Innovation & chaos ... in search of optimality

Ko Ruapehu te maunga
Ko Waikato te awa
Ko Huguenot te iwi
Ko Geering te rangatira
Ko Mellalieu te hapū
Ko Pukawa te marae
Ko Boeing te waka
Ko Jean-Pierre ahau

My personal mihimihi first presented to introduce my graduation address (Korero te puawaitanga) ‘Our graduation is a landmark in our journey towards building our wealth and caring for our environment’, Te Wananga a Aotearoa,  Tamaki Makaurau Graduation 2009.

Ruapehu is my mountain
Waikato is my river
Huguenot is my tribe
Geering is my [thought] leader
Mellalieu is my family
Pukawa is my village
Boeing is my mode of transport [to Aotearoa New Zealand]
I stand before you: Peter John

Western ‘equivalence’ statement:

Peter J. MELLALIEU, PhD, BTech(Hons), MPubPol, teaches strategy, innovation, and new venture development at Unitec Institute of Technology.

Having emigrated from the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s Peter grew up in the Waikato, later studying biotechnology and industrial engineering management at Massey University (Manawatu).

Following work as an agribusiness applied mathematician in Wellington, he worked as a software programmer in a new venture CAD/CAM systems company in Belgium, close to his family’s 17th century roots as a Protestant silk-weaver in northern France.

Returning to the Manawatu in 1987, he commenced a teaching career at Massey University from where he spent many happy hours walking, sailing, and skiing with family,  friends, and students on Mt Ruapehu and Pukawa, Lake Taupo.

In 2000, he organised a conference on the theme of strategies for sustainability and success in which he engaged thought leader theologian Lloyd Geering as keynote speaker.

Lloyd Geering: thought leader

Geering, L. (2000). Taking our Bearings in 2000 AD. In Strategies for Sustainability and Success: The Role and Impact of Strategic Thinking in the Development of Sustainable Enterprise (Vol. 8). Presented at the Proceedings of the 8th Annual Educators Conference of the New Zealand Strategic Management Society, Christchurch, N.Z.: New Zealand Strategic Management Society. Retrieved from http://web.mac.com/petermellalieu/NZSMS/Publications/Entries/2000/2/3_Lloyd_GEERING%3A_Taking_our_Bearings_in_2000_AD.html

Graduation address

Mellalieu, P. J. (2009, May 14). Our graduation is a landmark in our journey towards building our wealth and caring for our environment. Graduation address/Korero te puawaitanga, Tamaki Makaurau Graduation 2009, Te Wananga a Aotearoa, Malaeola Community Centre, Mangere, Manakau City. Retrieved from http://web.mac.com/petermellalieu/Teacher/Examples/Entries/2009/5/14_Graduation_speech%3A_a_landmark_in_our_journey_towards_building_our_wealth_and_caring_for_our_environment.html

Two years ago I studied Iwi Environmental Management at Te Wananga a Aotearoa. My motivation  was to improve my undertstanding of development and sustainability issues relating to the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Maori.

As part of the course, students were required to produce and present their whakapapa: the history of their family’s origins and development.Knowledge of one’s whakapapa is an essential part of one’s identity as a Maori. Perhaps the most polite question you can ask a stranger in New Zealand is “where do you come from?”. Increasingly, other migrants to New Zealand are researching their personal whakapapa.

Today, I recieved notice that my cousin had obtained an heraldic coat of alms, ostensibly from Normandy, north-west France, dated 1696. This information conflicted with my own research that identified our family as refugee protestants who had migrated to England from the French town of Malaloy, near Nancy in north-east France. They arrived in Middleton, Lancashire in 1635 and established a silk-weaving enterprise.

From UK census records, I suspect that the name Mellalieu was newly-created by these refugees from Malaloy in England. The name may never have existed in France.

Accordingly, I have made available to our family the research I conducted as a facebook photo album, as a basis for the family’s further investigation.

