Learning 2 Lead Leading 2 Learn

reflections on higher education, executive coaching, and leadership

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Higher Education Leader. Executive & Organizational Coach. Perfectly Imperfect Human, Mother & Partner. Lifelong Learner & Mindfulness Practitioner (emphasis on the practice!).
  • Help me build an AI Executive Coach

    Help me build an AI Executive Coach

    Image generated using ChatGPT 4.0 using the following prompt: Create an image of an AI Executive Coach

    This post is intended to help executive coaches and those interested in accessing executive coaching build and explore their own personalized AI executive coach. I am not an AI expert. I am an academic leader and a certified executive coach. I am currently enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Advanced Coaching Practices at Royal Rhodes University.

    Like many fields and professions in the world, the topic of AI has emerged as something coaches around the world should be paying attention to. The International Coaching Federation has a variety of emerging discussions, resources, and groups exploring AI. Some coaches grapple with the fear of AI, and what it might take away from the profession. If clients can access coaching through AI, what will this mean for the livelihood of the coaching industry? Many question the quality and accuracy of AI tools. How can AI tools possibly be as good as a certified and trained human coach? How can we address and control for the fact that AI tools hallucinate and make errors? Others grapple with the ethical implications of AI, including how to ethically and transparently use AI as a tool to support executive coaching (e.g., to record and summarize coaching sessions, to provide feedback on the quality of coaching). Furthermore, how will we continue to address and mitigate the biases that are inherent to AI processes and systems?

    I share all of these concerns, AND am excited about AI’s potential to help make the transformative impact of coaching more accessible to people around the world. As a certified executive coach and someone who regularly receives coaching, I definitely hold my own biases about the positive impacts of coaching. Thankfully, research also confirms that engaging in coaching positively affects a number of personal and organizational outcomes including goal orientation, resilience, job satisfaction, work attitudes, well-being, workplace performance, behavioural change, self-efficacy, and coping (Nicolau et al., 2023; Theeboom et al., 2014).

    Given these benefits, how can we ensure as many humans as possible have access to coaching?

    One of the key challenges with coaching? Executive coaching fees typically range between $150-$500+ per hour. That’s a hefty cost for many individuals and organizations. Many individuals and organizations can access AI tools and resources freely, or pay a comparatively nominal monthly fee ($20-40/month) to access more robust AI engines. What could this mean? AI tools have the potential to increase access to coaching for millions across the globe. Imagine the impact on employees, leaders, and organizations around the world?

    I’ve been experimenting with building my own AI executive coach, using claude.ai. Claude is a chatbot from Anthropic AI. No AI tool is perfect. Anthropic’s commitments to safety in systems and science speak to me. After receiving some incredible coaching from AI expert and colleague, Dr. Erin Aspenlieder (check out her website at https://aspenai.ca/), I’ve programmed my own executive coach.

    Here is what I did to build my “project” (aka Executive Coach) using Claude.ai.

    My initial description and purpose for the project was as follows:

    I want to create an online executive coach that will help me: work through professional and life challenges, identify and leverage my strengths, overcome obstacles, reach my full potential, and identify key pathways and actions for moving forward.

    I set the following prompts in my instructions. You can learn more about prompt libraries at the following sites:

    https://www.moreusefulthings.com/prompts

    https://docs.anthropic.com/en/prompt-library/library

    Ensure I clearly establish a focus and goals for our conversation.
    Periodically draw me back to the focus and goals of our conversation to ensure we stay on track, and to see if these focus and goals have shifted.
    Use curiosity-driven responses that ask further questions to get below the surface of my responses.
    Ask questions that help me draw upon my strengths.
    Probe further on the beliefs, assumptions, and values that underlie my responses and thinking.
    When providing advice or recommendations, ensure that no more than 3 ideas are shared, and that those ideas are always be followed up with a question.
    Use more open-ended questions to help me explore me thoughts and options.
    Encourage me to reflect back what I’m learning from our conversation, allowing me to clarify or expand on ideas.
    Prompt me to challenge my assumptions or perspectives, to help me consider different angles.
    Ask questions that help draw upon my intuition and gut reactions.
    Use mindful coaching questions that help me develop awareness of the bodily sensations and emotions that arise from my responses and experiences    .
    Help me develop my own action steps and path for moving forward, rather than suggestion them for me.
    Ensure I leave the coaching conversation with next steps or a path for moving forward.

    Along with these prompts, I uploaded personalized documents to my project such as my CV, personal values, intentions and goals for the year, my favourite coaching questions, and results from a variety of personalized strengths assessments.

    The outcomes have been fantastic for just-in-time coaching conversations. My AI Executive Coach has helped me work through professional, academic and personal opportunities and challenges. For example, I’ve used them to help me navigate how best to approach workplace conversations and situations, especially when I am feeling stuck or emotionally charged. For example, how will I approach an upcoming meeting with a colleague or team? They (the bot) has also helped me navigate conversations with my family. For example, what does my 20-year-old need from me right now? How can I be more patient with them as they navigate next steps in their academic journey and career search?

    Engaging in deep critical reflection is hard work to do alone and my AI Executive Coach has helped me explore and get below the surface of things I am currently grappling with in my professional and personal life. They (the bot) have helped me pause and respond, rather than react to challenging situations. They have helped me become more mindful as a leader and a human, by helping me surface, describe, accept and work through challenging emotions and arisings. They’ve always helped me identify and discover new paths and actions for moving forward. If I don’t like where my AI Executive Coach is taking me in the conversation, I provide a prompt to let them adjust their response and may also add an instructional prompt to help further train the bot.

    My most important learning. I am still the human guiding and providing oversight of the system, and I still need to do the work in reflecting and responding to the prompts guiding the conversation. In coaching language, I am still holding myself (the coachee) entirely capable.

    I encourage you to try it out. Feel free to share, use and adapt these instructions and prompts. Better yet, help me make them better and share back what you have learned!

    What prompts would you add to help further train your own AI Executive Coach?

    What instructions would you change?

    What other types of documentation may be helpful to add to help personalize an AI Executive Coach?

    What have you learned through developing and using your own AI Executive Coach? What benefits have you noticed? What challenges have you encountered?

    Some concluding thoughts

    Will my AI Executive Coaching replace the other executive coaches I work with? No. But it has become a great daily augment to the human-to-human coaching I receive. My AI Executive Coach has become a powerful tool in my professional learning tool kit!

    References:

    Nicolau, A., Candel, O. S., Constantin, T., & Kleingeld, A. (2023). The effects of executive coaching on behaviors, attitudes, and personal characteristics: a meta-analysis of randomized control trial studies. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1089797. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1089797/full

    Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., and van Vianen, A. E. (2014). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organizational context. J. Positive Psychol. 9, 1–18. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2013.837499

  • The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) into the future 

    The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) into the future 

    I was asked to share some insights on the future of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) by Mindi Summers and Fabian Neuhaus as part of their work as educational leaders in residence at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. They asked me to reflect on my hopes for SoTL at UCalgary into the future. What would I most like to see?

