Helping students back into study

I have been thinking about the barriers for students coming back to study as older adults. These students all have an undergraduate degree in something (perhaps physiotherapy, education, or business) but have shifted over time into the career development space. A significant percentage of our students tend to be teachers who parent, teach, and volunteer; and a few who are parenting alone, and trying to develop themselves at the same time. 

They get hit by multiple issues, and I have been trying to work out what some of those issues are. This is my first go and attempting to unravel them:

Time. Trying to squeeze another ten hours into an already full week is very demanding (actually, I don't know how many do it, while also managing to deliver such good quality work!). Students tend to have valid concerns about how long study will take. So I am clear about what the time commitment (10 hours each week to pass), and what assignment work and tasks needs to be delivered and when, so they can begin with their eyes open.

Ability. Most of our students already have an undergraduate degree. I get them think back to their second year. That is the level of work and complexity that they need to deliver for our 600-level courses. In general most of our students cane the quality. It tends to be the next issue - the volume of work needing to be planned - rather than the difficulty of the material.

Scheduling/micro-tasks. It is rare that any of our students will have the luxury of a full day a week for study: instead it tends to happen on the margins of other things. I advise them to squeeze in ten minutes here and there; half an hour when they can; do tasks in lunchtimes; crack out an activity on the bus or at the dinner table in discussion with the family. Previous students have advised they approached course work by getting their readings done each Sunday for the coming week (e.g. they would do each week 1's reading before the week started), so that they could mull things over and get their tasks done earlier in the week. Then they had back half of the week to focus on doing a little assignment work, then onto meeting work and family needs. However, some students simply cannot get work complete until the end of each week, and they accept that this will have a cost on their experience and learning. All students will budget their time according to their personal circumstances. There is no judgment: everyone just does their best with the time they have 🙂

Assessment load. Students need to realise that there will roughly be an assignment due every five weeks over a 15 week course. This is on top of keeping up with the learning materials. Assessment work needs to be chipped away at, week by week.

Low risk. At my institution, students can enrol, then withdraw if they find the workload too great. At the moment students can withdraw by the end of week 2 and have their fee refunded, so can 'try before they buy'; lowering the financial risk of study. This enables students to see if they can wedge in the study requirements via a "ten minutes here; half an hour there" strategy. But if they find their week is already way too full, they have an 'ace in the hole', and can withdraw. And withdrawal is an easy process.

It is always scary to put ourselves back into a beginner space. But getting the infrastructure nailed means we have frameworks to support getting the work done, and knowing what to expect. That then allows us to deal with how we feel about inexpertise, as those feelings arise. 

Sam

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Using Mround in Excel

When I am marking student's work, I use an Excel spreadsheet to record my impressions. I have written more fully why this is elsewhere (here), but largely it is because Excel, once set up and tested, consistently totals well, and I can use formulas to further simplify the process.

One of the simplifications is using MROUND. This is a function in Excel where the product of a cell is rounded to a particular number. A number of schools where I teach prefer results to be either half or quarter mark increments: so I use Excel to very slightly adjust marking sheet totals to fit with this schema by using MROUND in marking sheet total cells. We need the cell that we want to adjust, then how much to adjust to; for example:

• where a quarter mark is required, use =MROUND(G18,0.25)
• where a half mark is required, use =MROUND(G18,0.5)

We can combine a sum, or another function with MROUND. Take a simple subtraction, for example: 

• Where a quarter mark is required, use =MROUND(G17-G18,0.25)
• Where a half mark is required, use =MROUND(G17-G18,0.5)

Or a sum and an addition: 

• =MROUND((SUM(G5:G18)+L10),"0.25")

The function MROUND uses Swedish rounding (though Microsoft Support notes a known bug where the products of 6.1 and 7.1 are treated differently; 2024).

We can even MROUND time (Bruns, 2013), which is handy:

• =MROUND(G20,"0:15")

In addition, there is also a great list of Excel tips and tricks from Susan Harkins (2023), a power user who writes for TechRepublic. Check it out: we are bound to learn something new.

I hope this is useful!

Sam

References:

Bruns, D. (2013, January 18). MROUND Function. Excel Jet. https://exceljet.net/functions/mround-function

Harkins, S. (2023, November 28). 87 Excel Tips and Tricks: From Beginners to Pros. TechRepublic. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/excel-tips-every-user-should-master/

Microsoft Support. (2024). MROUND function. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/mround-function-c299c3b0-15a5-426d-aa4b-d2d5b3baf427

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The thorny problem of Word marking sheets

In a previous shared office a colleague always looked for the EASIEST way to do things. He had a very disruptive and creative approach to simplification, one that really provoked thought. We often discussed marking: specifically how the grunt work could be taken out of it while ensuring we provided clear feedback to students on what could be done to improve future work (see my post here).

