Psychology Tutor: Mentor (PSI) Psycho-Social Incarnation

For Theme 3 in the subject Exploring Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Contexts, online at USQ, I am asked to reflect on my interpretation of 3 concepts and how they link to my beliefs about educator and learner roles; learner-centred; learner centredness and learning-centred. Ah, semantics! Yes the distinctions are important and I will elaborate below…

Mood

Majik! ~ bringing things into being, cerebaly and physically

..

Reflections Before Readings

Learner-centred would be curriculum design, delivery, practice and assessment that takes the learner’s point of view; how to peak their interest via relevance to their goals of the course; how to engage the learner again aiming for relevance, though also of personal life, and of course an element of fun; practice that enables practical application and times for reflection so can identify own strengths and weaknesses and plan to work with these; and flexible assessment that focuses on learning, not the passing of exams.

Learner-centredness sounds to me like a state of being I as a learner would like to be in~  being in-the-zone during an activity, motivated and engaged in learning with a sense of discovery and feeling that the material is personal and relevant to me. Being centred as a learner means being in harmony with myself, having a sense of balance so that even when things get confusing and skewed, I know all is going to be alright if I just keep going if I apply the theories I have learnt to my new learning experiences.

Learning-centred I am thinking is curriculum, delivery etc that is focused on learning, actual learning not memorization of stuff to get points on an exam. Learning as in engagement with the material, application in a practical and relevant manner, in a reflective way where at a personal level progress in understanding can be seen by the learner.

• Traditional teaching styles see students as passive
• Teacher is the active “provider” of information
• Inadequate model for 21st century needs of learners
• Characteristics of learners; learning context; work organisational environment
• Learner not teacher is central
• Learning not transmitting is critical
• Requires a change in thinking for some educators and learners

The above all make sense to me and are key reasons that I am passionate about education, being an educator and a learner. I have had my share of tertiary educators that want to be “the teacher” and learning was certainly not the focus. As an online tutor:mentor I see a similar patter of transmission model remaining in tertiary environments for many many learners. I also see a continuing pattern of some students remaining passive, waiting “to be told how and what to think”. In the discipline of psychology (as just one example) and for progress as a global community, it is essential that educators and learners re-think their roles.

Learning Activity 3.1

Explore the work requirements of graduates of your discipline area. Can you locate job advertisements that graduates from your area/discipline might apply for? What are employers looking for in graduates from your work/discipline area? How does this impact upon the way you might work with future graduates? Share your thoughts with your group peers under the relevant topic in the discussion area.

Remember too, that Online degree programs can launch your career quickly.

Here is my comment on the Forum blog for this topic:

As a graduate in psychology one is expected to be able to engage in critical argument. It frustrates me when I speak to postgrads, who are TAs and they say, “Does there have to be an argument?”

This tells me that the concept of “argument” in the academic context is not being understood, let alone applied, by the occasional TA whose job is to grade undergrads on their critical argument.

Arup Graduate Development Program

Company: Arup
Location(s): NSW, QLD, SA, VIC
Job Type: Graduate
Discipline(s): Engineering, Science, Environmental
Closes: no closing date

Job Description:

As a Graduate, you will aim to develop key knowledge and skills that will allow you to provide a high quality of consultant services. This may take the form of undertaking relevant modelling, analytical research, and design work within your relevant business area. There will be a structured career plan and development program to assist you in attaining the desired level of knowledge and skills.

Requirements

Key Skills:

• Problem Solving / analytical skills
• Good communication skills
• Ability to interpret and carry out instructions
• Ability to use basic theoretical knowledge of core principles relating to your discipline to analyse and interpret information

Key Experience:

• Degree in relevant subject
• Relevant professional work experience

Yes~ I would want to assess their critical thinking and critical argument skills~ starting with definitions, and then facilitate the ongoing professional development of these.

Return to Theme 3 Reading

• Learner-centred environment emphasises students learning from each other, and becoming better at this
• Active involvement in their own learning and taking responsibility for this
• Educator is facilitator and “provocateur”
• Learner is the “primary agent in the learning process” (King, 2003, p. 85)
• Educator is the “guide on the side”
• Partner to talk to; who seeks out conflicting arguments rather than handing out ready-made truths” (Faure, 1972, pp. 77-78).

Ok, so my definition of learner-centred needs to be more inclusive of peers helping each other to learn and in becoming proficient in this skill, and to be more explicit about the the facilitator role of the educator, and how this is a role that takes place on the side lines, not centre stage.