    Here is what I shared.

    I hold a broad conceptualization of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).  To me, SoTL extends beyond the classroom.  It includes authentic and meaningful inquiry related to teaching and learning in a postsecondary context, and the many systems, practices, and processes that support teaching and learning across multiple organizational levels.  You’ll note that I have not limited this definition to student learning. This expanded conceptualization recognizes that all students, staff, faculty, and academic leaders are learning within this system.  

    The other realization that I have come to after two decades of work in higher education is that the impacts of SoTL extend much beyond scholarly outputs, such as peer reviewed publications and presentations. Research conducted on the impact of UCalgary’s Teaching and Learning grants program (Jamniczky et al., forthcoming) speaks to the many meaningful impacts of SoTL including: working with students as partners in research and scholarship, expanding partnerships and supporting community-building with colleagues across disciplines, increased critical reflection on teaching and student learning, academic growth and improvements in teaching and research practices, as well as meaningful scholarly dissemination at the local, national, and international levels. 

    We know that SoTL is good for higher education. Full stop. It engages students in meaningful inquiry. It improves teaching and research practices. It inspires transdisciplinary partnerships and collaborations. It strengthens critical reflection on teaching and learning. It results in knowledge sharing and local, national, and international dissemination about teaching and learning.

    Does SoTL include securing grants, engaging in inquiry, and disseminating scholarly outputs at conferences and in peer reviewed publications? Absolutely. It also includes engaging intentionally in critical reflection, asking meaningful questions in and beyond the classroom based on our local experiences and curiosities, gathering, and generating information related to these experiences and curiosities in ways that are most authentic to our experiences, and sharing our insights and pondering with colleagues through small, but significant conversations (Roxå & Mårtensson, 2009) in our local context.  

    What are my aspirations for SoTL at and beyond UCalgary over the next 10 years?   

    1. All staff, faculty, students, and academic leaders recognize and speak to the value of engagement in SoTL across multiple organizational levels.
    2. We focus less on the outputs and more on the processes, impacts, and learnings from SoTL.
    3. We strengthen a sense of belonging in SoTL.
    4. We expand and connect SoTL communities and networks across units and disciplines. 

    SoTL is one of many key influencers impacting change in teaching and learning cultures. Other influencers include: 1) High-impact professional learning for individuals and groups, 2) Local-level leadership and academic microcultures, and 3) Learning spaces, pedagogies, and technologies (Kenny, 2021). As we look to continue to strengthen teaching and learning in higher education across multiple organizational levels, we must continue to broaden our conceptualization of SoTL, strive to ensure a culture of belonging in SoTL communities and identities, and recognize and value the influence and impact of SoTL in order to understand and strengthen teaching and learning and the many practices, processes, systems, and structures that influence teaching and learning in higher education. 

    A Call to Conversation

    If you are in higher education and involved in SoTL, I’d love to hear your thoughts on SoTL and where you think it is headed into the future.

    Better yet, grab a colleague or two and engage in a conversation on some of the following questions:

    • Where and how have you seen SoTL emerge in your local teaching and learning context?
    • What has been the influence of SoTL, on you, your colleagues, your department/faculty, institution, and/or discipline?
    • How would you like to see SoTL grow into the future?
    • What shift, changes or new perspectives would you most like to see?
    • What supports would need to be in place to further grow SoTL?

    References

    Jamniczky, H.A., Mukherjee, M., Stewart,R., Mardjetko, A., Pira, R., Kenny, N.A. (Forthcoming) Insights and Opportunities: Evaluating a University Teaching and Learning Grants Program.  Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Accepted for publication February, 2024. 

    Kenny, N. 2021. A framework for influencing change in teaching and learning cultures, communities and practices. Accessed at: https://natashakenny.ca/2021/08/13/a-framework-for-influencing-change-in-teaching-and-learning-cultures-communities-and-practices/                                               

    Roxå, T., & Mårtensson, K. (2009). Significant conversations and significant networks–exploring the backstage of the teaching arena. Studies in Higher Education, 34(5), 547-559. 

  • Leadership and the Sacred Pause

    Leadership and the Sacred Pause

    I’ve identified one leadership skill to practice this year.  It’s a tough one (maybe the toughest of all!), so I’ve given myself a year to practice and reflect on it, and maybe move one step forward to becoming a more conscious leader and human being.

    You know that moment between when something happens that triggers you (aka “the stimulus”).  It may be a comment in a conversation or meeting, an action from a colleague (or yourself), or it may be an organizational decision that is completely out of your control.  Something happens that causes your emotions to kick into high gear. Most often in these moments, I react (aka “the reaction”).  In more cases than not, that reaction is sometimes more charged than I would like it to be. These reactions are often grounded in a space of judgment, rather than in a space of curiosity and learning. In those moments, I am not my ideal self as a leader.

    The sacred pause

    I first learned of the concept of the sacred pause from Tara Brach (n.d.).

    Tara shares that the sacred pause involves stopping and “paying attention to your immediate experience” or what is happening within you. Say I am triggered by something that I disagree strongly with in a meeting (“the stimulus”). A typical response for me may be to interject, interrupt the conversation, and strongly state my point of view.  In most situations, I am not putting my ideal leadership self forward in these moments.

    Insert “the sacred pause” in between “the stimulus” and “the reaction”, and you get a more thoughtful and intentional leadership response.

    The sacred pause of breathing kindness

    Breathing kindness is my go-to strategy for practicing the sacred pause.  Here is how it looks.

    If I am catch myself feeling triggered in a meeting:

    1. I notice. I am experiencing a strong reaction and emotion.
    2. I identify the emotion and my inner experience. I am feeling anger and frustration.  My heart is racing, my jaw is tense, and my eyes are tightening.
    3. I breath. I take a deep breath (or 20!) breathing in kindness for myself and breathing out kindness for others.

    After noticing, feeling and breathing, I am able to more thoughtfully and intentionally respond to the stimulus.  My most common response in these moments? Nothing at all. The more I practice the sacred pause of breathing kindness, the more I’ve come to recognize that my charged inner experiences pass naturally, AND what is triggering me in the moment passes as well. 

    The sacred pause of inner inquiry

    This is a mindfulness strategy that I use when something has triggered me, I hold onto it, and I am consumed by the experience. In these situations, I find myself stuck in my head, spinning in a mind trap. We’ve all been there.  We sit and fester in our thoughts and challenging emotions. When I  catch myself in these moments, I engage with a longer sacred pause of inner inquiry, reflecting on the following questions, which too are inspired by Tara Brach’s work (Brach, 2023).

    1. What’s important? What matters most right now? 
    2. What am I feeling and experiencing? What is happening inside me right now?
    3. How can I meet this (i.e., what is happening inside me right now), with kindness?
    4. What is my truest path forward? What does love want from me?

    There are times when my reflections stop after the first questions, as I realize that what was consuming me, really wasn’t that important at all.  Other times, my journal is filled with reflections and options for moving forward that more clearly align with my values, and who I want to be as a leader.

