Introduction to Positive Psychology (Distance Learning)

As noted in an earlier post, the main context for me undertaking the MSc in T-eL (though I am
increasingly seeing this more as the PGCert in T-eL as I can't see me continuing past the first year of the course as I have found it very difficult to create the time and space for studying!) is the development of distance learning versions of modules that form the MSc Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP). The intention is that we will work towards validation of a 'distance' MAPP this year for this to be available from September/October 2015. The business case for this has already been approved and so we are now preparing validation documents ahead of a validation event towards the end of April, early May, 2015.

Our first step towards this was through the development and delivery of a 'distance learning' version of the Intro to Positive Psychology module that forms the opening module of the MAPP. This ran for the first time in semester 1 of 2014-15 at the same time I was beginning the MSc (or should I say PGCert!) in T-eL. I am therefore using this as a backdrop for the learning on the T-eL course as an opportunity to critically reflect on the process of developing and delivering materials from a T-eL perspective.

The module recruited seven students. Three based in the UK, two based in Denmark, one based in Italy (and New York - she relocated for part of the semester), and one based in Canada (Vancouver). This is a small cohort, but a size I was happy with given that we hadn't actively advertised the course, and a smaller group might be easier to manage for the first time running the module.

The module materials (including module feedback) can be found in my PGCert Bb organisation. The Bb module shell itself can be made available as this also has all announcements, etc. [its module code is PS726]. Overall, the module seemed to run well and was well-recieved. Some key reflections are:

• Being prepared - I was underprepared. The practical running of the module was a challenge to keep up with, partly due to me having taken on some additional teaching as a Visiting Lecturer at another institution over this time. I would have liked to have had much more of the materials prepared ahead of time, but in practice I was creating the 'presentations' as they were needed on a week-by-week basis (sometimes on the day they were due to be uploaded!). These were Adobe Captivate presentations based around Powerpoint presentations with an audio narrative. I am deeply grateful to Dave Bull in the Open4Learning unit as it was he that was taking my Powerpoint and narrative and turning this into the Captivate presentation. It was he that had to cope with me sending him the file on the day it was due and it was he that had to get this converted and uploaded the same day! Thank you Dave. And my apologies. :-)
• Preparing the students - Had I been more prepared, I would have better prepared the students. Both for what was expected in terms of assessment, as well as preparing them for online studying. As I now reflect on the importance of 'access and motivation' (stage 1 of Salmon's (2000) model), I realise that I could (indeed, should) have placed more attention on supporting students in terms of the basics of how the course would work, accessing Bb, how to get IT support if needed, etc. I think I was fortunate that no major issues of this nature arose, though in future I need to ensur students are provided with enough resources and support at this early stage.
• Community - As the course progressed, I became more aware that more could be done to encourage and support greater student-to-student interaction. This is something we see clearly in the 'attendance' version of this module (and the related modules on the MAPP) when students are with each other in person one weekend each month. Online learners did engage with the discussion boards and communicated with each other in that way. We also used the discussion boards to allow discussion of the poster assignments towards the end of the module and this seemed to work well (students commented on each others' posters and asked questions, and a discussion and sharing of experiences emerged quite naturally). One aspect of the 'attendance' version of the module that I didn't incorporate into the 'distance' version was co-coaching, where students coach each other with assignment work. I felt this might be too difficult to do, but I now realise that Skype could allow this easily and it will be especially important to include this element in future versions of this module (and the other 'distance' MAPP modules).

This latter point, regarding 'community', was picked up in some of the informal module feedback from one of the students. She felt the group did not develop a 'cohort identity'. I agree, and more could be done at the early stages to encourage and support this. If one was to relate to Salmon's (2000) model, then it would be to some extent at stage 1, but primarily as stage 2 (online socialisation) of this model where greater emphasis could be placed on supporting students to develop their individual and group online identity. This aspect of community, and cohort identity, becomes an important feature of the MAPP and needs to also be an important feature of the 'distance' MAPP.

