Personal Blogs

My new PDP Analyses.

Source:
H851 Practice Guide 7, Reviewing and Improving your Teaching, The Open University, 1998, p.31.
Adapted with Technology-related skills and competencies for e-learning professionals by Robin Mason (October 2009)
Adapted with CMALT Core Competences and the LSN Framework of E-learning Competences(November 2009)

My CMALT/PDP core competences can be found here.

Thanks, Eugene

My description of a Learning Technologist can be found here.

 

Thanks Eugene

Warrior wants to make a distinction between the word profession and professional. In my opinion, before reading the paper, a professional is the one who executes a profession.

Let’s see where this paper takes me.

 

Perkin (1985) endorses Sockets (1985) definition that the word professional defines: a dignified occupation with an element of intellectual training or large mental expertise.
Hoyle (1985) concurs, but mentions the fact that each professional will have distinctive characteristics that distinguish their occupation from another.

Warrior continues and mentions the fact that the organizational context of the word profession is important: as it is distinctively different from the individualised context of

being a professional

 

The 6 common traits to a profession by Millerson:
1. A skill based on theoretical knowledge

2. Intellectual training and education

3. The testing of competence

4. Closure of the profession by restrictive organisation

5. A code of conduct

6. An altruistic service in the affairs of others.”

(Millerson, 1964 cited in Perkin, 1985:14)

The Lindop Claims of being a professional:

1. Exclusivity

2. To do something special for society

3. Profess to certain socially useful skills and competencies

4. Practise according to standards that are publicly acknowledged

5. Enjoy privilege and responsibility in the offering of a service to

the public

6. Exercise personal judgement

7. Protect the public by guaranteeing certain minimum standards

of competence

8. Conduct and merit recognition by way of payment and status.”

(Lindop, 1982:157)

 

Those two terms might have overlap. Furthermore the duality of the terms highlights the clear link between the intrinsic responsibilities of individual members of a profession to one another, as well as the extrinsic responsibility of the profession to the public (Lindop, 1982).

 

 

 

The Teaching Profession
Education is a service and Perkin (1985) suggests that: “a service which combines knowledge with practice.” The client demands not only theoretical knowledge but also procedural skills. Professions do not exist without clients, so students are an important component in the teaching profession. This provides further evidence of how education is contextualised as a profession.

Warrior quotes Perkin (1985) and argues that professions require organization. Universities and other institutions are in general well structured: a competent staff, career development, teaching content. However, Brown et al. (2002) suggests that some institutions lack structure or organization. The diversity in the profession of teaching is often acknowledged, e.g. difference between primary, secondary and university, differences between union bodies, differences in the use of resources.
Furthermore, the profession is limited by its ability to accept and acknowledge the various ways individuals enter the profession. In a primary or secondary school qualified teacher status is an essential requirement, whereas in higher education there is an expectation that lecturers have a specialist level of knowledge, but not necessarily a detailed understanding of the theories and practice of teaching. In the latter, experience alone has been deemed a suitable criterion upon which to teach. Do these different ways of ‘qualifying’ and entering teaching constitute professional practice?

This section has thus tried to summarise some of the pertinent issues relating to the differences between the teaching profession and what it constitutes to be a professional teacher. In essence, the societal values associated with the commonalties of the profession, compared to the personal values and working practices that an individual brings to the job.

 

Quality
Carr (1989) argues that without quality the essence of professionalism is lost.
QAA (2001): “The first is the appropriateness of standards set by an institution and second is the effectiveness of teaching and learning support in providing opportunities for students to achieve those standards.”
=> OFSTED (benchmarking, self-assessment documents and performance indicators)

However, it would appear that the essence of what quality means is perhaps being diluted though imposing such rigid and bureaucratic frameworks (Floud, 2001). It is simply not possible to identify professional, educational values from quantifying and collating materials in module boxes or through aspect groups. Such evidence only provides an ‘instant’ view, fails to show any progression of the individual in terms of their own professional development and proposes that individuals willingly accept institutional values and do not question or modify practices, statutes or legislation as professionals should (Ryan, 2001).

 

The term professional can be easily adopted, but requires a high degree of commitment and time in order to be maintained.

It is therefore important that departments offer the most beneficial type of support in terms of professional staff development, balancing pedagogical and conceptual opportunities: maintaining and developing not only content knowledge but pedagogical skills as well.

 

Another method of professional development is staff appraisal, whereby an individual will discuss

progress with a more experienced colleague and forward plan what they want to achieve within a

certain time scale. Often this will be formalised and recorded in a written format, but kept

confidential. The benefit is that the process should highlight areas of individual weakness and ways

that these can be addressed.

You find my overview of the resources and analysed websites here

Eugene

I have re-read the Creme 2005 paper and was pleasantly surprised about a comment she made at page 291. "The assessment regime had, it seemed, killed off the qualities that the work itself was designed to foster".
I wouldn't argue this comment as I believe that since H808 is assessing our blogs as part of the assessment, I tend to write differently. Does this mean that when assessing learning journals formally, students write differently? Do they write according to the assessment criteria? Does this kill creativity and honesty in learning journals...I tend to believe so!

Please read my comments here.

Thank you!

Eugene

You can read my reflection here

Eugene

We were asked to give our opinion regarding open source software and relate this to the Weller recommendations to the OU.

