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Tell me about yourself. The dreaded question that beckons an effective answer in order to enter employment, study, or even a romantic relationship. But how do you really capture a sense of who you are and communicate it?
Some people begin by talking about work or study, but that is really only a fraction of the whole. Sure, your qualifications are an important part of your life story, but what about all the other learning experiences you've had, which don't fit on the page? Even describing the things you've done can be difficult in terms of how they connect to the skills which those experiences developed.
Our lives contain so many learning experiences, and shorter, focused learning episodes which we may have done in a variety of settings. How can we evidence these and present a more complete picture of who we are and the path we have taken?
The LinkedIn Profile structure has had a good attempt at helping us do this, but verifiability of these claims is also a challenge. How many times has someone endorsed you for a skill you are either not sure you really have, or would prefer not to be the one people remember you for? We need something a bit more developed, and micro-credentials are ready to take that role.
With the world of work changing so rapidly, it's increasingly important to be able to show employers that you have the skills they need. That's where micro-credentials come in. Micro-credentials are digital badges that indicate that you have completed a specific learning experience and possess a certain skill. They can be issued by educational institutions, companies, or even individual experts.
Because they're stored on the blockchain, they're tamper-proof and verifiable. That makes them much more trustworthy than traditional credentials like degrees or certificates, which can be forged or faked. A study showed 76% of employers assumed that any degree certificates presented to them were genuine, and did not perform any further checks.
It is unsurprising in an age of more sophisticated technology that the micro-credentialing movement is gaining momentum as a trusted and verifiable way to certify learning. Blockchain technologies are playing a pivotal role in this, with Ed3 leading the way in developing Web3 solutions for higher education. This is having a profound impact on institutions, which are now being forced to adapt or risk becoming irrelevant. So what is this all about?
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First up, micro-credentialing can be a great way to evidence your skills and experience in the workforce. If you're looking to change careers or move into a new field, micro-credentialing can give you the edge by demonstrating your capabilities.
For example, let's say you're trying to break into the tech industry. You might use micro-credentialing to showcase your skills in coding, web development, or user experience design. Or, if you're aiming for a management role, you could use micro-credentialing to evidence your ability to lead and motivate teams.
Statistics show that micro-credentialing is on the rise, with the number of micro-credentials issued increasing by over 400% in the last year alone. And it's not just individuals who are benefitting from micro-credentialing - businesses are using it as a way to assess the skills and experience of job applicants.
If you're a coder, for example, you might micro-certify your skills with the help of protocols like Ed3. This would allow you to show potential employers that you have the skills they're looking for, without having to go through the traditional education system. Why would this happen?
Well, HigherEd is not known for changing its learning content quickly to keep up with the changing demands of industry. Most universities nowadays have pathways for teachers to request curriculum changes, such as additional modules, usually done by a central development team such as this example here from the University of Sussex.
This process is not quick, and has ramifications. Changing something means updating learning resources, scheduling, communicating all of this with learners and sometimes even having to run it all by the accreditation boards and bodies. Phew!
But learners want to learn. Fundamentally, what they want are relevant skills and the space to pursue their own interests, which emerge and mature over time and cannot always be predicted at the moment of choosing course pathways. Higher education needs therefore to be more responsive and adaptive, and being able to provide learners with the solid foundation of a reputable degree, alongside the flexibility to stack and badge more personal learning, is an opportunity which institutions need to make much more of.
So how can Higher Ed actually build micro-credentialing into its learning offer? The possibilities are really quite endless – but here are a few examples to get you thinking.
If you're studying for a degree, micro-credentials could be used to evidence the additional skills and knowledge you've acquired outside of your main course modules. For example, if you're doing a business degree and take an online marketing course as part of your professional development, you could add this to your CV as a micro-credential.
Or, if you're studying for a teaching qualification, you might use micro-credentials to show that you've completed extra training in special needs education or classroom management techniques. These learning episodes may not be part of the core degree, but they will make you more marketable to potential employers. They can be verified very easily by the issuing institution, and they add value to your degree.
Ultimately, they allow learners to take the same core course of studies, but branch off into areas of learning that spark passion and support career aims. You can also study them online, in your own time, at your own pace. This means that you can fit them around your work or other commitments and adapt to the core course workload.
This may mean actually reducing the core course workload to allow space for adaptive learning at the edges, and requiring students to complete a certain amount of peripheral learning under their own steam.
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As with so much in this Web3/Ed3 world, we do not have to reinvent the wheel. Universities do not have to suddenly create short courses for all the possible learning complements that students may which to pursue, but in a world where more and more learning is happening online, the question of how to certify academic levels for micro-credentials is becoming increasingly important.
