1. Flex-ing our pedagogical muscles:
locating change in the ‘matrix of complexity’
Penny Sweasey
Head of CELT,
MMU
@PSweasey
Chrissi
Nerantzi
Academic
Developer,
CELT, MMU
@chrissinerantzi
Source: Stacey RD (2000) Strategic management and organisational dynamics: the challenge of complexity. 3rd ed. Harlow:
Prentice Hall.
Stacey’s Matrix of Complexity (2007)
Browne Report (2010) Securing a sustainable fu-
ture for higher education, Department for Employ-
ment and Learning, available at http://www.delni.
gov.uk/index/publications/pubs-higher-education/
browne-report-student-fees.htm [accessed 1 No-
vember 2013]
Gibbs, G. (2013) Reflections on the changing
nature of educational development. International
Journal for Academic Development, V. 18, Number
1, March 2013, pp. 4-14.
Gibbs, G. (2012) Implications of ‘Dimensions of
quality’ in a market environment, York: The Higher
Education Academy, available at http://www.
heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/evidence_in-
formed_practice/HEA_Dimensions_of_Quality_2.
pdf
Gibbs, G. (2010) Dimensions of quality, York: The
Higher Education Academy, available at http://
www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/evi-
dence_informed_practice/Dimensions_of_Quality.
pdf [accessed 8 November 2013]
Debowski, S. (2014) From agents of change to
partners in arms: the emerging academic developer
role, in: International Journal for Academic Devel-
opment, 2014, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 50-56.
European Commission (2013) High Level Group
on the Modernisation of Higher Education. Report
to the European Commission on Improving the
quality of teaching and learning in Europe’s higher
education institutions, European Union, available
at http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/
doc/modernisation_en.pdf [accessed 20 February
2014]
HEA (2013) Remaining in Good Standing and
Code of Practice, York: HEA, available at http://
www.heacademy.ac.uk/remaining-in-good-stand-
ing-and-code-of-practice [accessed 1 November
2013]
Neame, C. (2011) Exploring Models of Develop-
ment of Professional Practice in Learning and
Teaching in Higher Education: What Can We
Learn from Biology and Marketing? Educate~ Vol.
11, No. 1, 2011, pp. 9-19.
Parsons, D., Hill, I., Holland J. & Willis, D. (2012)
Impact of teaching development programmes in
higher education, York: The Higher Education
Academy, available at http://www.heacademy.
ac.uk/assets/documents/research/HEA_Im-
pact_Teaching_Development_Prog.pdf [accessed 1
November 2013]
Roche, V. (2003) Being an agent of change, in:
Kahn, P. and Baume, D. (eds.) A guide to Staff &
Educational Development, Oxon: Routledge, pp.
171-191.
Ryan, A. & Tilbury, D. (2013) Flexible Pedago-
gies, new pedagogical ideas, York: HEA, available
at ttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/news/detail/2013/
new_pedagogical_ideas [accessed 21 November
2013]
Stacey RD. (2007) Strategic management and or-
ganisational dynamics: the challenge of complexity.
3rd ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
The UK Quality Code for Higher Education (2012)
Glouchester: Quality Assurance Agency, available
at http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/Information-
AndGuidance/Pages/quality-code-brief-guide.aspx
[accessed 5 December 2013]
Tosey P (2002) Teaching on the edge of chaos:
Complexity theory, learning systems and Enhance-
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fulltext.pdf [accessed 1 November 2013]
FLEX
Development
CPD
RequirementsPromotion
Qualifications
Professional
Recognition
Academic
Portfolio
(Teaching &
Research)
The Greenhouse
monthly gatherings around
the university to share
creative and innovative
practice, experiment with
learning & teaching ideas
cross-disciplinary
fertilisation
explore opportunities for
wider engagement and
dissemination
infect others
openpoolofCPDopportunities
FLEXunit(15/30crdeitatlevel7)
unitassessment(UKPSF,SLTA,RKE)
academicportfolio
FLEXactivities
FLEX Example route 1
openpoolofCPDopportunities
FLEXunit(15/30crdeitatlevel7)
unitassessment(UKPSF,SLTA,RKE)
FLEXactivities
FLEX Example route 2a
CPDrequirements
(UKPSF,SLTA,
RKE)
FLEXlight
academicportfolio
open pool of CPD opportunities
academic portfolio
FLEX activities
FLEX unit (15/30 crdeit at level 7)unit assessment (UK PSF, SLTA, RKE)
CPD requirements (UK PSF, SLTA, RKE) FLEX light
brief
description of
FLEX activity
critical
reflection and
development
points
impact on
practice and
evidence
What is FLEX?