    Embracing our emotions at work

    I work in higher education.  The affective or emotional part of our leadership practice is not something we often talk about, or make visible.  And yet, our work as leaders involves our emotions, and our reactions to those emotions – EVERY SINGLE DAY. We can’t leave the “beings” part of humanness when we walk out of our house in the morning. 

    I’ve held onto a teaching shared by Arthur Brooks (2023) in his book, Build the Life you Want that he co-authored with Oprah Winfrey. He shares that emotions are just signals that there is something happening that requires our attention and action, AND if we take the time to pay attention to and observe these signals, our conscious brain gets to decide how to respond.  The sacred pause gives us time to do this; to transition our limbic reactions to more metacognitive and intentional actions.

    A challenge to you 

    Embrace your full self as a leader – emotions and all! Our emotions have a real impact on our experiences and actions as leaders.  Learning to lean into, reflect upon, and manage our reactions to our emotions is a leadership superpower. Try or adapt one of the strategies above the next time you feel triggered by your emotions at work. As always, I’d love to learn from you.  If you’d like to share another strategy for taking a sacred pause at work, feel free to add it to the comments below!

    References

    Brach, T. (n.d.) The Sacred Pause. Accessed at: https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/practices/view/21412?id=21412


    Brach, T. (2023) Four Spiritual Inquiries: Finding Heart Wisdom in Painful Times. Accessed at: https://www.tarabrach.com/four-spiritual-inquiries/

    Brooks, A. and Winfrey, O. (2023) Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier. Portfolio/Penguin, NY.

  • Exploring the structure of a coaching conversation

    Exploring the structure of a coaching conversation

    What is coaching?

    The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as:

    partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.

    ICF, nd

    In practice, coaching involves partnering with people through an emerging process of generative self-discovery, curiosity-driven inquiry, deep listening, reframing, and future-focussed action, learning and growth (Maltbia, et al., 2014). Maltbia et al. (2014) highlight four factors that are critical to successful coaching relationships and engagements, which can be conceptualized from both the coachee’s and coach’s perspective: clarity in needs and focus, conditions for framing the situation and identifying barriers and support, commitment to determining desired outcomes and goals, and continuous improvement with a focus on iterative action and reflection.  They further describe three essential coaching competencies:

    1. Co-creating relationships: building relationships based on trust and mutual respect. Developing awareness of and accessing one’s own coaching presence and engaging in metacognitive awareness and regulation of one’s own emotions and thinking.
    2. Productive dialogue: listening deeply to what is shared through people’s words and behaviours.  Engaging in curiosity and learning-centred exploration and inquiry.
    3. Helping others succeed: exploring, expanding and (re)framing multiple perspectives and points of view. Partnering to facilitate action, learning, growth, and change.

    What is the impact of coaching? What makes coaching effective?

    Coaches help people dig deep to elevate their self-awareness and thinking, as well as their capacity for learning, growth, and change. Theeboom et al. (2014) confirm that coaching has a significant effect on a range of outcomes such as: improved performance, skill development, well-being, coping, work attitudes and goal-orientation.  Their findings indicate that coaching is effective in improving functioning for individuals, even when coaching occurs across a small number of sessions. They point to the importance of solution-focussed coaching approaches, that encourage deep understanding, critical reflection, and transformative learning. 

    Deep learning approaches encourage people to question assumptions, make meaning, relate ideas, and use evidence to explore the broader implications and application of their learning (Entwistle and Tait, 1990; Trigwell and Prosser, 1991).  When we engage in critical reflection, we create meaning by uncovering and challenging our assumptions, beliefs, and frames of reference (Mezirow, 1998). Transformative learning involves critical reflection and occurs when our previously held assumptions, beliefs and frames of reference shift and change to create new insights and understandings (Mezirow, 2003).  Coaching is also often grounded in metacognition or learning more about and improving how we think and learn (Stanton et al., 2021).  It may also include moments of mindfulness that encourage people to become aware of and notice their inner experiences so that they work to become more self-regulated and less reactive or “triggered” by their thoughts and emotions (Hülsheger et al., 2013).  Like the best professional learning experiences, coaching is based on a social and constructive learning process that draws upon the coachee’s unique situation and experiences through collaborative dialogue (Webster-Wright, 2009).

    I have experienced these conditions in action as a coachee, with many experienced executive coaches. They have helped me recognize that I am my greatest critic. I have tendencies towards fear-based thoughts and mind traps. I lean towards perfectionism and create excessively high standards for myself.  AND, I know I am not alone in this. 

    I’ve worked with coaches to get below the surface and become more aware of and work through my fears – fears of failure, judgement, of not being deserving, smart enough, or good enough. These thoughts have not stopped, but through coaching, I’ve been able to develop future-focussed strategies to give them less space. I have learned to reframe my limiting beliefs (e.g. I am a failure.) to lifting beliefs (e.g., Nobody is perfect, I am committed to always learning and growing.). Coaches have helped me get there through their skilled presence, listening, awareness and questioning, “Is there a limiting belief in what you just shared that could be reframed or rethought?”

    I’ve accepted that my emotions are often my greatest teacher, guiding me towards something in the moment that I need to pay attention to. Coaches have worked with me to develop skills in recognizing and acknowledging my emotions through mindful questioning, reflection, and awareness, “I feel the weight of what you just shared, where are you experiencing that in your body right now?” What is the emotion trying to teach you?”

    I’ve learned to leverage my own gifts and strengths, “What strengths and expertise do you bring to this situation that may bring you grounding and stability?” I have leaned into the power of connecting to my own wisdom of experience and intuitive gifts – “What’s worked for you in the past? What does your gut tell you?”

    Each coaching conversation has challenged me to find a path forward. I have become a much stronger and more mindful leader because of coaching. Coaches have helped me step back and metacognitively reflect, “What have you learned about yourself and your situation through this conversation?” They’ve pushed me towards action, “What’s one commitment that you will make this week based on what you’ve worked through today?” They’ve left me with challenging questions for further reflection, and they’ve helped me step back to celebrate my successes. In my experience, each coaching conversation is unique, evolving, sometimes a little messy and unpredictable, and deeply connected to what matters most given my current situation and context.

    What does a coaching session look like?

    How can these learning theories and approaches possibly come together in one coaching conversation?  The truth is, there is no one coaching structure, framework or approach that works for all.  Although it is certainly our aspiration, not all coaching conversations are deep, transformative, critically reflective, and mindful. Coaching is as much (or more) about our presence or who we be in the conversation, as it is about what we do. Who we be as a coach is often best framed in the context of the ICF Coaching Competencies:

    • Demonstrates ethical practice
    • Embodies a coaching mindset
    • Establishes and maintains agreements
    • Cultivates trust and safety
    • Maintains coaching presence
    • Listens actively
    • Evokes awareness
    • Facilitates client growth (ICF, nd).

