Alison, your festival looks really fantastic. My own thoughts around this issue of mental ill-health or just general lack of well-being is that much of it is our own creation (I use a very inclusive 'our' - the whole economics driven educational system we currently labour within, driving us all onwards) - we have a toxic situation which, of course, is making people ill. The answer may be in the pedagogy. My background in language teaching has convinced me that people learn more when they are having fun and have warm relationships with teachers and co-learners. Play couples perfectly with rigour, if the right level of skill and sincere motivation are brought to organising the learning experience.
Why shouldn’t all we do be more like Alison's festival? We would all learn more and be happier.
Best wishes
Ricky
I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
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From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of LDHEN automatic digest system
Sent: 24 July 2017 00:01
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Subject: LDHEN Digest - 21 Jul 2017 to 23 Jul 2017 (#2017-164)
There is 1 message totalling 1722 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. "we are not a therapeutic community"
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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2017 08:38:30 +0000
From: Kelly Pickard-Smith <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: "we are not a therapeutic community"
Thanks for posting this Alison. Fantastic stuff. I've just delivered a session to a academics on teaching innovation and we used Lego. I like to use play in my teaching. I'm hoping my Dept. will take on some of the ideas form your festival in our Jan conference. I have an aim to have some 'maker' tables where academics can explore ways to introduce play and creativity into the lecture theatre.
BW
Kelly
Dr Kelly Pickard-Smith | Teaching and Learning Advisor (Innovation) | Directorate for the Student Experience | M2.010 John Owens Building | The University of Manchester | Oxford Rd | Manchester | M12 9PL | Tel +44 (0)161 275 8106 | https://manchester.ac.uk
________________________________
Recent Publications
Pickard-Smith , K. (2016) Performatics: Performing stories of mathematical identity (2016) [video online] Available at https://vimeo.com/147449932 ________________________________
From: learning development in higher education network [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Alison.James [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 20 July 2017 08:26
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: "we are not a therapeutic community"
Hi Alistair, hi all
I too feel the pain of the employment pipeline/sausage factory mentality that has crept into many aspects of what we do, however I feel our role is to keep on making the alternative case, and marry agendas wherever we can .That is, I feel, what academics are brilliant at doing – the dreaded ‘problematising’ of a situation and finding an alternative path. That is why I and three colleagues launched a week long Play and Creativity Festival at Winchester this year – at which we ran over 64 sessions with anything from maggot racing for Forensic Studies (both employability-led and playful, as understanding the maggot’s role in decomposition is a crucial part of future work) to sitting volleyball, 18th century dramatic hand gestures (essential for when we finally nail time travel), LEGO for problem solving, breaking code like Sherlock Holmes (forgotten passwords, anyone?) and so on. It was not planned to be therapeutic however many people came out of sessions feeling calmer, refreshed, having learned something new and slightly more ready for the fray. It was also a reminder that when things are at their most challenging that is often the time to pause and do/be surprised by something else ( it was in the last taught week of Semester 2…) If this interests you, have a look at our film and website here: https://playandcreativityfestival.wordpress.com/
In terms of building a learning community it has been powerful; people kept feeding back to us that they were having conversations with people they don’t usually talk to, about things they don’t usually talk about.
All best
Alison
Professor Alison James
Acting Director Academic Quality and Development and Head of Learning and Teaching University of Winchester
Professor of Learning and Teaching
National Teaching Fellow 2014
Principal Fellow Higher Education Academy
http://www.engagingimagination.com<http://www.engagingimagination.com/>
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/innovating-creative-arts-lego
http://iedp.com/articles/developing-leaders-magazine-issue-19/
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alistair McCulloch
Sent: 20 July 2017 01:19
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: "we are not a therapeutic community"
Thanks David.
‘Universities as spaces for play, exploration and development.’
Somewhat at odds with the current model of the student as a consumer who’s part of this strange thing called the employment pipeline, and having to treat their studies as part-time even if they’re full time due to financial pressures and the need to work.
Reminds me of what we’ve (HE collectively) allowed to be lost in the name of efficiency and (with apologies to C Wright Mills) what might be called the ‘econo-educational complex’.
