Goodyear Deakin Nov 15 2017 Keynote for website · PDF file11/15/2017 · epistemic...
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Keynote at the Deakin University Learning and Teaching Conference These notes have been added to the slides after giving the talk. They don’t always reproduce what I said. They are a kind of ‘rational reconstruction’ of the essence of what I was trying to say, now that I’ve heard myself try to say it. The abstract for the talk: Todays’ higher education system is under a great deal of structural pressure. There have been rapid, under-funded changes in the scale, scope and nature of what we do. There are competing views of what universities are for. Unresolved tensions over deeper purposes and priorities create strains that permeate university life – affecting faculties, schools, staff and students. There are no simple remedies. In this talk, I want to share some thoughts about design and make an argument for strengthening design activity in teaching and learning. I will focus on aspects of design thinking and practice that are particularly helpful in identifying opportunities for beneficial change and resolving competing forces. Design thinking is sometimes offered as a way of patching broken systems. I will suggest instead that some forms of design thinking take us to the very heart of the academic enterprise. In addition to exploring the notion of ‘teaching as design’ – as a way of making space for collaborative engagement in worthwhile innovation - I will share some of our recent work on learning as the design of novel inquiries into ‘wicked’ problems. The university has a unique role to play in society. It is not easy to engage students authentically in its essential work. Good design, I suggest, is part of the solution. 1
Transcript of Goodyear Deakin Nov 15 2017 Keynote for website · PDF file11/15/2017 · epistemic...
KeynoteattheDeakinUniversityLearningandTeachingConference
Thesenoteshavebeenaddedtotheslidesafter givingthetalk.Theydon’talwaysreproducewhatIsaid.Theyareakindof‘rationalreconstruction’oftheessenceofwhatIwastryingtosay,nowthatI’veheardmyselftrytosayit.
Theabstractforthetalk:Todays’highereducationsystemisunderagreatdealofstructuralpressure.Therehavebeenrapid,under-fundedchangesinthescale,scopeandnatureofwhatwedo.Therearecompetingviewsofwhatuniversitiesarefor.Unresolvedtensionsoverdeeperpurposesandprioritiescreatestrainsthatpermeateuniversitylife– affectingfaculties,schools,staffandstudents.Therearenosimpleremedies.Inthistalk,Iwanttosharesomethoughtsaboutdesignandmakeanargumentforstrengtheningdesignactivityinteachingandlearning.Iwillfocusonaspectsofdesignthinkingandpracticethatareparticularlyhelpfulinidentifyingopportunitiesforbeneficialchangeandresolvingcompetingforces.Designthinkingissometimesofferedasawayofpatchingbrokensystems.Iwillsuggestinsteadthatsomeformsofdesignthinkingtakeustotheveryheartoftheacademicenterprise.Inadditiontoexploringthenotionof‘teachingasdesign’– asawayofmakingspaceforcollaborativeengagementinworthwhileinnovation- Iwillsharesomeofourrecentworkonlearningasthedesignofnovelinquiriesinto‘wicked’problems.Theuniversityhasauniqueroletoplayinsociety.Itisnoteasytoengagestudentsauthenticallyinitsessentialwork.Gooddesign,Isuggest,ispartofthesolution.
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ImageSource:Fung,D.(2017).Aconnectedcurriculumforhighereducation.UCLPress,London.Retrievedfrom:http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/a-connected-curriculum-for-higher-education
Akeythemeinmytalkisconnectedness&integration– tryingtofindsmartsustainablestrategiesforresistingthefragmentationofacademiclifeanduniversitymissions.
Onerealisation ofthis– oratleastavehicleforexploring– intheconnectednessofresearchandteachingthatcanbefoundininquiry.
AnexcellentresourceforthinkingaboutthisandotherrelatedissuesofconnectednessanduniversitypurposeisDillyFung’sopenaccessbook.
Myadditionalpointhereisthatdialogueisindeedvital,butsotooishelpingourstudents‘toolup’forotherkindsofactionandchangeintheworld.
