iGather learners as responsible audio collectors of tutor, peer and self-reflection

1. iGatherlearners as responsible audio collectors of tutor, peer and self-reflection Andrew Middleton, Anne Nortcliffe and Rosie Owens SHARPENS YOUR THINKING

2. This paper is about The autonomous learner recognising feedback and using audio to gather it wherever they find it N

3. Introduction • our roles • the Student Audio Notes Project • building upon • ongoing investigation into audio feedback • research and development in educational digital voices N

4. Student Audio Notes Project • aims • methodology • selected findings: • readiness to act autonomously • creative applications by participants • evidence of a continuous learning environment(formal - semi-formal - informal) N

5. Where do we find feedback?.. • reflect upon the ‘significant conversations' (1 minute, pairs) • (What will you learn and what will you forget today?) • good feedback is: • timely, meaningful, engaging, motivational, informative, formative • opportunistic? enjoyable? memorable? reusable? growing in meaning and lasting impact? M

6. Where do we find feedback? • we suggest (do you agree?): • enhanced meaning through responsibility • feedback comes in many flavours(simple understandings are unhelpful eg NSS) • recall and synthesis enhanced by revisiting significant conversations, resulting in the discovery and construction of new meanings • statements can be made and recorded, then: remembered; re experienced; reviewed; and later rediscovered M

7. 'Learner Gatherers' • active, autonomous learners identifying feedback in the formal, semi-formal and informal learning environment • formal:the planned curriculum • semi-formal:opportunities that occur around the planned curriculum • informal:from beyond the formal curriculum • (curriculum: the learning context of people, content, environments and action) M

8. Processing feedback • learning from feedback requires active engagement and processing • value in repeated access? • value in the process of making and talking? • guidance on how students should work with their notes is critical M

9. The Learner Gatherer's Story • From memory dumping to effective processing; synthesis, reflection and implementation. • What we heard: • Start • "for me to record a lecture would be really useful because I could go back and reflect on it again because there's often points that I miss out which are quite important” • Middle • "I think it could be good in tutorials. I find it really helpful when it's information aimed directly at me. I'd be able to listen back to that conversation within the tutorial and take on it board more“ • End • “It was useful for reflective practice because you can record stuff and then go back …see what happened. And that's what you need to do for your CPD.” N

10. Recognising Feedback • Audio innovation not only supports academic practice, it changes it • Feedback: as formal, semi-formal, informal as the environments in which it is found • Feedback’ is not something that is done to you but it is something at the core of the learner’s experience of learning that they take responsibility for managing in an autonomous learning paradigm. M/N

11. Effective feedback must be given, but effective feedback may also be discovered. Thank you

12. Conference Challenges • Connecting audio gathering to the challenges we have heard so far today • Can you identify ideas for, and the implications of, encouraging the wider use and understanding of student collated audio feedback? M