I'm an Honorary Associate of the Open University. My passions are technology in teaching and learning, knowledge exchange and public engagement. At the OU, we have developed Evidence Cafes as a method of knowledge exchange to connect up practice and research to the benefit of both. An Evidence Cafe is characterised by a two-way dialogue between practitioners and research academics, with both emerging with changed understandings. We have run evidence cafes on topics as diverse as coping with multiple sclerosis, demand management, techniques for conserving floodplains and meadows, police use of social media and addressing migration issues in Africa with entrepreneurs, policy-makers and academics. I am working with the Open University to developing an Evidence Cafe quality standard and training for practitoners and academics in how to use Evidence Cafes to support knowledge exchange. Phone: 07803 612154
European Police Science and Research Bulletin (Special Conference Edition No.3). , 2017
Current radical changes in the Police service internationally and in England and Wales are being ... more Current radical changes in the Police service internationally and in England and Wales are being driven by movements to adopt an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) approach to policing. However this poses a challenge as early adopters have experienced resistance to EBP, a relatively unknown, and more importantly misunderstood approach for policing (Sherman, 2015). This resistance is not limited to police with international research highlighting implementation issues for evidence based medicine. One reason is the lack of training in EBP, which is coupled with recent concerns over the general quality of training and level of professionalism within UK police organisation (Davies et al, 1996). There have been international initiatives aimed at increasing learning around evidence based practice (Rousseau, 2012; Hall and Roussel, 2014). Some UK police forces have adopted approaches from other domains to counteract these problems (e.g. champions, enquiry visits). Mapping clear pathways that link training, experience and evidence-based practice is crucial to developing the capacity for an evidence-based workforce. This paper presents evidence from recent research that used Evidence Cafés and Practitioner Cafés connected to online resources as a route to increase understanding and awareness of evidence based practice amongst frontline police officers. Evidence Cafés are coordinated by a knowledge exchange expert with an academic and a police practitioner who facilitate the translation of research into practice. This paper presents evidence of the benefit and limitations of these events. Analytics and learning analytics of events' online resources also provide insights into these approaches and identify triggers for increased engagement across a wide geographical context.
This is a quick-start guide to Evidence Cafes and the Evidence Cafe method. It explains briefly w... more This is a quick-start guide to Evidence Cafes and the Evidence Cafe method. It explains briefly what an Evidence Cafe is, what it is for and how to run one successfully with detailed examples. The guide presents Evidence Cafes as a method of egalitarian knowledge exchange, highlighting and how they differ from workshops, focus groups, academic presentations and knowledge cafes. It also outlines how Evidence Cafes have generated sustainable impact through follow on ripple-effects and activities.
This paper presents a study developed in the framework of a training course for teachers of STEM ... more This paper presents a study developed in the framework of a training course for teachers of STEM areas on the JuxtaLearn process. This process, divided into eight steps, aims to improve student understanding of threshold concepts by planning, editing and sharing creative videos in CLIPIT. CLIPIT is an online platform for collaborative learning designed to support the JuxtaLearn process. We describe the training of eight teachers, and the subsequent supervision of one of them, a math teacher, made to understand how the JuxtaLearn process was applied with her students. We collect qualitative data through the observation of the teacher's work. Also, quantitative data through initial and final quizzes applied to the students, to understand their level of understanding of the tricky topic, automatic records on CLIPIT and a satisfaction questionnaire applied to the eight teachers to assess the ease of use with the CLIPIT. The results show that teachers were able to put into practice the eight steps of the JuxtaLearn process and suggest that students’ engagement in creating creative videos helped them in overcoming tricky math topics.
Informal evidence supports an argument that using mobile devices for informal learning can be mot... more Informal evidence supports an argument that using mobile devices for informal learning can be motivating. This paper will consider evidence from the literature in one particular area of mobile learning – informal science learning and also present a brief study of how people use mobile devices in their informal learning. Finally it will briefly review the motivation literature to consider this issue further.
The study described in this paper investigated the use of research blogs by postgraduate students... more The study described in this paper investigated the use of research blogs by postgraduate students over a four-year period. An initial, one-year, pilot focused on the research blogs of three first-year doctoral students (Ferguson, Clough, & Hosein, 2007). Analysis indicated that blogs were used to promote a community where students were encouraged to reflect and share ideas, skills and stories of research life. The blogs also acted as memory repositories and encouraged collaboration. The main study followed the students’ blogs for another three years, as they completed their doctorates and took jobs as early-career researchers. It investigated changes in the use and content of research blogs during this period. All three students continued to make use of their blogs for reflection over this period, and the blogs’ use as a memory repository became increasingly important, especially during the period of writing up research. Once the students had made the transition to early-career rese...
The potential of technological developments in the form of handheld mobile devices, such as perso... more The potential of technological developments in the form of handheld mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) to augment and improve the experience of science for the learner has been well documented (see, eg Scanlon et al., 2005), as has their use to ...
ABSTRACT The ongoing EU project JuxtaLearn aims at facilitating the acquisition of science concep... more ABSTRACT The ongoing EU project JuxtaLearn aims at facilitating the acquisition of science concepts through videos, especially also through creation of videos on the part of the learners. Learning Analytics techniques are used to extract and represent teachers’ and students’ concepts manifested in interactive work-shops based on textual artifacts. First results of using the network text analysis method are available. This approach will be further used to pinpoint the teachers’ specific perspectives and views and possibly the development of their conceptualizations over time.
