Education - OU Community Online

Special offer for student social workers on Early Professional Development for Social Workers book.

STUDENT DISCOUNTED PRICE: £15.00 inc p&p (usual price £24.95 + £2.50 p&p)

Order via The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) website quoting promo code EPD12 to receive your student discount.

"... the real potential of this book is in bridging the gap between education and qualified practice. Social work educators, students and those employing newly qualified social workers
should read this and discuss the transition from student to professional, as well as ensuring academic debate remains central to practice"
Rob Fountain, Community Care

The central focus of this book is on the early professional development needs of social workers. It has been compiled by editors with extensive experience of social work practice, education and research. The collection examines the radical changes that have taken place in social work over the last decade within the wider context of welfare policy and practice change within the United Kingdom.

The editors have brought together a broad range of experts to provide a contemporary perspective on a wide spectrum of social work issues, taking account of legal and policy differences between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each country within the UK faces similar challenges and there is much learning to be gleaned from exploring the range of social work interventions that have been developed and applied in different parts of the United Kingdom in recent years.

Find out more about BASW

Looking back at an amazing sporting summer, Ben Oakley, Senior Lecturer Sports Studies explores the implications of Rower, Helen Glover's journey to gold in only four years for a new OU module (E313)* on athletic development being produced as part of the BSc Sport, Fitness and Coaching.

Four bestselling talent developments books - Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin, and Bounce by Matthew Syed - have the same message at their core: success equals 10 years or 10,000 hours of 'deliberate practice' and the right opportunities.

Helen Glover's story challenges some of these assumptions - until four years ago she had never picked up an oar. She and Heather Stanning won Britain first gold medal of the London Olympics in the women's rowing pair.

"I only started rowing in 2008 when I got through the Sporting Giants scheme where I was basically chosen for being tall and sporty," Helen said of UK Sport's talent-spotting process that fast-tracked her to success.

Glover & Stanning's medal cabinet

• 2010 - World Championships, Lake Karapiro - silver
• 2011 - World Championships, Bled - silver , World Cup, Lucerne - gold , World Cup, Munich - gold
• 2012 - World Cup, Belgrade - gold , World Cup, Lucerne - gold , World Cup, Munich - gold , Olympics, London - gold
   

"They tested 4,500 of us in groups of 200 at a time. I remember sitting in a room in Bisham Abbey in 2007 and someone saying: 'A gold medallist in 2012 could be sat in this room. Look around you.' I thought: 'Right, I'm going to make that me.' It was quite surreal."

Challenging the theory
Glover's experience of making gold with four years of training questions the 10 year theory which originally derives from the research of Anders Ericsson in the early 1990s.
The appeal of his and others' message is its simplicity. You can become a champion simply with a strong work ethic and the right environment. These authors suggest that talent is overrated, downplaying the importance of natural giftedness - for them it is more about determination and hard work.

The 10,000 hour rule, as it is known, roughly equates to ten years (20 hours x 50 weeks x 10 years) of perspiration to get to the top. Little wonder these books are popular in the business community. But does it still add up?

Practice makes perfect?
It is a truism that we all improve with practice but advocates of the 10,000 hour rule go further: it is the quality of practice that is important.

Few would disagree that the ability to work persistently at weaknesses, respond to feedback and set backs whilst refining the different components of your sport is more important than just playing a lot. It also follows that excellent coaching is also needed as well as a deep seated desire to continually improve.

Helen Glover recognises the importance of coaches Paul Stannard and Miles Forbes-Thomas who shaped her initial development and Robin Williams who has made refinements in the last two years.

"Coming into rowing so quickly has been a whirlwind. I've been really lucky to have had world-class coaches throughout my time," she says.

Controversy over the 'time' needed to practice
However, there is controversy about the precise quantity of practice, since the 10,000 hour rule was derived by Ericsson asking musicians in 1993 to retrospectively recall their practice behaviour - less than reliable methodology. It is hardly surprisingly then that the theory falls under scrutiny in the new OU stage 3 module Exploring psychological aspects of athletic development starting in 2013.

Helen Glover's story supports increasing evidence that athletes change from one sport to another reaching international level sometimes in under two years. Tall athletes in the UK and Australia are transferring to high levels in sports such as handball, volleyball and rowing with only 3,000-5,000 hours of practice.

From athletics to skeleton bobsleigh, from rowing to cycling - multiple cases of this nature simply blows the 10,000 hour rule out of the water, leading to pointed comments that the convenient round number of 10,000 hours is little more than a 'nice motivational tool'.

Reductionism
Critics of the 10,000 hour rule claim it has fallen prey to the scientific tendency towards reductionism: breaking a process down into constituent parts in order to better understand it. By downplaying the natural genetic aspects of sport in favour of a nurturist perspective the complexity of becoming a champion is oversimplified.

