Designing and facilitating cross-country collaborative learning in a professional education context

Sarah Cornelius

University of Aberdeen, UK s.cornelius@abdn.ac.uk

Blair Stevenson

Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Finland blair.stevenson@oamk.fi

ABSTRACTTechnology creates rich opportunities for collaboration involving learners in different countries and contexts. However, access to technology does not guarantee interaction and educators need to design and support authentic and meaningful activities that build knowledge. In a professional education setting programmes of study are underpinned by national occupational standards and requirements, and participants may be combining work and study. Educators need to ensure that collaboration is integrated effectively within local course frameworks and professionally relevant to all participants. This paper reports on ongoing work to support learning through online collaboration for participants on an in-service teaching qualification for Further Education in Scotland and a programme for vocational educators in Finland. Using an action research framework, collaborative activities have been designed, implemented and evaluated over two academic years. Collaboration design is underpinned by the ambition to raise vocational educators’ intercultural awareness through meaningful and manageable collaborative tasks that can be achieved within existing course structures, requirements and timetables. Drawing on feedback from learners and other evidence, this paper explores the diversity of participants’ experiences and the educator perspective. Learner experiences have been mixed, with some participating and benefitting in planned as well as unanticipated ways, whilst others have faced challenges getting collaboration started. Preliminary findings suggest that learners may find their own ways to collaborate, choosing and employing appropriate (and sometimes new) technologies. Findings also suggest that designers and facilitators of cross-country online collaboration need to: commit to supporting each other’s course outcomes and learners; encourage engagement in the task by developing learners’ sense of belonging and commitment; design manageable

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 1

and meaningful activities relevant to learners; and continually encourage and monitor progress.

KEYWORDSOnline collaboration, global learning, intercultural learning, professional education, vocational education

INTRODUCTION Educators are increasingly using technology to engage learners in online collaborative activities that take advantage of the 21st century global learning environment and prepare students for the needs of the global workplace. For example, the iCollab project (Cochrane et al. 2013) used mobile social media to engage learners across disciplines and continents and Lock (2015) outlined a range of projects designed to engage learners from school pupils to trainee teachers in global classrooms. Projects such as these support ambitions to develop learners’ global awareness and intercultural competencies. They provide new learning spaces and experiences which support the development of the global student, but only if learners engage in purposeful joint endeavor: they need to do ‘something together, not just be co-present’ Killick (2015 p 63).

The design and implementation of effective cross-country online collaboration is not without challenges. Technical challenges may require learners and educators to move beyond institutionally provided tools and require them to work with technicians in new ways (Lock 2015). Brown (2015 p 151) cautioned that “we cannot assume equivalence of experience of technologies across the globe, since not all universities can provide technologically enriched learning environments, not all subject areas lend themselves equally to making extensive use of technologies to support learners, and not all students are confident and critical in their uses of information and technologies’. Larusson and Alterman (2009) also warned that there is no guarantee that the use of technology will lead to interaction or learning. Lock (2015) suggested that the adoption of learner-centred approaches, particularly the use of authentic enquiry based strategies, which empower students with the skills and knowledge needed, are most appropriate. She also identified that educators may have to work together when they are know to each other only through online interactions and they need to find events or topics of mutual interest around which to build collaborative learning.

Kirschner et al. (2004) suggested that the design of authentic and meaningful activities that build knowledge through online collaboration can be achieved through consideration of task ownership, task character and task control. Learners need a sense of ownership of a task or activity, a sense of belonging and commitment to an international group. The task itself should be relevant, authentic and meaningful and

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 2

include opportunities for cognitive feedback. Finally, there should be shared understandings of who does what and who determines this through exploration of assumptions and expectations.

This paper presents an activity designed for global collaboration between learners on two programmes of study which lead to teaching qualifications for vocational education. The programmes were designed to meet national occupational standards and requirements, and participants may be combining work and study. Other opportunities for participants to engage in international exchange can be limited, so an online approach is a convenient and authentic alternative, reflecting the methods that are increasingly being used for ongoing professional development activity. The design of the activity was influenced by the need for effective integration within local course frameworks and professional relevance to all participants. 

CONTEXTThe authors have collaborated online, through web conferencing and Skype, to design and implement online collaborative activities for students on the Teaching Qualification for Further Education (TQFE) in Scotland1 and the iVET programme for vocational educators in Finland2. Both programmes are blended in nature, comprising a mix of facilitated workshops (face to face and online), professional practice and enquiry, and self-directed study. The project to design and develop an online collaborative experience for these programmes was underpinned by a desire to encourage students to engage with international and intercultural issues, as well as common interests in the use of technology to enhance learning.

