“The longest journey starts with a single step…” - Lao Tzu
When does a journey really begin though? When does a story start? It’s always difficult to pinpoint the specific point in time. Rather, we pick up the thread, join the flow, like getting on an escalator that has been moving before we got there and will continue long after we are gone. We’re just transitory visitors along for the ride for a while…
So, developing from my previous post, but also from many things which have involved me over the past couple of years, let me introduce you to my new focus for summer 2021 - The Plus One Teaching project.
I’ve been fortunate enough to secure a Fellowship from the University College Dublin Innovation Academy this year, which means that I (and 10 other lucky recipients) get to hand off all our regular University work for one semester and focus on something to do with innovation in teaching and learning. What an opportunity!
+1 is a fabulous concept used in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) - to just do 1 new thing (+1) at a time when improving your teaching practice. I took the opportunity of completing a Digital Badge in UDL last year having been introduced to it through my friend Jen Lynch, who was the 2020 winner of the John Kelly Award for Universal Design for Learning in Further and Higher Education. Any educator unfamiliar with UDL would be well served by finding out more - in Ireland AHEAD.IE are the key players in advocating for and providing training in this.
So my plan is to write a book on innovative teaching practices, using a series of case studies of educators who are doing amazing things in their practice.
To start this process I will interview each educator on Zoom, and these interviews will become a podcast - the Plus One Podcast. Based on these zoom conversations, I will write up each educator’s story as a chapter in the book, with the specific aim of inspiring other educators. Each case will offer at least one “+1” - an actionable tip or suggestion for other teachers to incorporate into their own practice.
This podcast/book approach also plays into another of the Universal Design for Learning principles - that of multiple means of access to learning. Some people may prefer to take in the information watching the videoed conversations. Others may opt for audio only - which will also be available. Yet others may prefer the written option offered by the book with all the material gathered together in a single easily accessible place.
The journey is probably going to be a fascinating one, as I have the chance to engage with and discuss teaching and learning with innovative educators. I’ll start with some of my own colleagues who inspire me, but I’ll be asking them all to give me the names of those who inspire them, so hopefully the network of inspiring educators will grow.
If you know someone I should include in my list to be interviewed, will you let me know? Please drop me an email with their details to joe.houghton@gmail.com and I’ll add them to my list!
Thanks for reading this far - do have a look at the project website, and hopefully give the podcast a listen once some episodes are posted.
Asst. Professor & Director, MSc Project Management programmes, UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business
Management consultant - www.houghton.consulting
EPALE Ambassador
Dublin, Ireland
Email : joe.houghton@ucd.ie / joe.houghton@gmail.com
Tel: +353 86 384 3670