Cheers
Alistair
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Andrew
Sent: Thursday, 20 July 2017 1:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: "we are not a therapeutic community"
I too have been following this with interest.
Having worked in and with therapeutic communities I would just like to point out a difference in discussing therapeutic approaches in HE (going back to the ‘Therapeutic turn in education’ argument) and the concept of the therapeutic community which has a specific meaning.
A therapeutic community is a specific form of community where membership of the community is in itself therapeutic – the concept of ‘community as method’. Therapy is not so much something that is done to someone – but an aspect of living in the community, a peer development process structured by the community.
This relates to two trends within education – the view of higher education as a developmental opportunity which informed thinking about HE, based on theorists such as Winnicott - I recall a discussion with a tutor of mine about the importance of play in higher education and how that informed her approach as a founding member of Sussex University in the 1960’s. Universities as spaces for play, exploration and development.
It also relates to ideas about education which challenge the notion that education is something that is done to the student, but rather is engagement with a learning community. How does being a student in itself, engage me in learning – irrespective of what is taught and how – an institutional opportunity for stealing knowledge, ideas about Free Universities and other forms of education in which roles are not fixed and open to negotiation, peer development prioritised; as in a therapeutic community.
I created some space for both of those when I was a student – but not sure how possible that is in modern Higher Education.
David
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/therapeutic-communities/what-therapeutic-communitys-approach
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeutic_community
http://www.johnseelybrown.com/StolenKnowledge.pdf
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kelly Pickard-Smith
Sent: 19 July 2017 12:20
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: "we are not a therapeutic community"
Really interesting debate. You might want to read up on the work of Leon Feinstein and the ‘Wider Social Benefits of Learning’ reports that he published. Certainly some interesting stuff in their on links between learning and mental wellbeing (and health more generally) and improvements to mental health and wellbeing from participation in education. I was PI on a project on ‘The Expert Learner’, exploring how learner self-efficacy and mental wellbeing are interlinked and how learner engagement with, and contribution within their learning institution, could improve mental wellbeing and attainment.
There is certainly a large literature on the links between learning and wellbeing, which is being put into practice. The Dfe Community Learning mental Health project is one that springs to mind http://mhfe.org.uk/content/bis-community-learning-mental-health-pilot-201516 where Drs can prescribe educational programmes.
Other resources include mental health FE (MHFE) and also universities are adopting the 5 ways to wellbeing –here at UoM it is 6.
So in answer, yes places of learning are seeing links between education and wellbeing and moreover, are becoming (in a way) therapeutic institutions.
BW
Dr Kelly Pickard-Smith | Teaching and Learning Advisor (Innovation) | Directorate for the Student Experience | M2.010 John Owens Building | The University of Manchester | Oxford Rd | Manchester | M12 9PL | Tel +44 (0)161 275 8106 | https://manchester.ac.uk
________________________________
Recent Publications
Pickard-Smith , K. (2016) Performatics: Performing stories of mathematical identity (2016) [video online] Available at https://vimeo.com/147449932<https://outlook.manchester.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=VLKmTiiBimGrmS7l8rvYUaQ8L6TIyq7MFRwYyoeerplwvFV5DV_UCA..&URL=https%3a%2f%2fvimeo.com%2f147449932>
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Mathew
Sent: 19 July 2017 12:03
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: "we are not a therapeutic community"
I would echo many of Alison’s points. Curiously, it was Physics where I had my own “Eureka!” moment, at GCSE. Having spent three years convincing myself that I couldn’t “do” Physics, I was ready for a poor grade or even a fail. I kept reading and reading and one day it clicked. I went into the exam hall and got an A grade. I have never once used that knowledge since, mind … :) …but I remember it. It was learned.
