EH4102 - first lesson

Yesterday was the first EH4102 lesson. I came back from the residential, I am on in order to attend.
The lesson was centred around around some reading we were asked to complete around the scholarship of teaching and learning. Initially we were asked to go through the reading and discuss based on some questions given to us by the tutor. Having not done the reading I turned to my colleagues and found that on our table of 6 people, only one had done the reading. She was able to explain them and we attempted the questions. I found that I did not really gain anything from this activity, it was unfortunate that no one had completed the reading but is, I think, a reflection of the people on the course and their reasons for completing it. The majority of the participants seem to only be enrolled on the postgraduate certificate in learning and teaching in higher education in order to gain the SD2 and because they have been told to do so by line management or as part of their appraisals. Although I am happy to be completing another qualification, especially one so transferable, I also feel that I am only completing it in order to meet targets and am not sure I truly have enough time to complete it or give it as much time and commitment as is really required. In the lesson, we discussed the value to students associated with the scholarship of learning and teaching, I felt that it was interesting to learn how other people work, the way that other people are encouraged to get involved in research and the way this affects their teaching. During the discussion I found I didn't really understand some of the concepts, for example I can see the value of lecturers being scholarly in their specialist field, this has value to the student as it means they are professionals and are teaching relevant material, also that they are able to give relevant, 'real life' examples. However i was unsure on difference between that and scholarship relating to learning and teaching, perhaps this would have come from completing the reading but even those who had read the material seemed unsure. Other than what was read before the lectures I did not learn any new information or hear about any new ideas, it meant I found the first part of the lesson difficult to participate in and did not really enjoy it.
The second part of the lesson we were split into action learning sets, in which we discussed the project assessment for the module and people's queries or questions regarding it. I found this part more interesting and relevant although I already and a pretty good idea about what I wanted to do and how I was going to go about it. I found I had a lot, possibly too much, to contribute and hopefully was able to help my colleagues. Although I can see the value in action learning sets I found it to be a laborious process which is not suited to my learning style. I find it difficult to stick to the particular sections of the process and wanted to skip ahead or ask questions when it was not time to do so in line with the model, I find this frustrating as I am very much the sort of person who prefers action to talking about action and the action learning sets model seems to me to be a little bit unnecessary, all in all this lesson was not something I would have chosen to do, I would prefer a little more information or at least something which is going to make me consider the way I currently work and if there is anything I can change. I felt that the onus was absolutely on us to discuss read, work and then solve others problems, the tutors did not play a particularly big role and I would defiantly not teach in this way to my students.
I feel like I have been very negative but I am trying to use this blog in a truthful, honest way in order that I can gain the most from it. I did not enjoy or gain much from the lesson and would not encourage others to attend.


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Didn't enjoy this week

I didn't enjoy teaching quite as much as normal this week, it seems as though my blog is very negative at the moment but I think this is just a negative few weeks and I'm hoping it picks up soon.
One of the things that has really got my attention is that the students I teach are genuinely interested in the module I do not write but do teach on. The students do a lot of research and reading before the lectures and have a large knowledge base of the subjects we are talking about. Although I am interested in 'gangs and gun crime' and I do read up around the lecture content before I teach, this week the students knew more than I did and it was obvious from their questions and comments that the lecture did not teach them anything new or allow them to consider any new perspectives. I am not sure how to solve this issue, I want to provide the students with a good experience but the lectures provided for me are not doing so.
I have tried to read more and have recently looked into guest lecturers, for example ex gang members who will be able to provide the students with a new experience. Before the next lecture I am going to do more research and watch some of the films suggested by the students which contain gangs or gang references, I am also going to modify the lectures, maybe to include debate or group activities, enabling students to consider others perspectives. Maybe it is that my role needs to change, if I cannot be an information giver then perhaps I should become more of an facilitator, enabling the students to discuss and learn from each other.
Lots to think about, I wish I had more time to put my ideas into practise.



