“Help is only just a click away “Help is only just a click away.” What blogging can tell us about the Foundation Degree student experience of Higher Education. Julie Hughes, Catherine Lamond, Jenny Worsley, Caroline Bastow and Sue Beck.

Overview Introduction to the wider teaching and research team; The context(s) - Foundation Degrees in the School of Education at the UoW; The intervention – e-portfolio-based learning; The stories....

Foundation Degrees ‘Earn and learn’ qualifications – high on the DIUS agenda – target of 100 000 enrolments by 2010; Collaboration and partnership between HEIs and FECs; School of Education FDs in Early Years Services and Supporting Inclusive Practice – 110 students in Year 1, 90 in Year 2. Collaboration with TCAT, City of Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Solihull (09-10)colleges.

UoW School of Education Profile of a ‘typical’ FD student at UoW Mature; In employment in an early years or educational setting in the region; Level 3 qualification; Returner to education, many with dependents; Large percentage of women (99%); Spiky profiles. School of Education UoW School of Education Image adapted fromhttp://home.amaonline.com/teacherstuff/schoolhouse.gif

Widening participation context 36% of UoW students study part-time; 60% are aged 21 or above; 67% are drawn from the local region. (University of Wolverhampton Strategic Plan 2006-2012) HEA funded CETL – CIEL (Critical Interventions for Enhanced Learning) – cross University 5 year project researching the First Year Experience (FYE). Regional Lifelong Learning Networks (LLN) funded project.

Curriculum context – The story so far – thoughtful fusion (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008) Revalidation 2008; The need to blend – but with pedagogy not economy as the driver; An excitement about the possibilities for learning enhanced by the use of technology; FD students are not ‘more of the same’ and that ‘(t)here is no first-year experience; there is a multiplicity of first-year experiences.’ (Harvey et al., 2006, p.iv); Spiky skill and confidence profiles of teachers and learners.

Why this study, and why now? The FYE of FD students is under-examined; The FYE of students enrolled on foundation degrees can often be one characterised by insecurity and uncertainty about HEness; The development of confidence and self esteem are linked to belonging and becoming; Specifically, we were concerned to challenge deficit models and discourses of Personal Development Planning (PDP) which positioned the student as ‘lacking’ the skills required for successful HE study; We adopted an approach to ePDP which builds ‘on their strengths, rather than do things to students on the basis of a deficit model that emphasises inadequacies’ (Harvey et al. 2006, p.viii).

How our FD students felt at the start of their HE study – a tag cloud.

Research frames Emergent ethnographic approach (Creanor et al, Mayes, Beetham, 2006) suggest that we need more - “stories or narratives that capture the diversity of how students use learning technologies in their formal studies and attempts to elicit beliefs and intentions.” (Mayes 2006, p.4) Interview Plus (Beetham, 2006) “(w)e do not 'store' experience as data, like a computer: we 'story' it” and “(o)ur lives are 'steeped in stories’” (Winter et al., 1999, p.21). “it's not beginnings and endings that count, but middles. Things and thoughts advance or grow out from the middle, that's where you have to get to work, that's where everything unfolds” (Deleuze, 1995, p.161).

The intervention Introduced e-portfolio-based learning from pre-induction; Emphasis upon blogging as reflective critical thinking (ePDP)– exploration of self as learner/as practitioner/as group member; Modelled ‘netiquette’; Aligned the learning outcomes, learning and teaching methods and assessment to our commitment to integrative learning (Cambridge 2008) and to exploring the interface between the delivered, experienced and lived curriculum (Yancey 1998); Supported colleagues and students in the development of the technical skills and in the culture shift to an iterative and dialogic learning and teaching model.

(e)portfolio ways of being When teachers began developing portfolios over a decade ago, we knew what we were about – with process writing and collaborative pedagogies and, not least, portfolios – was pretty ambitious; it was, in fact, nothing short of changing the face of American education (Yancey & Weiser, 1997, p.1). Baume (1999, 2003 p.4) conceptualised the developmental portfolio as, “a compost heap…something refined over time, enriched by addition, reduction and turning over.“ Messy, non-linear – getting your hands dirty!

