Ethos Of Learning Research Articles

The Ethos of Narrative: Rhetoric and 21st Century Sexualities

In their edited collection, 21st Century Sexualities, Herdt and Howe (2007b) discuss the effective and sometimes ineffective ways people acquire sexual literacy—that is, ways of coming to know about healthy sexual practices, for example, conducting internet research about sex, viewing various forms of media that represent sex and sexualized subjects, and listening to folklore about sex. Through and because of these multiple genres, audiences must learn how to navigate competing discourses about sex, sexual education, and being represented sexually; one way they navigate is to understand notions ethos, or the credibility of a writer or speaker. Through a rhetorical–theoretical lens, this paper analyzes some of the connections between notions of ethos and ways of learning and being represented by sexual rhetorics.

Learning together: designing effective e-classrooms

This paper reports on the innovative development of e-learning in criminology and criminal justice programmes that were designed in line with the current ethos of learning and teaching in the Higher Education Academy. The criteria for best practice, the advantages and potential barriers to implementing or adopting such an approach to teaching are highlighted. The paper then discusses the experiences of our students who have participated in virtual collaborative work with students in other jurisdictions and geographical locations in the UK and the US. It concludes that while there are many beneficial outcomes for students and staff in this learning and teaching experience it does need to be supported in the academy if it is to continue to be viable.

Technology-enhanced inquiry-based learning in higher education

There is at present considerable international interest in strengthening the role of inquiry and research in the undergraduate experience. Against this background, the term ‘inquiry-based learning’ (IBL) is in increasing usage, to describe a range of pedagogical approaches in which student inquiry drives the learning experience. The conceptualisation of IBL is contested but often it is described as an ‘umbrella term’ encompassing approaches such as case- and problem-based learning. Digital technologies play an important role in IBL pedagogy and arguably there is a close affinity between the ethos and practices of networked learning, IBL and Web 2.0. However, the evidence-base that focuses specifically on the use of technology in IBL, although relatively small, is highly fragmented. Therefore, for this in-progress project, funded by the UK Higher Education Academy, we are drawing together material from disparate disciplinary and specialist/practitioner fields to offer a critical review and synthesis of research evidence on the use and potential of digital technologies to support IBL. As part of this, we are mapping conceptualisations and practices of technology-enhanced IBL according to a number of dimensions of IBL design and facilitation including: knowledge-orientation; inquiry-framing; process support strategy; technology-strategy. Our poster offers a preliminary analysis, identifies a number of questions that arise, and suggests areas in which further research is needed.

Co-constructing distributed leadership: district and school connections in data-driven decision-making

The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership practices in school systems that are implementing data-driven decision-making employing the theory of distributed leadership. With the advent of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in the US, educational leaders are now required to analyse, interpret and use data to make informed decisions in all areas of education, ranging from professional development to student learning. The emphasis on data-driven decision-making practices to bring about improved student outcomes is relatively a new feature of the education reform landscape and thus requires educators to learn and develop new competences. Leadership is one crucial bridge that can support and direct these new learning efforts. Using qualitative data from a case study of four urban school systems, the authors’ findings indicate that: (1) leaders at all levels co-constructed the vision and implementation of productive data-driven decision-making by creating an ethos of learning and continuous improvement rather than one of blame; (2) in order to give data relevance, leaders also distributed decision-making authority in a manner that empowered different staff members to utilise their expertise; and (3) the school systems directed their resources on building human and social capacity mainly by focusing on modelling and knowledge brokering amongst their staff. The paper concludes with a discussion of research and policy implications based on the findings.

Assessment of the benefits of user involvement in health research from the Warwick Diabetes Care Research User Group: a qualitative case study

