The challenges I find with e-learning.

Authentic e learning:

When I speak to others about external study/e-learning, their biggest concern is often a lack of self-motivation to actually complete the tasks required. Having the flexibility, or as some see it, having less direct face-to-face guidance and classroom formality, tends to allow them to become distracted and making them falsely believe they have more room to "slack off." It seems easier to get away with not contributing when you're not all physically present, and it is harder to remain engaged.

For me it is not this at all. Although I do naturally find autonomous self-directed learning generally more challenging, it is more that I find interaction with others comforting; there is a reassurance offered. The connection and camaraderie that develops between classmates has always been a big thing for me going through studies I found difficult (sometimes even anxiety-inducing).

It may just be that I am unfamiliar with this type of learning. The solely e-learning method is a whole new experience for me. I am not hugely computer literate and am one of those people who prefers a hard copy book over reading from a screen. I have always relied a lot on my pen, paper (and lots of highlighters!) to solidify knowledge in my mind. I find the virtual world lacking a little something that real-time presence and verbal conversation brings.

Also, perhaps because a lot of my previous study involved rote learning and memorizing content, I was “fed” a lot knowledge rather than having to construct it myself, so the concept of reflecting, philosophizing and articulating our current learning via our blogs is taking me out of my comfort zone. (I did find the blogging initially quite time consuming as I have never used this platform before, but I feel I am getting more efficient). Of course grasping the factual content through e-learning is fairly straightforward, but I personally learn a lot by also doing, seeing and saying (out loud and not just in my head, via discussions/tutorials/workshops, asking clarification and questions immediately when they crop up, bouncing ideas and concepts off others etc.) Physically being present in the work or study place without outside distraction is beneficial. 

Furthermore, I think there are limitations in certain fields of study. In the vet world, for instance, although you can discuss cases, share pictures and test results and receive advice from all over the world through online networks (all very authentic!), you cannot (yet) recreate the vet clinic floor virtually, cannot communicate face-to-face with clients, cannot perform physical exams etc., so a large part of vet learning will always need to be in real life.

I think many of these challenges are being overcome just with experience, getting used to this method of learning, growing confident using the tools (including my autonomous mind). I have also set up a quiet study away from home distractions and with reliable technology, which I appreciate is not so easy for some people. Something I think/hope institutions do is ensuring equity.

Jenni has done a wonderful job of overcoming many of these challenges by always being actively present/in-contact, engaging and encouraging. By strongly encouraging ongoing interaction and discussion between us students, an increased sense of belonging is being nurtured. She has made it fairly easy for us to communicate with each other via our blogs, which also allow us to bring some “personality” into the medium. She has made access to the necessary resources quite simple, which is good for people like me who are technologically challenged! Additionally, the assignment lets us use our new knowledge in the real-world context, which is a key aspect of authentic e-learning! This has been a great help. It has reduced the distanced between the virtual and the real-world for me. Jenni has also set recommended time schedules for each task (and ensuring they are realistic goals), which has been extremely valuable for my time management. I have been involved in on-line real-time discussions in the past, which have been tremendously helpful, but I acknowledge the difficulty of getting everyone online at the same time. I would suggest this method of communication, if ever possible.

Thanks Jenni!

Julia

Reading Quote

 2 quotes from the same page of Reading 9:

Firstly, “…having measures of ability and talent that respect local context, experiences, strengths, and interests are essential if we are to have ethically valid interpretations of what constitutes talented transactions and who is considered able to engage in these types of transactions.”

Similarly, “ability and talent should not be viewed as constructs possessed by individuals but, instead, as sets of relations that are actualized through dynamic transactions.”


 (Sasha A. Barab & Jonathan A. Plucker (2002), post 08/06/10, p. 178)

Please comment

Dear fellow education community members,

I am seeking your help for a university assignment revolved around knowledge, intelligence and expertise. I would be eternally grateful if you could respond to 1 or more of the questions below by adding a comment on my post.

The link has been posted onto my Twitter.

(1) What in your view qualifies someone as an expert? (Is an expert someone who has more knowledge, or uses their knowledge differently, etc.?)

(2) How do you think you become an expert? (Consider issues of dispositions, interest, education, exposure to other experts, favourable environment, circumstances, etc.)

