Anne Wheeler - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Anne Wheeler
The Global Dimensions in Higher Education module is a fully online open course for educators, joi... more The Global Dimensions in Higher Education module is a fully online open course for educators, jointly developed by three UK universities through a process of consultation and inquiry involving colleagues within the global education sector. The purpose of the module is two-fold. Firstly, to engage academics within and beyond the partner institutions in a critical exploration of transnational and global issues within higher education. Secondly, to provide the project partners with an opportunity to understand and address the challenges of jointly developing and delivering an online course that is to be offered both openly as well as integrated within credit-bearing and continued professional development provision for academics in the partner institutions. This short paper describes progress to date in developing the Global Dimensions in Higher Education module, our current activity focused on validating and implementing the module, and lessons learned to be considered for the collaborative development of open online courses. Please cite as: Smyth, K., Vlachopoulos, P., Walker, D., Wheeler, A. (2013). Cross-Institutional development of an online open course for educators: confronting current challenges and imagining future possibilities. In H.
The professional bodies, in subjects allied to medicine, have always required evidence of continu... more The professional bodies, in subjects allied to medicine, have always required evidence of continuous professional development in order for members to maintain registration. Although the manner in which these submissions are required by different bodies varies in most instances these have been paper based. This paper provides a brief background to the development and use of eportfolios in Universities in the UK and then examines the reasons behind the decision to adopt an electronic portfolio during undergraduate degree programmes in Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. The paper goes on to discuss the way the electronic portfolio is being used to support the development of reflective and professional practice on these programmes. It reports feedback from staff and students during the pilot phase before discussing the current developments that are taking place with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Institute of Biomedical Science to use electronic submission in order for members to demonstrate professional competence through evidenced continuous professional practice.
Lifelong learning is a 'keystone' of educational policies where the emphasis on learning shifts f... more Lifelong learning is a 'keystone' of educational policies where the emphasis on learning shifts from teacher to learner. Higher Education (HE) institutions should be committed to developing lifelong learning, that is promoting learning that is flexible, diverse and relevant at different times, and in different places, and is pursued throughout life. Therefore the HE sector needs to develop effective strategies to encourage engagement in meaningful learning for diverse student populations. The use of eportfolios, as a 'purposeful aggregation of digital items' , can meet the needs of the student community by encouraging reflection, the recording of experiences and achievements, and personal development planning (PDP). The use of e-portfolios also promotes inclusivity in learning as it provides students with the opportunity to articulate their aspirations and take the first steps along the pathway of lifelong learning. However, ensuring the uptake of opportunities within their learning is more complex than the students simply having access to the software. Therefore it is argued here that crucial to the effective uptake and engagement of the e-portfolio is embedding it purposefully within the curriculum. In order to investigate effective implementation of e-portfolios an explanatory case study on their use was carried out, initially focusing on 3 groups of students engaged in work-based learning and professional practice. The 3 groups had e-Portfolios embedded and assessed at different levels. Group 1 did not have the e-Portfolio embedded into their curriculum nor was the e-Portfolio assessed. Group 2 had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and formatively assessed. Group 3 also had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and were summatively assessed. Results suggest that the use of e-Portfolios needs to be integral to curriculum design in modules rather than used as an additional tool. In addition to this more user engagement was found in group 2 where the e-Portfolio was formatively assessed only. The implications of this case study are further discussed in terms of curriculum development.
Although there has been an increased interest in the use of electronic portfolios in higher educa... more Although there has been an increased interest in the use of electronic portfolios in higher education over the last five years, relatively little is known about the potential of such tools to support the development of higher order abilities for students, such as reflection.
The growing emphasis on employability skills development in Higher Education has encouraged acade... more The growing emphasis on employability skills development in Higher Education has encouraged academics to consider how such skills can be effectively embedded into the curriculum. In environmental management programmes graduate attributes are frequently developed through the laboratory and fieldwork that is implicit within the discipline. However, this paper considers how those skills can be further developed through leaning innovation, and particularly through innovative assessment design. A number of examples are provided to illustrate how graduate skills can be enhanced.
The purpose of this concise paper is to propose, with evidence gathered through a systematic eval... more The purpose of this concise paper is to propose, with evidence gathered through a systematic evaluation of an academic development programme in the UK, that training in the use of new and emerging learning technologies should be holistically embedded in every learning and training opportunity in learning, teaching and assessment in higher education, and not only as stand-alone modules or one-off opportunities. The future of learning in higher education cannot afford to allow Universities to disregard that digital literacy is an expected professional skill for their entire staff.
Assessment is central to student learning and it is widely recognised that the potential to learn... more Assessment is central to student learning and it is widely recognised that the potential to learn from assessment experiences is shaped greatly by the content of tutor feedback and student engagement with it. Technological innovations are providing new opportunities to alter the nature and delivery of assessment feedback, perhaps offering the potential to provide enhanced feedback, without necessarily increasing tutor
Education + Training, 2010
ABSTRACT Purpose – Academic writing is often considered to be a weakness in contemporary students... more ABSTRACT Purpose – Academic writing is often considered to be a weakness in contemporary students, while good reporting and writing skills are highly valued by graduate employers. A number of universities have introduced writing centres aimed at addressing this problem; however, the evaluation of such centres is usually qualitative. The paper seeks to consider the efficacy of a writing centre by looking at the impact of attendance on two “real world” quantitative outcomes – achievement and progression. Design/methodology/approach – Data mining was used to obtain records of 806 first-year students, of whom 45 had attended the writing centre and 761 had not. Findings – A highly significant association between writing centre attendance and achievement was found. Progression to year two was also significantly associated with writing centre attendance. Originality/value – Further, quantitative evaluation of writing centres is advocated using random allocation to a comparison condition to control for potential confounds such as motivation.