One option is to use MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) as a way of assessing academic levels. MOOCs can be a useful tool for certifying micro-credentials, as they provide a way to measure learners' progress and assess their understanding of the material. However, MOOCs also have their limitations. For example, they are not always well suited to measuring practical skills. They can also be vulnerable to cheating, though there are strategies to counter this.
Another option is to develop a qualification framework specifically for micro-credentials. This would provide a more comprehensive way of assessing academic levels, and would allow for the development of specific qualifications that are tailored to the needs of micro-credential holders. Ultimately, whichever approach is taken, the goal should be to ensure that micro-credentials are properly certified, so that employers can be confident in the academic levels of those who hold them.
This means that universities clearly have work to do in building these structures, but the opportunities are endless, and clearly the benefits outweigh the investment in resources. Having a fully adaptive personal learning offer is something institutions will want to work towards, as our future work environment becomes ever more fluid and unpredictable. Micro-credentialing, however, is a stepping stone towards this and can be a powerful hook for students considering your institution.
To talk more about how geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) can connect you to a new generation of learners in a digital world, just reach out for a chat, or check us out here to see what we can do for you.
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It seems like just the other day we were talking about the struggle many K-12 institutions had in adapting to online, blended or hybrid learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are very aware, that virtual high schools and K-12 offers partially or wholly in the metaverse are not about to happen overnight. We are not even saying that they should happen.
What is clear, is that this transition is taking place. Check into it, and you'll see that the schools dipping into immersive virtual learning environments are not as rare as they were, even a year ago. This is happening, and from where we are standing and observing, it seems to be picking up pace.
So what might that transition look like, and why would we want to go this route? What's in it for learners and institutions? Let's start by asking what it's all about!
A recent report from Hirsh Pasek et.al entitled A whole new world: Education meets the Metaverse opens by saying that "Soon it will be as omnipresent as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook". This plays into a sense that the Metaverse is unstoppable, inevitable, which it most likely is. However, they do not explain why we need it. That seems to be the best place to start when we are talking about something as emotive, or sacred even, as traditional K-12 education.
A great summary on XR today outlines the reasons why the Metaverse is so advantageous. The main arguments seem to be that it can be more collaborative and accessible. Rather than siloed, passive consumers of Web2, we can interact and visualise information in a more visceral way. The idea of decentralisation and open source data is key too, which would imply that our rate of development could accelerate quickly. In a world facing climate, where bold technological and societal solutions are needed, they may very well be made easier in the metaverse.
These are early days, and we have no idea how things will unfold, but we seem to be at the stage where a diversity of voices are able to shape the metaverse, without trying to "own" it. Long may that last.
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Educators at K-12 already know about gaming. How could we not? So many of our learners are absolutely immersed in virtual worlds, teaming up with people they have never and will never meet to perform tasks, meet challenges, slay monsters, develop skills. Some are even professional E-sports players. Games like Roblox have 42 million active users, and that number is climbing fast.
These learners already know how it feels to live between physical and virtual worlds, and they know how to find their own way. This translates well into learning in a modern environment.
We do not learn best when we sit down to be instructed, and at least we all pretty much agree on that now. We learn best when we are supported to direct our own learning, explore and find our own way through, ask for help when we need it, but essentially use teachers as another learning resource, alongside peers, technology, community, experiences and our own reflection.
Learning immersively with technology is not a leap for Gen Z and Alpha, and institutions who can afford it can be quite confident of engagement and uptake. The Optima Classic Academy in Florida has provided 1300 students with VR headsets and is launching a Metaverse classroom in August 2022. Learners can choose a range of study options, visiting ancient Rome, learning French at a virtual Parisian café or standing witness to the formation of galaxies. They will then supplement this work with independent research and learning to consolidate what they did in the Metaverse.
We are not talking about dipping a toe in the virtual waters of AR in the classroom, for example, but full learning environments in the metaverse. That can be a scary prospect to many, but looking at Optima Classic's example, the Metaverse can augment and complement other forms of learning, rather than replace it. As super fast 5G connections become more ubiquitous, and the price of the tech falls (even a little), we are going to see more institutions setting up Metaverse learning environments and integrating them.
Learners will most likely love the opportunity to explore and direct their own learning virtually, although the jury is still out on how to manage mental health, identity and wellbeing in a scenario where our physical and virtual selves can develop separately. If the technology is user-friendly and affordable, uptake will ramp up very soon, but institutions do need to take advice on how to prepare for the shift. Having more engaged learners who can experience learning in a richer, deeper way is incredible, but our duty of care comes first. This is another reason why Metaverse learning will not become commonplace in the next few years.
Transitioning to full Metaverse learning can happen step by step, and this is really positive. Schools which are already offering education programs online can quite easily partner with tech companies to augment that offer with more immersive learning. One more recent example of this is the American High School, which is a fully online school in the US, with a virtual learning component.
