The local practice learning scene – investigating enquiry in the workplace

1. Learning for a Complex World: Facilitating Enquiry Conference June 2007 The local practice learning scene – investigating enquiry in the workplace Margaret A Volante m.volante@surrey.ac.uk Centre for Research in Nursing and Midwifery Education

2. Work as enquiry Questions How is the local practice learning scene in higher education/practice partnerships contexts organised, constructed and implemented? How does the local practice learning scene contribute to the development of practice knowledge? Research setting: Final year practice placements within NHS community care practice settings

3. Approach Profiles: textual analysis Identified sequences of related interaction within the text Examined how participants were categorised as having a certain role or identity in the text including institutionally defined e.g. student, practice teacher, tutor Looked for outcomes of what had been achieved by the interaction. How was the outcome produced? Worked backwards to trace trajectory through which the particular outcome was produced Trajectories S/C S/T S/L Tc Tt Tl Trajectory N1

4. Mary – a learning practice ‘Because my needs were different in each placement, how the supervision was conducted, how I used it and what I gained from it was also different. In the placements … we established that the purpose would be to discuss my work with clients, exploring my interventions, any difficulties that may be occurring and how I was progressing with my profile. With the focus skill … we decided that the purpose would be for me to acquire a greater level of knowledge and practical skills … therefore the process was a much more educative process’. ‘Having had two positive experiences and read some of the literature on supervision, I feel this will reflect on my ability in the future to negotiate for clinical supervision … that will attend to my professional development rather than just a monitoring process to oversee my practice’ (Mary profile:227 - 230).

5. Patricia – public institutions The narrative account explains the episode of care and includes ‘care plans showing how the nursing process was applied through use of Peplau’s model’ ( Patricia profile: 56) ‘I believe this demonstrates referral to the appropriate multidisciplinary team professionals’ (Patricia profile 93) ‘this seemed like a routine District Nursing visit. The reason for this reflective account is allowing my standards to slip… allowing my attitude towards her to be coloured by the GP’s [General Practitioner] derogatory remarks…. When I discussed Miss D with my [practice teacher], who knew her well, the following day I realised I had been less than understanding‘ (Patricia profile:129)

6. The local practice learning scene Learning practiceproduce accounts of practice including practice learning process Public institutionsproduce accounts of practice Reflection on self Reflection on professional action with internal and external practice resource Reflection on client outcomes and service structures with external resource Reflection on client outcomes with internal practice resource Understanding of the constructed nature of practice process and outcomes Monitoring self Self surveillance and regulation Growth of professional knowledge Outcomes of practice learning process

7. Contrasting cases Despite all my good intentions this referral had turned out to be a waste of time for all those concerned. I felt that I had communicated Mrs G’s needs at each stage by both speaking to staff and accurately completing the referral form’.(Margery profile:138) ‘The new knowledge I have acquired has complemented and extended previous knowledge and also helped clarify some of the difficulties I was having with the concepts of CBT. I now see the importance of putting someone’s voices and related symptoms in the context of their own life experiences’ (Mary profile:67)

8. Contrasting cases learning agreement ‘management of syringe drivers, suprapubic catheterisation, and examination of assessment tools’ (Patricia profile:13). formative assessments ‘Constructive feedback from both tutors was extremely helpful in making me aware of how the profile could be extended further’… The profile has been a working document all along’(Patricia). ‘ … I am achieving most of my identified learning needs and continually finding new ones‘ (Caroline).

9. Resources producedpublic institutionslearning practice Reflective thinking-for-action Reflective thinking-for-evaluation (self) Reflective thinking-for-action Reflective thinking-for-evaluation (situation) Reflective thinking-for-critical enquiry (after Teekman 2000)

10. Is work enquiry? second interview ‘I haven’t had the same success as I had on my specialist practice placement with the interventions …I don’t have the level of the expert supervision’ On her placement Mary ‘had time to do lots of reading … some of the formulations I was making about interventions my supervisor you know had a research article to hand back to what I was actually doing and I haven’t got that any more’ …it would be wonderful if you had time to research’ (Caroline)

11. Questions How do we facilitate learners awareness of the learning orientation operating in the micro action environment of workplace interaction? Do tools for interpretive analysis of text and talk have a place in facilitating work as enquiry? How do we know work is enquiry? What are its approaches and methods, how is it resourced and supported, what are its outcomes? Can collective enquiry processes and outcomes of work be recognised and accredited within programmes of higher education?