Adult Learning Principles

Some Basic Adult Learning Principles

We learn best:

·         When we see a point to learning – when it’s something we want to do

·         When we learn in ways which suit us – according to our own learning style

·         When we can see where we are going and why

·         In short bursts with plenty of variety

·         When we can take it one step at a time

·         When we are rewarded for our learning

·         When we relate the content to ourselves

·         When we combine sight, hearing, movement, sound, touch, images

·         When we teach/explain/discuss it with others

·         When we relate it to what we already know

·         When we put it in our own words

·         When we practice what we learn

·         When we relax

·         When we can focus on the topic

·         When we use ‘mistakes’ as learning clues

·         When we learn with humour.

My Teaching Philosophy (Module 5)

I would like to share the experience with my learners who were doing the course of Sustainability. To my surprise, they were learning about the issues of sustainability in the class. It seems to me that they were not even interested in the course. I believe in deep learning and always encourage the learners to practice what they learn. My learners used to show good performance in the examination. But the only question that I asked myself whether they are learning or cramming. Is that the way I should teach? The answer was ‘No’.  So the first challenge was to ensure their participation in the learning process. First day I had a general discussion to encourage them to interact. They were really interested in discussion. This also helped me to understand the individual learners, their nature, and their learning preferences.

The next step was to put them in the context. We held a brief discussion about deforestation. Each of us was criticizing the problem in the class. But this was not my goal. My goal was to make them action competence. I encouraged them to come up with suggestions to contribute to solve this problem. The general suggestion was to take care of plants and adopt at least a tree in life. It was decided that a rally will be organized   to create awareness and student will plant trees on the common land. That was the way that I wish my learner should learn.

Similar strategies were followed to manage waste, save water, electricity. They learn and practice in the context. Students take interest in such activities which are useful to them and beneficial to the society. So I manage to provide them maximum exposure to the community in which they themselves practice sustainability. Whenever I found any of the learner shows disinterest, I talked to him individually to know the interest of the student. In some cases students do not get the appropriate peer or group or the problem of their interest. Being a facilitator I always take care to ensure the participation at individual level.

My future goals are to be a facilitator and contribute to enable my learners to be action competent and demonstrate it in the real world by offering their time to some NGO’s or other community organization. I also keep myself updated in terms of knowledge, technology and methods of teaching. It will help me to keep my teaching style interesting and encouraging.

To conclude, I am fully aware of that methods of learning and teaching vary according to content, context and nature of learners.  But the spirit of learning by doing and contribute to the welfare of the society dominates my teaching philosophy

I have also shared my experience and my planning for action competence on the blog posting.

Action Competence (Module 5)

Action competence can be defined as the application of theoretical knowledge in the real world for the welfare of the society. The concept is gaining momentum in the modern world where the learners prefer to learn in the context. Gone are the days for traditional classroom, now the preferences are for experiential, collaborative, cooperative learning. Most of the courses are in the capacity to provide opportunities to the learners to work for the welfare of the society. For example carpentry and civil engineering students can work for the construction of houses for the poor people.

My work place is in the Horticulture Department for which I have been assigned a project on vermiculture. Keeping in mind the models of action competence, the experiential learning model fits to my learners.  

What are they doing at present?

They have been learning about worm farming. From the beginning they are engaged in the learning process as they are working on the construction and maintenance of worm farm in the nursery. How do they demonstrate action competence? I discussed with the students and the lecturer and came to know that some of them are working as volunteers in farms to encourage the farmers to adopt vermiculture. One student works in the Botanic garden to maintain the plants.

If I were the facilitator

Although the lecturer has done every possible effort to enable the students are action competent. In my opinion it would be better to encourage the students to visit the community and work with the people to make them aware about managing waste by adopting vemiculture. Not only they will spread awareness but also help them to construct and manage the worm farms. They will also visit the surrounding schools where the students and staff can be encouraged to manage the waste by worm farming. My students will apply their knowledge to construct the suitable size worm farms for the schools and also cooperate with the school to maintain the worm farms. They will discuss the scope of worm farming with the city council so that organic waste of the city can be used to produce vermicast.

I would also like to share another example of action competence from my past experience. I taught environmental education in the school. I always encouraged the students to apply their knowledge to solve environmental problems in their surroundings. For example I never told them to plant trees orally but encouraged them to plant trees in the school campus and in the community. A club had been formed to work in the community. The club organizes a rally annually to create awareness. I facilitated them and enabled them not to criticize the environmental problems in the class but visit the community and work for solving those problems.