The Global Dimensions in Higher Education module is a fully online open course for educators, joi... more The Global Dimensions in Higher Education module is a fully online open course for educators, jointly developed by three UK universities through a process of consultation and inquiry involving colleagues within the global education sector. The purpose of the module is two-fold. Firstly, to engage academics within and beyond the partner institutions in a critical exploration of transnational and global issues within higher education. Secondly, to provide the project partners with an opportunity to understand and address the challenges of jointly developing and delivering an online course that is to be offered both openly as well as integrated within credit-bearing and continued professional development provision for academics in the partner institutions. This short paper describes progress to date in developing the Global Dimensions in Higher Education module, our current activity focused on validating and implementing the module, and lessons learned to be considered for the collaborative development of open online courses. Please cite as: Smyth, K., Vlachopoulos, P., Walker, D., Wheeler, A. (2013). Cross-Institutional development of an online open course for educators: confronting current challenges and imagining future possibilities. In H.
The professional bodies, in subjects allied to medicine, have always required evidence of continu... more The professional bodies, in subjects allied to medicine, have always required evidence of continuous professional development in order for members to maintain registration. Although the manner in which these submissions are required by different bodies varies in most instances these have been paper based. This paper provides a brief background to the development and use of eportfolios in Universities in the UK and then examines the reasons behind the decision to adopt an electronic portfolio during undergraduate degree programmes in Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. The paper goes on to discuss the way the electronic portfolio is being used to support the development of reflective and professional practice on these programmes. It reports feedback from staff and students during the pilot phase before discussing the current developments that are taking place with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Institute of Biomedical Science to use electronic submission in order for members to demonstrate professional competence through evidenced continuous professional practice.
Lifelong learning is a 'keystone' of educational policies where the emphasis on learning shifts f... more Lifelong learning is a 'keystone' of educational policies where the emphasis on learning shifts from teacher to learner. Higher Education (HE) institutions should be committed to developing lifelong learning, that is promoting learning that is flexible, diverse and relevant at different times, and in different places, and is pursued throughout life. Therefore the HE sector needs to develop effective strategies to encourage engagement in meaningful learning for diverse student populations. The use of eportfolios, as a 'purposeful aggregation of digital items' , can meet the needs of the student community by encouraging reflection, the recording of experiences and achievements, and personal development planning (PDP). The use of e-portfolios also promotes inclusivity in learning as it provides students with the opportunity to articulate their aspirations and take the first steps along the pathway of lifelong learning. However, ensuring the uptake of opportunities within their learning is more complex than the students simply having access to the software. Therefore it is argued here that crucial to the effective uptake and engagement of the e-portfolio is embedding it purposefully within the curriculum. In order to investigate effective implementation of e-portfolios an explanatory case study on their use was carried out, initially focusing on 3 groups of students engaged in work-based learning and professional practice. The 3 groups had e-Portfolios embedded and assessed at different levels. Group 1 did not have the e-Portfolio embedded into their curriculum nor was the e-Portfolio assessed. Group 2 had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and formatively assessed. Group 3 also had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and were summatively assessed. Results suggest that the use of e-Portfolios needs to be integral to curriculum design in modules rather than used as an additional tool. In addition to this more user engagement was found in group 2 where the e-Portfolio was formatively assessed only. The implications of this case study are further discussed in terms of curriculum development.
Although there has been an increased interest in the use of electronic portfolios in higher educa... more Although there has been an increased interest in the use of electronic portfolios in higher education over the last five years, relatively little is known about the potential of such tools to support the development of higher order abilities for students, such as reflection.
The growing emphasis on employability skills development in Higher Education has encouraged acade... more The growing emphasis on employability skills development in Higher Education has encouraged academics to consider how such skills can be effectively embedded into the curriculum. In environmental management programmes graduate attributes are frequently developed through the laboratory and fieldwork that is implicit within the discipline. However, this paper considers how those skills can be further developed through leaning innovation, and particularly through innovative assessment design. A number of examples are provided to illustrate how graduate skills can be enhanced.
The purpose of this concise paper is to propose, with evidence gathered through a systematic eval... more The purpose of this concise paper is to propose, with evidence gathered through a systematic evaluation of an academic development programme in the UK, that training in the use of new and emerging learning technologies should be holistically embedded in every learning and training opportunity in learning, teaching and assessment in higher education, and not only as stand-alone modules or one-off opportunities. The future of learning in higher education cannot afford to allow Universities to disregard that digital literacy is an expected professional skill for their entire staff.
Assessment is central to student learning and it is widely recognised that the potential to learn... more Assessment is central to student learning and it is widely recognised that the potential to learn from assessment experiences is shaped greatly by the content of tutor feedback and student engagement with it. Technological innovations are providing new opportunities to alter the nature and delivery of assessment feedback, perhaps offering the potential to provide enhanced feedback, without necessarily increasing tutor
Education + Training, 2010
ABSTRACT Purpose – Academic writing is often considered to be a weakness in contemporary students... more ABSTRACT Purpose – Academic writing is often considered to be a weakness in contemporary students, while good reporting and writing skills are highly valued by graduate employers. A number of universities have introduced writing centres aimed at addressing this problem; however, the evaluation of such centres is usually qualitative. The paper seeks to consider the efficacy of a writing centre by looking at the impact of attendance on two “real world” quantitative outcomes – achievement and progression. Design/methodology/approach – Data mining was used to obtain records of 806 first-year students, of whom 45 had attended the writing centre and 761 had not. Findings – A highly significant association between writing centre attendance and achievement was found. Progression to year two was also significantly associated with writing centre attendance. Originality/value – Further, quantitative evaluation of writing centres is advocated using random allocation to a comparison condition to control for potential confounds such as motivation.