E-portfolio-based learning (JISC 2008) Behind any product, or presentation, lie rich and complex processes of planning, synthesising, sharing, discussing, reflecting, giving, receiving and responding to feedback. These processes – referred to here as ‘e-portfolio-based learning’ – are the focus of increasing attention, since the process of learning can be as important as the end product.

Research design Methods: Blogs – individual and group; Interim evaluations of experience – post it notes and verbal feedback; Videoed debate; Video interviews – semi structured focus groups. Online anonymous survey March - April 2009 110 students on the pathways – 85% response rate Methodology not methodolatory Interview plus, process, narratives.

E-portfolio-based learning the student perspective

Differentiated model (one size does not fit all in the first iteration) – developmental but all blogging from the beginning City of Wolverhampton College Individual blogs, whole group blogs and reflective practice blogs. Raises issues with offsite provision – FD experiences (staff and students) so pushing part-time, off-site issues into a larger arena; Blogging to support community, peer learning and praxis. Harnessing the personal and the professional – beginning to reflect and beginning to theorise .

What they said @ CoWC. I'm feeling a little nervous - entering into the unknown! Worried how on earth I'm going to fit everything in, as at the moment there isn't enough hours (sic) in the day! Once I start though I know it will all be fine and I am inside quite excited about the challenges that lie ahead. (RF 30/9) I have always wanted a good education, family circumstances stopped me in my teens, but now in my thirties with my own extended family and kids I am determined to finish what I always wanted. (BB 2/10) End of semester 2 - anon have become more organised through planning time more effectively. Journals have helped in reflective practice for both work and college. On reflection I should have used them (blogs) more

Sharing the journey @ TCAT. Our homepage – the importance of modelling e-portfolio-based learning – personalised, social and community directed.

What they said@ TCAT – building and sustaining peer-learning and enquiry-based learning communities - group research and presentation A.. don't stress. We will pull together and do fine. I am looking at the power point this morning and will post it up for you to see and amend, or agree to. Just have a look in those books and do what we talked about last night in the LRC. When you are done, post them on here or send them to L and I. We can then comment on each others stuff and start to amalgamate (not sure of that spelling) together. Did you see Liz's comment about using our team as an example? Please don't stress, just try your best and we will pull together. (NS 7/10) End of semester 2 - anon confidence grown a great deal, did not have much confidence to start now i feel comfortable in talking to others, thnaks to pebble pad and blogging and tutor support

But did the blogging make a difference? 85% of the cohort responded to the anonymous online survey – when asked to rank and compare their development they responded:

Which specific pedagogic interventions were valued? The feedback on blogs from tutors was important to my Personal and Professional Development 98.58% agreed or strongly agreed Having the opportunity to reflect ongoing on my PDP was important 92.4% A/SA The feedback on blogs from peers was important to my PDP 87.37% A/SA Having blog contact with my tutors supported my transition into university 95.03 % A/SA Having blog contact with my peers supported my transition into university 88.35% A/SA The online blogging activities have contributed to my achievements in semester 1 82.53% A/SA

How our FD students feel at the end of their first year of HE study – a tag cloud.

What we have learnt from engaging in reflective, evaluative dialogue with our FDs One size does not fit all and differentiated support is required when moving to a blended curriculum; Some students (and colleagues) may feel out of their depth initially (and not just with the technology) – this is a culture shift to a dialogic learning and teaching approach; The rapid, personalised feedback from tutors is highly important to students’ transitions and to their perceptions of their development and achievement; The ePDP activities support the becoming and belonging needs of year 1 FDs; Being able to share experiences with others in the cohort and receive feedback and support form peers – similarities and differences - is key to FD’s development as HE students; The collaborative enquiry-based learning model supports integrative learning and there is substantial evidence of transferability to work-based learning.