Planning a Session( module 4)

                                                       

Title:  Vermiculture				Date: 23/10/2013
Group: Level 4				Time :15 min
Objectives:   1.       To understand the importance of Vermiculture. 2.       To know how to construct a worm farm
Room Layout: A lecture theatre
Content	Teaching Method	Student Activity	Resources	Time
Introduction	Questions	Demonstrate previous Knowledge	ppt. slide	3 min
Construction of Worm Farming	Facilitating and explainning	Observing and experiencing	Video	5 min
Discussion and Conclusion	Interacting with the students	Demonstrating their learning	ppt. slides	7 min

Self Critiquing:

I tried to critique the session under the following heading:

·         Introduction: The introduction of the topic was related to their previous knowledge about soil. The questions were asked

1.        What is in our food?
2.       What is cause of presence of chemicals in our food?
3.        What is the source of chemical for the soil?
4.         What is solution to reduce the use of chemicals in the soil?

Although the question were good enough to involve the student in the learning , but there was a confusion about the topic. They considered that I was going to teach about soil.

Teaching Method: I acted as a facilitator to enable the learners to understand the construction of the worm farm. Asking questions, pausing the video and explaining the alternatives the learners can use drill,  transparent plastic box . Power point slides were used to illustrate the precautions about construction of worm farming. The only shortcoming was that I didn’t give them enough time to make their notes.

Resources: The use of resources was appropriate. Video helped them to observe and develop experiential learning. Power point slides were used in which I used text , images. The purpose was to fulfill the need of different learning preferences. The balance use of resources helped to assure deep learning. I thought that material for constructing a worm farm could be brought to the class and the learners could be asked to prepare a worm farm form in the class. It could help the learners to create deep learning by doing in a group. But I tried to assure deep learning by asking them to construct a worm farm at home and bring to the nursery in the next session.

Two Dimensions of Reflective Practice( Module 3)

Reflective Practice: As the name suggest that practicing to learn something new on the basis of previous analysis and evaluation of our actions to become extended professional. Myers (2011, cited from Stenhouse1975, pp. 143-144) identifies five key attributes to characterize extended professional:

They

1.        Question their practice.
2.         Reflect critically and systematically on their practice.
3.        Put theory into practice
4.        Ready to be observed by other and discussing openly
5.       Develop the art of self study

Out of the nine dimensions of reflective practice I am familiar with “Study your teaching for personal improvement - Reflect regularly.”

What is reflection and how am I improving my practice?

It refers to scrutinize our teaching or learning by ourselves or allowing others to act as a critique to explore the weaknesses .It is not merely finding the limitations but to think, modify and change the method of your work. It is a continuous process.

Reflection can be done at two levels:

      1. Reflection in action

      2. Reflection on action

Reflection in action: - It is way of evaluating one’s work while it is in progress. It is an important tool in evaluating teaching and learning process while it is in progress. An educator understands from the situation and behavior of the students. I try to find whether the development of learning is in the right direction. Otherwise a remedial action is taken. For example during my teaching I had come to a situation in which students were getting bored due to less involvement, I  immediately reflected on that and alter my way of delivering the lesson. Mostly I used to give them a small activity after a small discussion.

Reflection on action: - It is a form of scrutinizing our teaching and learning outcomes after conducting teaching session. How can a teacher come to know about the success of learning outcomes? Get feedback from the students directly by assigning some task related to the session or he can take the help of other colleagues. For instance, after delivering my lesson if some of the students were not able to apply that knowledge or they didn't get good grades. I used to discuss and take suggestions from my colleagues, talk to the students individually and do self reflection.

The second dimension that I would like to discuss is “Continue to improve your teaching - Professional learning. Mizell (2010) states when people use the term “professional development,” they usually mean a formal process such as a conference, seminar, or workshop; collaborative learning among members of a work team; or a course at a college or university. However, professional development can also occur in informal contexts such as discussions among work colleagues, independent reading and research, observations of a colleague’s work, or other learning from a peer.

Potential use of the dimension: Learning is a continuous process. It begins from cradle and ends with our last breath. Teaching and learning are the two sides of the same coin which are inseparable. But In some cases educators forget learning aspect. I am aware of the dynamic nature of education, the methods of instruction, and the use of rapidly changing technology, the changing method of delivery from traditional classrooms to blended or purely online. Every educator like me requires a continuous learning to meet the challenges of teaching and learning in the 21^st century. Sachs (n.d.  Cited from Grundy and Robison, 2004) identify three interconnected purposes of CPD: extension, growth and renewal. Extension refers to learning new skills. Growth can be considered as achieving higher level of expertise. Renewal means transformation of knowledge and practice.

To improve my teaching I will keep up learning about the emerging technologies required for the achieving the objectives of the teaching. The modern classrooms are open classrooms in which I need to become a facilitator, flexible and adapt to context which remains dynamic. There are different ways for professional learning like talking to the experts in the field, attending workshops and seminars, joining online discussion communities, reading, research, peer observation, talking informally with the colleagues, joining a formal course. Among all I would prefer to learn in the context. During teaching there will be challenges and problems which can be analyzed accordingly finding the solution self or by discussion will be most engaging method for development and deep learning.

