Graduateness Geeks Gastronomy Gliding Gompertz via metacognition Brian
Graduateness: Geeks, Gastronomy, Gliding & Gompertz via metacognition Brian Whalley Sheffield University b. whalley@sheffield. ac. uk @brianwhalley Ped. RIO, Plymouth University, 20 April 2018
Graduateness I want to start to explore this as part of my ‘Ecology of Higher Education’ analysis in the light of some recent statements in the press and books and discuss them in relation to some lessons learned from: Geeks, Gastronomy, Gliding and Gompertz What you think about some of these ideas and possible remedies (if not solutions) is important. And lead to something which, if revolutionary now …. .
An Introduction to ……. But first of all, please introduce yourself to your neighbours And come up with (by each table) a snappy ‘definition’ * of “graduateness” (indeed, it is useful? ) *And to throw in a quick bit of philosophy by Stephen Toulmin: ‘Definitions are like belts, the shorter they are the more elastic they need to be’
Back to introductions …. . Our hens have a pecking order but also have quite different personalities So why do ‘we’ tend to treat students in the same manner? Victorian Educational System (VES): ‘Pile ‘em in deep, lecture ‘em long, examine ‘em hard’ and this is just part of HE’s ‘Supercomplexity’ But it is not a ‘wicked problem’
All very weird, yet it all makes sense. Employers can't afford to give every applicant a chance. They need roughand-ready ways to decide whom to interview and whom to hire. In our society, academics are the focal metric. It's intrinsically appealing, since academic success calls for a blend of brains, toil, and submission. And over time, this intrinsic appeal has fed on itself. Education is now the way the adult world measures the promise of youth. Scholastic failure doesn't merely reveal a lack of talent and drive; it signals deviance. Kids willing to quit school despite this stigma are deviant indeed-and employers shun them accordingly. From Conclusions, p 288
Degrees …. are like belts, the shorter they are…. . One of the UK’s biggest graduate recruiters is to remove degree classification from the entry criteria for its hiring programmes, having found “no evidence” that success at university was correlated with achievement in professional qualifications. Accountancy firm Ernst and Young, known as EY, will no longer require students to have a 2: 1 degree and the equivalent of three B grades at A level to be considered for its graduate programmes. Back to Graduateness …. . ?
Grade inflation BBC 21 Jan 2014 University Grade inflation disputed Sean Coughlan The rise in university degree grades - in which 70% achieved higher than a 2: 2 last year - is not caused by grade inflation, claim researchers. (The rise reflects "better prepared" students with better A-level results, says a study from Lancaster University. ) 12 January 2017 • 5: 55 pm Telegraph Education Harry Yorke, Online Education Editor University grade inflation warning as number of students obtaining first class degrees triples in less than two decades Independent Wednesday 19 July 2017 23: 03 BST Number of first class university degrees soars amid grade inflation warning. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), told PA: “Some rise is not unreasonable, given that schools have got better and some universities have increased their entry tariffs so they're getting better quality students. ” …. greater focus on university league tables may also be a cause for institutions awarding students higher grades in a bid to prevent the university moving down the rankings. Mr Hillman suggested the system in which external examiners are recruited from other institutions could be open to abuse. There are people who think the system isn't as robust as it might be. It can all be a bit cosy - you ask someone you know to be an external examiner. ” In addition, many universities mark students’ work themselves.
Grade inflation? Maybe students are just working harder …. . that universities are dishonestly manipulating student grades is both lazy and ill-informed Martin Hall Wed 22 Jan 2014 Vice-chancellor of the University of Salford Back in the day, assessment took the form of an endurance race through five successive days of written papers and no-one would ever get more than 80%. It was never clear what was actually being assessed, other than the ability to remember a huge amount and write almost continually for five days. In addition, assessment has become a lot more sophisticated, and appropriately so. There needs to be a sensible balance between formative assessment (coursework) and summative assessment (final examinations). ? Students today are not at university to be "filled up" with knowledge. Rather, they want the opportunity to develop advanced analytical techniques to make sense of an increasingly complex world, awash with information. This requires experiential learning, melding theory and principles with applications, and this in turn leads to a blend of assessment methods that measure students' abilities more closely. So golden age comparisons are setting very different worlds of learning against each other, as if they are comparable.
