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Professor Ronald Barnett

Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education
University College London
Professor Ronald Barnett
  • Professor Ronald Barnett

    Abstract

    Keynote Title: Realising the Ecological University: A Feasible Utopia

    1 October 2024 — 9:20 am to 10:15 am

    The university is not just encircled by but is entangled with several major ecosystems of the world and, whether recognized or not, the university is influenced by them and negotiates its way through them.  Eight ecosystems stand out in particular, those of the economy, knowledge, social institutions, learning, persons, culture and the natural environment.  

    The ecological university is a university that takes this ecological setting seriously, and does what it can not just to be sensitive to those eight ecosystems but plays its part in improving each of them - for, being ecosystems, they each fall short of their potential.   

    It is a matter of judgement for any university as to how it might do this, in its teaching, its research and its engagements with the world.  Each university has its own ecological profile – its own possibilities.  Discerning its responsibilities and possibilities is not easy – they are not just there but have to be imagined.  There is no technological fix before the university. 

    At present, attention is given primarily to economy as an ecosystem. Some wish to play it up still further (being strong advocates of ‘skills’ for the economy); others - critics of neoliberalism and cognitive capitalism – wish to diminish it, for they believe that there is a neglect of the other (seven) ecosystems. The economy is important but it should not be privileged.  Indeed, there is conflict between interests in the economy and in (the sustainability of) Nature. 

    In my talk, I shall address this situation and share some tentative thoughts as to how steps might be made in realizing the ecological university, with considerations in mind of teaching, learning and the student experience. 

     

    Workshop Title: Thinking about change &/OR Changing our thinking?

    2 October 2024 — 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

    What is it to effect change in higher education?  Are we rushing to change systems and processes without thinking them through?

    For example:-

    1. The use of AI and Chatbot-type engines: many universities are embracing AI enthusiastically – but suppose there are grave risks here?  There are many concerns in the literature about AI but are universities aware of those concerns?  Are they addressing those concerns? 

    (When I receive a PhD thesis to examine, I have no way of knowing whether and the extent what I see before me has been generated by AI. But this is only one difficulty here.)

    1. What of critical thinking?  Do we still prize it in higher education?  What does it mean?  How might it be a more prominent part of a student’s higher education?  What kind of pedagogy does it call for?  What kind of student experience does it imply?
    2. Some speak of learning for an unknown future but if the future isn’t known, how are we to prepare students for it?  Does it call for a different curriculum or more fundamental changes – eg abandoning ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’?  Again, what kind of student experience is necessary (for ‘learning for an unknown future’)? 
    3. In my keynote, I speak of ‘realizing the ecological university’ – but just how might that be brought about (and across the eight ecosystems that I identify – knowledge, learning, the individual, culture, society, the economy, the polity and Nature).  Is the ecological university just a utopia – OR is it a feasible utopia?

    So before welcoming change, or at least alongside it, we may need to address our thinking on a matter.  Fundamental change in higher education calls for fundamental thinking.

    But what is it seriously to think in fundamental ways about our practices and policies in higher education – and to ensure that our practices and policies are imbued with that more fundamental thinking?  So we need fundamental thinking about both:

    1. the matter in front of us AND about
    2. the change processes needed to do justice to that thinking.

    Do we have space and time to think in higher education today?  Can we make space to think?

    I propose that, in this workshop, we work concretely on the four issues above and identity:

    (a) key ideas, concerns, issues and even conflicts in each case and

    (b) ways of doing justice to those ideas, concerns, issues and conflicts in our change processes; and change processes at the levels both of the university and the student experience.

     

    Biography

    Ronald Barnett is Emeritus Professor of Higher Education at University College London Faculty of Education and Society, where he was a Dean and a Pro-Director.  He has just stepped down as inaugural President of the Philosophy and Theory of Higher Education Society and is now President Emeritus of the Society.

    Ronald has played a major part in developing the philosophy of higher education over the past 40 years, with 35+ books and hundreds of papers, and 150 keynote talks in 40+ countries. He has been cited over 30,000 times in the literature. 

    He has put several ideas and concepts into the higher education literature, including ‘criticality’, ‘supercomplexity’ and ‘the ecological university’.

    He has received many prizes and awards.  His very first book (The Idea of Higher Education, 1990) won a major international award, followed by several other book prizes.  Other awards include the inaugural annual prize of the European Association for Educational Research for his ‘outstanding contribution to Higher Education Research, Policy and Practice’; an earned higher doctorate in education (University of London); and an Honorary Doctorate (Eastern European University). He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences.

    His latest book is ‘Realizing the Ecological University: Eight Ecosystems, Their Antagonisms and a Manifesto’ (Bloomsbury, September 2024).

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Professor David Boud

Deakin Distinguished Professor and Foundation Director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning
Deakin University, Australia
Professor David Boud
  • Professor David Boud

    Abstract

    Keynote Title: Developing students’ evaluative judgement 

    2 October 2024 — 9:10 am to 10:05 am

    Higher education has become more systematic and more regulated as it seeks to assure that all students reach desired learning outcomes. It is easy in such a climate to assume that the more we regulate students, the better will these outcomes be met. There is a paradox this this however: it does not follow that the more teachers do, the more students achieve. As only the learners can learn, the challenge we face it how to create the conditions in which this can occur. The emphasis in courses must shift from external regulation to self-regulation, the most important aspect of which is the development of students’ evaluative judgement, that is the ability of students to determine what they know and don’t know, and what they can do and not do. The significance of this has accelerated with the widespread introduction of generative AI applications throughout society—refining student judgement becomes more vital than ever. 

