LEGO, fishbowls, and collaboration

This article reflects on what matters in collaboration. It is widely recognised that calls for ‘collaboration’ and ‘collaborative ways of working’ abound in research, scholarship, pedagogic practices, and beyond as a desirable student skill set (Veles, 2022; McKay and Sridharan, 2023), and a way to...

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Main Authors: Rebecca Edgerley, Russell Crawford
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education
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Online Access:https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1219
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author Rebecca Edgerley
Russell Crawford
author_facet Rebecca Edgerley
Russell Crawford
author_sort Rebecca Edgerley
collection DOAJ
description This article reflects on what matters in collaboration. It is widely recognised that calls for ‘collaboration’ and ‘collaborative ways of working’ abound in research, scholarship, pedagogic practices, and beyond as a desirable student skill set (Veles, 2022; McKay and Sridharan, 2023), and a way to address complexity and problem-solving (Graesser et al., 2018; Scoular et al., 2020). Now, the recent iteration of the Advance HE Professional Standards Framework (2023) cites a new dimension of practice, PSF V5, that requires fellowship claimants to explicitly evidence how they ‘collaborate with others to enhance practice’ (p. 5). However, understandings of what constitutes collaboration remain fuzzy and—specifically in the context of university professionals—somewhat underexplored (Newell and Bain, 2019). Furthermore, collaboration often falls to so called ‘third-space’ professionals, as they occupy a natural (but not always comfortable) confluence between academics, researchers, professional services, and learner communities (Veles, Carter and Boon, 2018). This article presents a session plan, which has been co-designed by two third-space professionals working within educator development. The session uses a novel assessment matrix—the 9 Domains of Collaboration—as an approach to explore and critique the defining characteristics of collaborative endeavour. The aim of this article is twofold. Firstly, the session plan and 9 Domains framework offers colleagues in higher education a tangible evaluative aid for provoking, tracing, and documenting collaborative practices. Secondly, we offer reflections on how collaboration is expressed in ways that align with PSF V5 and that amplify the work and contributions of the third space.
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spelling doaj-art-b4e4765247c444b2b60818017dac2f512025-01-31T07:56:43ZengAssociation for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE)Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education1759-667X2025-01-013310.47408/jldhe.vi33.1219LEGO, fishbowls, and collaborationRebecca Edgerley0https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8599-5041Russell Crawford1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4657-1576University of ExeterFalmouth University This article reflects on what matters in collaboration. It is widely recognised that calls for ‘collaboration’ and ‘collaborative ways of working’ abound in research, scholarship, pedagogic practices, and beyond as a desirable student skill set (Veles, 2022; McKay and Sridharan, 2023), and a way to address complexity and problem-solving (Graesser et al., 2018; Scoular et al., 2020). Now, the recent iteration of the Advance HE Professional Standards Framework (2023) cites a new dimension of practice, PSF V5, that requires fellowship claimants to explicitly evidence how they ‘collaborate with others to enhance practice’ (p. 5). However, understandings of what constitutes collaboration remain fuzzy and—specifically in the context of university professionals—somewhat underexplored (Newell and Bain, 2019). Furthermore, collaboration often falls to so called ‘third-space’ professionals, as they occupy a natural (but not always comfortable) confluence between academics, researchers, professional services, and learner communities (Veles, Carter and Boon, 2018). This article presents a session plan, which has been co-designed by two third-space professionals working within educator development. The session uses a novel assessment matrix—the 9 Domains of Collaboration—as an approach to explore and critique the defining characteristics of collaborative endeavour. The aim of this article is twofold. Firstly, the session plan and 9 Domains framework offers colleagues in higher education a tangible evaluative aid for provoking, tracing, and documenting collaborative practices. Secondly, we offer reflections on how collaboration is expressed in ways that align with PSF V5 and that amplify the work and contributions of the third space. https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1219collaborationassessmentacademic developmenteducator developmentprofessional standards frameworkthird space
spellingShingle Rebecca Edgerley
Russell Crawford
LEGO, fishbowls, and collaboration
Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education
collaboration
assessment
academic development
educator development
professional standards framework
third space
title LEGO, fishbowls, and collaboration
title_full LEGO, fishbowls, and collaboration
title_fullStr LEGO, fishbowls, and collaboration
title_full_unstemmed LEGO, fishbowls, and collaboration
title_short LEGO, fishbowls, and collaboration
title_sort lego fishbowls and collaboration
topic collaboration
assessment
academic development
educator development
professional standards framework
third space
url https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1219
work_keys_str_mv AT rebeccaedgerley legofishbowlsandcollaboration
AT russellcrawford legofishbowlsandcollaboration