Setting up the Superb-Vision Network: Establishing a “dispersed learning community”

Abstract

As universities gradually re-open to face-to-face teaching, innovative approaches that encourage engagement and stimulation in the “new normal” have been readily welcomed. The Superb-Vision Network (SVN) was a response to such a call: a series of student-led workshops to support doctoral students in enhancing their supervision experience. This article is a reflection on the process of setting up the network. We will explain the decisions and actions taken and explore several critical incidents which demonstrate what collaboration between those with dissimilar perspectives and backgrounds can look like in practice. Considerations around sustainability, inclusivity, and safety posed additional challenges that vastly shaped our thinking and plans, allowing us to find balance in our social and educational outcomes. Informed by the notion of “distributed” learning (Lea & Nicolle, 2013) and “dispersed” pedagogic  system (Boud & Lee, 2005), this article advocates facilitating a “dispersed” learning community for doctoral students with an emphasis on peer learning (Boud & Cohen, 2014). We hope that this interesting case study will motivate and inspire others to use opportunities, however small, to add value to their community.