With my colleague's constant tinkering and prodding, I too was always considering 'better ways'. In those days we marked using Word rubrics, which - taken together - were (a) vague and (b) dangerous and (c) could lack consistent interpretation. Let's take the 'vague' part first.

Vague is what I see, particularly when we consider a rubric approach. What exactly does the following mean as a chunk for a presentation? 

A Grade

Presentation (20 marks). Verbal communication is clear, audible and highly effective. Seamless integration of visual aids/technology/ supporting materials. Ideas/opinions are conveyed fluently that intentionally stimulates critical discussion.

Of course, the B is also listed/specified. And the C. And D. The questions such a chunk as this inspires in me are:

• How much is each element/sentence worth? Are they all worth 6.66 marks each? Or are some worth more?
• Are there some elements which should have been listed, but haven't yet? What about the slide deck? What about pace? Volume? Length?
• Are a quarter of the marks in the last sentence for ideas, for opinions, for stimulating and for critical discussion? Or are there other characteristics for a good presentation? How much discussion can we really create in a presentation...? Should discussion appear instead in an - unspecified - Q&A session?
• Further, why would we then need to list what a B or a C or a D is? Doesn't it become obvious because we have listed the A, that the B, C, D, or E hasn't reached that standard? Aren't we wanting all students to aim for an A? Do we need to list what a D is - usually something pointless like "doesn't reach minimum standards" which surely is rather obvious?
• And why, oh why, did we end up having to write SO MANY similar comments in the comments space? Many are repeated student to student... so surely they should be in the rubric?

OK. So let's consider dangerous. Word is not really an 'adding up' tool. We tend to manually add our marking up, which leads to easy mistakes. We can get Word to add up for us using formulas, but the table addition functions are less than ideal. In my experience, this: often stops working; must be manually refreshed; and others don't 'see' the sums as a formula, so they overtype the totals even when they are working. Why use a tool so obviously unsuited?

After a lot of thought and office conversations, I felt that a master check list dashboard would be ideal. That I could be marking a piece of work, and tick a box to have a particular comment appear on a marking sheet: effectively pick something already written. I was sure that someone out there must have already created something. We could just enter our percentages and go. Well, no. I found nothing over a summer of seeking.

My next thought was that I could contract a computing major who knew Access really well, who could create a pick list for me, and we could go from there: I could have a few master tables, a pick list on a form, and create a customised report, student by student, without having to manually tailor the marking feedback. I could create a comments bank from my own marking to begin our master list of "what was good" and what "needs improvement". For two semesters I sought a student to work on this as their capstone 300 hour project. However, despite having written a clear brief and having good connections to the computer science team, I had no takers. And I didn't know enough MS Access to go solo.

Then the need suddenly became urgent. The issue of consistent interpretation arose. I was leading a team of up to ten research supervisors who were all marking on the same paper. Marking results were initially variable using a standard Word feedback sheet. One person's 'B' comments were another marker's 'A'. I really needed a more consistent method, because the inconsistency was immediately visible between students. They talked to each other about their marking. And I needed it now.

Expediency drove the choice. I decided to have a crack at creating something in Excel, which I knew well. Maybe I could make a huge list of what would have been my Access check list dashboard, and we could tick the level which students achieved. If I set it up with cell protection and the right formula it would avoid addition errors: Excel adds. And if I only listed "A" comments, but with a range of grades where markers only needed to put an "X" into the relevant box in the relevant grade column, it might simplify the process.

So I had a go. I sat down with some experienced markers, and we brainstormed the contents of our rubrics and marking splits. We broke down all the marks for each area into even chunks, and created a comment that could be marked. Because there were so many items that we were could select, additional comments were minimised. I set up the sheets, and we ran some trials. We marked students both ways on a small assessment to check that the Excel marking would work out the same way (it did). We tweaked some statements that didn't quite work. Then we showed the students both the marking sheets, and asked them which one they preferred. The preference for the Excel version was overwhelming. So we rolled it out.

Moving forward five years, and the benefits of using Excel are huge. It speeds up marking; it reduces time in writing comments; it is clearer as a guide to students; there are no addition errors; and it creates consistency across markers.

Interestingly, lecturers who haven't used it think on first look that it is too 'specific'; too confining. However, once they try it, they tend find it makes marking much easier, and faster.

