Activity Eight; Adult Learning Theory

Define and describe the Adult Learning Theory;

Diagram from James Atherton, 2009 
How does this connect to what I do and what I believe about teaching/facilitation?

 The Adult Learning Theory I have decided to focus on is Honey and Mumford's Typology of Learners which builds on Kolb's Learning Cycle, this succinctly explains  'individual people's different learning styles,' and also 'a cycle of experiential learning that applies to us all'.  A behavourist model, it fits very well with my own philosophy of creating authentic real life experiences 'grasping the experience' in order for there to be an 'emotional transformation from the experience' .  This does not necessarily happen every time, but under controlled circumstances learning can come from the experience.   I have used aspects of this theory in the past and have come to understand the importance of planning and preparing the activities with initial VAK diagnostic tools to assess the particular learning style of the individuals in the class, another aid to assist in getting to know the group.  Effective team work is important in the hospitality/Tourism Industry and paying particular attention to how the group is formed using the diagnostic tools should, in theory, assist with working productively on a task.  Structured briefings and debriefings play an important role in helping the learner to reflect on their performance, build on it and move forward.  However, it is easy to miss the opportunity to reflect and this is an area where I can create more opportunities.
This Theory fits very well with our methodology of teaching, the students gain background information, there is a model or demonstration, then the students role play or 'do', making their mistakes along the way, until they gain competence in that activity or task. 

  

How will this support my plan?

• Use of ice breakers, de-inhibitizers, energisers throughout the sessions to encourage participation, cooperation and belonging
• By incorporating  learning style diagnostic tools to effectively group the students
• Prepare briefings and de-briefings of experiences, activities  
• If students learn by 'doing' then providing more real life experiences or helping them to create their own

References;
http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm 

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/experience.htm

Activity Seven; Open Education Resources and Philosophies

A definition of Open Education practises according to Catherine Casserly, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation;

'Education and knowledge are public goods freely shared.... high quality educational content and tools freely available on the web, in all languages, useable and re-useable' ( C.Casserly, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjajtXb1PYQ&feature=related).

During the process of exploring this topic, I keep coming back to the sustainability phrase of reduce, reuse, recycle. That is what this concept seems to be in terms of having unlimited access to information that is monitored for accuracy, opportunity to edit, add to and improve in a collaborative way that reduces costs (publishing, paper) reuses and improves the content and recycles it out to the general public.

This creates challenges for the facilitator and learner by changing the traditional ways we teach and learn, providing opportunity to 'deepen the knowledge and create new ways of learning' (Casserly,2008) .  Time and space become more flexible and opportunity for accelerated learning processes may shorten course length.

Strategies I could use;


The wiki-educator tool forms the basis of our courses on the Travel and Tourism programme.

• Improve ways of linking video's and ppts
• Consistency and uniformity of content on the wiki, throughout each course
• Build up a more extensive library of resources on the wiki
• Embed a reflective framework within the course for the students to provide feedback on the learning process as they progress 

Why I believe OER and Philosophies are important;

The philosophy behind this concept is great in principle, providing free access to educational resources to as many people as possible World Wide and does move away from 'too many on the outside looking in'(Casserly,2008) provided 'all' have access to technology and the internet.  However I do believe that this creates as many barriers as it does in removing them, for instance;

• The teacher/learner needs to be re-educated away from the traditional classroom structure
• It needs to be used as educational resources/tools with the teacher as a guide
• Requires some technological competence in order to ensure the learner remains engaged
• Understanding the creative commons with attribution and ensuring our learners understand this

The vision for the future at Otago Polytechnic is certainly in the areas of implementing and developing  Open Learning and Online resources which will in turn change the face of how we deliver, where we deliver and with what!

References;
Catherine M. Casserly, Ph,D. 2008.  The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
'Open Educational Resources: Unlocking knowledge to the Global Community.'

 {Open Education Practices: A User Guide for Organisations}

Activity Six; Developing the draft plan

(I had a few problems adding this, so another huge learning curve for me, hope you can read the ideas ok.)

This mind-map of ideas has been generated from some background reading involving the ADDIE instructional design model which is an acronym for analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation(Wikipedia), my intention is that this plan displays the process.

I intend to present my flexibility plan based on the Conference and Events paper (Level 5 applied) in the 2nd year of the Diploma in Travel and Tourism.   The course relies on blended delivery with on-line tools and lecturer direction, in the initial stage. I hope to introduce course blogs so that they can plot their progress and start to take ownership of their learning.  The students will set up their own companies and co-ordinate a virtual conference and plan, develop and implement an event, presenting their e-portfolio's as the final assessment.

Weaknesses of the plan so far; The success of the process relies on collaboration and communication between the students to complete their part of the activities.

It relies on the lecturer knowing the process of blog set up and maintenance, not so sure at the moment.

How do I assess this ? I need to progress the peer assessment criteria.

Strengths;  The students have a good foundation of knowledge from previous travel and tourism papers. There is a good structure in place and room for flexibility in terms of content, instructional approach, delivery and logistics (Collis&Moonen,2004).  The scheduled class time becomes tutorial and meeting time for the students as the project progresses, with direction from the lecturer.

My vision for the paper;  To be able to collaborate with other OP departments to plan, prepare and implement an event/conference e.g. Excite, themed dinners, graduation celebrations, promotional tours using mentors to help the students with the project management.

Activity five; Design and describe flexible learning strategies for your context.

I decided to focus on my students in the certificate courses for this next activity.  It is beginning to dawn on me how the concept of blended delivery really can work if the dimensions of time, delivery and logistics (Casey & Wilson, 2005) were truly flexible.  The theoretical components could be presented  as a web conference with on-line quizzes and assessments, the students would only have to attend the practical face to face sessions intermittently at a time and place that suited them.  However, I keep coming back to the issue of how self-motivated and self directed our students are and that many are 'testing the water' in their choice of career direction.  Offering too much flexibility may not suit everyone.
Anyway, I managed to 'download' and 'link'.
Hope it worked!!



http://www.scribd.com/doc/93091928