HERDSA 1996: Groombridge - a reflective account of a postgraduate learning experience

Moongazing: A reflective account of a postgraduate learning experience

Barbara Groombridge
Teaching and Learning Group
Curtin University of Technology

This case study details my experiences whilst undertaking postgraduate study, in a Primary Science Unit, at the Science and Mathematics Education Centre, Curtin University of Technology. Specifically, the issues associated with adult learning and assessment will be discussed. The participants of the unit were primary school teachers who had enrolled after a number of years of classroom teaching. They were all committed teachers of primary science who had been actively involved with new developments in primary science teaching.
The teaching and learning approach followed the Constructivist Learning Model and involved participation and reflection of the process. This epistemology suggests that knowledge is not acquired passively and that learning is a product of self organisation and reorganisation. The learning activities were developed by focussing on observations of the moon over a month. Throughout the course of study the participants adopted 'action learning' strategies and developed means of support between group members, in order to accomplish and achieve their personal goals.
The assessment involved the development of a portfolio which followed the learning experiences over the semester of study. The completed portfolio, whilst being a personal account of the presenter's knowledge constructions and reflections, is also a collaborative account of the interactions between the participants and the facilitator of the unit whose role was one of guiding, accepting and encouraging. Some practical ideas for teaching and learning are also suggested such as the use of concept/mind maps and the integration of science topics with language arts.

Introduction

As part of my Master of Science (Education) degree, I had enrolled for a primary science unit. The class which I attended for one semester, was a newly developed unit which encouraged primary teachers to enrol for postgraduate study in the Science and Mathematics Education Centre, which previously had attracted mainly secondary school science specialists. My fellow students were also primary teachers who had each been classroom teachers for a number of years and were now pursuing postgraduate study. Some of the participants were science co-ordinators within their own schools but all had an active interest in teaching primary science.

We were not science subject specialists and felt a lack of confidence in our own scientific knowledge. Like a lot of other primary teachers, we had made consistent efforts to improve our knowledge because we believed that it was a necessary part of being a good science teacher! We all enjoyed the process of doing science with our students which we believed was the focus of good science teaching. We had, through our interest, put aside constraints such as lack of equipment, curriculum materials and teacher knowledge and had focussed on actually ensuring that our students had experience in all the processes of science, such as observing, making assumptions, testing and recording and drawing appropriate conclusions. We came to this unit with certain preconceived notions about what we thought was good science teaching and how to achieve it, based on our own professional experiences.

I had been a primary teacher and Deputy at an independent girls' school but took long service leave in order to complete my Master's degree studying full time in one year. This was a heavy workload as I did not complete the post graduate diploma and had included extra units. However, I was on a Higher Education Contribution Scheme exemption and was determined to complete as much of the course work as possible within the time frame. I had read widely about time management, goal setting and organisation. I worked out a weekly timetable which evolved around lecture commitment, study sessions, family activities and the organisation of home and leisure interests. I prioritised events to take precedence at certain times. I was really concerned with the quality of my life and determined that the study program must only be part of it. I decided that I must be task specific and only do one thing at a time and do it really well. This is called doing 'first things first' (Covey, 1994). I am normally an organised person but not to the extent of setting goals and working to a plan, so this was all new ground for me.

Jenny and Anna were members of our group and it is useful for the purpose of this case study to know a little about them.

Jenny is a primary school teacher with special interest in science. She had supported her husband with a career change in Medicine whilst bringing up two children. She worked as a Year 2 teacher and at the same time had enrolled in a postgraduate diploma of education. Over two years she completed foundation units and was well on the way to completing her diploma along with some units which were also accredited Masters' units. Towards the end of her study period, Jenny decided that she would like to go on and complete her Master's. She had also acted as a trainer for a new science program that was being promoted throughout Australia. She was becoming more and more interested in focussing her skills and moving away from classroom teaching. Through some of her work on the postgraduate course she was offered the opportunity to enrol on the PhD program. This meant giving up her teaching position, applying for a grant and forging ahead with her research project.