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Contracts and changing lecturers

I found out this week that I have not had my project re-funded, which means that my contract ends in June and am unlikely to get it extended past this academic year. I feel like the change in lecturers has affected our students a lot already, although there has been a core teaching team of 3 lecturers since the degree began, there has been 9 other lecturers come and go. The uncertainty definitely affects my performance, I am very conscious that I may not be teaching students the following year and I am conscious that our students learn the style of particular lecturers who then are not there the following year or in some cases the following semester. During this week I found it difficult to remain motivated, rather I was worrying about my job and thinking about other potential career paths. I was not motivated to create good, usable lecturers for whomever will take over my modules, instead I delivered the already existing lectures with little modifications. My students noticed immediately that I was not my normal self, asking me what was wrong, 20 minutes into the first lecture after receiving the news one of my students had to ask me to slow down as I was talking to fast and just trying to get through the lecture.
This week I am going on a residential with a number of my students. I am looking forward to building a good relationship with them but at the same time it is difficult to remain in authority when your in your PJ's.


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This week

I currently only teach at the Burnley campus of UCLan, teaching two modules to the foundation degree. However, initially I was supposed to be teaching one module across two campuses, due to a timetable clash my colleague and I changed our teaching responsibilities so she teaches my module in the main campus and I teach hers in the Burnley campus. This has led to us sharing lectures and using each others resources rather than replicating work. This week, the lecture I was teaching for the module my colleague leads was a briefing about the assignments they are required to complete. This experience led me to reflect on the difference in our teaching styles, and how difficult it is to use someone else's lectures, especially when they use different techniques and have much less input than I would choose to have. My colleague often asks students to 'do the work themselves', by this she means setting students group activities and asking them to complete them and feed back to the class. I find this a relatively difficult way to teach, especially as we both teach classes of non-traditional students, often mature students or students for whom English is not their first language. I find that using a lot of activities can be quite 'hit and miss' and often relies on one or two students being present and contributing to a discussion or taking a lead in activities which they soon tire of. However, as I am not writing the lectures for one of the module on which I teach, I have no choice but to change my style and use the resources I have access to. This week I have appreciated how difficult it is to use someone else's lectures, I realise how difficult it must be for her, she is using my lectures which are written in completely different style, I will definitely be including more options for activities in the future, enabling her to use the content she feels most comfortable with. Although next academic year I will ensure I have time to change the lectures I am using and if necessary, write new ones.

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First Post

Hello,
My name is Jenny, I am an early career researcher and lecturer from the University of Central Lancashire. I teach on the BA in Community Leadership and also on the Foundation Degree in Volunteering and Community Action, teaching a number of modules across both degree's which run from separate campuses.
This blog will be used as a regular reflection tool, as a way to reflect on my practise as both a teacher and a learner, through my role as a lecturer and also in my role as a student on the Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PGCLTHE) and in my role as a student on an MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
The primary reason for this blog is as an assignment for my PGCLTHE, which asks us to reflect upon our journey as a teacher to date, our current practise and also our future journey in line with SEDA and HEA guidelines. However I am hoping, that due to the format and ongoing nature of completing a blog I will benefit from this reflection more than I have from reflecting in the past.
I have been teaching for 3 years at UCLan and before that worked as a project support in the same department. I teach on a few different modules, including core modules such as 'Volunteering and Safety Management' and 'Citizenship and Cohesive Communities' both of which contain a lot of theory and are mainly taught through traditional style lectures. I also teach a number of modules which are optional if completing the degrees and which are also validated as elective modules, this leads to some really interesting class groups, in particular one module in which I usually have an even mix between degree students and BA Sexual Health students.
My background lies in youth and community work and I have spent some time working with young offenders, my plan was never to teach, I imagined I would spend a lot longer working in the community. I am, however, very lucky that my role allows me to continue project work and enables me to continue my development in community work whilst becoming experienced in lecturing.
It is this conflict, between my natural ability and my experience as a youth and community worker and my current role as an academic and lecturer which much of this reflection will focus on.
Hopefully I will blog regularly.
Jenny

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