UPDATE [12 May 2015]: The MAPP 'distance', or MAPP-FDL, as it became... has now been validated!

Reference
Salmon, G. (2000). E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online. London: Kogan Page.

How do I make time for studying?!

A quick confession [I had orginally written 'A quick rant...' I decided this was more of a confession than a rant]... In an earlier post, I asked 'How will I learn?'. In that, I noted that I would find it difficult to create the time and space to prioritise the work I needed to do for this course. And it has come to pass.

Occasionally I am asked, typically by one of the students on the MAPP, 'how is your course going...?'. I am usually reluctant to answer as I am very much aware that I am doing very little work that is dedicated studying or the course. Yes, I am spending much of my time reflecting on various aspects of t-eL as part of preparing and delivering courses that involve t-eL, and in seeking to validate a fully distance learning MSc course, but this does not include reading and writing that directly forms part of my coursework.

If nothing else, I now have a greater empathy for students on the MAPP, many of whom are in full-time employment, have families, and are studying in their 'spare' time. It is a challenge.

Development: Stage five of the five stage model

This final stage of the model is where learners are more independent in their learning and demonstrate greater critical thinking and self-reflection. Relating this to the distance learning module I have been running that is now reaching its conclusion, while it may be true that some of the students have reached this stage, it is fair to say that this is probably not typical. And I think it is understandable and reasonable to not expect this to be the case. This is a single module over 14 weeks. The module itself, while offered as a stand-alone course, is designed to be a introductory course/module that forms part of a bigger whole.

As and when we have the MAPP-DL running, we might expect students in the second semester modules to be reaching this stage (or reaching it more quickly) as they are already comfortable with the learning technologies, they are continuing to work with a student cohort they have socialised and exchanged with (if appropriately supported) and they are building their knowledge further.

Learning and teaching rhizomatically?

These are notes taken from the BETT show talk - 22 Jan 2015) by Dave Cormier (www.davecormier.com; @davecormier; davcormier@upei.ca; #rhizo15).

This is the guy that coined the term MOOC (?). Discusses 'communities of practice'. 

Learning is like weeds? Weeds follow their own paths. Learning especially in Internet age follows this pattern.

Teaching rhizomatically... Opening the curriculum.  Messy networks. Real networks are messy. They are not tidy.

(Learning on MAPP is like this. Assessment via reflective journals, etc. attempt to assess this type of learning.)

Dave talks about using a Learner Contract. Sounds like he negotiates work with the student

Measuring learning? The fact that you need to do it, doesn't make it possible. Does everything we do need to be measurable? Things that we care about aren't things that we can measure. 

Question by Steve Wheeler, Plymouth Uni. This doesn't suit all learners? Suited to certain types of learning. Very relevant for Masters level learning, and applicable to MAPP.

I put together a short presentation relfecting on my experiences at BETT, and this talk in particular, that can be viewed here.

Knowledge construction : Stage four of the five stage model

At this stage, learners are more confident, more active in their learning and interaction, and require less and less technical support. They are therefore more actively involved in knowledge construction than at earlier stages and may be more involved in creating opportunities to explore and challenge the topics they are encountering on the course.

It seems to me that the boundaries between stage 3 and 4 are quite blurred, and maybe that is intentional and understandale. I suspect the boundaries between all stages are to be somewhat fuzzy.

In terms of the Intro to Positive Psychology distance learning module I have been running, this aspect seems to have developed quite naturally. On reflection, I think my support has paralleled that which the 5 stage model suggests an e-moderator might do at these stages to support learners as they progress. There is more I could have done, such as more active encouragement of co-coaching between students, though I am feeling reassured that my actions seem to have been in line with this model of good practice!

Information exchange: Stage three of the five stage model

If learners have successfully passed through stages 1 and 2, then at stage 3 they are building on these and beginning to share more information, interacting with each other, and developing strategies to engage with the course content.