What is Open Source Software (OSS)? Open Source Software is software that is available for everbody. Everybody can use it and everybody can adapt it to suit their own needs.

Wikipedia gives the following definition: “Open source software (OSS) is computer software for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that meets the Open Source Definition or that is in the public domain. This permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified forms.

In his paper Weller recommends to use the OSPI project OSS for e-portfolio use. “It also allows us to develop a tool which we both understand and can modify so that it meets our needs”.

The last 4 words in the quote are very relevant and very important if you take a critical look at all the other products. Commercial products often seem to be very rigid and inflexible. OSS provides the user to adapt the software so that it meets the needs. For the OU this solution is, in my opinion, a valid one. However, there are some disadvantages as well. Customer Support, for example, is very important when one tries to implement new applications. I guess the OU has the expertise to fiddle around with Moodle, OSPI or other OSS applications, but most of us don’t. if I take a critical look at the OU blog and compare this with a World Press blog for example then my choice would be very easy. The WP Blog looks fancier than the OU Blog and has much more features. Adding widgets, integrate it with your own website for example is something that I really value. The same goes for My Suff and Mahara or PebblePad. These commercial products don't just look nicer and fancier but do the job as well. Again, using open software and adapting this to match the needs of a institution is a big advantage, but somehow I'm still not convinced and wouldn't just choose for OSPI,Moodle or ELGG on basis of cost analysis or adaptibilty.

Cheers Eugene

Previous Postings Unit 3:

Google Apps and e-Portfolio

3.1: Understanding e-portfolio Software

3.1: Understanding e-Portfolio Software (a review)

3.1: A Reflection

Hi All,

I did some searching on the web about Reflective writing and found a useful document: Reflective Writing: a Basic Introduction
It is written by Martin Hampton: University of Portsmouth.

This might be useful as well. It is from a Language & Learning Online Institute.

Hi All,

Unfortunately I can't the access the specific area of the website anymore. I have looked into the website and read through all the different features. What I like about it is that this University makes an effort in helping the students with reflective writing. In my Blog Post I made a comment about the fact that reflective writing is not something you just do. In my opinion it is something that needs guidance. Well, Penn State University provides this.
They also provide a resources area which, in my opinion, would benefit the students as well. It gives students a clear example of how one reach the targets the Penn State University is telleing them to achieve.

Again, unfortunately I can't access the  Reflective Writing Steps and the Description vs Reflection page anymore. So I can't judge the Penn State on their content. However, reading through all the forum posts it strikes me that certain issues (which are mentioned in the Moon en Creme paper as well) are surfacing as well: how can one write honestly or how can one write with in an upbeat style? These are all skills which, in my opinion, need to be taught or their relevance needs to be debated.
Perhaps cultural issues are at play here as well. I hadn't been taught how to write in an honest, upbeat and sincere tone (as you have probably seen!!)...is this a British way of teaching? Maybe someone can enlighten me here?

Cheers, Eugene

Crème and Moon described the introduction of reflection and reflective learning in higher education.

In the H808 Course Guide, the OU provides us with an explanation about how we are assessed for our first assignment (TMA01). Amongst the criteria that will be used to mark our TMA there are two distinctive types of writing required: essays and reflective commentaries.

In the Moon papers the writer says that in order to have students write reflective commentaries or design reflective activities, we should define the word reflection. Moon (2005) describes it as: “Reflection is a form of mental processing that we use to fulfill a purpose or to achieve some anticipated outcome. It is applied to gain a better understanding of relatively complicated or unstructured ideas and is largely based on the reprocessing of knowledge, understanding and possibly emotions that we already possess.”

Clearly the OU makes a distinction between formal essay writing and reflective commentaries. They define reflective commentaries as, and I quote from the Course Guide: “a style of writing that is commonly associated with diaries, learning logs, blogs and portfolios. Although this style is quite different from the formal essay, on this course we regard it as equally academic because it deals with knowledge that is constructed during the course”.

The last sentence of this quote is quite interesting because in the papers the question was raised about how reflective commentaries or reflective writing can be assessed.
It is obvious that the criteria for assessing formal writing can be clearly formulated, but when one wants to assess reflective writing it becomes more difficult. In her paper Crème gives guidelines as to how one could assess reflective writing.
“How can one assess  what’s in my head?”, is a valid question. Not only should students be taught how to write reflective commentaries, but tutors should be guided in this process as well. In my opinion reflective writing only succeeds if reflective activities are designed (prepared).

Moon makes a valid comment about reflective learning. She describes various theoretical approaches to reflection and in describing the Kolb-cycle, she makes the following comment: “While the cycle does have has value, it may say more about how we manage the learning of others, than about the process of learning per se (ie. it is more about the teaching process).”

In my opinion, this supports the OU’s position of including reflective commentaries in the assessment of formal assignments:”...it deals with knowledge that is constructed during the course”.

Reflective commentaries/activities/learning is thus all about the learning process and how the learner reflects on their own learning and evaluates development.

I also found it interesting to read how Moon explained how reflective learning can support the deeper approach to learning. She describes the following 5 stages of learning:

 

Noticing, Making sense, Making meaning,  Working with meaning and Transformative learning.
The last three stages play a role in the deeper approach of learning (New Ideas are filed carefully and integrated).