(3) To what extent do you think it is possible to “make” someone an expert? If so, explain how could it be done. If not, explain why it may be difficult or even not possible. (Consider issues of instruction, coaching, environmental conditions, etc.)

(4) Do you think there is a relationship between expertise and intelligence? (What do you mean by “intelligence”?)

Many thanks!

Julia

Types of Knowledge and Intelligences

Emotional intelligence is a concept I find fascinating and one I wish to develop further, not only for integration into my own personal life, but also for my future in teaching.

Goleman (1995) summarises emotional intelligence (EI) as “abilities such as being able to motivate oneself and persist in face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate mood and keep distress from swamping ability to think, to empathise and to hope.”

Goleman uses Gardner’s summary of interpersonal intelligence as “the ability to understand other people: what motivates them, how they work, how to work cooperatively with them,” even using the example in terms of success as a clinician. He defines intrapersonal intelligence as this “correlative ability, turned inward,” to form an accurate model of oneself and use it effectively in life.

Goleman states that no one can say exactly how much EI accounts for, but I believe it is vital for my role as a consulting veterinarian within the Murdoch Uni teaching hospital, where I currently work causally.

The notion that EI can be learned and improved upon is crucial. In the GP department, where my work lies, there is a focus on this. Here, students are taught how to perform consultations and are lucky enough to access face-to-face contact with the general public and their pets to learn these skills. They are instructed on aspects of basic interpersonal intelligence, such as reading body language and facial expressions. Sternberg appreciates that it is a key part of what makes people do well in practices. He includes one use of practical intelligence that is highly valued in the workplace, which is the “kind of sensitivity that allows effective managers to pick up tacit messages.” I believe we vets use these same skills to pick up tacit messages in our clients (pet owners). We are required to determine a their individual EI abilities and to use these to our and their advantage - by creating rapport and a trusting working relationship with our clients, to satisfy them and their expectations, and thus giving them the comfort to allow us to work with their pets.  A big part of building this rapport is the ability to empathise. It is a word that came up a lot during my own learning as a student. Goleman lists empathy, or “recognizing emotions in others,” as the 4^th of Salvoy’s 5 abilities that define EI. He states that it builds on one’s self-awareness, and is required to be better in caring professions such as my own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2mAiPrOloQ 

Using the robotic Start Trek character “Data” as an example, Goleman explains some key aspects of human life and feelings (as opposed to metacognition) and discusses passion, faith, hope and devotion – Of course these feelings are all dealt with on a daily basis in my workplace, as to many of our client’s, pets are considered members of the family and any loss, illness or injury are a big cause of feelings and emotions.

On a more intrapersonal level, the university has introduced a small component into the vet course concerned with dealing with stress and one's own emotion, as burnout, “compassion fatigue” and suicide are sadly a big problem within the industry. I believe this is not just due to the nature of our work, but also because of the personality and IQ types that choose to be vets. Many psychologists and educators agree that IQ is a narrowed view of academic skills, and IQ testing is a direct predictor only of success in classroom or as professor (Gardner, 1983). Most vets do not end up in a life of academia, but despite this, vet school entry, which is more often than not directly from secondary school, is based on an IQ or academic intelligence testing and a ranking system. This highlights the problem that there is no actual way of scoring for EI. As a result of this, I believe there are many “high IQ” types in our field.

Goleman uses Block’s “ego resilience” study to describe pure IQ types of men as intellectuals; ambitious, productive but critical, condescending, unexpressive, detached, emotionally cold and bland. On the flipside, highly emotional competent men are outgoing and cheerful, with a commitment to people and causes, tend to take responsibility, have an ethical outlook, and are sympathetic and caring in relationships. High IQ women tend to be intellectually fluent and confident, but introspective and prone to feeling anxiety, guilt and rumination. They hesitate to express anger openly, but do so indirectly. Unlike highly emotionally competent women, they do not reach out to new people or adapt to stress as well. I do wonder if skews in these characteristics predispose to the above issues of compassion-fatigue and suicide.

Coleman ends the chapter saying EI "adds far more qualities that make us more fully human." In a job where we are expected to be human, I believe EI should remain a focus of our current teaching and for the selection of future vets.

Knowledge and Expertise

Hello fellow EDU654ers!

A foreword: This is my first time studying externally and I have to admit, I am not feeling very confident about it all. If you’re anything like me, you may feel like you have no idea if you’re on the right track with these blog post summaries and there are perhaps large gaps in your own knowledge and expertise! But anyway, here goes my first blog post:

“Knowledge and expertise.”

