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Bronwyn Swartz

~ Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Bronwyn Swartz

Monthly Archives: August 2014

The Ah Ha moment

29 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in Purely Academic

≈ 1 Comment

So I realised that I was trying to marry two projects that just shouldn’t and can’t be merged.  There’s a common thread that runs through both of them, namely “resistance”.  The first project is in the field of Educational Technologies (specifically Blackboard e-Learning – something I’m very passionate about) and the second project is in the field of Quality Culture (Also passionate about).

Look the truth is I’m using this CHEC proposal course to get me started on the PhD in Quality, but the focus of CHEC is on Higher Education.  At the moment, being a higher educator is my primary job.  In this job I stumbled upon a wonderful tool called Blackboard.  Blackboard is an e-Learning platform CPUT uses or CPUT staff “can” use if they want to.  And that is at the heart of my one problem.  Blackboard is an amazing bit of educational technology.  It has opened a world of opportunities for me and my students in terms of their learning.  I engage with them in a way that firmly supports them and it feels personal.  I’m not the type of lecturer who stands in front of the class in isolation from them.  Besides some obvious benefits on my side, namely the less marking for me, Blackboard allows me to give each of my students personal attention, while at the same time the group as a whole benefits from that personal attention e.g. in Discussion groups.  This is an opportunity that time just would never allow in the traditional teaching and learning system that I came through.  My students are thriving and so am I.  Yet I have found in my department I am the only lecturer of about 30 odd others who bother with Blackboard.  The rest of the lecturers pretty much ignore it, or just use it as a one direction communication tool with students.  This is indeed puzzling.  I have a suspicion that this is representative of the whole institution.  There are only small pockets of lecturers that make use of Blackboard.  It is highly functional, yet the resistance seems to be significant.

I tried to merge that idea with Quality Improvement so that I could use the same work for the PhD. Unsuccessfully.  It just wasn’t making sense no matter what angle I approached it from. I had the Ah Ha moment yesterday when I realised I need to distinguish between the two projects because they just don’t fit together neatly.  If I try to force them, the wheels will come off and I’ll come across as an idiot.  

The second idea that I had is resistance to quality improvement – ultimately Resistance to Quality Culture.  A very real concept.  I worked in two laboratories in my life and both of these labs had “quality systems” – but the implementation and the way quality was perceived in them was not what I was taught about quality as a quality student.  Makes one question if the concept of a quality culture really exists, and if it is not just the carrot and the stick that exists.  But I still truly I believe it’s truly out there.  Deming, Crosby and the other guys….they were real weren’t they.  I believe you need to change people’s hearts and minds first.  I suspect organisations are forgetting this.  Organisations introduce a quality system, either because it regulatory or because it’s like a brand name apparel that will make them look good – but they forgetting something. That something has to do with the staff that must adopt quality (like the lecturers that must adopt Blackboard.)  This is also a topic that’s close to my heart and interests me.  I was a staff member who resisted quality as it was applied in those labs, and even I do not understand why.  So the common thread is “Resistance” or “Non-adoption” (better academic term for resistance).

And if they are similar, why did I adopt Blackboard, but I did not adopt quality.  The answer to that question is I only adopted Blackboard when I was forced to mark exam scripts of 260 stats students.  It was an impossible task.  I had no choice but to look for a smarter way to do things because I just couldn’t work harder than what I already was.  Once I started using Blackboard, the system itself impressed me.  I started seeing how it made life easier not more difficult.  Therein lies the key to my research.

So I was initially thinking the CHEC course proposal would be the first draft of the PhD proposal, but I know accept that it wont be.  And that is fine.  I’ve decided I want to now do both research projects.  But let’s start with this Blackboard research first.  The comforting fact is hopefully my research design will be similar if not the same, because the nature of research will be the same.  Design based research…….., here I come.

The Game Changer

27 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in General

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Today was a iffy weirdio shoop-dedoop snap crackle and pop kinda day.  It felt as crazy as the weather Cape Town’s currently experiencing.  First I didn’t sleep well, but I didn’t feel tired when I got out of bed and started writing a section on Pareto Analysis for the blog/stats text book.

Then I went to proposal class.  I got so-so feedback from my facilitator.  I’m so pleased with myself at how well I deal with feedback.  I remember feeling more sensitive when I started writing my Masters.  To see “red lines” and “comments” scrawled all over one’s work isn’t exactly the same as getting a surprise bunch of flowers from a friend, however you get used to it.  I have thicker skin now.  Not that Arona does the “red lines” or “the comments with 50 exclamation marks” proceeding them.  She’s really very sweet and very tactful.  I appreciate that.  

