Assignment 8 - NLP

8/4/2019 Assignment 8 - NLP

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Assignment 8: NLP and reflectionsNegotiated Learning Profile

NAME Rosie Sellwood

PERSONAL TUTOR/MENTOR Caroline Cash

Approaches to teaching andlearning

Reflective response Negotiated learning route

What teaching and/or learningsupport activities are you involvedin?

Teaching information literacy and developing research skills. Someteaching in referencing software use.

Still teaching Information Literacy andResearch skills generally, but alsotailoring sessions more specifically tofit the needs of the students.

Sometimes these are in the form ofdrop-ins, but more often scheduledsessions.I also conduct teaching sessions onusing the referencing software,Refworks.I am also now looking at developingsessions for the PhD students.

How do you view your role as ateacher in higher education?

To help students understand how to build the bigger picture anddevelop well-balanced arguments through research and thegathering of information.Also to ensure that learning can happen, by considering different

learning styles and teaching practices.

I think I have a more holistic view ofmy role as a teacher now. I seemyself as a facilitator instead of aninformation provider. To encourage

learning to happen through enquiry-based learning.

What are your main goals insupporting learning?

To develop information literacy and research skills and inspirecuriosity and open avenues for inspiration

To encourage enthusiasm for the actof researching. To share awareness,potential opportunities and sources ofinspirations. To meet the differingneeds of learners so they can makethe most of the learning experience.

How do you view the role of the As an active participant in the learning process, engaging with As an active participant in the


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student? learning and making connections and developing new ideas. learning process and someone who isreceptive to new information,perspectives and theories.

What do you see as the main goalsof learning?

To achieve greater understanding, improved knowledge, and toopen new avenues for further learning.

Enjoyment of learning, makingconnections between ideas andinformation, and encouraging furthercuriosity.

What is your approach toteaching? What are the main waysin which you teach and how dothese help to achieve the goals ofteaching and learning?

To make the teaching relevant and timely by tying it in withassignments. To ensure a variety of teaching and studentinvolvement.

My approach to teaching haschanged so that instead of being aninformation provider, I see the benefitof facilitating learning. To let thestudents learn by doing, the value ofwhich has been noted in Kolbs

Experiential Learning Cycle.What influences have shaped yourcurrent views and approacheswhere do they come from?

From a brief amount of experience I have gained, from a trainingcourse in teaching information literacy, and from sitting in oncolleagues teaching sessions.

I have been interested in Enquiry-based learning since I startedresearching for this PGCHE.

Design and planning of learningactivities

Give an example of a learningactivity that you planned. How didit support learning? How could youtake it further?

A session in using databases. To support learning I provided ahand-out that indicated a variety of search terms the students coulduse in the databases. I would try not to demonstrate first, butinstead let the students have a go.

To take this further I might let the students generate their ownsearch terms.

A session about exploring libraryresources whilst making a book froma piece of A4 paper. The sessionstarts with making the book and then

the students can fill it up with usefulinformation sources they have foundfor a particular assignment. The bookcan be unfolded to display for full A4sheet where the students can writetheir search terms for theirassignments. This is to help the morevisual and kinesthetic learners.I would like to take it further by lettingthe students explore resources by


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using their own search terms, if timeallows.

Are there learning activities thatyou are not involved in but would

like to know more about?

The teaching practices of the members of Performance staff andhow they engage with their students. This would be really helpful in

developing an understanding of the learning needs of the students.

I have worked with one the Theatrelecturers providing a joint teaching

session on research. This workedreally well, the students were moreengaged and I enjoyed working withthe lecturer. I also have worked with atutor from ASK providing jointsessions. I would like to continuedoing more of both.

Assessment and giving feedback

to learners?How do you understand thepurpose of assessment?

To focus students to retain information. A means of feeding back to studentsin a constructive, regular andmeaningful way. Also as a means of

initiating discussion between studentsand lecturers about their work andsubject interests.

What assessment activities areyou involved in?

Nothing formal, but I am constantly assessing the studentsunderstanding.

I am still not involved with formalassessment of student work, but I ammore aware of my methods ofassessing understanding andproviding informal feedback whenappropriate.

What do you understand feedbackto mean?

A two-way process between staff and students and also amongststudents communication for improvement.

Communication between studentsand staff about their research andstudies, provided in a constructive

and useful way.

Are there particular approaches toassessment and feedback that youfavour?

I am not in favour of assessment for the teaching I am involved in,but informal modes of providing feedback do work well with thestudents.

I feel differently about assessmentnow, I see how it could be beneficialto students if done with thought andcare. If possible I would like to beinvolved in assessing studentsinformation literacy, workingalongside the lecturers.

