The OpenLearning Conference 27 November 2018 https://www.conference.openlearning.com   Quality multiplied: Learning that matters in a runaway world Lina Markauskaite Centre for Research on Learning and Innovation The University of Sydney, Australia   Abstract How can we help prepare students to solve wicked problems when nobody knows exactly what these problems will be, for jobs and professions that do not yet exist and for a society whose contours, as Anthony Giddens put it, ‘we can as yet only dimly see’? For the last ten years, I have been researching how university students learn to integrate different kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing needed for innovative and skilful professional action in the world — how they develop a capability called ‘epistemic fluency’. Drawing on my studies and related innovations in my teaching, I will argue that education needs to go beyond the established notions of ‘learning as knowledge acquisition’ or ‘learning as participation’ and go beyond developing courses or shaping students’ experiences. Instead, it should focus on learning that enables students to re-imagine their future, co-assemble their own environments, and co-create actionable knowledge that runs away outside the educational institutions. This is a risky business that requires openness to the world in which the students will live, in fact, to the world which they will co-create. Universities and other educational institutions have skin in this game. They need courage and wisdom to move beyond their secure ‘industrial’ methods for assuring educational quality, and embrace a greater diversity of ways in which they teach and produce socially valuable knowledge.

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Quality Multiplied:
Learning that matters in
a runaway world
Lina Markauskaite
Associate Professor of the Learning Sciences
Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Learning and
Innovation
The OpenLearning Conference 2018
26–27 November
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Acknowledgements
Professional learning for knowledgeable action
and innovation (ARC DP0988307)
– Peter Goodyear, Agnieszka Bachfischer and many
others
Understanding and facilitating learning in
emerging knowledge co-creation spaces (SREI
2020, DVCR)
– Peter Reimann, Celina McEwen, and 17 other
colleagues and PhD students
Re-imagining the future: Frontiers of learning
innovation and research (SRS, DVCR&E)

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About me
Last 14 years…
A big part of my life…
From https://sydney.edu.au/about-us/our-story/timeline.html
From https://www.vu.lt

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My focus: Social learning
– For future complex knowledge
work
– Where ‘Social’ really matters
for knowledge
– Expansive learning:
individuals, groups,
communities, cultures

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Main messages
A runaway world
– more than where we are
naturally heading
Knowledge that matters
– more than we already know
Learning that matters
– more than what and whom
we teach
Quality multiplied
– more than efficiency and
satisfaction

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A runaway world
Why is education a global issue?

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Global transformations and issues
World Economic Forum. Mapping Global Transformations, 2018 November
From https://toplink.weforum.org/knowledge/insight/a1Gb0000000LPFfEAO/explore/summary

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The future of skills and Higher
Education
– AI, robotics, blockchain: some
roles are on the way out
(accountants, financial
analysts, lawyers)
– Fast change: the most in-
demand occupations did not
exist 10 years ago
– ‘Content’ matters, but
‘futureproof’ skills matter more
so
World Economic Forum. The Future of Jobs Report 2018. From http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf
World Economic Forum. The Future of Jobs Report 2016. From http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs.pdf
From https://www.smh.com.au/education/university-degrees-obsolete-
report-ernst-young-20180501-p4zcn5.html

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Knowledge that matters
What should professionals be able
to do with knowledge?

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Expectations from the
(future) professionals
1. Evidence informed and
generating practice
2. ‘Second-hand’ knowledge
3. Relational expertise
4. AI & redistribution of work
5. Open innovation &
co-configuration
What does it mean for
HE?
“…learning for an unknown future has to be a learning understood neither in
terms of knowledge or skills but of human qualities and dispositions.”
Barnett, 2004, “Learning for an unknown future”, 247
Knowledge Flexibility,
Adaptability
?
Moving away
from
knowledge
Rethinking
knowledge &
skills

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Actionable knowledge
Knowledge as a tool for action
“People who use tools actively rather
than just acquire them . . . build an
increasingly rich understanding of the
world in which they use the tools and
of the tools themselves”
Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989, 33
Actionable knowledge is
“knowledge that is particularly useful
to get things accomplished in
practical activities”
After Yinger & Lee, 1993

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Epistemic fluency
People who are flexible and adept
with respect to different kinds of
knowledge and different ways of
knowing about the world can be said
to possess epistemic fluency.
After Morrison & Collins, 1996

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Learning that matters
What kind of learning is key
for (future) professionals?