The need for graduates in knowledge-intensive organisations to be self-sufficient, life-long personal and professional learners is a recurring theme throughout the readings. This requires “intelligence”, defined as the mental ability to learn and adapt. It also encompasses the ability to form, shape and select their environmental contexts. Of course, academic intelligence is required for memory and analytical skills. However, I believe other attributes and forms of intelligence that are not so easily measured are also vital – creative, practical and social/communication intelligence and skills. As stated in Candy’s article, graduates must have disciplined inquiry, be able to apply their knowledge to problem solving, and must bear insights and explain their knowledge, thus also serving the community.

It is the responsibility of universities to provide the framework to equip graduates with these attributes – i.e. the skills and attitudes to continue life-long learning. They are no longer just "producers and disseminators of knowledge" – they have vital social functions and leadership roles. Like other knowledge-intensive settings, the boundaries have “blurred,” and universities have to collaborate with business, industry and other institutions to remain on this high platform.

Intelligence

Following the readings and a quick Google search, my understanding is that fluid intelligence is the ability to solve new problems, to reason, identify patterns and use logic, independent of any past knowledge. This tends to decrease with age. Crystallised intelligence is the ability to use prior learned knowledge and experience. This often increases with age, especially as our experience expands, and we learn to compensate for lost abilities.

There is also a clear distinction between practical and academic intelligence. Academic intelligence is more abstract and revolves around theoretical tasks. Practical intelligence revolves around efficient and organised real-life everyday tasks and situations. It includes the ability to form relationships and social networks. Features of practical intelligence, as stated in the readings, include flexibility, domains specific knowledge (expertise), effort saving strategies, incorporation of the external environment into problem solving and the ability to reformulate and redefine problems. In terms of education, more practical learners who may not perform well in conventional testing can be taught in ways that allow their practical intelligence to be utilised, and this has shown to result in better performance.

We must keep in mind that intelligence is relevant to each cultural/environmental context, and that people consequently shape and choose their environment. Thus, what one considers intelligent in one context is not always intelligent in another, and people’s intelligence may appear different across settings. The “mental processes” of intelligence gives rise to different behaviours depending on context (including one’s motivation, abilities or interest to apply behaviours). The issue here is that we tend to evaluate people on the resulting behaviour rather than the mental process, and draw conclusions from these. However, it is this mental process that signals intelligence, and this are common across contexts. Another problem revolves around testing of intelligence, as learners can appear intelligent if have same criteria as a test,  which is determined by culture and values (what Sternberg called a “closed system”).

Expertise

An expert is someone that has the practical intelligence in a particular domain/field of work or study. I believe the main basis for developing expertise is TIME (often a life-time) and experience in that field, thus having an understanding (creating and applying knowledge), rather than just academic intelligence and IQ. The Understanding Adult Learners text states that expertise features a superior memory, deeper problem solving skills and analysis, and self development, but ONLY in that particular domain.

This expertise progresses to wisdom  - defined as a “high level peak form of expertise” – a positive aspect of ageing and experience. Hence development in adulthood is vital (including the use of crystallised intelligence), and it is known that cognitive development continues into adulthood, with ongoing constant growth and change and learning desires.

Candy’s concluding statement

"universities are needed more now than ever, because, in a world dominated by knowledge, they represent knowledge work at its highest”

In my own area of expertise (the veterinary industry) universities are, in many cases, the forefront of research and development, often leading by example the gold-standard of knowledge and practice in the field (= Scholarship of Research). They work closely with/for local small business, often as referral centers or sources of knowledge/information/continuing education for veterinarians out in the field, i.e. those with “real-world” problems (= Scholarship of Application).

Graduates are expected to be competent clinicians on their first day out, so the development of knowledge-worker attributes is key, with requirements in life-long learning and a climate of inquiry as an expectation. Vets also become a form of teachers themselves (= Scholarship of Teaching). 

The vet industry is closely linked to those of other medical professions, global public and human health, pharmacological companies, food animal production with economic implications, etc. Thus collaboration with these industries is vital (i.e that blurring of boundaries). The knowledge taught in university is often developed in/by such industries (= Scholarship of Integration).

Thanks guys, I hope you've enjoyed reading my summary of the first 3 readings :)

Julia