Task 3: Analysis of Two Courses with Respect to Flexibiltiy
     In this task, I have taken two different courses available at Otago Polytechnic and will discuss their degree of flexibilty.  I also produced 2 charts, one for each course, based on the detailed chart from Casey and Moonen (2004) describing all the specific areas of flexibility, but I have been unable to copy them intact into this blog.  The format changes when copied.  I will attempt to find another route to provide access to these charts delineating each specific degree of flexibility.


Course One: VA704001 Otago Polytechnic School of Art, BVA Professional Practices
This is a course that I do not teach but my daughter is enrolled in.  The personal perspective in the reflective portion of the analysis are based on her perceptions of the course and her thoughts on how other students in the course percieve the degree of flexibility of the course.

Description of the Learning:

            In the Bachelor of Visual Arts program at Otago Polytechnic, the course BVA Professional Practices is a course required for completion of the BVA program.  It is taught to students on-site, in the classroom at a set time of one term, Thursday mornings from 9:30am until 12 noon.  In addition to class attendance, students are expected to read a number of articles from a selection of articles provided on the course Moodle web page.  This analysis is presented based from the viewpoint of an enrolled student and data available on Moodle.

            The students in the class consist of a wide range of ages from age 20 to age 70, but the majority of students average in their mid-twenties.  There are 66 students enrolled in the course with approximately 5-10% international students from a wide variety of countries, and a small percentage of Maori or Pacific Island students.  The remainder of students are primarily New Zealanders of European descent.

            Attendance in the class is not mandatory except for international students, but role is taken.  Grading is on a letter grade basis requiring a C grade or better to pass.  Assessments consist of four 25 point assignments during the term.  There are two writing assignments.  The first is a 300 word short essay about the students own work, but relating it to an article they read from the Moodle course site.  The second writing assignment consists of two parts: a 150 work artist description, and a 150 word project description about their end of the year art display project they are making.  The third assignment is to photograph their own art work and provide labels for the art yearbook. And the final assignment is to put together a proposal for an exhibit of their work that they would be able to submit to a real art gallery of their choosing.  This proposal would include a CV, writings about their work, photos of their work, a display plan including floor plans.  The due dates for each of these projects are set at the beginning of the course and extensions are only granted for short periods of time for extenuating circumstances. My analysis of this course is largely related to descriptions and viewpoints expressed by my daughter who is currently enrolled in the course.

 

Analysis of the Learning:

            Using the Collis and Moonen (2004) table of flexibility to assess this course, one can see that it scores very low on degree of flexibility that is offers.  Most of the flexibility lies with the tutor’s ability to choose the material presented, or the orientation of the course.  There is almost no flexibility for the students because the course class time is set and specific, there are a limited number of articles from which they must choose to read or apply to their assignments, and they only have real flexibility in which gallery they select to use as the basis for their final assignment. Accordingly, relative to the range of Five Dimensions of Flexibility discussed by Casey and Wilson (2005), the course is currently flexible only in the areas of Content and Instructional Approaches and Resources, which are centred side of tutorial flexibility.

           

Reflection of the Learning:

This limited degree of flexibility is problematic for many students because they may have personal concerns (illness, family matters, or other issues) which interfere with their ability to attend the class lecture.  Once the lecture is missed, there is no opportunity for them to make it up or obtain the information that was provided at the lecture.  The limited number of articles from which to choose for reading to relate to their own work makes it difficult for some students whose own work may be of a type or nature that it does not relate well to the material provided.  This can be frustrating to the art student is very innovative in their work.  My daughter relates that there is very little information on how or where to obtain any additional resources on the course topics.  The lectures often involve guest lecturers whose styles of delivery and topics of discussion vary greatly, so that some lectures may be dull and seem unrelated to information relevant to the students’ needs for the future, of presenting or selling their works, or they may be very interesting and stimulating and encourage the students to go forward in perhaps a new direction.  Some students in the class have stated that they have had difficulty obtaining appointment time with the tutor to discuss their individual work and that their appointment times are sometimes cancelled when they arrive due to the tutor being too busy to see them.  This limits the degree of flexibility even further to contact primarily through interaction during class time.

It would be helpful to profile the students to determine what their needs and preferences were to devise strategies to adapt the course to best fitting those needs and to potentially expand their interest, engagement and depth of learning from the course.