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It’seasy(somemightsaychic)toespousecynicalinterpretationsofthestateofcontemporaryhighereducationandtheforcesshapingit.
Let’sbeoptimistic.Theneo-liberalexperimentiscomingtoanend.Marketforcesaren’ttheonlydriversforHE.Universitiesneedtorediscoverandcelebratethethingsthatonlytheycando(oratleast,thosethingswhichtheydobest).
Howweapproachtheeducationofourstudentsoughtthento(atleastpartially)reflectthedistinctivesocialpurposesofuniversities.
Inthetalk,Iwilltakeusthroughsomedesignideasthatrefertodesigninginquiry-basedlearning,movingontodesigningsothatstudentslearntodesigntheirowninquiriesandlearntodesigntheirownepistemicenvironments.Inotherwords,amongthehigherordergoalsforHEshouldbehelpingstudentslearntocreatespaces(forthemselvesandothers)thataresupportiveofcomplexinquiryanddesignforchange.
Someoftheideasaboutdesign,inquiry,co-creating- andconsciouslyandconscientiouslyinhabiting–epistemicenvironmentsarediscussedinthelasttwochaptersoftheMarkauskaite &Goodyear(2017)Epistemicfluencybook.Seerefonnextslide.
Forabiggerview,seealsoKimSterelny onengineeringepistemicspacesfromanevolutionaryperspective.Sterelny,K.(2003).Thoughtinahostileworld:theevolutionofhumancognition.Oxford:Blackwell.Sterelny,K.(2012).Theevolvedapprentice:howevolutionmadehumansunique.Cambridge
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MA:MITPress.
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Mytalkputsstudentlearningfrontandcentre,butIalsowanttoarguethatgettingbetteratdesigningfor(andwith)themwillhelpus(theeducationworkforce)becomebetteratdesigningbetterwaysofworkingforourselves,andbetterspacestoworkin(materialanddigital,etc)
I’mcouplinginquiryandchange:thegrowthofskills(etc)neededtounravelcomplexphenomena,cometoadecisionaboutwhatshouldbedone,andthenactinwaysthatarelikelytoleadtobeneficialchange.
Weleavestudentsunder-equippedwithknowledge/skillsneededtomakechangeintheworld;we(deliberatelyorunconsciously)concealmuchof‘howthingsgetdone’;wedon’tcultivatewhatmightbecalled‘moralknow-how’– practicalknowledgeguidedbyamoralsense.
Wealso(Ithink)underplay‘actionableknowledge’– akeytopicinthebookLinaMarkauskaite &Irecentlypublished.
Boulton,G.,&Lucas,C.(2008).Whatareuniversitiesfor? Leuven: LERU.
Markauskaite,L.,&Goodyear,P.(2017).Epistemicfluencyandprofessionaleducation:innovation,knowledgeableactionandactionableknowledge.Dordrecht:Springer.
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Asimple/simplifyingtalewetellourselvesaboutconceptionsoflearningandteachinginHEisthatthefocusisshiftingfromteachingastelling(andlearningbylistening)tolearningbydoing(andteachingasfacilitation).
Myworkoverthelast10yearsormorehasbeenexploringa(sometimesmissing)complementto‘teachingasfacilitation’– ‘teachingasdesign’
Inshort,worthwhilelearningactivityislikelytobecomemoreworthwhileifsomeextrathoughtisputinat‘designtime’.
I’llcomebacktothislaterinthetalk,wheretheideaof‘threeordersoflearning’isintroduced,butIshouldalsopointoutherethatmyearliertreatmentsof‘teachingasdesign’ignoredthedesignworkthatoftengoesinto‘teachingastelling’.
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AfewwordsaboutwhatImeanbydesign
TheeducationaldesigndefinitioncomesfromGoodyear(2005)– whichisopenaccess.
