National Teaching Fellow: Julie Hughes

Julie has been working in the School of Education (SEd) at the University of Wolverhampton since September 2002. She is seconded .5 to the University's CETL with a responsibility for supporting innovation in learning and teaching and teaches .5 in SEd. Her teaching and mentoring include Foundation Degree students and PGCE students for the post compulsory sector. She also mentors colleagues from within her own school and across the University in their use of the University's ePortfolio, pebblePAD to support reflective learning and development. Julie's teaching, research and CETL role is underpinned by her passion for exploring the possibilities of alternative learning landscapes and during the past 18 months she has first piloted and then embedded the ePortfolio within all her teaching. The 'products' created as part of her NTF Award will be evaluated and cascaded with future cohorts. To date, Julie and her students have cascaded their experiences in learning and teaching within the ePortfolio landscape at national and international conferences and Julie very much looks forward to more 'user' narratives emerging.

National Teaching Fellowship

The key outcome of the project will be the production of blended teaching and learning materials to enable learners and colleagues in the wider community of teacher education within the region to develop reflective skills linked to their practical everyday learning and teaching experience. The project will provide the framework for an eportfolio space to enable practitioners to encourage the development of their own and their students' reflective practice.

Background to the project

My primary driving force is my commitment to the development of meaningful reflective practice and communities of practice through the use of interactive materials.

This project seeks to build upon my piloting of the University's eportfolio and my attendance at a 'Technology Retreat' where the interaction of e-mentors, a small number of academic colleagues and a team of e-developers produced (in a very short, but concentrated time) an e portfolio of learning materials designed to be a transferable stimulus to inspire other colleagues in the use of technology for innovative learning and teaching activity and link it with this commitment above.

My learning and teaching experience indicates that students and staff will be more inspired to be creative in the use of technology to facilitate learning if mentoring and hands-on support is supplied. Using technology should not replace other traditional learning experiences, but should be part of the integrated tool kit which every teacher should own and develop. However, developing technological materials and strategies can often be perceived as a rather isolating and challenging experience.

It is also anticipated that the modelling of a blended learning approach will inspire the wider learning community to experiment and innovate.

Outline of the project

My first step will be to extend and develop my own technology skills in order to support the skills development of others (both staff and students) by shadowing current e-mentors and working alongside current e-developers who are employed by the University.

In parallel with this skills development, I expect to conduct a literature review and participate in discussion with other similar projects and colleagues via local, regional and national networks. It is likely that this project will establish significant links with ideas and models for Personal Development Plans for staff and students. In particular, I look forward to working with national practitioners in the field of reflective development (such as Gillie Bolton) to expand ideas of a developing 'interactive story space', linked to autobiography in teaching practice.

Development

Following my initial personal skills training and developing my own awareness of the research and practitioner field in reflective practice and electronic journals, I expect to start the production of materials with e-developers.

The project will then build up a network of reflective practitioners across the university, and within our franchise arrangements and collaborative links, for the piloting of materials. These materials will then be piloted, evaluated & reviewed over several cycles.

Outcomes and benefits

• Eportfolio of materials to support reflective development and the mentoring of reflective development
• Increased local use of blended learning materials within university modules
• Increased regional use of technology to support learning
  
• Role of reflective practice raised, and hence increase in the number and status of reflective practitioners

and here are the early results! - I undertook some of this work before being awarded the award and am now able to build and cascade thanks to the CETL and NTF here is a link to last year's students and their work

My CETL work dovetails with my practice and research interests and my focus for this year is looking at the use of alternative technologies to support the first year experience - with PDP, confidence building etc. -I've taught in 2 schools this year and the idea is to undertake more of this cross Uni swapping. I am also cascading and supporting staff in their practice and research (I chair the LTRSN eportfolio mini cluster)