On the Intro to Pos Psych distance learning module this has been happening. Students are engaging well with the discussion boards, and have been spontaneously building discussions, responding to each other. Some of these I have tried to stimulate and play a part in to encourage others to post comments. In retrospect, and now being more familiar with this model of e-learning and the thinking behind e-tivities, I could have been even more mindful of this. That is, rather than encouraging or inviting students to post thoughts to the discussion board, I could have made this a 'required' e-tivity, by having students post at least one comment for each discussion thread and commenting on at least one other's post. I might have also asked a different student each week to be a 'facilitator' for the discussion that week and have them take responsibility for beginning the discussion.

UPDATE (2 Feb 2015): I related these ideas to one of the summative assignments for the Intro to Pos Psych distance learning course. This is a poster presentation that students submit via turnitin for assessement. In the attendance version of this module, students give either an oral presentation or a poster presentation to the group as part of the final teaching weekend. They are then encouraged to look at other students' posters and to ask questions to the person whose poster it is. The idea is that this feels like a poster session that you would get at an academic conference, and it gives the students some experience of disseminating and discussing their work in this way.

To replicate this online, I asked students to post their posters on the discussion board and then to look at others' posters and to post questions for at least 2 other students. This built some good in-depth discussion between students that needed little input from me (I did make sure I asked at least one question to each student). The depth of the discussion was in some ways greater than the discussions that we sometimes see at the attendance weekends. Added to this, we have the record of the discussions automatically archived in the discussion board, which may be useful for the external examiner. Result! [I will attempt to copy this discussion across to my PGCert Bb organisation, but if this i snot possible I will aim to add the PGCert T-eL Course Team to the PS726 module shell.]

The magic of Skype!

This evening was a nice lesson in how we (or at least I) have become increasingly comfortable with
what technology allows us to do! Over this past semester I have been a visiting lecturer at Regent's University London (RUL) and whilst there today I was due to have a tutorial over Skype with a student on the distance learning Intro to Pos Psych course (the course delivered through here at Bucks) who happens to be based in Vancouver on the West Coast of Canada. As it turned out the internet connection at RUL was down so we couldn't do the tutorial.

However, as I had Skype on my phone I was at least able to IM the student via 3G. So the lack of a wifi or cabled link to the web didn't stop us and eventually as I was walking down Baker Street towards the tube, I was able to have a real-time 'tutorial' via the Skype IM facility with a student in Vancouver! I was able to give concise answers to specific questions she had regarding her assignment which allowed her to move forward. I am still utterly amazed at what communications technology now allows us to do. A great example of this supporting learning and teaching in a subtle yet helpful way. :-)

This is just the latest example in how Skype (and related communication tools) are becoming increasingly integrated as tools that allow us to support students in different ways. For example, I am increasingly holding one-to-one tutorials with students over Skype, even those who could visit the University campus relatively easily. This is because it is reliable, convenient and time-effective for both students and myself. Also, as I work in a shared office environment, it is often not practical to hold tutorials in my office space if one is not wanting to disturb others as well as feeling less constrained to talk freely. Using Skype in this way also makes it possible to have tutorials with MAPP students outside of the monthly teaching weekends (as these weekends are often very full as it is!) especially with students who live some distance away.

This year we have also attempted to support MAPP students via the use of Skype when they have been unable to attend a scheduled teaching session in person. For example, as we have students who travel internationally to attend the teaching weekends, we have allowed students on a small number of occasions to 'Skype in' so they could follow and be part of the sessions. Whilst this was appreciated by the student Skyping in (one was based in Qatar; another, on a different occasion, was based in Austria), it did create an extra challenge for the tutor and also created a small disruption for some of the students when trying to engage with the 'Skyped in' student in small-group discussion.

I am now looking back over these experiences and seeing how they relate to Salmon's (2000) model. It is hard to place them at any one stage of the model... perhaps there are elements here for stages 1 to 3 here, from online socialisation, through information exchange, to knowledge construction?

Reference
Salmon, G. (2000). E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online. London: Kogan Page.#