What is needed? We are probably nearing the point where traditional degree classifications will be abandoned. We should rather look for reliable, secure and trusted ways of providing our students with comprehensive transcripts of everything they have done at university. Because employers increasingly demand all this additional information in any case, we need to find ways of providing them with the best possible means of expressing a graduate's full range of capabilities, work and attainment while at university. This would be fairer to our students, more useful to employers and better than an arcane system of degree classification that is outliving its usefulness. Martin Hall 2014 So, do you think there is a problem of grade inflation? If so, what might we do about it?
from Stamp, E. et al. 2015 University of Lincoln The relationship between mental toughness and psychological wellbeing in undergraduate university students
Is this problem of ‘mental stress’ common?
Kathy Sierra headrush. typepad. com/creating_passionate_users/2006/11/why_does_engine. html
Empirical Education Michael Feldstein, e-Literate, April 2018 & https: //youtu. be/-h 5 -OB 4 Wvw. Q Intuitively empirical: Paying attention to students and do something differently with them based on what you observe. Do you have a bag of tricks that you can draw from when you see students struggle? Strategies based on what they see, guided by a rationale for choosing which strategy to employ in different circumstances. Mindfully empirical: think about how they can get the maximum amount of useful diagnostic information from day-to-day course work. Design courses with a goal of creating many feedback loops that enable them to adjust their teaching to the needs of the students. Meta-cognitively empirical: are empirical not only about how they use their existing bag of tricks but also about which tricks they should have and how effective those tricks really are. They consciously and regularly test their own assumptions about effective teaching, and they are open to trying new approaches. (Lots of educators are intuitively empirical, and the transition from there to mindfully empirical is not a huge leap. Getting them to test and challenge their deeply held beliefs about what constitutes effective teaching is a lot harder. ) Socially empirical: view effective teaching not as an individual art but as a shared pool of knowledge and experience that everyone can learn from and contribute to. They seek out common vocabulary, methods, and standards of proof so that they can learn with their colleagues and raise the collective bar.
Geeks are you a Geek? enthusiasts, perhaps obsessed with a hobby or pursuit. Students may be geeks about things that could be brought into their education and lead towards graduateness. Can we, or should we, make students geeks for their subjects? Do you think this is reasonable? Have you any examples? Any general principles that might be useful to share? Ideas from single cases more generally applied?
Gastronomy (cooking) Examples from Potter (2010), 'Bake off' and 'Masterchef' show we can improve learning, feedback and mathematics in students' interests and studies. Tempering chocolate – the geek way
Geeky Gastronomy (cooking) Manage expectations and perceptions Use quality ingredients Create harmony and balance Practice food safety Eat whole foods Measure temperatures not time Add flavour and aroma with browning reactions Pay attention to the details when baking Experiment!
Student ‘problems’ and ‘pressures’ Boosting IQ - The genius within, David Adam New Scientist 17 March 2018 Mental health: a university crisis It's time for universities to put student mental health first Guardian Higher Education Network, Thu 7 Sep 2017 Pok Wong, from Hong Kong, was suing Anglia Ruskin University for providing her with a “Mickey Mouse” education. Her degree in international business strategy management had not helped “secure a rewarding job with prospects”. “I hope that bringing this case will set a precedent so that students can get value for money, ”
Drugs & Degrees Sports & Students ollege Students Abuse 'Smart Drugs' To Improve Concentration, G Medical Daily, Nov 14, 2013 Using Study Drugs To Get Better Grades: Why You Should Think Twice Her Campus, May 16, 2016 he use of such 'smart drugs' can carry serious side effects - and if Independent, Dec 7, 2015 also on BBC R 4 March 2018
Exams, are they at the root of the problem? http: //www. debate. org/opinions/are-exams-necessary-for-students Marks, remarks and feedback. Do we really need examinations? Whalley, Planet, 2010, 23/1 Conclusion and some suggestions Directed feedback remarks or comments and numerical marks are necessary for constructive feedback and assessment. For Level 1 students, whose knowledge of academics’ requirements for successful assignments is often poor to non-existent, academics should be cognisant of these issues in setting tasks and should aim to clearly show students the thinking behind the tasks and their accompanying assessments. It is imperative that good feedback comments are provided for as many stages as possible in the assessment process. Overall, the provision of marks and feedback remarks with the aim of increasing attainment is at least as important in module design as it is in the teaching.
Gliding New skills – and metacognitive learning Competences Progressive card system Emergencies ‘If you don’t practice doing it right when it doesn’t matter then, sure as death and taxes, you wont get it right when it does’
Winch Launches 0 – 60 knt 3 seconds 1 – 1500 feet, 30 seconds Derbyshire & Lancashire Gliding Club, Camphill The glider’s trajectory is not a straight line
Height Gain/time Mark attainment/time Degree classes Competencies A winch launch is something like this curve Assessment and Criterion Referencing - informing students Whalley, 2015 , Evaluating student assessments: the use of optimal foraging theory, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 41/2
Marks Degree classes Competencies What are your views?