Anna was in the same postgraduate group as Jenny. She is also a primary teacher with a Year 6 class who had responsibility for professional development within her school. She was also interested in science teaching but had a heavy workload with her special responsibility position. She had been keen to bring in some of the ideas presented during her course back to her school and wanted to adopt some of the teaching strategies within her own teaching program. She had involved the school staff on in-service days using expertise from the University. This brought a mixed reaction from many of the staff. Anna had been feeling somewhat despondent about the whole school situation and wanted to complete her Master's as soon as she could. She like me, had enrolled for a heavy commitment of courses but found it difficult to meet deadlines as she was still working as a full time teacher. Family problems along the way did not help either. However she extended assignment dates and made an effort to complete all courses, with support from friends and lecturers. Flexibility with regard to deadlines for assignments, positive responses from the facilitator and practical assistance from other members of the group eg help with photocopying and the sharing of resources, enabled her to complete all her work eventually.

The task, the associated learning and assessment process

At our first class meeting our facilitator/unit co-ordinator explained to us that as he was not a primary teacher himself and that this was the first time the unit had been offered, then he was probably going to learn as much about the process as we were. He informed us that although he had over 20 years experience as a high school teacher and science educator, this was new ground for him. He shared with us some of his concerns that the unit would be a useful learning experience for us with regard to developing our professional knowledge, but he was not going to give us 'lectures' in science which would be knowledge based. This was quite a surprise for us as we were expecting our knowledge base to be extended. Jenny, Anna and I were wanting to improve our content knowledge of the usual scientific topics taught in schools and centred around physical and chemical processes. We felt very inadequate in these areas and certainly not competent to teach them. He suggested that we should start our learning process by pondering about the moon. Was there anything about the moon's movements that we might want to find out? Initially we were not enthusiastic about the choice of topic. Reaction was mixed amongst other members of our group, one of them, Peter, seemed to know so much about the topic already and this certainly intimidated us.

We were asked to make observational studies of the moon throughout a month. Each week, we would bring some of our observations to class and they would form the focus for our learning. This all seemed a bit 'light' to us and we couldn't really see what it had to do with science at that point. From these observations we were to develop understandings of what the moon actually did each month. We were assured that the process was important at this stage and this learning process was to be documented journal style. The development of a personal portfolio was to be the assessment strategy used to record our experiences throughout the unit and our journal jottings, writing, diagrams and any additional information we collected would form the basis for our portfolio.

The idea of a portfolio as a means of assessment was new to most of us. We were only aware of the portfolio as a collection of artefacts such as that contained within an art portfolio or of other presentation materials. We were given readings on the use of portfolios in teaching for both school students and at the higher education level (Paulson, Paulson & Meyer 1991: and Loughran & Corrigan, 1995). It was important to realise that our portfolios were to be selected evidence of our learning experiences, not a receptacle for everything we did on the course. This was a really important point. We had to select material that showed our learning.

Portfolios can be a useful way of collecting evidence of learning to meet a learning contract. They are often a collection of materials and entries of diverse nature gathered over the course and put together in some structured way to provide evidence of learning and development, (Mc Gill & Beaty p247).

Developing a mind map

It soon became apparent that we all had different starting points in our knowledge of the moon's movement, composition and other interesting snippets of information. Our prior experiences and interests and hobbies had already shaped our understandings. I decided to brainstorm, using a mind map, (Buzan,T.& B. 1993) to see just how much knowledge I actually had. The use of the mind map helped to categorise information and also it was a useful strategy that could be developed over a period of time as more information came flooding back to me. My mind map helped to motivate me. I could fairly quickly develop my mind map to show information taken from literature, geography, children's fables general knowledge and science. My mind map showed a factual level of understanding of things that had happened on or to the moon but somewhere was a huge gap! I could see that there was one particular area of interest that I would like to find out more about and this was concerned with the observations we were to make. I realised that the moon rose and set each day, like the sun and that it went through phases, however I did not really understand the path it actually took across the sky or why it appeared at differing times of the day and night. It was a misconception for me that the moon rose as the sun set. I couldn't explain why you could sometimes see it during the day either. I also thought that the moon was visible every night, if you couldn't see it then it was because of cloud cover or some other factor which I had never considered. Mind mapping helped to sort out my previous experiences and to highlight existing conceptions and alerted me to the misconceptions that I had about the moon's movements.

