To reinforce and consolidate my learning on Learning Design, I have decided to leverage Assignments 3 & 4 and develop a course on Learning Design for the Humanitarian Worker. This approach allows me to reflect on my own learning within ETEC 565G, but also consolidate my learning outcomes from other MET courses, specifically ETEC 565A on Culture in Virtual Learning Environments, ETEC 510 on Design of Technology-Supported Learning Environments and ETEC 512 on Learning Theories. The course intends to be a resource for the Humanitarian professional responsible for building the capacity of their colleagues in the workforce. The aim is to provide structured support as they design learning experiences.
Having worked for an international development organisation myself, I’m able to understand the basic processes and challenges faced by employees in undertaking professional development opportunities. Save the Children also provided a wealth of insight into Learning & Development processes within international humanitarian agencies through their freely available webinars. To develop this course, therefore, I have had to create a set of assumptions about the learner uptake, such as having been nominated and supported by their own line managers and/or organisations, and having the motivation to improve their Learning & Development practices to create improvements.
To complete Assignment 3, I found myself going back and forth between two phases for a few weeks: exploring and tinkering with edX edge functionalities and researching the intended learner – the Humanitarian Professional. In the end, I realised that this barrier I was facing was due to a common trap that Learning Designers, myself included, find themselves in: choosing a platform before understanding the learner and the learning context.
However, designing for the adult learner in general, I was able to rely on the work of Malcolm Knowles (1970) on andragogy and emphasise the need for the learner to self-direct their own learning and to connect their learning experiences with their own professional practice. Similarly, I believed in the value of a problem-based learning (PBL) approach (Schwartz, n.d.) that will allow learners to perceive the course as a useful resource to improve and complete their existing professional work, as opposed to an ‘add-on’ that could eventually be disregarded in favour of other competing tasks. Once I had these principles clearly stated, I was able to consider the interaction and assessment strategies suitable for the busy adult learner. In the end, using the Backward Design approach, I opted to have learners develop a Course Plan as their primary course assessment. The development of this Course Plan will prepare them to execute an actual earning solution based on an authentic learning need that they themselves have identified in their own professional context.
Having discovered that the Humanitarian workforce is largely diverse in terms of exposure to stress and trauma, completion of post-secondary education, country of origin and country of work, and work environments and organisational culture (CHS Alliance, 2017; Lopes Cardozo, et al., 2012; Russ, 2014), these significant points of departure in diversity created a greater need for me to apply a self-directed learning approach, supported by self-assessment strategies to empower the learners, and meet them where they are at. edX Edge allowed for this type of self-assessment, with some constraints, and provided limited space for learners to share and discuss their work and portfolios. I considered the idea of peer assessment which could encourage the cross-pollination of knowledge between professional learners but decided against this due to the consideration of their workload, and instead opted to use discussion forums to build a sense of community. Overall, I was able to leverage edX to allow learners to self-assess their participation based on a rubric. Similarly, to empower learners to take charge of their own learning design, self-assessment of their Course Plans as they progress through the course is also used, with a mechanism for tutor-assessment to provide feedback and corrective/formative guidance.
Participation in discussion forums is also highly encouraged, which is reflected on the heavy weightage in overall assessment (25%). The importance of ongoing reflection, especially in relation to their peers in the same professional sector, can improve learning and enhance professional practice. Guidance with the norms of behaviour in discussion forums is provided, highlighting the principles of respect and curiosity, especially due to a significantly diverse learner group.
Finally, course reflection is also heavily reinforced in the overall assessment (25%) to encourage learners to bridge the gap between their existing knowledge and their goals in their professional and personal development.
I’m very much looking forward to developing the modules for Assignment 4, and seeing what other reflections in Learning Design comes up!
References
CHS Alliance (2017). Building an organizational learning & development framework: a guide for NGOs. Retrieved from: https://www.chsalliance.org/files/files/L%26F%20Framework%20-%20Final.pdf
Knowles, M. (1970). Andragogy: An emerging technology for adult learning. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/cm-andragogy.pdf
Lopes Cardozo, B., Gotway Crawford, C., Eriksson, C., Zhu, J., Sabin, M., Ager, A., . . . Simon, W. (2012). Psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and burnout among international humanitarian aid workers: A longitudinal study. Plos One, 7(9), e44948. 10.1371/journal.pone.0044948
Schwartz, M. (n.d.). Engaging adult learners. Retrieved from: https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/handouts/EngagingAdultLearners.pdf
Russ, C. (2014). Enhancing Learning & Research for Humanitarian Assistance. Global survey on humanitarian professionalisation. Retrieved from: http://euhap.eu/upload/2014/06/global-humanitarian-professionalisation-survey.pdf