The students involved were all vocational educators (some in-service, some pre-service), studying for professionally accredited teaching qualifications. They represented a wide range of discipline areas, including hairdressing and beauty, engineering, construction, business, accounting, and the creative arts. The design of the activity had to take account of the needs of the local curriculum, timetables, student workloads and assessment requirements, but at the same time provide an authentic learning opportunity which was current and relevant, made meaningful curricular connections and supported learning for understanding (Lock 2015).

Issues of availability informed technology choices across contexts and an understanding of student confidence and competence. Design also had to take account of the need for learning spaces in which issues of personal practice could be discussed in confidence. Common institutional technologies were used (e.g. email, web conferencing, institutional virtual learning environments - VLEs), but students were free to use any additional tools they deemed appropriate. This provided a degree of authenticity and learner control in terms of technology use, allowing students to share and develop approaches that might be sustainable in the longer term for professional

1 http://www.abdn.ac.uk/education/degrees-programmes/teaching-qualification-further-education-320.php2 http://www.oamk.fi/amok/english/vocational_teacher_education/

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 3

development activities. At the same time support and familiar tools were available for less confident technology users.

The project has been refined over two implementations with two student cohorts. Seventeen students participated in year 1 (2013-14) and 27 in year 2 (2014-15). There were roughly equal numbers from both countries in both years and in year 2 (the focus of this paper) 70% of students were male and 30% were female. The activity was integrated within a course on developing professional practice in the TQFE, and a course focused on learning theories in the iVET programme. There were common topics in both courses covering aspects of planning and implementing learning. The framework for the activity is outlined below (there were slight differences in implementation in both years), before evaluation and lessons learned are presented.

THE COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITYThe aims of the activity, as presented to students, were:

- to allow participants to meet with international peers and learn more about their geographical, cultural and vocational education contexts

- to provide an insight into learner characteristics, learner needs and lesson planning in vocational education in the two international contexts

- to provide an opportunity for reflective dialogue and peer review across international contexts, using a range of technologies.

The activity was designed to complement both programmes of study without adding significant additional work, and to provide insights relevant to work being submitted for formal assessment. Support was provided by local tutors and a comprehensive information sheet guided participants through the tasks required (available from www.slideshare.net/sarahcornelius). The key tasks were:

Step 1 Introduction to the project and other participants.

An introduction to the activity was provided during local class contact time (online or face to face). The aims of the introduction were to explain and contextualize the activity as a meaningful project within the local programme, encourage a sense of commitment to the international group, and explore expectations to ensure that students were reassured that these were manageable and achievable.

Students were paired up by facilitators based on knowledge of their subject areas to try to ensure that there were some common interests. They were encouraged to introduce themselves to each other, initially by email, and share information about their professional role and their context.

Step 2 Description of an authentic learning context.

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 4

Scottish students provided details of one of their classes, including general information about learner characteristics, course level and curriculum, and resources available (as part of this they were encouraged to share a photograph of their classroom or teaching space). This task was relevant to a concurrent course assignment, although the format of presentation had to be altered to ensure that contextual detail was appropriate for Finnish peers. A word template was provided and the completed version emailed between pairs.

Step 3 Design of a lesson plan.

Finnish students designed a lesson plan for the Scottish class, taking into account relevant learning theories under study as part of their course. The tutor facilitated this task through in-class discussion. Again, a word template was provided and emailed between pairs. In year 1 lesson plans were shared amongst the cohort via the local institutional VLE, but in year 2 sharing remained private to pairs working together, with some additional sharing and discussion taking place during workshop sessions.

Step 4 Feedback and review.

Scottish students were provided with a template for the provision of feedback on the lesson plan. Finnish students were asked to reflect on the feedback provided.

Step 5 Implementation of lesson and reflections.

Scottish students were encouraged to deliver all or part of the lesson planned by their partner and provide additional feedback in whatever format was acceptable.

Step 6 Live online discussion.

In year 1 participants were invited to attend a synchronous online session to discuss the activity and reflect more widely on global and intercultural issues. In year 2 logistical issues precluded a joint session for all participants, however, the Scottish tutor was able to join a Finnish online workshop to engage in similar discussions, and these were supplemented by local class based conversations.

The design of the overall activity addressed many of the principles presented in Lock’s (2015) framework for the design and facilitation of global collaborative learning experiences in technology-enhanced learning environments. The activity was meaningful within participants’ professional and study contexts and therefore had appropriate character (Kirschner et al 2004). It was also designed to encourage individual accountability and positive interdependence in task ownership (Kirschner et al 2004). Technology was selected to support completion of the tasks whilst allowing student choice. Interaction was necessary to move the activity along and complete the tasks (Lock 2015). The design also maps closely to the ‘5 steps framework’ (Salmon, 2000) and takes a structured path from issues of access and motivation towards

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 5

knowledge construction and development.