            Apply the principle of the four main building blocks of flexibility discussed in Casey and Wilson (2005) the course could be improved by utilizing technology ( videotaping, Adobe online, podcasts, etc.) would allow the students flexibility in the time which they engage in the learning, as well as the sequence of the learning.  Another example of changing a building block, Strategy, could be adapted to allow students to be the developers of their learning progression by being partners with the tutor, in the planning of their course assignments and assessments to achieve the objective learning outcome.

 

Taking Action:         

The degree of flexibility could be improved for this course by offering a number of different alternatives to class attendance at a fixed time.  To improve the course in line with Casey and Wilson’s recommendations for change, the course could be altered to allow the student to have more autonomy in developing their own resources for learning. The resources and materials could be expanded to be open-ended allowing students to choose readings from any source to relate to their own work.  Perhaps the classes could be videotaped so that students who were unable to attend, who have an opportunity to watch the class at another time.  Alternatively, the class could be offered with an online component as an alternative such as Adobe Connect, or Skype meeting. Other forms of assessment could be included to allow more variety to the ways in which the students present their own artwork.  Art is by its very nature diverse as it is a form of self- expression.  As the artists themselves will represent a wide variety of people, experiences, and inner ideas, the learning and presentation of art should also be diverse to match.        

 

References: 

Collis B and Moonen J (2004) Flexible Learning in a Digital World (2nd edition), London: Routledge and Falmer

 
Casey, J. and Wilson, P (2005) A practical guide to providing flexible learning in further and higher education



Course Two: CVN5158 Otago Polytechnic School of Veterinary Nursing, Analgesia and Anaesthesia

 

Description of the Learning:

            The students of 5158 Anaesthesia for the Certificate of Veterinary Nursing program represent a wide variety of students studying by distance, who live in all different regions throughout New Zealand.

They are students of all ages ranging from teenagers to seniors and the vast majority of them are female.  They are working in veterinary practices as this work experience is a mandatory component of the program. They come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Many are married or have family obligations which prevent them from attending full time, on-site educational programs.

                                                                        

            With regard to the five dimensions of flexibility discussed in Casey and Wilson (2005), the course currently offers a level of flexibility I have scored at just below moderate. The primary focus of flexibility has been in making modifications to the course to suit teaching students from a distance.  The course materials (course notes, media presentations, Power points, and assessments) have all been formatted to be delivered via the internet.  The primary mode of delivery is via Moodle. Educational materials offered to students include free book lending from the library (including free delivery) and e-books, as well as a required text. Practical training is provided by offering 2 short Block Courses, which consist of a 3-4 day session, offered at 4 different venue locations around the country, and by their own work experience. In addition, we have offered regularly scheduled, on-line tutorial sessions via Adobe Connect where students have an opportunity to communicate live with a lecturer.  The students’ assessments are submitted electronically and consist of open book assessments, timed on-line multiple choice tests, and self-filmed videos submitted via links to You Tube.

 

Analysis of the Learning:

            During the delivery of this course to students this year, I was aware of many shortcomings of the course presentation, as well as some significant advantages the course offered to students.

The course notes provided to students via Moodle seemed wordy and deficient in diagrams and photographs so that they seemed confusing and somewhat daunting to many students.  The number of students who regularly accessed the course notes could easily be followed on Moodle and this showed that that student usage of them was significantly lower than would be expected for a course of this level of difficulty.  In addition, the course notes (which were written within the school) sometimes contained outdated information which added to student confusion.  The advantage of the course notes being a free resource available to students throughout the course was offset by these disadvantages.

            The Moodle page for the course was a little overwhelming for some students due to the number of different resources listed on the page.  Some students had difficulty understanding how to use the Moodle upload tools to submit their assessments.  The Moodle forum site, however, did offer students a way to communicate with other students and enhanced their learning by being able to discuss or get assistance to solve problems that they had.  The forum also helped the student obtain clarification or assistance from the tutors. The Moodle multiple choice tests for assessment were well received by students, although a few of them admitted that the time limits and ticking clock were stressful.

            Most students were very happiest with the practical course sessions taught in two block courses, and said they learned the most relevant material at these sessions, and that they would like to have more of them.  These sessions let them have hand-on experience handling the machinery, and immediate feedback from the tutor as to their techniques.