AHS students are all over the world, and though they do offer structured programs like getting your American High School Diploma, how they get there is customizable. With a fully digital learning environment, they can build learning pathways around individuals, so that learning can be personalized.
So here is the thing. Up to now, what we have been describing could be a 2D online learning environment, much the same as many institutions developed during the pandemic. There is a foundation here, in that we have really seen how online learning can give more people access to learning on their terms, and makes managing personalized pathways so much more viable.
On this foundation comes the next step. AHS partnered with The PIEoneer award-winning Victory XR who have helped bring 2D TO 3D. Immersive learning through VR headsets mean that students can, in the words of AHD "experience the inside of a heart, build atoms in space, explore the Pyramids of Giza, virtual museums.". By attending a virtual campus and learning in 3D, they have quite literally taken the best of what online learning has to offer, and added a new dimension.
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The learning for institutions can and should begin now. Equipping ourselves with a greater understanding of the opportunities and challenges, and opening ourselves to change and to new conversations about education 3.0, are what will make all the difference to our relevance in 10 or 20 years. If we are left behind, we will not catch up. More than this, we owe it to learners to provide the best experience possible, and to do so in a way that works with their world and their future.
We've barely begun to make sense of how the regular internet has affected education, communication, knowledge sharing, ownership, and perhaps even changing our brains. Now comes something new, and it is understandable that we adopt a "wait and see" attitude, but this time we are not all experiencing it n the same way. Our learners at K-12 are already deep in the transition, flowing with it, and becoming comfortable with a whole new relationship with technology.
For schools who had to react quickly and get online learning set up, you may by now have had the chance to see how amazing it can be for learners when done right. We didn't ask for it, but the pandemic did give us an accelerated learning opportunity, and that just might be a stepping stone to the future, rather than a reaction to the present.
For schools making this transition, reshaping their offer and trying to find new ways to communicate what you do and build broader learning communities, talk to us at geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) to see how we can help. We really are in this together.
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For a long time now, education has been changing. That change has been too slow for some and too quickly for others, but it is happening nonetheless. Moving from education 1.0, where learning was dictated to us, we are now moving to education 3.0, which coincides quite neatly, and not just coincidentally, with Web3.
These are phrases you will be hearing a lot, because this is what education is becoming. For years now, the centralized control over education has created a huge number of issues. In education 1.0 environments, learners are passive, lack agency, never learn to learn themselves, but only how to "be taught", which falls so staggeringly short of our human potential that it is almost criminal to think that this still exists,
Education 2.0 moved forward, broadening access by using technology so that learners and educators could connect from home or elsewhere. There was some loosening of the reins, as teachers brought in group work, peer to peer learning, and even things like learning visits and visitors. We started to talk about diversity and inclusion in the classroom, and to understand that one size cannot fit all, and that "instruction", memorization and regurgitation favored only the few.
Education 2.0 is still fundamentally flawed, however. This is because
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While in Milan with team geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy), we got talking to a recent graduate in one of the city's skate parks (it wasn't all work!). He had just finished an MBA, but told us that there was barely any mention of sustainability in the course, even though we all know that this is something that should be central to any business education offer. Alberto had not quite realized this when he started the course, but quickly learned that it was something he cared about, and which was vital to his future career.
Because this was not a mandated part of the curriculum, he was stuck. He told us that he was "lucky" to find a professor who could help him learn more about it, but there was no credit given for these efforts. Not in the course content, and not on the radar.
Alberto decided to study himself alongside the MBA. He informally learned a lot about sustainability leadership, taking online courses, listening to podcasts and reaching out to authors, influencers and thinkers in the field. Alberto has no way to really evidence that learning, though it turned out to be his passion, and as he said "The MBA is just the base. It's hard to really put my own stamp on it".
Yes, sure, Alberto could collect his own evidence of learning, but where is the reliability of evidence that employers might ask for? What if he wants to pursue a doctorate in sustainability leadership? And yet, This learner took control of his own learning, followed his passion, built his own understanding of the field, and did so by making the physical and digital community his classroom.
Now this is a true shift. Education 2.0 saw a lot of progress, but the fundamental system of ownership and centralization stayed intact. Institutions provide and regulate qualifications, overseen by other institutions who control the accreditation. Learning might happen at home, but it is controlled from the classroom, because as broad and self-directed as the learning might get, in the end it is funneled back to the same centralized structures.
But that's not how learning works. We learn things all the time, and we can find and create learning opportunities for ourselves, as Alberto and a thousand like him did and do every day.
How can we possibly script out learning programs that have no space built in for the diversity of learners coming in? How can we expect to control everything centrally, so that only a narrow part of the true spectrum of learning experiences can actually be captured and evidenced for the learner's future progression?
