Research Proposal The Alignment between Design, Implementation and Affordances, in Blended and Distance Learning

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? This research is based on a Constructivist Theory of Learning. More particularly, it also incorporates Gibson’s ideas on Affordances*, and aspects of Complexity Theory and Actor-Network Theory. This allows us to explore issues of professional development and identity, and to explore teaching and learning as creative processes. * Affordances are the product of the interaction between the individual and the environment. Each interaction potentially alters the knowledge and identity of the individual, and re- adjusts the micro-ecology of the environment.

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? So, learning is provisionally defined as …

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? …the Smile that arises from … Exploring Benchmarking and Mastering new Affordances

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? We will be exploring the relationship between three things: 1.What did the designers have in mind? 2. What learning space was provided? (i.e. what affordances were made available, and supported?) … and … 3.What did the learner actually do? (i.e. what actual affordances did the learner exploit?)

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? Methodology We will use actor network theory, complexity theory, and anthropology, in participatory action research. 1. The Design We will engage with the people who design the programme to establish what they had in mind, in terms of competencies, outcomes, activities, skills, resources and so on. 2. The Learning Space We will engage with the teachers and facilitators, to describe and analyse in detail what learning spaces are provided, and what affordances they thought were provided and supported, and what learning path/s they expected the learners to follow. Selecting Learning Events In consultation with the designers, facilitators, and some of the learners, we will select three to five learning events that are critical to the success of the learning programme. We will apply this to up to five different learning programmes, covering a range of programmes and learning events.

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? Data This is the third part of the research … The actual learning We will engage with the learners to provide detailed tracking of the actual affordances that they exploited, to identify what learning they most valued, and to provide narratives of how they progressed

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? Conceptualisation of the Core and Related elements of the research process. This is illustrated in the following slide series …

1. What competencies did the learning designer have in mind ? We begin with what the programme designers had in mind … Competencies Activities Skills Outcomes Links Resources

1. What competencies did the learning designer have in mind … This leads on the what learning spaces are provided … 2. What affordances were provided and supported ? Competencies Activities Skills Outcomes Learning Space Links Resources Online On-site On-campus What were the students supposed to do ?

1. What competencies did the learning designer have in mind … 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? The learners then exploit affordances within the learning spaces that are provided, as well as elsewhere. They make use of what they can. 2. What affordances were provided and supported ? Online On-campus On-site Competencies Activities Skills Outcomes Learning Space Links Resources Online On-site On-campus What were the students supposed to do ? What did the students actually do ? Elsewhere

1. What competencies did the learning designer have in mind … 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? Working with the learners, we track how they learn, and the narratives of their learning, to find out what affordances they exploited and mastered. 2. What affordances were provided and supported ? Online On-campus On-site Competencies Activities Skills Outcomes Learning Space Links Resources 3.1 Tracking 3.2 Narrative 3.2 Narrative Online On-site On-campus What were the students supposed to do ? What did the students actually do ? Elsewhere

Tracking We set up a matrix of the media v. people that our learners might actually consult and use, and ask them to track an actual learning ‘event’ on this matrix. Here’s an example of how ‘Roy’ made his way through logging-on to the online programme, and starting to use the online material …

Narrative We then ask the learners to write up a simple narrative of how and why they progressed from one point in the matrix to the next. Here’s ‘Roy’s narrative …

Roy’s Story… 1. I was unsure of how this new course and online stuff would work for me. I hadn’t done an online course before. 2. I ed the lecturer, as I didn’t know how to start. 3. The advice the lecturer gave me seemed OK, but I still couldn’t logon. I couldn’t get hold of anyone at the University, so I asked a friend who does IT, and 4. Finally my husband, who helped me to get online. Success at last! 5. Started on the PDP materials. A bit confusing to start with, but I soon got the hang of it. Found the exemplars, which were really useful. 6. Started posting to the online discussions, and was relieved to find that quite a few others had similar difficulties getting online (not much compensation!). 7. Mary’s comments on my initial ideas on Benchmark Statements helped to clarify for me that this is just a statement of where we are, and is not a set of opinions or arguments. 8. Interesting to meet others online, and actually found out more about some of my colleagues than I knew from talking to them face to face. 9. Thought about it. 10. Tried to get some help from Blogs (2004) on PDP. Not much use. 11. Wrote the Benchmark Statement, and I’m quite happy with it. We will see… 12. Submitted the final version.

Common Patterns When these matrices and narratives have been completed … We work with the learners and tutors, to see what patterns, if any, emerge from the collective set of tracking matrices and narratives. We start to put together some tentative models of how the learners construct and manage their pathways through the resources that they have to hand - either quite separately, or in particular groups. These resources include the resources we have provided as well as resources that they have found for themselves. This enables us to start to build up a picture of the actual affordances that the learners exploit, and what relationship these affordances have to the affordances that we though we were providing.

1. What competencies did the learning designer have in mind … 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? We then move on to: what learning the students valued, both within and without the requirements and provisions of the programme. 2. What affordances were provided and supported ? 4. What learning did the student value ? 4. What learning did the student value ? Online On-campus On-site Competencies Activities Skills Outcomes Learning Space Links Resources 3.1 Tracking 3.2 Narrative 3.2 Narrative Online On-site On-campus What were the students supposed to do ? What did the students actually do ? Elsewhere

1. What competencies did the learning designer have in mind … 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? We explore what was formally assessed. 2. What affordances were provided and supported ? 5. What learning was assessed ? 4. What learning did the student value ? 4. What learning did the student value ? Online On-campus On-site Competencies Activities Skills Outcomes Learning Space Links Resources 3.1 Tracking 3.2 Narrative 3.2 Narrative Online On-site On-campus What were the students supposed to do ? What did the students actually do ? Elsewhere

1. What competencies did the learning designer have in mind … 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? 3. What affordances did the student actually exploit? Then we explore the alignment between various elements of the teaching and learning cycle, and triangulate these with those concerned. 2. What affordances were provided and supported ? 5. What learning was assessed ? 4. What learning did the student value ? 4. What learning did the student value ? Online On-campus On-site Competencies Activities Skills Outcomes Learning Space Links Resources 3.1 Tracking 3.2 Narrative 3.2 Narrative 6. Alignment? 6. Revised ‘Learning’ and Learning Space Process Reassessment and Realignment? Online On-site On-campus What were the students supposed to do ? What did the students actually do ? Elsewhere

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? Analysis and Results This information will provide us with the material to analyse the following alignments and relationships, and triangulate them back to the people involved to check for validity. Based on this, we will present findings and suggestions, for revisions to the learning design, the learning spaces, and for engagement with learners, as well as questions for further research. Alignments and Relationships The key questions we are interested in (see the previous slides) concern the alignments and relations between: 1, 2 & 3; 4 & 5; 2 & 5 3 &4.

Which affordances do we need for personal, professional development? And how can we track, benchmark and communicate our progress? Learning is the Smile that arises from … … Exploring Benchmarking and Mastering new Affordances