9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES 2021) and 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference (REES AAEE 2021), 2022
Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 2021
Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) is a variety of learning opportunities that can extend beyond the ... more Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) is a variety of learning opportunities that can extend beyond the application of theory to practice, to include complex situational, personal, material, and organisational factors. Central to forming successful WIL experiences is the partnership, support, and collaboration extended by all key stakeholders. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted WIL experiences, with many developed partnerships and sustained practices being abruptly impacted. In 2020, a multidisciplinary group of Australasian WIL academics, administrators and students joined in weekly virtual coffee chats to share concerns and experiences during this rapidly changing educational landscape. These conversations led to establishing a Small Significant Online Network Group (SSONG) and became the basis for this article. We explored the lessons learned from WIL practitioners to be better informed of the practice of WIL and, generally, to examine the role of collaborations in higher education. Using ...
A key challenge in contemporary dietetic practice is making collaborative decisions about dietary... more A key challenge in contemporary dietetic practice is making collaborative decisions about dietary behaviours with a diverse range of patients. Contemporary decision making frameworks for clinical dietetic practice give value to working in a collaborative manner with patients, however, there remains uncertainty with regards to how and when dietitians might apply this approach in their practice.In this doctoral research project, Author 1 used a philosophical hermeneutic approach to deepen understanding of a collaborative approach to decision making in dietetic practice. She also explored the core capabilities required to enact such an approach in early career dietetic practice. The experiences and perceptions of patients and dietitians were explored using in depth interviews and individualized reflective practice activities.The findings suggest that collaborative decision making in dietetic practice is situational and requires the development of a caring and trusting professional rela...
Enriching Higher Education Students' Learning through Post-work Placement Interventions, 2020
Innovation calls for graduates to be critical practitioners who can challenge the status quo, eng... more Innovation calls for graduates to be critical practitioners who can challenge the status quo, engage in complex problem-solving, and create new ideas to enhance economic and social well-being. These capabilities require self-authorship, confidence, maturity and authority to enact their vision in an increasingly complex world of work. According to Baxter Magolda (1998), a self-authored individual is no longer dominated by the ideology of others and can make meaning critically and independently using their own knowledge, an ambitious expectation of new graduates. In this chapter, theoretical ideas about self-authorship are discussed that highlight its complex relationship with social structures and established professional practices. We explore students’ progress towards self-authorship in two Australian universities from those students who recently completed an authentic workplace learning experience. Gathering qualitative data from collaborative reflective activities during workshops, we examined how students interpreted and drew meaning from their workplace experiences. Progression towards self-authorship was evident yet students largely remained bounded by others in their host placement in their thinking and behaviour. Work placements proved useful for gauging and developing self-authorship, exposing students to situations which demanded an internal voice and invoking, in partnership with deliberate reflective activities, complex meaning-making of their learning experiences. We present collaborative strategies for educators and industry to enhance self-authorship among higher education students.
Students’ agency is an important enabler of productive learning in complex, unpredictable workpla... more Students’ agency is an important enabler of productive learning in complex, unpredictable workplace environments. In the study presented here, we explored how mobile technology can help students enhance their workplace learning experiences and develop their capacity to act as learners and future practitioners. We collected survey and interview data from 312 participants, which informed the development of Mobile Technology Capacity Building Framework that comprises thematic resources for students, academics and workplace educators. Its development draws on two sets of theoretical ideas: the importance of agentic learning that enables students to develop their practice capabilities; and the use of activity-centred learning design to distinguish between what can be designed ahead of time and what should be left to students’ agency. This study and Framework contribute to understanding how the productive use of technologies can foster students’ agency and development of deliberate profes...
One of the many purposes of workplace learning (WPL) is for students to socialise into their futu... more One of the many purposes of workplace learning (WPL) is for students to socialise into their future professional roles. Learning to think and act like a professional includes not only working in physical workplaces, but also in digital and mobile spaces. With the mobility afforded by connected devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, virtual spaces have blurred the boundaries between personal, public, learning, organisational and professional spheres. This blurring offers new possibilities to learn knowledge, skills and experiences, but also presents some potential hazards, such as students engaging in inappropriate professional conduct, or placing themselves, other employees, clients and/or the host organisation’s reputations at risk. To avoid these potential risks and make the most of these new possibilities requires developing students’ capacity to use mobile technology safely, confidentially and professionally. This chapter explores how to support the development of the...