We can't. At least, not within the current system as it stands. Back in 2007, a very prescient paper by Keates laid out the vision of education 3.0 as...
"characterized by rich, cross-institutional, cross-cultural educational opportunities within which the learners themselves play a key role as creators of knowledge artifacts that are shared, and where social networking and social benefits outside the immediate scope of activity play a strong role. The distinction between artifacts, people and process becomes blurred, as do distinctions of space and time. Institutional arrangements, including policies and strategies, change to meet the challenges of opportunities presented. There is an emphasis on learning and teaching processes with a focus on institutional changes that accompany the breakdown of boundaries between teachers and students, higher education institutions, and disciplines"
In other words, learners own the process, and create the learning. The learning ecosystem opens up to be transdisciplinary, trans institutional, and to bring in communities and employers in authentic ways. Teachers don't disappear, but become mentors, shapers, guides and learning resources, rather than the font of knowledge they were expected to be in pre-Google days.
The learners are taking control, and if institutions don't embrace this, there are already paths around them. Now, we truly have the technology to make this all happen.
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We have the technology. Immersive learning experiences through AR and VR, asynchronous learning, adaptive or personal learning, endless customizable resources and self-research pathways. We have communication tools, learning monitoring tools, online journals and peer evaluation platforms, MOOCs and a million others.
There's more. With Web3, Alberto might find a chance to evidence his own learning through micro credentials which can be validated using blockchain technology so that their authenticity is iron-clad. He might have been supported earlier to find mixed-media approaches to creating a learning vitae which could be shown to potential collaborators and employers to say "this is who I am and what I can do".
We can create complex learning communities where time and distance are no longer boundaries and, best of all, more people are able to be a part of this. The biggest argument against education 3.0 was the complexity of trying to structure and monitor it to protect quality, but the tech is now there. We can build learning around learners rather than setting it in stone right from the start.
At geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) we are so excited to watch this change develop in real time. We really are right inside the transition now, and that means there are both challenges and opportunities. Decentralized ownership is just one part of this learning revolution, and the other is collaboration. To find out more about how we can support progressive institutions transitioning to support a new generation of Web3 and Ed3 learners, please do get in touch to talk.
Did you go to university or college? Whether or not you did, you likely know someone who has gone, and it is also pretty likely you work there now, if you're reading this. Whatever the case, perhaps we can all agree that starting a major new phase in your life like heading off to university is actually quite a serious and challenging time for many of us.
Oh sure, the Hollywood movie scenes have shown us countless students packing their cars and heading off to college with undented optimism and perfect teeth, to arrive and slot seamlessly into sororities and immediately sipping beer from red cups at Chad Hogan's party. For some, that is the experience, and that's great, but what is the reality?
You've seen the website, talked to the amazing admissions team, perhaps even visited the campus virtually or physically, and have made your choice. Accepted into not just a course or an institution, but a complete change in your life.
Change in life tends to happen gradually. We learn, grow and develop, and sometimes look back to see how far we have come from. Sometimes, however, change happens all at once, and we need to really understand how major that can be. The social networks around you are not just friends and family, but security and stability. A sense of belonging, to an environment that is safe in its familiarity and predictability.
All of that changes when we go to university. The anxieties this can produce are, according to research, generally underreported. You will find figures of 15 to 30% of students reporting worries about the social transition of going to university, but the reality is that it is far more significant, with more detailed research suggesting that upwards of 60% of pre-college students are anxious about the transition.
Enter any anonymous chat forum of pre-college students, and you see the same thing over and over. Crippling anxiety not about the academic rigors of the course, but quite simply about meeting new people, finding their way around and generally being accepted and not too exposed. Will I like my dorm mates, will I make friends, will I be accepted?
Even the more reported fears of going to university are essentially social. "Running out of money", which is a very common pre-transition fear, is essentially a fear based on there being no social network around you to help. This is all normal and natural, and almost everyone feels it in greater or lesser amounts; responding to it in their own unique way. But are we in danger of just accepting this as something that just exists, or can we do something to help?
Having looked at dozens of university and college websites, the main ways they seem to be dealing with this essentially social issue are:
They tell prospective students that there are counsellors, or to register with a GP. All of these things are valid, and undeniably good advice, but they just aren't enough. How many students are admitted to further and higher education, but never make it to class on the first day? How many do begin, but have such an uncomfortable start that they do not stay?
Student retention is a huge challenge, as we all know in this sector. In the UK, non continuation rates hover between 4% and 15%. Though money and attainment are critical factors in this, a growing body of research again confirms that the social aspect is among the most central reason to leave an institution. As this research paper in the Journal of Further and Higher Education put it, "students who frequently considered leaving university without completing their degree (i.e. dropping out) had a significantly lower sense of belonging than students who did not".