    One of the most widely used coaching models is the GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options, Wrap-Up). Coaches need to be both authentic and flexible to the context and needs of the person they are partnering with in conversation, rather than to any one structure or model (Grant, 2011).  Developing this sense of authenticity and flexibility takes time and practice. Despite the shortcomings of coaching structures and models, I know from experience how much grounding they can provide.  I learned through Essential Impact’s Excelerator CoachingTM framework (Engage, Enlighten, Empower, Excel, Evolve), which was embedded in our experiences through the Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching at Royal Rhodes University.

    A simplified structure for a coaching conversation

    My mind gravitates towards simplification. Below I’ve adapted Maltbia et al.’s (2014) work to provide an example structure for coaching conversations based on three essential components (Figure 1).

    Figure 1: Example structure for a coaching session based on three essential components: 1) co-creating trust and clarifying focus, 2) engaging in curiosity-driven and solution-focussed inquiry, 3) helping people succeed & find their path forward.

    In the below section, each component is paired with guiding questions to inspire generative inquiry.

    Co-creating Trust & Clarifying Focus

    • What do you need to get comfortable in this space together? What do you need to transition into this conversation?
    • What will be of greatest value for us to talk about today?
    • What is most important about this? What’s at the core of this for you?
    • What would success look like at the end of this conversation for you?  What would you like to leave our conversation today with that would help you move forward?
    • What would shift or change for you if you achieved this?

    Engaging in Curiosity-driven & Solution-focussed Dialogue

    • What do you need to work through and/or work out?
    • What’s holding you back?
    • What results/changes do you really want to see?
    • What’s important? What matters most?
    • What do you want to move towards?
    • Who do you want to be as you approach this situation?
    • Imagine one year down the road, you have achieved success, what does this look and feel like?
    • What are you doing or not doing to support these results (or what you want to see)? 
    • What’s worked (or not worked) for you in the past?
    • What strengths do you bring?
    • What roadblocks or tensions do you experience?
    • What would your wisest, kindest self say to you?
    • What is yours to do? What’s your responsibility there? What do you have control or influence over?
    • How might you see things differently? What else might be true?
    • What are the beliefs or assumptions in what you just shared that may need to be rethought or reframed?
    • In one or two words, how would you describe how you feel?
    • Where do you feel that inside your body?
    • What is this feeling or belief trying to teach you?
    • If you could zoom out from this issue from afar, what might you notice?
    • How could you put this into perspective?  What is one thing you could do better?
    • What advice would you give a colleague in this situation? What advice might a colleague offer to you?
    • If you had nothing to lose, how might you approach this situation?
    • What does your gut tell you?
    • What are some possible paths forward? What other options come to mind for you?  What else could you do?
    • What have you heard yourself say about how you might approach this situation?

    Helping People Succeed & Find their Path Forward

    • Looping back to the beginning of the conversation and what you set out to accomplish, where are you now?
    • What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about your situation? How will you use this learning going forward?
    • What’s shifted for you? What realizations have you had? What are your breakthroughs?
    • What’s the right next step for you? What commitment (or micro-step) will you make to move forward?
    • What barriers might you face?
    • What resources or supports do you have to draw upon?
    • How will you hold yourself accountable?
    • How will you celebrate your success?
    • How do we close this time together?

    Despite the apparent simplicity of many coaching models and structures (including this one!), coaching is never linear.  The best coaching conversations are unpredictable, dynamic, and cyclical.

    Of course, it is never obvious at the start of any coaching session how the session will actually evolve, and coaches need to work with an emergent, iterative process. Indeed, for experienced coaches the uncertainty of the session and the unexpected discoveries made along the way are a large part of the joy of coaching. For the novice however, this uncertainty is often a source of anxiety and frustration and novice coaches tend to react to these feelings by to clinging too tightly to the model.

    Grant (2011, p. 35)

    A challenge moving forward

    I encourage you to share, adapt and use this framework to help guide coaching conversations in your local context.

    Try one or two questions (e.g., what’s most important? or, what else might be true?). Practice one coaching competency (e.g., listening deeply) that resonates strongly with you or that may stretch and challenge you.  

    The best coaches are critically reflective learners themselves. Take some time to reflect on the following:

    1. What worked for you?
    2. When did you feel most engaged?
    3. What barriers did you face? When did you struggle or feel challenged?
    4. What did you learn?
    5. What is one thing that you would do differently next time?

    Like life, there is no perfection in coaching. It is the ultimate dance of learning, curiosity, discovery, and growth – for both coach and coachee.

    References

    Grant, A. M. (2011). Is it time to REGROW the GROW model? Issues related to teaching coaching session structures. The Coaching Psychologist, 7(2), 118–126.

    Entwistle, N., & Tait, H. (1990). Approaches to learning, evaluations of teaching, and preferences for contrasting academic environments. Higher education, 19(2), 169-194.

    ICF (nd) What is coaching? Accessed at: https://coachingfederation.org/

    ICF (nd) ICF Core Competencies. Accessed at: https://coachingfederation.org/credentials-and-standards/core-competencies

    Maltbia, T. E., Marsick, V. J., & Ghosh, R. (2014). Executive and organizational coaching: A review of insights drawn from literature to inform HRD practice. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 16(2), 161-183.

    Mezirow, J. (1998). On critical reflection. Adult education quarterly, 48(3), 185-198.

    Mezirow, J. (2003). Transformative learning as discourse. Journal of transformative education, 1(1), 58-63.

    Trigwell, K., Prosser, M. (1991). Relating approaches to study and quality of learning outcomes at the course level. British Journal of Education Psychology, 61, 265-275

    Hülsheger, U. R., Alberts, H. J., Feinholdt, A., & Lang, J. W. (2013). Benefits of mindfulness at work: the role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Journal of applied psychology, 98(2), 310.

    Stanton, J. D., Sebesta, A. J., & Dunlosky, J. (2021). Fostering metacognition to support student learning and performance. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 20(2), fe3.

    Webster-Wright, A. (2009). Reframing professional development through understanding authentic professional learning. Review of educational research, 79(2), 702-739.

  • Metacognition – a strategy for success in university teaching & learning

    Metacognition – a strategy for success in university teaching & learning


    By: Natasha Kenny and Patti Dyjur

    Following teaching and learning disruptions during the pandemic, we heard a lot about the struggles students were facing as they returned to the classroom. For example, Nappierala et al. (2022) summarized that undergraduate students faced a “skills gap” in time management, organization, independent learning, engagement and communication.  Students were struggling less about the content of what they were learning, and more about the strategies they were using to support how they learned.

    Herein lies what may be the most powerful strategy to support student learning and success in university courses – metacognition. 

    What is metacognition?

    Metacognition is our awareness of and ability to reflect upon, control and improve how we learn (Stanton et al., 2021; Rivas et al., 2022). It involves: 1) learning more about how we think and learn; 2) identifying and developing strategies to regulate and improve how we learn; and, 3) planning to and actively transferring these new and improved learning strategies into other areas of our lives (Stanton et al., 2021; Fleur et al., 2021; Rivas et al., 2022).  Metacognition not only helps to improve students’ learning and performance, but it helps them become better learners in the long run. What’s even better?  Metacognition is a skill that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened over time (ideally over a lifetime!).

