Transformational Learning at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh

Carolyn RobertsUniversity of GloucestershireJune 2009

Change is exciting

It allows people to be creative and to innovateIt’s enjoyableAnd the journey has already begun

But the road can feel a little dangerous!

‘Driving in the Yemen’

Why do we need to change?

Today we need graduates who can tackle global challenges such as poverty, climate change, sea level rise, sustainabilityWe need problem solversWe need life long learners We need innovaters – ‘innovate or die’And our students are now different – ‘digital natives’ – unlike we ‘digital migrants’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO8x8eoU3L4

And ULAB needs external recognition

The external world is highly competitive, and ULAB needs to signal its uniqueness and capabilityYou have a message worth saying, and you need to say it loudly, to those people who need to hear it

Transformation is………

For your studentsFor youFor ULAB For Bangladesh

Students say‘…I had no…awareness of my own ability, so when you get an inspiring teacher that has faith in you, or helps you understand a topic then, you know, it’s amazing.’

‘You get excited…it makes you want to know, say, if it’s about a particular topic, then you want to go and know more about it, you want to find more…and that way you end up learning more.’

A clear sense of direction is crucial

But you already have that…in ULAB’s Mission and Vision, on YouTube

External Environment

The University

Foresight

Insight

Hindsight

•Pedagogical drivers

•Technological choices

•Business case

Based on a diagram by Gilly Salmon, University of Leicester

The external environment is challenging to change, so work with hindsight about past trends, insight into ULAB’s current strengths and weaknesses, and foresight about the future

A cautionary note - Tim Bernars Lee’s WWW is only 16 years old, but has transformed learning. 20 years ago it was not foreseen.

Pedagogical drivers for transformation

Active, inquiry-based styles of learning involving projects, reports, ‘hands on’ classes and reflection are more engaging, effective, and enjoyableStudents need to be ready for the workplace or community/civic lifeStudents increasingly expect learning to be personalisedA vision to promote education for sustainable development as a core value (and how do we teach ‘values?’)

Students say

…if a teacher inspires you in a subject then you are going to pay a lot more attention, feel that drive to get involved…’

Both sets of quotes from work by Ronald Bennett, 2009

Brief activity on active learning

Example used with Gloucestershire students and staff, in induction week

You’ll need a handout, a pencil, and ten minutes or so!

"Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience"

Kolb (1984, 38)

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory

Concrete Experience (CE)DO

Reflective Observation (RO) REFLECT

Active Experimentation (AE) PLAN

Abstract Conceptualisation (AC)THINK

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory

Concrete

Abstract

X

X

X

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory

Active ReflectiveX X X

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory

Accommodators Divergers

Convergers Assimilators

CE

AE RO

AC

• Divergers - view situations from many perspectives and rely heavily upon mind storming and generation of ideas

• Assimilators - use inductive reasoning and have the ability to create theoretical models

• Convergers - rely heavily on hypothetical-deductive reasoning

• Accommodators - carry out plans and experiments and adapt to immediate circumstances

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory

Examples of Disciplinary Groupings (after Kolb 1984)

AccommodatorsLawEducationPsychology

DivergersEnglishHistoryNursing

ConvergersEcologyEngineeringBusiness

AssimilatorsChemistryGeographyPhysics

CE

AE RO

AC

Technological choices for transformationChoose from the technology available now to you and your digital native students Do you use the audio, video, Youtube and the WWW effectively? (YES!)

Have you thought about using mobile phones, MPG players, PDAs, all of which allow learning ‘on the move’? Mobile phones are robust, cheap, ubiquitous…and can open doors to education

The business case for transformation

To attract studentsTo retain students in the face of competing pressures on their timeTo promote ULABTo assist Bangladesh plc

Evaluate transformation against

Your learners’ expectations – what do they say they want and need? The evidence of change that you collect, including qualitative data such as records of students talking to camera, student writings and so on

This can be a powerful message

Turn innovation into normality!

‘Be the change you want to see in the world’

Mahatma Ghandi

How can we transform ourselves?

Some form of alliance is usefulSharing good practice allows innovation to become the normSharing allows a powerful message to be developed

Telling ULAB’s story so far will

DemonstrateCelebrateDevelopPromoteShareRewardTransform……

External Environment

The University

Foresight

Insight

Hindsight

•Pedagogical drivers

•Technological choices

•Business case

Pedagogy, Publishing and Personal Development

PedagogyPersonal

Development

‘<Add your phrase here*>: Transformational Learning at ULAB’

A ULAB book and/or webpages25 to 30 individual case studies about pedagogic drivers, active learning, education for sustainability, technological choices and learning, ULAB’s history and philosophyStaff and student authorsPreface from a Bangladeshi public figure?Produced very rapidly, with support

* ‘Hearts and Minds’; ‘Working Together’; ‘Redefining the Future’ etc

Being a University teacher‘to me, teaching is engaging with young people

who are visionaries and dreamers in vibrant spaces that resonate with the collective energies of intellectuals…Teaching is a passion and a commitment that is a constant joy in my life…The value that I place on my teaching and research contributes to the passion I bring to teaching and ultimately to the successful learning by students.’

Quote from research by Ronald Bennett, 2009