We can assuage doubts about grades and academic rigors, and reassure students about earning potential to pay back student debt. We have the data, and we can make the argument. Feeling like you belong, however; how can we support something so intangible?
Technology is opening things up here. We have read articles recommending that new students "reach out" to others who are joining their course, so that they can chat to them beforehand, but is this easy?
Emailing someone or connecting with them on social media is arguably much easier than walking up to them in person and saying "Hi, I'm Chad Hogan". Chad Hogan is probably comfortable with that, but the rest of us find it daunting. Remember being 18 years old? The thing is that digitally connecting with someone out of the blue is still somewhat daunting, as it carries the same fear of rejection and exposure that we are trying to address in the first place.
One new community, however, is getting it right. Goin' Connect is part of a new generation of pre-enrollment tools for students to...well...go and connect! It is an app and a network where students can create their own groups, see where others in your cohort or class are from and what they're into, and form connections with them.
This is not monitored by the institution, as that would be a flop right away, would it not? As the Utrecht University put it in a Facebook post introducing Goin' Connect to their students, "it really is an app by students for students, with very little involvement from us". That seems to be key to the reason it works so well. It is no surprise, then, that they have been shortlisted as finalists in the prestigious PIEoneer Awards for the Students Support Award category.
Think about it. You get the chance to ask questions to others without it feeling stilted or staged. You can find out that others in your prospective class are from your country, or even your town! Maybe you want to get away from anyone that lives in your town, but at least this can help you avoid them. The essential thing is that this simple networking approach takes away the unknown, and that is where the fear always resides.
Onboarding, conversion, retention; yes all of that is boosted for the institution with giving students pre-start access to each other in a student-controlled environment, but the main thing is that that sense of belonging does not have to wait. It can be built before you even get there, and that makes all the difference. One Polish student said that Goin' Connect gave her the chance to connect with others before moving to study in Sweden, so that the experience felt more "real" and that she feels more relaxed about going.
We cannot solve every issue that prevents students from walking or logging into that first class, or which keeps them on track after their initial semester. We can, however, make our ways of addressing these a bit more human. Social anxieties must have social solutions, and what could be simpler or more effective than making friends with those we about to share the next part of our journey with.
At geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy), we believe that the student journey is not a funnel, but a circle, and we have outlined our reasons for this before. This means that we do not take a narrow view of when our responsibilities begin and end in marketing, recruitment and admissions. Community building before they arrive on campus is an important step forward in supporting students, and everyone will benefit from this; no doubt about it. If you work in this sector and have insights opinions or ideas on how we can better serve students throughout their journey, we want to hear from you.
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The training session begins. Pens rest at an angle on a sheet of paper, ripped hastily from the notebook of a better prepared colleague. The Wi-Fi is playing up again. The PowerPoint appears, aims, objectives, logos and content. We listen, interact, take notes, and maybe laugh a little. There's usually water, and a croissant if you're lucky. Triangular sandwiches are always provided.
It's all so familiar, whether you are in Education Marketing and Recruitment, Admissions, teaching, administration or pretty much anything else to be honest, we know the drill. But how much of that training is actually about you? Sure, it's usually about learning or improving a skill, deepening knowledge or soliciting input, but that can all be held at arm's length. It doesn't touch the core. They're here, you're here, but the training is essentially transactional between two distinct groups.
A performance or knowledge gap has been identified, and all the effort and resources in the training are poured into that gap. Fill it up, and cross on over. But zoom out a little. Who is in the room, and how do they feel? What is the reality they are dealing with each and every day? How do they feel in their roles, with each other, as part of the organisational culture, and quite simply, as themselves?
In April 2022, we headed to Milan, and experienced training on both ends of delivery. When you talk so often about values, this has to be consistent through everything you do, and the training we offer and request is no exception. When you support progressive institutions who put learners at the centre, you cannot be the trainer that centers the session around themselves. That is not to say any of this is easy or convenient, because it is neither.
We first dived in on the delivery end with a Higher Education client who has engaged us for marketing and recruitment consultancy. The people in that room are not just managers and coordinators, but people first and foremost. This is where we chose to begin.
geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy)'s Alejandra Otero led the session and started off by talking about culture, communication and values. Who are we, and why do we work the way we do? How do we interact with each other, and what do we value in ourselves and in our colleagues? What does it feel like to be another team member and what makes them feel empowered and engaged?
This was a workshop on sales, recruitment and admissions. Surprised?
We did get to that, of course, but to start there is to completely ignore any sense of a shared journey, any opportunity to hold a mirror up and learn through reflection. This is so often overlooked in training, but yet yields such positive results. We work better the more we know and trust each other, understand and value each other, and know ourselves as individuals and as parts of a whole.
We know education, and we know marketing and recruitment. Inside out. The fun part is that as much as we think we know, there are always surprises, and we all learn together in each and every session.
