This document provides an overview of a PhD student's research journey from 2013 to 2016. It summarizes their research exploring collaborative open learning in cross-institutional professional development courses for higher education teaching staff in the UK. The research included a phenomenographic study with interviews of 22 participants in two open online courses to understand experiences of collaborative open learning. The findings led to the development of an outcome space and proposed collaborative open learning framework. The document also outlines limitations, contributions to knowledge, and key events over the course of the research project.

1. the journey
continues...
Year 4:
towards more
independence
Imagesourcehttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Islabikes_Cnoc_14.jpg
Developing a flexible collaborative learning framework
for open cross-institutional Academic Development courses
at postgraduate level
Chrissi Nerantzi
PhD student, Edinburgh
Napier University
Academic Developer
Manchester Metropolitan
University
@chrissinerantzi

2. Research design, Version 2
wo
Case 1
FDOL132
(2013)
(n=19)
Case 2
#creativeHE
(2015)
(n=14)
Initial survey, 19 Qs (n=25)
final survey, 11 Qs (n=22)
Individual phenomenographic interviews (n=22)
categories
of description
outcome
space
possible framework
Phenomenography(Marton,1981)

3. Completed interviews and transcribed
Jan 2016
How many interviews > 22
Total interview hours > 14 hrs 23 mins
Transcribing time > 126 hrs / 5,25
days
Total length of interview transcripts > 100,999
words

4. All data added to Nvivo, initial nodes
(22 Jan 2016)

5. Creating themes and categories, case 1
ONLY at the moment (31 Jan 2016)
Thinking of moving:
motivations into engagement
course enhancement ideas into course design
I would then have 4 broad themes

6. Re-arranging everything: Creating categories, case 1
ONLY at the moment (6 Feb 2016) >>>26

7. NMC Horizon Report HE 2016
http://www.nmc.org/nmc-horizon/
• Focus on unbundling formal learning
• Identifying opportunities for using
informal learning for formal qualifications.
• Universities should act and seek to
develop new models
• Hands-on learning
• Staff development needed using
collaborative and inquiry-based
approaches to live open learning

9. #creativeHE was shortlisted and highly
commended March 2016
http://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-2016/awards/credo-digital-award

11. Pool of meanings 12 March 2016

13. Funded place to share my PhD research at the Open
Education Global Conference in Krakow, April 16
http://conference.oeconsortium.org/2016/

16. Towards OEC (1 May 2016)
Open
Educational
Resources
Open
Educational
Practices
Open
Educational
Communities

17. Cross-disciplinary “trading zones”
“… one finds scholars of teaching and learning seeking
advice, collaborations, references, methods, and
colleagues to fill in whatever their own disciplinary
communities cannot or will not provide… […] where
scholars are busy simplifying, translating, telling, and
persuading ‘foreigners’ to hear their stories and try their
wares.” (Huber & Morreale, p. 19).
”the increasing cross-disciplinary conversations around
SoTL have broadened its trading zone” (Huber &
Morreale, p. 2).

18. “The metaphor of the web suggests a definition
of culture as less formalised, less clear-cut, more
enigmatic and much more closely, integral to the
experience of being in the world, since human
beings are enmeshed. Intercultural learning
implies, therefore, that results from moving
between webs of significance familiar to oneself
and those familiar to others.” (Somekh &
Pearson, 2002, 487)

19. Cross-cultural diversity
“There is evidence that cross-cultural diversity may
increase participation in online collaborative
learning as Mittelmeier, Rienties, and Whitelock
(2016) small-scale study shows.
“One consideration may be whether participation in
online collaborative activities could become more
equal with increased opportunity to develop
positive social relationships with diverse peers.”
Mittelmeier, Rienties, and Whitelock (2016, 5)

20. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news
/english-universities-team-councils-boost-
regions

21. TEF: The White Paper (May
16)
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523546
/bis-16-265-success-as-a-knowledge-economy-web.pdf
(p. 6)
(p. 7)
(p. 7)

22. p. 8

23. May 2016
• Degrees via
futurelearn
platform
https://about.futurelearn.com/press-releases/universities-to-award-degree-credit-
through-futurelearn/

