to arrive at new solutions.

Wanting to get beneath the surface & find out more. Always wondering why and how.

Being part of a learning community at work, at home, in education & in my social networks. Knowing I have social resources to draw on when I need them

Being able to work with others, to collaborate and co-generate new ideas and artefacts. Being able to listen and contribute productively to a team.

Having the optimism & hope that I can learn & achieve over time. Having a growth mindset; believing I can generate my own new knowledge for what I need to achieve

1 Open Readiness

Rigid Persistence Fragile Dependence

An emotional orientation of being open & ready to invest in learning, having flexible self-belief, willing to persist & manage any self-doubt. A necessary pre-requisite for developing resilience in learning.

THE KEY INNOVATION: SCALING THIS UP

From 1-1 personal coaching by an experienced CLARA coach . . .

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. . . to a model that preserves the DNA of the approach, but overcomes the scarcity of trained staff

FICTIONAL LEARNING POWER PROFILES

Scaling up CLARA (700-1100 students) •  1-to-1 coaching not possible •  Group coaching = potentially confronting •  Authentic fictional profiles less personal •  Based on real people (or archetypes)

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Rachael’s Learning Power profile

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James’ Learning Power profile

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James’ Learning Power profile

James has a quirky personality that not everybody understands. His sister and parents love him dearly and when you get to know him he can be quite funny as well. He comes from a middle class family, fourth generation Australian,

originally from Italy. He did well at school particularly at Maths and Chemistry but selected a Physics degree because of his recent interest in astronomy. His English and writing are not his strength but he gets by. At Uni James is doing OK. He’s doing best in Chemistry and Physics but Biology is more of a challenge. He can understand and develop some very complex scientific problems but when it comes to understanding their application in a wider context he struggles. He enjoys being with other people at Uni but has no core group of friends and doesn’t understand why sometimes his friends don’t want to talk with him or socialise…

FICTIONAL LEARNING POWER PROFILES

Scaling up CLARA (700-1100 students) •  1-to-1 coaching not possible •  Group coaching = potentially confronting •  Authentic fictional profiles less personal •  Based on real people (or archetypes) •  Coaching with peer mentors

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RECRUITMENT

Limited time so: •  PIPs (Peers in Pracs, Biocomplexity, 2014) •  U:PASS leaders in Science •  Other recommended students

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TRAINING

Two stages: 2 hour generic mentoring training (all leaders completed)

•  Being a mentor & role differentiation •  Boundaries/ethics/duty of care •  Services and support options •  Facilitation and communication skills

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TRAINING – STAGE 2

4 hour CLARA specific training •  What is CLARA? •  CLARA in Principles of Scientific Practice (PSP) •  Spider diagrams & interpreting profiles •  Group coaching principles •  Fictional profile interpretation – workshop strategies •  Practice coaching sessions

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SUBJECT IMPLEMENTATION

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Pre-Workshop

Activity

Workshop discussion

Post-Workshop De-brief

Due before the workshop session

Active discussion

encouraged!

Due before following workshop session

Week n

Pre-workshop

Activity Workshop Discussion

Post-workshop

Activity

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Week n+1 Pre-

workshop Activity

Workshop Discussion

Post-workshop

Activity

Week n+2

Pre-workshop

Activity Workshop Discussion

Post-workshop

Activity

WORKSHOP STRUCTURE

Complete CLARA Survey

Mentor-led Coaching

Conversation Reflection & Improvement

Week n

Pre-workshop

Activity Workshop Discussion

Post-workshop

Activity

Mentors present to

build rapport

OUTCOMES TO DATE

•  Importance of: •  Scaffolding •  Location for group mentoring conversation •  De-brief with mentors •  Safety nets and handoffs for mentors

•  Mentor perspective

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HANDS-ON EXERCISE WITH OUR CLARA MENTORS. . .

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http://utscic.edu.au/projects/uts-projects/science-learning-power

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