Back in Aus - home!

Well I'm back in Aus!  After leaving Denver on December 11, I touched base at home for two days then flew off to Tasmania for 8 days with David - lovely to spend relaxing time together. Home for Christmas with the family, caught up with friends, saw Vanessa's ring (very elegant) and Belinda's wedding photos (stunning bride). And now I've returned to QUT and work.

The whole residency was an immensely rich experience, professionally and personally. Unfortunately I didn't manage to keep this blog up-to-date during the residency, as I became so busy just keeping up with scholarly (and less scholarly) activities. But I'll add a summary of the whole wonderful thing in my next post. And I'll fill in some gaps with backdated posts. I'm gradually uploading photos to picasa at http://picasaweb.google.com/HilaryEMH

Wild pets

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.

Snapshots

 

Vail in Fall

there were so many unashamedly clichéd yet spine-tingling experiences for me as a US novice ...

informal social gatherings with friends, colleagues and fellow Fulbright scholars from around the world (including France, Germany, Russia, Venezuela and Indonesia); brave and willing TCED1111 students (informed learners all); intriguing conversations with taxi drivers in several US cities and passengers on the Coast Starlight train from Seattle to San Francisco; a real family Thanksgiving in Seattle; the Rockies, energising Colorado air and bugling elk;

walking with squirrels; stunning public art and busker-friendly painted pianos in Denver; creative vibrancy, generous spirit and resilience of the Hispanic community (viva Su Teatro!); Fulbright Alumni BBQ in a park with resident fox; standing on the paving stone where Martin Luther King Jnr spoke “I have a dream”; the Korean War memorial in the moonlight (awareness of war as fear, uncertainty, tedium, killing);

a young man on his knees proposing to his girlfriend in the mêlée of Times Square late one Saturday night, to the multiple cheers and camera flashes of strangers; the buzz of MOMA on a Friday evening (free entry to everyone at this time); a Gutenberg Bible and the domed reading room at the Library of Congress (once a librarian, always a librarian!); Smithsonian wonders including meditative giant pandas munching bamboo;

riding the loop in Chicago and shimmering in the Cloud Gate bean statue; glowing green (pines) and gold (aspen) mountains of Vail in the Fall – all crunchy white in December; front seat of a San Francisco cable car swooping down towards the Bay; the unruly morning traffic of bikes and skateboards along the elegant Stanford boulevards; the stirringly modest statue of Neil Armstrong (pre-moon) as student with slide rule in hand at Purdue University; Californian wines and Wynkoop’s brewpub; bagels, buffalo steak, Nepalese momos, real burritos (and lots more deliciously diverse food).       

Vail in Winter

Thanks everyone ...

momos to share

It has been an immense privilege and pleasure to undertake this Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence  program. The experiences and outcomes that I gained greatly exceeded my expectations. The program has achieved and continues to promote multiple benefits on all sides. I offer my  warm thanks to the any organisations and individuals who made this possible, including: Co-sponsors of the SIR program Dr Mary Somerville (Auraria Library Director) and Dr Carolyn North (UCD); faculty, librarians and students at the host institutions University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Community College of Denver; Australian-American Fulbright Commission; Council for International Exchange (US); members of the Denver community; colleagues and friends at Colgate University, Purdue University, Stanford University, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, NAFSA and AIFS; Queensland University of Technology; my family

Su Teatro, new play, new home

Stunning performance, tragic and uplifting - Chicano poetry, dialog, humour, amazing singing and dancing, video montage ...

"Saturday was a night of celebration on-stage and off for Su Teatro, Denver's 39-year-old Chicano theater company. It was their opening performance since taking ownership of the Denver Civic Theater "el corazon de la ciudad" — in the heart of the city — at 721 Santa Fe Drive. In front of a rare capacity crowd at the long-neglected Civic — a boisterous throng of 325 that included Interior Secretary Ken Salazar — Su Teatro offered a glimpse of the expanded artistry we can expect now that they're performing on a stage four times bigger than the one they've left behind at the old Elyria school in north Denver. This original, bilingual musical production, written by longtime writing partners Anthony J. Garcia and Daniel Valdez and running through Oct. 30, is a celebration of Sacramento poet laureate Jose Montoya, best known for "El Louie." It's a wrenching, angry poem about the discrimination and disregard a Chicano soldier faces during and after serving in the Korean war. He's a pachuco, from that marginalized generation of Mexican-American youths who sported zoot suits and developed their own gangster culture in the 1940s."

Full report and photos: The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_16389953

CALCON10 – Colorado Association of Libraries conference

Illumination & transformation – an electrifyingly apt theme for a librarians’ conference with a focus on advocacy and literacy! The session I attended on Saturday 9 October was a great opportunity to make contact with academic and teacher-librarians from around Colorado and to enjoy some stimulating presentations and discussion.

