Tom Burns

Senior Lecturer/Academic Developer, Centre for Professional and Educational Development, London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

Interviewed November 2020 by Sandra Abegglen

SA Tom, let’s start with you introducing yourself and telling us about what you do.

TB I’m a senior lecturer at the London Metropolitan University. I work within Centre for Professional and Educational Development, which is a professional development team that runs the master and the Post Graduate Certificate of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PGCert). On that, I am a module leader for FSL— that’s Facilitating Student Learning—and a co-tutor on CED, which is Curriculum Evaluation and Development. My background is one of a non-traditional student. I left school at fifteen, went into the building trade, had a great time and did some community theatre at the same time. Then at twenty-six, College called, and I went back, and I haven’t left since.

My background developed into an interest in literature and texts, and deconstructing texts, which then opened up the way for me to get involved in learning development, and then academic development. I find the theory and tools that I’ve learned within literary criticism and film theory that I taught at the University of Essex, are applicable to academic discourse and academic practices. Within these, I’m thinking of good ways of transmitting information to and engaging non-traditional students in academic discourse, academic practice and how to be themselves within these environments.

Coming from my background in literature, I felt that it helped me to figure out really quick short, sharp mechanisms to enable students to understand exactly what academic study involved and what the essay was, for example, and to have their say exactly as they meant it. That practice was developed, and we created an Essential Study Skills Guide for students. But since then, I have found the whole field of learning development to be much more nuanced. The students have changed—the student never stays the same. But also, what was taken for granted in my day, which was the welcoming and supporting of non-traditional students, became diminished with a widening of participation. So I’ve actually found that there has to be a much more holistic approach to learning development and study skills when dealing directly with students, and now developing that with staff on FSL and CED.

SA With COVID, everything had to move quite quickly to the online world. How did you experience that move and what were the challenges when moving online?

TB Well, I had already been engaged in online learning and approaches, so initially it wasn’t a shock. As time wore on and I became further involved in that realization that it was all online, it did become quite a shock. And now, I’m supporting staff with their online course design and teaching. The staff are reporting back to me, giving me feedback, that students had moved seamlessly online, and it was working well. Attendance and engagement levels are even increasing. It seems really positive.

But since then, time has been spent dealing with staff and their particular issues. My work is dealing with support staff, learning developers, academic liaison librarians (who do work directly with students, but who provide a slightly different approach), and directly with subject staff. This is the wonderful thing about my work with these two bodies coming together in that same space. Subject staff could reveal to the support staff some of the issues that were arriving—and that their students were feeling—and vice versa. In a way, what this means is that we are re-examining practice, and re-examining what we actually mean by engagement online—and also re-examining the different ways that we as staff can support each other.

I always found it “clumsy” that attendance was thought of as a proxy for engagement. Locked down students might—or might not—be attending for a whole range of reasons. These are all things for further research and collaborative conversations with support staff, subject staff and wider support staff for technology and student services. But yes, it has been a shock.

Initially I felt okay with teaching online and thought I understood what it was, but when it actually happened, and you had to walk the walk, I examined my practice and what would’ve been taken for granted. It’s made me reflect on exactly what the mechanisms are and what makes my face-to-face teaching successful and then to consider how to reproduce that online. The positive was noticing that it’s not about reproducing what you do face-to-face; rather, it is starting from the beginning. What is social engagement? What does an induction look like? What does an icebreaker look like online? Now that I’m in a virtual world, what capacities are available there that I can harness?

SA Is there a favourite software, tool, resource or theory you like to draw upon when preparing for your teaching?

TB I suppose really, the dialogic is the theory. The tool that I found most useful for that is actually Blackboard Collaborate, and video chats within Microsoft Teams, where you can have joint meetings, and one-to-one meetings and employ the chat box. I know not to bombard people with e-mails, but what I find really useful is to e-mail students or participants, and say, “I’m going to call you.” Or, “Can I call you at this time?” I call, then support that with a document, an article to read or a piece of work to give feedback on, so you’re making that contact and supporting and scaffolding it. Being face-to-face on video has been really nice. In some ways, it can be more personal than actually being in the classroom. You’re both in your own non-neutral spaces, where the classroom or the office is always someone’s office. I find that to really be revelatory, actually, a very effective way of communication.

SA Where do you think we’re going with higher education in terms of teaching, especially now that it is mainly online?

TB I envision that it is going back to what it was before. I know from my own work—and don’t tell the bosses this—but I’ve been able to be so much more productive working from home. I’ve actually found it can be a lot more meaningful because you’re picking and choosing to have those conversations with people. I actually find that they can be a lot more engaging because they can be less intimidating than being face-to-face. I see many positives of being online.

On the other hand, students should experience university. I went to a campus university for my undergraduate degree, and it was just wonderful to be with thousands of people who were all immersed with doing their degrees. The clubs, the societies that were active and that you couldn’t avoid being involved with because someone would drag you there. You would come out of your lectures and there would be a quartet playing classical music at the bottom of the stairs. I’d never experienced such a thing and I wouldn’t have experienced that if it weren’t for being at a campus university.

The drama, the theatre and the politics. Yes, my university produced many politicians and dramaturges. I suppose these are important asides for a non-traditional student like myself. It is not simply traditional performance, assessment and outcomes driven. The universities can offer much more than that. With this move toward education being more outcomes and evaluation driven, rather than process driven, moving online will amplify this. Online just doesn’t have the serendipity.

The best resources there for us as staff are our students, and the engagement and feedback they give us. I think that will be our strength as we move forward. In any circumstances, these times highlight the important issues—the importance of human contact and the humane aspects of university. And save your sanity as well. You must remember; stay sane!

Reflection

Let’s Dance

We come to bear witness to the post-apocalypse
one year on
everything changed
and stayed the same.
The best of times.

The worst of times.
You stayed strong and clapped the NHS.
You gave an inch … They took a mile.

Beans to be counted
not counted on.
We remember the tune—but not the chord:
“All in this together!”
Subsumed by the metrics, the metadata.
We are on thin ice again.
Let’s dance again.

Like the songs on the underground in the Blitz,
chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
jumpers for goalposts.
Washed away. Again.
You are all in this together,
beans to be counted
not counted on.

No more heroes anymore.
No free school milk
no homes for heroes
no more heroes
no survivors.

Let’s stick together
Again.
At a distance, online, agile, flexible
Again.

About

Tom Burns is a senior lecturer/academic developer at the Centre for Professional and Educational Development at London Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. He is developing innovations with a special focus on praxis that ignite student curiosity and develop power and voice. Tom is also a co-author of Teaching, Learning and Study Skills: A Guide for Tutors, and Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University (4th Edition). He has taken a production of Bouncers on a tour of Crete music venues, written and made a feature film (Eight Days from Yesterday), and has produced teaching and learning courses and materials in a range of settings—his Take Control video won the IVCA gold award for education.