CONTEXT
Perhaps my experience of this virtual group assignment may be familiar to some students, and hopefully the tips collated will support others on a similar path to me. I know I'll be even more mindful in my own teaching now, of what learners are going through and dealing with.
EMOTIONS I FELT BEFORE IT EVEN STARTED
So, overall, I can relate how anxiety could easily take a hold over someone involved in group work - and interesting to note, for me a lot of this occurred before the work actually commenced! I still had all the work and deadline driven anxiety to manage yet :-)
REFLECTING ON THE EXPERIENCE & WHAT I LEARNED
Technology assisted us also. For example, we used WhatsApp for regular updates and communications, Zoom for online catch ups and to review various documents together via screen share, Microsoft OneDrive as a shared space with folders for the various aspects of documents etc., Microsoft word’s track changes/comments functionality to indicate suggestions/potential edits and of course the Moodle virtual learning environment to access course materials and to ultimately, submit.
Both of us had acquired a lot of various experience over the years, so our approach would indeed be quite different to someone starting their first group work assignment. Other elements could really support learners in this instance, for example, there is a lot of evidence both anecdotally and in the literature of groups agreeing contracts at the outset, assigning roles which rotate, taking minutes and developing actions etc. These, along with educator supports, mentoring and monitoring, can really support the groups succeed. Overall, a very worthwhile experience for me to undertake, for several reasons. Personally, I learned a lot from it, and being part of a team really focused me. Through reflecting, several aspects come to mind as having truly supported our overall success, and I detail some of those below in text and Infograph format for your consideration (click Infograph for full sizes, or download PDF/SVG versions). The high grade we received at the end justified the collective efforts we both put in to this assignment, and the pride and high-quality output generated too. In the ever-present motivational words of Dr. Terry Maguire (former Director of the National Forum)....
During my secondment with the National Forum for the Enhancement of T&L in Higher Education, I became very in tune with professional development, reflection and also working with strategy. I have always been fascinated by the latter, and hence I identified an MC which would provide me with an opportunity to learn more about this in a very applied and focused way. So after many conversations at home (in regard to the associated monetary cost expense, and the accompanying need to work during the evenings and weekends for a few months!), I enrolled. I became a student again, with my new folder and pens...and soon after received my ID card, online library access etc.
The MC format was of course part-time, with 2-hour classes taking place online each Thursday evening, with preparation, studying and assignments carried out on other evenings and over weekends. I always believe what you put in, you get out so I gave it everything I could while still trying to juggle 'normal life'. I took out some physical textbooks from the library, kept up with pre-reading and even brought one book with me on a romantic weekend away! Dedication! I was so intrigued by the strategic management area that it never felt taxing to read and learn more about it. There were two assignments built in to the MC, one individual and one group assignment. You will be able to read more about my wonderful experience and learning from being a group work student in another blog post coming soon!
Will/can/does the micro-credential model work?
In an age where you can watch what you want on TV whenever you want; when you can listen to any song immediately - and then you combine this with the potential of technology for enabling learning as well as the concept of meaningful, relevant life-long learning - you can see how the 'MC' idea can easily grow. It will be important for institutions to identify what is actually and truly in demand and relevant, and both what industry and people need. Doors are open to everyone to engage, namely people looking to reskill, upskill or learn something new. Of course, these could 'tag' on to core modules in degree programmes also. For people in full time employment, the idea of 'going back' to college for a 2-year part-time postgraduate course can be quite daunting, however now, there is scope for anyone to engage in micro-credentials, and 'stack' these byte size courses over time to work towards accreditation. I quite like the potential of engaging with MCs across different participating institutIons too, or even across different countries, learning from various experts and discipline areas, and then being able to 'add' them together down the road.
It will be interesting to see how the various MC frameworks emerge over time. Investment in this space has began to taken place, and institutions across the ‘MicroCreds’ project are already promoting their offerings widely, while several others are exploring associated opportunities too. Personally, it was a great experience, but it would be nice to think one could re-engage over several years and perhaps when I'm all 'grown up' see them gel together and become an award of some time. Either way, I learned so much about a new area that makes me think differently about things - and I just love when that happens!
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Ronan BreeEducation Developer,Science Lecturer, Archives
March 2023
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Any opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.
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