In an exciting start to the day, as Lorrie drove me in her snazzy red Porsche to the conference venue at Loveland, about an hour from Denver. Fun to venture out into the prairie, with the Rockies to our west with first snow on the higher peaks. Nice to catch up with Lando and Cindy from Auraria Library at the conference.

Lauren Myracle, a star author of fiction for tweens and teens, spoke honestly and compellingly about her experiences as a censored author. The audience cheered her resilience in the face of some public and administrative attempts to ban or restrict access to her publications – to the extent that she is currently no. 1 on the American Library Association’s list of challenged authors. The graciousness, fun and compassion that she radiated contrasted with the almost rabid emails she read from “the noisy few”, people accusing her of corrupting young people, pedophilia, and even Satanism! She described the hurt these messages cause her, especially the ones accusing her of being an unfit parent (she has 3 children who she reads her books to). But she considers that many of the angry reactions reflect fear and misunderstanding. And she also pointed to research that shows children tend to put down fiction they are not yet ready for. So in her replies, she is consistently courteous, expresses regret that people don’t like her books, acknowledges that no books are to everyone’s taste – then gently explains that she is writing through young people’s eyes, to entertain and support them as they wrestle with issues that are often urgent and painful to them, but which many adults (especially parents) are unaware of or unable to discuss. She also encourages parents to engage more with their children; when a parent was enraged that her 10 year old asked ‘what’s an erection’ after reading one of her books, she commended the person for being the kind of parent that her daughter could ask such a question, and to remain open to future discussion. Lauren Myracle books to look out for include: Eleven; Twelve; Thirteen; Love you bunches; Kissing Kate; TTYL. And see her terrific animated web page: http://laurenmyracle.com//

Roberta Stevens, president of the American Library Association (ALA) spoke insightfully about the impacts of social and technological change on the roles of libraries and information professionals. Exciting that she raised several issues close to my heart! Role of libraries and librarians in the community: Roberta stated that libraries are the “heart and mind of the community”. The are also “lifelines’ and “first responders” in times of natural and economic distress, able to deliver essential information and e-government services. (eg. Huricane Katrina, WFC). Librarians have a unique opportunity to be 21st century leaders in the global economy as long as they respond to changing expectations and needs of information users. In line with this, she spoke about “blended librarians” – a great term, that indicates a need for librarians with knowledge and expertise in both traditional formats and online tools, who support users as online communicators and creators, who can envision library services for the future and have skills to develop and implement new service models according to changing contexts.

Library (re)design: Roberta indicated that while library environments have tended to be designed to suit administrative purposes, there is now a positive shift towards library design that suits the needs and ways of the using community. Library users should be involved in designing their library spaces and services, and these should reflect the collaborative styles of younger people today as well as the lifelong learning needs and information using preferences of older people – ie. we need to be user-centred and inclusive!

Information literacy – informed learning: Roberta emphasized the role of libraries in developing knowledge and 21st century library users’ skills. “Libraries are about people, how they learn, use information and participate in their community”. Evidence based practice: Roberta emphasized the need for advocacy, based on solid evidence and illustrated by individual stories, to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the value of libraries in the lives of users and success of communities.

Greatly encouraging from teacher-librarian perspective, Roberta is a former TL (prior to Library of Congress). Early in her talk, she acknowledged the important contribution TLs make to libraries and education. Towards the end, she called for collaborative partnerships between the local, school and academic communities to increase the reach of influence of libraries generally.

Also a heart and mind tingling presentation by John Creighton, a Colorado-based public policy researcher and community organizer. His main point was that libraries and information professionals need to respond to changing ways that people are engaging with information – in particular, that people now value expertise but reject authority. People want to find their own information and control it themselves, and then consult experts in applying the information. Eg: Previously patients have tended to rely on their doctor, as authority, for information about a disease and instructions to follow. Now, increasingly a patient who is diagnosed with a disease seeks out information  online about the nature of the disease, alternative treatments etc, and often will compare this information with friends, family, online communities; then the patient returns to the GP or specialist and requests (even insists on) a particular course of action, thus diminishing the doctor’s power and authority. The problem is that the quality and reliability of the ‘experts’ that people rely on varies greatly, and the information is often provided by lay people or volunteers – eg. Support group blogs, Expedia hotel reviewers. In other words, people want to make informed choices – they don’t want to be told what to do. Therefore, libraries and librarians have a vital role in supporting people make “informed choices” – yay!

