UWE Learning and Teaching Conference

Building a Community of Learners on the Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) Programme Dr Richard Waller (& Dr Jane Andrews) Department of Education & Childhood

Session overview This session outlines how EdD prog leaders and team seek to enhance opportunities for support, collaborative learning, and personal and academic development of its ‘students’ Course is highly successful for retention and success, and achieved 100% student satisfaction in the 2017 PTES (Postgraduate Taught Student Experience Survey).

What is the EdD? A p/t prog designed for education professionals Well established, started at UWE in 2000 One of 5 professional doctorates at UWE Equivalent in status to PhD or other doctoral qualification Growing area of study – probably now more common than PhD in education More EdD students in ACE (59) than PhDs in all its 4 depts Widely accepted within wider education sector – greater ‘purchase’ due to focus on practice? (e.g. TEF etc. in HE) Now has annual recruitment (since 2014) About half current ‘students’ are HE staff, mainly UWE (from all 4 faculties and several professional services roles)

What is studied? Part One – taught mode (PGT) Part Two – research mode (PGR) Four taught 30 credit modules Two modules per academic year Two study block workshops per module Study blocks run Thursday evening to Saturday lunchtime Preparation for doctoral level engagement with theoretical approaches to understanding education, plus all aspects of research design and conduct (including via research mentor) The conduct of research study under the supervision of a research DoS and one or more additional supervisors with expertise in substantive area and methodological approach Lasts 2-4 years Progression exam, annual reviews etc. Production of 60,000 word thesis Viva voce examination

Building a learning community (the theory) Part of the expectation behind the programme is that learners build what Lave and Wenger called ‘a community of practice’, and others have called a ‘community of enquiry’ or ‘community of discovery’ The expectation that the course is akin to a ‘joint enterprise’ is emphasised during the information evening, selection interview and induction events That is, responsibility to one another to aid learning

Building a learning community (the practice) Three specific strategies introduced by current prog leadership during 2014 re-validation Ongoing general strategies continued and refined

Strategy 1: Mentoring Each student allocated staff mentor throughout the taught part of the programme Mentor provides a separate ‘resource’ from the module leader (WLM) Mentor can continue into part 2 as a supervisor or DoS Mentors have a ‘role description’, reviewed regularly by programme leaders Regular student/mentor meetings encouraged

Strategy 2: Buddying Peer support from day 1 Students all professionals working in demanding contexts – early years settings, schools, colleges, universities, prison, museum etc. Peers can provide ‘keeping on track’ support as well as practical support e.g. courses available in library Meeting up, sharing resources, reading one another’s drafts Reminders from tutors of buddies as a resource

Strategy 3: Assessment design Module 1 involve group presentation This helps students to uncover similarities of their professional contexts (not just differences) Students get to know each other Students collaborate on common issues e.g. ethics, researcher positionality

Other community building activities Mode of delivery – study blocks – intense periods of collaborative learning Team teaching – often 10 or 12 staff per module Collaborative approach to pedagogy – e.g. workshops, discussion groups Part of wider research community e.g. dept & university research seminars, faculty PGR events, UWE Grad School activities etc. • Inclusion in dept. academic reading groups and writing retreats Collaborative writing projects (e.g. edited book/s) • Presentations from and Q&A panels with alumni and those on phase two in modules, and at information and induction events Several alumni now teach and supervise on prog