    Teaching and learning interventions that provide opportunities for students to engage in self-reflection on their learning processes and behaviours, plan what strategies work best for them, and select new learning strategies to support their success into the future may best benefit them and their academic achievement (Fleur et al., 2021).  Teaching and learning activities that support metacognition often don’t take much time, but they do involve on-going effort and practice.

    Teaching and learning strategies to support metacognition

    Here are a few of our favorite metacognitive activities.

    Exam Debrief

    Have students explore the following reflective prompts and dialogue with a thought partner after an exam (Tanner, 2012):

    • What strategies did I use, and how much time did I study for this exam?
    • What questions did I answer correctly? How do these demonstrate my strengths? What questions did I not answer correctly? 
    • How do my answers compare with the correct solutions?  What confusions do I still need to clarify?  What course material do I need to review and practice?
    • What exam preparation strategies worked well that I should remember to do next time? What exam preparation strategies did not work well that I should change next time? 

    Diagnostic Learning Logs

    Ask students to keep a log throughout the course and make brief notes on each class. You may want to save five minutes at the end of each class for students to answer the following questions:

    • What concepts that were introduced in today’s session are clear to me?  
    • What concepts do I need to better understand?
    • What are my next steps to promote my success in the course?

    Occasionally, you might want to have a class discussion to identify tricky concepts. You can also collaboratively generate strategies to better understand them, such as reading supplemental resources and reaching out to a teaching assistant (University of Tennessee Chattanooga, 2016).

    Modeling

    Use metacognitive techniques in your teaching to model them to students. These strategies can get you started:

    • Think aloud: Demonstrate specific steps or techniques while describing them explicitly. When implementing a strategy, describe what you have selected and why, what the benefits are as well as potential drawbacks. Learners can ask questions to further clarify any confusion (Ellis et al., 2014).
    • Diagramming: Present information in graphs, charts, timelines, and other representations as appropriate. For topics that are not easily represented in graphical form, create a mind map while describing the connections. As a follow up, ask students to create their own mind map on another topic and discuss it (including what they’ve learned through the process) with an elbow partner once they have completed it (Ellis et al., 2014).

    A call to action

    Our call to action for all university instructors is to intentionally integrate one additional metacognitive activity into your course.  It may be through a formal course assignment or as part of an informal course activity.  Trust that the benefits for student learning will likely ripple far beyond your course! Our stretch goal – take the time to stop and reflect with a colleague: What did you notice about this activity? What worked? What didn’t go as planned? What would you change going forward? Get meta about going meta in the classroom!

    Curious about other activities and ideas? Tanner (2012) shares many additional metacognitive activities and prompts.

    Have additional metacognitive activities and ideas that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear more about them in the comments section below!

    References

    Ellis, A. K., Denton, D. W., & Bond, J. B. (2014). An analysis of research on metacognitive teaching strategies. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5th World Conference on Educational Sciences, 116, 4015-4024.

    Fleur, D.S., Bredeweg, B. & van den Bos, W. Metacognition: ideas and insights from neuro- and educational sciences. npj Sci. Learn. 6, 13 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00089-5

    Napierala, J., Pilla, N., Pichette, J., & Colyar, J. (2022) Ontario Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of Ontario First-year Postsecondary Students in 2020–21. Toronto: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. https://heqco.ca/pub/ontario-learning-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-experiences-of-ontario-first-year-postsecondary-students-in-2020-21/

    Rivas, S. F., Saiz, C., & Ossa, C. (2022). Metacognitive strategies and development of critical thinking in higher education. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 913219.

    Stanton, J. D., Sebesta, A. J., & Dunlosky, J. (2021). Fostering metacognition to support student learning and performance. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 20(2), fe3.

    Tanner, K. D. (2012). Promoting student metacognition. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 11(2), 113-120.

    University of Tennessee Chattanooga. (2016). Classroom assessment strategies. Retrieved from http://www.utc.edu/walker-center-teaching-learning/teaching-resources/classroom-assessment-strategies.php#self-awareness  

  • Guiding Questions for Reflecting into 2024

    Authors: Natasha Kenny and Sue Miller

    As we round the corner to the end of 2023, the importance of taking some time to reflect on what we’ve learned and how we will move forward into 2024 struck us this week. So often we rush forward into the new year, without taking time to pause, reflect, learn, and set intentions for our journeys ahead. 

    We work closely together at UCalgary’s Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning (TI) – Sue is the Associate Director of Strategic Operations and Natasha is the Senior Director. This week, Sue came to our biweekly 1:1 touch base with some fabulous questions for reflection that allowed us to journey through this process together.  The coach in me (Natasha) loved seeing the coach in her! 

    During our conversation together, we took some time to noodle on our framing questions – clarifying and adding a couple that had meaning and resonance to both of us. We then took about 5-10 minutes individually to jot down some initial thoughts that came to mind for each of the questions.   The next 20 minutes were shared in a dynamic and reciprocal conversation together where we shared each of our responses, got to the heart of the matter, authentically built upon each other’s thoughts and reflections, and created new understandings and realizations of how we would move forward individually and in our work together.

    It was a wonderful experience and we thought you might enjoy them too! We’ve provided the questions below:

    1. What is something from the last year that you are most proud of?
    2. What is one thing you learned about leadership or wished you had done differently as a leader last year?
    3. What are your hopes for the TI [your organization] in 2024?
    4. What would you want a colleague to say about your leadership, if they were having a conversation with another colleague?
    5. What are your intentions as a leader in 2024?

    We encourage you to share, use, and adapt these questions in your practice as you journey into 2024 (inside and outside of work). We’d love to hear how these questions work for you, how you have adapted them, or what other questions you’d recommend!

  • Four key elements to building a supportive teaching culture in higher education

    I love a good read on how best to influence teaching and learning cultures in higher education.  This recent article had me thinking critically about our work in higher education – Myllykoski-Laine et al. (2023).

    It reminded me of four key elements critical to building a supportive teaching culture in higher education:

    1. Value and Recognition: teaching and the development of teaching expertise and communities needs to be valued, recognized, and appreciated across multiple organizational levels.  Many formal and informal processes and structures provide value and recognition for teaching including spaces, environments, resources, workload assignments, awards, grants, resources, policy, vision, professional learning, and leadership.
    2. Collaborative Relationships & Collegiality: teaching and the development of teaching expertise should be recognized as a shared responsibility, across the academic community. A collegial “sharing culture” based on respect and trust are fundamental to creating communities of shared responsibility and understanding for teaching in higher education. Fostering this sharing culture extends beyond the responsibilities of teachers themselves.
    3. Intentional Interaction & Knowledge Sharing: opportunities for formal and informal interaction and knowledge sharing about teaching should be fostered, including opportunities for co-teaching, peer support and learning, dialogue, critical reflection, and the sharing of experiences, ideas and knowledge.  The development of teaching and learning communities, networks and conversations must be fostered across all levels of the academic community.
    4. Pedagogical Influencers (aka Pedagogical Change Agents): Pedagogical influencers are individuals who actively support the development of teaching in community and positively influence change. Pedagogical influencers often hold informal roles and inspire concrete actions in their local teaching and learning communities. Pedagogical influencers require support, resources, recognition, and meaningful opportunities to impact change.