24. Not sure what is new about this?
26 May 2016
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/futurelearn-launches-first-moocs-offering-
academic-credits

25. #brexit 23 June 16
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-
36619686
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-
switch/wp/2016/06/24/the-british-are-
frantically-googling-what-the-eu-is-hours-
after-voting-to-leave-it/

26. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2016/jun/23/eu-referendum-live-
results-and-analysis
http://www.elect
oralcommission.
org.uk/find-
information-by-
subject/elections
-and-
referendums/upc
oming-elections-
and-
referendums/eu-
referendum/elec
torate-and-
count-
information

27. https://www.eureferendum.gov.uk/

28. Shocking!
http://blogs.ft.com/ftdata/2016/06/24/brexit-demographic-divide-eu-referendum-
results/

29. Prof. Martin Weller’s reaction
http://blog.edtechie.net/uncategorized/yours-in-despair/

30. Prof. Ronald
Barnett’s
response
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/eu-
referendum-will-uk-he-become-less-global-more-parochial

31. Initial survey, 19
Qs (n=25)
Final survey, 11
Qs (n=22)
Individual phenomenographic interviews (n=22)
(main data collection method)
Pool 1
Course
4 categories
of description
Pool 3
Collaboration
3 categories of
description
Pool 2
Cross-
Boundaries
4 categories
of description
Outcome space
Collaborative open learning framework for cross-institutional academic development
Phenomenography(Marton,1981)
Literature
Case 1
FDOL132 (2013) (n=19)
Case 2
#creativeHE (2015) (n=14)
+
Surveys findings
Two surveys,
(supplementary
data collection
method)

32. European
Commission (Aug
2016)
Support framework
for opening up Higher
Education

33. New publications not used in thesis

34. Open flip (Weller, 2016)
• Use of OER, open textbooks to flip the
classroom
• Add link

35. Milligan and Littlejohn paper (2016)
MOOC context
Motivation more important than design.
Acknowledge that non-self-directed learners
need support
Collaborative learning not mentioned as a
possible strategy
Add link

36. Sustainability and OEP
• Teresa… add summary and link to paper here

37. • “Learning occurs in the mind, independent of
time and place” Plato 428-348 BC The Greek
Anthology (1906) 111, 197
• “…knowledge is constructed by learners through
and with others.” (Salmon, 2013:5)
Salmon, G. (2013) E-tivities: the key to active online
learning, Second edition. New York: Routledge.

38. Started 14 January 2013
Drafts of all chapters ready
28 May 2016
Started reviewing all chapters 28 May 2016
Full draft (567 pages, 138,115 words) ready 13 July
2016 and submitted to supervisory team
Feedback on full draft 9 September 2016
Darft V 2 to be submitted January 2017

39. For Sandra
• RQ1: How are open cross-institutional academic
development courses experienced that have been
designed to provide opportunities for collaborative
learning?
• RQ2: Which characteristics of open cross-institutional
academic development courses influence learners'
experience and how?
• RQ3: Drawing upon research findings from RQ1 and
RQ2, what could be the key features of a proposed
collaborative open learning framework for open cross-
institutional academic development courses?

40. In this PhD I explored…
• Collaborative open learning in cross-institutional
professional development courses for those who
teach in HE in the UK.
• Collaborative open learning is defined for this
study as learning that happens in openly-licensed
courses online and offline, where collaboration is
a choice and designed-into the course.
• The collaborations among institutions are of
informal nature.

41. This is important because…
• To break free from conservatism in academic development,
to model innovations in learning and teaching and to
enable staff to experience these first hand
• Seize opportunities presented by the importance placed in
academic development as teaching moved centre stage,
technological advancements (digital, social media), the
open education movement.
• Respond to the call from the sector for more collaborative,
connected and open provision across institutions in the UK
and further afield.
• To transform practices, practitioners, how academic
development is practised currently and put forward a case
for new practices.