I too find it easier. I tweak these marking sheets each semester, so the wording gets better, the formulae better, the streamlining better. View a presentation sample marking sheet (as per the illustration) here.

Sam

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Ten PhD preparatory tasks

Starting a PhD is scary. It is a huge chunk of our life if we are a young student and able to do this following on from our undergrad degree and a Masters (or undergrad and honours). We effectively double our time investment and go for eight years of overall study to smash out a PhD (and yes, I know many of us will be hoping for three years, but the time usually creeps towards four years and beyond). If we are in a job, we get the grind of a part time PhD where we are not allowed to finish in fewer than six years, but must finish by eight. Both of those scenarios require a long time to commit to one idea and to follow it through. We need endurance to finish, because this race is not a sprint: it is about toughing it out.

I have blogged about Tara Brabazon a number of times (here), and earlier this year she served up yet another pithy dose of excellent advice to those who are about to start their PhD, gleaned from a number of academic and non-academic sources (2021).

View the video (Brabazon, 2021):

To summarise, in the order that I would tackle each of these, what Tara explored (Brabazon, 2021) was as follows:

1. Reflection. In undertaking this PhD project, we need to think deeply about what frightens us; what we are worried about. We need to write about it. We need to dig into it. We need to consider what we think we need be informed about before we begin. This is deep work, and must not be superficial, and shapes the following steps.
2. Personal Outcomes. We need to consider our personal goals. We must understand our own motivations. Tara suggests that we answer the question “What do I want to achieve from this PhD” (2021, 21:50) in writing. We can then use this to remind ourselves, as we get into the project, of what we are aiming for, what skills we need to gather.
3. Literacies. Tara then talked about academic and information literacies, citing Linhart who called information literacy “neglected essential learning” (2021, 14:56; Linhart, 2008, p. 1). We need to get to grips with GoogleScholar, databases, courses in library science, and to understand that we will need to build a good relationship with our librarian. We have to get to grips with the software, and the referencing. From the reading and the writing, we should know who the top authors are in our field, and what our key words are to lead the search for what we need to read.
4. Read. A lot. Methodology. Current articles in our field. Read as much as we can – and set aside time to read every day to build the habit before we apply enter the programme. It takes – as I recall – about 90 days to build a habit. Throwing three months at a project which might last four or eight years is not that big an additional ask. It is pre-training.
5. Write. “Write early, write often, write now” (Brabazon, 2021, 11:35). As we read, take notes. We are reading every day, so write up what we read, every day. This act will not only improve our writing, but it will help us to synthesise our ideas as early as we can. Early on this will help us to understand the shape of the environment we are going into; later it will get our write up done as we go (read my post on how long this takes here).
6. CV. Tara suggests that we create an educational CV including publications etc, if you are looking for academic work around presentation, conference presentations, consultancy, community engagement etc. While this probably feels unnecessary for those who are already in sustainable work, we will need a CV for our PhD application to reassure our prospective institution and intended supervisors that we understand the process and the expectations on completion.
7. Workspace. Determine where we will work, and how we will work – possibly in a shared space. Create space. Be clear about privacy. Be clear about others and our own silence. Have thought through likely distractions, set delimiters, and be clear if a shared space what our signals are.
8. Clarify relationships. We need both professional and personal relationships to get the job done (see item 3 above, too). We need to be clear about what each participant’s rights, responsibilities and expectations are. This includes our significant others, our supervisors, our peers, our whanau, and ourselves as a supervisee. If we have clarified what we each expect from each other - our ‘job descriptions’ so to speak – we are less likely to have problems later.
9. Project Outcomes. Tara started this item with “Start with the end in mind”, citing Stephen Covey (1989, p. 95), suggesting that we start the project aimed at what it will look like when it is completed. We need to design the project so that we stay focused on the outcome. To prepare for this, we need to read successful PhDs in our field, understand construction, read our institute’s regulations for submission so that we understand the processes, and what our outputs and outcomes will be.
10. Learn about teaching and learning. Learning about how to learn will be useful. While I am less convinced about teaching – many PhDs no longer begin or end with the idea of going into teaching – learning how to ‘teach’ when we deliver our candidature presentation and our viva will certainly be useful. This though, in my mind, is the least important item in this list.

I hope you find this list of Tara’s useful: I certainly did.