Our colleagues in Milan role-played interactions, and independently produced their visualization of a student journey through their processes and procedures. When we unpacked the comparisons, there were so many valuable insights in the gaps and overlaps. That can't and does not happen when we do not work together as people, instead of as roles and titles. Roles and titles are fiefdoms, conscious of their job descriptions and the limits of their responsibilities. People, however, want the best for each other.
To see this amazing team work together with such empathy, commitment and compassion was yet another reminder that education is an emotional business, and the people who work in it are the best of the best. They drive and inspire everything we do.
We left the session with clear ideas on what was feasible to change and improve, which conversations were worth having, and which requests could be run up the flagpole. When you understand a culture, you understand the ground on which they stand. Who wants to leave a session like this with a to-do list that is totally impractical and inaccessible? Goals and strategies are bespoke, relative, and essentially human.
If you know something inside out, try looking outside in.
Can I talk in the first person for a second? Breaking narrative structure is a great way to get your attention, but that's not why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because this bit is personal.
Vulnerability, empathy, trust, empowerment, support. These are all words I have used as the voice of the geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) blog over the last couple of years. There comes a time, however, when you realize that you haven't fully lived them. You can't truly love while holding a part of yourself back. You can't be brave without being terrified. You can't trust someone when you don't trust yourself. You cannot talk of vulnerability when part of you will always remain hidden.
The first two sentences of this story? That was us, the geNEOus (formerly NEO Academy) Team, totally prepared for a training session in Milan on something related to team building. Pens ready, and the person who didn't bring their own paper was me.
Our trainer, Daniela, flipped it all on its head. We began with mindfulness practice; breath work, noticing, being present. Grounding. We were still in our shells, happy to close our eyes and meet the requests to move, breathe and feel.
And then we began to talk about fear.
Not phobias, but fears, as Daniela emphasized. This was not the fear of the dark, but the fear of the unknown. Not the fear of the snake, but of the wild. We reflected and then were asked to draw a representation of our fears.
Feeling more exposed now. In a team like ours, we already had trust and the sense that we were all in this together, but this was a new frontier. This went beyond the role and the water-cooler chat, and into our core. It was a sign of the trainer's skill that we kept our guard low, and continued. We cut eyeholes in our drawings, went down to the courtyard, donned the masks and walked with our fears.
It sounds surreal, and it was. We walked, stopped, reflected, and walked some more. Having had the space to internalize, and see what surfaced, we returned to the room, and were invited to share.
This is the moment when you really walk the talk. I was already ordering my contribution in my head, controlling the raw reflection with syntax and structure. Alejandra went first and dug deep. It set the tone, and we all realized, I think, that this was a space we could be vulnerable and open. That, to me, is leadership. So I discarded the structure and talked from the heart, as did, my team; my friends.
I will not say much more here, except that I have never experienced "training" like this, and never did a word fall shorter to describe what took place. As a team, we could not now be closer than we are. As people, we are changed for the better.
We want to be visible to you. To our colleagues and partners, each other and to ourselves. We are telling you all of this because it is important to us that when we connect, work together or just cross paths, that you know who we are and what we stand for. There's not enough of that in this world.
We tell you this because when we talk about authenticity and vulnerability, empowerment and support, we want you to know we mean it. If you come to us for training, we want to understand you, because we are not interested in transactions that essentially help neither of us.
Organizations are people, and roles are just frames of reference. We are most interested in you being the best version of yourself, to best serve the colleagues and students around you, and to feel empowered and motivated by what you do. We can help with the processes, the automations, the structures and the results, but you come first.
That's it. This is us. This is who we are.
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In the wake of the events of the last two years, it’s no surprise that resilience is the quality that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are highlighting as crucial to their recovery post-pandemic. We’re seeing this need for flexibility, sustainability, and growth being recognized at an organizational and cultural level, but it’s crucial that universities and colleges look at building resilience in their students too. So how are HIEs supporting students to navigate continuing change and uncertainty? What does a student-centered approach to resilience look like in practice? To answer that question, we must look past any buzzy, box-ticking associations and think about what we really mean when we talk about shaping successful, resilient students.
Resilience – the ability to ‘bounce back’ from challenging situations, failures or trauma – is on the rise as an in-demand quality in both education and the workplace. Gen Z have been nicknamed “Generation Resilient” because of the tenacity they have shown in the face of incredible social and personal upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to leading learning company Pearson, Gen Z are more motivated, creative and engaged in activism because of the adversity they have faced. “Despite all their setbacks during the pandemic,” explained Laura Howe, Senior Vice President of Global Communications, “they’re still eager to move forward with their education to drive change.”
