Issues with flexible learning – access, equity; Because Many aspects of a persons opinion are culturally determined- there will always be cultural differences in most groups and it is fear of difference (ignorance) that instills prejudices and hewn into racism, classism, sexism, ageism etc. Thinking about otherness in terms of us and them is downright barbaric.
Eluminate session contained a practical suggestion by Kate Timms to learn more about what there are in the way of cultural differences between people. This approach would be applicable to most course designs. One of the ways she employs to engender cultural understanding during the Treaty of Waitangi workshops, is to break group into one on one. By generating discussion in pairs there is more opportunity to spontaneously encounter in anothers culture get to know a little of what if any are their differences and similarities. This mode of inviting participants to learn on the one hand about their own cultural influences whilst simultaneously gaining mutual respect for difference is more likely to lead into mutual respect and understanding.
Flexible planning should endeavor to provide opportunities that are inclusive of diversity particularly any evidence of prior learning and goal setting, working formally or informally, independantly or collaboratively. Different ways could include designing ways to map cultural diversity with cultural congruence between students and students . . .students and teachers. . . . Flexiblity could extend to collecting evidence via student evaluation and including evaluation of course assessment, as discussed in a previous post for both learner profiles and in order to determine the future shape the content and the delivery.
“the key idea of flexibility is learner choice in different aspects of the learning experience.” So a component of my practice of Flexible design for music learning could be an incremental continuous movement over reviewing and reshaping the content etc. away from key decisions by the instructor and institution about a range learning dimensions (which were made in advance in order to design a course) towards student choice and student contribution to specify content to course providers.
It could be that and more in a music course, the cultural content, and cultural context of learning design assumes that formal instruction of one convention is based in an elitest cultural group, ie western classical music tradition. Formally this classical genre priviledges a minority of professional musicians by subsidising “certainly very little of this support is offered to the vernacular artist who generally has to endure the full rigors of the economic climate.” ( Working for the government?)
Small, Christopher, 1987. Music of the Common Tongue, Survival and Celebration in Afro-American music. Calder, London.
Now for something I got off of the list of extra resources of some footage from an Aussie mockumentary
June 3, 2008 at 2:41 am
susan did you know that the photo is “all rights reserved”. There are lots on Flickr which are by attribution licensed.
It is good to see information about “sustainable practices from …Otago Polytechnic Strategic Plans”(Graduate profile, learners’ needs etc), as well as a critique about Universal instructional Design. For example, about how social inequity can impact on learners leading to a natural disadvantage which is compounded by disability and exclusion for other reasons. I love the Bob Dylan video clip which certainly illustrates “the direct connection between materialism and social justice and cultural issues”. Good listening and an illustration of how music in a refreshing way to teach literacy – as you mention.
Your question, “Is online learning an inducement for someone who has already has somehow have fallen through the gap. . .”.
On the surface we might not think so, because online learning often necessitates some sort of skill in being a self-directed learner. However, if the learning is more relevant for the student, then it has more chance of engaging and interesting them. I am sure people working in Youth skills and Foundation Learning would have opinions about this.
There is some good discussion about the impact of modular learning on students – are we turning them into dependent and passive learners by doing this? I reckon!
Also you have some good ideas for how to gather information about the needs of the learners right from the outset. For example, their skill set on entry into programmes. I believe that this is being done to some extent, now that Otago Polytechnic has a policy for open entry, perhaps the staff in the Foundation Learning programme will know.