Sheffield Hallam University, UK

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Developing the autonomous learner supporting
transitions from FE to HE

• Sheffield Hallam University, UK
• Ivan Moore
• Director
•  Centre for Excellence in Teaching and
  Learning(Promoting Learner Autonomy)

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Government white paper 'The future of Higher
Education' 2003 Two main aims reward excellent
teaching practice ensure substantial benefits to
students, teachers and institutions January
2005 funding awarded for 74 centres for
Excellence in Teaching and Learning
(CETLs) 2,000,000 capital 500,000 per year to
2010 At SHU CPLA Employability elearning in
Social Sciences
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What is an autonomous learner?

• Someone qualifies as an autonomous learner when
  (s)he independently chooses aims and purposes and
  sets goals chooses materials, methods and tasks
  exercises choice and purpose in organising and
  carrying out the chosen tasks and chooses
  criteria for evaluation.
• Holec 1982

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A definition of learner autonomy

• An autonomous learner takes responsibility for
  his/her own learning
• They can identify
• their learning goals (what they need to learn)
• their learning processes (how they will learn it)
• how they will evaluate and use their learning

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Characteristics of effective autonomous learners

• they have well-founded conceptions of learning
• they have a range of learning approaches and
  skills
• they can organize their learning
• they have good information processing skills
• they are well motivated to learn

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WILLINGNESS TO LEARN Balance of vocational,
academic, personal and social motivations to
learn Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic
motivation Goals Short - Medium - Long Confidence
STANCE TOWARDS LEARNING Orientation to
learning Appropriate conceptions of learning Deep
approach to learning A range of appropriate
learning strategies
MANAGEMENT Study Skills Planning and problem
solving Evaluation Metacognition Self-assessment
Focus stickability Time and project
management Balancing social, work and learning
needs Assessment
INFORMATION Information handling Access to
resources On line and Paper-based Role models
(people, exemplars, designs) Equipment Other
learners Contexts
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WILLINGNESS TO LEARN Balance of vocational,
academic, personal and social motivations to
learn Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic
motivation Goals Short - Medium - Long Confidence
STANCE TOWARDS LEARNING Orientation to
learning Appropriate conceptions of learning Deep
approach to learning A range of appropriate
learning strategies
MANAGEMENT Study Skills Planning and problem
solving Evaluation Metacognition Self-assessment
Focus stickability Time and project
management Balancing social, work and learning
needs Assessment
INFORMATION Information handling Access to
resources On line and Paper-based Role models
(people, exemplars, designs) Equipment Other
learners Contexts
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The SHU social model

• learning is a social activity
• people are not only a resource
• sense of belonging
• sharing, supporting, discussing, debating
• working in partnership
• teamwork, leadership, inter-personal skills

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Learning as a journey

• We become more autonomous as learners as we make
  more of our own choices about what we learn and
  how we learn it.

dependence
interdependence
Independence or autonomy
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The journey
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Intellectual capacity
Learning as growth
Level three
Independence
Level two
Knowledge (breadth and complexity)
Level one
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Intellectual skills

• Evaluation
• Synthesis
• Analysis
• Application
• Manipulation
• Knowledge

• Ability to make a judgment of the worth of
  something
• Ability to combine separate elements into a whole
• Ability to break a problem into its constituent
  parts and establish the relationships between
  each one

Ability to apply rephrased knowledge in a novel
situation

• Ability to rephrase knowledge

That which can be recalled
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Scholarship Teams
Conceptual stance
Motivation and engagement
Information skills
Organisation for learning
Enquiry Based Learning
Student partnerships
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What is Enquiry Based Learning?
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A starting point

• EBL represents a shift away from passive
  methods, which involve the transmission of
  knowledge to students, to more facilitative
  teaching methods through which students are
  expected to construct their own knowledge and
  understanding by engaging in supported processes
  of enquiry

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What is Enquiry Based Learning?