Sam

References:

• Brabazon, T. (2 July 2021). Vlog 276 - Preparing for a successful PhD programme [video]. https://youtu.be/-ckoeUaqU7w
• Covey. S. R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful lessons in personal change. Franklin Covey.
• Linhart, R. J. (2008). Information Literacy: A Neglected Essential Learning. [Doctoral thesis, University of Tasmania]. https://core.ac.uk/reader/33332338

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Apps for student teams

When running teams of student teams for project work, having an EASY method for students to evaluate each other, and for the lecturer or supervisor to easily obtain those ratings, makes the process much simpler and less time consuming.

Not only does a simple evaluation system used during the process help the evaluation, it also helps the team in working together. Review questions repeated as the assessment process continues reminds everyone of the team and teamwork goals, and what the outcomes of the working together is to achieve.

I have a professional SurveyMonkey account, and I have used that for students to bank their team feedback, and hadn't considered using anything else. However, there was a recent thread from the Academy of Management Organizational Behavior Division (2021), where members proposed three other team evaluation models, which I thought I would share. They are:

• CATME: Created by Purdue university, this product has a lot of users (1.5m students at over 2,400 institutions globally, according to Purdue's info). The product uses self-rating, peer-rating and group-rating surveys to assess and to boost student groups function; provides teamwork training tools; flags teams in trouble; has practice surveys for groups to get started. There is a web platform, and separate instructor and team log ins. Students can be pre-assessed using the Big 5, allowing better team construction from the outset. Check out instructor videos here, and student videos here. A basic licence for up to 100 unique users is USD$100 and lasts for 12 months, running from 01 July to 30 June annually. Potential cons: paid product; the product looks a bit dated; and the annual licence may not include the Big 5 assessments (the materials made it hard to tell).

• TEAMMATES: this is an app developed by the computer department at the National University of Singapore. Students do not have to login to use the product. Like CATME, this product uses self-rating, peer-rating and group-rating surveys to assess and to boost student groups function and provides teamwork training tools. However, TEAMMATES also allows a lot of flexibility in how to set up who sees what, and has multiple ways to set up surveys. Data is downloadable. The product looks fresh. To sign up, go here and click the green button, "Request a Free Instructor Account" on the lower right. Take a video tour here. TEAMMATES is free.
  
  
• ITP Metrics: created at the University of Calgary by Dr. Tom O’Neill, ITP Metrics is another web-based teamwork and behavioural assessment tool. It was designed to improve classroom team dynamics. This product has self-rating, peer-rating and group-rating surveys to assess and to boost student groups function and provides teamwork training tools. Like CATME it uses the Big 5 to assess personality, but it also provides conflict tools, which is useful. Review how the assessments work here. There is an EdTech podcast interviewing Tom O'Neill exploring the product here. Like TEAMMATES it looks fresh. Like TEAMMATES it is free.

It is great to have so many educators willing to create these great tools that make teaching easier: and I would never have known if I hadn't stopped to read that thread (Academy of Management, 2021). I am seriously considering using one of these products when I next run group assignments.

If you use any of these options, I would love to hear back from you!

Sam

References:

• Academy of Management (2021). Organizational Behavior Division: Peer Feedback Tool. https://ob.aom.org/ob/division/discuss/viewthread?MessageKey=cd1bc2bd-c39a-444b-90d3-1d0f0d2ebfb7&CommunityKey=7640e69d-4151-425e-9dd5-9f043c772c5e&tab=digestviewer#bmcd1bc2bd-c39a-444b-90d3-1d0f0d2ebfb7
• EdTech (2020). #5: Building Better Teams. https://edtechexamined.castos.com/episodes/5-building-better-teams-1
• ITP Metrics (2021). Assessments. https://www.itpmetrics.com/assessment.info
• ITP Metrics (2021). Team assessments, backed by research. https://www.itpmetrics.com/
• Purdue University (2021). CATME. https://info.catme.org/
• Purdue University (2021). CATME Instructor Videos. https://info.catme.org/instructor/instructor-help/videos/
• Purdue University (2021). CATME Student Videos. https://info.catme.org/student/student-help/videos/
• TEAMMATES (2021). Student peer evaluations/feedback, shareable instructor comments, and more. https://teammatesv4.appspot.com/web/front/home
• TEAMMATES (2021). Features. https://teammatesv4.appspot.com/web/front/features
• TEAMMATES (2014). TEAMMATES Peer Evaluation/Feedback System for Education[video]. https://youtu.be/mDtfmNmRwBM

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Citing paraphrased cases

I often use cases that I have written for student assessments (especially since my Masters looked at the effectiveness of teaching leadership via cases: cases provide very sticky learning). I am always gratified when students ask whether they should cite the case as a source document.