To assess the benefits of involving health-care users in diabetes research. For this qualitative case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with researchers who had worked extensively with the group. During regular meetings of the Research User Group, members discussed their views of the group's effectiveness as part of the meeting's agenda. Interviews and discussions were transcribed, coded using N-Vivo software and analysed using constant comparative methods. Involvement of users in research was generally seen as contributing to effective and meaningful research. However, the group should not be considered to be representative of the patient population or participants of future trials. An important contributor to the group's success was its longstanding nature, enabling users to gain more insight into research and form constructive working relationships with researchers. The user-led nature of the group asserted itself, especially, in the language used during group meetings. A partial shift of power from researchers to users was generally acknowledged. Users' main contribution was their practical expertise in living with diabetes, but their involvement also helped researchers to remain connected to the 'real world' in which research would be applied. While the group's work fulfilled established principles of consumer involvement in research, important contributions relying on personal interaction between users and researchers were hard to evaluate by process measures alone. We demonstrated the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of this longstanding, experienced, lay-led research advisory group. Its impact on research stems from the continuing interaction between researchers and users, and the general ethos of learning from each other in an on-going process. Both process measures and qualitative interviews with stakeholders are needed to evaluate the contributions of service users to health research.

Conceptualisation of the Dynamic Nature of Continued Professional Learning: A Multi-Stage Developmental Model

Little attention had been paid to the process of continued professional learning (CPL) of nurses once qualified,in terms of how they plan, organise and continue to learn in their professional career. The manner in which nurses’ learning experiences and orientations change over time, once qualified, was particularly noted to be lacking in the literature. Thus, this paper draws on a study that addressed the CPL of newly qualified nurses. A conceptualisation of the dynamic nature of these nurses’ CPL will thus be presented, from their perspectives during the first two years of registered practice in the UK. The findings indicate how their engagement in professional learning activities went through eight clearly identified stages. The sequence portrays a linear, multi-stage developmental learning continuum, which illustrates the manner in which they chose, planned, organized and attempted to make sense of what they were learning. It is argued that such insights into the nature of professional learning can be useful for both under- and post- graduate curriculum development. Furthermore, gaining an understanding of the fundamentals of CPL should underpin contemporary Higher Education curricula in order to respond to professional concerns about the theory and practice gap and the necessity for professionals to continue to learn throughout their working lives. Thus, such an approach goes beyond achievements at the end of a professional course and would consequently reflect an ethos of lifelong learning, crucial to respective professionals.

Tackling sexual health inequalities: Work in progress with young people at risk

Many groups face one or more barriers to maximising their sexual wellbeing. Improving the consistency, accessibility, quality, cultural competence and ethos of lifelong learning and appropriate and responsive sexual health services can reduce these barriers. However, there are groups whose sexual health is particularly poor (mainly due to increasing STIs and/or unintended pregnancies) or those who are hard to reach for whom additional support is required. Healthy Respect is a Scottish Executive funded national health demonstration project that is hosted by NHS Lothian. The project is tackling sexual health inequalities with young people at risk through partnership initiatives with Social Work, Community Learning & Development, Pupil Referral Units and Learning Disability Organisations. These initiatives have highlighted the specific support needs of workers at strategic and grassroots levels, and a range of barriers and challenges for this work. This paper describes the range of pilot initiatives underway, the evaluation processes designed to assess their impact, and the initial learning from this work.

A reflective commentary on Should dying patients be monitored? A reflective analysis of a critical incident by Alison Mulligan

Reflection opens up a personal space for the practitioner to stand back from the drama of everyday practice to make sense of it all and consider how she or he might become more effective in meeting the needs of patients and their families. As Alison illuminates, her reflection is triggered by an uncomfortable feeling or anxiety. She felt her patient June might have a more comfortable, dignified and peaceful death if not monitored and subjected to what she feels are futile observations. At the nub of this experience are two issues. The first is her plea to her colleagues to see the person dying and adopt a palliative attitude. The second is her avoidance of conflict by pursuing the matter with the nurse in charge. Indeed, Alison is self conscious about fitting in as if she fears being rejected as a ‘difficult’ nurse. The consequence is that Alison suffers. Reflection is cathartic, it helps Alison to work out these feelings. She reflects on the ethics of what would be the best thing to do informed by her search of a relevant literature. She reviews what factors are influencing her. If she explored the literature on managing conflict she would recognize that avoidance is the style of managing conflict most adopted by nurses and nurse leaders (Cavanagh, 1991). This literature would also suggest a collaborative style of managing conflict that is the ideal for all areas of clinical practice. Yet how might a clinical area move from avoidance as a social norm to collaboration? It suggests a need for both individual and collective action. So as Alison suggests, she needs to act with integrity to fulfil her responsibility to her patient and challenge decisions that are not in the patient's best interests. She needs also to try and create the practice conditions where such issues might be explored more objectively, for example in establishing a working party to develop a protocol for palliative care patients. Can she be more assertive if faced with this situation again? Perhaps, guiding herself up the assertive action ladder might be helpful (Table 1). The reflective process heightens Alison's resolve to take action. She has challenged her responsibility; hence, she must grasp the nettle and see that she has authority to take personal action. Exploring the literature helps her construct a good argument. But does she have the courage? This is where a guide may be useful to infuse her with self-believe and courage. Perhaps in the heat of the moment, it is difficult to assert self because of the risk of open confrontation in front of patients and the family and the risk that someone will ‘lose’. Confrontation can be a difficult skill to master, because it can quickly degenerate into a situation of open conflict. Perhaps it might be better to raise it at a staff meeting, using her experience in nonconfrontational ways to raise the issue of ‘best’ palliative care. I am going to assume that all areas of clinical practice must strive to become what Senge (1990) describes as ‘the learning organization’. Reflection is at the heart of a learning organization, simply because it creates an ethos of learning through experience towards realizing best practice. The learning organization has five interrelated dynamics which I consider in relation to Alison's experience (Table 2). Senge's framework of the learning organization offers a useful model for a team of practitioners to consider the richness of their learning environment towards realizing desirable practice as a lived reality. Our patient, their families and ourselves deserve nothing less. Christopher Johns

Action learning set meetings: getting started by ‘checking in’

This account of practice is about starting action learning set meetings. It focuses on a process sometimes known as the ‘check-in’. The paper is based upon the experience of one of the authors (Mark). It raises questions about the contribution of the check-in to an action learning set meeting and whether the checking-in process has a role in extending the ethos of action learning to other social situations. The paper concludes that the check-in serves four main roles: personal contextualisation, helping set members to step out of their professional roles, as an orientation ritual and as a means of enhancing empathy. It also concludes that checking in has a potential contribution to make to other forms of meetings and this contribution may be relevant to the broader action learning community.

Developing Creative and Critical Thinking Abilities in Business Graduates

Educational programmes should promote an ethos of lifelong learning and develop in graduates the capacity for long-term personal and professional development through self-learning and reflection. A business degree programme should seek to produce graduates who are confident, creative thinkers with the capacity to solve problems, think creatively, negotiate, make decisions and resolve conflict. The development of these capabilities should not be left to chance, but should be addressed explicitly in the programme. Whether creativity and critical thinking skills are innate or learned, there is little disagreement that experience deepens and expands these abilities. A module entitled ‘Critical Thinking’ has been introduced into a bachelor's degree in Business Studies. In this module both individual and team experiential tasks are used to develop creative thinking. These tasks are relevant to business activities in product development, marketing, and process development. Experiential exercises in decision making and conflict resolution abilities build skills necessary to face challenges from new technologies, competition or the business environment.

A case study in mainstreaming flexible learning in health--perspectives from the bush.

Our mission is to inculcate an ethos of online learning and communicating, moving it from the margins to mainstream. A skilled health workforce is crucial to better practices. Face-to-face teaching still dominates learning across NSW Health, despite remarkable developments worldwide in using technology for learning. Health is slow to embrace this renaissance due partly to lack of exposure among educators and learners, and the fact of course that learning is not its core business. The three staff comprising New England Area Health Service (NEAHS) Learning Services extensively researched NEAHS staff attitudes to fexible learning (2001) and Information Technology skills (2003). Amalgamating these data, with that from the first ever across-NSW Health online course we ran (2002) determined the appropriateness of our decision to instigate an external web-based discussion facility previously not available in health, for supporting learning and for communicating within NEAHS and indeed across Area Health Services (AHS).

The role of mentoring in the CPD programmes of professional associations

This paper seeks to position the current role of mentoring within the continuing professional development (CPD) programmes of UK professional associations and to examine its potential for developing reflective practice. Following a review of mentoring and CPD in terms of their relationship to the ethos of lifelong learning, it indicthes the extent to which mentoring has been embraced by professional associations. Here, reference is made to a wider research project that set out to map the CPD policies and programmes of UK professional associations by analysing the documentation of over 100 associations. The paper puts forward the idea that mentoring could form an important support for reflective practice, particularly where participation in CPD is compulsory. In conclusion, it argues that the wider introduction of mentoring could help forge new relationships between professionals and their clients, and overcome some of the tensions inherent within CPD itself.