practice-based CPD for teaching and research
tailored to priorities and aspirations
pick ‘n’ mix CPD activities per academic year
capture development in an academic portfolio
(teaching and research)
opportunity to gain academic credits for CPD
meet Faculty CPD requirement/ evidence
engagement and value of CPD
aspirational engagement in CPD
References
open pool of CPD opportunities
academic portfolio
FLEX activities
FLEX unit (15/30 crdeit at level 7)unit assessment (UK PSF, SLTA, RKE)
CPD requirements (UK PSF, SLTA, RKE) FLEX light (AL), FLEX bronze (FT) - Apparel
brief
description of
FLEX activity
critical
reflection and
development
points
value/impact
on practice
and evidence
aspirational engagement (UK PSF, SLTA, RKE) FLEX silver, FLEX gold, FLEX diamond - Apparel
MMU Hollings Faculty Pilot 2014/15
Large scale institutional change can be a challenge for
educational developers, requiring those leading projects to
tread along what Tosey (2002) describes as the ‘edge of chaos’
– balancing requirements of University governance with
instinctive problematisation of pedagogic shift.
At MMU, CELT has a remit to develop the culture of learning
and teaching towards an institutional goal of excellence.
This poster explores the ways in which complementary and
contradictory objectives can be charted on a pedagogical
roadmap.
Taking two perspectives (large scale institutional, and
organisation of CELT itself) the complex relationships between
strategy, leadership and collective engagement are analysed
and placed within Stacey’s Matrix of Complexity (2007).
Drivers behind the change agenda in MMU, together with
reflections on how CELT has responded, illustrated using the
The positive and lasting impact of PgCerts on teachers’
practice and the student experience is widely recognised
(Parsons et al. 2012). However, they attract mainly new
teachers and the question is how can we keep our teaching
practices fresh beyond initial teacher education and engage all
teacher in CPD?
FLEX CPD is a pick ‘n’ mix offer for professionals who teach
or support learning, experienced and new alike, across the
institution, enabling development of reflective habits and
engagement in versatile CPD activities to ‘Remain in Good
Standing’ (HEA, 2013). A plethora of formal and informal
CPD activities, generic and discipline specific, face-to-face,
blended & online, organised & self-directed are part of FLEX
CPD.
FLEX in Practice
Context
How does it fit into CELT MMU?
www.celt.mmu.ac.uk
MMU’s Strategy for Learning,
Teaching and Assessment
We will provide an excellent learning environment
and outstanding student experience
MMU provides an innovative, flexible, enterprising
and internationalised curriculum
Assessment at MMU is an integrated and integral
part of learning and teaching
Student progression, confidence and success will
be achieved through outstanding personalised and
individual support
Programmes are responsive to quality
enhancement procedures throughout the student
lifecycle
Staff are lifelong learners, fully engaged with their
own professional development
Principle 1:
Principle 2:
Principle 3:
Principle 4:
Principle 5:
Principle 6:
www.celt.mmu.ac.uk/flex/
2. ZONE
OF
CHAOS &
ANARCHY
Close to
certainty
Far from
certainty
Close
to
agree
ment
Far
from
agree
ment
1ZONE OF
TECHNICAL
RATIONAL,
POLITICAL AND
JUDGEMENTAL
DECISION MAKING
3. ZONE OF
COMPLEXITYOR
THE EDGE OF
CHAOS.
