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SOLSTICE 2007 Conference, Edge Hill University 1
Engaging Learners in Academic Discourse: the role of the vlein helping students to find a voice
Bettina WoodroffeFiona Hallett with Dr Franc Potter
Edge Hill University,woodrofb@edgehill.ac.uk hallettf@edgehill.ac.uk ABSTRACT
Originally, the intention of this paper and the presentation to which it relates was toshare the experiences of a novice academic and her attempt to engage teacher-researchers in academic discourse, and to invite critical interrogation of preliminaryfindings and insights.In the context of widening participation, much research has been undertaken in the areaof undergraduate experience, and the enhancement of that learning experience throughinnovative use of technologies.Despite the growing graduate diversity, likewise recorded, there has been rather lessinvestigation into
postgraduates’ 
experience, in the context of Lifelong Learning andProfessional Development, of transition to study at masters level, and perceptions oftheir own confidence and competence to relate this meaningfully to their professionalpractice, and to ‘write academically’.This account hoped to share the observations of a facilitator of such developments,herself aspiring to enhance her own practice in partnership with colleague(s), and todiscuss and raise questions around the use of a virtual learning environment as aplatform for the collaborative creation of learning objects, which focuses on students’use of and response to writing support frameworks, designed to promote a willingnessamong participants - increasingly distance learners - to explore academic discoursesand voices. Drawing on the experiences of colleagues in the field, the project sought tomove away from the use of electronic media to replicate the kind of discussion whichmight take place in face-to-face contexts, and towards an emphasis on writing as a formof individual but public enquiry, and in particular a
formative 
process which mitigates the(perceived) outcome orientation of participants, whose tendency to approach writing asa single stage, ‘end-loaded’ operation restricts its purpose to that of a vehicle forsummative assessment. In fact, what will be reported, ultimately, is a project that hasnot gone to plan, the reasons for which the tutor-participants determined to address in a
 
SOLSTICE 2007 Conference, Edge Hill University 2
perhaps somewhat unorthodox fashion, exploring the extent to which
we 
share anunderstanding of the conceptual underpinnings of our e-learning approaches ……
KEYWORDS
On-line learning; collaboration; social constructivism; academic discourse
Engaging Learners in Academic Discourse: the role of the vle inhelping students to find a voice
We offer the following unexpurgated record of our own written on-line discussion, in thesame spirit that was the genesis of this project: that is, having committed ourselves tothe construction of a learning experience based around a problematic question, itselfborn of a frank exchange of views, frustrations and reflections on current practice, wehave embarked on a journey of critical re-appraisal and collaborative re-examination ofour own approaches to conducting academic discourse. In consequence, we set outour willingness to be provisional, and a preparedness to subject to public scrutiny andinterrogation, in a way which is truly consonant with a genuinely constructivistphilosophy.This experiment was deliberately and consciously conceived in such a way that we, astutor-learners, would expose ourselves not to the same but to similarly robustchallenges, both affective and intellectual, as our students are likely to face in theprocess, in which we hope to be able to engage them. We believe that, in order to beable to engage effectively in the dialogic encounter
with 
students, in way that is ethicaland authentic, we should be able to share and model a lived experience on which toreflect, and the lessons from which will inform future practice. This requires us todestabilise our own perspectives, and identify and unsettle our own and each others’assumptions.At the time of spinning these seemingly disparate threads, it is hoped that morecolleagues will join us (either by invitation or as they become alert to this debateconducted in a portal shared by all), to weave their own strands into this narrativetapestry.From this we hope will emerge a richer understanding of the discursive process itself,and implications for the development of on-line personality, (cyber-self?). Theexperience is already providing fertile ground for the growth of reflection andopportunities for further interrogation of shared - and divergent - conceptualstandpoints, which may, or may not, be influenced by wider contextual tensions,ambiguities and paradoxes.
 
SOLSTICE 2007 Conference, Edge Hill University 3
Wednesday, March 7, 2007 9:52am
The following question has been negotiated with Fiona Hallett, and we will beattempting to engage in a dialogue in addressing it, the purpose being to attempt toclarify our understanding of some of what has - and more crucially has not - taken placein the vle (webCT) environment, concerning students' engagement with tasks oractivities, devised and designed to develop their own focus on an area of inquiry intopractice ....:
'In search of social constructivism: can we find it in the vle?' 
Friday, March 9, 2007 10:44am
Firstly, let us address the complexities and potential ambiguities of this question. Theinstitutional Teaching and Learning strategy appears to emphasise SocialConstructivism as the predominant underlying approach at Edge Hill, and, it is myexperience, that Social Constructivism is widely cited in definitive course documents atvalidation. However, I am concerned that shared meaning is at best, taken for granted,and, at worst absent.If the adoption of Social Constructivism requires an assumption that ‘the central factabout our psychology is the fact of mediation’ (Vygotsky 1978:166) we need to considerthe implications of this when designing learning experiences. Equally, if we view H.E.students as naturally inhabiting a ‘zone of proximal development’, it follows thatemphasis should fall on learners actively constructing knowledge and meaning throughparticipating in activities and challenges, with an added emphasis on the interactionbetween learners and facilitators in order to arrive at a higher level of understanding.Thus, I would suggest that, if we are to develop Socially Constructivist learningexperiences, we need to consider: the nature of the learner; the role of the facilitator;the learning process; and the selection, scope and sequencing of the substantivecontent.Would you agree with this list? Do you see it as hierarchical? Fiona
Friday, March 16, 2007 8:35am
I will need to consider your posting, and reflect a little in the light, also, of discussionswith another critical friend about very similar issues, and our (institutional)misconstruction of ZPD - not least regarding the necessary intersection between oneperson's 'core' of knowledge, skill, understanding etc, and the other's ZPD, if the latter isto derive genuine 'growth' benefit from the interaction with the former. Hence, anygroup 'activity', although it might be ostensibly 'collaborative', might not produce'collaborative learning', unless such personal conditions are present. And this doesraise questions with regard to the role (and status / position) of the facilitator / moderatorof such opportunities, the implications for hierarchical structures within the process of'knowledge creation', and our own awareness of our students' relative positions.....
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02 / 11 / 2011This doucment made it onto the Rising List!
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