Thefocusoncreatingrepresentationsisimportant– Iseetheseaskeyresourcesfordiscussionandjointsense-makingwithindesign&developmentteams.Representationsof(a)whatisintendedand(sometimes)(b)whatcurrentlyexists,andhowitworks,canhelpgroundconversationsanddecision-takinginsuchteams.Withoutthem,it’stooeasyfortheworktobedonetooquickly:progressoiledbyfalseconsensusandcreativeuseofambiguity.Termslike‘studentcentered’,‘authentic’,‘openandflexible’,‘scaffolded’and‘engagement’canpaperovercracksinunderstandingofwhatismeanttohappen(oralreadyhappens).Ofcourse,representationsarejustmodels– judgedbyutilityratherthanveridicality.
Representationscantakemanyforms,butoneofthegroupdesignprocessestheyshouldsometimessupportisdeeperscrutinyofthe‘problem’beingworkedupon.Usingcandidatesolutionstogetbetterinsightsintotherealnatureofwhat’sneededisaclassicprocessingooddesign.Itoftenleadstoserious‘reframing’oftheproblem.
Goodyear,P.(2005).Educationaldesignandnetworkedlearning:patterns,patternlanguagesanddesignpractice.AustralasianJournalofEducationalTechnology,21(1),82-101.
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Mypreferencewhentalkingabouteducationaldesignisto:a) Trytomaintainacouplingbetweenprocessesofanalysis(ofwhatalreadyexists)anddesign(of
whatiswanted)b) Focussharplyonwhatthestudentsareactuallydoing– whichIcalltheiractivity.
Activityisreal.Itisusuallyamixoftheplanful &goaloriented(ontheonehand)andtheserendipitous(ontheother).Myuseof‘activity’isthereforedifferentfromitsuseinactivitytheory,whichonlyseesobject-oriented(purposeful)activityasactivity.Iwanttoincludemoreserendipitous,exploratory,wanderingmodesofactivityunderthe‘activity’headingbecausethesetooleadtolearning.
Activitycanthenbeseenascausallyrelatedtolearningoutcomes.Theeffectsofteaching,design,technologyetc aremediatedbythestudents’activity.Theyhavenodirecteffectsonoutcomes.
Thismayseemobvious,butahugeamountoftimeandeffortiswastedbypeoplelookingfordirectconnectionsbetweentoolsorteachingmethods(ontheonehand)andoutcomesontheother.
Thelastkeypointtomakeisthatthoughstudentactivityistheonlythingthatreallymatters,itisNOTdesignable.Onecannotdesignsomeoneelse’slearning,thoughonecantrytodesignfor it.Designisindirect.
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Thinkingmorecarefullyaboutthat‘sageonthestagetoguideontheside’paradigmshift,wehavetobecarefulnottooverestimatethepowersoffacilitation.
Studentsdoalotofworkwithoutanydirectsupervisionfromteachingstaff.Eveninso-called‘facetoface’situations,it’srareforthestaff:student ratiostobegenerousenoughtoallowformorethanafewminutesforeachstudent.Also,it’softenveryhardforpeopledoingmonitoringandsupervisionworkofthiskindtogetclearinsightsintowhatstudentsarethinking– howtheyunderstandwhattheyneedtobedoing,etc.
Thisputsevenmoreofapremiumongooddesign– especiallygoodtaskdesign.
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ThisisthesimplestpossiblerepresentationIcancomeupwithoftheeducationaldesignproblemspace.I’vewrittenaboutthisextensively.Inadditiontothe2005AJETpaper(mentionedearlier)thereareafewotheropenaccesspapers(mentionedbelow).I’vecollatedtheseandothersforfreedownloadonmywebsite.https://petergoodyear.net/2017/07/22/design-papers/
Thefigureabovesayssimplythat:1. Therearethreemaindesigncomponents:theshorthandis”tasks,tools&people”2. Goodtaskdesignisusuallythemostimportant:getthetaskdesignwrongandeverythingelseis
likelytobewrongtoo;taskdesignusuallyhasthestrongestinfluenceofwhatstudentsthendo.3. Activityisbothphysicallyandsociallysituated.Thetoolsandartefactsthatcometohandduring
theactivitycanhaveaprofound(thoughoftensubtle)effectonwhatunfolds.Similarly,otherpeoplecanshapewhathappens,eveniftheyarenotco-present.(‘Thesocial’ismuchbiggerthanthis,ofcourse.)