It also became evident to me that most of my 'Moon Knowledge' was self taught anyway because at no time was it ever part of my curriculum whilst at school. A lot of my knowledge was of the factual sort, acquired from reading, watching television, particularly during the American space missions. I had developed a good moon vocabulary, however all this hid the real fact...I didn't understand what our nearest symbiotic neighbour was actually doing with itself as it orbited our Earth. What a great challenge! I had to work out for myself where the gaps in my knowledge were and address some of the misconceptions that I had identified. I was to admit that I didn't know, not too difficult for me as it was easy to justify that it hadn't really been important to me so far and more importantly, I had to document my findings and record them as part of my portfolio of learning. At this point, I became conscious of the chosen task. I began to realise what a really good topic this was because it was readily accessible, we all had some prior knowledge and experiences and we could all think of some way of extending our understanding. So to summarise:

I was motivated,
I liked the idea of the portfolio, it allowed me to be independent and to find out what I wanted at my own pace,
It allowed creativity, I could do as I wished and include things which interested me,
Although science based, it was to be an integrated topic. This appealed to me as I already had some starting points from my prior knowledge.

Adult learning

As adult learners we were to be involved in the action learning process.

Action learning is a continuous process of learning and reflection, supported by colleagues, with an intention of getting things done. Through action learning individuals learn with and from each other by working on real problems and reflecting on their own experience, (Mc Gill & Beaty, p21).

If I was to be involved in the process of learning which would be individual and personal to my needs but at the same time involved my fellow students, then some fundamental questions needed to be asked. What do I want to happen? What do I need to do to move towards the end product, the portfolio, and how can I set and achieve my own goals in order to do this? The answers to these questions formalised my learning contract by helping to identify problems, suggest possible actions and identify specific tasks that I needed to take in order to achieve the desired outcome.

The Constructivist Learning Model (Yager, 1991) was used to facilitate interaction and learning within our group. Some of the techniques based on the CLM, which characterised our learning are:

teachers actively participate in planning as program objectives are determined;
self instruction will often be in evidence;
individualised instruction will be more effective;
teachers will have an active rather than passive role;
programs will emphasise demonstrations, trials, feedback and give and take;
students and teachers will share and provide mutual assistance; (p57).

Eight important principles have been identified embracing a model of adult learning (Knowles 1978, in Nightingale, p 80). These principles distinguish between deep and surface learning (or meaningful and rote learning). Entwistle (Nightingale, 1992) in his literature review, suggests that a deep approach to learning is best facilitated by teaching and assessment that promote active and long term engagement with the learning tasks.

Stimulating and considerate teaching which demonstrates the lecturer's personal commitment to the subject matter and stress its meaning and relevance to students also shapes deep learning. Opportunities to exercise responsible choice in the method and content of study, including opportunities for independence in studying, play a major role in promoting meaningful learning too (p80).

The eight principles, which also supported the CLM are:

enhance student qualities necessary to the achievement of high quality learning, such as self reliance, independent modes of learning, self esteem, lifelong learning;
use student experience as a learning resource, eg match objectives with students' prior achievements and purposes, ensure learning tasks are relevant to learners' personal and professional development;
encourage active and cooperative learning, eg, provide a supportive environment to learn and time for reflection;
promote responsibility in learning, eg flexible assessment, program routes and modes and duration of study;
engage with feelings and values as well as intellectual development, eg see people holistically, feelings are just as important as intellect, encourage risk taking, compiling journal/portfolio in which learning progress is documented and reflected upon;
foster open, flexible, reflective and outcomes based assessment, eg provide a variety of assessment such as portfolios and group feedback;
evaluate teaching and learning, teachers should engage in reflective professional practice;
establish an environment to support achievement of high quality student learning, eg group maintenance, buddy, mentor systems; (Nightingale, p85).

