Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
Supporting resources and information linked to the #creativeHE
innovation
Chrissi Nerantzi, Principal Lecturer Academic CPD, Centre for Excellence in
Learning and Teaching, Manchester Metropolitan University, United
Kingdom [email protected]
My personal blog is at https://chrissinerantzi.wordpress.com/
Positioning
If we want to transform learning and teaching we need to invest in the
creative and innovative development of our teachers. This applies to all
education sectors, including higher education.
Context
In the United Kingdom, teaching in HE has been professionalised and
educators in HE, especially new colleagues entering HE, work towards a
recognised teaching qualification. The professional recognition in the form
of fellowship categories of the Higher Education Academy underpinned by
the UK Professional Standards Framework is gaining momentum across
the sector. It is now widely recognised that professional development of
educators in HE needs to be ongoing (Browne Report, 2010; UK Quality
Code, 2012).
Development opportunities
Many academics and other professionals who teach or support learning
work towards the above and also engage in informal development
opportunities in their institutions. Often these are coordinated by
local Academic Development units. Their offering usually includes
programmes but also workshop series, bespoke support as well as access
to online resources. Furthermore, at MMU we collaborate with other
institutions and develop open cross-institutional professional development
courses and initiatives that bring colleagues from across the sector
together to share practices and develop in distributed communities.
The role of innovation
At the heart of such activities, the aim is to introduce colleagues to
innovative and creative practices, actively experiment, challenge and be
challenged and empower them to become pedagogic innovators. Openingup to new pedagogical ideas, taking risks and adopting creative practices
that make a real difference to our students and society as a whole, and
create excitement for educators, are essential to thrive in a rapidly
changing world that we can all shape together.
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
Online spaces and resources
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#creativeHE course site at p2pu
https://courses.p2pu.org/en/courses/2615/creativity-for-learningin-higher-education/
#creativeHE Google plus community
https://plus.google.com/communities/110898703741307769041
#creativeHE Slideshare review linked to cohort 1
http://www.slideshare.net/chrissi/creativity-for-learning-cohort-1part-1-brief-review
#creativeHE Flickr album from cohort 1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/21614692@N02/albums/721576504
29760242
The full OER Food for thought series is available at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLd5BsnHOsqdeankUsQ67
K4Lbzf2TBH7A > Some of these films have been created for and
used in #creativeHE
My personal reflections as they emerged linked to the first iteration
of #creativeHE in 2014/15
https://chrissinerantzi.wordpress.com/?s=creativehe&submit=Searc
h
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
My #creativeHE students’ achievements (cohort 1: 2014/15)
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Innovative pedagogical projects that have been implemented in
practice
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Greenhouse contributions
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Academic posters
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Conference workshops
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Published articles
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Secured funding for institution-wide collaborative “I love learning”
campaign
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
Happy smiles
Conference contributions
Related research and publications
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The Issue “Exploring Play in Higher Education” as a theme for the
second Creative Academic Magazine was my idea which I brought to
fruition in collaboration with Dr Alison James. It attracted interest
from my own #creativeHE group at MMU but also from across the
world. The interest was so wide, that we had to publish this issue in
two parts. There were over 40 contributions in total. (Nerantzi, C. &
James, A. (eds.) (2015) Exploring Play in Higher Education,
Creative Academic Magazine, Issue 2a, Issue 2b, June 2015,
available athttp://www.creativeacademic.uk/magazine.html)
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
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I developed the pedagogical Playground model as a result of my
engagement with the first iteration of #creativeHE and am using it
now for the second iteration and further courses while also
promoting its use more widely.
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
The related article has been included in the Play magazine
(Nerantzi, C. (2015) The Playground Model for Creative Professional
Development, In: Nerantzi, C. & James, A. (eds.) (2015) Exploring
Play in Higher Education, Creative Academic Magazine, Issue 2A,
June 2015, pp. 40-50, available at http://www.creativeacademic.uk/)
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In early October 2015 I received ethical approval from MMU for my
“Pedagogic Innovator” project. I aim to collaborate with fellow
researchers nationally and internationally and use creative research
methods to collect data that will allow MMU and the sector more
widely to study the beliefs, attitudes and values of higher education
teachers as pedagogic innovators. I will explore conceptions of
pedagogic innovation in the context of their practice, their curricular
design and students' development; enabling and prohibiting factors
of becoming pedagogic innovators for academics and other
professionals who teach or support learning in HE.
The current open course iteration of #creativeHE (September –
November 2015) is used as a case study to collect data for a
phenomenographic study, part of my PhD research which is in the
area of open cross-institutional academic development.
Testimonials from #creativeHE cohort 1
“Your sessions are always great.... David and I count the days before we
see you! :) You are a wonderful teacher and mentor!
