Whakakotahi: Communities of Practice West Coast Tertiary Providers Conference 27 November 2008 Peter Coolbear Strategising to Improve Teaching and Learning by Supporting Communities of Practice

Nov 2008 Ako Aotearoa: where did it come from? Government needs confidence that tertiary teaching and learning is of a high standard and is relevant to the needs of Aotearoa, New Zealand Understanding of increasing complexities around tertiary teaching and learning Consultation through the Teaching Matters Forum

Nov 2008 Ako Aotearoa’s mission: Through a focus on enhancing the effectiveness of tertiary teaching and learning practices, the Centre will assist educators and organisations to enable the best possible educational outcomes for all learners.

Nov 2008 Who are our stakeholders? Our mandate is across the whole of the post- compulsory sector: organisations, practitioners, learners, employers, the wider community 1,500 on our mailing list Anyone with an involvement in supporting student learning

Nov 2008 Our target audiences: different levels of communication Organisations – develop strategic view Educators Learners Employers

Nov 2008 Our target audiences: different levels of communication Organisations Educators - support to do new things; - assist in developing a more coherent evidence base for improved practice - develop communities of practice Learners Employers

Nov 2008 Key starting assumptions: There is a great deal of good practice out there …… the problem is it’s not celebrated, shared or debated enough …… often learner benefit is assumed, not tested …… often it is left to the individual, rather than driven by the organisation …… and how much impact does it have? – How much more could it have?

Nov 2008 Also: We are working off a highly fragmented knowledge base …… little coherence …… considerable duplication of effort with no subsequent synthesis

Nov 2008 Recent and current work Ongoing Regional Hub Project Fund May 2008 Whole of organisation strategies to improve teaching and learning Allocated Oct 2008 Good Practice Publication Grants Decisions due Dec 2008 National Project Fund Live late September 2008 Ako Aotearoa web-site development Published September 2008 Research & Projects Register

Nov 2008 National Project Fund

Nov 2008 There are four funding streams to the NPF 1.Research and Implementation Projects – shortlisted: 52 EoI to 13 2.M ā ori Initiative Projects – shortlisted: 20 EoI to 6 3.Doctoral Scholarships – awarded 4.Collaboration Funds – applications under discussion Fund Structure

Nov 2008 $1.2m $0.5m for Regional Hub Project Funding How are we going to maximise the benefit to learners? Getting an impact from our investment

Nov 2008 More than just a funder, also a project partner Our priority has to be to maximise the dissemination and impact of the work we do. Ideally build communities of interest around these projects Fund Operation

Nov 2008 Ako Aotearoa Web site Five main sections - 1.Ako Aotearoa – our organisation, our people, our work events, news, etc. 2.Resource Centre - resources that support good tertiary teaching and learning 3.Groups – working areas for Projects and Communities of Practice 4.Te Reo navigation option – M ā tauranga M ā ori Plus 5.‘National register of implementation projects & research in tertiary education in New Zealand’

Nov 2008 Ako Aotearoa Web site Five main sections - 1.Ako Aotearoa – our organisation, our people, our work events, news, etc. 2.Resource Centre - resources that support good tertiary teaching and learning 3.Groups – working areas for Projects and Communities of Practice 4.Te Reo navigation option – M ā tauranga M ā ori Plus 5.‘National register of implementation projects & research in tertiary education in New Zealand’

Nov 2008

Features of successful communities of practice Purpose Clarity of purpose Consensus on reach Clear benefits for individual members (and a mutual understanding of what these benefits are) Leadership Focus – limited number of projects at any one time and each has a champion Robust moderation processes

Nov 2008 What can Ako Aotearoa do to help? Host the virtual part of the community Provide collaboration funding to initiate a group –Support face-to-face meetings? Support projects undertaken by communities Support moderators as necessary Promote the community as necessary

Nov 2008 Use-inspired research – Pasteur’s quadrant KNOWLEDGE APPLICATION Use-inspired research Applied research Pure Research

Nov 2008 Debates we plan to lead next year Teaching qualifications for practitioners in tertiary education ………… does Ako Aotearoa have a view? Professional accreditation? … would it be of value? What would it look like? Maximising the opportunity provided by the new QA proposals for self-assessment and review Capacity, capability, coherence and quality issues around tertiary education research in NZ