what does learning look like? - gwenda mynott
DESCRIPTION
This is a draft of the presentation that will be given at the HEA Social Sciences annual conference - Teaching forward: the future of the Social Sciences. For further details of the conference: http://bit.ly/1cRDx0p Bookings open until 19 May 2014 http://bit.ly/1hzCMLR or [email protected] Part of the 'Apocalypse Now' conference theme, which requires the presenter to imagine their own future world scenario. Imagined world In this new world the way we record and document knowledge has been transformed. Visual is everything and the written word has become subordinate photographs, videos, drawings, presentations and infographics. Rather than being trigged by any one event, this new world has come about via emergent changes in society and the greater accessibility to cameras and other means of recording knowledge visually. As society has developed to become more visually orientated, so too have academic journals, textbooks and web based information. The written word is secondary and purely supportive of the visual record of knowledge. The academic world has had to change the way it deals with recorded knowledge and student work is now submitted in highly visual formats either via the web. Abstract Photovoice is a participatory photography methodology that is being used with BA (Hons) Business and Public Relations (PR) students to explore and reflect on their experiences of learning. Students are invited to take photos of where, when and how they learn over a period of months. These photos are used in small, student facilitated, groups to support critical reflection. The project is fully participatory with students as equal partners and producers. This visualization of the personal student learning experience enables both academics and students to better understand the practicalities of engaged learning while developing visual literacy skills.TRANSCRIPT
What does learning look like? Gwenda Mynott
Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University
Higher Education Academy : Social Sciences Conference
21 - 22 May 2014
Illum CC licence
Aims of the project
• To explore the individual learning experiences of Business & PR students
• To develop students’ critical reflection skills in relation to their own learning
• To develop visual literacy skills
• To evaluate the pedagogical benefits and drawbacks of using participatory photography
Photovoice
• A participatory photography methodology
• Usually used in community and advocacy settings but has been used in higher education (Chio, V. and (Fandt, P.
(2007) ; Schell, K., Ferguson, A., Thomas-Maclean, R. (2009))
• Action research
• “This visualization of the personal student learning experience will enable both academics and students to better understand the practicalities of engaged learning.”
Participation
“equalizing the distinctions between expert and non-expert knowledge”
So far….
• Workshops on visual communication
– What makes you happy?
– Where do you study?
• Treasure hunt activities
• Working with text & images
• Worked individually, in pairs and small groups
Something that makes you happy
©Sellers 2014
©Jackson 2014
Where do you learn?
© Green
© Green
© McGee
Yet to happen….
• More online/offline workshops with students
• Workshop for academics
• Toolkit
• Evaluation, evaluation, evaluation
Challenges/key learning points
• Ethics
• My own time management
• Student attendance/buy-in
– Participation/engagement/co-contributors/power?
• Evaluation
References
• Chio, V. and Fandt, P. (2007) Photovoice in the diversity classroom: engagement, voice and the “eye/I” of the camera Journal of Management Education Vol.31 No.4 pp.484-504
• Schell, K., Ferguson, A., Thomas-Maclean, R. (2009) Photovoice as a teaching tool: learning by doing with visual methods International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Vol.21 No.3 pp.340-352
• Photovoice - http://www.photovoice.org/
And things to look at:
• What is visual literacy? - http://vislit.squarespace.com/visual-literacy/
• My remote classroom: online students share their photos - http://www.theguardian.com/education/gallery/2014/feb/19/online-students-remote-classroom-gallery