ICT, Personalisation and inequality

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ICT, Personalisation and inequality

• Tim Rudd, Becta
• http//www.becta.org.uk/research
• Timothy.Rudd_at_becta.org.uk
• Tim.Rudd_at_nestafuturelab.org

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• Disclaimer!
• presentation reflects a range of discursive and
  provoking views
• issues drawn from research and theoretical
  perspectives
• Not a Becta/Department for Education and Skills
  view!!
• Little emphasis on ICT!!

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• 3 key questions few answers!
• What is Personalisation?
• What might it mean?
• What are the challenges?
• Should be an empowering concept!!
• Huge UK research, policy and practice issue

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What is it?

• Some have called for a single definition of PL -
  but this may be detrimental
• May be multiple system differing approaches
  and depths of PL occurring, possibly
  simultaneously (Hargreaves 2004 Leadbeater)
• PL may be seen as a broad set of orientating
  principles, rather than a specific blueprint
• Emerging concept with varied and emerging
  outcomes

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What is it?

• Increased choice and voice of the
  learner/consumer
• Less prescription - more active dialogue - script
• Learner as active (not passive) agent/co-producer
  or co-author of educational script
• Changed relationships between teachers/tutors and
  learners
• Principle to support greater diversity,
  participation, responsibility in learning
  empowerment/autonomy

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• Draws on theories around changes in production
  methods from Fordist mass production to flexible,
  customised approaches
• A dynamic concept for systemic change and
  educational transformation long view
• Concept requiring debates surrounding purpose of
  education and pedagogy

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What is it?

• New imaginary requiring new ways of thinking
  (Hargreaves) (requires bravery, conviction)
• Key tenets underpinning PL are
• need to involve both incremental and radical
  innovation
• a version of customisation in education
• core of educational transformation

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The personalisation continuum?
New approaches
Incremental changes
Location and educational modes of delivery change
Learning through exploration
ICT allows learners deeper into curriculum
Increased choices and pathways
Teacher role as mentor/coach
deep PL system transformation
shallow PL mass customisation
educationalist conceptions
Peer to peer mentoring
ICT enables evidence based picture of learning
needs
Choices of learner organising principles of
system
Focus on learning skills not content
Replace transactional model of education
Learners direct their learning
ICT as tool to reduce transaction costs of
collaboration
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What it isnt

• Previous learner or centred approaches and
  theories
• Deschooling
• Not individualist, atomised or independent
  approach to learning

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What might it mean?

• Independent yet collaboratively engaged learners,
  effective and powerful learners better equipped
  for the future
• Choice, voice, customisation, specialisation
• Change of focus to supply and outcome in terms of
  the learner - 9 gateways to personalised learning
  (Hargreaves) imagine the differences!
• Curriculum workforce development school
  organisation and design student voice
  mentoring learning to learn assessment for
  learning advice and guidance and new
  technologies

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What might it mean?

• An inclusive, mature system of knowledge creation
  rather than a deficit system based on passive
  regurgitation of abstract, arbitrary knowledge

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What are the challenges?

• To what extent can system flexibility allow
  learners to exercise greater control, truly
  enhance learning and innovation?
• What will this mean in terms of
• Space and place
• Ways, means and mechanisms
• Whom and how
• Roles, responsibilities and locus of control over
  learning process

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What are the challenges?

• How to measure impacts of various operationalised
  models of PL
• Need to develop a taxonomy or matrix of PL
  approaches?
• Practitioners (and learners) as researchers
  development and research (DR), action
  research/activity research
• Develop networks for knowledge transfer
• The real threat of reproducing and exacerbating
  social inequalities
• The challenge of existing age-stage measures

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Structural, systemic and procedural barriers

• Current systems, overtly and covertly are
  models that focus as much on institutions and
  policy rather than the learner
• Do current curriculum and assessment models
  really represent a mature and sensible system?
  What is education really about? Need for regular
  debates and visions
• The current tyranny of assessment and
  measurement (Futurelab/Demos/Becta PL seminar
  series)

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• FOR WHOM? - current language of
  assessment/measurement. Clues in the words!?
• Reporting, management, scoring, results,
  monitoring, standards, testing
• Restricted, negative perspectives on what
  assessment is and for
• The Panoptic society?
• secure institutions
• mental health
• prisons

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Only Words???

• The language of control and censure of
  institutions - of authority?
• Do words reflect or promote practices?
• Can we describe what is meant by other means?
• Current big issues Control of pupils behaviour
  surveillance truancy (political) apathy is
  the current system culpable?

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• E-assessment will help cut the assessment burden
  - Burden!
• Ensure National Curriculum levels are met
  abstract why what does this mean?
• Helpimprove standards of what and for whom?
• Provide skills for business for business!
• Does industry really want this form of (e)-
  assessment?

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Who (or what) benefits?

• Is it for the sake of the learner? Is it really
  to move the learner forward?
• Is it to support teacher/tutor control and
  management of the classroom/intake?
• Is it to support the accountability and
  measurement requirements of institutions?
• Are learners being assessed merely as a means of
  also assessing the institution? Learners,
  teachers and institutions assessed, but for
  educational or political purposes?
• Therefore, measurement an inherently political
  device - and politically divisive??

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• Where is the leaner choice and/or voice?
• At what point is the learner consulted, if at
  all?
• Future assessment /education also needs to engage
  learners in dialogue
• Question how institutions become better
  listeners?
• Greater learner involvement leads to different
  emotional experience

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• Relevant knowledge and skills? Or irrelevant,
  hoop jumping?
• Abstract knowledge? Decontextualised?
• Curriculum not real? Recontextualised
• Arbitrary and archaic knowledge?
• Assessment for failure? assess what we dont
  know?
• Funds of Knowledge Cultural and Social
  Capitals, ABCD (Moll, Bourdieu, Pinkett)
• Education for empowerment, citizenship and
  liberation? or demarcation and control embodying
  power relationships?

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Learning to learn?

• Should we be taking a more learning to learn
  approach?
• Look at how we develop skills, capacities and
  enthusiasm for learning
• Develop power of people as learners meta
  cognition and cognitive resourcefulness
• www.buildinglearningpower.co.uk
• Should we focus on different types of learning
  associated with reflection, motivation, dialogue,
  team work
• Does current system detract from the love of
  learning, innovation and creativity?

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Personalisation Final Thoughts

• Formal education and formalised assessment for
  the large part do not assess and build on the
  wealth of knowledge that every individual already
  has but tends to demarcate an exclude under the
  auspices of fair and equal competition in a
  supposed democratic and equal system. Rather they
  may formalise, harbour and credentialize existing
  inequalities?
• We are active agents of societal and educational
  change and improvement Lets change!
• Personalisation is up for grabs. Its contestable
  and open to development. It is also a concept
  that offers great opportunities for change to
  better serve the needs and interests of learners.