leading learning & teaching at the program-level · leading learning & teaching at the...
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Leading learning & teaching at the program-level:
Developing practice-informed approaches for continuing
professional learning
Louise Maddock & Samantha Carruthers Senior Consultants,
Centre for Learning Futures
Leading learning & teaching at the program-level:
Developing practice-informed approaches for continuing professional learning
* Sharing our practice: • Our PL approaches• Links to practice theory• Case Studies• Challenges
* Inviting your insights
How do we enable practice-informed
continuing professional learning
for academics leading degree-program
learning and teaching?
Program leadership with
purpose – student
learning and community
benefit (praxis-oriented).
Developing program
leadership not just
program leaders.
Program leadership
influencing
transformation of
practices.
Program Leadership-for-learning professional learning ecology
Deepening understanding
of role and context
Reflecting, theorising, practising,
sharing
Co-facilitating action learning & research in
practice
Facilitating action learning & research in
practice
Ongoing enhancement of program-
level practices
Role orientation; goals for L&T
learning; context analysis; collegial
conversations
Program Leadership experiential
workshops; Online modules; Program Leaders’ Network
Collaborative action learning cycles in
practice site;Communities of
practice
Collaborative action research in practice;
advocating; enabling; innovating; influencing
Readiness zone Transformation zone
• Re-conceptualising academic work as professional practice and
learning as a social process occurring within a context of practice
(Boud & Brew, 2013)
• Re-orientation to educational praxis … educational action that is
morally committed and informed by traditions in a field (right
conduct’) and as history-making educational action
(Kemmis & Smith, 2008)
The ‘practice turn’ shaping professional practice
Practice-informed leading
New conceptualisation of leadership …
▪ Leadership as leading practices - sayings, doings, relatings
▪ Leading practices are site-specific
▪ Leading practices shape and are shaped by practice architectures
▪ Leading practices (not participants) are related to other practices in the site
▪ Leading practices for education development
(Kemmis, Wilkinson, Edwards-Groves, Hardy, Grootenboer & Bristol, 2014).
(Adapted from Kemmis, Wilkinson, Edwards-Groves, Hardy, Grootenboer & Bristol, 2014).
L&T research & scholarship
practices
Professional learning practices
Leading practices
University teaching practices
Student learning practices
Practices work together to create conditions for transforming higher education.
Leading as a practice-changing practice
Program Leadership-for-learning professional learning ecology
Deepening understanding
of role and context
Reflecting, theorising, practising,
sharing
Co-facilitating action learning & research in
practice
Facilitating action learning & research in
practice
Ongoing enhancement of program-
level practices
• Participatory reflecting, planning, acting, observing …
• Praxis-oriented & site-based
• Opening communicative spaces emphasising shared
responsibility for enhancing learning & teaching in the program
• Facilitates professional learning communities
• Education development focus
Case Studies: Developing practice-informed participatory action research approaches
Using participatory action research to
facilitate program team conversations
about learning & teaching.
Program-level & course-level action
learning teams.
Case Study 1: Program-led course enhancement
Case Study 1: Program-led course enhancement
• Program-level thinking.
• Shared responsibility for learning.
• Working collegially.
Action research team Practices & Practice Architectures
The Individual
& ThePractice
The Social, the world we
share
(Kemmis, Wilkinson, Edwards-Groves, Hardy, Grootenboer & Bristol, 2014). Changing practices & practice architectures → Transforming education
Characteristic ‘Sayings’ Reconceptualising leading to
promote shared responsibility; action learning;
Semantic space in the
medium of language
Cultural-discursive arrangements
Guiding principles; shared scholarly literature; program data
and/or information
Characteristic ‘doings’Using program team meetings
as sites for sharing responsibility for exploring active learning
pedagogies
Physical space-time
in the medium of
activity
Material-economic arrangements
Program meetings as professional learning spaces;
inclusive scheduling & locations
Characteristic 'relatings’Rebalancing hierarchy
(positional authority) towards collegiality
(shared responsibility)
Social space in the
medium of power
Social-political arrangementsProgram meetings for shared learning & reflection’; shared facilitation; reflexive dialogic
approaches encouraged
Case Study 2: Connecting through feedback Colleagues collaborating in ongoing scholarly teaching
cycles leading to a change in department culture
• Working collegially
• Breaking down course centric thinking
• Sharing ideas
• Creating synergies
• Valuing colleagues
• Building relationships
• Building trust
• Supporting each other
• Reducing isolation
Opmantic Awards Night Nov 2014
Case Study: Connecting Through Feedback Cycle
7.
Colleagues share what
worked/didn’t
Oct 2 - Mid sem
8.
Plan what to do next
5.
Teach
Weeks 4 - 9
6.
Reflect on what you have
implemented
3.
Analyse data with
Colleagues
Week 5 or 6
4.
Inform Students of your plan
Week 7
1.
Teach
Weeks 1-4
2.
Collect feedback from
Students
Week 4
Scholarly Teaching Cycle 1.
Cycle 2.
3.
Program level innovation
• Locating continuing professional learning in academic practices
rather than individual development – learning as a social process
occurring with the context of practice
• Adopting a practice perspective to support the continuing
professional learning of academics – academic development as a
model of developing practice
Challenges & breakthroughs
How do we enable practice-informed
continuing professional learning
for academics leading degree-program
learning and teaching?