4. Designcansaythingsaboutwhattools(etc)arelikelytobeuseful(giventhetaskandtheintendedactivity)anditcanmakerecommendationsaboutproductivewaysofworkingwithothers.
5. BUT– intheiractualactivity,studentswillinterprettasksandmakesomeoftheirowndecisionsaboutwhattools/resourcestosue,whotoworkwithandhow….
Goodyear,P.,&Dimitriadis,Y.(2013).Inmediasres:reframingdesignforlearning.ResearchinLearningTechnology,21.doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v21i0.19909Goodyear,P.(2015).Teachingasdesign.HERDSAReviewofHigherEducation,2.
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Thepreviousslideschematised causalrelations– designbeinganindirectpracticewhoseeffectsonlearningoutcomesaremediatedbywhatstudentsactuallydo.
Thisdiagramlooksatthingsfromatypicaldesigntimelineperspective– socalled‘backwardsdesign’(thoughitlooksentirelylogicalandtherefore‘forwards’tome)
Typicallythen,thedesignprocessstartsbycreating,refiningand/ordecidingonasetofintendedlearningoutcomes,imaginesstudentactivitythatislikelytoalignwiththoseoutcomes,createstaskspecificationsthatstandagoodchanceofstimulatingandscaffoldingthedesiredactivity.Then,decisionsaremadeaboutuseful/necessarytools(materialordigitalorhybrid)andotherkindsofusefulresources.(Thismayincludesuchthingsasdesigningorrecommendingparticular(materialordigitalorhybrid)learningspaces.Anddesignofthesocialincludessuchthingsassuggestingthatstudentsmightworkinpairs,orteamsorasaCoP. (Ofcourse‘people’can’tbedesigned.It’sjustausefulbutpotentiallyconfusingshorthand.Like‘learningdesign’.)
Crucially,theactivityunfoldswithoutmuchdesignerorteachercontrol&studentsconsciouslyorunconsciouslymakedecisions/choicesaboutwhattodo,whattouse,whotoworkwith,andhow.
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Thesimplediagramusedinthelasttwoslidesmayconcealtheimportantpointthattaskdesignusuallyinvolvessequencinganumberofsubtasks.(Inotherwords,tasksareoften‘compounds’.)
There’sagrowingbodyofusefulresearchonsequencingtasks– e.g.intheareaknownas‘productivefailure’.SeeforexamplethepaperbyLaietal(below).
(Compound)tasksthatturnouttohaveeducationalstayingpowercanbecapturedandsharedinanumberofways– oneoftheseisthroughtheuseofdesignpatternsandpatternlanguages(seeGoodyear&Retalis)
Goodyear,P.,&Retalis,S.(Eds.).(2010).Technology-enhancedlearning:designpatternsandpatternlanguages.Rotterdam:SensePublishers.[thefirstchapterofthisisavailableathttps://petergoodyear.net/2017/07/22/design-papers/ )
Lai,P.K.,Portolese,A.,&Jacobson,M.J.(2016).Doessequencematter?Productivefailureanddesigningonlineauthenticlearningforprocessengineering.BritishJournalofEducationaltechnology.doi:10.1111/bjet.12492
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Thatwastheviewat‘designtime’
Wealsoneedtothinkabouthowthingslookat‘learntime’– whenthestudentsareengagedintheactivityitself.
Here,thedesigncomponentsarenolongerseparate– places,tools,artefacts,people,ideas,emotionsbecomeentangled.
Howonetriestoseeintothiscomplexity,andrepresentit,candependonanalyticpreferences(orontologicalchoices).
Forexample,onemaytakeacomplexsystemsorecologicalview.Oronemaytakeanetwork/meshworkview.Orsometimesamixturecanwork– thoughitusuallymakemybrainhurt.
