As I previously mentioned in section 1b, I developed and co-led the 2016 run of the open (semi MOOC) module; Teaching Online Open Course (TOOC). In this section, I will demonstrate my understanding of teaching, learning and the assessment processes.
TOOC was designed to be an intensive introduction to supporting student learning in online environments (delivered online as an ‘accredited’ MOOC – some students would gain 10 Master level credits – through Moodle). It included scheduled activities, selected key readings, specially developed course resources and guest experts.
TOOC and First Steps into Learning and Teaching (FSLT – its sister course) formed two elements of the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development’s (OCSLD) HEA accredited Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (PCTHE – link provided by The Internet Archive). Both were validated by Oxford Brookes University as a 10 M-level credit modules and once completed provided Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (now AdvanceHE) which I obtained late 2014.
As a learning technologist, I have acquired knowledge from my peers both good practices and Brookes policy and procedures. Amongst the most important is a grounding in Brookfield’s lenses, 2005 (Brookfield’s lenses) and Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, 1984 (Experiential Learning), originally introduced to me in FSLT.
This knowledge helped me to create the assignment for TOOC. We (myself and the two other tutors on the course) decided to assess them via a written reflective essay using TurnItIn (we were required to use TurnItIn as this assignment was assessed and needed to be run through a plagiarism detector) titled: Reflective account of supporting and engaging online learners. The format for the assignment was a reflective “patchwork text” (Winter, 2003). This was described as a small variety of sections of learning, which would have been shared with a social group, and the final submitted assignment was to be a reflective commentary based around these short pieces, which they could revise or edit at a later date. The patches are ‘standalone’ in their own right but can help contribute to a holistic understanding of the module content.
As recognition for my contribution to developing and teaching TOOC. Neil Currant – (the at the time) Head of OCSLD nominated me for a Brookes People Award under the ‘Colleague of the year’ category.
The methods and knowledge I learned through being a student on, and then the tutor of this course have stayed with me since. On reflection afterwards, I realised how limiting and possibly damaging relying on the ‘traditional‘ assessment (type) process is, Assessing student learning in higher education (GA Brown 1997). Assessing students through essays does not lend itself to accessibility and inclusiveness. We later implemented in the 2017 and 2018 runs of FSLT and TOOC areas of peer assessment, Role play, Portfolios, Case studies, Reflective diaries, and Critical incident accounts to allow students greater freedom in their own learning progress.
References
Brookfield, S. (2005). Brookfield’s lenses. https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/8dfa1c7d-d4ca-457b-b52c-9568cfd8d867/1/?attachment.uuid=2c1b0701-3ea1-43eb-b5af-206c7741a70d&attachment.stream=true
Kolb, David. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235701029_Experiential_Learning_Experience_As_The_Source_Of_Learning_And_Development
Richard Winter. (2003). Contextualizing the Patchwork Text: addressing problems of coursework assessment in higher education, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 40:2, 112-122, DOI: 10.1080/1470329031000088978
Brown, George. (2001). Assessment: A Guide for Lecturers. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265398364_Assessment_A_Guide_for_Lecturers