Ericsson's research came nearly two decades before the landmark 2011 findings by Claude Bouchard on genetically determined responses to training. The fitness levels of hundreds of untrained volunteers were measured before and after five months of training.
The response in VO2max - a measure of aerobic capacity and performance - was enormously varied. Some individuals improved by less than 5% whilst others improved by 30 per cent. Bouchard identified genetic variants responsible for this difference.
Genes clearly play a big role in determining ideal body size and muscle fibre types for different sports, such as basketball, rugby or gymnastics but recent research shows that genes have another influence.

Sports scientist Ross Tucker suggests that certain genes are associated with injury. He argues some people could never reach 10,000 hours because of their susceptibility to injury at only, say, six hours per week of training.

An interactionist approach
When is comes to talent, more and more experts now believe that the original genetic differences between us may be relatively modest but practice and psychological factors do the rest. There is a complex interaction at play.

Athletes who show an innate ability realise they are good at something and consequently intensify their playful practice, enjoying their superiority. Their appetite and success thus continues on an upward trajectory, particularly if they are fortunate in having the right motivational environment and opportunity to thrive with a good coach.

Helen Glover's rapid rise to gold demonstrates that a strong work ethic and the necessary psychological characteristics can combine with potent effect as long as the athlete has the right physical requirements in the first place.

This article was adapted from Ben Oakley’s piece on BBC World Olympic Dreams. 

Find out more:

• Olympic success in the OU community
• OU student Deborah Criddle wins two Paralympic medals
• More from the OU community at the London Games 2012

 * Details of this course will appear on study with the OU soon.

Photo by: photoverulam

 

As a major sponsor of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Open University in Scotland has sponsored talks this year by Jeremy Paxman, Simon Callow and scientist, Alistair Moffat.

In addition, to complement the 2012 Festival focus on re-evaluating, rethinking and reconnecting with a changing world, the OU in Scotland sponsored a series of debates looking at the real value we place on three aspects of society - education, wellbeing and the environment. Melissa Benn was joined by the Director of the OU in Scotland, Dr James Miller and Mike Russell, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, for a lively discussion at the education debate that considered the divergent education policies across the UK.

Further information on the Edinburgh International Book Festival

There are still tickets left for the OU debate, The Value of the Environment, chaired by Gavin Esler on Sunday 26th August at 5.30pm.

 

Join Nicola Dandridge, Universities UK’s chief executive, to take part in a Twitter Q&A session on Monday 13 August 2012 ahead of A-level results day

The session will also be hosted on thestudentroom.co.uk. Topics to be covered range from confirmation, clearing, to student finance and financial support available to prospective students. Nicola will also be signposting applicants to advice and guidance from UCAS, the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance Information and other organisations.

The Q&As will take place on Monday 13 August at 4.30pm and will last about 90 minutes.

Students can submit their questions by messaging on Monday morning using @studentroom and @universitiesuk, or using the hash tag #resultsday, which The Student Room will be monitoring. Questions posted on Twitter will also appear on The Student Room website on a dedicated page.

Find out more:

• Study options at the OU
• Is the OU right for me? 

At 32, OU postgraduate student Gareth Morris is one of the youngest head teachers in the country. However, the path to the top of his profession has been an unconventional one…

Gareth Morris, head teacher of Flash Ley Primary School in Staffordshire, openly says that as a youngster he was “not desperately into school” and “didn’t turn up much either”. It is his experience of primary and secondary education that has helped shape his own approach to teaching and inspiring youngsters.

“First and foremost, teaching is about mutual respect,” says the father of two. “It is also about making sure the curriculum is exciting and interesting. It’s about having a level of connection between lessons so there are elements that link from one subject to another.

“We have also adopted the mantra of ‘believe to achieve’. Yes, we want academic excellence, but we want children to have an indomitable belief in themselves. It’s about respect, aspiration and interest – and getting children involved in the learning and getting teachers to make the most of their talents and being confident in their abilities.”

This philosophy contrasts with his experience of school, when after gaining four GCSEs he couldn’t wait to join the Army. His military career, though, was brought to an abrupt end when he suffered a knee injury. It was at that point he realised he needed qualifications or face the prospect of a lifetime working in dead-end jobs. He studied A Levels in History and English before going to Staffordshire University where he studied history and international relations.

Next he gained a PGCE teaching qualification, and then took a year out to study GCSE maths. While studying, he also earned “a stack of cash” in a sales job but felt unfulfilled and wanted to do something more worthwhile. I was then that he spotted a job as a teaching assistant and found his calling.

In the meantime, Gareth was also commissioned as an officer at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and later became a Lieutenant in the Territorial Army. In 2004, he was faced with the tough choice between his teaching and Army careers when he was called up to serve in Basra.

