Modularized and Disaggregated Degrees
This will continue to grow, in my opinion, because we are trying to prepare students for jobs that haven't even been created yet. Therefore, I see students that will build their own degrees for jobs that they want to create once they move into the workforce. Exciting!
we feel that the majority ofacademics start out as lifelong learners, and given opportunities to choose their ownlearning path within reasonable time and space restrictions, will do so
I notice that the faculty I work with default to subject-matter specific professional development rather than education-related professional development. I know a lot of our faculty have taken pretty significant pay cuts to transition from industry to the "easier world" of teaching. It is a struggle with the faculty have to also maintain an industry license to teach the courses. So, they feel overwhelmed with how many hours are required for their industry license, and then we pile even more on them by asking them to take professional development from us. I'm not sure how to bridge this gap. Any advice is appreciated.
ull Spectrum LearningLevel Two stipend from St. Norbert College
I am current tasked with having to redesign our online educator professional development pathway, and I'm very interested to check this out. I want it to be transformative, not just "click here, don't do this, oh, and don't forget to put this here."
et an educator might be more likely to find people whoshare their most specialized interests in a global community than at their own institution- hence the power of the PLN, the online affinity space, the online community of practice,or the connectivist MOOC experience.
Hear, hear! I'm alone at my institution! But, with pedago.me, I'm less alone and empowered!
semi-fictional autoethnography
I wanted to comment that what you are demonstrating in this autoethnography is so important to me as an educator and instructional designer.
When we communicate laterally within our institutions, we are fearful of being completely honest in most situations. Having a PLN of individuals not affiliated with one's institution is powerful. I can ask hard questions, get the opinions of others in the field, and rely on the information I've received to make appropriate decisions. Many of the decisions made in higher education happens in silos, as we all know. It behooves all educators to break free of the silos and form PLNs to gain a more accurate understanding of the global "picture."
Thank you for demonstrating the interweaving of your PLNs with your day-to-day work. It was empowering and helps to remind me that I'm on the right track and feeds by educational philosophy when my day-to-day work may not.
visible
Excellent point. I'm in charge of credentialing conference attendance, and I know that I'm having to give credit for times where people may not actually be at the conference, but rather back in their hotel room or seeing the city. I'd venture to say I'd feel more comfortable with credentialing a conference that has a "digital timestamp" than the way I am having to do it now!
Even though VConnecting uses freely available technology (Google hangouts onAir that livestreams and records to YouTube), some countries ban Google and/or You-Tube, and some individuals prefer not to deal with Google.
I would also argue, though, that it is a better option than the alternative, which is not attending a conference if you have any of the limitations that prevent your f2f attendance.
Furthermore, we recognize that even among faculty acommitment to personal lifelong learning in practice is not always valued or even prac-tical
Good to know I'm not alone in this observation!
Grappling with this distinction,making decisions based on it, and figuring out how to use the technology to enact thatdecision enables faculty and professionals to not just become more fluent in theirdigital skills but to become more critical in their use of technology considering multiplecontexts and power dynamics
And, perhaps, also highlights digital inequality within the students they teach. Some level of empathy has to occur when instructors participate in a "student" role.
The tools chosen, together, need to enable channels ofcommunication ranging from one to one, one to many within the cohort, and one tomany in public.
This reminds me of the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) Model of technology integration. #DigPINS certainly sounds like it falls under the "redefinition" category.
I show this video to my undergraduate Instructional Technology students, if interested. https://youtu.be/OBce25r8vto
None of these models alone achieves all we aspire towards
I think this is a particularly important note. I think a lot of us in the field are looking for something that will just bring all of the faculty skipping down the hall to work with us. Aspirations are aspirations, and sometimes it is okay to say "This is an aspiration I have, and the work I'm doing today to move toward that aspiration is good work that is worthy of my recognition."
As change agents, we see so much of what it "could be" that we lose sight of the growth we've actually achieved.
If university educators are responsible for cultivating values of democracy andsocial action in students, they themselves should be learning in transformative waysthat promote these capabilities and attitudes.
When I read this, it was like I was struck by lightning. I can't believe I never thought of this before!
Transformative learning is“the process by which we transform problematic frames of reference (mindsets, habitsof mind, meaning perspectives)–sets of assumption and expectation–to make themmore inclusive, discriminating, open, reflective and emotionally able to change. Suchframes are better because they are more likely to generate beliefs and opinions that willprove more true or justified to guide action”
And, I argue that transformative learning is what most of us strive for when working with our faculty and students. After all, if what we are teaching doesn't transform our "students," what's the point?
Face-to-face con-ferences and workshops continue to reproduce inequality in access to those whose timeand mobility are more limited. It discriminates against those who live far away fromadditional opportunities for professional development and cannot afford the cost ofconstantly traveling to learn what others can with less cost and effort.
As someone that A) lives in a rural state, B) has a chronic health condition that flares intermittently that prevents travel at times, I appreciate these points. We live in a powerful age of nearly limitless information upon a few keystrokes, but we still require people to "come to us" so frequently in the world of education. If we truly want to provide equity in education, we must model equitable behaviors.
they are unlikely to meet specific needs of faculty
What about faculty developers that have tried to express this point but are meeting resistance from administration that the one-size-fits-all isn't working?
Occasionally there will be a direction to-wards a new trend that administrators find interesting or valuable regardless of evi-dence
Personal translation for myself: Initiative fatigue!
A university educator may, inthe course of their career, need to call for help from various members of their own in-stitution, but they should also have enough agency to find that support elsewhere ifappropriate.
I'm so happy that I was invited to pedagome! I'm literally all alone in my pursuit of faculty development, and pedagome has quickly become my favorite part of teaching and learning!
Personal Learning Network (PLN)
I had always seen PLNs called "Professional Learning Networks." I think I like the "Personal" better.
Even when attempting to address learning needs via a needs assessmentand gathering feedback to promote an evidence-based approach, experiences are oftendesigned in modular, disconnected ways that remain authoritative
Absolutely true. In fact, it wasn't until I read this that I actually went "That's why what we (our faculty development team) hasn't felt right. We aren't practicing what we preach!".
it rarely centersaround the whole person
I agree with this completely. I'm currently working on a framework for working with educators that focuses on the whole person based upon the Foundational Student Coaching methodologies provided by InsideTrack. Although proprietary, what I learned from InsideTrack can help me focus on the whole person while advising educators.
Mezirow,2006/2018p. 119
Absolutely thrilled to see Mezirow and transformative learning theory in the spotlight. Transformative learning theory happens to be my favorite educational theory.