Carvalho,L.,&Goodyear,P.(Eds.).(2014).Thearchitectureofproductivelearningnetworks.NewYork:Routledge.Carvalho,L.,Goodyear,P.,&deLaat,M.(Eds.).(2016).Place-basedspacesfornetworkedlearning.NewYork:Routledge.Greeno,J.(2006).Learninginactivity.InK.Sawyer(Ed.),TheCambridgehandbookofthelearningsciences (pp.79-96).Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.Greeno,J.,&Engeström,Y.(2014).Learninginactivity.InK.Sawyer(Ed.),TheCambridgehandbookofthelearningsciences (2nded.).Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
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Anillustration/byway
TheTimesHigherhastweetedaboutthistopicacoupleoftimes.I’musingittoillustratemypointabouttherebeingnodirectlinkbetween(a)thepresenceofatooland(b)learningoutcomes.Itsoobviouswhenyousayitlikethat– butit’sclearlynotobvioustowritersattheTHE.
Theirsummaryclearlysays:“usinglaptopsinclassharmsacademicperformance,studywarns”
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WhenonereadstheactualarticleonwhichtheTHEreportisbased,onefindsthefollowingclosingcaveats:
“…ourstudyfocusesontheeffectsoflaptopsinlaptop-optionalcourseswhereinstructorsareunlikelytoincorporatecomputer-basedlearningintheclassroom.Therefore,ourresultsmaynotgeneralizetoclassroomsettingswhereinstructorsactivelyintegratecomputerexercisesandactivities”(Patterson&Patterson,2017,p77)
Wedon’tknowwhatstudentswereactuallydoingwith/ontheirlaptops.QuitepossiblyamixtureoftakingnotesandcheckingFacebook.Thesetwoactivitiesarelikelytohaveverydifferenteffectsonlearningoutcomes.
Patterson,R.W.,&Patterson,R.M.(2017).Computersandproductivity:Evidencefromlaptopuseinthecollegeclassroom.EconomicsofEducationReview,57,66-79.
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Oneofthemisconceptionsassociatedwithtalkabouttheshiftto‘activelearning’isthatthereissuchathingaspassivelearning.
Inlectures(whichareusuallyheldupastheepitomeof‘passivelearning’)studentsareactuallylikelytobedoingamixofthings.
Someofthesemaybearesponsetoanexplicittask(e.g.‘makesureyouwritethisdown’)butactivityalsoflowsfromimpliedtasks.
ThestudentsusinglaptopsinthePattersons’study(asfaraswecansee)weren’ttoldwhattodowiththeirlaptops.Taskswereimplied.
Onecouldapproachthisdifferentlyandtakeabetterdesignapproach:ifwewantstudentstomakegooduseoflaptopsinclass,thenwecansuggesttasksthatwillhelptheirunderstanding,retention,abilitytocreateartefactsthatareusefulforrevision,etc.
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Backfromthatby-way.Mytalknowsetsouttoextendtheschemapresentedearlier,toincludea‘thirdorder’oflearning,basedonsystemsthinking,withcomplementaryimplicationsfordesign.FromMarkauskaite &Goodyear(2017)Ch20
Thefirst-orderperspectivepositionsthelearnerasasystemwithnointrinsiccapacityforlearning– neitherofskillsnorforcreatingitsownunderstanding.Theteacheristhemainarchitectandconductoroflearningandthemainsourceofknowledge.Thismayworkreasonablywelliftheenvironmentisstableandtheteachercanidentifygapsormisconceptionsinthelearner’sknowledge.Thesecanberemediedbyappropriatevariationson‘teachingastelling’.
Thesecond-orderperspectivepositionsthelearnerasasystemwithanadaptivecapacityforlearninginresponsetochangesinenvironment.Theteacheristhemaincreatorofenvironmentalconditionsconducivetolearning;changesinenvironmentalconditionspromptlearning.Thiscanworkreasonablywellinachangingenvironment,providedthatthereareappropriatescaffoldsforlearning.Whilethelearnerisengagedin‘learningbydoing’,theteachermonitorstheiractivity,addsandremovesscaffoldsandprovideshints,astheydeemappropriate.Thisis‘teachingasfacilitation’or‘teachingasorchestration’
Thethird-orderperspectivepositionsthelearnerasasystemwithintrinsiccapacitiesforlearning,includingconstructionofnewunderstandingsandcreatingtheconditionsforitsownlearning.Ifateacherisavailable,theyactasapartnerinco-configuringtheseconditions.However,thelearnerhasthecapacitiesneededtomanagetheirownlearning– partoftheteacher’smodusoperandimustbetofadetheirparticipationovertime,strengtheningthelearners’agencyandcapacityto(co)constructenvironmentsconducivetotheirownlearning–knowing(andtheircapacitytodothiswithothers).Wecancallthis‘teachingasco-configuration’.