We start this chapter by parading the professional practice discourse on the historical stage. Th... more We start this chapter by parading the professional practice discourse on the historical stage. This then sets the backdrop for our discussion of visioning practice and marginalia into the future. Most accounts of the past are at the same time a preparation stage for new beginnings. At times there are smooth transitions from past to present but at other times there are abrupt stops and sudden starts.
What does it mean to be a resourceful and skilful professional in an environment saturated with i... more What does it mean to be a resourceful and skilful professional in an environment saturated with intelligent devices and connected to diverse knowledge resources and human networks? This chapter discusses the roles of mobile technology in professional work and learning from an extended hybrid mind perspective. We argue that professional knowledge and skills extend beyond individual humans to their physical, technological and social environment. Learning to be a professional means learning to extend and entwine one’s knowledge and skills with ‘intelligence’ that is embedded and embodied in a distributed technology–human environment. In doing so, we argue that practitioners become ‘professional-plus’. They need capabilities to work with different kinds of knowledge and embrace diverse ways of knowing that are distributed across humans with different expertise and machines. We call this capability ‘epistemic fluency’.
Although workplace learning (WPL) and mobile learning are both university priorities, surprisingl... more Although workplace learning (WPL) and mobile learning are both university priorities, surprisingly they rarely intersect in practice. This chapter reports on a multi-university project that explored how to enhance WPL with mobile technology on placement and resulted in the development of the mobile technology capacity building (MTCB) framework for WPL. We first outline our method for gathering data. We then discuss our findings, which provided evidence that there is value in using mobile technology to enhance WPL and helped us identify seven themes that underpin a productive use of mobile technology for WPL and the five learning dimensions to foster student agency. Finally, we discuss how the seven themes are related to the five learning dimensions.
Workplace learning is a university teaching and learning strategy to prepare graduates for their ... more Workplace learning is a university teaching and learning strategy to prepare graduates for their future professional roles in real-world professional settings. In this first chapter, we begin by exploring the changing conditions for learning and working in an increasingly connected, globalised and complex world. Drawing on the concept of liquid times (Bauman, 2012), which implies that practices and structures become fluid and dissolve before they have time to solidify, we explore the new context for university professional education. We then consider more specifically the purpose, benefits and challenges of workplace learning and how advances in mobile technology can open up new possibilities for students’ workplace learning. We then outline the three-part structure of the book.
9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES 2021) and 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference (REES AAEE 2021), 2022
Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 2021
Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) is a variety of learning opportunities that can extend beyond the ... more Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) is a variety of learning opportunities that can extend beyond the application of theory to practice, to include complex situational, personal, material, and organisational factors. Central to forming successful WIL experiences is the partnership, support, and collaboration extended by all key stakeholders. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted WIL experiences, with many developed partnerships and sustained practices being abruptly impacted. In 2020, a multidisciplinary group of Australasian WIL academics, administrators and students joined in weekly virtual coffee chats to share concerns and experiences during this rapidly changing educational landscape. These conversations led to establishing a Small Significant Online Network Group (SSONG) and became the basis for this article. We explored the lessons learned from WIL practitioners to be better informed of the practice of WIL and, generally, to examine the role of collaborations in higher education. Using ...
A key challenge in contemporary dietetic practice is making collaborative decisions about dietary... more A key challenge in contemporary dietetic practice is making collaborative decisions about dietary behaviours with a diverse range of patients. Contemporary decision making frameworks for clinical dietetic practice give value to working in a collaborative manner with patients, however, there remains uncertainty with regards to how and when dietitians might apply this approach in their practice.In this doctoral research project, Author 1 used a philosophical hermeneutic approach to deepen understanding of a collaborative approach to decision making in dietetic practice. She also explored the core capabilities required to enact such an approach in early career dietetic practice. The experiences and perceptions of patients and dietitians were explored using in depth interviews and individualized reflective practice activities.The findings suggest that collaborative decision making in dietetic practice is situational and requires the development of a caring and trusting professional rela...
