Presentation given to the OpenTEL Group at The Open University, Milton Keynes, on 9 May 2018 by Rebecca Ferguson

1. Rebecca Ferguson, OpenTEL project
Innovating Pedagogy

2. The innovations described in this
report are not technologies
looking for an application in
formal education. They are new
ways of teaching, learning and
assessment. If they are to
succeed, they need to
complement formal education,
rather than trying to replace it.

3. International partners

4. We proposed a long list of new
educational terms, theories, and
practices. We then pared these down to
ten that have the potential to provoke
major shifts in educational practice,
particularly in secondary and tertiary
education. Lastly, we drew on published
and unpublished writings to compile the
ten sketches of new pedagogies that
might transform education.
Innovating Pedagogy

5. Innovating Pedagogy

6. Flipped
classroom
For details and resources, see the 2014 report
1.

7. Flipped classroom
Image from Flipped Learning Network
If you are repeatedly
explaining basic
concepts that could be
better covered via online
instruction, it makes
sense to flip and apply a
more engaging style for
the face-to-face element.

8. Flipped classroom
flippedlearning.org
• Students study resources (such
as videos, books and software)
at home
• Classroom is used as a space
for dynamic, interactive learning
• Can reflect a shift towards
collaboration and groupwork
Teachers who flip are
enthusiastic – 96% say they
would recommend it, 71% report
an increase in grades,
85% report an increase in
student engagement and
classroom participation.

9. for flipped classroom
at The Open University
Notes on possibilities
Preparing for residential school
Preparing for field trips
Preparing for face-to-face tutorials
Preparing for online tutorials
Preparing for forum discussion

10. Threshold
concepts
For details and resources, see the 2014 report
2.

11. Threshold concepts
Concepts that learners struggle to
understand. They may be
• transformative: they shift a learner’s
perceptions of a subject
• irreversible: once learned, they are
hard to unlearn
• integrative: they expose the inter-
relatedness of some things
• bounded: they border with other
threshold concepts to define a
disciplinary area
• troublesome: they appear difficult
and unintuitive.
A good starting point
is for teachers to
explore which
curriculum topics
seem strange and
counter-intuitive
An example is inertia. An
object in motion will
continue in motion unless
an external force acts on it.
This goes against the
‘common sense’ notion that
it will stop when it runs out
of energy.

12. Tricky topics
tricky-topics-guide.ac.uk
Bring teachers
together
Brainstorm
activity
Mind Maps
Plenary for
‘identify’ stage
Stumbling
blocks
Capture
problems
Develop quiz
Construct
intervention
In-school
activities
Analyse
success

13. for threshold concepts
at The Open University
Notes on possibilities
Module team and AL discussion
Feedback from students
Workshops to identify concepts
Talk to Lesley Boyd
Read work by Anne Adams

14. Computational
thinking
For details and resources, see the 2015 report
3.

15. Computational thinking
Each area of the curriculum
is associated with a set of
skills that can be applied
throughout our life, giving us
new ways to understand the
world. In the case of
computing, as we learn its
principles and languages, we
also acquire a set of
problem-solving skills.
Together, these are known
as Computational Thinking.

16. Computational thinking
Decomposition Breaking a
large problem down into
smaller ones
Pattern recognition
Recognising how these smaller
problems relate to ones that
have been solved in the past
Abstraction Identifying and
setting aside unimportant
details
Algorithm design Identifying
and refining the steps
necessary to reach a solution
Debugging Refining those
steps
Presenting a solution
in a usable form
Researchers who have investigated
how children engage with the
programming environment Scratch
have identified skills and shifts in
perspective related to
computational thinking:
experimenting & iterating, testing &
debugging, reusing & remixing,
abstracting & modularising,
expressing, connecting and
questioning.
https://scratch.mit.edu/

17. for computational thinking
at The Open University
Notes on possibilities
Consider in all disciplines
Include these skills at all levels
Include in learning outcomes
Assess these skills
Professional development

18. Spaced
learning
For details and resources, see the 2017 report
4.

19. Spaced learning
It has long been known that
we learn facts better in
a series of short chunks with
gaps between them, rather
than in a long teaching
session such as a lecture.
Recent research in
neuroscience has uncovered
the detail of how we produce
long-term memories. This
has led to a teaching method
of spaced repetition
There was no significant
difference in exam scores
between students who had
done spaced learning in a
single day and those who
studied over four months.

20. Spaced learning
Session 1 (20 minutes)
Rapid presentation
Break (10 minutes)
Physical activity
Session 2 (20 minutes)
Recall key concepts
Break (10 minutes)
Physical activity
Session 3 (20 minutes)
Apply the knowledge
through problem exercises
A study of spaced learning
shows a significant increase
in learning compared to a
typical lesson. The method
has been tested successfully
in schools, but a larger-scale
trial is needed to show
whether it can be
implemented at scale.
Evaluation report
http://bit.ly/2CkMAWu

21. for spaced learning
at The Open University
Notes on possibilities
Add to study skill support
Trial at face-to-face tutorials
Psyhology students could
investigate this approach
Build into research student training

22. Epistemic
education
For details and resources, see the 2017 report
5.

23. Epistemic education
Epistemic Aims and Value Goals and
values that drive cognition and
action.These include wanting to know,
seeking the truth, and avoiding error.
Epistemic Ideals Criteria people use to
decide whether they have achieved their
epistemic aims. These can also be used
to evaluate other people’s epistemic
products, such as arguments and
websites.
Reliable Epistemic Processes
Strategies that enable the achievement
of epistemic aims. Even though truth is
hard to achieve, a reliable process is
more likely than other processes to get
to the truth.
Epistemic = Relating to knowledge or to the degree of its validation

24. Epistemic education
• Expose learners to the diversity
of knowledge
• Help them to develop epistemic
criteria
• Support development of
reliable strategies for making
sense of the world
• Encourage learners to reflect
on their assumptions
• Motivate learners to care about
truth and knowledge
Reading like a historian
sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons

25. for epistemic education
at The Open University
Notes on possibilities
Add to study skill support
Build into learning outcomes
Build into assessment
Include guidance on OpenLearn
Encourage multiple perspectives

26. Intergroup
empathy
For details and resources, see the 2017 report
6.

27. Intergroup empathy
Skills and knowledge that help
people develop a more positive
outlook towards other groups:
• Gaining accurate knowledge
• Correcting wrongly held beliefs
• Overcoming anxieties
• Reducing feelings that the other
group is a threat
• Re-humanising the other group
• Realising a common, unifying
human identity
• Developing an ability to judge the
merit of different perspectives and
narratives
Foster Empathy through
E-Learning (FEEL) is an
approach based on the
understanding that developing
empathy in group members is
key to improving relations
between groups of people

28. Intergroup empathy
Elements to consider:
• Mediation helps people to
overcome negative feeling
• Gamification helps to overcome
anxiety
• Role playing helps learners to look
at issues from a new angle
• Virtual reality can offer challenging
encounters in a safe environment
• Imagined contact is useful when
face-to-face contact is difficult
• Constructive issues help
participants to avoid potentially
explosive situations
theenemyishere.org

29. for intergroup empathy
at The Open University
Notes on possibilities
Implications for different modules
History
Politics
Psychology
Bridging gaps across regions
Bridging gaps within faculties

30. slideshare.net/R3beccaF
r3beccaf.wordpress.com/
twitter.com/R3beccaF
www.open.ac.uk/blogs/innovating/