Forwarded on behalf of Tracy Johnson.
 
________________________________

From: Dr TH Johnson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thu 30/10/2008 14:33
To: Kim Shahabudin
Subject: Re: students, us, and who 'they' are

Dear Kim,

I read your (and John's) message with great interest.  I also take the
approach that I am developing students' academic practices along the same
lines of those used by academics, and I try to make this as transparent as
I can to students.  I have even talked to them about the peer review
process, assuring them we still receive feedback on our own written
efforts, and use it to illustrate the idea of joining in with academic
debate rather than simply absorbing information in a non-critical way.  The
difficulty I find is that for many academics (and this is drawn from
discussions I have had with staff about the teaching of study skills) they
'just know what to do' and find it hard to extrapolate and explain the
skills that they put into practice when thinking, reading and writing.
These skills have become so implicit in curriculum design that I often feel
that it is the role of learning development staff to extrapolate and
articulate these skills with/for students.  This is also where the
frequently aired debate about the merits of generic vs. discipline-specific
academic skills teaching rears it head - I feel strongly that there is a
case for teaching academic skills development from a generic perspective,
and that I work in an area that is something along the lines of 'the
philosophy of academic skills', looking at skills on a meta-level and
asking what we do and how/why it works.  I do, however, recommend to all my
students that they identify two or three changes they wish to make to their
study habits after a workshop and that they make these changes relevant
both to their subject discipline and also to their individual study habits.

Incidentally, I was mortified when a colleague pointed out a couple of
years ago that when I spoke positively to students about academic practice
I used 'we', and 'them' when I talked about practices I perceived as
negative...  I have become much more careful about where I 'position'
myself these days when teaching, but I think this must be a conceptual
dilemma for many staff working in learning support/educational development
who have come to it from a different academic discipline.

Kind regards,
Tracy

----------------------
Dr Tracy Johnson
University of Bristol
Education Support Unit
8-10 Berkeley Square (Room F9/10)
Bristol BS8 1HH
[log in to unmask]
Telephone 0117 331 4220 (x14220)
Fax 0117 331 4206


--On 30 October 2008 14:05 +0000 Kim Shahabudin
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear John and all,
>
> Some really important points here, and a timely reminder to us all of the
> power of discourse.
> I do find that, especially in one-to-ones, it is often a case of horses
> for courses. Sometimes what the student needs relies on building a
> relationship of trust with the adviser that may mean (at least initially)
> separating study advisers from subject academics. Sometimes they need to
> believe that what we are saying stems from a position of academic
> authority that is equal to their tutors, which may mean making ourselves
> distinct from the student body.
> What I try to work towards (though it may not be appropriate to start
> with) is to show the student that what they are doing in their reading,
> writing, listening, thinking, being critical etc practices is essentially
> the same as the practices of the academics who are responsible for
> teaching and assessing them, albeit that they may be working from a
> position of greater experience and subject knowledge: that 'learner' and
> 'academic' are in some sense co-valent terms. I believe very strongly
> that we cannot expect students to develop the confidence to become
> independent, critical learners if we frame the academic community as a
> whole in terms of divisive hierarchies.
> Of course this is an important transition issue, and most undergraduate
> students have three years to get used to it. However, there is a
> particular difficulty with international Masters-level students who are
> used to the idea that academic success depends on their compliance with a
> more hierarchical academic culture, and have only one year to get used to
> the more democratic culture of UK HE.
> I'd be interested to hear if list members have any thoughts on, or
> particular experiences of, this issue.
> Kim
>
> ________________________________
>
> Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser & LearnHigher Research Officer
> Room 107, Carrington Building, Whiteknights, University of Reading, RG6
> 6UA| ( 0118 378 4218| : www.rdg.ac.uk/studyadvice : www.learnhigher.ac.uk
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: learning development in higher education network on behalf of John
> Hilsdon Sent: Thu 30/10/2008 13:19
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: students, us, and who 'they' are
>
>
>
> Dear All
>
>
>
> Recently, like most of us I guess, I've had my head down and been
> involved in a fair bit of teaching and talking to students. Trying to
> communicate "well" is most of what learning developers do, I think. In a
> telephone tutorial yesterday, I was suddenly conscious of how frequently
> I and my student (a practicing nurse) were both using the pronouns 'they'
> and 'them' to refer to the lecturers and academics, and by implication
> the faculty and institution too, as if they were an undifferentiated
> mass. She was feeling frustrated and baffled by an assignment task. We
> were using phrases such as "what they're after here"; "not sure what they
> mean by"; "wish they'd use clearer language" etc. I tried to stop myself
> doing this, and to retract and reformulate a bit, but got pretty tangled
> up saying things like "the writing conventions you are encouraged to use
> as a member of the nursing community studying for higher qualifications"
> and "you're joining a community of practice here ... so it's helpful to
> look for the signals or cues which show what's expected of you as a
> member" ...
>
>
>
> I knew what I was trying to do -  to challenge my own and the student's
> tendency to construct 'them', the nursing establishment and lecturers, as
> other - and as, in some ways, the problem - or even, dare I say, the
> enemy ...  But (especially over the telephone) it was hard work, and, to
> some extent, this student was in need of some feeling of solidarity with
> someone who could hear her worries and frustration. Tightrope walking is
> an overused metaphor, but I had that feeling of attempting to maintain
> balance ... I wanted to offer more by way of guidance ... to be an
> 'interpretive guide' like the leaflets or audio guides produced for
> visitors to sites of natural, scenic or historic interest .. but that's a
> very inadequate metaphor .. the student isn't just 'visiting', we hope,
> she is ... getting existential about it ... 'becoming' a qualified nurse,
> a graduate ...
>
>
>
> In helping, I need to avoid the pitfalls of colluding with a
> 'student-as-victim' mentality ... though there are some senses in which I
> do - and want to - take her part, agreeing that some of the language of
> the academy is unnecessarily opaque, operating to exclude, oppressive
> even ... but equlally, not to undermine her learning journey .... I think
> this says something about the ambivalent role of learning developer and
> our relations with our colleagues, and disciplinary and institutional
> discourse ...
>
>
>
> Not expecting to get it exactly 'right' .. but reminding myself to take a
> step back, and moments to observe and comment, during my communication
> ... reflection-in-practice is hard work. And living with an ambivalent
> role ... maybe it's something to celebrate!
>
>
>
> Ok then, as the old joke has it, tea-break's over ... back on my head ...
>
>
>
> John
>
>
>
> John Hilsdon
> Head of Learning Development
>
> Room 103, 21 Portland Villas
> University of Plymouth
> Drake Circus
> Plymouth
> PL4 8AA
>
> 01752 587550
>
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> >
>
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