Do you think you are the right kind of person for that course?

Slideshow Transcript

1. Slide 1: Do you think you are the right kind of person for that course? Simon Grant Joint SIG meeting, Strathclyde 2008-05-22
2. Slide 2: Predictions about yourself  How have you known (or failed to know) in advance that you were right for that course (or job)?  Discount \"did well at previous stage\"  Pair up with a neighbour, and share your views on how you might know  In 5 minutes, let's have three ways someone might know in advance about their own suitability 2
3. Slide 3: Go institutional  What are the problems with institutional assessment  how does it fail to capture the kinds of things we know from our own experience?  what could be done to make it better? 3
4. Slide 4: Self-assessment of suitability  How could this happen more reliably?  How can it fail to happen, or go wrong?  Form groups of 3 or 4  take up to 10 minutes  answer any part or aspect of the questions  write down agreed paragraph  allow each other to be creative 4
5. Slide 5: Different personalities  People have different personalities in several different contexts, e.g. at or with  family  work  club  Different expectations of dress, behaviour, speech  Become internalised – not conscious  Educational institutions may only engage one  Emotions, performance, values all tied in  “a coherent and characteristic way of seeing, thinking, feeling and behaving” - Rita Carter, Multiplicity, 2008 5
6. Slide 6: Transfer?  Being assessed in one context is not a reliable guide to performance in a different context  we know that  idea of different personalities helps thinking through  Even filling in application form may cue a personality  Do questions on the application form help you to tell about your personality in the course/job context?  What would help you  to recognise your personality in that context?  to present that? 6
7. Slide 7: Different jobs or courses  Different courses / jobs may require different qualities  may engage different personalities  Helen and I presented in Newcastle recently  Teacher was suspended after pupils discovered “raunchy internet video” in which she acted, prior to her teaching career  Different standards appropriate to different situations  Prevailing values differ between jobs and courses  Do you know what they are, official and unofficial?  Do you have personalities that can cope with them?  What happens when values conflict? 7
8. Slide 8: Coping with conflicting values  Good to be aware of one's own values  but these are not always consistent  often they vary with personality  may not be conscious, as personality becomes internalized  Good to be aware of the values at course or job  but these are not always consistent  official line v participants  different participants  what is important is what works for you and situation  Vital dimension to “being right for a course” beyond “abilities” 8
9. Slide 9: Ways forward  Enhanced PDP processes  Enhanced assessment processes  Enhanced selection and admission process  All supporting personality and values awareness  include education about the \"social portfolio\" and its consequences  consider also the positive power of the social network  help learners relate their personalities and their abilities, qualities & values to the choice of courses and jobs 9
10. Slide 10: Realistic contingencies  We do need to help people be realistic about their suitability with respect to a course or job  We have to check they are self-assessing effectively, and if not, take remedial action  Surely this kind of education should part of the role of HE and FE, if not earlier? 10
11. Slide 11: More issues  What about when \"they\" go poking around in your social networking profiles?  Your consent is vital before others access information about you, but is by itself far from perfect  standard package of information may be expected  using non-standard info may mean opting out of an opportunity  real freedom in a course or job market implies choice of profile with different selections of information in each, relevant to different personalities or identities  Freedom to present true information about just one of your personalities  if you can evidence the ability to live up to it in context 11
12. Slide 12: Finally  Thanks for your attention  Time for questions and discussion 12