How can libraries and librarians enable people to make informed choices? According to John:
** Create, identify and organize information options
** Inform and facilitate satisfying choices
** Give people access to tools of production, distribution, participation and collaboration
** Enable people to form ad hoc short term and long term communities
** Help people sustain action and community over time
** Help people stay connected

Lorrie Evans, from Auraria Library UCD (and my snazzy driver!) presented a thoughtful and practical session about assessment of information literacy. She engaged her audience by asking them upfront several questions, which she later explained served as a mini pre-test or learning needs analysis. Nice strategy! She also pointed out that in addition to assessing existing knowledge, a well designed pre-test can become a useful learning experience. She also indicated the importance of linking assessment to learning objectives (or outcomes) of the course (unit of study) or program. In addition, assessment can be usefully linked to a research question that the students need to address. She pointed out that this approach to assessment of student learning is far richer and more useful than counting stats of student attendance or numbers of sessions. Good on you Lorrie!

Cindy Hashert, Lorrie Evans and I enjoyed the collaborative experience of preparing and hosting  an unconference session entitled: Informed learning: Re-energisng information literacy. This offered the opportunity for a productive conversation on principles and practice of informed learning within academic and school library contexts and identified interesting points for further development.

An unexpected bonus was the lunchtime meeting of CASL, the Colorado Association of School Librarians. It was interesting to hear concerns and ideas of local TLs/School Media Specialists. They seem to experience similar challenges to Australian TLs, with regard to often limited funding and recognition of the TL role in schools, and consequent under-staffing or non-existence of libraries in schools. Even so, they were passionate in their commitment to raising awareness of the value of school libraries and supporting students; they planned advocacy strategies, including a letter-writing/email campaign to local media. I look forward to making further contact with some of these TLs and visiting their schools, and/or establishing links with Australian TLs, perhaps online via Elluminate.

Update on Fulbright activities

It’s been a while since I updated news of my Fulbright activities. So many and varied things have been happening that it’s now a real challenge to document them all in a way that conveys their nature and impact. I’ll try to chunk events into separate posts and postdate them to maintain a chronological flow.     

Co-teaching TCED1111

Co teaching TCED1111 Learning in the 21st Century with Carole and An is a continuing weekly pleasure. The classes are well structured but create an informal and fun learning and teaching environment. Carole leads the classes which include a variety of lively learning activities, such as mindware puzzles and  discussions. An, the peer mentor, also runs a weekly activity and brings news of 'student life' activities and encourages students to particpate in social activities. I aim to support an inquiry-based approach to the group and individual project work, as students simulataneaously learn about their topic and develop critical information using practices (yes, informed learning!)  

The focus is on enabling students to understand how learning happens and their brains 'work', and how their social environment impacts on their learning - with a view to to developing supportive and collaborative relationships with their peers, and strategies for managing their own health and general wellbeing.  The students are generally responsive to the new ideas and ways of working that we keep introducing. It's been so heartening over the last 5 weeks to watch their growing confidence to intereact with eachother and willingness to share thoughts and feelings. This mutual nurturing is critically important, since individual students are experiencing various challenges, both in their transition to university and their personal lives (some quite severe). 

Belinda and Alex get married today!

Warmest wishes to Alex and Belinda on their wedding today  for a happy life together. Hope it's a truly enjoyable and memorable day for you and your guests, especially Michele and Troy. Sorry I can't be there, but can't wait to hear the stories and see the photos. Hilary :)

Washington DC



Washington Memorial

The Capitol from National Mall,
Library of Congress dome on right



The White House



Lincoln Memorial




Library of Congress



Tian Tian



Mark and Vanessa's Wedding news

While in Washington DC I recieved an urgent 'Mum phone Mark' message - fortunately indicating that he had some good news to share. He and Vanessa decided on their 10th aniversary of meeting each other to get married next year. Joyful news indeed! But I was sad not to be able to join them, Daid and Peter for a clebratory dinner in Samford. But something else to look forward to on my return to Aus. Mark and Vanessa haven't set a date yet, but the wedding is likely to be April-May.

Lions Presentation, Lunch & Learn 2, Focus Groups, and more ...

This was busy ‘public’ week after all the planning I had to start delivering the goods …

Focus groups with Chinese students: On Monday and Thursday I conducted focus groups with international students who are studying at UCD in Denver, after completing the first year of their degree program at International Campus Beijing (ICB). ICB is a joint education program between UCD and China Agricultural University (CAU) in Beijing. This is an interesting program, which offers Chinese students the opportunity to develop English language fluency and some familiarity with American academic practices in their home country before coming to USA.

As always, I really enjoyed talking with students from China. They openly shared their experiences and concerns about life and study in their home and host country. Like many Chinese students in Australia, these students expressed strong motivation to succeed academically. Among other things, it transpired that they mostly like Denver and UCD, although they find living costs expensive and the food doesn’t always agree with them.

The aim of these focus groups is for me, as a neutral person, to gather student feedback and (with the students’ permission) provide it to the UCD’s International Office to assist program development. In a couple of weeks I shall conduct focus groups with faculty members to gain their perspectives on teaching international students. All this resonates nicely with research I‘ve been doing with Chinese TESOL students at QUT.