    The authors acknowledge the inherent complexities and interrelationship of these different factors in influencing teaching values, attitudes, norms, principles, practices and structures across postsecondary institutions. They suggest, “…the development of a more supportive pedagogical culture requires intentional endeavors to influence abstract and possibly invisible cultural elements in the community” (p. 951).   

    Four elements to building a supportive teaching culture in higher education

    I leave you with some further questions for reflection and dialogue.

    • What are you already doing in each of these areas to intentionally build a supportive teaching and learning culture?
    • What’s missing from this list? What would you add, change, refresh, revise?
    • Where are your strengths and points of pride?
    • What is one area where you would like to further learn, grow, and improve (as an individual, faculty/department, or institution)?
    • What is one action (or forward movement) you would like to take to provide an even more supportive teaching and learning culture in your context?

    Reference:

    Myllykoski-Laine, S., Postareff, L., Murtonen, M., and Vilppu, H. (2023) Building a framework of a supportive pedagogical culture for teaching and pedagogical development in higher education. Higher Education, 85, 937–955. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00873-1

  • What’s changed? Research informed principles for teaching in higher education

    As we embark on a new academic year, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be an effective educator in higher education. I have to admit that I struggle with the word effective recognizing that teaching and learning are complex and nuanced. Developing teaching expertise is a consistent practice that is supported through engaging in ongoing and intentional reflection over time (Hendry & Dean, 2002; Kreber, 2002). For me, the concept of effectiveness puts a somewhat artificial label of judgment on a practice that shifts, develops and changes over time. What is certain is that growing one’s teaching practice is an iterative journey of practice, reflection, and forward movement.

    A while back, I drafted a set of research-informed principles for teaching in higher education, drawing upon the works of authors such as: Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education, Ramsden’s (2003) thirteen principles for effective university teaching; Weimer’s (2013) five key changes to practice for learner-centred teaching, Lizzio et al.’s (2002) conceptual model for an effective academic environment; and Tigelaar et al.’s (2004) framework for teaching competencies in higher education.  Over the summer, I read Devlin and Samarawickrema’s (2022) thoughtful commentary on teaching in a “post-COVID” higher education. I’ve incorporated some of their work into the below “revised” principles.

    What is presented below is meant to inspire further reflection and dialogue. These are not intended to be a prescriptive or straightforward list of strategies for teaching in higher education. Although the following principles are concisely presented – each is contextual and certainly more complex to put into practice! I imagine these principles as a starting point for curiosity-based discovery.

    Research informed principles for teaching in higher education

    Co-creates a Respectful and Inclusive Learning Environment: works with students and the instructional team to collaboratively create commitments to foster a learning community of respect, care, inclusion, and belonging; shows interest in student’s opinions and concerns; seeks to understand student’s diverse backgrounds, talents, needs, prior knowledge, and approaches to learning; affirms diverse ways of knowing; encourages interaction between instructor(s) and students; exhibits respect for students, colleagues, and the profession, field, and/or discipline.

    Actively Engages Learners: ensures learning materials are current and relevant; explains material clearly, with relevant examples; provides opportunities for students to connect learning to future work, life, and academic experiences; uses a variety of methods and modalities that encourage active and deep approaches to learning, interaction, and engagement; connects meaningfully to community and industry (as appropriate); adapts to evolving learning contexts, technologies, and transformations in society and the field, profession and/or discipline.

    Communicates Clear Expectations: makes clear the intended learning goals/outcomes and standards for performance; provides organization, structure and direction for where the course is going and how this may connect to future learning context (inside and outside of the classroom).

    Encourages Student Independence: provides opportunities for students to develop and draw upon their personal interests; offers choice in learning processes and modes of learning and assessment; provides timely and developmental feedback on learning; encourages self-directed learning, autonomy, and metacognition (aka learning about one’s own approaches to thinking and learning) to promote ongoing self-assessment of learning. 

    Creates and Contributes to a Teaching and Learning Community: uses teaching methods and learning strategies that encourage reciprocity, relationality, mutual learning, as well as thoughtful, respectful and collaborative engagement and dialogue between all members of the course learning community; seeks feedback, input, and works with students as partners in learning; actively adjusts teaching approaches based on student feedback and input; collaborates with and supports teaching colleagues; actively contributes to curriculum conversations and activities across the program.

    Uses Meaningful and Authentic Assessment Methods: clearly aligns assessment methods with intended course outcomes and desired learning goals; designs assessments that are meaningful and relevant to the field, profession, and/or discipline; designs assessment strategies to support students learning and to promote academic integrity; provides clear criteria for evaluation; emphasizes deep learning that can be applied over time; designs learning activities to practice and receive formative feedback on what is assessed; provides opportunities for students to intentionally monitor, evaluate, and adjust their learning progress; iteratively scaffolds assessments and feedback to ensure progressive learning. 

    Commits to Continuous Improvement: gathers feedback on teaching and learning approaches from multiple perspectives (e.g., self, peers, students, scholarship); practices ongoing self-reflection; draws conclusions and takes action from reflection to strengthen teaching; consults and/or engages in the scholarship of teaching and learning; engages in meaningful conversations with colleagues about teaching and learning; identifies clear goals for strengthening teaching and learning practices; adapts, innovates and responds to change and new pedagogical approaches.

    Which of these principles resonate most with you? Which principle most challenges you?

    How do (or might) you put these principles into practice?

    Based on your own context, wisdom of practice or experience, what would you add to or revise in these principles?

    As you reflect on these principles, what is one of your “superpowers” or strengths as an educator?

    What is one thing you may shift in your teaching and learning practices based on these principles?

    How might you use these principles to inspire further conversation or dialogue with a colleague or in your local context (e.g., in a coffee conversation or with your department, faculty, or institutional community)?

    References

    Chickering, Arthur W, & Gamson, Zelda F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin, 39(7), 3–7. 

    Devlin, M. & Samarawickrema, G. (2022) A commentary on the criteria of effective teaching in post-COVID higher education, Higher Education Research & Development, 41:1, 21-32, DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2021.2002828

    Hendry,G.D.&Dean,S.J.2002. Accountability, evaluation and teaching expertise in higher education.International Journal of Academic Development,7(1),75-82.

    Kreber,C.(2002).Teaching excellence,teaching expertise, and the scholarship of teaching. Innovative Higher Education,27(1),5-23.

    Lizzio, Alf, Wilson, Keithia, & Simons, Roland. (2002). University Students’ Perceptions of the Learning Environment and Academic Outcomes: Implications for theory and practice. Studies in Higher Education, 27(1), 27-52. 

    Tigelaar, D.E.H, Dolmans, D.H.J.M, Wolfhagen, I.H.A.P, and Van Der Vleuten, C.P.M. (2004) The development and validation of a framework for teaching competencies in higher education. Higher Education, 48, 253-268.

    Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to Teach in Higher Education. New York: Routledge.

    Weimer, Maryellen. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice: John Wiley & Sons.

  • Leading through Compassion, Connection, and Hope

    The last three years have presented extraordinarily complex challenges in higher education, as we navigated pivots and experienced ongoing disruptions in our teaching and learning spaces, environments, and communities. We became more aware of the systemic inequities that exist across our organizations. We’ve questioned and leaned into the opportunities and challenges our organizational infrastructure presents (e.g., our technologies, spaces, governance, decision-making, and planning). We’ve also worked to navigate challenges with our individual and collective well-being, anxiety, burnout and exhaustion. Throughout the pandemic, I heard strong leaders described by words such as: systems-level thinkers, networked, self-aware, mindful, equitable, inclusive, empathetic, compassionate, courageous, hopeful, and relational.

    Perhaps we’ve experienced some foundational shifts in leadership practices, which will continue to carry us forward in higher education? I’ve conceptualized these shifts as three foundational leadership practices: 1) a leadership of compassion; 2) a leadership of connection; and 3) a leadership of hope.

    A leadership of compassion

    Throughout the pandemic we experienced challenges that were difficult to comprehend. We felt the anxiety, isolation, and overwhelming complexities of uncertainty. Building upon Worline and Dutton (2017), Waddington (2021) describes compassion as noticing and making meaning of suffering, feeling empathy for those experiencing suffering, and taking action to alleviate suffering. Throughout the pandemic, leaders across higher education demonstrated compassion by reaching out to their teams, checking in with their colleagues to see how they were doing, demonstrating empathy and vulnerability in the face of ongoing uncertainty, providing reassurance, embracing dialogue, listening deeply to those around them, and demonstrating support through relational action (e.g., Lawton-Misra and Pretorius, 2021). They asked about other’s feelings and well-being, and took action to alleviate barriers and reduce suffering where they could have influence. They suffered themselves. They made mistakes and experienced failure. They learned and unlearned. Their emotions fluctuated, and often, were relentlessly raw and challenging. It became harder to respond, rather than react in the face of ongoing challenge and uncertainty. They demonstrated resilience and vulnerability by sharing their experiences, connecting with peers, normalizing help-seeking, and cultivating a deeper sense of self-awareness, self-compassion, and mindfulness.

    What does a leadership of compassion look like moving forward?

    Hougaard et al. (2021) share practical strategies for demonstrating wise compassion through self-compassion, intention, transparency, and mindfulness. The Conscious Leadership Group’s Above the Line/Below the Line Framework is a fantastic tool for fostering ongoing self-awareness and reflection. Dr. Kristin Neff’s work on developing self-compassion through self-kindness, a recognition of common humanity and mindfulness is transformative.

    A leadership of connection

    There were no simple answers to the challenges we faced during the pandemic. Decision-making was forced by situations beyond our control and the need for action was accelerated at relentlessly unsustainable rates. There were no right answers. The disruptions were constant. The impacts of the pandemic were complex and disproportionately affected equity-deserving groups (Abdrasheva et al., 2022; Bassa, 2022; Jehi et al., 2021). Throughout the pandemic, many leaders embraced the power of shared leadership, relationships, and collaborative decision-making. They brought together informal and formal networks to surface and grapple with challenges, and to share knowledge across once-siloed institutional, faculty, departmental and unit-level boundaries. They identified and connected core networks of problem-solvers, instilled confidence, fostered trust, built relationships, facilitated consensus, listened deeply, and leveraged the strengths of local-level leaders, influencers, and change-catalysts (Bleich and Bowles, 2021; Bassa, 2022; Mehrotra, 2021). They looked across multiple organizational levels to influence systems-level awareness and change. They created peer, cross-institutional, national, and international networks of knowledge and resource sharing, breaking through past barriers of competition and scarcity. They leaned into the realities of the systemic and structural inequities that became increasingly visible across our university structures.

    The work of fostering connection and developing relationships takes time and intentional effort. Research suggests that one of the most important factors associated with student confidence in their learning during the pandemic was their sense of connection with their peers and their professors (Guppy et al., 2022). This finding speaks volumes to the importance of developing and sustaining meaningful relationships bounded by belonging and connection across higher education.

    How can we continue to foster connection moving forward?

    We can continue to bring networks together to grapple with important teaching and learning issues. A few topics that continue to surface: student assessment, academic integrity, artificial intelligence, experiential and work-integrated learning, learning spaces and technologies, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, truth, reconciliation and Indigenous engagement, the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), mental health and well-being, student learning skills, engagement and metacognition, sustainability and climate change, blended and online learning, learning pathways, stackable and personalized learning, and micro-credentialing. We can listen deeply to one another – with an intention to understand and heal, rather than to respond, judge, debate, criticize, or problem solve. We can trust and provide resources and support to pedagogical catalysts, influencers and local educational leaders who care deeply about teaching and make an effort to develop local teaching and learning networks and communities (Myllykoski-Laine et al., 2022). We can create accessible spaces, events, and initiatives for open knowledge sharing about teaching and learning, within our academic units, institutions, nationally and globally. A fantastic exemplar is Dr. Maha Bali’s and colleagues’ work on Equity Unbound – an open, and freely available resource that is filled with strategies to inspire online community-building, through the principles of equity and care.

    A leadership of hope

    It was easy to feel overwhelmed and consumed during the pandemic. The challenges we faced felt enormous, and it was often difficult to see where and how we could have influence. We learned the importance of establishing a leadership of hope. It was a hope that acknowledged that what we were living through was challenging and hard. We were experiencing a world that had become increasingly uncertain, volatile, and unpredictable.

    Despite the challenges and inequities which surround us, critical hope requires us to come together in community to connect in meaningful ways, to envision a better and more inclusive future, and to take incremental action to create positive change (Riddell, 2020). Critical hope is a “…hope that is neither naïve nor idealistic;” it is both critical and emotional, and it works to dismantle injustice and despair in our systems and structures (Grain & Lund, 2016, p.51). It accepts that through connection and collective action, we can help to reduce suffering and move towards healing.

    During the pandemic, leaders sustained a sense of critical hope by naming and leaning into the systemic inequities that continued to emerge, by acknowledging the ongoing uncertainty and suffering that occurred, by creating a sense of purpose and meaning in the face of uncertainty, by demonstrating a continuous perseverance to take action, by maintaining honest communication, by accepting and moving beyond mistakes, by establishing open feedback channels, and by creating an organizational culture of continuous learning and growth (Beilstein et al., 2021; Bassa, 2022). Leaning into uncertainty, systemic inequities, failure and ongoing learning took courage. It was an intensely vulnerable time for leaders – many of whom drew focussed attention to the power of emotion and humanity to help us through it all.

    How do we continue to move forward through a leadership of hope?