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Onecanthinkoftheteachingbecomingmoreelaborateandinclusiveaswemovefromlefttorightinthefigure;thesameistrueforT-as-D:becomingmoresophisticatedandinclusiveLtoR
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Sowecannowbringbackinthethemeoflearningthrough/asinquiry,introducednearthebeginningofthetalkasonestrategyforhelpingconnectresearchandeducationalmissions.
Onthisview,andtakingintoaccounttheideaof‘threeordersoflearning’justmentioned,wecanpositiondesignashavingmultipleobjects,ofincreasingsophistication.
Acknowledgingtheneedforstudentstolearntotackle‘wickedproblems’meansweneedto(sometimes)designforlearningsituationsinwhichtheycanlearnhowtodesigntheirownmethodsofinquiry.(ThereismoreonthisinChapter19oftheMarkauskaite &GoodyearEpistemicFluencybook).NBthiscategoricallydoesNOTmeanthattheyhavetodiscoverhowtodothisforthemselves.Gooddesigncaninvolvedirectinstructionandscaffolded inquiry,forexample.
Thelistabovealsoincludesstudentslearningtocreateenvironmentsconducivetoworkingwithotherson‘designforchange’– whichisoneimportantaspectofmoralknow-how.
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ThetalkuptothispointmaymakeitsoundasifIamadvocating takeupofmoredesignerlyapproachesineducation– butI’mwellawarethatmanywell-meaningadvocateshavedisappeared,ignored,inthewilderness.Advocacyisnotenough.Itisprobablynoteventhebeststrategy.
IfirstcreatedaversionofthediagramabovewhileIwasworkingonanALTCSeniorFellowshipin2008-9.Itismeanttoaccompanyanargumentabouttheinabilityoftraditionalteachingtosurvivethepressuresthatarefeltwithinuniversitiesthesedays.(By‘traditionalteaching’Imeanteachingasonewastaught.)
Inshort,Iseeincreasingtheproportionoftimespentondesign(ratherthanlive/interactiveteaching)asanescaperouteorsurvivalstrategy.Theveryrealforcessketchedinthefigurewillsqueezeeducationalworkinthisdirection.Ifthatisthefuture,thenbetterideasaboutdesignmaymakeitabetterfuture.
Stretchingtheargumentalittlefurther,onemightsaythatchangesintheworldwesharewillneedallofustobecomebetteratdesigning– designingforunderstandingandforchange.Thismeansdesigningforstudents,sothat(amongotherthings)theycanbecomebetteratdesigningthemselves.Italsomeansdesigningbetterenvironmentsforourownwork– inresearch,service/outreach,collegialmanagement,etc.
Ifwetakethisapproachtodesigningwhatisgoodforourstudents,weshouldfinditisgoodforustoo.
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Thiskeynotebegan30minutesorsoafterthedeclarationoftheresultsoftheAustralian‘postalsurvey’(anon-binding,voluntaryreferendum)onmarriageequality.Weknewtheresultswerecomingandwerecheeredbytheoutcomes.Itwouldhavebeenniceifthe‘yes’votehadbeenashighasitwasinIreland(seepicture)butitwasaconvincing61%.
Imagesource:https://www.autostraddle.com/voting-yes-a-guide-to-the-irish-marriage-equality-referendum-290512/ checkoriginalsiteforrights.
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Ididn’thavetimeonthedaytofinishwiththispersonalstory.ThisisalongerversionofwhatIwouldhavesaid.
