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Talking about the future…

Facilitating success for non-traditional students: Possible futures for academic language and learning Keynote Address AALL Conference November, 2011 Professor Marcia Devlin (PhD) Deakin University Australia. Talking about the future…. Overview. Caveats

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Talking about the future…

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  1. Facilitating success for non-traditional students: Possible futures for academic language and learning Keynote AddressAALL ConferenceNovember, 2011Professor Marcia Devlin (PhD)Deakin UniversityAustralia

  2. Talking about the future…

  3. Overview • Caveats • Australian higher education of the future • Possible futures for ALL educators and the ALL profession

  4. Caveats • I’m on your side

  5. Caveats • I’m on your side  • I would like to see ALL survive and thrive • I would like to see the work of ALL professionals recognised and acknowledged • I mean to imply no criticism of you, your work or your profession

  6. Caveats • Without John Clanchy and the ANU Study Skills Centre, I would not have: • Learnt to navigate academic discourse • Finished my first degree • Completed 4 subsequent university qualifications • Become an ALL advisor and helped thousands of students achieve and succeed • Become a writer or a professor and contributed to helping tens of thousands of students achieve/succeed

  7. Caveats • I have based my entire presentation on personal experience and stories (and images from the internet) • AAL -> AD -> writing -> professor • I’m aware of the limitations of anecdotal evidence and of n=1 • It’s very easy for me to sweep in here with grand ideas based on what’s worked for me…

  8. Overview • Caveats • Australian higher education of the future • Possible futures for AALL advisors and the ALL profession

  9. Australia's future in higher education Federal government response to the Bradley Review http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Pages/TransformingAustraliasHESystem.aspx

  10. A target that by 2025, 40% of Australian 25-34 year olds will have a bachelor level or above qual. + A target that by 2020, 20% of higher education enrolments at undergraduate level should be from low socio-economic backgrounds + Increased connectivity with and articulation from VET and other pathways + Demand driven system = Profound changes for Australian universities

  11. Australian universities of the future More students.

  12. Australian universities of the future More ‘non-traditional’ students. Mature age students; VET pathways students; students from low socio-economic backgrounds; Indigenous students; rural students; students who are the first in family to attend university; off campus students; part-time students; students with parental responsibilities; and flexible entry students, among others.

  13. Mastering the student ‘role’ Many non-traditional students have a lack of relevant role knowledge and have particular challenges to overcome in order to achieve and succeed at university.

  14. Mastering the student ‘role’ Having given them access, Australian universities have a responsibility to facilitate achievement for these students.

  15. Overview • Caveats • Australian higher education of the future • Possible futures for ALL educators and the ALL profession

  16. Reflection What do you think are your roles and responsibilities in relation to the achievement and success of these students?

  17. Provocative suggestion #1 Your role is to remediate these students and “get them up to scratch”.

  18. Provocative suggestion #1 Your role is to remediate these students and “get them up to scratch”. This is what many senior managers and university executive members believe.

  19. Provocative suggestion #1 Your role is to remediate these students and “get them up to scratch”. This is what many senior managers and university executive members believe. It’s very easy to fail in this endeavour.

  20. Provocative question # 1 Why are you letting others decide your role and responsibilities, and, in particular, the performance indicators on which you will be judged?

  21. Provocative question # 1 Why are you letting others decide your role and responsibilities, and, in particular, the performance indicators on which you will be judged? You understand your role and responsibilities better than anyone.

  22. Possible futures for ALL

  23. Possible futures for ALL

  24. Possible futures for ALL • Anticipate and meet student ALL needs (and stop here)

  25. Possible futures for ALL • Anticipate and meet student ALL needs (and stop here) • Make (the quantity of) this work visible (and stop here)

  26. Possible futures for ALL • Anticipate and meet student ALL needs (and stop here) • Make (the quantity of) this work visible (and stop here) • Help colleagues in faculties anticipate and meet student needs (and stop here)

  27. Possible futures for ALL • Anticipate and meet student ALL needs (and stop here) • Make (the quantity of) this work visible (and stop here) • Help colleagues in faculties anticipate and meet student needs (and stop here) • Make (the quantity of) this work visible (and stop here)

  28. Possible futures for ALL • Anticipate and meet student ALL needs (and stop here) • Make (the quantity of) this work visible (and stop here) • Help colleagues in faculties anticipate and meet student needs (and stop here) • Make (the quantity of) this work visible (and stop here) • Show senior leaders that this work is critical to a university’s core business 