 References:

Mizell, H. (2010). Why professional development matters. http://www.learningforward.org/docs/pdf/why_pd_matters_web.pdf

Myers, P.Z. (2011). The teachers reflective practice handbook. http://books.google.co.nz/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XZnPKlpTfx0C&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=dimensions+of+reflective+practice+zwozdiak-myers&ots=YJEGZHodGE&sig=Mo6-eqfII0-uILcwAb11R-E6V-Y#v=onepage&q=dimensions%20of%20reflective%20practice%20zwozdiak-myers&f=false

 Sachs, J. (n.d.). Learning to improve or improving learning: the dilemma of teacher continuing professional development   http://www.fm-kp.si/zalozba/ISBN/978-961-6573-65-8/009-020.pdf

Quality Mangement and Assurance(Module 3)

Policy of Moderation: The purpose of moderation is to provide assurance that assessment is fair, valid and at the national standard, and that the assessors are making consistent judgments about learner performance.

Every TEO has to take consent from the NZQA for assessment before commencing a programme. NZQA guidelines for Moderation are as follow:

1.              Internal Moderation: The responsibility of the organization is to maintain consistence and fair assessment within the organization. The internal moderation must be included in the quality management system of TEO.
2. 2.      National External Moderation System: It says that TEO must follow the national standards of assessment which are attached to Consent and Moderation requirements.

Otago Polytechnic follows the policy of moderation as per the guidelines of NZQA. It issues guidelines to the school to ensure the set standards of assessment. The guidelines in the Doc. title “Moderation of Assessments” say that:

•          Pre Assessment: Assessments are moderated and approved for use prior to assessment being undertaken; the moderation process will ensure that in the assessment design, the following conditions are met: 

1. 1.      Conditions are clearly stated
2. 2.      Instructions are appropriate and easily understood
3. 3.      Assessments enable students to provide evidence congruent with identified learning outcomes.
4. 4.      Assessment/Marking schedules indicate range of evidence and judgments required to ensure consistency.
5. 5.      Feedback from previous assessments will be considered.

•          Post Assessment: Consistency of marking is ensured by post assessment moderation procedures and checking of student scripts against the moderated marking schedules. These moderation procedures will be outlined in the programme document.

Reflection:

The policy of moderation is very important for the teachers and learners. It ensures that assessment is transparent and according to predetermined standards which are set according to the national aspiration. It makes the assessment justifiable. The learners come to know from the beginning the method and the procedures of assessment. It sets a direction for teachers and learners to follow and achieve the set standard of assessment to meet the objectives the course. It stimulates the teachers to design their lessons and guide the learners according to set criteria of assessment.

                                                                                                                                                                                      

Learning and Teaching Strategic Framework: This framework ensures the quality of teaching and learning at the polytechnic. The framework (2013, p. 14) shows that the set objectives and the indicators to achieve them.

Strategic objective 1: Graduates are developed to be capable, work ready, future focused, sustainable practitioners 

Strategic objective 2: Programmes are designed to be accessible, efficient and sustainable and future focused 

Strategic objective 3: Teachers will be highly effective

Strategic objective 4: Timely and individualized support services to the students

Strategic objective 5: Physical and virtual environment will optimize learner success

Reflection:  To assure the quality in teaching and learning the programmes are reviewed and redesigned from time to time to meet the need of learners and other stakeholders. They match the requirements of the industry hence enhance employment prospect for students.

The staff makes it clear the expectations of the industry   to the students so that students can decide in realistic conditions. Early assessment of literacy and numeracy helps the teachers and learners to plan for individualized attention to achieve the desired objectives of the programmed. The support services are provided to adapt with the new environment and to improve the physical environment for the students.

NZQA (n.d.). Tertiary Moderation. http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers-partners/assessment-and-moderation/tertiary-moderation/

 Otago Polytechnic (2013). Learning and teaching strategic framework. http://www.op.ac.nz/assets/PDFs/2013-Strategic-Goals/2013-OP-Learning-Teaching-Strategic-Framework-FINAL.pdf

 Otago Polytechnic (2007). Moderation of assessment. http://www.op.ac.nz/assets/policies/AP0908.00-Moderation-of-Assessment.pdf

Developing Learning Design( Module 3)

Educational design refers to planning and designing a course. It can be undertaken at two levels.

1.      Curriculum Design: It involves the designing of the whole course. It deals with need of the learners, stakeholders and context. It is an overview of the course.

2.      Learning Design: It refers to designing activities, finding resources, deciding method of delivery and formative assessment. The curriculum is divided into unit which are learnt according to a certain learning design.

