Developing a learner identity

Exploring the concept of “self” through the lens of learner identity offers an illuminating view of Dawn’s situation. Drawing on the “theory of situated learning” described by Lave and Wenger (1991), it is recognised that the developing “self” is shaped by the social practices with which one actively participates. I intentionally focus on active, rather than passive, participation here because in order to achieve maximum [potential] gain from learning (Mackaway, Winchester-Seeto, Coulson, & Harvey, 2011) one needs to be able to recognise those practices which have the greatest potential impact. In order to be able to recognise and maximise learning as an outcome of a [socially constructed] experience (Kolb, 2015), a learner needs to have the skills and desire to be able to forensically explore the processes and outcomes of the experience – a process that requires active engagement. In order to develop the “self” as a learner – and thus develop a learner identity (Christie et al., 2008) - it is important to be able to identify when learning has occurred, what the learning is and be able to purposively use these positive learning strategies to support goal- orientated, or “vision-driven” (C. Johns, 2002) ongoing learning.

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In order for a learner to be able to use the skills and strategies that are most likely to have the greatest positive impact on their ongoing learning, it is essential that he/she is firstly able to identify these particular strategies. Issues regarding the identification of strategies will be considered later in this section but educator expectations regarding such strategies will first be discussed.

Educators expect that students are able to use the feedback offered to them to

independently identify which tools and strategies are likely to have the best outcomes for them, thus the greatest impact. This suggests that, by the direct action of the educators, they want to foster an autonomous and independent learner in the students (Mckendry & Boyd, 2012), despite this sometimes being at odds with early acquisition of professionally- constructed competencies (p. 216). One example of this is that, on offering feedback to Eliza about her research-focussed written work and particularly about how she was using quotes from her research data within her writing, her educator, Alan, made it explicit that he expected her to act on, and take responsibility for and ownership of the feedback that he had offered her. Following the feedback offered by Alan and the assumed “sense making” of this feedback by Eliza, their discussion included Eliza making suggestions as to how she felt that she should move forward with this piece of work. Alan then simply stated to Eliza:

The ball is back in your court now. (Alan)

It is noteworthy here that Alan appears to purposively not verify Eliza’s understanding of his feedback. The fact that his response does not include an overt correction of her suggestions implies that her ideas appear reasonable to him but there is a risk of misinterpretation by both Eliza and Alan in this scenario. Without overt dialogue to establish a “shared

understanding” (Blair & McGinty, 2013) about the meaning - both intended and interpreted - of what is offered in the feedback, both parties are making an assumption that the other is accurately understanding them. Following my observation of the feedback experience

between Eliza and Alan, Alan is clear in his subsequent interview that he believes the intended message of feedback is not always accurately understood by students:

Some feedback that we [educators] give doesn’t do justice to the students because they don’t understand the feedback. It’s waffle, it’s academic speak. (Alan)

The earlier “Purpose of Feedback” chapter has argued that clarity as to why feedback is being offered is fundamental to student learning. When I directly explored this particular feedback experience further with Alan he was very clear about what his intention was in supporting Eliza with her writing:

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[I] wanted to nudge her towards [making the changes], but not be directive. Students need to do some of their own thing. (Alan)

This quote indicates that Alan’s intention in this instance was one of guidance and

encouragement, providing evidence to confirm that he was not intending to verify Eliza’s ideas about how to change her work as correct. This quote also indicates that Alan believes that students need to take responsibility for their own learning. There is a genuine challenge for educators who need to empower learners to take more responsibility and ownership for their learning because it is a skill needed on qualification (Health and Care Professions Council, 2012; Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2017), and yet they need to retain sufficient opportunity to “check out” student understanding for risk of misinterpretation.

The acquisition of appropriate learning strategies are needed for effective learning. Several times within this chapter Dawn has been discussed in a manner that highlights her skills as a learner. In the context of seeking external verification of learning, Dawn said:

… and I think it’s been really useful for me to know that I’m doing something right. (Dawn)

Dawn’s apparent lack of being able to “know” for herself whether the skills that she is demonstrating are correct or otherwise begins to expose her inability or unwillingness to critically explore and self-regulate her learning. This lack of “self” knowing is accentuated by the earlier discussion about Dawn’s measure of success and motivation in which she

requires others to profit from her learning, rather than seek and recognise gain as a learner herself. Together, these examples appear to present Dawn as a learner who does not to use analysis or reflection of “self” to help focus and direct her ongoing learning.