Enriching Higher Education Students' Learning through Post-work Placement Interventions, 2020
Innovation calls for graduates to be critical practitioners who can challenge the status quo, eng... more Innovation calls for graduates to be critical practitioners who can challenge the status quo, engage in complex problem-solving, and create new ideas to enhance economic and social well-being. These capabilities require self-authorship, confidence, maturity and authority to enact their vision in an increasingly complex world of work. According to Baxter Magolda (1998), a self-authored individual is no longer dominated by the ideology of others and can make meaning critically and independently using their own knowledge, an ambitious expectation of new graduates. In this chapter, theoretical ideas about self-authorship are discussed that highlight its complex relationship with social structures and established professional practices. We explore students’ progress towards self-authorship in two Australian universities from those students who recently completed an authentic workplace learning experience. Gathering qualitative data from collaborative reflective activities during workshops, we examined how students interpreted and drew meaning from their workplace experiences. Progression towards self-authorship was evident yet students largely remained bounded by others in their host placement in their thinking and behaviour. Work placements proved useful for gauging and developing self-authorship, exposing students to situations which demanded an internal voice and invoking, in partnership with deliberate reflective activities, complex meaning-making of their learning experiences. We present collaborative strategies for educators and industry to enhance self-authorship among higher education students.
Students’ agency is an important enabler of productive learning in complex, unpredictable workpla... more Students’ agency is an important enabler of productive learning in complex, unpredictable workplace environments. In the study presented here, we explored how mobile technology can help students enhance their workplace learning experiences and develop their capacity to act as learners and future practitioners. We collected survey and interview data from 312 participants, which informed the development of Mobile Technology Capacity Building Framework that comprises thematic resources for students, academics and workplace educators. Its development draws on two sets of theoretical ideas: the importance of agentic learning that enables students to develop their practice capabilities; and the use of activity-centred learning design to distinguish between what can be designed ahead of time and what should be left to students’ agency. This study and Framework contribute to understanding how the productive use of technologies can foster students’ agency and development of deliberate profes...
One of the many purposes of workplace learning (WPL) is for students to socialise into their futu... more One of the many purposes of workplace learning (WPL) is for students to socialise into their future professional roles. Learning to think and act like a professional includes not only working in physical workplaces, but also in digital and mobile spaces. With the mobility afforded by connected devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, virtual spaces have blurred the boundaries between personal, public, learning, organisational and professional spheres. This blurring offers new possibilities to learn knowledge, skills and experiences, but also presents some potential hazards, such as students engaging in inappropriate professional conduct, or placing themselves, other employees, clients and/or the host organisation’s reputations at risk. To avoid these potential risks and make the most of these new possibilities requires developing students’ capacity to use mobile technology safely, confidentially and professionally. This chapter explores how to support the development of the...
We start this chapter by parading the professional practice discourse on the historical stage. Th... more We start this chapter by parading the professional practice discourse on the historical stage. This then sets the backdrop for our discussion of visioning practice and marginalia into the future. Most accounts of the past are at the same time a preparation stage for new beginnings. At times there are smooth transitions from past to present but at other times there are abrupt stops and sudden starts.
What does it mean to be a resourceful and skilful professional in an environment saturated with i... more What does it mean to be a resourceful and skilful professional in an environment saturated with intelligent devices and connected to diverse knowledge resources and human networks? This chapter discusses the roles of mobile technology in professional work and learning from an extended hybrid mind perspective. We argue that professional knowledge and skills extend beyond individual humans to their physical, technological and social environment. Learning to be a professional means learning to extend and entwine one’s knowledge and skills with ‘intelligence’ that is embedded and embodied in a distributed technology–human environment. In doing so, we argue that practitioners become ‘professional-plus’. They need capabilities to work with different kinds of knowledge and embrace diverse ways of knowing that are distributed across humans with different expertise and machines. We call this capability ‘epistemic fluency’.
Although workplace learning (WPL) and mobile learning are both university priorities, surprisingl... more Although workplace learning (WPL) and mobile learning are both university priorities, surprisingly they rarely intersect in practice. This chapter reports on a multi-university project that explored how to enhance WPL with mobile technology on placement and resulted in the development of the mobile technology capacity building (MTCB) framework for WPL. We first outline our method for gathering data. We then discuss our findings, which provided evidence that there is value in using mobile technology to enhance WPL and helped us identify seven themes that underpin a productive use of mobile technology for WPL and the five learning dimensions to foster student agency. Finally, we discuss how the seven themes are related to the five learning dimensions.
Workplace learning is a university teaching and learning strategy to prepare graduates for their ... more Workplace learning is a university teaching and learning strategy to prepare graduates for their future professional roles in real-world professional settings. In this first chapter, we begin by exploring the changing conditions for learning and working in an increasingly connected, globalised and complex world. Drawing on the concept of liquid times (Bauman, 2012), which implies that practices and structures become fluid and dissolve before they have time to solidify, we explore the new context for university professional education. We then consider more specifically the purpose, benefits and challenges of workplace learning and how advances in mobile technology can open up new possibilities for students’ workplace learning. We then outline the three-part structure of the book.
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