            Very few students attended the Adobe on-line tutorial sessions (less than 2% of the students) and then they were very reluctant to communicate or participate (which made the sessions much less valuable as interactive sessions).  But quite a few students said that they listened to recordings of the Adobe sessions at a later date and found them helpful.

 

Reflection of the Learning:

            I found teaching this distance course very challenging in terms of trying to deliver a large volume of difficult subject matter in such an extremely condensed and shortened time frame.  I was very frustrated by the poor attendance at the Adobe Sessions, which were often scheduled in early evening to accommodate those who worked.  The teaching sessions felt very rushed trying to get through a mountain of information in a very short amount of time, and I felt I only had time to teach the bare minimum, rather than being able to fully explain a topic.  I enjoyed meeting the students at the block courses, but the limited contact with them (and large number of them) made it almost impossible to get to know them.  The distance students needed much more pastoral care than full time students because they often had more difficulty understanding the material or the assessment criteria based on primarily reading written material.  This led to my having some resentment of how much time on my part was directed toward these needs, rather than on teaching them.  The students didn’t like making the videos for assessments and repeatedly ask that we decrease the number of videos required, but from a marker’s perspective, the videos show very clearly whether the student has mastered the material by their performance on the video.  I find the amount of marking to be excessive and dislike marking the open book assessments, which I feel do not accurately reflect the student’s knowledge, but really only show whether they can locate the answer in a book.

 

            I feel that the distance 5158 Anaesthesia course for our veterinary nursing students offers the students some great advantages in the opportunity to study from any location in New Zealand, with a minimal requirement for attending formal classes.  These advantages allow students in all sorts of living situations and job positions to learn and earn a qualification.  They may juggle their jobs, families, childcare and other obligations with studying at the same time.  However, I feel that the quality of the study program that they receive is inferior to a full time program because the very severely limited direct contact time with the tutors, and the significantly decreased opportunity for hands on training.  Their work places often do not take the time to show them hands on techniques for the topic they are studying, and they often lack the quality of equipment or level of practice to demonstrate things to best practice standards.  Students often learn a substandard method of doing something which then must be corrected. The personal stress of trying to teach this distance course if far higher than for teaching the full course.  I disliked teaching an Adobe session to just three or four students who were reluctant to communicate, and I found it extremely difficult to make a connection with individual students with so little contact time.

 

Taking Action:

            For this next year, I am proposing to make some changes to the course to hopefully improve some of the negative aspects.  I think that a podcast type of presentation should replace the Adobe sessions, because the students seem to prefer to view it on their own time, rather than a set time.  A podcast might also reduce the level of frustration I feel at the students’ reluctance to engage in the Adobe sessions. I would like to be able to offer students an option to attend hands on training session here in Dunedin at their option, but it will probably be prohibitively expensive for both most students and for Otago Polytechnic. It would be nice if we had on on-site facility here at the main campus, where the students could come and participate for a few days practicing what they are learning in a real life setting with tutor supervision.

I would like to eliminate the written course notes provided on Moodle and replace them with a free access text that they may download or refer to at any time during the course plus access to several other veterinary nursing texts, and a number of veterinary journal articles posted to Moodle.  The advantages of using a text is that the texts are regularly updated to reflect changes in the industry, they are more detailed and provide opportunity for greater learning, and they contain more diagrams, images and photos. I am also trying to devise some other types of learning which will encourage the students to be more actively involved in the course material throughout the duration of the course, rather than their tendency to leave studying to the last minute before an assessment is due.  I would also like to develop other forms of assessment which stimulate critical thinking more than just hunt for the information in the text, and write down what is the answer from a book for an OBA. Apply an idea suggest in Casey and Wilson (2005) for teachers to have more of a role in organising student activity rather than simply imparting the knowledge, I am considering ways of having students interact to develop their learning and skills related to anaesthesia rather than just standing in front of them and delivering the information.  Hopefully this will allow students to become more active participants in the learning process and not just passive learners.

 

References:

Collis B and Moonen J (2004) Flexible Learning in a Digital World (2nd edition), London: Routledge and Falmer

Casey, J. & Wilson, P. (2005) A practical guide to providing flexible learning in further and higher education