Date of Submission
8-8-2023
Document Type
DiP
Degree
Doctor of Education
Department
Education
Keywords
hyflex, professional learning, authentic leadership, servant-coach leadership, embodied cognition, bodily awareness
Abstract
Post-secondaries have been implementing a hyflex delivery model, which is a far more complex pedagogical setting than more traditional modes of face to face or online delivery. This has fundamentally changed the way faculty experience the learning environment, with some faculty noting an increase in stress and a decrease in performance. Drawing on Organization A’s implementation of hyflex, this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) observes professional learning (PL) for the hyflex environment focuses solely on technology and cognitive knowledge, with consideration to wellness and performance scantly discussed. This OIP proposes the missing link to address wellness and performance is the inclusion of the body in PL design and delivery. This OIP challenges the Cartesian view toward learning that commonly drives hyflex PL and instead advocates a holistic approach that invites notions of embodied cognition into PL practices. Doing so requires the capacity for bodily awareness, which can be fostered by acknowledging non-conscious information acquisition, recognizing physiological and affective variability in the learning environment, considering the relationship between learning and circadian and ultradian cycles, and through the inclusion of body informed tools and strategies for managing stress and performance. The faculty experience in the hyflex environment has bodily components that need to be acknowledged if it is to be a sustainable mode of delivery. Adding this missing link can foster an inclusive and sustainable approach to PL for leaders who are preparing faculty for this technologically enhanced learning environment.
Recommended Citation
William, J. (2023). The Missing Link: Applying Embodied Cognition to Professional Learning. The Organizational Improvement Plan at Western University, 338. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/oip/338