• Andragogy (adults specifically) being replaced by Pedagogy (art and science of learning)
• Personal involvement in planning and evaluation; learner experience is important; relevance to personal life is critical; content as process not a product is essential
• Constructivist theory is very apt in the adult learning field
• Learner constructing meaning through experience
• Contextualised learning (Sandlin, 2000)

I didn’t know that once pedagogy for adults was separate to that of children of youth, it makes sense I think to sometimes separate it just to keep things specific in communication. However, I also see the sense in unifying the approach to the science and art of learning. Me loves constructivist theory and it is clear that having a learning environment and curriculum that makes new knowledge relevant and meaningful to learners will enhance their participation and engagement with the information, and thus active application of it as well.

Reading Activity 3.1

Locate other sources that discuss the principles of adult learning. Try using the Internet search engine Google (or another preferred search engine) and see what you can find about adult learning principles.

In your peer group, compile a concise list of adult learning principles that are generic enough to be used in diverse discipline contexts. How might you apply each of the principles of adult learning in your own practice of learning and teaching?

A reading I chose to contribute to my USQ peer group digital artifact (table in discussion forum) is:

Yannacci, Roberts, & Ganju (2006). Principles from adult learning theory, evidence-based teaching, and visual marketing: What are the implications for toolkit development? Center for Mental Health Quality and Accountability, NRI, Inc.

1. Audience must be engaged by understanding how learning the new material will be beneficial……………………….I I think that the learners could be involved in group projects to interview each other about why they are taking the course, and how it will be relevant to their lives and careers. Then the groups could choose a period in the history of the topic each and create a presentation for the other groups.
   
2. Establishing learning objectives first, then outlining content to achieve those learning objectives……………..This This would work best as a collaborative discussion at the beginning of the course though after the groupwork in Activity 1. As now students would have a much better idea of theirs and others motivations and be more aware of what has motivated others in their field in the past. Also they would now after the history project have a better understanding of what skills, competencies and knowledge are critical for their discipline in the real world.
   
3. Utilizing the limited, but evidence-based, teaching principles to facilitate the learning……………………….  Students could add to the body of empirical knowledge through the collection of their own data of what teaching principles facilitate their learning during the semester and have this as a piece of assessment at the end of semester, included in a reflective writing piece so that they can be more aware of their own learning development and relevance to their own experiences.
   

Learning activity 3.2

What implications do these graduate qualities have for the work that you do as an educator in a higher education context?

1. Discipline expertise: This one seems obvious as I will be expecting students to develop such a skill, thus I myself will need to be able to model how to be an expert within my discipline. Hosting an education blog that has psychology as its hub is one way in which I seek to develop my expertise, as too is my work as an on and offline tutor:mentor, life coach, academic writer, research designer and research assistant.

2. Professionalism: A critical area in psychology as one must be able to be objective without losing one’s humanity and empathy for another. As an educator there is only so much personal information I can exchange with learners, and vice versa. I have had practice in academia in not letting personal feelings about a student interfere with their right to learn, can’t say I experienced the same courtesy many times ~:-) Being organised is important and negotiating contracts as well as conflicts are other areas in my field where professionalism is important.

3. Global Citizenship: This is a key area in my practice, as online I am in contact with students from across the globe. Also, Australia is a multicultural nation and welcomes many international students to its shores. As I am a firm believer in equality of access and outcomes it is a core belief of mine that students need to be aware and to cultivate discipline-based theory and practice to the global village in which they will work.

4. Scholarship: One of my favorite graduate attributes, making an active contribution to the wider community as well as my discipline, and encouraging other learners to do so to. As a science it is critical for psychologists to be aware of the importance of sharing their skills, knowledge and competencies, for in this way the science will develop and build and bounce in creative and innovative ways.

5. Lifelong learning: Another favorite! Continuous ongoing learning and professional development to keep up to date with theories, models and methods and to identify gaps in understanding that can be contributed to through expertise, professionalism, global citizenship and scholarship.

Well, I’ve been going for hours and now I need to transfer some of this knowledge over to my next assessment. So the final reflection will have to wait until I complete this reading. Anticipation!

What are your definitions of “learner-centered”, “learner centredness” and “learning-centred”? What are some key adult learning principles and activities that you think are important? How do you see graduate attributes as applicable to your field? Comment below~