Best wishes
David
Dr David Mathew, PhD, MA, PGCE, SFHEA
Centre for Learning Excellence
University of Bedfordshire
Park Square F305
Luton LU1 3JU
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From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alison.James
Sent: 19 July 2017 06:55
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: "we are not a therapeutic community"
I think some very sound points have been made about the distinction between therapy and learning development, however I would just like to pick up on the point that Helen made about learning having to be destabilising, troublesome, challenging - otherwise it is not learning. I think we have to be careful about saying anything outside these descriptors is not learning as it excludes all the times that students 'take' to something, have a flair or love for it and find something new and easy and grow within it because they are playing to some kind of strength. I had exactly this experience learning French at secondary school - I couldn't explain how but it just all made sense and I found it easy to grasp and to build on my learning. I was definitely learning, as I went on to be a French teacher for 12 years! Physics, on the other hand, was a whole world of pain. I saw the same pattern repeated time and again in creative arts education - the mixture of tough and enjoyable. So I think we must not forget the positive aspects of learning as well as the more testing ones (no pun intended).
All best
Alison
Professor Alison James
Acting Director, Academic Quality and Development University of Winchester Sparkford Rd Winchester Hants S022 4NR
National Teaching Fellow 2014
Principal Fellow Higher Education Academy ________________________________
From: learning development in higher education network [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Pauline Ridley [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 18 July 2017 17:16
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: "we are not a therapeutic community"
Spot on Helen - you've articulated exactly what I was thinking but hadn't yet found the words to express! I would only add that as academics, tutors, LDers or anyone else in a non-therapeutic role, we should know when and how to refer students to appropriate specialist services
Best wishes
Pauline
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Pauline Ridley
On 18 Jul 2017, at 17:06, Helen Webster <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
I would hesitate to think of LD as a therapeutic activity. For me, therapy is a healing activity (half my family are clinical psychologists, so I don't see therapy as a negative thing, I'm just clear that's not what I do), and that implies that the student is unwell, and needs to be brought to health, is disordered, and needs to be helped to good order. Learning development, on the other hand, I think, accepts that learning is by its very nature challenging, destabilising, unsettling, 'troublesome' - and if it's not, it's not learning. To learn something is to challenge your worldview - that's quite something! I think as LDers we do help students explore their feelings around that, which are bound to be strong if they are really engaged - and these feelings can be negative or as Sandra says, very positive. But I think to call this therapy implies that the feelings that come with learning are in some way problematic instead of a perfectly natural and inevitable part of the process.
Where the problem arises is that the situation that John outlines has made university a very unsafe place to experience this unsettling, troublesome activity of learning. None of this - the employability agenda, fees, the examination regime in schools, has really got anything to do with learning and in fact is profoundly unhelpful. How can students feel secure enough to take risks, explore the unknown, make mistakes in this environment? How can they, when the environment itself is so unsafe? How can they learn in such a culture?
We aren't counsellors and for individual students, I don't feel I can support mental health issues or other things that impact on their ability to learn. I can take them into account in my work, but I can't help with them. There does come a point when an individual has so much going on in their lives that the upheaval of learning isn't a good thing to add to the mix at that time. I can't do therapy, I can't heal, and learning isn't something to be healed anyway. But I can fight for a university community which does its best to create a safe place to experience the unsettlingness of learning in a compassionate way, which is as inclusive and diverse as possible, remembering that its whole purpose is to help students learn and to assess that learning without getting hung up on rigid means, and try to fight against the whole culture that counteracts learning.
best wishes
Helen
On Tue, Jul 18, 2017 at 4:35 PM, Juliette Smeed <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
Dear John,
Why not be a therapeutic community? I would argue because it is not in students’ best interests. To my mind a therapeutic community is one that supports students where they are and helps move them onto a ‘better’ place – be that emotionally, physically, educationally or whatever. Perhaps that’s a narrow perspective.
In contrast, I would advocate for academic learning communities that can say, ‘This is who we are. This is what we do. Our primary focus is to help you join us.’ Now I understand that might not be popular with people who would like students to primarily lead their own learning, but as a therapeutic ‘good’ it has a great deal of value. First, it is honest: we do want students (to start at least) to learn to think in particular ways about ideas whose value we have determined. Second, it affords greater opportunities for students to develop a sense of belonging, which I believe is currently a great malaise among university students. They don’t really know why they are here. Third, it makes it easier for us to state clear expectations and give students a chance to meet those expectations, so they can feel good about their achievements more often and anxious about their performance less often.