IknewtheresultsoftheAustraliansurveyonequalmarriagerightswouldcomeoutshortlybeforethekeynote.Inpreparingthetalk,IthoughtofthereferenduminIreland,andofcommentsbytheIrishauthorMarianKeyesabouthowmuchthepeopleofIrelandhadchangedinthelastfewdecades–notwithstandingtheentrenchedpowerofasociallyconservativetheocracy.
Iwasalsoremindedthat40yearshadelapsedsinceIgavemyfirsteveracademicpresentation– someresultsfromaPhDI’dbeenworkingonatwhatwasthentheNewUniversityofUlsterinNorthernIreland.(DavidEastwoodwasmyPhDsupervisor.TheconferencewasatUCG,whereIrishwasthelanguageofinstruction.AllpresenterswereaskedtoofferthetitlesoftheirtalksinbothEnglishandIrish.)
IwasstudyinginIrelandforamixofreasons.Mymother’sfatherwasaDohertyfromDonegal.HismothertonguewasIrish.NUUwasoneofonlytwouniversitiesatthattimeofferingcoursesinthenewfieldofenvironmentalscience.
MyPhDwasastrangemixofsocialgeography,thesociologyofreferencegroupsandmethodologicalworkonindicatorsofsocial,politicalandeconomicwell-being.Ineverdidgetapermanentjobasanacademicgeographer,butI’dlearnedsomegenericskillsthatwererareamongsocialscientistsatthetime:Icoulddostatisticalanalysesandwritecomputerprograms.Byluck,Ifoundapermanentjobinaneducationalresearchdepartment(AstoninBirmingham,1979)anddecidedtostartresearchingthe
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useofcomputersastoolstoassistlearning.AyoungresearcheratSurreycalledDianaLaurillardhelpedsetmeonthispath.
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Thatwas40yearsago.
20yearsago,IwasaskedbyErikdeCorte– nowEmeritusProfessorofEducationalPsychologyatLeuvenUniversity– tokeynoteatthejointannualconferenceoftheDutch&Flemisheducationalresearchassociations.Heofferedmealistofpossibletopics– learningtolearn,ITandlearning,innovationinhighereducation– andIfoolishlytookonallofthem,andaddedmyownspin.
Theinvitationcoincidedwithasabbatical.I’djustfinishedthreeyearsasheadofdepartment.I’dalsoledtheLancasterteamcreatingthedoctoralprograminhighereducation,andhadbeenteachingthemoduleonLearning,TeachingandAssessment(withPeterKnight).SomeofmyresearchandpublicationshadbeeninHEsettings,butthiswasalmostaccidental.SoIusedthesabbaticalandtheinvitationfromEriktotakeanewdirectioninmyresearch,immersedmyselfintheHEliterature,anddevelopedsomeideasthathavestayedthedistance.
Amongthese,Iworkedonafusionofthreeapparentlycompetingconceptionsofthecorepurposesofhighereducation– academic,vocationalandcritical– usingepistemicfluencyasthecommonconcern.EpistemicfluencyhadbeendiscussedbyDonaldMorrison&AllanCollinsinabookchapterthepreviousyear– butprimarilyinthecontextofschooling.Tomyknowledge,ithadn’tbeenworkedoutinanydetailinHEcontexts.It’sfinallyhadaserioustreatment,stronglyledbyLinaMarkauskaite,andpublishedinourrecentEpistemicFluencybook.
Goodyear,P.,&Zenios,M.(2007).Discussion,collaborativeknowledgeworkandepistemicfluency.BritishJournalofEducationalStudies,55(4),351-368.
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Markauskaite,L.,&Goodyear,P.(2017).Epistemicfluencyandprofessionaleducation:innovation,knowledgeableactionandactionableknowledge.Dordrecht:Springer.Morrison,D.,&Collins,A.(1996).Epistemicfluencyandconstructivistlearningenvironments.InB.Wilson(Ed.),ConstructivistLearningEnvironments (pp.107-119).EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:EducationalTechnologyPublications.
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SeealsoourEpistemicFluencywebsite:https://epistemicfluency.com
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