  29. 1. Anticipate and meet student needs and stop This is a dangerous route and end-point to take The work you do is invisible if you do this, despite being enormously valuable Invisibility puts you at risk of • assumptions about the value of your work • assumptions about workload • assumptions about the difficulty of the work • reduced funding • seemingly strange restructure decisions

  30. 2. Make (the quantity of) this previously invisible work visible and stop This is a useful thing to do Quantity matters in our contexts/to our management Make sure your message is clear (I’ll come back to this) But this is • hard to do and • not enough because you do not work alone

  31. 3. Help colleagues in faculties anticipate and meet student needs and stop Embedding is the key But embedding leads to invisibility… Relationship management is critical Relationship management takes time (and is also invisible)

  32. 4. Make (the quantity of) this work visible and stop here This is a useful thing to do Quantity matters in our contexts/to our management This is hard to do well Make sure your message is loud and clear (I’ll come back to this)

  33. Provocative suggestion #2 (Eloquent version) You have kept your significant light under a bushel for too long (After Michael Kirby)

  34. Provocative suggestion #3 (Blunt version) Your profile as a profession and as professionals is far too low given the significance of your work in • enhancing the student experience • enhancing student learning • improving retention • contributing to positive student feedback • contributing to teaching quality funding (in the near future)

  35. 5. Show senior leaders your work is critical to a university’s core business  Provocative question #2: What is a university’s core business?

  36. 5. Show senior leaders your work is critical to a university’s core business  • Use evidence • Use clear arguments • Once is never enough • Communicate, communicate, communicate

  37. Showing that your work is critical • Conduct robust examinations of your work and its impacts: • Number of consultations • Number of and attendance at workshops • Downloads of resources • Student satisfaction with services (evaluation, survey) • Staff testimonials about satisfaction with ‘service’

  38. Showing that your work is critical • Conduct robust examinations of your work and its impacts: • Mapping of integrations into subjects • Student perceptions of value/gain • Staff perceptions of value/gain • Use of your (written) work elsewhere • Peer esteem (eg, Invitations to share inter-institutionally) (do this for each other) • Other…

  39. Then, communicate the results

  40. Communication strategies to consider • Use your extensive skills in written communication to protect and promoteyour profession • Network outside yourselves • Manage up more strategically

  41. Communication strategies to consider • Use your extensive skills in written communication to protect and promoteyour profession • Network outside yourselves • Manage up more strategically

  42. 1. Use your writing skills to protect and promote your profession • Publish internally • to protect your area/budget/interests • to influence policy and practice • to connect with faculty colleagues • Publish in professional magazines/publications • to share best practice/’thought leadership’ with others quickly • to create track record • to reference (!)

  43. 1. Use your writing skills to protect and promote your profession • Publish in popular press • to contribute to credibility • to influence institutional policy (!) • to influence national policy • To be a ‘thought leader’

  44. Universal truths of HE publishing • If you publish it in a professional journal, no decision maker will ever read it

  45. Universal truths of HE publishing • If you publish it in a professional journal, no decision maker will ever read it • If it’s in The Australian on a Wednesday, it is The Truth and all senior leaders will read it

  46. Universal truths of HE publishing • If you publish it in a professional journal, no decision maker will ever read it • If it’s in The Australian on a Wednesday, it is The Truth and all senior leaders will read it • If it’s in Campus Review on a Monday, it is also The Truth and many senior leaders will read it (as will policy makers in Canberra)

  47. Universal truths of HE publishing • If you publish it in a professional journal, no decision maker will ever read it • If it’s in The Australian on a Wednesday, it is The Truth and all senior leaders will read it • If it’s in Campus Review on a Monday, it is also The Truth and many senior leaders will read it (as will policy makers in Canberra) • If it’s written in plain language (hello, who are the experts in THIS?), it helps busy people understand (seemingly) complex things

  48. Universal truths of HE • If it’s a clear and persuasive argument, based on evidence, it will often sway opinion and be used as ‘evidence’ to inform decisions

  49. Universal truths of HE • If it’s a clear and persuasive argument, based on evidence, it will often sway opinion and be used as ‘evidence’ to inform decisions • If you are the author, you develop a profile* * This has its pros and cons…I’ve focused here on the pros 

  50. Universal truths of HE • If it’s a clear and persuasive argument, based on evidence, it will often sway opinion and be used as ‘evidence’ to inform decisions • If you are the author, you develop a profile* • If you have a profile, people think you know much more than you really do * This has its pros and cons…I’ve focused here on the pros 

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