Student 'Y' is studying on the Creative Studies course. He has 'high functioning autism' or Aspergers Syndrome.
A characteristic of students with Aspergers as stated by the University of Indianapolis, Disability Services Aspergers, is students 'may be very literal, concrete, logical, rule-oriented, rigid in applying social rules, and may lack comprehension of humor.'
Student 'Y' can find classroom situations difficult because of the many distractions. Those distractions could be: The other students, noise, harsh fluorescent lighting, changes in routine of classroom activity.
Student 'Y' might find his time in the classroom or studio spent predominantly being distracted by conversations in the room. He is unable to 'block out' the other students talking.
He may not enrol in the course in the first place because he does not believe the institution has understanding of his 'neurodiversity' and therefore cannot provide for his learning needs.
Some solutions:
For the distracting environment, Universal Design strategies can be employed. These strategies benefit ALL learners.
For Student 'Y', it is ideal that we have classrooms that avoid sensory overload (C. Vogel 2008), this is difficult in a studio based arts and design course.
Incorporating movable screens with storage space, or, rolling cupboard units would 'kill two birds with one stone'. The screens can create smaller insular areas for working while the shelf/cupboard space inside them provides a much needed home for all the random art gear strewn around the place.
For the perceived lack of institutional understanding -
At pre-enrollment time, when the learner is researching their options, a statement somewhere on the OP website and prospectus that acknowledges neurodiversity and a willingness to discuss possible accommodations with students.
A statement read out to all students in Orientation week, or the first week of classes. There are some sample statements here on the University of Indianapolis website. I'm not sure about the amount of information our students are given about Disability Services from Student Services.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Response to reading and watching...
Having read for the second time, the chapter from the book by Collis, B. & Moonen, J. (2001). Flexible learning: it's not just about distance, I found it to be a very sensible and holistic approach to flexible learning.
A few points and ideas about flexible learning that have jumped out to me since watching the video on Youtube 'A Portal to Media Literacy' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4yApagnr0s&feature=PlayList&p=B0A1DB7F87217A4C&index=9) and re-reading the Collis & Moonen reading are:
Flexible learning is important because technology is advancing faster than we can learn it. In 'A Portal to Media Literacy' Michael Wesch talks about the students being the ones to shape and decide on the content of this technology in the future.
Flexible Learning strategies are important if our students are to be involved in the future of information. Students need to be equipped with the skills to not only negotiate the web, but to know that they have the power to network, share information and change the landscape of cyber space. Students need to know they have the power to contribute ethically and sustainably to the great pot of information and systems.
So, what is Flexible Learning? At present I see it like this: It's not about 'passive' learning. It's about students understanding their potential and learning ways to achieve that potential.
An antidote for 'passive' learning (where students try to absorb the packets of information that the lecturer dishes out, a.k.a the 'Acquisition Model') is the 'Participation model' (Collis & Moonen. p20,21,22.)
'Who wants flexible learning?' is a question raised in the chapter that I think is very relevant.
I'm sure all students want some degree of flexibility, but different kinds of flexibility are wanted from one student to the next. Two main 'kinds' of student jump to mind at this point;
*The kind that asks: 'Can I do this? And this? And what about this?'
*and the kind that asks: 'What do I do now?'
A few points and ideas about flexible learning that have jumped out to me since watching the video on Youtube 'A Portal to Media Literacy' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4yApagnr0s&feature=PlayList&p=B0A1DB7F87217A4C&index=9) and re-reading the Collis & Moonen reading are:
Flexible learning is important because technology is advancing faster than we can learn it. In 'A Portal to Media Literacy' Michael Wesch talks about the students being the ones to shape and decide on the content of this technology in the future.
Flexible Learning strategies are important if our students are to be involved in the future of information. Students need to be equipped with the skills to not only negotiate the web, but to know that they have the power to network, share information and change the landscape of cyber space. Students need to know they have the power to contribute ethically and sustainably to the great pot of information and systems.
So, what is Flexible Learning? At present I see it like this: It's not about 'passive' learning. It's about students understanding their potential and learning ways to achieve that potential.
'Flexible learning is a movement away from a situation in which key decisions about learning are made in advance by the instructor or institution, towards a situation where the learner has a range of options from which to choose with respect to these key dimensions' (Collis & Moonen. p10.)
An antidote for 'passive' learning (where students try to absorb the packets of information that the lecturer dishes out, a.k.a the 'Acquisition Model') is the 'Participation model' (Collis & Moonen. p20,21,22.)
'With the Acquisition Model, the focus of learning activities is on the acquisition of pre-specified knowledge and the development of predetermined concepts. With the Participation Model, the focus of learning activities is on becoming a member of a community of practice, learning from the community but also contributing to it....with the Participation Model the interactions that the learner contributes to may serve to change the knowledge base of the community even as he or she participates'
'Who wants flexible learning?' is a question raised in the chapter that I think is very relevant.
I'm sure all students want some degree of flexibility, but different kinds of flexibility are wanted from one student to the next. Two main 'kinds' of student jump to mind at this point;
*The kind that asks: 'Can I do this? And this? And what about this?'
*and the kind that asks: 'What do I do now?'
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Flexible Teaching Practice
The students in my class are so varied, in their learning styles, range of knowledge and previous education.
I find it pays for me to have a wide range of resources at hand that can cater to the different learning styles, and also offer illustrations for the different levels of understanding that they have.
One of my goals as a teacher is to facilitate a learning environment in which the students will learn at a deep level. Flexibility in my delivery of information is crucial if I want to 'reach' all my students.
I'm a teacher that likes to sit WITH my students to teach and learn together, with sprinkles of 'stand up at the white board' instruction. The 'sit down together' approach encourages dialogue with lots of questions and discussions.