Visit to Anschutz Health Sciences Library and Dean of Dental Medicine: On Monday afternoon I spent a couple of hours exploring and working in UCD’s new Health Sciences Library at the Anschutz Campus. It’s an amazing library and I wished Raylee was there to experience such a glorious learning space. The design is light and airy, thanks to a central atrium and many internal windows to view into, across, down and out of the building. Each floor offers open study areas, glass enclosed group spaces, and many enticing nooks for reading and computer using. Comfortable, stylish furniture in warm earthy colours, timber tables and desks of various sizes and striking artwork (paintings, photography, sculpture). It almost had the feel of a country club (without the snobbiness!) Such a relaxing and conducive place to study. Designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planners (click on link for photos). I also visited the Nighthorse Campbell Native Health Building on the Anschutz campus. It is stylistically different but equally stunning, with an internal lobby reminiscent of an Indian tepee rising to a clear glass dome that seems to connect with the sky.

Mary and I met with Denise Kassebaum, Dean of Dental Medicine, who described the truly inclusive learning and teaching approach that domestic and international students experience in this school. A wonderful case study!

Presentation to Denver Lions Club: On Tuesday I again attended the Denver Lions Club meeting with Mary and Catherine, this time to make a presentation on Informed Communities and Australian Connections. This was a great opportunity to thank the Denver Lions Club for supporting my Fulbright program, commenting that:

Through today’s event we’re responding to the missions of both the Lions Club and the Fulbright Commission, which in different ways promote international understanding, education, and community well-being … I have great respect for the Lions Club and the invaluable contribution club members make around the world, through community projects and charitable donations. I’m aware that your Denver Club is a Founder’s Club, with a long and active history, and that you make an inestimable difference to the lives of sight impaired people, less privileged children, at risk youth and their families. In Australia, Lions Clubs also support the community in many ways, both financially and through practical projects. As a parent of two boys I am eternally grateful for the roadside Lions Parks that break up the long car drives between Australian cities … On a local level, I’m pleased to pass on the best wishes of the president and members of the Samford Lions Club …an active group in my local community on the outskirts of Brisbane. The President, Carmel Mazzeo, invites you to visit the Club if you are ever in the area.

I went on to talk about the importance of information, information literacy and informed learning for ensuring social and economic well being of communities. I mentioned that:

Informed learning flourishes in environments that support the free flow of ideas, the sharing of knowledge and the remembrance of community heritage and cultural identities. Achieving such complex goals, requires well resourced educational facilities, including libraries, museums and cultural centres. Philanthropic organisations, which support education and the arts, such as the Carnegie Foundation, the King Foundation and the Lions Club, are invaluable partners in informed learning.

After briefly introducing these concepts, I illustrated them with travellers’ tales of my informed learning journey, and how it brought me to my Fulbright residency in Denver. The audience were attentive (I think!) and asked some interesting and relevant questions at the end. It was nice to again meet Denver Lions Club President Steve Krebsbach and other club members, including King Foundation President Bob Sweeney. The Italian lunch was also good again!

Catherine Ostrander, Preside Steve Krebsbach and Hilary

Lunch and Learn Workshop 2: On Wednesday I presented the second Lunch and Learn Workshop, on the topic Faculty Experiences: Teaching International Students. Discussion centred around three focus questions:
How do we, as teachers, experience cultural diversity?
Why is it challenging for faculty to teach international students?
What are the potential benefits for faculty of teaching international students?

The participants carried out a problem-solving activity about one of the following scenarios:
a) Dilemmas of teachers of in culturally diverse contexts: With your group members, identify and describe a real-life (or hypothetical) critical incident that became a dilemma for a teacher in culturally diverse context. Propose a strategy to resolve the dilemma. Then present the dilemma and your proposed strategy to other workshop participants as a ‘documentary’.

b) Promoting an inclusive approach to teaching in culturally diverse contexts: Imagine you and your group have been selected as champions of culturally inclusive education. You are charged with convincing reluctant colleagues to enhance their approach to teaching international students. Draw on real-life (or hypothetical) critical incident(s) to build an argument that promotes the benefits to teachers of teaching in culturally diverse contexts. Then present the argument to other workshop participants as a 5 minute ‘documentary’

Beforehand, I wasn’t sure how the group problem-solving activity would work – it was really role play by another name! But the group members collaborated well and presented creative and useful responses to the problems.

Historical lunch: On Friday, after teaching as usual in the morning, I enjoyed the ‘lost Friday’ lunch gathering hosted weekly by Tom Noel aka Dr Colorado, a personable and lively communicator. Here, in the historic Baur's Restaurant, I met an interesting group of Denver historians, including Dana EchoHawk, who strongly contributes to Denver’s community history and preservation of cultural memories. Her projects include co-producing with Daniel Salazar, for Center for Colorado & the West at Auraria Library, videos on aspects of Colorado Hispanic history, including the Displaced Aurarian community:
Salvaje y Libre (Wild and Free)
Westside Friends
In search of Displaced Aurarians
Altogether, this lunch gathering proved a great informed learning opportunity about (and with) the Denver community – and another good feed!

