Co-constructing mentoring and its use within a Higher Education Provider
November 26, 2018
Over the last five years I have found myself immersed in my PhD research. The focus of the research is to explore the changes in pedagogy at a case-study higher education provider (HEP). The HEP’s shift in teaching has come about as a direct result of changes within the higher education sector. Adams (2016) argues that the government is encouraging ‘challenger institutions’ that offer alternative educational options. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (2016) identifies current problems for new start-up institutions, which tend to face barriers with respect to establishing themselves in the higher education sector. Even though perceived entry barriers may be high, the Government continues to encourage competition and the establishment of more HEPs. This has happened as a consequence of neoliberal interventions in higher education. Coughlan (2018) draws attention to the development of ‘accelerated’ or ‘commuter’ degrees, whereby students can study in ‘bite-sized’ chunks whilst simultaneously continuing to work.
The private HEP selected for my case-study research originally focused on online education in a distance-learning environment. However, due to increased competition and the slow progression made by students through the course modules, the HEP made the commercial decision to venture into a blend of teaching both online and offline. This innovation was aimed at improving student numbers and progress. Essentially, this approach to pedagogy ‘flipped’ traditional teaching models. According to Lee and Park (2018) students involved in this flipped approach have the ability to prepare for lessons in advance in readiness for classroom seminars. This enables action-learning and problem-solving exercises within the classroom, thus extending students’ knowledge and work-based skills. The HEP’s model for this approach to Blended learning involves providing two days attendance at one of five study centres within the UK, together with the provision of full distance-learning content online. Many of the students consider the educational programmes to be ‘accelerated’ degrees and/or courses that allow for the flexibility that enables them to continue to work whilst studying. However, this is not exactly how the HEP’s academic management see Blended learning. They consider attendance in centres to be two days of seminar learning and expect the students to spend a considerable amount of time working with the online content in order to provide themselves with more in-depth knowledge. There appears to be slight confusion between the students’ and the HEP’s expectations of the programmes and the mode of Blended delivery. This is not surprising as the Blended model is so new to the University.
Similarly, from the number of in-depth interviews I conducted, the lack of understanding of the ‘Blended’ learning framework has also been identified as an issue for the tutors. There appears to be some confusion amongst certain members of the academic team as to what the Blended delivery model entails, even though part of their on-boarding training covers this issue. As a result, tutors often fail to signpost students effectively towards the online content. The Director of Blended learning at the time did however, address this problem, and one of the interview participants has indicated how the situation has improved. Despite this, from my observations I would suggest that there is still room for improvement. Many of the academic team are new to the HEP, and are currently teaching on modules within the study centres. I wanted therefore, to understand how the Blended learning delivery model could be firmly embedded into the tutors’ work-practice, and so I read a number of academic papers. One concept that stood out is referred to by Bryan and Carpenter (2008). They make reference to the notion of ‘co-constructing mentoring activities’. This process enables the tutor to effectively communicate with his/her mentor, thus enabling development plans to be mutually created. This method, I believe, can address the issue of improving work-practice and knowledge in the HEP’s programmes, in a more ‘nurturing’ and ‘developmental’ manner. Currently, the mentor may think s/he knows what development the tutor requires, but this could change over time. The concept of co-constructing, therefore, essentially attends to both party’s expectations and interpretation of developmental needs. I suggest that co-constructing can make professional development easier, and that it can be approached in a more effective collaborative and collective manner. Open discussions can take place between the mentor and the tutor, identifying essential learning and development opportunities. Consequently, I suggest that the HEP considers undertaking further research, via ‘participatory action research’ in order to enable co-constructing to be introduced into its professional development activities. Trialling this method within the Blended learning environment addresses this current problem, develops tutoring skills, and could as professional development plans are being developed become the beginning of using such a technique throughout the entire University.
References
- Adams, R. (2016). Government may give start-up universities degree awarding powers. The Guardian, 16th May.
- BIS (Department of Business Innovation and Skills). (2016). Success as a knowledge economy: Teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice.London: HMSO
- Bryan, H., and Carpenter, C. (2008). Mentoring: a practice developed in community? Journal of In-Service Education.34(1) pp. 47-59.
- Coughlan, S. (2018), Theresa May’s university review will not scrap fees, Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-43106736, (Accessed 19 February 2018).
- Lee, M. K., and Park, B. K. (2018). Effects of flipped learning using online materials in a surgical nursing practicum: a pilot stratified group-randomized trial. Healthcare Informatics Research, 24 (1) pp. 69-78.
Author
Alison Watson
alison.watson@tees.ac.uk