The structure of the learning investigation required interaction each week amongst the participants. During these interactive sessions there was opportunity for the participants to share with each other their ongoing observations. Kolb's learning cycle, (Mc Gill & Beaty, p30) helps to explain our learning process as we shared our:

experiences: observing and reflecting on our findings and sketches for the week;
reflections: forming or reforming understanding of a situation as a result of experience. Members helped to problem solve, explain, demonstrate what we were experiencing. Anna even made a model of the moon on a stick to demonstrate its path around the earth on its lunar cycle;
generalisations: planning actions to influence the situation based on newly formed or reformed understanding. This was really important because it helped us to focus on our observations and develop questions for the next week's sessions;
testing: acting or trying out the plan in the situation, this was really our weekly class contact time when we shared some of our experiences with other group members.

These models of adult learning were evident in the teaching approach used by the facilitator of our postgraduate unit and were instrumental in helping us to achieve our goals for the unit. The participants, who had all begun this primary science unit together, had become part of a learning set (McGill & Beaty, p21). These very different people had a few things in common. We were of similar age, mothers, primary teachers with more than 15 years experience and had seen our jobs as being supportive to our husbands' and had therefore accommodated our families' needs along the way. We were all motivated to complete our courses but felt somewhat intimidated by the higher education option but were confident enough to feel that we could make a contribution to the learning process. We all liked practical activities, group interaction and teamwork.

From being part of this set, we were to get support and challenge, empathy and empowerment, (Mc Gill & Beaty, p36). Each weekly session provided a supportive environment. Friendships were developed which in turn assisted with motivation and completion of tasks and collaboration with the development of the portfolio. We were constantly challenged by our facilitator (and each other), to share ideas concerning our observations and research. Empathy, especially with support and encouragement when times got tough, helped us to continue when we felt burdened with other constraints associated with our families and work. Empowerment gave us the ability to have some impact on our learning environment, to challenge, to change and to have some control over the process which ultimately gave us personal satisfaction when goals had been reached.

At the completion of the unit, we proudly brought the evidence of our learning to class. Our portfolios caused quite a lot of interest and a certain element of surprise because they did not look like the usual academic assessment paper. Our portfolios were colourfully and creatively presented, demonstrated a variety of learning styles amongst the individuals and were indeed a topic of conversation for quite some time afterwards. The pre-occupation with the moon led us to talk about the moon differently, "what a beautiful crescent moon tonight" was replaced with "it's a glorious gibbous moon tonight"! Our learning experience was rich and fulfilling and enabled each one of us to reach for the moon in our own way.

Bibliography

Buzan, T. and B. (1993). The Mind Map Book, Radiant Thinking : The Major Evolution in Human Thought. London: BBC Books.

Covey, S., Merrill, A.R. & R.R. (1994). First Things First. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Loughran, J. and Corrigan, D. (1995). Teaching portfolios: A strategy for developing learning and teaching in preservice education. Teaching & Teacher Education, 11(6), 565-577.

Mc Gill, I. and Beaty, L. (1995). Action Learning, (2nd Edition). London: Kogan Page.

Nightingale, P. and O'Neill M. (1994). Achieving Quality Learning in Higher Education. London: Kogan Page.

Paulson, F.L., Paulson, P.R. and Meyer, C. (1991). What makes a portfolio a portfolio? Educational Leadership, Feb : pp60-63.

Yager, R.E. (1991). The constructivist learning model: Toward real reform in science education. The Science Teacher, 58(6), 52-57.

Author: Barbara Groombridge, Teaching and Learning Group, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia. Email: igroombr@info.curtin.edu.au

Please cite as: Groombridge, B. (1996). Moongazing: A reflective account of a postgraduate learning experience. Different Approaches: Theory and Practice in Higher Education. Proceedings HERDSA Conference 1996. Perth, Western Australia, 8-12 July. http://www.herdsa.org.au/confs/1996/groombridge.html

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