I will always say it to myself, nothing worth gaining comes easy. 2022 is set to be a major balancing act for me. So today Wednesday 15th December I started my introduction session to the above titled unit. I was paired with an amazing peer/ fellow student Richard Ward (a digital wiz kid) with whom I bonded with quite instantaneously. Lindsay, our course tutor was extremely warm, kind and patient as she talked us through the course, the expectations and advise we will need to complete this unit.
So for the purpose of my blog I will outline my points as if I were jotting them down in own notepad, so that I can refer to them and it makes for some interesting reading. Teaching, PGCert commitments, kids, Christmas and New Year break, Lord give me strength.
Key points from session:
Course runs from January 2022 – April 2022
I’m to reflect and document my learning as I go like a journal via MyBlog
I’m to produce all content relating to my assigned tasks via my Work Flow
As I cannot attend my Wednesday Cohort B sessions and request a day change to Mondays, I need to pay close attention to the ‘cross programme events’ as it falls on a Wednesday. These events are crucial as part of peer observations etc. So, I’m advised to stay in my tutor group but attend the Monday sessions.
I’m to look at resources for sessions, follow up reading material in case I miss any in person sessions.
We were shown a quote via the External Examinars Report 2019.
The Challenge
“…Our Academic Development programmes…need to ensure adequate practical judgement as well as a normative level of educational theory are incorporated into the participants understanding of their discipline (disciplines which quite often eschew some of the methods and methodologies upon which the educational theory is based)”.
Clare from my cohort had a great answer in response to this, ” …Because the courses are unconventional they might not lend themselves to traditional learning models, but nevertheless they still need to be aware of and use more established techniques”.
Lindsay Jordan’s ultimate response to this quote to the benefit of our class was as follows,
“..lecturers within the arts are reluctant to engage with theory.”
Maybe because of the way theory is presented via text books, spreadsheets and other traditional academic material. The creative disciplines are at odds with scientific theory e.g. data, platforms. The way of looking at information instead of the way creative information is presented. We must produce teaching and learning practice in a scholarly way.