I have also developed an Open Education Resource for the School of Natural Sciences on Vermiculture. “Open learning is a term used to describe courses flexibly designed to meet individual requirements. It is often applied to provision which tries to remove barriers that prevent attendance at more traditional courses, but it also suggests a learner-centred philosophy.”(Rowntree, 1992, p.4 cited from Lewis & Spencer, 1986) Keeping in mind the different model for designing the OER, I found the most suitable model is ADDIE which is not only suitable to education design but also suits to the needs of businesses and other institutions like Armed forces.

What is ADDIE?

It can be well illustrated with the following figure:

Source: http://www.agiledocs.com/elearning/custom-elearning-solutions/#

 

                  

Developing the wiki site for a diverse range of learner was a challenge for any course designer. Fortunately, the goal of the course that I have designed is suitable to every level of learner. How does this development fit into the ADDIE model?

1.      Analysis:  I have prepared a plan to design the course. The goal of the learning design is to enable the learners to produce vemicompost by constructing the worm farm of their own. The learners can be of any level. They may range from illiterate people to highly qualified people. Accordingly the structure of content, method of delivery and assessment   strategies have been planned.  The content, the nature of assignments are suitable to attract the attention of every learner and they will remain engage in their learning.

2.      Design: Keeping in mind the potential learners, the learning design has been planned.   It begins with an index. Instructions about the course has been given in the beginning. The course has been divided into different units which follows the scaffolding technique.

3.      Development: It is the most important stage of learning design. As mentioned above it will fulfill the needs of every learner at any level. The content includes simple to complex explanation of worm farming. The resources also serve the need of the learners.  On one hand simple video lesson, ppt. slides, flexible format of submitting the assignments, compiling the portfolio and on the other hand scholarly articles, ppt. by teaching specialists, and videos has been included in the design.

4.      Implementation: Although the design of the course is for self directed learning in any corner of the world yet any educator can plan activities to teach by following the content and resources provided or by using his own resources. I have implemented a part of in face to face teaching in which my students learnt the preparation of worm farm. The session was a mix of interaction, reflection and feedback on the learning design.

5.       Evaluation: The implementation helped me to understand that the content and the structure of the course is for learning by doing. So the activities that have been designed guide the learner to learn most of the things by doing. The criteria for assessment also depend on practical and experiential learning.

Reflection:  Quality of learning design can be measured in terms of it learner-centered approach. Clark (2002) states, “A learner-centered approach suggests that we design lessons that accommodate human learning processes regardless of the media involved.”  I have designed the course to meet the need of learners who might possess a wide range of qualifications, culture, age, resources etc. The content and the design ofthe course are completely flexible. It is available to the learners at their convenience. There is no timeline for enrollment, discussion, completing theassignment. It has been kept in mind the use of audio –visual resources which are essential for experiential and deep learning. The following diagram shows the influence of resources in open learning.

          

         Visual and supporting auditory information maximize working memory resources.

The learners in open learning need support at different levels. Rowntree (1992, pp. 74-76) states, “Might your learners need help and support with:

1.      Before they begin: for example what they want from learning

2.      To do with tackling the work: for example planning a timetable

3.      To do with the content of the programme: for example relating the content to their own experience

4.      To do with their jobs: getting their employers to recognize their new competence.

5.      To do with their assessment: learning to assess their own progress realistically

6.      To do with them: coming to terms with new beliefs or values”

They will be supported through discussionforum where they can ask and share for the support required.

Assessment criteria is kept very simple and flexible to meet the nature of learners. There is a balance between formative and summative assessment and both ensure deep learning. Discussion, case studies and construction of worm farm will be counted for assessment.

 Suitability to my learners: Although the design is developed for open learning and it fulfills the requirement of learners at any level. The students in my learner profile mentioned in module 1 are of level 4.  The use of mix of text, audio, video and activity enhances the engagement of the learners. They have been given the opportunity to discuss and interact with others on the Google groups. Experiential learning has been ensured through observing the videos, case study of a farm and a commercial vermiculture industry and deep learning will happen through working and constructing their own worm farm for which instructions have been given in text, and video format. The different options are available to the learners to construct a wide range of worm farms. The option is given to keep the flexibility in learning.

Effectiveness: The effectiveness and evaluation is a continuous process. Discussions with groups of learners and other interested parties is a cost effective way of obtaining a lot of information about the strengths and weaknesses of the programme. So a forum has been kept for discussion on every topic.

References:

Clark, R.( 2002, September 10). Six Principles of Effective e-Learning: What Works and Why retrieved from http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/384/six-principles-of-effective-e-learning-what-works-and-why

Rowntree (1992), Exploring open and distance learning. Great Britain: Biddles ltd