Perhaps what is wrong with universities is not that they fail to shift to accommodate the realities of student experiences, but rather that they shift just a bit, enough so they can appear to be everything to all possible and potential students, and end up muddying the message. If we could be clearer on our learning agenda, then we would confuse students less, not play so large a role in causing students to behave badly, and get to feel a lot more certain when we have to take decisions on whether students stay at university or go. Because, then it is just a matter of deciding: with everything else going on, are they still capable of learning in this community?
OK, I’ve simplified it. But I do believe it is possible to focus on student wellbeing without becoming therapeutic about it.
Best wishes,
Juliette
Dr Juliette Smeed
Academic Skills, Business School
University of Buckingham, Hunter St, Buckingham MK18 1EG Room 126, AdR Building <image002.png>
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From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of John Hilsdon
Sent: 14 July 2017 16:20
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: "we are not a therapeutic community"
Dear all
I write with a musing, wondering how learning developers see this situation … I think my LD colleagues locally feel the crisis in mental health (e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/23/number-university-dropouts-due-to-mental-health-problems-trebles etc. etc. etc.) has been used as an excuse to justify a reduction in resources available for their work, and it certainly is true that we have expanded our support services for those areas here – i.e. for disability, mental health and wellbeing support – whilst LD has languished behind.
A phrase that became something of an in-joke, and latterly a sour joke, here is that ‘we are not a therapeutic community’. I am not sure who coined (sic) it first; maybe it was me, back in the days when it was less of an everyday occurrence to be dealing with serious mental health issues, expressions of suicidal thoughts, self-harm, self-medication and other disruptive and challenging behaviours. It was a comment that was intended to accompany expressions of doubt about the level of support we could offer to an unwell student, and the rightful role of university. It was brought out with regret to underscore how sorry we are that there comes a point when we need to say enough is enough and we can’t continue to help because that someone is too ill, too needy or their behaviour is too scary, and we have a duty to all our other students and to our staff, eventually to exclude or withdraw or suspend that person from study. And we do not have the skills, the expertise, the training … and we do not have the resources or the time … and university is not the right place for someone like that ...
And that is all ‘true’ - at least in part, but there are other interpretations. What do we expect? We admit almost half the population leaving school into university, having convinced them by fair means and foul that they need degrees, that they must invest in themselves, that they should borrow to finance this investment, with themselves as collateral, that their capital will pay off in time. Yet we know the levels of debt of graduates has risen precipitously (https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jul/11/the-partys-over-how-tuition-fees-ruined-university-life) and that the so-called graduate premium in employment is less and less a reality. And at a time when life generally appears more precarious, more uncertain and more frightening than ever, we wonder why such a large number of our students become ill or behave in such challenging ways while they are with us. And, as NHS services to support the needs of those with mental ill-health cannot cope, again and again we hear that students are discharged from hospital or by their GPs, only to fall immediately back into trouble, and often university is their one hope of making life more positive … so we have invented ‘fitness to study’ policies that can exclude those in greatest need …
So my question to universities is: why not be therapeutic communities? I’m being provocative - I don’t mean why not take on the NHS’s role, of course, nor expect to support those who have really dangerous conditions at university, but perhaps an acknowledgment of a therapeutic role, without the sneering, is what we need - and perhaps ‘compassionate university’ initiatives (https://charterforcompassion.org/91-partners/the-education-sector/schools-colleges-university-and-learning-institutional-partners/3914-the-worlds-first-compassionate-university) can offer an alternative to the dire rhetoric of edubusiness’ notions of students as human capital.
I was a learning developer before I was a manager of ‘wellbeing’ … LD is where my heart is – maybe there’s a greater role for LD in community building and PALS work, to respond to the MH crisis than is currently recognised?
Best to all
John
John Hilsdon
Head of Learning Support and Wellbeing
Room 104, 4 Portland Mews
University of Plymouth
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Plymouth
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