Gompertz Curves Optimal Foraging Theory and Marginal Value Theorem How might we use Tt - ‘settling’ or ‘lead-in’ time cognitively ?
Using the settling time to help individuals cognitively to reduce stress and panic generally to help students with Sp. LDs Viewing all the questions (before writing), in advance (making good choices) Giving a period of time (say 5 minutes) before writing (especially for Sp. LD, not just ‘extra time’) Allowing students to make notes before ‘answering’ Time to produce Concept Maps … endurance race through … written papers and no-one would ever get more than 80%. It was never clear what was actually being assessed, other than the ability to remember a huge amount and write almost continually.
where evaluation is based on after action reviews but to determine rewards but to continually enhance performance. Imagine an environment where learning happens on a continuous basis because the participants are internally motivated to find, share and filter new information on a near constant basis. (Thomas and Seely-Brown 2011 A New Culture of Learning)
Reasons to be cheerful? ‘If teaching was as simple as telling we’d all be a lot smarter than we are. ’ (Mark Twain) ‘In Carol Dweck’s terms, it takes an incrementalist approach to learning which emphasises effort and improving competence. This contrasts with an entity approach, which attributes learning to ability and is focused on proving competence through grades and comparisons. Gordon Stewart, Testing Times (2008)
The ‘we assess too much’ paradox Heard very often! Even seen in a JISC document! (I suspect the reason is that, ’I’m bored spending hours marking scripts from a 3 hour exam and endless essays - I need time to get on with my research. ’) Why is this a paradox? Because Chickering & Gamson suggest: No feedback can occur without assessment. But assessment without timely feedback contributes little to learning. The ‘Capabilities Envelope’ suggests that there might be 5 such tasks with assessment and an exam. Six pieces of assessment, shock horror. But C & G again: Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use one’s time well is critical for students and professionals alike. Students need help in learning effective time management. * A bit of imagination and reading is required, e. g: Falchikov, Improving Assessment through Student Involvement Boud and Falchikov, Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education Bloxham and Boyd, Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education
New Zealand Degrees Maybe a sound 2 year foundation assessed on capabilities? A Bachelor's Degree (360 credits) Provides individuals with a systematic and coherent introduction to a body of knowledge of a recognised major subject[s] as well as to problem-solving and associated basic techniques of selfdirected work and learning. Students are able to: • demonstrate intellectual independence, critical thinking and analytic rigour • engage in self-directed learning • demonstrate knowledge and skills related to the ideas, principles, concepts, chief research methods and problem-solving techniques of a recognised major subject • demonstrate the skills needed to acquire, understand assess information from a range of sources • demonstrate communication and collaborative skills. Bachelor Honours Degree (480 credit; recognises distinguished study at Level 8. ) Students are able to: • demonstrate intellectual independence, analytic rigour, and the ability to understand evaluate new knowledge and ideas • engage in self-directed learning and advanced study • demonstrate the ability to identify topics for original research, plan and conduct research, analyse results, and communicate the findings to the satisfaction of subject experts.
What the best college teachers do (Ken Bain, Harvard UP 2004) What big questions will my course help students answer? What reasoning abilities must students have/develop? What mental models are students likely to bring with them? What information will my students need to understand? How can I help students have difficulty understanding questions? How will I confront my students with conflicting problems? How will I find out what they know already? How will I help students learn to learn? . . . .
Metacognition ‘Learning (how to) to learn’ (now in a school near you! Education Endowment Foundation, March 2018 1. Teaching approaches which encourage learners to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning have very high potential, 2. Have you taught pupils explicit strategies on how to plan, monitor and evaluate specific aspects of their learning? Have you given them opportunities to use them with support and then independently? 3. Teaching how to plan: Have you asked pupils to identify the different ways that they could plan (general strategies) and then how best to approach a particular task (specific technique)? 4. Teaching how to monitor: Have you asked pupils to consider where the task might go wrong? Have you asked the pupils to identify the key steps for keeping the task on track? 5. Teaching how to evaluate: Have you asked pupils to consider how they would improve their approach to the task if they completed it again? Education Endowment Foundation metacognition and self-regulation. March 2018 from Douglas Wise’s Educational Readers Digest
Possible ways out - using metacognition (and some surgery) 1. Using Gompertz curves and lead in time 2. Using Competence-based learning 3. (Re)turn to an ‘ordinary’ undergraduate degree
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