Developing a New Approach to the Assessment of Project Work

ABSTRACT Despite the inevitable constraints inherent in effecting a major change of policy and practice, a new approach to the assessment of undergraduate honours research projects in two science‐based teaching units was achieved through an evolutionary active research‐based process. The implications of a transition from a subjective assessment of honours projects to a more objective, criterion‐referenced strategy were investigated through implementation and feedback. A pilot study was undertaken in which project assessors were asked to use a criterion‐referenced scheme in parallel with the existing scheme. Statistical analyses of data obtained using both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ schemes confirmed the reliability of the new criterion‐referenced assessment strategy. In addition, the new scheme offered a number of important advantages over the old system: (1) increased objectivity through reference to a number of clearly defined explicit criteria, (2) opportunity for the provision of valuable feedback to the students, (3) flexibility with regard to the weightings and collation of marks, and (4) ease of use. Devising the perfect assessment strategy is an elusive pursuit, but implementing a scheme which contributes to a more student‐centred ethos of teaching, learning and assessment is surely a step in the right direction.

The NHS as a learning organization: aspirations beyond the rainbow?

It is the intention of this paper to review the issues and challenges organizations face when aspiring to embrace and enact the tenets of a learning organization; and in particular the perceived impact on management strategy, structure and leadership styles. The paper is predicated on the premise that learning and knowledge act as vital strategic resources, crucial not only to organizations in terms of competitive advantage but to ethical enterprise per se. Modern life is characterized by change, against the backdrop of this continual turmoil, organizational learning has emerged as a dominant theme within contemporary management theory, with many commentators increasingly locating the capacity of an aspiring organization to accommodate the ethos of organizational learning, as the vital component in ensuring enduring efficiency, innovation and competitiveness. However, the utility of such learning needs to be scrutinized and evaluated in terms of service need and expectation. The paper will expand upon wider theoretical debates extant within the literature, by considering the concept and utility of the learning organization with specific reference to management reform extant within the British National Health Service (NHS). During the course of the review the various the theoretical positions contributing to the notion of the learning organization will be analysed, the practical ramifications of which will be examined in the context of reflective practice, clinical supervision and the wider cultural background of nursing and the NHS. The paper concludes that the NHS needs to reorientate management perspectives to focus attention more acutely on systems which are deliberately designed to facilitate shared learning, to unravel the ambiguities of organizational life, to affirm management belief in the nursing contribution and to achieve an as yet unrealized potential in terms of patient care and advanced nursing practice.

Educating trainers.

I once heard a conference speaker argue effectively against the use of the word 'train' in regard to nurse education. To train someone, she said, meant to pull, like dragging the unwilling through hoops to prove they had accomplished a particular task or set of tasks. Education, on the other hand, is about nurturing the student. It implies an ethos of learning, creativity and self- motivation. That's how nurses are prepared to take on their role in society.

Catholics and the Universities

I have been asked to write some account of the place of theology in the new universities, not simply as an academic discipline but as an interpreter of the whole academic process. This is a matter which I have long considered of the highest importance, not only for the Church but for the maintenance of integrated learning in the secular universities. Newman’s writings on this very matter, both in The Idea ofa University and elsewhrre, are too well known to need recapitulation. Indeed his prophetic gifts are only beginning to be realized in this as in so many other matters. The age of the Second Vatican Council is in many ways a Newmanic age and the principles for which he stood, no less than the ethos of true learning which he breathed, interpret, almost magically, the needs of our age.The whole problem which forms the scope of this article has been admirably delineated this year in a book already reviewed in these columns, Theology and the University, ‘an ecumenical investigation,’ edited by John Coulson. It is a documentary of the first order, and I may be forgiven if I begin by a recapitulation of some of the things which it has to say. The editor himself, sums up the discussions in one sentence : ‘Theology can choose; it can remain dead and neglected, or take the pressure of the times and live; but if it chooses life it has need of three things: a university setting, lay participation, and the ecumenical dialogue’.