• Enquiry Based Learning is a natural form of
  learning, borne out of our innate sense of
  curiosity and desire to understand
• It is generically applicable, and has grown from
  modelling learning in a number of subjects

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Active, student-centred, authentic, supported

• Learning driven by a process of enquiry or
  investigation
• Involves complex, intriguing real-life stimuli
• Intentional
• unintentional
• Student-centred
• Requires action
• Connects theory and practice
• Supported process
• Develops skills
• Social
• Enjoyable

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Academic skills

• Research
• Students determine and pursue THEIR OWN lines of
  enquiry
• Large scale enquiries- macro
• Small scale enquiries- micro
• Information
• They build on what they already know
• They identify what information they need
• They find, evaluate and use the information
• They may communicate their learning to others

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Professional skills

• Team working and leadership
• Inter-personal skills
• Negotiation
• Decision making
• Handling conflict
• Sharing
• Communication skills
• Presentation, explaining, questioning
• Managing projects and meetings
• Practical application of theory

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Personal skills

• Taking and accepting responsibility
• Ethics and moral sense
• Balancing creativity with resilience
• Encourages exploration, curiosity
• Creative problem-solving
• Planning
• Time-management and organisation

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Motivation

• Authentic
• Realistic challenge
• Locus of control
• Feedback and support
• Shared learning
• success
• Socialises the learning

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Some drivers.

• Supports transition into and through Higher
  Education
• Practice in a safe environment
• Opportunities for reflection and review
• Accommodates different learning styles
• Socialises the learning and the learner
• Develops lifelong learning skills information
  explosion
• Inter-professional and interdisciplinary learning
• Promotes the links between teaching, learning and
  research
• Autonomy, employability, and professional body
  requirements

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The scale of the investigation

• Resources provided, small scale investigations,
  may or may not be linked
• Initial discussion, students find information
  from different sources. Need to share outside
  class. Report back week 2
• Middle week(s) for catch up, consolidate,
  review and plan
• Large scale investigation, significantly more
  autonomy, opportunity for in-depth investigation
  (deep learning)

• In-class
• Between classes (1 week)
• 2-3 weeks
• 6-12 weeks or longer

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First Year Computer Science
A whole-year, phased approach
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First year Occupational Therapy

• First year, 10-credit module, first semester
• 3 weeks full time, exclusive
• Students come with little confidence in
  Blackboard
• See it mostly as a repository for information
• Opportunity to involve third year students
• Recap on first-year work
• Provide support for first year students

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General outline of organisation

• 6 groups of students, 8-10 per group
• 3 weeks (short and fat)
• 7 hours formal contact per week
• 1 lecture (1 hour), 2 EBL sessions (2 hours), 1
  workshop (2 hours)
• Students are presented with a client referral
• One of 3
• E.g. dementia of alzheimers type 2 years ago
• Fire in flat, unkempt and malnourished
• ?progression of dementia?
• assess function and future care needs
• Provide programme of structured activity to
  increase socialisation
• Year three volunteer students role play (carer,
  warden, client)
• Academic staff role play Multi-Disciplinary Team
  (MDT)

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The scheme
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• Consolidation
• Discussion board on blackboard
• 3 strands
• MDT
• Patient
• Group decision-making

• Goldfish bowl
• 2 reps per group
• Consultant in centre
• Rest of group act as supporters/provide
  information during time outs as requested

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A model for engagement
Engagement
Curriculum
Formality
Autonomy
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A model for engagement
Engagement
Curriculum
Formality
Autonomy
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But what is it really like coming into HE?

• Social isolation
• Assessment
• Accommodation, timetable

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What can HE do to help?

• Stop making assumptions that they are spoon-fed
  in FE
• find out where they are on the engagement model
• find out what they know and can do
• find out what motivates them
• help them to understand themselves and their
  learning
• Develop ways of engaging the students
• Socialise their learning
• Student support systems
• Peer support, mentoring, partnerships, study
  support

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And FE?

• How well does FE prepare students for HE?
• Could FE do it better?
• Should they do it better?

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... and how can we work together to bridge the
transition gap?