Oxford Brookes Conference on Graduate Employability: Oxford: 16/06/09

Learning about me as well as the subject: enhancing employability through critical reflective learning

John Buswell University of Gloucestershire

‘Learning to learn’ is the educational paradigm for the twenty-first century (Ruth Deakin Crick 2004)

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself” (Galileo)

But what does it mean and how do we do it (if we think it is important)?

Outline of sessionStudent-centred learning- the why and

whereforeMetalearning and self-awarenessA structured, progressive and supported

processThe use of critical storytelling and learning

inventoriesTheir impact

Why is student-centred learning so important for employability?We are preparing students for a world of

increasing uncertainty;Increasingly electronic;Knowledge society;Learning in the 21st century requires active,

autonomous, flexible and lifelong learners;Increased emphasis on transdisciplinary

knowledge and competences?;

Changing HE context

Numbers, diversity, AWPOutcomes-based approachesDearing visionThe opportunities provided by active learning

and reflective thinkingThe centrality of reflective learning to PDP“Potential to transform the HE curriculum by

placing the student at the centre and moving away from content-based models” (Broadfoot 2006) What does this mean? Do you agree with it?

Links between PDP and employability The Leitch Report

The Leitch Report (December 2006)Even if the UK were to reach all of its skills

targets for 2010, it would still be trailing behind other key competitors in the knowledge economy

Complex based knowledge roles forecast to be 45% of workforce by 2014

Challenging targets for 2020, especially in higher order skills

Consequent importance of developing self-reliant, independent and collaborative learners who know and understand themselves; and are prepared for the increasing complexities of employability and citizenship;

Transferability“In our rapidly changing world, the ability to learn quickly, to be flexible, to be comfortable with newness, is a core skill. It might even be the most important” (Parker and Stone 2003:19)

This helps in presenting a clear and positive image to employers and others

“at the end of the day, it is the graduates of our universities and colleges who will need to have the clearest idea of their skills, capabilities and achievements, both in order to ‘sell themselves’ to employers and academic selectors and to manage their own careers in increasingly less supported working environments” (Burgess 2005)

The key lies in self-awareness and metalearning

MetalearningBourner points out that“developing students’ capacity for reflective

learning is part of developing their capacity to learn how to learn” (Bourner 2003:267)

“Employers are not interested in seeing extensive documented outcomes, but they do wish to see for themselves how candidates think and behave in new situations” (Edwards 2001:8)

Metalearning

Awareness and control of one’s own learning

How?

Self-empowerment and autonomy Self-awareness and strategic awarenessOwnership – self-regulated learningCapacity for lifelong learningReflective practice and reflective learning,

especially learning from experiences

Reflective thinking“experience is not quite the same thing as

learning from experience” (Moon 2004:105)

“Reflective learning is not what happens to a student; it is what the student does with what has happened” (Bourner 2003:4)

And it requires us to mediate and create the appropriate learning environment

“metalearning capacity requires a skill in learning that is quite different from, and superordinate to, the acquisition of complementary skills (such as how to take notes, use the library and so on” (Meyer and Shanahan 2004:444)

i.e. skills in learning as well as skills for learning

Metalearning

Emphasis on transdisciplinary learning Which depends on

SKILL OF TRANSFERABILITY

SELF-AWARENESS(Metacognition)

Self-management 1

Self-identity 2

Self-authorship 3

THROUGH

1. Tools/techniques of reflective writing2. Peer support3. Self-assessment of capabilities4. Language to describe learning5. Making sense of experiences6. Fully embedded model of PDP

1. Engagement by students andstaff

2. Action and reflexivity

Key challenges

Level

Metalearning throughConstructivist and socio-constructivist approaches

to learning; andAn integrated and progressive approach to PDP,

incorporating:

A model of progression in metalearning;The tools and techniques of reflective writing (including

recording and planning);Methods of peer support and mentoring;Learning inventories/self-assessment tools

ELLI ECI-U (Emotional Competence Inventory-University Edition

Reflective writing (but critically reflective)Learning agreements/diaries/logs/journals‘R’ cardsUnsent lettersPortraitsCritical incidentsCritical storytelling –see handout

1. Using Stories to reflect on placement experiences…

Creating social environments to encourage reflective thinking and peer support

Developing techniques for encouraging reflective writing and peer support

Creating a placement story which includes developing skills in reflective writing, listening and questioning techniques

“when we tell stories and process them, using reflective dialogue, we create the possibility for change in ourselves and others. Our capacity to express ourselves through narrative forms not only enables us to reshape, reassess and reconstruct particular events, it allows us to learn from discussing our experiences with individuals who raise alternative views, suggest imaginative possibilities and ask stimulating questions.” (McDrury and Alterio 2003:38)

2. The use of learning inventoriesSelf-assessmentConcepts of learningProvides language with which to understand,

evaluate and articulate learning and capabilities

They are an important element of learning to learn

ELLI (Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory)Based on learning powerLearners are:

All differentConstantly learningAble to change to become better learnersAble to reflect on their learningMotivated to be better learners