    McGowan and Felten (2021) highlight that deep inequities persist in higher education. They present a wonderful equation for continued reflection that I believe provides a foundation for leading through hope (p. 474):

    Agency

     ‘I can change in meaningful ways despite the systems and structures constraining me’

    +

    Pathways

     ‘I see specific and purposeful steps I can take’

     =

    Hope

    When feeling overwhelmed, this framework provides me pause to stop and ask:

    1) What is one meaningful change that I can contribute to despite the systems and structures that constrain me?

    2) What are some specific and purposeful steps I can take to move towards that change?

    3) Who/what are the support networks I can draw upon for support and accountability?

    There is always something I can do to help move towards the positive changes we most aspire to in higher education.

    I am curious how these three shifts in leadership (i.e., a leadership of compassion; a leadership of connection; a leadership of hope) resonate with you? What would you change or add? What shifts have you observed? What can we learn moving forward?

    References

    Abdrasheva, D. Escribens, M., Sazalieva, E., do Nascimento, D. V., & Yerovi, C. (2022). Resuming or reforming? Tracking the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education after two years of disruption. UNESCO. https://www.iesalc.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IESALC_COVID-19_Report_ENG.pdf  

    Beilstein et al. (2021) Leadership in a time of crisis: Lessons learned from a pandemic. Best Practice & Research Clinical Anaesthesiology 35 (2021) 405e414

    Bassa, B. (2022). Leading Into a New Higher Education as It Emerges in the Present Moment. In International Perspectives on Leadership in Higher Education (Vol. 15, pp. 271-290). Emerald Publishing Limited.

    Bleich, M. R., & Bowles, J. (2021). A model for holistic leadership in post-pandemic recovery. Nurse Leader, 19(5), 479-482.

    Guppy, N., Matzat, U., Agapito, J., Archibald, A., De Jaeger, A., Heap, T., … & Bartolic, S. (2023). Student confidence in learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: what helped and what hindered?. Higher Education Research & Development, 42(4), 845-859.

    Grain, K. M., & Lund, D. E. (2017). The social justice turn: Cultivating’critical hope’in an age of despair. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(1).

    Jehi, T., Khan, R., Dos Santos, H., & Majzoub, N. (2022). Effect of COVID-19 outbreak on anxiety among students of higher education; A review of literature. Current Psychology, 1-15.

    Lawton-Misra, N., & Pretorius, T. (2021). Leading with heart: academic leadership during the COVID-19 crisis. South African Journal of Psychology, 51(2), 205-214.

    McGowan, S., & Felten, P. (2021). On the necessity of hope in academic development. International Journal for Academic Development, 26(4), 473-476.

    Mehrotra, G. R. (2021). Centering a pedagogy of care in the pandemic. Qualitative Social Work, 20(1-2), 537-543.

    Myllykoski-Laine, S., Postareff, L., Murtonen, M., & Vilppu, H. (2022). Building a framework of a supportive pedagogical culture for teaching and pedagogical development in higher education. Higher Education, 1-19.

    Riddell, J. (2020) Combatting toxic positivity with critical hope. University Affairs. https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/adventures-in-academe/combatting-toxic-positivity-with-critical-hope/

    Worline, M. C. & Dutton, J. E. (2017). Awakening compassion at work: The quiet power that elevates people and organizations. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler

    Waddington, K. (2021). Introduction: Why compassion? why now?. In Towards the Compassionate University (pp. 5-22). Routledge.

  • Five practical strategies for fostering learning and wellbeing in student assessment

    Recently, we’ve heard that students and course instructors are reporting feeling overwhelmed. Assessment is often at the centre of these conversations. Jones et al. (2021) acknowledge that assessment practices impact both educator’s and student’s perceptions of their wellbeing. They highlight some common tensions related to challenge, format, weighting, flexibility, and group work. I anticipate more research to surface on assessment practices for wellbeing in higher education, as we continue to learn and heal from our experiences during the global pandemic.

    Over the past year, I’ve noticed a handful of strategies that continue to surface as potential ways to promote wellbeing in student assessment. Many of these strategies align with and build upon research from Ross (2021) on assessment practices using a lens of ethics-of-care. I’ve summarized five approaches to promote wellbeing in student assessment below:

    1. Wherever possible, focus on implementing practices that align with principles for Universal Design for Learning into student assessment practices (CAST, n.d.). UDL principles support multiple means of engagement, multiple means of action and expression, and multiple means of representation (Coffman & Draper; 2022; La et al., 2018). Strategies may include intentionally connecting assessments with student interests, supporting self-assessment/reflection, and providing flexibility, choice and a variety of forms of assessment throughout the semester (CAST, n.d.; La et al., 2018).
    2. Provide some flexibility to adjust submission timelines throughout the semester. One example is to provide late banks where students have a set amount of time (e.g., 48-72 hours) to use and distribute without penalty when they are struggling to meet assignment deadlines throughout the semester (Schroeder et al., 2019).
    3. Let students bring a page of self-generated notes or a flashcard into an exam. This strategy may help reduce stress and anxiety, and promote metacognition as students strategically consider what they already know and where their growing edges are in terms of the course material (Settlage & Wollscheid, 2019).
    4. Wherever possible, streamline and make transparent grading processes. For example, work with students as partners to co-develop the assignment grading criteria (Meer and Chapman, 2014), and have them submit a self-assessment of their work based on these criteria (Yan & Carless, 2022). What are they most proud of? What came most easily to them in completing this assignment? Where did they struggle most? What would they most like to improve upon? What 1-2 areas do they most want to receive feedback on? Use this self-assessment to help streamline where and how you provide feedback when grading.
    5. For in-class presentations, have students present to small groups, rather than to the entire class. Many students experience fear when presenting publicly – practice, preparation and support can help to alleviate some of this fear (Grieve et al., 2021). Providing opportunities for students to practice and present their work to small groups of peers may help reduce anxiety, streamline the use of class time, and foster peer learning and development. For these presentations, consider focussing the grading process on student’s reflections of the growth and development of their presentation skills, and on communication skills such as active listening, and providing/responding to peer feedback. You may even consider doing this multiple times throughout the semester so that students have more than one opportunity to practice their presentation, communication, and feedback skills.

    By no means is this an exhaustive list. There are many creative ways to implement assessment practices that further foster wellbeing for students and educators. I’d love to hear your ideas, as I predict this will be a growing topic of discussion in higher education over the coming years.

    References

    CAST (n.d.) UDL ON CAMPUS · Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education: UDL and Assessment. http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/assessment_udl

    Coffman, S., & Draper, C. (2022). Universal design for learning in higher education: A concept analysis. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 17(1), 36-41.

    Daniel M. Settlage & Jim R. Wollscheid (2019). An analysis of the effect of student prepared notecards on exam performance. College Teaching, 67:1, 15-22, DOI: 10.1080/87567555.2018.1514485

    Grieve, R., Woodley, J., Hunt, S. E., & McKay, A. (2021). Student fears of oral presentations and public speaking in higher education: a qualitative survey. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(9), 1281-1293.

    Jones, E., Priestley, M., Brewster, L., Wilbraham, S. J., Hughes, G., & Spanner, L. (2021). Student wellbeing and assessment in higher education: the balancing act. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(3), 438-450.

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