Over the last three years, the University of
Bedfordshire has been part of a group of Higher Education institutions
involved in research and development projects evaluating the use of The
Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) to assess students’
learning power in a Higher Education setting.
Learning power refers to
the qualities and dispositions that enable students to learn and go on
learning through-out their lives. There are seven dimensions to learning
power: meaning making; learning relationships; strategic awareness;
critical curiosity; changing and learning; creativity; and resilience. After completing an online questionnaire known as ELLI, students can view their
personal
profile.
Using the language of ELLI, students are able to articulate
normally
abstract and theoretical concepts with their peers and tutors. They can
then develop
interventions and action plans using their stronger dimensions to
enhance their weaker ones.
Dimension |
Opposite pole |
| Changing and learning | Being static and stuck |
| Critical curiosity | Passivity |
| Meaning making | Data accumulation |
| Creativity | Being rule bound |
| Positive learning relationships | Isolation and dependence |
| Strategic awareness | Being robotic |
| Resilience | Fragility |
ELLI has been found to be particularly useful in creating a shared
language of learning, making learning processes explicit. After a pilot
project, ELLI was felt to have potential to help foster independent,
self-regulatory learners.
Currently the University is a partner in an externally funded project, comparing ELLI profiles of students with their grades and retention data in order to find out if there are any significant patterns, which in turn will help inform University strategies. The project is called Dispositions to stay: the support and evaluation of retention strategies using the ELLI.
The Project aims are to:
This Project is funded by the Higher Education Council for England
(HEFCE) and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF). It is one of seven
projects which form the Higher Education Academy’s: What Works? Student
Retention and Student Success Programme. The Project is led by
Northumbria University with the University of Bedfordshire and the
University of Manchester taking the role as project partners and will be
finished at the end of 2011.
Mark Atlay and Annika Coughlin from Bridges attended several ELLI events:
‘Dispositions to Stay’ spring staff and student
event, 22 - 23 April 2010
At the event, group of six students and four staff members from
the University of Bedfordshire meet students from Manchester and Northumbria
Universities. Staff and students
participated in activities and discussions to evaluate the tool in an HE
setting. It is a tool which is about lifelong learning, yet currently no
real
guidance exists on how to go about understanding the seven dimensions,
and
applying this knowledge as well as developing interventions on how to
strengthen the dimensions in a HE context. Jamie
Thompson, the Project’s Co-ordinator, started off the event explaining that
coming
to this event shows that we want to make a difference to our
understanding of
students’ learning in HE. At
the end of the event students commented on how they felt valued having
been
invited to attend this event and have their voices listened to.
"I found the conference to be very valuable as it gave us, as students, a
great opportunity to express our feelings on ELLI and how it is being
used.
Being able to talk to other students and lecturers from different
universities
and give my opinions was enjoyable, and I feel at the end of the two
days we
came up with some great strategies to help develop ELLI and make it a
useful
tool."
Katie Ball, Sports Journalism student from the University of Bedfordshire
ELLI residential event, 12 - 13 March 2009
Mark Atlay and Annika Coughlin organised and hosted the Project members’ first workshop event at The Node in Codicote Hertfordshire. Twenty ELLI practitioners from across five institutions attended the event. The attendees came from a variety of different disciplines – Sports, Sociology, Computing, Widening Participation Units, Education and Journalism for example – to share their experiences of using ELLI and to brainstorm interventions. The event was very lively with participants appreciating having the time and space to talk with others about ELLI. Activities included role playing where participants took it in turns to play the student and tutor in discussing ELLI profiles and a shortlist was produced of things to say to students and perhaps more importantly things not to say. The possibilities of building an online community as well as producing a book or resource pack for Higher Education ELLI practitioners were also discussed.
Read more about the Project on the Teaching and Learning site.