Fulbright Alumni BBQ: To round off a lively week, I attended a BBQ hosted by Colorado Fulbright Alumni for current Fulbright scholars. The secretary, Cheryl Kaas, who is also a Learning Adviser at UCD, kindly drove me there and home again. This gave us a good opportunity to chat about our Fulbright experiences and also our common interest in supporting student learning. It was fun to meet up with Fulbright scholars from a variety of countries, including Germany and Colombia, and Laura Maxwell (again) from France. The Alumni were mostly closer to my age than the current scholars! They were all most friendly, and in particular I’m looking forward to visiting Barb Stuart, Lecturer in Management at Denver University.

Off to Washington DC: On Saturday morning I flew to Washington DC, but that visit needs a whole post of its own!

Constitution Day & Mexican Independence Day

Today, September 16 is Constitution Day. Drafted in secret by delegates to the Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1787, this four-page document established the government of the United States. It opens with the words:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/index.html?dod-date=916

And today is also Mexican Independence Day! And this year marks the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spanish rule. Here's the "Grito" (the cry) that started it all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grito_de_Dolores

(Thanks to/Gracias a Louise and Lando of Auraria Library for alerting me to these significant anniversaries)

Lions Club, Welcome Reception and African/African American-Chicano-Chicana Studies

Labor Day: The Week of 6 September started with Labor Day holiday on Monday - which a offered a welcome long week-end to rest and prepare for upcoming commitments.

Lions Club: On Tuesday I had the pleasure to attend the Denver Lions Club weekly meeting at Maggiano's Italian restaurant with Catherine Ostrander, who is Head of Community Relations at Auraria Library and a newly elected Lions Club board member. The Lions members were vey friendly and welcoming - they even have a special 'Welcome to the Denver Den' song which they sing to visitors. An enjoyable lunch, with particularly tasty lasagna! The invited speaker was Aaron Harber, a television host, producer, political and economic commentator and newspaper columnist.  His talk about “The impending November, 2010 elections” gave an interetsing inside view of the upcoming Senate and Governor election.  

Lunch with Fulbright Laura: Thursday was a big day! Lunch with Mary and Laura Maxwell, a Fulbright French Language teaching assistant who's currently working at a Denver high school and studying at Metro State College Denver. She's from Paris, but also has family in Newcastle upon Tyne, so we had plenty in common.

Fulbright Welcome Reception: Late Thursday afternoon was my official Fulbright Welcome Reception, held in the ELC, Auraria Library. This was a warm and enjoyable occassion. I felt privileged to meet senior adminsitrators and faculty members from all three of the sponsoring institutions (UCD, MSCD and CCD). UCD Provost Rod Nairn gave an introductory address and Dr Carolyn North, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Affairs,outlined key aspects of my program. Delicious food and wine, flowers, photography and wonderful music played by a specially auditioned string quartet of MSCD students. (All beautifully taken care of by Catherine and Niraj f Auraria Library).

I was pleased to be able to publicly express my deep appreciation to representatives of the three institutions for sponsoring my Fulbright Scholar in Residence program, as follows:  

Thank you Dr Nairn for your kind welcoming remarks. And thank you to our other distinguished guests for attending this reception - it a pleasure and a privilege to meet you. I would particularly like to acknowledge Dr Mary Somerville, originator and coordinator of this program and also co-sponsors Dr Carolyn North and Dr Ali Thobhani for bringing this program from proposal to reality.

I would also like to acknowledge the strong support from my home university, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) – in particular Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coldrake, Executive Dean of Education Professor Wendy Patton and Head of School for Cultural and Language Studies in Education Professor Annette Patterson. In fact, thank you everyone! I deeply appreciate your association with my Fulbright program. This program resonates closely with the mission of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, which is to promote understanding between the peoples of Australia and America through educational and cultural exchange. This program is opening up wonderful opportunities for me professionally and personally. I am proud to participate in this unique tri-institutional initiative which draws together colleagues from UCD, CCD and MSCD in furthering students’ academic success. I look forward to ongoing scholarly collaboration between our institutions, during and beyond the four months that I am in Denver.

African/African American-Chicano-Chicana Studies: On Friday, after teaching, I had lunch and a fascinating conversation, led by Dr Ali Thobhani, with colleagues specialising in African/African American-Chicano-Chicana Studies at Metro State College Denver. We covered a range of topics which helped me develop greater understanding of the learning experiences and needs of minority and ethnically diverse students in the Denver/US context.

Ipad: Another exciting event this week - I bought an ipad! Slim and sleek!

Over the week-end Mary and I went shopping and then worked on our respective writing and teaching projects. 

