Reviewing the whole SIR experience

Capitol Building, Denver - one mile high

Multi-dimensional program
My four month SIR residency in Denver, Colorado was an amazingly rich experience – or whirl of experiences. For Fall Semester 2010 I was based in the Auraria Library, which serves three institutions of higher education: University of Colorado Denver (UCD), Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD) and Community College of Denver (CCD). These institutions, like many others in the US, are facing significant challenges and opportunities relating to the internationalisation of higher education and the increasing diversity of student populations (domestic and international).Consequently, the principal aim of the residency was to work with academic staff and librarians of the three institutions on projects that would advance the academic success of international and traditionally underserved students. This offered a perfect context for combining my academic interests in the needs of international students and developing theory and practice of informed learning.

Auraria Library (right)

This SIR program was multidimensional. Its 4 month time-frame and my determination to take advantage of every opportunity ensured that this was an intense period of learning, collaboration, creativity and reflection. I greatly appreciated having the time and brain space to work at a rapid and continuously productive pace, and to trial novel concepts. I engaged in a wide variety of activities in Denver, which included: teaching undergraduates, presenting professional development for university staff and leading an initiative to revitalise information literacy education and library services. In addition the scholarship encouraged community engagement and enabled me to visit several other US universities and cities, to participate in national symposia and conferences and other professional and personal enrichment activities. The following snapshots illustrate different aspects of my residency.



Auraria Campus

Educator perspectives As scholar-in-residence, I adopted the role of informed learning catalyst, to foster critical and creative engagement across disciplines, between faculty (academics), librarians, learning and writing advisers, administrators and students. In this way, the program brought together key stakeholders, with similar concerns or overlapping responsibilities, but with limited opportunities for scholarly and professional interaction. For example, I presented a series of workshops on learning and teaching of international students to enhance practical learning and teaching. As the Auraria Library seeks to be “the heart of the learning experience”, I also ran professional development sessions for librarians, to re-review established practices and develop innovative strategies for more inclusive and sustainable approaches to information services and information literacy education.

A lively roundtable discussion that I led with educators from African-American Studies, African Studies and Chicano/a Studies brought together specialists from 3 departments who have rare opportunities for scholarly exchange. It offered a powerful instance of informed learning, whereby I was able to share theory and practices with colleagues, whilst increasing my awareness of their academic fields and various political and educational nuances of concepts such as multicultural and diversity.

Co-teaching a first year course (unit) Learning in the 21st century was an immensely rewarding. It allowed me to engage with undergraduate students and trial particular strategies, such as an informed learning map and treasure chest, as learning and assessment activities.This experience will inform my further work on informed learning curriculum and pedagogy. In addition, I learned a great deal from observing and talking with my co-teacher, a dynamic and innovative student-supportive educator.

Attending UCD student convocation and participating in academic staff orientation at the start of the academic year were valuable learning opportunities. They enabled me to develop familiarity with this confusingly new US academic environment; they also gave me a ‘place’ within the organisation and a means of connecting with colleagues and students through shared experience. The insights I gained in my educational and cultural transition to Auraria and the US have now become ‘teaching material’. They also increase my understandings about international students and their support needs.

Colgate University - misty, mosity morning

Research perspectives
From a research perspective, this SIR program has allowed me to trial and refine informed learning theory and practice (Bruce, 2008; Bruce & Hughes, 2010), with potential for further research and publications. The professional connections made through this SIR program have established a foundation for further collaboration between US and Australian educators and researchers in this field. It was stimulating to explore with kindred spirits concerns and visions around learning and teaching in culturally diverse contexts; and immensely encouraging that concepts and practices of informed learning appealed to members of these circles, far beyond QUT.

Interaction with educators and administrators from other US institutions also enhanced my understanding of issues being addressed on the Auraria campus. In particular I noticed that conceptual ambiguities and professional delineations around multiculturalism and internationalisation tend to hinder collaborative and inclusive learning approaches. I also became aware of culturally related issues around study abroad programs for American students that I had not considered previously. There is a current concern among US study abroad professionals to redress a marked imbalance in study abroad participation, with a predominance of female Caucasian students and a very small proportion of African-American or Hispanic students. There are various socio-economic factors, which are not always readily apparent. In addition to prohibitive costs, students from ‘minority’ backgrounds sometimes experience family resistance due to cultural norms or limited experience of foreign travel; and sometimes students from immigrant families are without necessary residency documents to obtain a passport. Moreover, American students of colour may experience a double cultural dislocation in host countries where they do not fit perceived stereotypes of Americans. Interestingly, a well travelled African-American Dean told me that the foreign place she felt most accepted was the Gold Coast (Australia), where no one stared at her or made pointed questions or comments about her appearance.

City Park, Denver

Community perspectives
Through community engagement I gained a taste of ‘real life’ in Denver. Activities included giving presentations to the Denver Lions Club and Denver Women’s Press Club, attending a book launch and performances at the Hispanic community Su Teatro. In a small personalised way, events like these achieve the Fulbright vision of educational and cultural exchange. From my research perspective, they also provided striking examples of how people may intuitively support and practice informed learning in the community. I also gained particular respect for local philanthropists whose quiet generosity to the Auraria Library and Center for Colorado for the West, allows the creation of congenial learning spaces and provision of culturally inclusive resources, with potential to inclusively draw in learners who may be apprehensive of ‘public service’ organisations (including libraries).

Visits to Denver public school libraries linked the SIR program with my role at QUT as coordinator of the Master of Education (Teacher-Librarianship). They established common ground and opened possibilities for ongoing educational and professional exchange between teacher-librarian students, educators and practitioners in Australia and the US. The visits also confirmed the value of the school library as learning hub. At both the elementary (K-8) and high school, the library was a vibrant and welcoming haven within a big, bustling, security-conscious site.

Larimer Street, Denver

Personal perspectives
From a personal perspective this SIR program has greatly enriched my professional knowledge, enhanced my practice as educator, extended my worldview and deepened my appreciation of cultural and social diversity. I have enjoyed engaging with the Denver community and exploring the United States, establishing new collegial relationships and friendships. It has enabled me to extend my experience in teaching and research. I gained further leadership experience and increased confidence in interacting with experts and senior administrators. Through exposure to political and administrative realities of higher education and international education in the US, I have gained deeper understanding of the environment in which I am immersed as educator and researcher.