Researching Learning in Higher Education by Glynis Cousin

Not necessarily the most thrilling of topics, made fascinating by an author with an engaging style and a depth of personal experience. I read this as background for my PhD research, but have found it to be useful in many unexpected ways. Cousin adopts a pragmatic and relaxed attitude to structure and methodological discipline, much more so than many lesser researchers. Her advice could be summed up as: be creative, think about what you are trying to achieve, tailor methods to match your aims and your context, and most importantly be honest and ethically minded. There's a chapter on ethics, as well as detailled chapters on each methodology - with enough detail to act as a guide book for anyone undertaking research using the methods.

The section on appreciative inquiry (AI) is especially good - I hadn't come across this before, but am instantly attracted to its positive, creative, inclusive and open minded ethos. Cousin qoutes Sloterdijk, a link that I am keen to pursue (and its connection to Latour and the philosophy of design). AI would seem to fit nicely with Design Thinking, combining a variety of modes of activity (discovery, dreaming, designing, destiny) iteratively and reflectively - rather like Design Thinking's 3 spaces (inspiration, ideation and implementation). The aim being appreciate and amplify good practice. AI also emphasises inclusiveness and participation in the design process. I think I am already doing AI as the core method for my PhD research (mixed pragmatically with lots of other approaches).

There's also a really good section on Meyer and Land's "threshold concept" approach, with detailed examples and suggested instructions for how to go about a study (as with the other methods covered).

The chapter on visual methods is also quite inspirational, although it may soon need updating as new technologies become available - Cousin talks about "videotaping"! Old tech already.

Perhaps the most significant effect that this book will have is in highlighting HE research to be full of imagination and creative thinking.

Read this if you teach or support HE teaching, whether you are undertaking a research project or just want to improve your own or your institution's effectiveness.

Robert O'Toole : 09 Oct 2010 19:44 |  Tags: Book Inspiration Research Methods Review |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Kolb and Kimbell on the difference between creative/design thinking and decision thinking

Follow-up to Experiential learning and design thinking from Inspires Learning - Robert O'Toole

Kolb identifies a common distinction between creative practice and managerial (decision making) practice:

"...creativity research has tended to focus on divergent (concrete and reflective) factors in adaption such as tolerance for ambiguity, metaphorical thinking, and flexibility, whereas research on decision making has emphasized more convergent (abstract and active) adaptive factors such as rational evaluation of solution alternatives." (Kolb, 1984: 32)

In her excellent review of literature on design thinking, Lucy Kimbell finds the same distinction:

"Boland & Collopy (2004) draw on their experience of working with architect Frank Gehry during the design of a new building for their business school. Drawing on Simon (1969), they distinguish between what they call a “design attitude” and a “decision attitude”, finding the latter the basis of management practice and education in which the challenge facing managers is choosing between alternative options. They believe that “the design attitude toward problem solving, in contrast, assumes that it is difficult to design a good alternative, but once you have developed a truly great one, the decision about which alternative to select becomes trivial” (Boland and Collopy 2004: 4). For Boland and Collopy, the decision attitude and analytical techniques used by managers are useful for situations in which problems are stable, whereas a design attitude is necessary when feasible alternative necessary: managers are designers as well as decision-makers." (Kimbell, 2009: 5)

Again the notion of different attitudes appropriate at different times.

Collopy, F. Thinking about "design thinking", online at http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/fred-collopy/manage-designing/thinking-about-design-thinking
Kimbell, L. Design-as-practice and designs-in-practice, online at http://www.lucykimbell.com/LucyKimbell/Writing.html
Kolb, D. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, Prentice Hall, 1984.
Simon, H. A. The sciences of the artificial (3rd ed.), MIT Press, 1996.

Robert O'Toole : 02 Jul 2010 12:20 |  Tags: Ideation |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Experiential learning and design thinking

From David Kolb's Experiential Learning:

"All the models above [Lewin, Dewey, Piaget, Freire etc] suggest the idea that learning is by its very nature a tension and conflict-filled process. New knowledge, skills, or attitudes are achieved through confrontation among four modes of experiential learning. Learners, if they are to be effective, need four different kinds of abilities - concrete experience abilities (CE), reflective observation abilities (RO), abstract conceptualization abilities (AC), and active experimentation (AE) abilities. That is, they must be able to involve themselves fully, openly, and without bias in new experiences (CE). They must be able to observe their experiences from many perspectives (RO). They must be able to create concepts that integrate their observations into logically sound theories (AC), and they must be able to use these theories to make decisions and solve problems (AE). Yet this ideal is difficult to achieve. How can one act and reflect at the same time? How can one be concrete and immediate and still be theoretical? Learning requires abilities that are polar opposites, and the learner, as a result, must continually choose which set of learning abilities he or she will bring to bear in any specific situation." (Kolb, 1984: 30)

Just as successful design requires the application of potentially conflicting attitudes. Tim Brown describes how they can be represented (metaphorically, and physically) as separate spaces, and how this makes it easier for the design team to move between the different attitudes as required.

Kolb, D Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, Prentice Hall, 1984.

Robert O'Toole : 02 Jul 2010 11:30 |  Tags: Ideation |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem