Elastic Practice in academic developers

Abstract

The academic developer's role is the focus of a growing body of literature. This paper builds the literature by arguing the importance to our current practice of making our theoretical underpinnings explicit. We excise and describe fragments of practice from the work of individual academic developers in order to discuss and consider the relationship between particular theories of academic development and particular approaches that these theories support. The three fragments of academic development practice we detail are related to reflective practice, collegiality and the scholarship of teaching. We also provide a fourth, more fulsome description of an approach to illustrate a highly responsive model of academic development: "Elastic Practice". Elastic Practice describes the process of tailoring a specific approach or instance of academic development from the full professional 'toolkit' (techniques, experiences, ideas, values, theories) that academic developers collect during their evolution as practitioners. The idea of Elastic Practice is that multiple theoretical bases are melded or successively employed to support an adaptive, responsive approach to practice. We suggest Elastic Practice is particularly appropriate for the complex, at times contested, environment within which academic developers work. Elastic Practice in Academic DevelopersAnna L Carew * University of Tasmania, Australia Geraldine Lefoe University of Wollongong, Australia Maureen Bell University of Wollongong, Australia Lenore Armour University of Wollongong, AustraliaThe academic developer's role is the focus of a growing body of literature. This paper builds the literature by arguing the importance to our current practice of making our theoretical underpinnings explicit. We excise and describe fragments of practice from the work of individual academic developers in order to discuss and consider the relationship between particular theories of academic development and particular approaches that these theories support. The three fragments of academic development practice we detail are related to reflective practice, collegiality and the scholarship of teaching. We also provide a fourth, more fulsome description of an approach to illustrate a highly responsive model of academic development: "Elastic Practice". Elastic Practice describes the process of tailoring a specific approach or instance of academic development from the full professional 'toolkit' (techniques, experiences, ideas, values, theories) that academic developers collect during their evolution as practitioners. The idea of Elastic Practice is that multiple theoretical bases are melded or successively employed to support an adaptive, responsive approach to practice. We suggest Elastic Practice is particularly appropriate for the complex, at times contested, environment within which academic developers work.

Identifying threshold concepts in the careers of educational developers

“…Interviews with participants highlighted the importance of 'understanding and adapting to context' in the service of facilitating change in individuals and in systems. Much of the literature in educational development evokes the importance and complexity of understanding, working in, and negotiating the multiple contexts in which educational development occurs (e.g., Carew, Lefoe, Bell, & Armour, 2008;Sorcinelli et al, 2006;Taylor, 2005;Taylor & Rege Colet, 2010).…”

Academic development as educational inquiry? Insights from established practices

“…Paradoxically, serving institutional and personal needs both validates and weakens their status as promoters of change. Since 'elastic practice' is needed to suit diverse demands and rationales (Carey et al, 2008), views of what counts as valid pedagogical knowledge and practice become too fragmented or even blurred. How this may affect the quality of professional development and student learning is something we need to ask ourselves.…”

“…be done and who should do it', which means that 'the field does not have widely shared values or epistemological foundations' (p. 669) (see also Carey, Lefoe, Bell, & Armour, 2008;Eggins & Macdonald, 2003;Land, 2004;Ling & CADAD, 2009).…”

Building International Faculty-Development Collaborations: The Evolving Role of American Teaching Centers

“…They are applying best practices established for outreach and service learning to their international work, with the guiding principle of ensuring mutual respect and benefit for all partners. They are moving from isolationist and colonial practices toward more collaborative, elastic, and responsive models of post-colonial engagement (Carew, Lefoe, Bell, & Armour, 2008;Chism, Gosling, & Sorcinelli, 2010;Lee, DeZure, Debowski, Ho, & Li, 2011;Manathunga, 2006). …”