Conceptual framework (Stacey et al, 2000)
Roche (2010) Academic
Developers are change agents
Debowski (2014) academic
developers as co-learners
Neame (2011) Academic
Developers work with people,
communities, networks
Gibbs (2013) Academic
Development to lead
innovation and influence
change
Browne Report (2010)
Teaching qualification for all
staff teaching in HE
UK Quality Code (2012)
and European Commission
(2013) Initial and ongoing
Development of Teachers
essential
Gibbs (2010, 2012); Parsons et
al. (2012) Impact of teaching
qualifications on practice
European Commission
(2013) Teacher Development
programmes to use open and
joined up approaches that
foster collaborative learning
Ryan & Tilbury (2013)
Flexible pedagogies to be
modelled in Academic
Development provision
FLEX seeks to accommodate this scenario and
provide Academic CPD for a complex university
staffing base. It might challenge us, as educational
developers, in that:
we can influence but not control;
we will need to be mature about our decisions
to provide what staff demands vs. what we
think they need;
we have to be prepared for unexpected
outcomes to emerge, particularly through the
benefits of connectivity between participants.
FLEX
Complexity Theory applies to many aspects of the
HE context, from the `micro’ behavioural level of
teacher-learner interactions to the `macro’ level
of national policy and system change. It contests
management theory which assumes it is possible
to control or predict the destiny of an organisation
through strategic planning, e.g. ‘no individual or
group can be in control of the whole system’ Stacey et
al (2000). He goes on to describe a ‘complex adaptive
system’ as one where ‘a large number of agents, each
of whom behaves according to its own principles of
local interaction . . . determines the behaviour of the
system as a whole’.
Stacey, R. D., Griffin, D. & Shaw, P. (2000) Complexity and Management: fad
or radical challenge to systems thinking? London: Routledge
“
“
Jackson (2002) draws on Stacey’s (2000) concept map
(Figure 1) which identifies three ‘domains’ in which
learning, teaching and curriculum in HE might be
situated. : 1) a zone in which behaviours and thinking
are dominated by rational thinking and traditional
management practices 2) a chaotic zone in which
practice disintegrates into anarchy and 3) a zone of
complexity on the edge of chaos. . . . a zone of high
creativity, innovation and transformative learning as
people and communities continually adapt and evolve
(see Tosey 2002 for a concise explanation).
Jackson (2002) charts the shift from zone 1 to zone 3 as
a progression from content to process and outcomes,
‘. . . in the zone of complexity. . . . innovation,
experimentation and creativity in curriculum design
are most likely to occur. Curricula . . . designed to
promote behaviours consistent with this world pay
particular attention to the processes of learning.
Curricula and learning outcomes are not fixed in
advance of learning. They emerge through processes
that are partly planned and partly unplanned in a way
that expects to exploit opportunities as they emerge.
Negotiation about the focus for learning and what is
valued in its assessment involves the whole learning
community ie teachers/ facilitators and learners.
Learning strategies emphasize both independent and
collaborative learning. Learners define the problems
and work themes and create the processes to address
them. Learning is concerned with creating good
processes to achieve good outcomes. There is strong
emphasis on knowledge development by individuals
and governance is primarily through contracts
agreements and action plans.
. . . an individual effectively creates their own
curriculum and assessment process to suit their unique
learning circumstances.’
Jackson N (2002) Using Complexity Theory to Make Sense of the Curriculum
LTSN Generic Centre
“
“
Poster designed by Ellie Livermore
ellie_livermore@hotmail.co.uk
cargocollective.com/ellielivermore
Abstract
recently implemented FLEX CPD project are presented.
Teaching and Learning Conversations
webinar series to share innovative practices