     

    Workshop Title: Organising feedback as if we expected it to influence student learning

    1 October 2024 — 3:15 pm to 5:15 pm

    Providing information to students on their work is a familiar and well-accepted practice in university courses. For many years, the focus has been on improving the quality of what is provided to students. However, we know that many students who need it most don’t bother to access this potentially useful information. Over the past decade there has been a substantial shift in what feedback means and how it can be organised. What if the emphasis was on what students did in feedback processes rather than on the inputs provided by teachers? How can we design courses in ways that make feedback processes work to improve learning? This workshop will explore recent changes in feedback thinking and how the idea that feedback is at the service of learning has been reclaimed. It will examine implications for practice and explore how teachers have new, but not more time-consuming, roles in design and building learners’ feedback literacy. 

     

    Biography

    David Boud is a Deakin Distinguished Professor and Foundation Director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning at Deakin University, Australia. He is also Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney. He has published extensively on teaching, learning and assessment in higher and professional education. He has been a pioneer in developing learning-centred approaches in courses and in changing conceptions of feedback. His most recent books with various others: Re-imagining University Assessment in a Digital World, Springer; Assessment for Inclusion in Higher Education: Promoting Equity and Social Justice in Assessment, Routledge. He is one of the most highly cited scholars in the field of higher education (Google Scholar h-index of 110).

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Assistant Professor Lisa Winstanley

Assistant Professor, School of Art, Design and Media
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Assistant Professor Lisa Winstanley
  • Assistant Professor Lisa Winstanley

    Abstract

    Title: Design+: Rewilding Education through Interdisciplinary Collaboration 

    1 October 2024 — 10:45 am to 11:15 am

    The concept of rewilding education advocates for the removal of rigid boundaries to cultivate a more organic and interconnected learning environment. Accordingly, this presentation encourages educators to reconsider disciplinary boundaries in order to promote critical thinking and collaborative problem-solving skills. The discussion explores several innovative pedagogical approaches that challenge traditional educational models by emphasising interdisciplinary collaboration through the integration of a Design+ framework: 

    •      Design+ Technology 

    •      Design+ Science 

    •      Design+ Sustainability 

    These combinations highlight the essential role of design in stimulating innovation in other areas of study by applying a holistic approach to education that has the capacity to address complexities in contemporary global challenges. The presentation will illustrate the practical application of this framework through three case studies focused on each of the three aspects of the Design+ framework: Technology, Science and Sustainability. It will then expand on an empirical research study centred on the sustainability aspect, demonstrating its effectiveness in connecting STEM and art and design curricula. 

    By exploring the possibilities of interdisciplinary work, the presentation highlights the potential of integrating diverse perspectives into the classroom and reimagining academic structures to create a more interconnected scholarly community. Design+ advocates for breaking down silos, encouraging educators to embrace flexibility and adaptability in their teaching practices. Ultimately, this presentation aims to inspire educators to rethink their pedagogical methods, rewilding the academic ecosystem to one that values collaboration and innovation by aligning educational practices with the demands of a changing world. 

     

    Biography

    Lisa Winstanley is an Assistant Professor in the School of Art Design & Media. With 20 years of commercial experience and over a decade of international research and teaching, she explores ethical and collaborative design practices and pedagogies. Her creative work has received over 50 international awards and has been exhibited across 30 countries. Lisa’s scholarly research focuses on transformative pedagogical approaches to interdisciplinary collaboration, with a primary emphasis on developing visual literacy. More specifically, she explores ethical challenges in visual communication by addressing visual plagiarism. She advocates for visual integrity, promoting ethical mindsets in the production and consumption of art and design to support design communities and foster positive change. 

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Associate Professor Chua Bee Leng

Chief Learning & Innovations Officer, Director's Office and Associate Professor (Teaching), Psychology and Child & Human Development
National Institute of Education, Singapore
Associate Professor Chua Bee Leng
  • Associate Professor Chua Bee Leng

    Abstract

    Title: Ownership in Learning: Digital Portfolios for Agency in Professional Growth

    2 October 2024 —10:30 am to 11:15 am

    With the affordances of rapidly-developing technology, information is now readily and conveniently accessible regardless of time or place. Within this backdrop of information inundation, learning has pivoted away from knowledge-acquisition, instead greatly emphasising the development of skills, dispositions and competencies enabling learners to build meaningful connections to existing knowledge. Furthermore, today's learners must make connections between perspectives of self and others, differing contexts and meta-awareness, therein reflecting upon and constantly refining their own learning. 

    This sharing will focus on the role of the Digital Portfolio as a powerful and dynamic tool for teachers to aggregate and integrate their learning, making their processes of learning and inquiry visible and intentional as they chart their professional development throughout their teaching journey, starting with their time in NIE. The portfolio enables structured and guided inquiry into practice, ease of collaboration and sharing, and serves as a library of resources and inspiration for teachers as they strive for continued development in their careers.

     

    Biography

    A/P Chua Bee Leng is the Chief Learning and Innovations Officer at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She is also an Associate Professor with the Psychology and Child & Human Development (PCHD) Academic Group. She received her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from NTU, Singapore. Her research interests are Teacher Education, Digital Portfolio, Mediated Learning, Problem-based learning, Motivation, and Cognition. In addition to her work at the NIE, NTU, she regularly shares her expertise in subject disciplines such as educational studies and instructional pedagogies with schools and educators from other organisations and countries. She is the past president of the World Education Research Association (WERA) and the executive editor of the Educational Research for Policy and Practice (ERPP) journal.

     

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