apprenticeships and Connectivism

One of the things I am reflecting on this week is connectivism. In particular I have been thinking about whether it is possible to re-version one of my existing modules with a connectivist approach. The module I decided to consider is the 'Academic Teaching Apprenticeship'. I chose this module because it is probably the module I designed with the clearest model of learning in my mind. It draws heavily on ideas of apprenticeship and situation cognition. The module is currently offered as a third year optional module for students on the BSc Psychology Programme at King's College London. It is quite unconventional in terms of how much contact time there is and how it used

• 3 x 1 hour lectures
• 3 x 1.5 hour seminars
• 3 x 1.5 hour workshops

The main themes of the module are:

1. The learning context and definitions and metaphors of learning
2. Factors affecting learning: focusing on the learner
3. What is takes to teach and the use of learning design

It is also quite unique in the assessment (in the context of the BSc programme):

• 5 x reflective blogs based on three seminars and two workshops (total 25%)
• 1 x teaching resources for 10 hours of learning aimed at first year psychology undergraduates - Group work (50%)
• 1 x peer review of other groups teaching resource (10%)
• 1 x reflective essay redesigning the module (15%)

At the moment the module runs for 10 weeks with face to face teaching for around 25 students supported by a VLE containing details of sessions, forums for discussions and assessment information.  I think there are some bits of this module that lend themselves well to a connectivism approach but other parts that do not :

Principles that work well in the current module:

• Learning is a process of connecting specialised nodes or information sources. In this module, the learners bring together information about pedagogy and the area of psychology they choose to teach and can combine this with additional understanding of technologies . They also bring a unique learning history which can be a source of information. So presently they are already learning specialist information and skills from a range of areas and individuals they may not previously have considered together.

• Ability to see connections between fields, ideas and concepts is a core skill. I think this is intrinsic to this module - they must see links between their own understanding of teaching and learning (before and after they step into the role of teacher from learner) and that of the existing literature around education as well as the core content they need to teach and graduate attributes in general.
• Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions. The seminars are deliberately designed to explore this, students work in small groups to discuss specific ideas around learning and which ones appeals to them as individuals and then consider what this means on a group level for education and the decisions that must be made during learning design. This realisation that learning arises from a diversity of opinions is often evidence in their reflect blog posts as they grapple with the disagreements in their group and making sense of them.
• Decision making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision. The students have to choose exactly what will be taught and how the learners will experience it. This includes decisions around learning outcomes, educational technologies, mode of delivery and assessment. Each decision is made as a group and peer reviewed as well as justified in a final document submitted with the teaching resources. The process of putting together the teaching resource is an opportunity to experience the decisions made by lecturers when they plan modules.

At the moment these experiences are delivered during a set period (which is quite short) and face to face, although students are encouraged to collaborate through a means of technologies and study when and where they choose both individually and collaboratively. It would be possible to make the module more flexible in terms of these two features.

Principles that are partially met or could work:

• Learning may reside in non-human appliances. Learners on this module can opt to produce a VLE and are encouraged to consider necessary digital literacy training. The idea that there is learning within non-human appliances is not expressly included but could be inferred and made more explicit. It could be incorporated into the seminars as a discussion about how intelligent VLEs/LMS might be and the importance of knowing how to tap into information rather than knowing the information (the google it approach if you like).

• Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities. The module is not so much about up to date knowledge as it is about up to date practice and students are encouraged to look at what is currently used and think about what they could do. However, they are constrained by the university systems so I don't think they would see their use of technology, for example, as current but rather fit for purpose. They may be seeking up to date sources of information and examples, if they decide to teach these. One way to incorporate this is to introduce something around innovative design where student review current practice and look for opportunities for innovation.

Principles I cannot see how to fully integrate:

• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known. I am not sure this is easily integrated into the course. There is an emphasis on who our learners are and knowing the current state of play in higher education. That said, there is an emphasis on how what they have learnt about learning will allow them to learn more effectively in future so arguably they are increasing their capacity to know!

• Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning. We do talk about lifelong learning in the module and the benefits of building connections with other people but also through interactions with content. Arguably students could be taught skills of keeping up to date with certain things e.g. database citation alerts but also networking skills. This would be hard to fit in the context of what they do at present though.

In summary, connectivism has potential on a module like this. Some of the more concrete principles could be easily integrated but the more abstract seem, unsurprisingly, hard to pin down. Additionally, I think some require a more long term approach. My module lasts for 10 week and to show a real distinction between current and future or the value of longevity of connections would seem to need something more.

The colour wheel of learning:
Part of me thinks that the issue here is not connectivism or apprenticeship learning. Indeed a good number of the principles of connectivism could be applied to this apprenticeship module. I think almost any model of learning can have value when employed carefully in an appropriate context but I question the value of mixed models of learning. This reminds me of the colour wheel - some colours complement each others and some oppose each other. I don't image that the apprenticeship model opposes the connectivism but it is perhaps a few steps along the circle.