School of Education Research Staff Profile

Lesley Mycroft

Developmental work and research activity

Lesley's research interests have focused around HE approaches to assessment. She has examined student peer strategies for evaluation of portfolios and has reported on this through Phase 1, 2 and Phase 3 Projects in TEACHING and LEARNING (ILE sponsored work). Most recently Lesley has completed a journal article for the peer-reviewed Enhancing Learning in Social Sciences (EliSS). This is an online publication. Full reference details are given below for this and other papers.

Lesley is currently collaborating with colleagues on aspects of teachers’ reflective practice. She is also researching teachers’ voice problems.

Key and recent publications and materials developed

• Mycroft, L (2009). The reflective learning of humanities students: is their learning enhanced by a blended approach? In Enhancing Learning in the Social Sciences (EliSS), Autumn 2009, Vol.2, Issue 2.
• Mycroft L and Jenkins C (2008-9)). Phase 3: Embedding critical evaluation and reflection at level 1: the use of peer learning and assessment in teacher education modules. University of Wolverhampton: Learning & Teaching Projects. Currently in draft.
• Mycroft L and Rogers-Harris C (2008). Connecting with our students – encouraging their reflective practice and advancing our own. Proceedings of the 5th conference of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, October 2008..
• Mycroft L and Rogers-Harris C (2007). Passive consumers or active participants? Learners and their assessment. Proceedings of the 32nd annual conference of the Association of Teacher Education in Europe, August 2007.
• Mycroft L and Rogers-Harris C (2007-8). Phase 2: Developing critical evaluation skills as part of level 4 studies in an ITE module. Unpublished studies. University of Wolverhampton: Learning & Teaching Projects.
• Mycroft L and Rogers-Harris C (2006-7). Phase 1: Students developing critical evaluation skills as part of peer- and self-assessment. Unpublished studies. University of Wolverhampton: Learning & Teaching Projects.
• 2006/7, CELT project phase 1 , Using peer and self assessment to develop critical evaluation skills.
• Mycroft L, Peer mediation, Primary Practice, No 38, Autumn 2004, pp 32-36.
• Mycroft L, M is for Mates, Action for Inclusion, Birmingham City Local Authority, Issue 5, October 2004, pp 31-33.
• Mycroft L, Peer mediation, Primary Practice, No 38, Autumn 2004, pp 32-36.
• Mycroft L, M is for Mates, Action for Inclusion, Birmingham City Local Authority, Issue 5, October 2004, pp 31-33.

Recent conference & other papers

• The Learner: Passive Consumer or Active Participant?, 32nd ATEE conference, University of Wolverhampton, Telford, UK, August 2007 (with Roger-Harris C).
• School of Education Research Conference: Peer Mediation action for inclusion in a primary school, April 2005.
• School of Education Staff Development day: HE approaches to assessment – student peer supported evaluation of portfolios, April 2006.

Current development and research projects

• Mycroft L, Lambert M, & Serf J. Editors (2010). Reflections on Research: Newly qualified teachers reflect on their final-year undergraduate projects and consider how their research has enhanced their own teaching and children’s learning. University of Wolverhampton. In press.

Conference report

ISSoTL (International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning), Edmonton Canada, October 2008

Presentation of a paper was the main purpose for going to Edmonton, but the conference theme of Celebrating Connections meant there was much to be gained from the whole programme. Delegates were gathered from across the globe, with representatives from many North American universities - from the US and of course from all areas of Canada – and as you will read below, other countries of Europe, Africa, Australasia.  Getting perspectives from across this broad geographical range was thought-provoking and it was also striking that meeting people from many different fields demonstrated the commonality of scholarship that exists particularly on such a theme. 