If any other Mellalieu-named person wishes to view my research, they can view the photo album of my keynote presentation here:

Mellalieu, P. (2008, May 28). Whakapapa Mellalieu: The geneology and history of the Mellalieu family. Presented in partical fullfilment for the requirtements for the Certificate in Iwi Environmental Management at Te Wananga a Aotearoa, Mangere, Auckland. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=240803&id=735589897&l=0dc68ac5ae

For a sample from my presentation, on tumblr, see here.

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What a bizarre mix of reading has passed through my mynd over the past month! Of course, I haven’t read ALL these items over the month. For instance, I’ve just begun to read Spada’s biography of Streisand.The list is slightly atypical of my usual reading due to my role of organising a concert programme of French art song on Sunday 26 Sept. And in case anyone is wondering, my reading has lead me to reject the notion that the Great Pyramids are evidence of God (or aliens).

Thanks to zotero.org for the citations management system.

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Mellalieu, P. (2010, September 6). A history of environmental sustainable development (ESD) at Unitec Institute of Technology. Unitec Institute of Technology.

Mellalieu, P. J. (2010a, August 22). Matangi Dairy Factory, New Zealand Dairy Group. Innovation & chaos … in search of l’excellence. Retrieved September 8, 2010, from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/990000387/matangi

Mellalieu, P. J. (2010b, September 2). My first-year university experience: a white-booted techie. Innovation & chaos … in search of l’excellence. Retrieved September 8, 2010, from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/1051138866/my-first-year-university-experience-a-white-booted

Mellalieu, P. J. (2010c, September 18). French Art Songs - Les Melodies Françaises. Mynstrel: A song maker in Aotearoa. Retrieved September 18, 2010, from http://mynstrel.blogspot.com/2010/09/french-art-songs-les-chansons-francaise.html

Mellalieu, P. J. (2010d, September 22). Feedback on a written case study assignment in first year (freshman) tertiary students. Innovation & chaos … in search of l’excellence. Retrieved September 22, 2010, from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/1165321952/feedback-on-a-written-case-study-assignment-in-first

Mellalieu, P. J. (2010e, September 26). Les Mélodies Françaises (French Art Songs) - Programme Notes. Mynstrel: A song maker in Aotearoa. Retrieved September 27, 2010, from http://mynstrel.blogspot.com/2010/09/les-melodies-francaises-french-art.html

Mellalieu, P. J. (2010f). Smoothing seasonal resource supply in land-based industries: Economic and technical impacts of ‘smoothing the flush’ in New Zealand dairy milk production and processing. In Unitec Teaching, Learning and Research Symposium. Auckland, NZ: Unitec Institute of Technology.

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On-Stage CM01 Fully adjustable adaptor enables you to mount almost any camera/video camera to a mic stand. Microphone Stands and Accessories Microphone Stand Accessories 49089 OSS CM01 CAMERA MOUNT ADAPTER UPC 659814490899 - On-Stage AHN2B to IC15. (n.d.). . Retrieved September 23, 2010, from http://www.aiconsol.com/cm01-on-stage.html

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 This feedback shows how I use the full gamut of possible grades for a student assignment.

The context for my approach to first year (freshman) teaching is here.

The assignment is a written case study, detailed here.

I keep the grade associated with writing quality separate from the grade awarded to content so that I can explore statistical correlations … This feature warns my students to put effort into improving their writing quality.

The students had submitted a draft of 1/4 of their assignment earlier in the semester. I provided them with feedback on the quality of their writing at that point, so that they saw my standard of assessment, and could begin to take remedial steps if necessary.

Statistics:
Assignment 1 (combined result of all components)

• Min   5/100
• Max   100/100
• Average   59.6
• Std Dev   30
• Assignments submitted   41

Comment

• The grades were spread over the full range, from 5/100 to 100.
• Eight students gained grades of 90 to 100 = 20 % of submissions
• A mark of less than 24/30 (x-axis) required the students to rewrite their assignment, according my implementation of the Haswell Minimal Marking Policy instituted in the course. No additional marks are given to the resubmitted assignment…. The student gets zero if they fail to resubmit to an appropriate standard.