IN PRACTICEThe project has been framed as an action research study, guided by the question ‘how can we engage vocational educators in international and intercultural online learning experiences?’ It has been through two cycles of planning, development, evaluation and reflection. Data have been collected to inform development using a variety of approaches to ensure consideration of a wide range of perspectives. This paper focuses on evidence collected during the second research cycle (2014-15). Data were collected on the student perspective through reflective discussions during workshops and from an online questionnaire. The authors, as the designers and facilitators of the activity, have engaged in systematic reflective conversations which have been recorded and analyzed. A wider perspective on issues of internationalization has also been obtained through a focus group style conversation with professional development staff from the Scottish college participating in the project. Collation and analysis of data is still underway at the time of writing, so this paper presents preliminary findings, focusing on issues that will inform redesign and those which may be of wider interest or relevance.

Evidence reveals that the activity was highly successful for some participants, but for others there were challenges and not everyone made it through all of the scheduled tasks. Successes included: implementation of the lesson as planned with positive feedback from learners and subsequent redesign of future inputs; exchange of additional lesson plans and information beyond the activity requirements; and significant learning about new technologies and tools for collaboration (including Padlet and Skype). Learners reported a renewed appreciation for international issues and for the value of cross-disciplinary exchange in vocational education rather than a close focus on individual discipline areas. Challenges included initial difficulties in communication with peers, mis-interpretation or mis-understanding of the task, and challenges with developing sharing understandings of the context or subject areas.

Learners made helpful suggestions for design and facilitation. Scottish students generally valued the activity but felt it had come too early in their course. They felt that more could have been done in the early stages and requested help to understand the overall relevance and nature of the task and with practical issues such as how to pronounce the unfamiliar names of their collaborators. Finnish students reported difficulties in making contact through student email addresses and in making meaningful contributions where their subject area was different from that of their partner. They suggested that the Scottish tutor could have been introduced to them in person earlier and that a prescribed topic of common interest might have been helpful (this had been the approach during the first run of the activity).

Reflections from facilitators reveal the complexities of the facilitator role and issues that need to be considered during design and implementation of global collaborative activity. Some of these are considered below for three aspects of the facilitator role – preparing the activity, creating a learning space and supporting tasks - along with suggestions for

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 6

future investigation and development.

Pre-activityFacilitators need to take time to find synergies between programmes and identify objectives that meet local needs. Openness about assumptions and preferences for teaching and learning is needed to ensure alignment of approaches. In this context there was a commitment to authentic, meaningful and manageable activity and the use of learner-centred approaches including free choices over technology use. Logistical issues such as the timing of the activity and prescribed technologies need careful consideration. For example, when university policy advocates use of student email addresses but students prefer to use alternative addresses, problems will be created if email is used for initial communication.

Creating the learning spaceExperiences have reinforced the need for significant attention to be paid to socialization in the online environment and the building of an effective community of learners in which individuals feel that they have social presence (Garrison et al. 2004). In addition to the strategies employed to date suggestions for exploration include the sharing of video ‘selfies’ to help develop learners’ identity and presence in the community; tutors ‘visiting’ each other’s groups during early online sessions to develop trust and commitment; and peer selection of partners (perhaps through a ‘speed dating’ style online event).

Quick, effective methods for sharing information about local contexts are needed to help develop shared understandings. Student produced videos could provide an insight into the professional context of participants and be used to generate a wider understanding of this throughout the community, but the production of these would need to be scheduled within course time prior to the activity or incorporated as an additional task. Coupled with links and pointers to key information on local structures and processes (e.g. academic ‘levels’ and terminology) videos would facilitate effective exchange of information about context.

During the activitySome learners clearly preferred structured support, whilst others valued individual freedom to accomplish tasks in their own way. Jacobsen et al (2013) suggested that the design of participatory learning environments requires a balance of structure and openness, but this appears to be a difficult balance to achieve so that all students are considered equally, particularly when communication may take place in technological spaces beyond the ‘gaze’ of the facilitator.

For those needing structure and certainty, step by step release of tasks might be appropriate, with additional opportunities for discussion at each stage, but this would not suit holistic learners who need a clear understanding of the whole task before they can proceed. A variety of approaches to presenting the project tasks might be appropriate, although care is needed to ensure that students are not overloaded with information and can find key points quickly and efficiently. For busy adult learners with limited time or

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 7

patience for technology confusing or difficult to find information may present a barrier to engagement that will lead to their withdrawal from the activity.