Acknowledging 9/11

Today is the ninth anniversary of 9/11. I acknowledge the pain, courage and hope of everyone touched by this tragedy.

Informed learning in action

Tivoli Student Center, Auraria Campus (originally a brewery)

Amazing that I've been here over 3 weeks already. In some ways the time seems to have flown by, though in others it seems much longer as so much is happening. But all good! Lots of meeting people, planning and preparation for Denver-based activities, arranging visits and travel to other universities, and now teaching. People on campus and around town are friendly and I'm working with interesting people of greatly varying backgrounds and professional responsibilities.


Last week saw the first week of semester and start of the academic year. It was exciting to see the campus come to life. The library is now jumping as it serves 40,000 odd students who are spread across the 3 HE institutions on the Auraria campus. Last Friday I had my first class with new (freshmen) students taking the course (unit) Learning in the 21st Century. I’m co-teaching with Dr Carole Basile and An Nguyen, a 5th year student peer advisor. Lots of fun as we’re on the same wavelength and the students are responsive. The course really supports informed learning, which we’re discussing and modelling explicitly with the students. Among other things, the students will create a map (any format) of their informed learning journey through the course and develop an ‘informed learning chest’ (any format) to gather their information and reflections throughout the course. Be interesting to see how this journey unfolds for all of us.

Meanwhile, the librarians are progressing well information literacy initiatives drawing on informed learning principles. They have decided to convene an Informed Learning Circle of key stakeholders and will also hold regular Chocolate and Conversations for informal discussion based around selected readings. (If nothing else, it seems like we’ve started a healthy Coffee and Chocolate tradition, Christine!) On Weds this week I attended the Library’s Open Forum, where speakers from Technical and IT Services helped me develop greater understanding the library’s complex operations - rather nice to re-tend my info professional roots! It was also an opportunity to offer further explanation to the library personnel about my FB program and intended outcomes. And not forgetting some enjoyable informal interaction at the Library’s End of Summer Pot Luck lunch last Friday. Further confirmation that librarians the world over are good at food.

For the first two weeks it was pretty hot, 92-96 degrees F, but a dry heat and more bearable than Brisbane's humidity. Fall now seems to be on its way. The last few days have been cooler, the mornings are getting a little darker and the trees are starting to show hints of brown. I'm told that in about 6 weeks we'll have first snow of winter.

I’ve continued to explore Denver with Denver and also on foot. There are spectacular views of the mountains, with patches of snow on the high peaks. Denver has an appealing mix of contemporary and historic buildings, wide streets, stiking and entertaining public art, tree-lined streets and everywhere very clean. Generally there’s a prosperous feel about the place, although I’ve noticed a distressingly high number of homeless people holding cardboard signs on street corners. Spanish is spoken almost as much as English around Denver.

By walking around the neighborhood and eating lots of wonderful fresh vegies I'm getting fitter and losing weight (an unexpected bonus of the residency!) However, the weight loss may take a turn as I‘ve just discovered the delight of Einstein Bros bagels! There’s one Einsteins rather too conveniently located on campus.

It’s been great keeping in close contact with the family via email and ventrillo. Fortunately all seems well at home, even though Stoke City are not yet performing up to potential this season. Go the mighty Potters!

St Cajetan's, Auraria Campus,
former parish church of the (now dispersed) Hispanic community

Orientation and Convocation at UC Denver

UC Denver campus, Auraria Library on left 

This has been a week of meeting people, setting directions and generally settling in. I attended several new UC Denver Faculty orientation sessions, which helped me gain a clearer picture of the university’s vision and structure.

The Lunch and Learn Workshop, held on Weds in the Auraria Library, was the first in a series on International Students: Teaching and Learning Opportunities and Challenges. This week’s workshop set the scene by introducing challenges that international students often experience at UC Denver. The highlight was a panel of international students who presented powerful messages about what it’s really like to be an international student. They spoke clearly and insightfully about characteristics of good and poor professors they had encountered in Denver. They also offered hints to professors for supporting international students in their classes. Notably, one panel member commented that she found international students tend to be categorised as either brilliant or stupid, but in fact they are all just ‘normal’ students and would like to be treated as such. Later, two senior Faculty members presented alternative perspectives by describing their previous Fulbright teaching abroad programs.

On Friday I attended the new student Convocation in the King Center of the Auraria campus.

R to L: Dr Rod Nairn, Dr Jerry Wartgow, Dr Brenda Allen, Mr Keven Shaw (at Convocation) 

The new student Convocation was an uplifting event without direct parallel at QUT. The audience comprised new students and Faculty members, who were addressed by UCD’s senior administrators. The convocation commenced with the National Anthem, sung stirringly by Linda Theus-Lee, who is a past UCD student and current Faculty member of the UCD Business School. This was followed by several welcoming talks to the students that were informal and amusing whilst encouraging students to set personal and academic goals, to engage in their educational and wider community, and to draw on available support to achieve their goals. They resonated so well with our ideas about informed learning that they are worth summarising, as follows …

The chair person, Dr Brenda Allen congratulated the students on entering college and urged them to recognise this achievement by cheering ‘I’ve made it!’

