Inclusive Design
According to (Navarro et al., 2016), the purpose of inclusive learning is to ensure that all learners, including those who may have diverse needs, have equal opportunities in accessing and positively experiencing their learning. Therefore, inclusive learning recognizes the diversity of students, which can include their language, ability, etc., and aims at reducing inequalities between learners (Navarro et al., 2016).
When designing our interactive learning resource, my group wanted to ensure that we were creating a class that was inclusive to all students.
For example, we decided that this course would be administered asynchronously online, so that students that have other priorities, such as children, work, looking after parents, etc., were able to access lectures when it was convenient for them to do so. Going along with this theme of flexibility, our assignments have suggested due dates in order for students to be able to work at their own pace and thus, they are enabled to submit work they are proud of and not something they have rushed to finish due to lack of time.
We also wanted to make sure that our class material was easy to understand to students who don’t have English as their first language. This includes offering slides, visuals, videos, and captions so that ELL students can connect words with pictures and vice versa.
After doing some research on inclusive design I realized that inclusivity isn’t just about ensuring that learners of different abilities are provided with the opportunity to be successful in a classroom. It is also about ensuring that the class is a safe and positive environment for all students. Thus, I think one thing we could adjust in our learning resource would be surrounding the topic itself. If I were teaching this class, I think before starting on the lecture component I would want to ensure that I have informed the class that mental health can be a sensitive subject, and in order to be able to create a safe and inclusive environment for all learners, students as well as professors, need to make sure that we are being respectful of the subject matter. Additionally, in order to create an inclusive classroom, students must not only respect the subject matter, but also, be respectful of the differences that each student in the class has, including their race, ethnicity, religion. Diversity is crucial in education as it brings important perspectives and insight into a classroom and discussion that enhances learning opportunities for everyone.
References:
Navarro, S. B., Zervas, P., Gesa, R. F., & Sampson, D. G. (2016). Developing teachers’ competences for designing inclusive learning experiences. Educational Technology & Society, 19(1), 17-27.
Interaction
Above I have embedded a link to the video i chose to reflect my interactive learning resource topic, entitled “Gender Differences in Mental Health” by Professor Jayashri Kulkarni.
The youtube link is just over 7 minutes long and is a lecture based presentation on gender differences in mental health. The video includes a slideshow and pictures along with a visual of the professor as she narrates each slide.
- What kind of interaction would the video require from your students? Does it force them to respond in some way (inherent)?
The video is not inherently interactive. In other words, the video does not produce an activity that requires students to respond to. However, if I were using this video in a lesson I would encourage students to take notes, as it would help with future activities and will help encourage students to pay attention to the information being provided in the video
2. What activity could you suggest that they do, after they have watched the video (designed)? What type of knowledge or skill would that activity help develop? What medium or technology would students use to do the activity?
If were using this video in class, I would design the video to be interactive, by requiring my students to respond to the video. This would be in terms of a discussion post in which students could relay information that they were surprised by or interested in, as well, as how the video made them feel. I would also require students to respond to 2 other posts by their classmates as it will encourage them to see how other people interpreted the video and require them to engage with other students ideas. Discussion posts are a great way to develop more knowledge on a topic as they allow for critical thinking, and it is an opportunity to connect with your classmates and their ideas. Last, online discussion boards offer students the opportunity to find their voice and provide proof for their opinions in a polite manner that creates an inviting learning environment for all students. All these learning skills are extremely important in the classroom, but even more importantly, this knowledge on communication will transfer into our personal lives as we use these online platforms (ex.social media) to communicate our ideas and beliefs.
3. How would students get feedback on the activity that you set? What medium or technology would they and/or you use for getting and giving feedback on their activity
If I were designing a lesson plan, I would use a participation assessment. I would give students marks for creating their own post and then a mark for each of the 2 posts they provided in response to a classmates idea. I don’t think there can be a right or wrong answer when a post is based on ones personal opinion in response to a video so therefore, I think its more important that students are engaging and critically thinking, then for me to ask specific multiple choice question that they may or may not remember taking place in the video. I would use a course site like bright-spaces, as it offers an easy to use discussion sections that allows students to post their own ideas, as well as read and respond to other students.
4. How will you address any potential barriers for your learners in the use of this video to ensure an inclusive design?
I think this video does a great job at creating an inclusive design for all students. First, its an online video so it can be paused, rewatched, and can be played over technology, such as zoom, making it accessible to people who may not be able to attend class. Additionally, the video provides slides with words and diagrams, that offer ELL students a visual to better understand what the professor is lecturing on. One thing I would do when showing this video would be to turn the captions on so that students, especially those with english not as their first language, have the opportunity to be able to see the words the professor is saying to help increase literacy and make the connection between seeing and hearing the words.
Peer Review
Peer review for Group 11 interactive learning resource:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gmbbrpbOx6Hmex9a7pQcb-GOYVGRKXgFKqeC_llCzqo/edit?usp=sharing
Hi group 11, thanks for sharing your interactive learning resource with us, I really enjoyed looking through it!
I just wanted to start by saying that your topic sounds very interesting, and as someone who doesn’t know much about economics I found the outline easy to follow! I thought you did a good job providing an overview of your resource, as I had a clear understanding of what I would be learning throughout the course. Below I have included some strong aspects of your learning resource that stood out to me.