Research Design Day

Research Design Day

Back on the Game Changer – I need to finalise a topic.  It’s not even funny.  I have to remind myself that it most probably will change anyway.  I need to find something that is good enough, even if it’s not great.  Today the focus of the course was on research design and I felt lost.  I really would like to do qualitative research, purely because I’ve never done it before.  It’s just critical I start forcing myself to commit.

So my plan is read up about Design Based Research.  It’s the buzz word in my course…that latest fad I believe, along with educational technologies.  Everyone it seems, just about everyone in my course want to do research related to educational technologies.  It appears I’m not such a trendsetter after all.  Oh well never mind that.  I will live.  My focus is sort of just wanting to get on with the job now – this time round I’m not aiming for a Cum Laude.

Then I managed to get my exam prep sorted (exam prep for my Stat 3 and Stats 4 students not my own exam!)  The question papers have been submitted and that’s one thing that’s nice to be able to tick off my to-do list.  Also much to my surprise I had a good stats lesson with my most difficult class this evening.  This particular class has a reputation among all the campus staff as a ‘difficult bunch’.  Every now and then – not often, but sometimes, I have a good class with them anyway.  That’s always just sublime.

Finally very happy news, I signed a four month contract today to work for a international pharmaceutical company as a….Drum roll….”Quality Assurance Consultant!  Oh my word, Shjoe.  It’s just a contract, but that’s what I studied all those years for.  Finally.  I’m having moment.  Bitter sweet.  Missing Robin.

Yep… a ffy weirdio shoop-dedoop snap crackle and pop kinda day.

Happy Birthday to Phillip! Hip hip Hooray!

25 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in Family and Friends, General

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Tonight’s post I’ll dedicate to a lovely young man Phillip who turns 10 today.  He is a delightful little boy, with such a pleasant demeanor and personality.  If anyone believed that phoney bad boy facade that Phillip’s dad puts on for the world you’d genuinely be forgiven for not even realising who’s boy Phillip is.  However if you manage to take just a bit of time to just hang around and observe them together, you’ll be reminded of what a remarkable dad should be like.  Richest Birthday Blessings and Congratulations to both of them!

 And now to get on with my literature review.  My assignment due for draft revision before midnight is 1000 words outlining my conceptual framework.  I wish I had a conceptual framework already.  I know these things take time.  With every revision I’m hoping it will become clearer, but at the moment things are still very very hazy.  At the moment the keywords are Quality (Improvement?), Educational Technologies, Resistance to change.  I just cant for the life of me…..cant yet convince myself that understanding resistance to change is a actually a quality improvement.  And I know if I cant convince myself, then I have a problem.  Before I can start writing persuasively and captivatingly about it, I must be able to make sense of it in my own squashie. I can’t.  Well certainly not yet.

  Anyways…best I stop ‘jabbering’ and start ‘lit reviewing’ then hey.  Catch you on the flip side.  

In search of the oreos

22 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in Statistics

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I inherited a course where the recommended textbook is like the presence of oreos in my house.  If there ever were any, they not there now, they don’t last, in fact they as mythical as the Tooth Fairy or Santa Clause.  It’s definitely not available in South Africa and it’s always out of print.  Even when I was a student I just couldn’t get a copy of the book.  Later when I started lecturing, through sheer bit of luck I came across a copy for sale on Amazon.

Earlier this year I made an effort to try and identify and single out one particular textbook that I could use as a recommended text book for my stats classes.  However I just couldn’t find one that covered all the concepts that I covered with my students in Stats 3 (SQT300S) and Stats 4 (QTS400S).  The stats courses that I present have quality flavour so the content of the courses is centered the question: What statistical tool or method can I use to fix this problem or improve the quality of my process?

I managed to find excellent textbooks that presented all the topics that I covered in class, however not in a single book.  That was when I had the idea of writing my own stats text book: Applied Statistics for Quality Practitioners.  When I told my brother he just rolled his eyes.  That gets me super excited, if it sounds nuts then I definitely want to give it a go…….So this morning I published a new page in this blog entitled Statistics.  I shall start writing.  Let’s see how far we get uh.  Drinks on me if it ever gets published 😉

Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes

21 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by Bronwyn Swartz in General

≈ 2 Comments

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants

A very powerful quote from the renowned Sir Isaac Newton directed at his rival Robert Hooke.  Humble, yet simultaneously confident.  A completely, totally and utterly inspiring sentiment.  And with that my journey begins.  Truthfully it started last week though, when I attended the first class of my CHEC course and I decided it’s time to start writing my PhD proposal.

This blog is my attempt to document my journey.  The focus is centered around the doctoral degree that I’ve set as my goal.  Good heavens I’m bold, stating it on such a public platform!  But why not hey.  You may ask ‘Why?’.  The only answer that comes to my mind is because it’s something I’ve never done before.  In my humble opinion that’s the darn-est good enough reason to do anything!

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