Q&A with International Visitors Edd and Chris
16 November 2017
We’ve had a number of international visitors to the CRADLE office recently. Dr Edd Pitt, from the University of Kent’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education, arrived for a month’s stay in early October, while A/Prof. Christopher Charles Deneen, from Singapore’s National Institute of Education Nayang Technological University, visited us for a week in late October. Before flying out, Edd and Chris shared their thoughts on fruitful discussions, future research directions, and the best coffee in Melbourne.
Q. What did you hope to achieve from your visit to CRADLE?
Edd Pitt: When Dave [CRADLE Director David Boud] and Phill [CRADLE Associate Director Phillip Dawson] invited me to visit CRADLE I was really excited and honoured to be able to spend time with so many like-minded researchers. CRADLE is well-known in the UK assessment and feedback field, so I was keen to explore how my research would align with the folks in Australia. I was hopeful that during my visit I would be able to bounce some ideas around and see where the conversations would take me. I was hoping for some collaborative projects to emerge and also learn about how other researchers in my field go about doing what they do.
Chris Deneen: I came to CRADLE with a very open agenda; I wanted to explore possibilities for future collaboration. The experience was a great success. From our early, open discussions, we zeroed in on some likely areas for collaboration. Technology-enhanced feedback and innovative professional development approaches look like two interesting and sustainable areas we can work on in the future.
Q. What did you most enjoy about your time at CRADLE?
EP: I really enjoyed spending time and conversing with like-minded colleagues. I also enjoyed having the opportunity to spend a solid month on research without interruptions from the normal day job. I am a full-time lecturer in the UK so only 30% of my time is for research. This was a great opportunity to really immerse myself in research discussions and actually get some writing done with colleagues here at CRADLE.
CD: There were a lot of great experiences packed into a few days; the best parts of my visit all centred on dialogues. I can only narrow it down to three. First, sitting for an hour with Phill and Dave to discuss big picture issues like where teaching ends and learning begins. Second, interacting with CRADLE’s two international visitors, Edd Pitt and Rachelle Esterhazy. Our informal discussions and their dual presentations were deep, thought-provoking and rewarding. Finally, talking with Jo Tai [CRADLE Research Fellow Joanna Tai] about grant writing. Applying for grants isn’t the fun part of the job, but the process is complex and necessary. I feel like I got a very balanced experience ranging from the big picture of research topics to the brass tacks of getting those topics funded.
CRADLE visitors Chris Deneen, Edd Pitt and Rachelle Esterhazy. Photo: Sarah Lambert
Q. Have you come across any ideas or had any discussions which have challenged your thinking?
EP: Absolutely! There are some really great minds in the CRADLE team. I think the approach the team take is to analyse and problematise assessment and feedback from every angle and this has really opened my eyes to things I perhaps had not thought of. This is especially the case for the research literature in medical education, which appears to be rather detached from higher education research – even though we are researching the same areas.
CD: Definitely! Dave, Phill and I explored how dynamics of assessment and accountability may affect the balance point between lecturers’ and students’ accountabilities for learning and achievement.
I tend to place a strong emphasis on student self-regulation; Dave and Phill challenged some of my thinking on this, especially in the context of non-traditional students and how universities may best serve their needs.
Q. How will your visit to CRADLE impact your future research directions?
EP: My future research directions are going to be heavily based upon the discussions and the collaborations I have already begun with many of the team during my time at CRADLE. There are some very exciting ideas and areas we are going to explore and write about over the immediate short term, which I hope will cement the UK and Australia collaboration.
CD: I can see all sorts of possibilities. A great part of my visit was coming away with some clear agenda items. One of those items is setting more of my research in the Australian context.
Q. What is one thing you will take away with you from your visit?
EP: The fact that, in order to really interrogate and move a research area forward, a team of collective minds is essential.
The CRADLE set-up has shown me that the daily chats and culture of collegial collaborative work is the reason why the CRADLE team have been so effective a transforming people’s thinking about assessment and feedback across the world.
CD: My visit to CRADLE has shifted my thinking on how to approach technology-enhanced feedback within the Australian tertiary context. Australia is emphasising digital learning futures; insight into what that looks like and how it applies to feedback was an invaluable take-away from my visit.
Q. Best coffee spot and best dining spot you discovered in Melbourne?
EP: I really enjoyed a trip to Victoria Market where I visited a small coffee shop called Merlo. I tried their three-cup coffee tasting experience, watched beans being taken from green to roasted to ground within the shop and got to sample some excellent Aussie pastries. We visited a restaurant called Meat Maiden too, so if you love slow-cooked meat that’s the place to try.
CD: You’re saving the toughest question for near the end! I found a great little place near my hotel – 1932 Café. Great coffee and a nice avocado on toast breakfast, too. Supernormal was a great spot for an innovative twist on Asian cuisine. Now, if you only had real NY-style pizza and good Mexican food, Melbourne would be the perfect city!
Q. Highlight of your visit to Melbourne?
One of Edd’s highlights: the Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road. Photo CC0: bernardhoa
EP: Aside from working with the folks at CRADLE, I think the day trip I did on the Great Ocean Road was fantastic. The views were breath-taking and some of the pictures I took will be featuring on my walls at home as a constant memory of my time here.
CD: The highlight of my visit was… signing a contract to work in Melbourne! I’ll be joining RMIT this coming February. I look forward to see more of the CRADLE team in 2018.