In their recent Global Learning Survey, Pearson found that 68% of students saw more value in continuing their studies, and 75% reported a ‘new sense of urgency’ to complete their education. These are encouraging statistics and a strong foundation for developing ever-greater resilience amongst students. HEIs have a responsibility to all students (not just Generation Resilient) to create a learning environment that seizes on this positive outlook and fosters successful graduates.
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In 2018, the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE) published its Resilience Toolkit, an online resource bank and best practice guide for HEIs looking to make student resilience a priority. The Toolkit pools research and case studies from universities and colleges around the world to build a case for why resilient students are more personally fulfilled and academically successful. It also offers frameworks for putting this theory into practice.
According to AMOSSHE, there are three key facets to student resilience: self-management, emotional control and social connection. While the third aspect is largely dictated by students’ existing social networks, proximity to family and home life, the first two can be more directly impacted by the actions of staff and the systems institutions have in place. Let’s look at self-management and emotional control in more detail and see what HEIs can do to develop them in students – and staff.
There is a fairly huge caveat to mention here, and that is that some students have grown up with adversity and learned themselves to develop the self-same resilience we are talking about here. They do not need more conversations about how to actually foster it, but perhaps we might support them in understanding it better. Coping mechanisms developed under stress and adversity are not always perceived as strengths, when we learned them by necessity and not by choice. Conversations around this can truly help learners to engage with such mechanisms on their own terms, and to learn the inherent strength that can come from reflection on lived experience.
And yes, resilience itself can be a very subjective concept, and often used in place of support. If you find yourself saying students don't need more support, they need to develop resilience then it may be time to do some serious reflection on who benefits from such thinking. Students need and deserve support, mentoring and opportunities, and can learn to develop resilience in a healthier, more positive environment. This is not Lord of The Flies.
Self-management covers a range of behaviours and habits, including goal setting, perseverance and self-reflection. It’s about being able to prioritise tasks, recognise when you need the help and support of others, and developing essential healthy habits like getting enough sleep and eating a balanced diet. For students who are feeling stressed and burnt out after two years of constant change and uncertainty, it’s easy for these routine behaviours to slip.
For Dena, a lecturer and subject of a case study by Leeds Metropolitan University about promoting ‘resilient thinking’ in students, being able to access staff and services easily and regularly is key to students’ self-management. Dena’s approach to teaching is personal, often working with students one-on-one or in small groups, to offer extra support in a discreet and sensitive way. By working in this way, Dena is better able to help her students ‘understand what is expected of them academically and, more importantly, how to go about achieving this, for example showing students how to break up assignments into manageable tasks and adapting resources for students who need more support.’ Having students work regularly with the same tutors helps them to build trusting, meaningful relationships, ensuring students feel connected and supported through their academic career. For Dena, ‘staff accessibility is important in allowing students to open up about difficulties without feeling criticised or challenged in an unconstructive manner.’ Students are less likely to shrink away from challenges if they have a trusted other to work things through with, both on an academic and personal level.
Of course, this personal approach will be more or less viable depending on cohort and class sizes. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ways that HEIs can help. Providing workshops and seminars (online and offline) that focus on skills like problem-solving, positive thinking and health and wellbeing should be carried on into the academic year and not just reserved for induction and orientation weeks. Creating an online resource bank (like the AMOSSHE Resilience Toolkit) and signposting it well is an accessible and longer-term way to offer support. Having designated ‘contact hours’ for key staff members, even over video call, is another way to show students that the faculty is there to help.
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Despite its clinical-sounding name, emotional control is simply about dealing constructively with negative emotions and experiences. For students already struggling under the weight of poor mental health and wellbeing however, this might be easier said than done. So what can institutions do to help?
The Think Positive initiative from the National Union of Students in Scotland set out the different factors impacting student and staff mental health and what could be done to improve things. Looking at the case studies reported on, stressors including everything from academic workload and pressure from parents, to juggling childcare commitments and managing physical and mental health problems. While some solutions were external, the report highlighted that a lot could be remedied internally by the HEIs.
Making sure students are connected with course advisors and are aware of on-campus mentoring or counselling services was highlighted as crucial in a number of cases. Moreover, these services must be easily and obviously accessible to all, be they online or in person. In fact, ensuring ease communication seems to be key to building emotional resilience in students. Research from the InHolland University of Applied Sciences in Haarlem, Netherlands, looked at how an open dialogue between staff and students was key to enhancing student wellbeing and resilience post-pandemic. The findings emphasised the importance of focusing on perceptions of workload, expectations around study, time management and relieving stress. From the students’ perspective, increased awareness of services and how to access them, as well as improving the range and quality of offerings was top priority.