ELLI contains seven dimensions of learning power

Positive polePositive pole Negative poleNegative poleChanging and learningChanging and learning Being stuckBeing stuck

Meaning makingMeaning making Data accumulationData accumulation

Critical curiosityCritical curiosity PassivityPassivity

CreativityCreativity Rule boundRule bound

Learning relationshipsLearning relationships IsolationIsolation

Strategic awarenessStrategic awareness RoboticRobotic

ResilienceResilience DependentDependent

ELLI measures ‘learning power’

•The qualities and dispositions that enable students to learn and go on learning throughout life•A research project in schools in 2002 led by Professors Patricia Broadfoot and Guy Claxton (University of Bristol)•Contains an online questionnaire (ELOISE)

ELLI contains an online survey that:

Takes approximately 20 minutes for each student to fill in

Comprises 97 statementsProduces individual profiles about each

student’s learning powerProduces class profiles to show how

groups of students view themselves as learners

ELLI can :

Identify dimensions of learning to work on with students

Focus students’ attention on learning

Give them am immediate profile and supportive material

Help students think about how to improve learning

Help to provide students with a language with which to understand and articulate their learning

Be a learning experience in itself

Individual Profiles can show:

how each student feels about learning

who are the fragile learners

which students could achieve much better if they worked on one or two aspects of learning

Example 1

Example 2

2. ESCI-U (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory-University EditionApplied to learning from 12 month placement

and other experiences;Focuses on self-awareness; social-awareness;

self-management; relationship management; and cognitive competencies

70 statements in paper-based questionnaire plus opportunity for feedback questionnaire from someone who knows the student well

Supported by a work book explaining each competency and containing sections for reflective writing

The growing importance of EI to employabilityEI is essential for

Self-management;Developing others;Facilitating relationships between others; andManagement of our relationship with others

(Sparrow & Knight 2006)

OK Corrall: Life Positions (Sparrow & Knight 2006: 40)

I’m NOT OK I’m OK

I-U+ I+U+You’re OK

You’re NOT OK Stuck Critical I-U- I+U-

Submissive EI

Student feedback on both inventoriesA little mixed on ELLI but overwhelmingly

positive on the ESCI-UPerhaps influenced by the stage of the

student’s progression in their degreeHowever, there was a correlation between the

perception of ELLI and the academic attainment of students in one group

Student feedback and student assessments suggested that their ability to learn from reflecting critically on their experiences was enhanced by the use of learning inventories, particularly in the following ways:

Identifying and analysing strengths and weaknesses;

Seeing themselves in a different light;Increased self-identity;Greater awareness of how others viewed them;A trigger for critical reflection (rather than simply

descriptive reflection) and strategic awareness;How to learn better

ConclusionsLearning about me as well as the subject

(particularly when it is ‘contextual knowledge’ and involves applying subject theory) can be effective and critical (including the highest order cognitive skills and metacognition)

“PDP is, I believe, helping to transform the higher education programme from one that is still primarily geared to the transmission of knowledge to one where self-identity is also important. When the specialist knowledge we acquire through a higher education becomes redundant, all we are left with is our capacity to keep learning. This has to be the key skill for life which higher education equips us with and it is the one that PDP serves” (Jackson 2005)

ReferencesBroadfoot, P (2006) ‘Empowering the learner:

theories, tools and techniques’. Keynote address to Researching and evaluating PDP and e-Portfolios, International Seminar, Oxford, October 2006

Bourner, T (2003) Assessing reflective thinking, Education and Training, Vol.45, Issue 5, pp 256-272

Burgess, R (2005) Measuring and recording student achievement: Report of the Scoping Group at http://bookshop.universities.ac.uk/downloads/measuringachievement.pdf

Deakin Crick, R (2004) in (Tew, M Deakin Crick, R Broadfoot, P & Claxton, G (2004) ELLI, Learning Power: A Practitioner’s Guide, Lifelong Learning Foundation, Manchester

Edwards, G (2001) Connecting PDP to Employer Needs and the World of Work, LTSN Generic Centre, Yorkwww.hea.ac.uk/resources

Jackson, N (2005) Towards the tipping point: an intensely personal view of Progress Files and PDP

www.recordingachievement.org/downloads?/ISSUE6PDPUKDEC05.pdfMcDrury, J & Alterio, M (2003) Learning through

Storytelling in Higher Education: Using Reflection and Experience to Improve Learning, Kogan Page, London

Further readingMeyer, J & Shanahan, M (2004) Developing

metalearning capacity in students: actionable theory and practical lessons learned in first-year economics, Innovation in Education and Teaching International, Vol.41, N.4 4, November 2004, 443-455

Moon, J (2004) A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning, RoutledgeFalmer, Abingdon

Parker, C & Stone, B (2003) Developing Management Skills for Leadership, Pearson Education, Harlow

Schon, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: how professionals think in action, Arena Publishing, Boston

Sparrow, T & Knight, A (2006) Applied EI: The importance of attitudes in developing emotional intelligence, Chichester, John Wiley & Sons