Friday 2 August 2013

Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Education - Practice Context - Dual Professional Roles

Introduction
I'm currently completing my GCTLT and have been using this blog as a forum for all my assessments.  This is my first Diploma paper and I shall continue to use this to build up my evidence for my portfolio.
I teach on the Certificate and Diploma papers for Travel and Tourism, teach coffee making courses for OUSA and occasionally lend a helping hand on a function, the latest one was at the Regent theatre.  A formal dinner for 300 pax as part of a two day conference.

My Story;
Being a dual professional as both a tertiary educator and expert practitioner in the workplace what does this mean?  I looked at the you tube clips and read the articles around this topic and thought about what this meant to me in my context.  This diagram illustrates my understanding of what this means;

Diagram showing the knowledge transfer used when in the role of a dual
professional


I think it comes down to giving learners authentic, relevant and up-to-date experiences, information and stories, that relate directly to the workplace.  For example the students working on the Conference and Event paper are currently planning a lunch which requires them to plan, liaise, advertise and market this event in a team.  Peter Coolbear, (2012) sees "active and enquiry oriented learning is a key part of the repertoire of these educators."  My job is to advise, mentor and negotiate with them, ensuring that all the learning outcomes are met.  The course outline is on wiki educator, the students form a company, brand and image.  They plan a three day conference and liaise with another lecturer who poses as the client.  A blog is created along the way and the students produce a portfolio for assessment.  "Capable 21st Century tertiary educators are...., partners with their learners and negotiate the learning environment and opportunities with them." (Coolbear, 2012).

Example of student blog entry

This blog entry illustrates the collaborative, team approach used within this paper.

An article in The Guardian (2011), discusses the benefits of trying to combine a teaching/Industry career as the "teaching forces them to keep their practice, and their knowledge, up to date." Andalo, (2011).  Teaching also "bring(s) a different perspective to the workplace".  The article uses a variety of different professions as demonstrated by this quote;
'Dr Adrian Byrne who is a consultant anaesthetist and a senior lecturer and director of programmes at Swansea medical school in Wales reveals how this process feeds into his teaching work': "We bring a sense of reality and we have the ability to tell stories which is hugely underrated. We can come out with some terrifying and profound stories which students never forget."(Andalo,(2011),
but I feel that the story telling aspect of this is quite true and it is these narrative that are remembered by the learner.

The final point I think is important is by embracing a dual practitioners role there are many benefits to your own personal development, it keeps you in touch with industry professionals from many different environments which helps to provide you with a much broader perspective of the industry sectors, which ultimately helps with networking and in maintaining a mentoring role.

I think it is really important to maintain strong links with Industry, whether it is in a consultancy role, providing workplace assessments or working alongside Industry to create authentic work experiences for our learners.  These are some of the areas I would like to progress my own professional development in. 



References;

Coolbear,P. (2012).  Professional development for Tertiary Educators.  Retrieved from; http://www.education review.co.nz

Otago Polytechnic,(2012). Retrieved from; http://wikieducator.org/Requirements_of_a_Tertiary Educator

Andalo, D. (2011, March21).  The rise of dual profession lecturers. The Guardian:Higher Education Network. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2011/mar/21/part-time-lecturers-dual-profession







1 comment:

  1. Hi Helen
    I really like your: 'Diagram showing the knowledge transfer used when in the role of a dual professional'.
    As an Art teacher, I think it is also important to be an independent, practicing artist, exhibiting ones work and so on, to be able to be 'up to date' and 'in touch' with that side of Art :-)

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