1. ACU Conference, Accra, January 17th 2011
When do academics develop their practices? - lessons from the ABLE-Ghana Learning Community
ACU Conference, Accra, January 17th 2011

2. Plan for this presentation
The challenge of ‘greater relevance’
The ABLE-Ghana approach and rationale
(Advancing Business Learning for Employability – Ghana)
Working it out: from disbelief to action
The legacy
Reflections/lessons

3. A challenge business school academics know well – but…
Greater relevance? – but a lack of local learning resources
Develop own resources? – lack confidence/support/ models/time
Active/experiential learning? – but assessment load of huge class sizes
Placements and projects? – access and resource issues

4. Situation normal! The glass is half full and half empty
Trying to ‘drive change’ top-down leads to: □ passive resistance & perfunctory compliance □ adopting the slogans of change □ ceremonial displays of ‘good practice’
Academic practices are an embedded system – so needs to be tackled as such

5. ABLE-Ghana: the basic plan
Purpose – enabling business schools to raise their game, in a way that will continue
Participants – OU, UGBS, UCC, KBS, WUE, GIMPA
Employer involvement – formal, informal and public sectors
The approach – i) A learning community; ii) Mini-projects; iii) Distributed leadership
Timescale – about fifteen months
Finances – for meeting costs and project management
Slide from the start of the project

6. A framework, not a blueprint
It could develop in many ways… it depends on us
So what do we all want from and through ABLE-Ghana? - personally, professionally, for our institutions, and for our countries
Slide from the start of the project

7. Slide from the start of the project
Statements 1A and 1B
Learning means acquiring and remembering new information
Learning is what remains after you have forgotten what you were taught
Slide from the start of the project 7

8. Slide from the start of the project
Statements 2A and 2B
Its right teachers decide what we learn
Often students know best what they need to learn and are ready to learn
Slide from the start of the project 8

9. Slide from the start of the project
Statements 3A and 3B
We learn (or not) on our own – even if we are with others, as in a class
We learn with, from and through each other
Slide from the start of the project 9

10. Slide from the start of the project
Statements 4A and4B
Studying for an award makes you a better person – its not about dealing with everyday problems
Practical experience comes first – the best courses support and extend learning from experience
Slide from the start of the project 10

11. Slide from the start of the project
Statements 5A and 5B
Follow instructions: thinking you know better than the boss will just get you in trouble
If you keep needing instructions from the boss, then you will not be much use to him/her
Slide from the start of the project 11

12. The experiential basis of ABLE-Ghana
The primary task of business school teachers: cultivating student judgment through experience, reflective learning and relevant knowledge
Teachers cannot use appropriately methods they have not experienced
The ABLE-Ghana medium had to be the message
An appreciative approach (people have problems enough without being critical of them as well)

13. Working it out – four phases
Disbelief, confusion and re-shaping the project – focus on New SME curricula, Cases, and Assessment
Slow build-up: reflecting on the lack of progress, trying new approaches
Mutual accommodation: acceleration through an action-learning Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative
Firing on all cylinders

14. The developing legacy Product - resources and papers
New practices & know-how
Continuing work and relationships
Institutionalisation and sustainability

15. What the OUBS is looking for
Professional development - knowledge and first hand experience of business & management in West Africa; - experience of cross-cultural working; - exposure to new challenges in teaching & learning
Development of business and professional relationships - possible partners for research and teaching projects
Slide from the start of the project

16. From the OUBS point of view
We have cases and cross-cultural experience we can use in our teaching
We have relationships to build on for research
We have particular papers we want to publish based on the work
We can see opportunities to develop new project proposals, especially in the area of OER and research training

17. Reflections/lessons
Insist those involved face the adaptive challenge (and give problems back to the community)
Support, support, support – in many forms (including for the leader)
Multiple incentives – from all directions
It takes time (you can’t push the river).

18. Questions and comments? Contact: r.c.paton@open.ac.uk
Thank you!
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