- I liked how you included an explanation as to why you were not choosing behaviourism as a learning design for your interactive resource – it helped me have a greater understanding of how you wanted your course to be organized and instructed.
- I thought that your learning outcomes aligned well with your rational for the learning activities that you were providing
- I also liked how you included an example of what a quiz would look like – it acts as a great reference to guide both the professor and students
- I thought your 7th section was very well organized by providing your topic, the resources you will be using to teach that topic, and how each topic would be assessed to meet the learning goal associated with it- this made it extremely easy to follow!!
I have also included below some possible suggestions for improvement:
- I thought your idea to include videos is a great way to help ELL students with learning material. A potential suggestion I have would be to include sub titles or videos that contain captions as it makes it easier for ELL students to connect pictures with words that they will eventually be seeing in the readings that you talk about providing.
- I like how you included blogs as a form of activity, because as we have seen in this class, it is a great way for students to post and respond to other people. One suggestion I have would be to include a bit more description on how blog posts are being used, as I wasn’t sure if it was the platform you were using for group discussions or something else.
Overall, I think your groups interactive learning resource is very well done, and the class sounds like it would be very enjoyable!
Leaning Design II
According to (Magliaro et al., 2005), direct instruction is an evidence based teaching method that “focuses on the interaction between teachers and students” (p.41). This interaction can be broken down into two distinct categories; (1) instruction that is structured with explicit steps led by the teacher (such as a teacher setting out instructions to read an article, then watch a particular video, in order to answer questions they have created on a worksheet) and/or (2) the presentation or demonstration of knowledge to students by the teacher (for example, a teacher standing in front of the class lecturing on how to do a multiplication equation) (Lambardi, 2019).
It’s important to note that there has been a lot of debate surrounding the effectiveness of direct instruction as it is often associated with being an ‘outdated approach’, which made me connect this approach back to week 1 and the concept of behaviourism. According to (Magliaro et al., 2005), direct instruction focuses on the key components of modelling information in a way that tasks are broken into smaller components that need to be mastered before moving onto to more advanced learning. This is reflective of behaviourism as “instruction is structured around the presentation of the target stimulus and the provision of opportunities for the learner to practice making the proper response” (Ertmer & Newby, 2013, p.10). Moreover, they both look at learning as observable and highlight the importance of reinforcement by creating a structured lesson plan.
In my groups blueprint we use direct instruction in multiple ways. For instance, we have established learning goals in a chronological order so students understand how the course will be outlined and what is expected of them. To continue, we have purposely organized units to build off one another, starting with overall knowledge of particular sections of the topic of gender inequalities in health before concluding with policies and health pathways in gender inequalities in health as a whole. Furthermore, my group used direct instruction, as the class is meant for first year University students and will be thus, delivered through a lecture based approach. Moreover, the knowledge being taught will either be directly from the teacher themselves or will be shown through videos and journal articles that they have specifically chosen.
Refernces:
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Lombardi, P. (2019). Instructional Methods, Strategies, and Technologies to Meet The Needs of All Learners. Retrieved from https://granite.pressbooks.pub/teachingdiverselearners/
Magliaro, S. G., Lockee, B. B., & Burton, J. K. (2005). Direct instruction revisited: A key model for instructional technology. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02504684
Learning Design
After reading the article Behaviourism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism (Ertmer & Newby, 2013), I was able to expand my previous understanding of different approaches to learning. I think as educators its important for us to be able to recognize the different styles of learning and which one best fits a students needs, in regards to the context and problem they are facing, For this blog post, I wanted to look at Behaviourism in particular because after reading the article I felt like this particular approach to learning was very “old fashioned”, in the sense that a majority of my learning in school focused on more of a cognitive approach. Moreover, a lot of the teaching that I remembered emphasized being able to understand why you were taking the steps you were to solve a particular problem. Therefore, I wanted to be able to look back on and understand how some aspects of my learning was shaped through a behaviouralist approach.
Behaviourism:
Behaviourism identifies learning as being characterized as reactive to conditions that are provided by the environment surrounding the learner (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Therefore, this form of learning is made up of the stimulus and the response and how the two correlate with one another (Ertmer & Newby). Thus, it is based on observable performance that is either positively or negatively reinforced.
Looking at this concept through my own educational experiences I can connect behaviourism with praise charts that were introduced in my grade 3 classroom. The teacher outlined guidelines for students to follow and at the end of the day, students were either rewarded with a green card, which symbolized good behaviour or a red card, which meant that the students did not follow the appropriate behaviour that was outlined for them. In this case the stimulus would be the rules that were set out for the students and the response would be whether we got a green or red card at the end of the day. This approach to behaviour in a classroom emphasizes how proper behaviour can be taught through praising children with rewards or creating consequences when inappropriate behaviour is shown. I found that this approach allowed us to be able to understand how we reacted to what was expected of us in a visual way. It encouraged me to follow appropriate behaviour in the classroom as I wanted to take part in the rewards that were offered to us, and didn’t want to feel embarrassed by having a red card next to my name.
However, there are limitations to this approach, which include the fact that this approach does not acknowledge the differences that exist between children. For instance, behaviour management is extremely different across different groups of children and therefore, students can not be treated through a uniform approach, such as this one. Learning should be about embracing differences among children so that we can learn from one another and thus, our education system should reflect a more inclusive approach
References:
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.