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How people learn
1. People develop a diverse array of
knowledge and other cognitive
resources
2. Different kinds of knowledge are
learned in different ways
3. Learning is a remarkably dynamic
and enmeshed in physical and digital
environments, social practices and
cultures
4. Learners constantly integrate many
types of knowledge and learning
processes, both deliberately and
unconsciously
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. Washington, DC: The National

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Design for Social learning
‘Social’ is at the core of
knowledge (eg. wicked problems)
– Diverse perspectives
– Distributed environments
– Production of complex
knowledge objects and
artefacts
Source : Arthar’s PhD,
2018

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How do we create complex
actionable knowledge?
Shared knowledge
problems/objects
Local
epistemic practices
Personal
resourcefulness
Knowledge, skills,
dispositions, etc.
Assembling environments,
creating objects,
tinkering, etc.
Assumptions, concepts,
methods, etc.
Global
knowledge cultures

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An example
What does this look like in
practice?

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An example
From https://sydney.edu.au/courses/units-of-study/2019/edpc/edpc5024.html

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Learning to lead innovation and change
100%
Agreement for 9 out of 12 items of
evaluation
“During this challenge I personally
experienced frustration, panic and
joy”
“Overall, a different but very
rewarding course for me”
“I learnt far more doing the teamwork than I'd expected
to”

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Key course components
A guide for
innovation & change
managers
Joint
innovation
Analytical
reflection
…of past experiences
…of teamwork
Analysis and design
Teamwork
Weekly readings
Online discussions
Ideas and
methods
Using ideas & methods to
inform knowledgeable action &
create actionable knowledge
products
Understanding &
improving individual &
group learning
Making ideas
actionable by
grounding them in
past experiences

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Design principles
1. Making action knowledgeable
2. Making knowledge actionable
3. Creating epistemic artefacts
(tools)
4. Integrating diverse kinds of
disciplinary and non-disciplinary
knowledge
5. Coordinating diverse ways of
knowing
6. Co-assembling joint epistemic
environments
7. Learning at genuine knowledge

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Principle I: Making action knowledgeable
Seeing experiences through
theory
Using ideas and methods to
inform immediate action

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Principle II: Making knowledge actionable
Guides for Change and
Innovation Managers
iPad Journey (MLS&T)
Constructing practical-principled
knowledge products (tools)
Overcoming isolation in online learning
Learning on-the-go: Mobile learning in
HE
Redesigning learning spaces:
Learning through making
Learning analytics for deep learning

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Principle III: Creating epistemic artefacts
Learning to recognize and
deliberately create various kinds
of epistemic artefacts that allow to
share ideas across disciplinary,
professional and other
boundaries and mediate joint
knowledge work
– models,
– blueprints,
– prototypes,
– principles,
– etc.

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Principle IV: Integrating diverse kinds of
knowledge
Multiple disciplinary perspectives Multiple stakeholder
perspectives
Individual
learning
Image based on Senge, P. et al. (2000). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents,
and everyone who cares about education. New York: Doubleday.
Organisational
learning

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Principle V: Coordinating diverse ways of
knowing
Three
modes of
inquiry
Systems
thinking
Design
practice
Responsiv
e action
From big ideas… to specific ‘know how’

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Principle VI: Co-assembling joint epistemic
environments
Learning to manage distributed
teamwork by learning to choose
and use appropriate methods
and tools
– Face-to-face
– Synchronous web conferencing
– Online collaborative writing
– Knowledge mapping
– Idea generation
– Online project management
– Asynchronous discussions
– Document management
– etc.

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Principle VII: Learning at genuine knowledge
frontiers
Creating useful knowledge for
future and for others and, ideally,
with others
- Guides for change & innovation
managers
- Future scenarios
- Horizon scanning reports
- etc.

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Bringing it all together: “The three orders” of
learning
Teaching as
telling
Learning as
acquisition
Designing for
learning
content
(product
design)
Teaching as
facilitation
Learning as
participation
Designing for
experiences
(service
design)
Teaching as
co-configuration
Learning as
co-construction and
conscientious
inhabiting
Co-designing for
knowing
(relational design)
1st Order 2nd Order 3rd Order

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Opportunities for co-construction
Open & Citizen
science
Industry & community
partnership
Open & Living labs
From https://enoll.org/about-us/
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and
Medicine. (2018). Learning through citizen science:
Enhancing opportunities by design. Washington, DC:
The National Academies Press.
From https://sydney.edu.au/study/find-a-
course/undergraduate-courses/interdisciplinary-
projects.html
Co-
creation
Real-life
setting
Multi-
method
approach
Multi-
stakeholder
participation
Active user
engagement

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Firms co-operating on innovation with HE or
government, OECD 2017
OECD Innovation Indicators 2017, From http://www.oecd.org/sti/inno-
stats.htm#indicators
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
AUT
FIN
GBR
BEL
SVN
COL_S
EST
NOR
ESP
DNK
NLD
MEX
DEU
FRA
POL
SVK
CZE
JPN
HUN
ISL
COL_M
TUR
GRC
CHE
PRT
LTU
LVA
ITA
KOR
BRA
NZL
CHL
AUS
RUS
SMEs
Large
Australia