Developing effective environments


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for student learning

How do you manage the physicalenvironment in which learningtakes place?

I do not tend to have much control over the teaching environments.I am limited to certain rooms which have computers and often donot have enough notice of sessions to select the ideal space

(teaching spaces are at a premium).

I have used the Performance Centrestudio spaces in combination withother more traditional library spaces,

and I have enjoyed it much more.Most people tend to have laptopsnow and therefore can take part inexploring resources even in thestudio space. I feel much better aboutthe environments and less limited byit now that I have adapted myteaching to accommodate them.

What experience do you have ofone-to-one, tutorial, seminar,studio and lecture teaching?

One to one teaching is common, otherwise groups of 16 maximumwithin the IT Training Suite.

My experience has grownsignificantly so that I do one-to-ones,tutorials, seminar, studio and lectureteaching. I do not find lecture

teaching works especially well forteaching information literacy though.

What experience do you have ofvirtual learning environments?

I use the Learning Space to help me understand the structure andcontent of courses. I am also involved in developing the LibraryLearning Space providing resources and materials for our students.

The VLE is becoming an increasinglypopular route to our online resourcesand support pages on our websiteand there are plans to develop thesepages so they can be used forteaching and contain all theinformation students need to helpthem with research.

I am also involved in developing an

Online Information Literacy module touse in conjunction with teachingsessions which will sit on the VLE.

Are you involved in activities thattake students out of thestudio/university environment e.g.fieldtrips, work placement, galleryvisits?

No I have been invited by Music Theatreto attend a trip to the Minack Theatrewith them but unfortunately it wascancelled. I would, however, like tobe involved in more of these.

Are you involved withteaching/supporting learning at

I always start by finding out what level the student is working at andwhere they want to get to with their research.

I think that enquiry-based learninghelps with meeting intellectual


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different levels? If so, how do youmeet the intellectual developmentof different stages?

I am aware that different students respond to different teachingtechniques, for example those with dyslexia.

development at different stages, asyou can provide basic information tostart people off then they can exploreas they wish. You can then wander

round the group and talk to themabout their findings according to theirindividual needs.

Integration of scholarship, research

and professional activities withinteaching and supporting learningWhat activities do you undertakewithin your subject area and whichinfluence your teaching?

My own research and training, as well as collection development.These inspire my teaching, change the content of the sessions andthe technique I adopt.

Research is always really important,but I have also found that speaking tolecturers and other academic staffmembers is just as inspiring anduseful for developing teachingpractice.

What relevant professionalactivities do you do that informsyour teaching?

Attending courses for library professionals and courses such asthis.

Making external contacts with otherinstitutions, attending courses,attending conferences, working withlecturers.

Are there aspects of scholarship,research or professional practicethat you would like to explore withreference to your teaching?

I am not sure about this yet. I would like to further pursue somework I began with a lecturer onproviding library sessions for aResearch Writings module forTheatre. This has made me thinkabout how to entwine library researchwith course programmes so thestudents do not consider them

separately. Within this idea I wouldexplore the use of enquiry-basedlearning to further enhance thelearning experience of the students.

Evaluation of practice andcontinuing professional

development

How do you know if yourteaching/learning support iseffective?

Feedback from students helps As well as student feedback, I havefound that planning sessions makesme think more clearly about meeting


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the needs of different learners. I alsoask for feedback from my colleaguesabout session ideas and lessonplans. Moreover I find discussing

session plans with lecturers reallyuseful.

What contributions do you make tosubject area evaluation activities?

None at present As part of the Academic Liaisonteam, we have discussed andevaluated our teaching strategy andhow we might improve this. This ofteninvolves ideas for session design andintroduction of the Online InformationLiteracy Module.

How do you seek feedback fromcolleagues or learners on yourteaching practice? How do you act

on this feedback?

At the moment, through feedback on session design From learners I have used traditionaltick box feedback forms, as well aspost-it notes (different colours for

different types of comments). I alwaysrecord feedback and act onsuggestions for improvement if theyare feasible.

How do you update yourself onaspects of teaching and learningwithin your subject area?

Through reading, research, courses, discussion with colleagues Through reading, research, courses,discussion with colleagues

How do you use staff developmentactivities, attendance atconferences etc. to develop yourown teaching and learning?

Internal staff development courses for developing, for examplepresentation skills and assertiveness have been important as wellas more formal education pursuits such as my Masters and thisPGCHE.

I use these to develop my confidence,share ideas with my peers andcolleagues, develop a network ofsupport. The PGCHE has given me a

good grounding in theories andperspectives in education andteaching, which help provide aframework for me to develop ideaswithin my own teaching practice.