To which I reply that yes, we should cite the case, and - when paraphrasing the case in an introduction, and if written as one paragraph - we could just cite the case once at the end of the introduction, which would look like this - using fake Latin as an example:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas porttitor congue massa. Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus malesuada libero, sit amet commodo magna eros quis urna. Nunc viverra imperdiet enim. Fusce est. Vivamus a tellus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et orci. Aenean nec lorem. In porttitor. Donec laoreet nonummy augue. Suspendisse dui purus, scelerisque at, vulputate vitae, pretium mattis, nunc. Mauris eget neque at sem venenatis eleifend. Ut nonummy. Fusce aliquet pede non pede. Suspendisse dapibus lorem pellentesque magna. Integer nulla. Donec blandit feugiat ligula. Donec hendrerit, felis et imperdiet euismod, purus ipsum pretium metus, in lacinia nulla nisl eget sapien (Young, 2020).

However, if we have written more than one paragraph, then we would cite each paragraph at the end (just as shown above). While APA rules require us to cite each sentence, it seems a bit OTT if only one source is used... and that is the case when summarising, in an introduction, the case issues to be discussed.

Additionally, if we are quoting directly from the case, then we need to include a page number, just as we do with any numbered source. Further, if we have brought anything else in as evidence, such as demographic data, or cultural concerns - we need to cite all those resources as well, while adding in additional sentence citations to ensure that their sources are clear and transparent for our intended audience:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas porttitor congue massa (Young, 2020). Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus malesuada libero, sit amet commodo magna eros quis urna (Author1, date). Nunc viverra imperdiet enim. Fusce est. Vivamus a tellus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas (Young, 2020). Proin pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et orci. Aenean nec lorem (Author2, date). In porttitor. Donec laoreet nonummy augue. Suspendisse dui purus, scelerisque at, vulputate vitae, pretium mattis, nunc. Mauris eget neque at sem venenatis eleifend. Ut nonummy (Author1, date; Young, 2020). Fusce aliquet pede non pede. Suspendisse dapibus lorem pellentesque magna. Integer nulla. Donec blandit feugiat ligula. Donec hendrerit, felis et imperdiet euismod, purus ipsum pretium metus, in lacinia nulla nisl eget sapien (Young, 2020).

Lastly, we need to ensure that anywhere we will touch on something that would not be 'common' knowledge, we need to cite. A simple example of what is common knowledge is that Donald Trump is the President of the USA. However, the date he was inaugurated - on 20 January 2016 - is not common knowledge, so needs to be cited (Whitehouse, 2016).

It is very good practice to get undergraduates into good citation habits early. It smooths the rest of their education path!

Sam

References:

• Whitehouse (20 January 2016). The Inaugural Address. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/the-inaugural-address/
• Young, S. (2014). Making leadership cases impactful: a comparison of teaching methods. Master's Thesis: University of Auckland. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/A49CV

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Two year versus three year degrees

A fellow career practitioner, Tom Staunton, wrote a blog post on the UK Government's proposal to introduce two year degrees (Coughlan, 18 November 2018). Tom was worried about this shift from three perspectives: that the 'more choice' rationale provided by the UK Government had no evidenced outcome value; that the 'saving money' argument ignored other ways of cost reduction; and that completing a degree more quickly may not improve - or even maintain - quality (20 November 2018). One element of the article focused on institutions not being able to cope with the shift two two year programmes. We shouldn't really be worrying about the mechanics: let's put the learner at the centre of this.

The article (Coughlan, 18 November 2018) suggests that the proposal is to turn around the lack of mature students undertaking degree study: "Condensing a full degree into two years is seen as being more appealing to people who are in work or with family commitments", so students would complete the same credits but whack it out in two years. I almost laughed out loud when I read that. The UK Government's solution for busy, over-committed people is to load them up with even more stress by increasing their study load. I find students are already stressed in their study learning at the present rate, how is it safe - or how will it provide better learning outcomes - to increase those stress levels?

I left a comment with Tom telling him that I agreed with him. I too think that two year degrees are a bad idea. This proposal may white ant the value of a degree, or at least start employers questioning what degree people did and how long the programme was, creating a two tier employer view of undergraduate qualifications.

In New Zealand we have a two year diploma and a three year degree. I have noted that there appears to be a difference in mindset between the diploma students and the degree students. I find that diploma students are less aware of their own shortcomings and more certain of their own judgement. Further, they are taken much less seriously by employers with a diploma rather than a degree, and so are less employable. Interestingly, in some cases we have just reduced diplomas to an eighteen month qualification. Perhaps we too are getting ready to propose a two year degree in New Zealand.