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Is it ‘laziness’ or ‘a bottleneck’?
– 2 066 600 Small (0-19)
– 51 000 Medium (20-199)
– 3 700 Large (200+ employees)
– Plus governmental, community
organisations, etc.
Businesses, 2017 (AU data) University, 2016-17
– 55 600 Academic staff
– 66 405 Research Students
– 1 513 400 HE students
Engagement of students in real-world problem solving is
not only a pedagogical opportunity, but an economic
necessity
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (2016) Small business counts. From
https://www.asbfeo.gov.au/sites/default/files/Small_Business_Statistical_Report-Final.pdf
Norton, A., Cherastidtham, I., & Mackey, W. (2018). Mapping Australian higher education 2018. Grattan Institute. From https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/907-

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An opportunity
– Careful planning
– Learning supports
– Intentional design
– Building iteratively
– Input from stakeholders
Global ‘research resource’,
2025
Doing ≠ Learning
– 262 million students
– 5.6 million person years of
research time per year*
Disclaimer: I haven't checked data & calculations
*If 50% study time was allocated for research
Evans, J., et al. (2015). Living labs and co-production: university campuses as
platforms for sustainability science. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability,
16, 1-6
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. (2018). Learning through citizen
science: Enhancing opportunities by design. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Students’ learning and research time is a huge underutilized
intellectual resource that could make a huge difference to economies
and society
, BUT also…

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Quality multiplied
Do we have issues with
quality?

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Quality: What, who and how to evaluate it
1. Knowledge and skills – teachers (grades)
2. Experiences – students (course evaluations)
3. Workplace readiness – employers (satisfaction), accreditation
4. Value for money – governments (staff to student ratios, drop-outs,
etc.)

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Employer satisfaction with graduates, 2017
(AU)
Including innovation
QUILT (2017) The 2017 Employer Satisfaction Survey. National Report. From https://www.qilt.edu.au/about-this-

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Student experience, 2017 (AU)
63% Internal/mixed
22% External
QUILT (2018) The 2017 Student Experience Survey. National Report. From https://www.qilt.edu.au/about-this-site/student-

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Do we have issues with quality?
From: https://www.smh.com.au/education/university-degrees-obsolete-report-
ernst-young-20180501-p4zcn5.html
EY (2018) Can Universities Today Lead Learning for Tomorrow:
The university of the future. From
https://www.ey.com/au/en/industries/government---public-
sector/ey-university-of-the-future-2030

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NONE of these are
1. Students are not
‘consumers’ but co-creators
of knowledge and
universities
2. Universities have skin in
the knowledge creation
game
3. We should think about
‘relational’, not ‘reactive’,
futures of HE
The future of HE

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Quality: What, who and how to evaluate it
1. Knowledge and skills – teachers (grades)
2. Experiences – students (course evaluations)
3. Workplace readiness – employers (satisfaction), accreditation
4. Value for money – governments (staff to student ratios, drop-outs,
etc.)
5. Relevance and direct value – co-participants (co-produced
knowledge artefacts, societal benefits)

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HE as a ‘relational service’: Some insights
1. Expert-designed services
2. Students as customers of
educational services
3. Gain knowledge and
experiences
4. Predefined tasks,
predictable outcomes
5. Quality is a responsibility
of providers
6. A technological platform
1. Expert-enabled services
2. Students as co-producers
of education
3. Develop capabilities to
co-create knowledge &
experiences
4. Negotiated tasks, emerging
outcomes
5. Quality is a joint responsibility
of co-producers
6. A sociotechnical system
Standard Relational
After Cipolla, C., & Manzini, E. (2009). Relational Services. Knowledge, Technology & Policy,

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Final points
What could you take
away from this?

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Main messages
A runaway world
– A world we can imagine, want
to live in, and can create
Knowledge that matters
– interconnected, actionable,
embodied in artefacts
Learning that matters
– ‘leaks’ into learning of others
beyond students
Quality multiplied
– socially relevant, of direct
value

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Takeaway: ‘What’
Social learning should not just equip
a greater number of students with
more knowledge or provide them
with positive experiences. Social
learning should aspire to develop
students’ capabilities to create
actionable knowledge for complex
workplace and societal issues, and
directly contribute to solutions of
these issues

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Takeaway: ‘How’
Actionable knowledge
for complex workplace
& societal problems
Quality of
social learning
Graduate
qualities
Quality of
our society

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Thank you
Email: Lina.Marakauskaite@sydney.edu.au
Website: https://epistemicfluency.com
Twitter: @markauskaite
eBook:
https://www.springer.co
m/9789400743687