It is crucial that healthcare students are able to recognise and attend to the strategies that enable learning and capitalise on their gains, not least because it is a post-registration regulatory expectation (Health and Care Professions Council, 2012; Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2017). I argued earlier that it is not unreasonable for Dawn to validate her

successes by the impact that these have on other people, such as her daughter. However, it is essential that learning strategies are developed for the benefit of “self” if they are needed to support professional engagement and mobility within a professional community of

practice. It is clear that some students recognise and understand what strategies work best for them - or are essential requirements of learning within a given community of practice - in their quest to maximise learning outcomes:

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They [qualified clinicians] just reflect on themselves because I think that’s what you’ve got to learn [to do] when you’re out in practice. You reflect on yourself … because you’re not always going to have, you don’t have somebody there when you’re out in the real world. (Dawn)

In this quote, Dawn appears to acknowledge the fundamental skill of reflection in the “toolbox” of ongoing learning strategies required of a qualified healthcare professional. It is important that Dawn is able to recognise this fundamental requirement at this final stage of her pre-registration education in order that she is best prepared for the authenticity of the professional workforce. Learning through submissive methods does not prepare pre- registration healthcare students well for what is expected of them post-qualification. Without the skills to identify, direct and engage in ongoing learning, qualified healthcare practitioners will find it difficult to evidence their necessary learning and thus maintain professional registration. Healthcare regulators are not solely seeking factual information at the point of re-registration (HCPC) or revalidation (NMC) that states an encounter with learning opportunities, instead they are seeking evidence that learning has occurred from active engagement with these learning opportunities and that a registrant’s professional practice has developed as a consequence of this engagement. This further supports the notion that for learning to occur, the socially constructed lived learning experience needs to be explored in detail by the learner and for this to happen, learning must be active.

The position one has within a community of practice is also affected by active learning. As a member of a community of practice, the development of one’s own professional practice as a consequence of actively engaging with socially constructed learning opportunities begins to alter one’s position within that said community. Over time, the community of practice is influenced, manipulated and “co-constructed” (Hammond et al., 2016) by newer members who have actively engaging with learning as a member of that community. As a result, the fundamental “being” of the community itself begins to change. In order that, as qualified healthcare practitioners, new graduates are able to begin to move from the periphery of a community of practice towards its centre – so reflecting the developing kinship with fellow members (Wenger, 1998) in terms of skills, values and behaviours, and begin to influence the specific construct of that community – they need to be able to direct and govern their own learning. The outcome of learning as one moves from novice student to experienced student through to [novice] qualified healthcare practitioner (Arreciado Maranon & Isla Pera, 2015; Benner, 1984; Dracup & Bryan-Brown, 2004; Hammond et al., 2016) needs to be on self-direction and self-regulation, both of which rely fundamentally on personal exploration and self-verification of learning. These depend on the individual healthcare practitioner’s ability and willingness to take ownership of their own learning.

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Christie et al. (2008) articulate that “learners are not passive recipients of teacher knowledge, but co-producers of meaning” (p. 568). With the importance of taking

ownership for one’s own learning and co-production of meaning in mind, I want to revisit this quote from Dawn in which she describes why she perceived a particular verbal feedback experience as useful:

Because it was somebody else [a lecturer] understanding that I have learnt my theory and everything that they’ve taught me… (Dawn)

It appears that Dawn viewed her role within this specific feedback experience as largely passive. She states that she has learnt her theory which suggests her acquisition of factual knowledge rather than of the inquisitive and analytical exploration of clinical information that one might expect of a final year pre-registration healthcare student. Dawn’s

acknowledgement that she now has confirmation that she has accurately learnt “everything that they’ve taught me” appears to situate the responsibility for controlling her learning onto her educators. There appears to be no overt desire from Dawn to engage with the development of a true learner identity nor with the co-construction of professional

healthcare knowledge. Dawn appears to be divorcing herself from taking ownership of her learning by the language that she uses, expecting to be passively taught through being involved in the experience alone (Mackaway et al., 2011) rather than by active learning within and from the experience in support of contributing to the ongoing development of profession-specific knowledge (Christie et al., 2008). I have already made a case for the need for active learning to underpin professional healthcare practice and this will now be explored in more detail, focussing on the individual learner.