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1. Design and planning of learning activities

I now use session plan templates for designing and planning learning activities, this helps me address the needs ofdifferent learners by actively considering a variety of teaching methods and opportunities for the students toengage with learning.

I also think about Kolbs Experiential Learning Cycle when designing a session alongside consideration of enquiry-based learning techniques.

Liaising with staff in particular subject areas has also influenced the content and design of the sessions that Iteach. Each programme of study has a different relationship with the library and the types of learning experiencethe students receive can influence how well they work within the library and exploring research skills. Having anunderstanding of this can help me to design sessions that engage the students in different ways according to theirprogramme of study.

2. Teaching and supporting student learning

In my teaching sessions I try to incorporate a range of different methods of learning. I try not to use a harsh white/black combination for my PowerPoints and provide a handout so that students can refer to it as a prompt after thesession. Handouts also help students who do not like note taking to instead concentrate on the session. I have alsotried to always provide a copy of the PowerPoint for the lecturer to upload to their Learning Space. I would also liketo be able to do this in advance of the session but time does not always allow.

I have also looked at using other technologies such as Popplet and Prezi to help students appreciate the biggerpicture of what research entails. This seems to help many dyslexic and other visual thinkers who like to appreciatethe overall concept before beginning to understand the details.

I have been taking the lead in designing an online information literacy module to help support our teaching. Theidea is that we would use it quite flexibly to complement our sessions or preempt them or even to act as supportmaterials for the consolidation of understanding. Online learning often helps students whose cognitive processes


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are visual or kinesthetic. The module includes some drag and drop type tasks using Flash which I hope will appealto these students.

3. Assessment and giving feedback to learnersI have begun to consider, what before was almost subconscious, how to assess understanding in students bothduring one-to-one and group sessions. I now have a better idea about why I choose certain criteria to make theassessment and whether they are appropriate or relevant. I also find that just being aware that you are assessingthe students makes you more conscious of your teaching style and whether it should be adapted to accommodatedifferent students.

Feedback is an area I find more difficult as students often do not expect this from a librarian, though I do find I canoffer it when, for example, a student is talking about their research techniques. If students come to you asking forsupport because they cannot get the search results they need, this type of situation offers the opportunity forproviding feedback. Mostly I am so pleased when a student is interested in research that I hesitate to offer anycritical feedback. I have discovered ways of doing this that seem acceptable to the students, and usually thisdiscussion allows us to explore their research area more openly and productively.

4. Developing effective environments and student support and guidance

In terms of one-to-ones, I will often see students in my office as this was the only space available. This comingacademic year we will have access to side room which we can book for one-to-one appointments. This should helpthe students relax, allow me to have a better conversation with them about their research, and also provide theopportunity for students to discuss related problems which are negatively affecting their ability to research e.g.dyslexia and other issues that require further study support.

I am also about to provide drop-in support for library research in conjunction with someone from ASK at thePerformance Centre. This outreach work is intended to provide students with the support they need within theirown environment and to help bridge the gap between the departments and the library.

I now have a greater understanding of the range of support services available at University College Falmouth andwho to get in touch with when a student needs help. When I see students individually, it is not uncommon for them


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to discuss personal or course related issues and therefore having this information to hand can be important andtimely.

Group sessions have become an aspect of my work I really look forward to. Initially I was not happy to conductsessions outside the IT Training Suite, but now I can see the value of doing this. The students learn about thelibrary within familiar surroundings and this is often a good place to start to get them interested and to break downsome of the barriers the physical library space sometimes presents.

5. Integration of scholarship, research and professional activities with teaching and supporting learningTeaching is an important professional practice and this course has encouraged me to be inspired the research andideas of other people in the field. I find that liaising with members of staff both within the institution and external tothe institution have been invaluable in my development and my enthusiasm for my role.

I have been working with a lecturer from the Theatre course on developing the Research Writings module toincorporate a significant amount of teaching about library research and information literacy. It was wonderful to beconsulted on module design and to be involved closely on the teaching of sessions to support this. I hope to dofurther similar work with other courses in the future.

I research regularly and stay up-to-date with new information, topical discussions and issues through the librariansprofessional body, CILIP, and this has helped me design appropriate information literacy sessions. I would like towork towards writing articles for publication in journals and further develop the relationship between library staffand lecturers.

6. Evaluation of practice and continuing professional development

I think it is important to continue evaluating your own practice and investigate ways to make improvements and totry new ideas. I intend to develop a blog where I can reflect on my teaching practice and make comments on newresearch I have come across. I think this would help me personally to develop and reflect, and also to makecontacts with like-minded people from other institutions.

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Assignment 8 - NLP