Transformative Teaching and Students as Junior Colleagues in Laurea LbD Model

Author(s):

Outi Kallioinen

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

22. Research in Higher Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

22 SES 07.5, Professional Learning and Development

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-29

17:15-18:45

Room:

HG, HS 33

Chair:

Oscar Holguin-Rodriguez

Contribution

The Europeand Higher Education Area gives a challenging framework for higher education institutions in creating new competence and innovations for the society. The implementation of the competence-based curriculum in 2006 challenged Laurea University of Applied Sciences to further develop its pedagogical mocel. The pedagogical framework for learning in Laurea is called Learning by Developing (LbD) which is based on authenticity, partnership, experiential learning, research and creativity. Students' learning is related to development projects that are genuinely rooted in the world of work and the students are involved in these projects from the beginning of their studies. According to Laurea’s pedagogical strategy students are treated as junior colleagues. This places lecturers in an entirely new situation. At Laurea the development projects are authentic, working life -based, processual and applied by nature. They are applied in a sense that during the project new, community-based knowledge is produced and problems and challenges solved. Therefore the sole purpose of the development project is not to apply strictly scientific knowledge as such to a practical situation. In the best cases new models, new working life culture, new methods and new knowledge is produced in the process. In the LbD-model the regional competence and knowledge, networks and diverse partnerships are integrated comprehensively to the learning process and studies of our students so that the students really have the possibility to become development-oriented experts of their field. Research question: How does the teaching culture change in LbD model? Collaborative learning in working life environments is a challenging task because it changes completely the traditional teaching culture and the roles of teachers and students. In this qualitative small-scale research I had 13 lecturers as participants. They took part in a PD Transformative Teaching –programme for two years. This PD was part of Laurea’s annual personnel development plan and it was organised in cooperation with Tampere University, Research Center for Vocational Education. These teachers experimented, applied, tested, developed and implemented the LbD-model in their work. At the end of the programme each teacher produced a SWOT about their experiences and perspectives of teaching in reflection with LbD-model. These swot-texts were the qualitative material for the research. Theoretical framework: Learning by Developing, team teaching, transformative teaching, pedagogical expertise, competence development

Method

Research context: Laurea University, PD Transformative Teaching -Programme Methodology: qualitative research, concept of knowledge is pragmatic Research data: qualitative swot reflections of 13 lecturers. Analysis method: interpretative content analysis (Denzin & Lincoln 1994)

Expected Outcomes

The swot-texts have been analysed especially from the perspective of how the lectures evaluate their role as a lecturer in the LbD operational model – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The material gave new insight to the every day work in teacher teams and how the lecturers expressed all these four elements in the changing culture of teaching. I will further reflect and elaborate these dimensions in my paper. As an outcome I have also formulated a figure of the factors enhancing learning in LbD model, especially from the teachers' perspective

References

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Author Information

Outi Kallioinen

Laurea University of Applied Sciences

Administration

VANTAA

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