Moving to a two year degree would worry me as there is something that changes or shifts - I feel - for students when they move from a two year programme of study to a three year programme. I think that extra year adds an ability to reflect on their programme of study and to professionalise their learning.

Education should not be a force-feeding process. It should be more like the slow food movement. In my view, I think students need more time to think, to develop ideas, to construct argument, to explore and discount fallacies.

Because a three year programme appears to change graduates, monkeying with it should be explored with caution. I would like to see research showing graduate benefits from both lengths of study before we dive in and make changes. This discussion needs to be entirely about the learners and how better learning takes place.

If you are interested in reading a bit more of my thinking in this area, check out here, here and here. The latter article was inspired by an earlier blog post of Tom's.


Sam

References:

• Coughlan, S. (18 November 2018). Two-year degree plan to cut cost of tuition fees. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46209247
• Staunton, T. (20 November 2018). Thoughts on Two Year Degrees. Retrieved from https://runninginaforest.wordpress.com/2018/11/20/thoughts-on-two-year-degrees/

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Research Lostness Repairs

I have written about research lostness before (here, here and here), but read a great guest post on Thesis Whisperer blog by RMIT University's Rosie Chang (15 August 2018), about using some nous from the movie, The Martian (Scott, 2015).

Chang (15 August 2018) cited the last scene in the movie where Matt Damon's character, Mark Watney, is telling a class about the strategies he employed to get home:

"At some point, everything's gonna go south on you and you're going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem and you solve the next one, and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home." (Scott, 2015)

Rosie suggested three groups of strategies that researchers could learn from the movie, identifying what she called external factors that were making us 'stuck':

• (a) stay alive, and
• (b) contact earth for help, and
• (c) take the first step, and "just begin".

What interested me is that Rosie didn't talk about the internal factors which make us stuck. I think they are even more interesting... and challenging.

We have to get our heads around the fact that usually, only we can get ourselves out of the hole. Only we have the insight to know what is holding us back. We often have to change our approach in order to make the rest work out. We have to decide to 'survive', and to face the things that challenge us... and to face them head-on.

Sometimes it is a lack of self-belief that we can do the task in front of us. Sometimes we avoid competing in case we fail. Sometimes we think we are frauds and have no right to a voice, or to be in the arena. Sometimes it is simply self-sabotage. Sometimes it is a resistance to who we may become if we succeed. Sometimes it is hidden doubts about how success might change our relationships with those around us. We hold ourselves back, refuse to push forward, and stall.

All this boils down to fear. Fear of the unknown, of the new, of the change, and of our new potential selves. So how do we get past fear?

Lester Levenson in 1952 was diagnosed with a fairly serious medical condition, and used reflective questions as a tool to restore his joie de vivre. Using his questions can help us to work through and to let go of fear. We first need to reflect on all the things which may be holding us back, pick one to work on, and do the following four things (Dwoskin, 2003):

1. Focus on that thing that we would like to change our approach to, then
2. Ask ourselves one of the following 'coulds':
• Could we let this feeling go?
• Could we allow this feeling to be here?
• Could we welcome these feelings? Then,
3. Ask ourselves the following questions:
• Would we let this go/allow it to be/welcome it?
• Are we willing to let this go/allow it to be/welcome it? Then
4. Lastly, ask ourselves: When can we let this go/allow it to be/welcome it?

If we have trouble with the four steps above, the following exercise might help. Think about holding an old pencil. We hold it in front of us, gripping it REALLY strongly. While we are hanging onto it, we imagine the pencil is one of our fears, and our hand is who we are. We think about how if we hang onto the pencil for a long time, it will feel painful, but also 'normal'. Then we open our hand and roll the pencil in our palm. We think about the fact that we are holding it, that it's not holding us, nor is it fixed to us (Meier, 2014). We have the choice about dropping it. The pencil does not have the choice about letting us go. This is a good visualisation for building an internal locus of control (Daft, 2008).

The steps and the visualisation might help us to move a block. Good luck!

Sam

References:

• Chang, R. (15 August 2018). Is your PhD stuck on Mars? Apply the Martian Method. Retrieved from https://thesiswhisperer.com/2018/08/15/is-your-phd-stuck-on-mars-apply-the-martian-method/
• Daft, R. (2008). The Leadership Experience (4th ed.). USA: Thomson-South Western.
• Dwoskin, H. (2003). The Sedona Method: Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-Being. Sedona AZ, USA: Sedona Press.
• Meier, J. D. (2014). How To Let Go of Limiting Emotions Using the Sedona Method. Retrieved from http://sourcesofinsight.com/how-to-let-go-of-limiting-emotions-using-the-sedona-method/
• Scott, R. (producer/director) (2015). The Martian. USA: Twentieth Century Fox.