42. I reviewed the literature around…
• Collaborative learning
• Open education
• Technology for learning and frameworks
• Academic development

43. I did this by…
• Conducting a phenomenographic study to gain insights into
how collaborative open learning was experienced and the
qualitatively different ways in which it was experienced.
• Collecting evidence via individual remote interviews with
22 participants on 2 open courses, FDOL and #creativeHE.
• The findings led to 11 categories of descriptions grouped in
3 pools: collaboration, course, cross-boundaries.
• The final output was the outcome space which shows the
inter-relationships of the categories of descriptions.

44. The main limitations were…
• Researcher’s involvement, bracketing strategy to
increase trustworthiness > reflective diary
• Majority of participants were informal learners >
purposeful sampling to extend within the cases to
have a better balance
• Surveys, better alignment of both would help
comparison
• Researcher’s first time involved in such a scale of
phenomenographic study, first ever outcome
space

45. My contribution to knowledge…
In the area of open academic development
Contribution to theory
• New insights into collaborative open learning
patterns and learning within a community
• Deeper understanding of cross-boundary learning
Contribution to practice
• Development of a collaborative open learning
framework

46. SEP 16: ALT shortlisted finalist and runner up
winner of the ALT Learning Technologist of the
Year Award 2016

47. Supervisory meeting at
Edinburgh Napier
10 Sep 2016
Need to be more precise and
critical Should take more time
writing and reflecting
I wish I had more time
I wish I didn’t mind about the
money I pay each year
I wish I could spent more time
with my family
I need to finish this!
I can’t afford to do this for 8
years!!! Life is running away
from me.
Discussed first draft
Received feedback

48. TEF 2 (September 2016)
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/syst
em/uploads/attachment_data/file/556355/TEF
_Year_2_specification.pdf

49. MOOC developments (Sep 16)
A case for MOOCs
MOOCs as ongoing
development
opportunities. MOOCs
for professional learning
More self-paced MOOCs
now observed even less
interaction
http://venturebeat.com/2016/09/05/moocs-no-longer-massive-still-attract-millions/

50. MMU, Manchester and Salford
Collaboration
https://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news-items/4560/

51. West Midlands Unis come together
https://www.wlv.ac.uk/about-us/news-and-events/latest-news/2016/may-2016/west-
midlands-unis-to-join-forces-in-devolution-inspired-collaboration.php

52. From MOOC to MOIC (Oct 2016)
http://news.stanford.edu/2016/10/13/stanford-professor-embarks-international-
teaching-odyssey/

53. http://www.hepi.ac.uk/2
016/10/13/former-
minister-calls-changes-
higher-education-
research-bill-public-
interest/
(Oct 2016)

55. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-
37694248?post_id=10152776563587703_10153911530432703%3FSThisFB
(Oct 2016)

56. US elections 9 Nov 16
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/us2016/results

57. SEDA conference, Nov 16, presenting
the framework
David Baume
https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2016/11/reflection
s-for-alt-on-the-seda-21st-annual-conference-
november-2016/

58. Nov 16
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-
37975359?ocid=socialflow_twitter&ns_mchan
nel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source
=twitter

60. 30 Nov 16
• Social
interdependence
mentioned for
collab learning
• Learning with the
crowd
• Design
frameworks
• Social media
http://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innova
ting_pedagogy_2016.pdf

61. Dec 16

62. Dec 2016
• MOOCs for
credits via
Futurelearn
https://ankamulder.weblog.tudelft.nl/2016/12/09/moocs-for-credit-goes-live/

63. to start in 2017
http://unesco.org.nz/news-and-events/385-
launch-of-oeru-1st-year-of-study-approved
http://oeru.org/FirstYear

64. Dec 2016
https://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/425ec00f-77d9-49cd-9062-25e6fd2fe7da-
original.jpeg

65. Jan 2017
https://www.theguardian.com/higher-
education-network/2017/jan/12/brexit-
doesnt-have-to-be-a-disaster-for-universities
Student figures are going
down
But there seems to be
optimism
As exchange rate has fallen
And it will be cheaper to
study in the UK

66. http://www.unialliance.ac.uk/
13 Jan 2017, Teaching Excellence Alliance emerging who want to role out a national ac dev
programme, starting with a pilot