Some students prefer not to talk. For those students I make sure to have handouts with diagrams, images and other information that they can ponder in their own time.
The majority of my students have limited research skills, and often have difficulty with self directed learning and motivation. These areas could potentially benefit from Flexible teaching and leaning practices.
I will be examining an online tool that may address the issue of lack of motivation for research. So, more on that later...
I find it pays for me to have a wide range of resources at hand that can cater to the different learning styles, and also offer illustrations for the different levels of understanding that they have.
One of my goals as a teacher is to facilitate a learning environment in which the students will learn at a deep level. Flexibility in my delivery of information is crucial if I want to 'reach' all my students.
I'm a teacher that likes to sit WITH my students to teach and learn together, with sprinkles of 'stand up at the white board' instruction. The 'sit down together' approach encourages dialogue with lots of questions and discussions.
Some students prefer not to talk. For those students I make sure to have handouts with diagrams, images and other information that they can ponder in their own time.
The majority of my students have limited research skills, and often have difficulty with self directed learning and motivation. These areas could potentially benefit from Flexible teaching and leaning practices.
I will be examining an online tool that may address the issue of lack of motivation for research. So, more on that later...
Friday, March 14, 2008
Some stuffing for this saggy pillow of a blog!
Hello All,
In this posting I shall 'catch up' with the week one goals of stating who I am, what is my area of expertise, my reasons for doing this course and what I aim to achieve.
Ive added some extra thoughts on experiences with this course also.
I'm Katy Molloy, I work in the Creative Studies course that is based in the Design department at Otago Polytechnic. I have a bachelor of Fine Arts but have always, and still do, enjoy the design process. I am also lecturing a numeracy paper this year to some Creative Studies students. The numeracy teaching is perfect for me as I'm interested in bridging the gap between Art and mathematics.
Aims - I am doing this course to add more tools to my belt, and in turn, use those tools in my teaching.
Hopefully I will understand the width and length and depth (sculptor mentality!) of this e-learning environment, so I can use it and add to it with confidence.
Some extra thought on the width - length - depth thing. I am feeling quite dissatisfied with my progress in this DFLP course. I realize that this is because all the resources/communications have been digital (I missed the Face to Face meeting on the 5th March) so in comparison to the physicality of learning that I am accustomed to, this course feels like a heap of disjointed flying grey matter, that I can't grab or see. It's unpleasant.
So, today, upon realizing the above, I made a 'folder' on the 'desk top' of my laptop and set about putting things related to this course in it - that has made me feel better! And I have 'bookmarked' the Wiki main page for this course, the course blog, and my blog, in my Mozilla Firefox toolbar. It is very basic stuff, but hugely important.
So now I feel like I have somewhat of a grip on these things - or a line connected to them anyway.
It was very nice to recieve the hard copied 'Flexible learning: it's not just about distance' reading and wiki page print-out that Bronwyn sent.
In these first couple of weeks in the DFLP course, it seems as if I've been doing online research on a foreign city that I am planning to visit; Getting the underground train maps/bus timetable, inner city maps, wider city maps, hotels/backpackers info. Then of course when you arrive at the city, its nothing like what you imagined, but you may have some bearings.
I'm wondering now, "when am I gonna SEE it?"
That may be 'to much information', but the crux is that I feel like I could very well be missing out on something. I give a nod to Carolyn's post in the Discussion on the DFLP 'Wiki page - 21:17, 14 March 2008' when she wondered if she was missing something.
Cheers for reading. More later.
Katy Molloy
In this posting I shall 'catch up' with the week one goals of stating who I am, what is my area of expertise, my reasons for doing this course and what I aim to achieve.
Ive added some extra thoughts on experiences with this course also.
I'm Katy Molloy, I work in the Creative Studies course that is based in the Design department at Otago Polytechnic. I have a bachelor of Fine Arts but have always, and still do, enjoy the design process. I am also lecturing a numeracy paper this year to some Creative Studies students. The numeracy teaching is perfect for me as I'm interested in bridging the gap between Art and mathematics.
Aims - I am doing this course to add more tools to my belt, and in turn, use those tools in my teaching.
Hopefully I will understand the width and length and depth (sculptor mentality!) of this e-learning environment, so I can use it and add to it with confidence.
Some extra thought on the width - length - depth thing. I am feeling quite dissatisfied with my progress in this DFLP course. I realize that this is because all the resources/communications have been digital (I missed the Face to Face meeting on the 5th March) so in comparison to the physicality of learning that I am accustomed to, this course feels like a heap of disjointed flying grey matter, that I can't grab or see. It's unpleasant.
So, today, upon realizing the above, I made a 'folder' on the 'desk top' of my laptop and set about putting things related to this course in it - that has made me feel better! And I have 'bookmarked' the Wiki main page for this course, the course blog, and my blog, in my Mozilla Firefox toolbar. It is very basic stuff, but hugely important.
So now I feel like I have somewhat of a grip on these things - or a line connected to them anyway.
It was very nice to recieve the hard copied 'Flexible learning: it's not just about distance' reading and wiki page print-out that Bronwyn sent.
In these first couple of weeks in the DFLP course, it seems as if I've been doing online research on a foreign city that I am planning to visit; Getting the underground train maps/bus timetable, inner city maps, wider city maps, hotels/backpackers info. Then of course when you arrive at the city, its nothing like what you imagined, but you may have some bearings.
I'm wondering now, "when am I gonna SEE it?"
That may be 'to much information', but the crux is that I feel like I could very well be missing out on something. I give a nod to Carolyn's post in the Discussion on the DFLP 'Wiki page - 21:17, 14 March 2008' when she wondered if she was missing something.
Cheers for reading. More later.
Katy Molloy
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