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Managing meeting no-shows

All my supervisees get an appointment set for the duration of their enrolment. I cluster all my supervisees' appointments into blocks, so I do nothing else but see students in those blocks of time. I find this makes me more efficient, and makes the time together with supervisees more effective.

I got asked by a colleague about strategies to manage supervisees who miss their scheduled appointments and either: wander in at their leisure and expect a meeting; or - worse, email after the fact and ask to be rescheduled, without explanation or apology.

When things are quiet - rare in academia - this is not such a problem. However, when students and lecturers are under pressure as we get to the pointy end of courses, this becomes yet another thing for lecturers to manage.

An important thing to remember is to try to respect the supervisee's time. I try to be on time for meetings. I let supervisees know early if I can't make our meeting time, and offer rescheduling times. I explain that I am teaching other papers, and have schedules, delivery, meetings and marking to get through for my other papers as well, and that I am not on campus every day, and also need time for my research. Because I let supervisees know that my time is full, and I do my best to respect their time, we build a culture of respect quite quickly.

Supervisor meetings need to have importance. The time together needs to be a privilege, not a chore. For good supervisees who want to learn, this is easy. For those who are aiming for a simple pass, this can become hard work. There are always some people to whom you have to spell out respect and privilege to directly, as they do not pick up these nuances.

Another important aspect to manage is expectations. When I have students who don't turn up - and recently I had three new supervisees in one day who didn't turn up, without explanation - I send out a screenshot of my calendar to all my supervisees for that day in an email: asking them to let me know if they can't make their appointments, so I can go and do something else in that time. I remind them to respect my time. Sometimes the no-shows happen because supervisees aren't familiar with the appointment technology, so don't realise that their appointment repeats every one or two weeks (depending on enrolment). The reminder email gets around that problem.

Supervisees who are late to their time-slot, if I am waiting for another student at the time, I may see briefly. But when my scheduled student arrives, I tell the late supervisee to email me with anything else they want to know and that I will see them at their next appointment.

If supervisees are late - ie, drifting in without a reason or apology - and I have another student, I will tell them that they have missed their appointment and that I can't see them until our next scheduled time.

If they miss an appointment with a reason, I usually tell them I will see them next week and to email me in between time. Sometimes I will suggest a Skype or a Zoom meeting in the evening, where supervisees have a very good reason for not being able to attend.

I have another colleague who puts on headphones in our shared office space as a signal for "leave me alone; I am working". We have discussed that as a group, and respect the signal. Shutting - or locking - the office door, or putting a sign on the outside door with "Meeting in Progress" on it, flags that other work is in progress.

Do you have any other ideas or feedback? What do you do?


Sam

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Creating Independent - Active - Learners

Independent, active learning is where "students engage with the curriculum - and academic staff - to achieve learning goals, [...] interacting with peers [...] and stakeholders". This type of learning puts the "responsibility on students [to] be engaged, [but is] enabled, facilitated and supported by staff through relevant and guided opportunities, suitable pedagogies and an appropriate learning environment" (Thomas, Jones & Ottaway, 2015, p. 6).

To get 'engaged', students need active learning practices, using "higher-order cognitive skills such as the ability to analyse, synthesize, solve problems, and [thinking] meta-cognitively in order to construct long-term understanding. It involves the critical analysis of new ideas, linking them to already known concepts, and principles so that this understanding can be used for problem solving in new, unfamiliar contexts" (Hermida, 2008).

Kiwi students are staircased into active learning from kindergarten. When they get to higher education, they are well on the path to being active, deep, independent learners, who are self-directed, curious, questioning and adept at building and applying theoretical frameworks (Warring, 2007).

However, the main groups of international students who study here - largely Indian and Chinese nationals - tend to find independent, active learning a major challenge (Warring, 2007).

Many lecturers whom I speak with tell me that trying to get international students up to speed feels like trying to get a helpless employee to do a job: that it almost feels easier to do the work yourself.

While I understand that view, this - to me - is not the problem. I reframe this as: we have students who need to make up ten years of deliberate educational development and become independent, active learners in a single semester. What shortcuts can we use?

One idea I am trying out is to clarify what is the lecturer's 'job', and what is the student's 'job'. For example, DeLong (2009, p. 3) lays out learner and lecturer roles as:

Activities to Structure Learning	Student\Learner	Teacher
Diagnose Needs	Understand own values	Help student ID Values
Set Objectives	Describe learning outcomes	Help student ID potential learning outcomes
Identify learning resources	ID preferred learning style	Help student determine their learning style. Know your teaching style
Use resources	Choose appropriate resources	Help student ID resources
Assess learning	Provide honest assessment	Facilitate assessment process

I suspect that we don't explain the learner 'job' explicitly to our international students. I also think they are often blind to what active learning actually is. If we are clear about what they are responsible for, they will learn and apply appropriate behaviours. Using DeLong's framework may help each of us to stay explicitly focused on our own role.

I will formalise other active learner development tools and blog on them in the coming months: and I would be very interested in others' shortcuts.


Sam

References

• DeLong, Suzanne (2009). Teaching Methods to Encourage Independent Learning and Thinking. Retrieved 12 May 2016 from http://www.usma.edu/cfe/Literature/DeLongS_09.pdf
• Hermida, Dr Julian (2008). Deep Learning. Retrieved 12 May 2016 from http://www.julianhermida.com/algoma/law1scotldeeplearning.htm
• Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F. (2012). Multiple-Choice Exams: An Obstacle for Higher-Level Thinking in Introductory Science Classes. USA: CBE—Life Sciences Education, Fall 2012, Volume 11, issue 3 (pp. 294-306). Retrieved 21 November 2012 from http://www.lifescied.org/content/11/3/294.full
• Thomas, Professor Liz, Jones, Dr Robert & Ottaway, Dr James (2015). Effective practice in the design of directed independent learning opportunities. Retrieved 12 May 2016 from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/effective_practice_in_the_design_of_directed_independent_learning_opportunities.pdf
• Weimer, Maryellen PhD (November 2010). Deep Learning vs. Surface Learning: Getting Students to Understand the Difference. USA: Author. Retrieved 20 November 2012 from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/deep-learning-vs-surface-learning-getting-students-to-understand-the-difference/

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How good is it having your dog at work?

The following post is from a student of mine, who is researching how many businesses have a "bring your dog to work" policy.

Picture this, it’s Monday morning, you’re sitting at your desk, feeling a large dose of ‘Monday-itis’ hanging over your head like a black cloud, the work week looming out in front of you like a foggy tunnel.

The 55 emails that arrived over the weekend and are sitting in your inbox boldly daring you to open them before you look at what lies ahead on the weekly agenda of duties. The phone rang several times before you even got to the staff room to make a cup of coffee and there’s no way you can nip out to the coffee cart until your tea-break without being noticed. You get the picture, right?

Then you look down, just under your desk lies your best mate, munching happily on a rawhide chew with blissful contentment, the critter who adores you like you’re the best person that ever lived and isn’t afraid to show it every time you walk into the room. Immediately your blood pressure drops back to normal, you take deeper breaths, and your Oxytocin levels soar (that’s the hormone that induces feelings of calm and relaxation).

If only this was a true depiction of most NZ organisations – not the ‘Monday morning part’ but the ‘furry friend under the desk’ part!

There’s plenty of research out there showing how beneficial it is to have a pet friendly workplace. My question is – how many managers actually know what the benefits are? What is stopping local organisations from allowing employees to bring their furry whanau to work, to the benefit of all?

Well, I’m researching this at the moment, in my local community of Nelson, as part of my under-graduate management research project, so perhaps I can provide some answers in another blog post a little further down the track.

What I can tell you is that research into this topic is not a new thing. It was noted back in the 1990s how therapy dogs in hospitals had a positive effect on staff morale and Randolph Barker (yes, ironic huh!) first touted the idea to researchers, not just in the medical field, that this topic had genuine merit and deserved further investigation.

Further investigation it certainly has had and my contribution to this is seeking to find out how well known these findings are?

If you hold a management position in any business, any industry, any size, any type, in the Nelson Tasman region, you can help unravel this mystery by participating in my survey.

It only takes 5 minutes (I promise) and you and your answers will be totally anonymous – so please - help me out, so I can get an answer to these questions.

Here’s the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GHGGQZ9

Natalie

References:

• Allen, K., Blascovich, K., Mendes, W.B. (2002). Cardiovascular reactivity and the presence of pets, friends, and spouses: the truth about cats and dogs. Psychsomatic Medicine, 5(64), 727-39.
• Barker, R. T. (2005). On the Edge or not? Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Scholars in Business Communication to Focus on the Individual and Organisational Benefits of Companion Animals in the Workplace. Journal of Business Communication, 42, 299-315.

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