AHECS Biennial The Reflective Practitioner John Hannon (and DK!!)

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." ― Søren Kierkegaard

Reflective practice  John Dewey defined reflective thinking as "active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends [that] includes a conscious and voluntary effort to establish belief upon a firm basis of evidence and rationality, " (1933, 9).

Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic.

image taken from photobucket.com Curiosity – What were they saying in 2009? Stop and Measure the Roses

image taken from photobucket.com Activity Volumes – GUESS High 11+Medium 5-10Low - less than 5 1. Students on placements ( volunteer / overseas / work experience ) 2. Career development programmes in academic schools 3. Student waiting times 4. Student type ( subject, year, nationality, ethnicity, gender … ) 5. New initiative proposals 6. Successful proposals with funding 7. Careers fairs 8. Vacancies

image taken from photobucket.com Answers High 11+ Medium 5-10 Low - less than 5 1. Students on placements ( volunteer / overseas / work experience ) – MEDIUM 2. Career development programmes in academic schools – HIGH 3. Student waiting times – MEDIUM 4. Student type (subject, year, nationality, ethnicity, gender … ) – LOW 5. New initiative proposals – LOW 6. Successful proposals with funding – LOW 7. Careers fairs – HIGH 8. Vacancies – HIGH Busyness ---- Competitive advantage ---- Relevant ---- Popular

Agendas (Watts & Butcher 2008) Employer Engagement EnterpriseEmployability PDP

image taken from photobucket.com Conclusions Understanding & interest More measurable outcomes Incorporated Relationships Confidence & assertiveness Mgt info & skilled staff Question & define purpose Evidence value Open communication Successful strategies

image taken from photobucket.com Issues & Challenges – Change? Measurement Evidence - impact, fit for purpose Inputs & processes - outputs & outcomes Formal targets Accountability / autonomy / responsibility Resource limitations IT, time Competing expectations Public policy, stakeholders, satisfaction Ownership of employability Academic depts, students Senior management role Planning, competition, vision, HoS Stats, anecdotes, visibility Nature of students Background, grades, motivation CS perception Undersell, brand

image taken from photobucket.com