From the opening plenary given by Marcia Baxter Magolda from Miami University of Ohio it was evident that the ideas underlying our own paper (prepared by Clair Jenkins and myself) were going to be much discussed – how to support students, underlying pedagogies, student progression and independence.  It will be difficult to summarise meaningfully several days of events here, so perhaps giving some titles of papers and some key words and themes will help UOW colleagues notice any relevance for them.  I shall be happy to answer queries and give copies of any notes or handout material, so please ask.  Marcia’s title was – Learning Partnerships: Pedagogy to Promote Learning and Self-Authorship.  She spoke about helping students to move from authority-dependence to self-authorship and her paper was based on a longitudinal study of young adult learning and development now in its 23^rd year.  She is the author of several books which other bulletin readers might know, or if you are interested I can supply detail.  I had not seen her work before but hearing about it was a good way of setting the scene at this conference and introducing me to some terminology (like self-authorship) that was unfamiliar to me.

By the way this plenary followed the official opening where the welcoming speakers were led into the hall by a kilted piper – lots of evidence of the Scots ancestry of Canada in that and throughout the city.  The conference was hosted by the two local universities of Grant MacEwan and the University of Alberta (celebrating its centenary year).

On the second day the plenary session was given by Professor Susan Clegg of the Centre for Research into Higher Education who probed thoughts of knowledge produced through research and how those connect with practice, and called into question many received ideas.  A third plenary address was given by Professor Graham Smith formerly of the University of Auckland, a prominent Maori educationalist who has been active in the critical debate on ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ both in New Zealand and internationally.  His study of the advancement of indigenous communities raised many general points linked to their disadvantage and linguistic constraints.

On all days the conference programme presented a full timetable of concurrent sessions, mainly single papers like my own as presentation and dialogue.  It was most striking how delegates were ready to enter discussion, open-minded to the ideas and research being presented, and often eager to know more than time allowed.  I came away with a number of new connections in the network of scholarly investigation and practice.  Even across the range of disciplines – education, sociology, sciences, medicine, archaeology and others - we had more in common than the differences of these study areas. 

I attended presentations on SoTL – to transform teaching and encourage deeper student understanding and to develop group work, Participatory Action Research, Communities of Inquiry – that was just Day 1.  There were other presentations which looked at the use of Learning Journals and some which focused on Supported Transition (into HE – in a UK university) and the Engagement of First-Year Students (in the USA).  I gained a great deal for my own work from a fresh look at Bloom’s taxonomy and these Higher Order Thinking Skills related to in-class Written work, and a later session by someone from the University of Manchester on Enquiry Based Learning and e-Learning. 

The paper from Clair and myself on “Encouraging Reflective Practice” was linked in a session with a UK view of Supporting Students on Work Placement and a University of Carolina view of Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration on encouraging student annotation.  The next day someone from the University of Alberta spoke about Making Connections through Reflective Practice in a professional development programme and there was an interesting presentation (where the detail of the survey work revealed many links with my own) on Connecting Institutional Strategy and Scholarship. 

Many sessions demonstrated the important use of ICT with students, by students and to maintain connections with students.  Some presenters spoke specifically on this theme, for instance: Proactive Engagement with Students in an Online Environment and the VLE related work on work placement support.

There were far more ‘of interest’ sessions than it was possible to attend and even as I look through the conference guide again I spot presentations I wish I hadn’t missed!  There was a chance to view some in brief in the thirty plus posters on display during pre-banquet drinks on the last evening.  And of course, as I suggested earlier, the networking opportunities were excellent.  One concurrent short presentation unlinked to my own work here was nevertheless of value in the picture given of South African higher education and its influence on students’ experiences of community and social identity.  It also demonstrated cooperation across South Africa and the UK on the general theme of pedagogical practices across disciplinary and institutional boundaries.

An excellent opportunity being at this conference, which possibly has not been attended by UOW before.  I do recommend it to others.  The dates next year are 22-25 October and the theme is Solid Foundations, Emerging Knowledge, Shared Futures.  It was of course worth being in an interesting city and worth enduring the long flights and time changes to enjoy a pleasant environment and society.  2009 takes place in Indiana.

The weather? Fine and sunny but colder than here – and it was possible to imagine how the river might be frozen over in a few week’s time!

LM