 

Gareth said: “I resigned my commission, because being a teacher isn’t the sort of job that you can go away and leave for nine months. I did want to go because I was an infantry officer and most of my platoon was going out there. In the end realised it would have got in the way of my teaching career, so decided to stay.”

Having chosen his vocation, Gareth worked his way up the ranks to become a deputy head at a school in Cheshire before moving back to his native Staffordshire in September last year. On top of his heavy workload, including preparing for two Ofsted inspections, Gareth has studied three modules for his Open University Master of Education (Leadership and Management), as well as his National Qualification for Headship (NPQH) professional qualification.

“As one of the youngest heads in the country, I have found it is experience rather than age that is important,” he says. “I have come in and got seven years’ experience in a range of environments and didn’t have any pre-conceived notions about how education was. All can see is how it should be. It can be quite peculiar sitting at meetings with other heads who are 10 or 15 years older than me, but it is important that they see me for the professional I am rather than how old am.”

Update - It is now four years since Gareth became head teacher. He is currently still in the postion at Flash Ley Primary School.

An educational milestone which went largely unreported will soon be reflected in higher education, says Dick Skellington.

We have recently passed an unparalleled landmark in English educational history.  For the first time ever, pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL) outperformed their English-speaking counterparts in GCSE achievement.  

Government data published in March revealed that 80.8 per cent of EAL pupils passed 5 A*-C graded GCSEs in 2011, compared to 80.4 per cent of pupils who learn history, science, and language through the medium of English as a first language (see article in Immigration Matters).

Since 2008 EAL pupils have gradually closed the gap on their English-speaking counterparts in examination performance. There is still some way to go however before EAL students lead in all subjects. If Mathematics and English are included then EAL pupils are still marginally behind, but educationalists believe by 2013 EAL students will completely outperform ‘native’ English speakers across the school curriculum.  

Educationalist Kevan Collins, who has vast experience of engaging with minority group communities in Tower Hamlets, explains: "In new populations, there is often a drive, a desire, in education that seems to push their children in a different way. Whereas, in white working-class communities you are dealing with intergenerational issues of low aspirations."  

Of course, the findings mask real differences between minority ethnic group educational attainment, but they strongly suggest the value that migrant communities, together with their second and third generation communities, place on educational achievement.

The landmark data emphasises how important the link is between culture and school achievement.  It also demonstrates that fluency in a second language, perhaps more than other variables, is an indication of pupil ability to adapt and progress. 

Given this progress, we should not be surprised if by the 2020s, the profile and performance of minority ethnic groups in higher education will begin at long last to reflect their distribution among the British population.

Dick Skellington 15 May 2012 

The views expressed in this post, as in all posts on Society Matters, are the views of the author, not The Open University.

Cartoon by Gary Edwards

 

The Open University is to lead a global centre for practical science teaching, with the help of a £1 million grant from the Wolfson Foundation.

The Wolfson OpenScience Laboratory will be at the cutting edge of new techniques in online education.

It will be a gateway to a range of scientific experiments and observations, many developed by Open University scientists.

Although the centre will operate entirely online, users will access data from real physical instruments and equipment enabling them to carry out authentic and rigorous science investigations.
 
Professor Steve Swithenby, Science Director of eSTEeM at the OU said: “Practical science has been an under-developed area of online education – it is cost-effective and is a bold way of making the world of science accessible to many more people, particularly those in the least developed countries.”

Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation, said: “The Open University is among the international pioneers in this field and we look forward to the Wolfson OpenScience Laboratory making practical science available to many more students across the globe."

Read the full story here.

 

New software tool: Talk Factory  will help support teachers’ and pupils’ engagement in constructive classroom argumentation. The software was developed by the OU’s Dr Cindy Kerawalla and Prof Karen Littleton (both FELS), along with Prof Eileen Scanlon and Dr Marilena Petrou (both IET).

What is Talk Factory?
Talk Factory is designed for use on an Interactive Whiteboard and supports whole class plenary discussions. It is designed to support ‘exploratory’ talk, which is defined as “a joint, co-ordinated form of co-reasoning, in which speakers share relevant knowledge, challenge ideas, evaluate evidence, consider options and try to reach agreement in an equitable manner” (Mercer, 2008). Research in recent years has found that this kind of classroom dialogue is effective for promoting children’s talking, thinking and listening skills (see Mercer and Littleton, 2007 and the Thinking Together website for details).

The software was recently showcased at the Open University/UK Literacy Association (UKLA) and as a result has already been adopted by Cornwall Learning. Andy Brumby from Cornwall Learning believes it will make an important contribution to the development of students’ thinking, listening and argumentation skills in the classroom.

Find out more:

• Talk Factory
• The Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology (CREET)