Although intended to be part of the activity, sharing of lesson plans with a wider audience across the courses was not achieved. During the first iteration of the activity, some degree of sharing had been made possible via the VLE, but this did not materialize during the second year as students communicated more directly rather than via the tutors. Additional sharing of products may encourage task ownership (Kirschner et al 2004) by reinforcing individual accountability and interdependencies, as well as community membership, and provide a shared resource to support knowledge construction and group dialogue. Enhanced opportunities for exchange and sharing within pairs and across the wider community would also support longer term networking. Lock and Redmond (2011) reported that an outcome of international collaboration involving preservice teachers was that participants ‘developed a network of colleagues and experts to draw on in the future. They have had the lived experience of being online learners and online collaborators. In the future, they could use this model in their own classrooms…’ (p 25). The application or re-purposing of this activity within participants’ own practice here is not yet visible, although some participants have implemented new ideas in their teaching as a result of the collaboration.

Discussion of alternative technologies to provide support and facilitate collaboration is ongoing, although some choices are constrained by institutional policies within colleges and universities. As Lock (2015) noted, new ways of working with technologists are needed, but more fundamentally new approaches to the provision and support for technology within educational institutions is needed to allow educators to develop authentic practices that provide sustainable opportunities for ongoing professional development. In some instances institutional policy does not allow certain tools to be used, and support is not available. For students confident in the digital world taking risks and using unsupported technologies is not necessarily a problem, but for those who are more comfortable remaining within organization guidelines, or who lack the knowledge or confidence to try things out for themselves, this limits opportunities for collaborative activity.

CONCLUSIONSThe activity presented here met, in part, the objectives of developing intercultural awareness across two international contexts. Alongside this it has provided opportunities for evaluation of and reflection on the design and implementation of a global collaborative activity alongside existing theoretical frameworks to allow us to develop suggestions for future practice. These are necessarily grounded in the context of this particular activity, but it is hoped that some are applicable to other settings. Lock (2015) suggested that online collaboration needs clear objectives, support through ongoing instruction, and awareness of how participation will be evaluated. Our findings support this, and suggest that there are additional technical and social aspects that need careful consideration to produce a scenario where there is effective exchange of

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 8

ideas and resources and purposeful and meaningful knowledge building for all participants.

The wider question that emerges from the project is ‘how can we provide authentic opportunities for online collaboration for vocational educators that support ongoing professional development?’ Further analysis of the data collected through this project, and the ongoing development of the activity, will take a closer look at some of the issues around the role and use of widely available technologies (including video), how effective groups and enduring networks can be created, and how such activities can be scaled up to address the wider need for international and intercultural experiences for vocational educators.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThanks are due to colleagues and students who have participated in this research. The research reported here was granted ethical approval under normal University processes, and advice on this aspect of the work is also acknowledged.

REFERENCESBLAKE, C., and SCANLON, E., 2013. Design for collaboration. Journal of Interactive

Media in Education, 10.BRINDLEY, J. E., WALTI, C. and BLASCHKE, L. M., 2009. Creating effective

collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(3).

BROWN, S., 2015. Learning, teaching and assessment in higher education: global perspectives. Palgrave Learning and Teaching. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

COCHRANE, T., BUCHEM, I., CAMACHO, M., CRONIN, C., GORDON, A., & KEEGAN, H. (2013). Building global learning communities. Research In Learning Technology, 21. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v21i0.21955

GARRISON, D. R. and ANDERSON T., 2003. E-Learning in the 21st century: a framework for research and practice. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

JACOBSEN, M., LOCK, J. and FREISEN, S., 2013. Strategies for engagement: knowledge building and intellectual engagement in participatory learning environments. Education Canada, 53(1). http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/strategies-engagement

KILLICK, D., 2015. Developing the global student: higher education in an era of globalization. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

KIRSCHNER, P., STRIJBOS, J., KREKJNS, K., and BEERS, P. J., 2004. Designing electronic collaborative learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 52(3) pp 47-66.

LARUSSON, J. A. and ALTERMAN, R., 2009. Wikis to support the ‘collaborative’ part of collaborative learning. International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, 4(4) pp 371-402.

LOCK, J., 2015. Designing learning to engage students in the global classroom. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 24(2) pp 137-153

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 9

LOCK, J. and REDMOND, P., 2011. International online collaboration: giving voice to the study of diversity. One World in Dialogue, 1(1) pp 19-25.

SALMON, G., 2000. E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online. London: Kogan Page.

SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2014, Edge Hill University 10