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
You are always amazing and your contribution is as worthy as having a
creativity God!” Haleh Moravej
Ellie Livermore, MMU
“Hi Chrissi,
Just to let you know that what you have been delivering in the workshop
sessions, has made a massive difference in regard to my teaching over
the last two weeks.
On Friday I had a student say that the seminar they did on Friday was the
best one ever. Playing some music in the session at the beginning has
also had a very positive effect.
What an excellent unit Creativity in teaching is, thanks for all your hard
work in preparing a fun and exciting unit, with some excellent reading to
link to the sessions, all the papers have been very thought provoking and
really helpful in linking to practice, See you at next week's sessions, with
more updates, Regards” David Leathlean, MMU
“Many thanks for Thursday (play and game session), it was both
enjoyable and very useful.” Dr Helena Kettleborough, MMU
“Hi Chrissi, […] I’m so sad that it’s the end of our little group, as we all
got on so well together – I’m sure we will all take every opportunity to
stay in touch! Kind regards” Susan Cobb, MMU
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
“Hi Chrissi, I’m also now running a series of workshops on creativity and
these are going really well. My next one takes the focus on group work
and I plan to involve participants in developing a story or drama to
explore the issues and challenges in students group work. I’m really
enjoying having a go at these different approaches and thank you for
inspiring me to try these kind of things here!” Dr Chris Smith, University
Campus Suffolk
I kept a “Value Jar” as an appreciative evaluation strategy. Each week I
asked colleagues to share with me what they found most useful about our
session. All their responses have been included in the table below. The
session numbers in the table below correspond to the following:
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Session
Session
Session
Session
Session
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
Introduction to the course and Creativity in HE
Learning through play and games
Stories for learning
Learning through making
Linking theory and practice through inquiry using art
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
Our 5 sessions in pictures and visual reflections.
responses Value jar content
session
1 Meeting like-minded people and do fun creativity!
I enjoyed the variety of activities and hearing about other people's
2 ideas.
Very exciting. I've got creative ideas already able to use. Motivated
3 to do reading.
The excitement of developing exciting new ideas to engage our
4 students.
1
5 Lots of seeds have been planted... lots of ideas to think about.
I have realised that there are many people interested in creativity
6 just like me.
It made me feel braver. It helped me start thinking about the
7 opportunities that could come from this experience.
It got me thinking about the kind of sessions I could design and
8 implement, that would be really useful for the students!
It helped me to connect with who I am, what led me to working
9 within HE which is my passion for creativity. It was also valuable to
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
meet other colleagues who potentially I will collaborate in
developing creative approaches to teaching.
Allowing me to meet a lot of people and have a stronger
10 understanding of the university
Talking was really useful - sharing ideas. Enjoyed being out and
about! Being creative and having time to talk to others and enjoy
11 being creative.
1
12 Don't concentrate on the leaves, concentrate on the roots.
2
13 How amazing to get out of room with walls and walk!
I found problem solving two ideas at once great because when you
run out of ideas for one problem, you could switch to the other one,
14 unblocking the mental block.
Emphasis on process understanding how to structure tasks
(practice) which emphasise process. Walking... I am inspired by this
15 as a methodological approach.
It was useful to walk and talk. It's always a good way to get ideas
flowing! Great to be in a new environment with my peers too. Not
16 keen on voting though!
Collaboration works! Especially in a different environment, with
17 people with similar passion and different viewpoints.
Not at all ... what to expect. Very creative session. Got lots of ideas
for teaching and some positive reassurance for tackling some of my
present challenges. It became very clear in the discussions, that
challenges we face are infoliated and need collaboration as a
solution. Creativity is everywhere. You go looking was another form
18 I
I enjoyed in engaging in conversation in dynamic
environment/settings. Sharing our problems with others and finding
resolution. Surroundings definitely enhanced our ideas and brought
19 interesting topics to our conversations.
Excellent session about the power of storytelling. Nice to see the
group getting closer and learning from each other. Great ideas to
20 use straight away. Thank you ;)
Realised how my own learning preference/beliefs influence and
21 perhaps constrain my practice as a teacher.
Sharing experiences, opening up and seeing the world in a different
22 way - tools to do this.
The realisation of the power of storytelling allowing individuals to
23 connect with each other through verbal communication.
Explored how stories can be used to inspire and develop
24 communities.
We explored storytelling as way of connecting students at
25 emotional level. Instigating emotions in students to help them
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
connect with concepts they are learning to connect to a wider world.
We reflected on using storytelling in the classroom, we created our
own stories and looked at ways to introduce activities with
26 storytelling. ;)... and it was fun!
I enjoyed the experimentation with story cubes and creating ideas
27 together.