Writing quality

• Students exceeding writing quality standard = 32% (25 to 30/30)
• Students on borderline = 29 % (grade = 24/30) (I was generous to those just below the 24/30 resubmit threshold)
• Students failing the writing quality standard 39 % ( grade less than 24/30)
• ALL students who achieved a writing quality of 25/30 or more gained an overall grade of 80 or higher. (See Graph 1)
• If a student’s writing quality was less than 24/30, then their expected grade (statistically) is 35/95, ranging between 10 and 70

Implication:

• Inadequate writing quality is likely to lead to a fail grade for the assignment.
• It is worth your while to improve your writing quality to improve the chance you get a top grade for your work.

Graph 1: Higher writing quality (x) is associated with higher overall grades (y)

Note:

• The y axis EXCLUDES the component of the grade related to writing quality
• Correlation r-squared = 40 per cent

Haswell, R. H. (1983). Minimal marking. College English, 45(6), 600-604.  http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fusers.ipfw.edu%2Fwellerw%2Fminimal_marking.pdf&ei=uMmNTKKNMYXfceqd6ZgE&usg=AFQjCNHWruG3HqdrPpSI-TYaMHRN_TShPQ&sig2=iaBVfx_5uNalrJpIRx-YAA

Mellalieu, P. J. (2010, August 21). Course Handbook and Syllabus Unitec BSNS 5391 Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Scribd. Retrieved August 21, 2010, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/36191676/Course-Handbook-and-Syllabus-Unitec-BSNS-5391-Innovation-and-Entrepreneurship

My overall teaching philosophy (here) underpins my approach to the teaching of students in first-year courses.

I have particular aims for students who are engaged in their first year of studies at a tertiary institution. My comments are specifically focussed on students entering a three year bachelors programme.

My aims are

• Establish expectations for the requirements for academic success when considered over students’ three-year programme
• Provide foundation stones and scaffolds useful for future studies
• Help students identify their strengths, interests, and goals for their tertiary study
• Help students develop a personal learning agenda for how they will orchestrate their studies beyond my class
• Help students build interpersonal networks of support with peer and senior students

I will discuss each of the foregoing aims with respect to my first-year course Unitec BSNS 5391 Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The course handbook for students is here. A particular feature of the course is that the student body includes a mix of:

• New entrants to the tertiary education system
• Students who have deferred studtying the course until later in their studies - they may have studied second or third year courses
• International exchange students who are attending my institution for one semester
• Students from other faculties who are studying the course as an elective

Establish expectations for the requirements for academic success when considered over their three-year programme

In my experience, about 1/3 of students reach the final year of their undergraduate studies with writing skills that are professionally unacceptable. A further 1/3 of students would certainly enhance their employment prospects if their writing skills were improved. Accordingly, I use a armoury of techniques - both carrot and stick - to emphasise to students the importance of improving their writing quality.

One of my ‘sticks’ is the use of Haswell’s Minimal Marking strategy (Haswell, 1983). Specifically, students receive no marks for a submitted assignment until they have rewritten the assignment to meet the required writing standard. I use a six-point writing rubric to help students understand the strengths and weaknesses of their writing quality.

In practice, a student submits an assignment, I assign a provisional grade, I also assess the writing quality. If the writing quality is acceptable, the student is credited with the provisional grade. If the writing quality is unacceptable, the student must rewrite to an acceptable level. Following a succesful rewrite, the student earns their original, provisional grade. No additional marks are allocated. Most students accept that this is a tough, but realistic regime as it encourages them to get their writing correct first time.

I am one of a rare number of staff at my institution who implement this policy. I implement the policy gently through a quasi-formative assessment event prior to the submission of the completed assignment. Specifically, the students submit 1/4 of their final assessment, and I assess their work solely using the writing assessment rubric so that they get advance feedback of what might result from my assessment of their final submission. The students proceed to complete and submit the entire assignment, rewriting the first 1/4 should they wish. Both elements of assessment recieve a credit to the final grade.

I provide a basic reminder of paragraph structure, the five-paragraph persuasive essay, and an introduction to the principles of Global English (McAlpine; Mellalieu (2007)). Furthermore, I encourage students to make use of coaching courses available elsewhere through the institution

Provide foundation stones and scaffolds useful for future studies

Two elements of business school education are perennial: the case study and the executive report. These elements certainly have their strengths and limitations, but they are ubiquitous.

I introduce students to these two elements in a high structured and progressive manner. Students read and analyse a case using a structured sequence of about twelve questions. The questions progress towards requiring the student to summarise in writing the issues facing the case organisation, and outlining recommendations for responding to the issues. I explain the importance of considering alternatives, and justifying choices and recommendations on the basis of criteria such as financial growth, market growth, importance and urgency, and the likelihood of success in fixing a problem.

I ensure that the preceding questions cover a variety of tasks that lead the student to understand the company and its milieu. Some questions are deliberately easy. Other questions challenging. I signal in the question the degree of challenge by a one to three star system. Typically, the questions I design require the student to:

• Describe what and explain has been read in the case (easy)
• Define and illustrate important technical terms (moderate)
• Demonstrate understanding of productive and/or unproductive practices conducted by the organisation (more challenging)
• Compare and contrast practices implemented by the case company with those discussed in the course textbook (more challenging - especially to those students who do not posess access to a textbook!)

I require that students report their answers in an executive report format with Executive Summary, Introduction, Main Body, and Conclusions and Recommendations. I signal in the assessment rubric which questions go where in the report. Furthermore, I provide a scaffold of the structure of an Executive Summary. The scaffold is designed to match the structure suggested by a textbook (Turner et al, 20o9) on academic skills, and includes: Overview, Purpose, Scope, Findings, and Recommendations. The scaffold I provide is virtually half-written, so that students merely fill in the gaps with what they find! I provide this generous scaffold because I find many students confuse an Executive Summary with an Introduction.

In a future postings, I will discuss

• Help students identify their strengths, interests, and goals for their tertiary study
• Help students develop a personal learning agenda for how they will orchestrate their studies beyond my class
• Help students build interpersonal networks of support with peer and senior students

Haswell, R. H. (1983). Minimal marking. College English, 45(6), 600-604. Retrieved from http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fusers.ipfw.edu%2Fwellerw%2Fminimal_marking.pdf&ei=uMmNTKKNMYXfceqd6ZgE&usg=AFQjCNHWruG3HqdrPpSI-TYaMHRN_TShPQ&sig2=iaBVfx_5uNalrJpIRx-YAA   

McAlpine, R. (n.d.). From Plain English to Global English. Quality Web Content. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from http://www.webpagecontent.com/arc_archive/139/5/

Mellalieu, P. J. (2007, July 3). Let’s all learn and teach Global English in our business schools! Retrieved October 11, 2009, from http://web.mac.com/petermellalieu/Teacher/Blog/Entries/2007/7/3_Let%E2%80%99s_all_Learn_and_Teach_Global_English_in_our_Business_School!.html

Mellalieu, P. J. (2008). Writing to learn argument and persuasion: A ‘Trojan Horse’ for promoting the adoption of ‘Writing Across the Curriculum’ (WAC) principles (Working paper). Auckland, NZ: Unitec New Zealand Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Retrieved from http://web.mac.com/petermellalieu/Teacher/Blog/Entries/2008/7/31_Writing_to_learn_argument_and_persuasion%3A_A_Trojan_Horse_for_promoting_the_adoption_of_Writing_Across_the_Curriculum_(WAC)_principles.html

Turner, K., Ireland, L., Krenus, B., & Pointon, L. (2009). Essential Academic Skills. Retrieved from http://www.oup.com.au/titles/higher_ed/media_studies/9780195568363