Dr Jerry Wartgow, UCD Chancellor, extended a warm, personable welcome to the students, nicely showing the institution to be a learning community with a human face, rather than merely an educational system.

Dr Rod Nairn, UCD Provost, called on the students to keep a close focus on the ‘why’ of their studies, whilst attending to, but not becoming preoccupied with day-to-day issues relating to the ‘what’ and the ‘how’. He equated ‘why’ with purpose, longer term goals, personal fulfilment, etc. ‘What’ includes what unit/major to take, what assessment items need doing; and ‘how’ includes ‘how will I find resources? how will I pay for this course? How will I travel to college?’

Dr Frank Sanchez, UCD Associate Vice Chancellor Student Affairs offered the students 5 tips for academic success, which were very helpful in their simplicity for students tackling the complexities of university life and study for the first time:
• Develop time management strategies
• Build pathways through your studies, by identifying their strengths and talents
• Engage fully with your college experience, participate in campus activities, internships, voluntary community work
• Challenge your frame of reference, extend your world view, by connecting with languages, liberating your mind with new ideas, consider who you are and where you’re going (I was almost cheering him at this point!!)
• Study hard and get to know your professors; get to know at least one professor really well each year

Mr Keven Shaw, President of the Student Association, encouraged students to frequently remind themselves that ‘College is tough, but I will graduate’ – and to enable themselves to do so by seeking out support from their academic advisers and their peers. He also taught and had us practice the college chant: “When I say UC – you say Denver!”

Dr Brenda Allen’s ABC for students concluded the Convocation on a learning high:
• A: Always be learning (formally, informally, about yourself, about the world); she quoted Mahatma Gandhi: ‘Live as if you will die tomorrow but learn as if you will live forever.”
• B: Be resourceful. The university offers a cornucopia of resources, for your intellect, your body and your spirit, to help you survive and thrive. Use people as resources, draw upon their help to learn, including your professors, academic advisers, tutors, family, friends, previous teachers, Auraria Library. Don’t wait until you are in trouble to seek assistance.
• C: Connect with others. Aim for a rich diversity of friends
Her final comment: “Yes, you’ve made it – now it’s up to you what you do with it”.

... yay!!! to all of the above (from all speakers)

The Convocation was followed by a BBQ on campus, in a lovely grassy area between historic buildings (former homes). Faculty and advisers mingled and chatted informally with the new students, living up to the messages of speakers at the Convocation.

New student BBQ

Now coming to the end of an enjoyable, relaxing week-end …
Saturday, explored the Downtown area of Denver on foot, followed by lunch at a neighbourhood Mexican restaurant Las Delicias (lived up to its name, muy delicioso!) Then retail therapy at an upmarket retail outlet, Castle Rocks - incredible value clothing and shoes and stunning views of sunset over the Rockies on the way home. Sunday, more retail therapy at Cherry Creek (a more refined Indooroopilly) and then sensuous culinary selection at Whole Foods (much more fulfilling than plain old grocery shopping at the local supermarket).

16th Street Mall, Denver - love the busker on painted piano and free tram!

Australian election at a distance

Australian election day Saturday 21 August - 7.30 am Sat morning here - 11.30 pm Brisbane ...
Just checked the ABC election site http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2010/ - what extraordinary election results! Currently 72 Liberal/National coalition, 70 Aus Labor Party. And what political disarray the results signal for Australia with a hung parliament.
The Greens seem to be the real winners - good on them! What a huge mistake ALP made in dumping K Rudd, despite his personal failings. What a shame Julia G was in such a hurry to becom PM. I'm so disappointed that Maxine McKew has lost her seat - to a tennis player??

It's interesting that following news of the Australian election from this distance has diminished its personal relevance - I'm viewing it more through a social impact frame. Submitting my postal vote on Thursday lacked the sense of occasion of attending the local school to vote along with other members of the community. I missed running the gauntlet of the party pamplet wavers and bumping into people we haven't seen for ages. And checking the results via laptop loses the immedicay of watching the results unfold with Antony Green on the ABC, whilst sharing the tradional family election night chips and drinks. 

It will be fascinating to compare this Aus election experience with that of the US elections for State Governors and Senators in November. Already I've noted a much longer lead time here than in Aus - the candidates' posters are already out in many people's gardens and some people have already cast their vote. For US voters the decision would seem a good deal easier to make with only 2 real choices (Dem or Rep) - unlike the 80 possible candidates listed on the Queensland Senate ballot paper. 