3
3
28 It is amazing how we have new ideas from making things.
The activities in play, should be introduced as a fun activity to
introduce the method. as the weeks develop more challenging
activities in play should occur. Students should be given an
explanation of the activities so they understand the reasons behind
29 the activities. A new and exciting method to develop students.
Being able to visualise what I might not have been able to visualise
30 at the start of the session.
Today's session allowed me to explore the idea of using LEGO as a
basis for the discussion of quite personal feelings and ideas.
Explaining knowledge and understanding in a new and interesting
31 way.
It was interesting to do the LEGO tasks again and to act as a
facilitator. These sessions give me time to think and litter my
32 thinking between sessions.
Playing with ideas leads to innovation. Making allows us to find new
points (…) we can (...) ideas. Reflecting on our making helps us to
33 understand our ideas, knowledge.
I think I could use LEGO as a way of students finding it easier to
talk about their work: through a representation of their work, it takes
34 the pressure off a bit.
I think it is wonderful that people are so excited to come and are
35 sharing ideas with each other with no guardedness.
Excellent session to link theory to practice. Using LEGO makes me
36 keep silent. Silent is good for my creativity.
LEGO - exploring ideas, creatively through play. Building/growing,
very practical demonstration. Value using Lego in learning. Good
37 for building team/group.
The theories we were studying and representing within the session
were demonstrated in practice by the way the tasks were
constructed: it allowed for planning, action, discussion and
reflection. Everyone is different skills and strengths were brought
together to create a strong visual. You (Chrissi) stepped in with
specific assistance when we needed to focus on certain things
38 more.
It allowed to discover a number of different theories in active way
which involved research, discussion and creation. Visualising ideas
39 helped me to understand the concept. Visualisations helped to
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
facilitate discussion in a group.
The session linked academic theory to the practical. Each group's
understanding of the theory drove ideas in different directions.
40 Diversity is great!!
The best one! Making is learning and learning is knowing you are
able to make sense of things in pictures, ideas, balloons, people
41 smile ;)
5
5
42 "Visualise" thoughts and ideas make them easier to understand.
An innovative way to explore theory, sharing the importance of
using visual and creative elements as well as text. Also an
enriching opportunity to? how to do critical reflection/analogies with
43 students. Much food for thought in practice.
I am going to try something like this next week - a modified version!
44 I am aware of my own "issues" with visual representations!
Working together to discuss theories and using the discussion to
make an image really helped me to explore ideas and check my
45 understanding. It was fun too!
Being able to bounce off other peoples energy when mine was low.
46 Diagrams made theory much more digestable for me.
Working as a group/collaboratively to farm a shared understanding
of complex theories. Loved how visual it was and how the
47 installations grew.
5
5
5
5
5
5
What happens after course completion?
Course completion is not the end of engagement but rather the beginning.
The local creative community called Greenhouse, which I set-up, provides
a continuous opportunity for creative engagement and sharing with likeminded colleagues beyond course boundaries while the online community
of the #creativeHE course is an additional opportunity to connect with
practitioners further afield.
Memberships and recognitions
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I am a founding member of the Creative Academic Network
led by Prof. Norman Jackson, see http://www.creativeacademic.uk/
In 2015, I was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship (NTF)
for my creative and open work in higher education. See my NTF
profile at https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/person/chrissi-nerantzi
I was voted one of the 50 most influential UK Higher
Education Social Media Influencer, by JISC
https://www.jisc.ac.uk/blog/uk-higher-education-social-mediainfluencers-named-05-oct-2015
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Chrissi Nerantzi, MMU, [email protected] Supporting
resources and information linked to the #creativeHE innovation
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank all my students and collaborators for embracing
creative and innovative learning and teaching and joining me on this
exciting journey. We have explored and learnt loads together and I am
looking forward to what discoveries we will make in the future.
References used in the main part of the application
Browne Report (2010) Securing a sustainable future for higher education,
Department for Employment and Learning, available at
http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/publications/pubs-highereducation/browne-report-student-fees.htm
European Commission (2013) High Level Group on the Modernisation of
Higher Education. Report to the European Commission on Improving the
quality of teaching and learning in Europe’s higher education institutions,
European Union, available at http://ec.europa.eu/education/highereducation/doc/modernisation_en.pdf
James, A. & Brookfield, S. D. (2014) Engaging Imagination. Helping
Students Become Creative and Reflective Thinkers, San Francisco: CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Nerantzi, C. (2015) The Playground Model for Creative Professional
Development, In: Nerantzi, C. & James, A. (eds.) (2015) Exploring Play in
Higher Education, Creative Academic Magazine, Issue 2A, June 2015, pp.
40-50, available at http://www.creativeacademic.uk/
The UK Quality Code for Higher Education (2012) Glouchester: Quality
Assurance Agency, available at
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/qualit
y-code-brief-guide.aspx
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