European Police Science and Research Bulletin (Special Conference Edition No.3). , 2017
Current radical changes in the Police service internationally and in England and Wales are being ... more Current radical changes in the Police service internationally and in England and Wales are being driven by movements to adopt an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) approach to policing. However this poses a challenge as early adopters have experienced resistance to EBP, a relatively unknown, and more importantly misunderstood approach for policing (Sherman, 2015). This resistance is not limited to police with international research highlighting implementation issues for evidence based medicine. One reason is the lack of training in EBP, which is coupled with recent concerns over the general quality of training and level of professionalism within UK police organisation (Davies et al, 1996). There have been international initiatives aimed at increasing learning around evidence based practice (Rousseau, 2012; Hall and Roussel, 2014). Some UK police forces have adopted approaches from other domains to counteract these problems (e.g. champions, enquiry visits). Mapping clear pathways that link training, experience and evidence-based practice is crucial to developing the capacity for an evidence-based workforce. This paper presents evidence from recent research that used Evidence Cafés and Practitioner Cafés connected to online resources as a route to increase understanding and awareness of evidence based practice amongst frontline police officers. Evidence Cafés are coordinated by a knowledge exchange expert with an academic and a police practitioner who facilitate the translation of research into practice. This paper presents evidence of the benefit and limitations of these events. Analytics and learning analytics of events' online resources also provide insights into these approaches and identify triggers for increased engagement across a wide geographical context.
This is a quick-start guide to Evidence Cafes and the Evidence Cafe method. It explains briefly w... more This is a quick-start guide to Evidence Cafes and the Evidence Cafe method. It explains briefly what an Evidence Cafe is, what it is for and how to run one successfully with detailed examples. The guide presents Evidence Cafes as a method of egalitarian knowledge exchange, highlighting and how they differ from workshops, focus groups, academic presentations and knowledge cafes. It also outlines how Evidence Cafes have generated sustainable impact through follow on ripple-effects and activities.
This paper presents a study developed in the framework of a training course for teachers of STEM ... more This paper presents a study developed in the framework of a training course for teachers of STEM areas on the JuxtaLearn process. This process, divided into eight steps, aims to improve student understanding of threshold concepts by planning, editing and sharing creative videos in CLIPIT. CLIPIT is an online platform for collaborative learning designed to support the JuxtaLearn process. We describe the training of eight teachers, and the subsequent supervision of one of them, a math teacher, made to understand how the JuxtaLearn process was applied with her students. We collect qualitative data through the observation of the teacher's work. Also, quantitative data through initial and final quizzes applied to the students, to understand their level of understanding of the tricky topic, automatic records on CLIPIT and a satisfaction questionnaire applied to the eight teachers to assess the ease of use with the CLIPIT. The results show that teachers were able to put into practice the eight steps of the JuxtaLearn process and suggest that students’ engagement in creating creative videos helped them in overcoming tricky math topics.
Informal evidence supports an argument that using mobile devices for informal learning can be mot... more Informal evidence supports an argument that using mobile devices for informal learning can be motivating. This paper will consider evidence from the literature in one particular area of mobile learning – informal science learning and also present a brief study of how people use mobile devices in their informal learning. Finally it will briefly review the motivation literature to consider this issue further.
The study described in this paper investigated the use of research blogs by postgraduate students... more The study described in this paper investigated the use of research blogs by postgraduate students over a four-year period. An initial, one-year, pilot focused on the research blogs of three first-year doctoral students (Ferguson, Clough, & Hosein, 2007). Analysis indicated that blogs were used to promote a community where students were encouraged to reflect and share ideas, skills and stories of research life. The blogs also acted as memory repositories and encouraged collaboration. The main study followed the students’ blogs for another three years, as they completed their doctorates and took jobs as early-career researchers. It investigated changes in the use and content of research blogs during this period. All three students continued to make use of their blogs for reflection over this period, and the blogs’ use as a memory repository became increasingly important, especially during the period of writing up research. Once the students had made the transition to early-career rese...
The potential of technological developments in the form of handheld mobile devices, such as perso... more The potential of technological developments in the form of handheld mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) to augment and improve the experience of science for the learner has been well documented (see, eg Scanlon et al., 2005), as has their use to ...
ABSTRACT The ongoing EU project JuxtaLearn aims at facilitating the acquisition of science concep... more ABSTRACT The ongoing EU project JuxtaLearn aims at facilitating the acquisition of science concepts through videos, especially also through creation of videos on the part of the learners. Learning Analytics techniques are used to extract and represent teachers’ and students’ concepts manifested in interactive work-shops based on textual artifacts. First results of using the network text analysis method are available. This approach will be further used to pinpoint the teachers’ specific perspectives and views and possibly the development of their conceptualizations over time.
Evidence-based practice is increasingly important in creating effective public services through t... more Evidence-based practice is increasingly important in creating effective public services through the balance of high-quality research and valid practice. Yet even when academics and practitioners work together to use evidence in practice, barriers emerge. This paper describes research into equitable knowledge exchange (KE) between academia and practice, drawing on data from 15 Evidence Cafés (ECs) run across the UK with police forces involving 378 participants, represented here with 3 exemplar EC case studies. Our findings reveal the differences between one-way knowledge transfer (KT) and two-way, equitable KE, and how champions and effectively designed and implemented discussion objects can overcome challenges of conflicting motivations and timing. We conclude the need to re-frame KE through the lens of 'evidence' and the process of equitable co-creation of new meanings. Key messages • Evidence Cafés can support effective two-way KE between practitioners and academics leading to impact on both practice and research. • Evidence-based champions (from practice) and research champions (from academia) are key 'boundary creatures' (Adams et al., 2014) facilitating two-way flow of evidence between practice and research. • Evidence Cafés use discussion objects, boundary objects tailored to the research topic, that trigger meaning making and evidence sharing between practice and academia whilst helping to break down challenges of competing motivations and timings including status (practitioner or researcher) and rank.
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Papers by Gill Clough