First week in Denver

My first week here passed in a flurry of meeting people, settling in to home, becoming familiar with working environment and sorting out the technology. All made so much easier by friendly, interested welcome from everyone I’ve met at the Auraria Library and around the campus. Mary has made me feel very comfortable and I have plenty of space to work and relax. I also have an office at the Auraria Library.

Denver is a gracious city, bigger than I expected. I’m staying in East Denver, which has tree-lined streets, mostly attractive homes with dense lawns gardens and summer flowers. There's even a Jersey Street. It's hot and sunny, midsummer with nice long evenings – I enjoy walking around the neighbourhood in the evenings. Lots of locals are also out at this time, walking, running, pushing prams – generally friendly, saying hello as they pass.

My first week at work in Denver was busy with meeting key stakeholders at the 3 institutions who have co-sponsored my residency (University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan College Denver and Community College Denver). On Wednesday there was a yummy Coffee and Chocolate reception for Christine and I at the Auraria Library (again, perfectly suited my tastes!) On Thursday Christine and I presented a full day workshop on Informed Learning for an invited group of teaching faculty and librarians from the 3 institutions. We were thrilled by the way participants enthusiastically engaged with informed learning concepts, innovatively applying them to the design of ‘a coffee curriculum’ and then considering them in the contexts of their own teaching.

On Friday Christine and I worked at home, both together and separately. In the evening we enjoyed a walk around the neighbourhood and cooked an Indian dinner.

On Saturday we ventured into the mountains, visiting Red Rocks (amphitheatre), Nederland and a couple of other small towns; splendid lunch at a Nepalese restaurant on the way. The mountain scenery was stunning, especially the geological formations at Red Rocks and canyon on the way down to Boulder. There were patches of snow on the distant mountains, but the weather was warm and sunny. We drove to just over 8000 feet. My ears were popping occasionally and I felt my breathing was lighter when we were walking. People were riding bikes up and down the mountain roads and also hang gliding.

On Sunday morning we had relaxing massages, followed by an excursion to Cherry Creek shopping district. Here we were entranced by (but resisted) Nordstrom couture and furry toys (but less resistant to a chipmunk and a hedgehog!) Then Christine left for home on Sunday afternoon. Great for her family, but we'll miss her here!

Arriving in Denver

Mountains and canyons, between LA & Denver

Arrived in Denver on Saturday 7 August. I'm glad to be here despite a rather fraught journey from LA ...

For starters, I was unprepared for the mele of check-in at LAX - seemingly endless queues of anxious, impatient people at the airline desks and at the security points on the gallery above. For the first time since leaving Aus I felt lost, unfamiliar with local procedures, unclear who to ask for assistance. The automatic check-in machines were similar to those I’d used at Aus airports, but they didn’t recognise my passport or e-ticket number. This caused me some panic that I wouldn’t get through in time to catch the Denver flight. When I asked a passing airport staff member how to use the machine he simply commented “If you don’t do it yourself you won’t learn” and moved on, leaving me further distressed.

Deciding to take the innocent Aussie abroad approach, I sought out QANTAS at the far end of the terminal building. Here I found almost no queue and a smiling staff member, with a soothing American voice: ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get you to your flight, just give us your passport’. In less than five minutes my bags were checked in and I had a boarding pass. I still had to negotiate the security checks, but the supportive response from the QANTAS person had restored my confidence to manage the system.

(Just goes to show that inducing independent learning isn’t always the most effective form of support! And that in certain learning contexts, relying on the help of others is a valid problem solving strategy).

I reached the departure gate with 30 mins to spare and phoned Mary to say I’d be arriving on time. But soon after, there was an announcement that the 12.40 Denver flight had been cancelled and all passengers should proceed to the Customer Service Desk. It involved more queuing and uncertainty, but this time I just calmly followed the flow and eventually gained a seat on the 5.50 flight. I then hibernated for the rest of the afternoon in the Admiral’s Lounge.

The flight to Denver was spectacular. The plane passed over mountains and canyons. The layered reds and ochres of the mountains, illuminated by late evening light, contrasted with the intense black of the intersecting valleys. On the descent into Denver, distant thunderstorms gave some indication of the expanse of the high plateau. The illuminated roof of Denver airport suggested mountains or wigwams.

It was so lovely to meet Mary at last! She drove me to her home and offered a welcoming late supper and Spanish wine (she had guessed my taste well!) Next day, Sunday, we collected Christine from her hotel and made a leisurely orientation tour of Denver in Mary’s car, the highlight of which was a visit to the wonderfully stocked and accommodated Tattered Covers bookshop. The irregularly placed wooden shelves encourage browsing and unexpected discoveries. A young man on a wooden bench was reading and laughing, almost oblivious to the other browsers; title = “101 reasons not to go to grad school”.

We then selected dinner ingredients at Whole Foods, the most appealing and generous vegie shop I’ve ever been to, with a huge range of super fresh, multi-coloured produce. It had to be ratatouille and wholegrain bread for dinner!