For students, ‘feeling useful’ is also important. As faculty member Adam, whose experience was also studied by Leeds Metropolitan University, points out, higher education is in danger of become a transactional experience. For students to flourish, more emphasis needs to be put on the ‘...broader question of [students’] engagement with society.’ Students need the tools to be ‘committed and active and engaged citizens...’ so they can ‘maximize the opportunities that are available to them’. This means increasing opportunities for volunteering, work-based learning and involvement in social and political movements. ‘In Adam’s judgment, a key aspect of resilience is the capacity of students to self-organise, build a community and facilitate their own common spaces.’ Ensuring academic achievement isn’t enough to build resilience; students must be valued and seen as people too.
Ultimately, building resilience in students is about equipping them for life outside of higher education. This is true whether a student is from Gen Z and the first in their family to go to university, or they are returning to their studies after many years in the workplace. Higher Education Institutions are places of academic learning but should also be an arena for personal development and growth.
‘College is about trying new things,’ said Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University in New York, in an article for Forbes. ‘It can lead to wonderful triumphs – and sometimes to stumbles.
When they stumble, students need to know how to brush themselves off and keep going. Everyone finds their own best way of doing that. That’s ultimately what resilience is all about.’ And if higher education institutions can be the ones there to offer a helping hand to get back up, so much the better.
We live in interesting times. Just at the very moment when our survival hangs in the balance as a species, we are beginning to wake up a little from the idea of constant growth and "progress" that has been drilled into us from birth. We measure this progress in GDP, not happiness, and not wellbeing, and so many of us are disconnected from the spiritual, reflective sides of our authentic selves, as we earn more, consume more, buy more.
Lucky for us, then, that scientific rationalism and spirituality have decided they should have been friends all along. That "third eye" that Kundalini practitioners told us about for years turns out to be a spot that lights up on neuro-imaging machines during deep meditation. That "mindfulness" the Buddhists were always on about is suddenly a real thing, in schools, homes and even boardrooms.
We are starting to reconnect with ourselves and our sense of purpose and connection to a wider living world, though whether we can do it in time to stop incinerating the planet is anyone's guess. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Japanese concept of Ikigai has become something of a phenomenon in recent years.
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Ikigai is a Japanese concept, which basically means living your life in a way that is fulfilling, and gives you a sense of purpose and connectedness. That's perhaps a bit too pure for late stage capitalism, which means that the western interpretation has really added (or tweaked at least) the dimension of it, to make sure that this life of purpose is something that also gets you paid.
What we are left with in this hybrid form is represented most often in a Venn diagram like this:
Now that is something most of us never saw hanging on the office wall of our careers advisor, but it is compelling, don't you think? Generations of artists were told by parents and schools that they had talent, but that they needed to find something more "serious" to pay the bills. People who have built careers in one thing talk about "starting over" when they consider changing course and pursuing something that calls to them. It is terrifying to follow your passion and purpose, but only because the world around us has made it so.
In our current model of education, Ikigai is only uncovered through serendipity. We measure success in grades, then wealth, and ultimately GDP, so if we also happen to love what we are doing, it's considered lucky, rather than what should be the case for everyone.
Progressive institutions which de-silo subjects, to focus on the development and application of transversal skills, will likely see more learners making the connections between what they do and what they love. Free to explore and reach outside the tick boxes and curricula, free to learn outside the classroom in ways and at times that suit them best, we are finding out more about who we are and what we can do.
Ultimately, the only real shot at finding our Ikigai (and we can have many different iterations of it throughout our lives), comes from us being in control of what we are doing. Learner directed education, space for play and discovery, a focus on skills and contribution instead of grades. It is ultimately up to the individual, but as educators, our job is to support that and make room for it to happen.
Imagine being 16 years old and knowing what you love doing, what you want to explore, how you can create learning opportunities in different situations, which activities are fountains, and which are drains. Imagine what your future could be with such a start.
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We are talking about Ikigai here, not only because supporting others to aim for this is something we would like to see more of in education, but because it also connects to a more sustainable future.
Think about our current world, and the way we define growth and success. It is purely metric, because when GDP grows and our policymakers cheer every half percentage of it, we are not talking about what we have lost. What is the social and environmental cost of that growth?
Technology advancing brings exciting opportunities, but if we are still thinking we are "making it" in the world just because we can afford each new phone or laptop that emerges, we do an enormous injustice to the thousands of children working in toxic cobalt mines to make these products. GDP is a terrible metric to base any sense of progress on, when in fact it can be quite the opposite.
ikigai includes an important dimension, which is "what the world needs". The world needs regeneration and compassion, care and consciousness. If we make Ikigai an ideal to strive for, if we normalize this sense of balance and alignment, how will our priorities change? How will yours?
A world living this way is not the world we have now, but it is a better one. When we are talking to our children, our learners, our friends, our colleagues about what they want to do and how they want to live, this is as good a model as we can find to hold as an ideal, and as the way forward for all of us.
