David Beards, Senior Policy Officer

1
Promoting Transformational Change in
e-learningQE seminar, 21 April

• David Beards, Senior Policy Officer
• dbeards_at_sfc.ac.uk

2
Key messages

• Its about learning, not technology
• Economies of scale require collaborative
  solutions
• Incremental and transformational change
• Strategic change requires re-engineering of
  institutional processes

3
Current actions

• Maintain the infrastructure SJ5
• Analyse training needs HETNA to run from June
• Develop institutional toolkit (with JISC InfoNet)
• Collaborate with national agencies
• Promote transformational change

4
Transformational change?

• Embedded in mainstream processes
• Core business, not peripheral
• Substitutes for existing practice, not an
  optional extra
• Step change in functionality
• Financially sustainable within institutions own
  budgets

5
Reid Kerr College (with Cardonald College,
Coatbridge College, Dundee College, Glasgow
College of Nautical Studies, COLEG, JISC Regional
Support Centre SW, Langside College)Blend-Ed

• Problems
• learner retention and achievement
• need for more flexible provision
• too much didactic teaching
• expensive for single college to develop materials

6
Approach

• consortium to collaborate in developing
  approaches to course re-design and re-engineering
• introduce a pedagogically sound blended delivery
  model within mainstream provision
• reduce didactic teaching and allow staff to focus
  on learner needs
• test model in four HN courses which are widely
  offered Business, Social Care, Social Science,
  and Administration and IT
• Improve retention by more effective delivery and
  by introducing continuous assessment and feedback
• flexible delivery to meet the needs of learners
  who find it difficult to access traditional
  courses

7
2. Moray College(with Glasgow Metropolitan
College, North Highland College, Inverness
College, Aberdeen College, CITB, Learndirect,
Historic Scotland)e-Construction

• Problems
• industry skills gaps
• class times and location of placements are
  barriers
• providers offer a diverse range of units in
  construction competition and duplication of
  effort
• lack of fit between provision and learner needs

8
Approach

• introduce flexible and resource-based learning
• reduce level of didactic teaching during block
  release
• develop learner autonomy (and increase time for
  staff CPD)
• develop employer mentoring role
• develop materials with CITB approval
• focus on generic high level units such as craft,
  technical and management studies, prioritising
  those which are widely offered
• reduce the diversity of construction units
  currently offered by colleges
• deliver and disseminate through Learndirect
  centres

9
3. Strathclyde University(with Glasgow
Caledonian University and the University of
Glasgow)Re-engineering Assessment practices

• Problems
• current models of assessment increase staff
  workloads, not student learning
• students need to develop their ability to assess
  themselves

10
Approach

• pilot new models of assessment at three
  universities
• (including online testing, simulations, classroom
  communication systems, virtual learning
  environments and e-portfolios)
• focus on large enrolment first year classes
• Departments to identify the scope and scale of
  the target reductions in teacher workload and the
  ways in which quality will be improved
• apply systematic cost-benefit analysis tools to
  assess the effectiveness of the approaches
• evaluate the impact of curriculum redesign on
  organisational structures and processes and staff
  roles.

11
4. Dundee University(with Napier University,
Falkirk College, Interactive University,
SQA)Collaborative e-Learning in the Life
Sciences

• Problems
• learner access, achievement and transition
• Inefficient use of staff resources didactic
  teaching, updating materials and marking
  assessments

12
Approach

• agree core curricula for degree and Higher
  National programmes in life sciences
• develop interactive materials for the core parts
  of each course, along with develop case studies,
  assignments and formative assessments
• focus on SCQF levels 7 and 8
• deploy student-centred learning methods
• reduce didactic contact hours (lectures)
• increase level of supervised tutorials and
  practicals
• academic staff to devote more time to course
  design and the development of materials
• Interactive University (IU) to handle materials
  development and project management

13
5. Napier University (with Lauder College and
Telford College)Transforming and Enhancing the
Student Experience through Pedagogy

• Problems
• learner transition, retention and progression
• lack of fit between provision and learner needs
• high studentstaff ratios
• slow pace of change

14
Approach

• pool expertise to create and implement new
  pedagogic models for the FE and HE sectors
• collaborate in evaluation of new design models
• develop critical mass of new practice in e.g.
  health and computing
• reduce didactic teaching and increase learner
  support
• create communities of practice where
  practitioners from different institutions can
  share experience and approaches
• cascade the expertise within and outside the
  institutions
• produce staff development materials, exemplar
  case studies, learning design tools and models

15
6. University of Paisley(with University of
Abertay Dundee, Angus College, Ayr College, Bell
College, Dumfries and Galloway College,
Glenrothes College, Fife College, James Watt
College, Motherwell College, Queen Margaret
University College)Individualised Support for
Learning through e-Portfolios

• Problems
• learner progression, retention and employability
• Inefficient use of staff resources

16
Approach

• develop a common pedagogical framework for
  personal development planning, using an
  ePortfolio framework
• share expertise and resources in learning support
• automate processes such as diagnostic testing and
  feedback
• increase the level of online interactions
• in HE, personal tutors to spend less time on
  developing threshold skills and more time
  developing graduate level learning
• in FE, guidance tutors to reduce their reliance
  on face to face support

17
David Beardsdbeards_at_sfc.ac.uk0131 313 6520