Authenticity of activity. For us this is making sure that there is an authentic context. Learners have for years been saying that it needs to be relevant to the role that they do - and this is also one of our training principles. Can we create activities that allow the learner to develop better skills or reasoning or to understand the issues they might come across better, and their role in problem solving? Can we give them a chance to rehearse? Therefore when writing materials we need to make sure the activities we are suggesting have this authentic context.
Formality and structure. As a volunteer movement we are incredibly flexible. we have principles and criteria for assessment, but this is in the form of other volunteers assessing the individual on how they have applied their learning to their role. The structure of learning has definition, but is not rigid. Trainers can deliver the objectives in the way they think best suits the learner. The danger of this is they design learning that best suits themselves rather than the learners. Certainly when I deliver learning it is very flexible and changed to suit the needs of the learners, even though the general pattern of activities is in place.
Retention/reproduction versus reflection/internationalisation. We do both of these, through role play and group work and through reflection and action planning, and also through the validation process itself. I would maybe add another layer to this which is about actualization - problem solving. Often learning is very group orientated, because the organisation is about team work. So maybe there needs to be some thought about how we design activities that also give the individual room for reflection.
The role and importance of other people. This is especially important in a volunteer organisation. Also because often the trainer won't have any contact with the learner's other support mechanisms. Therefore, it can't be assumed that the learners will experience the 'authentic' activity you have created in the sessions. We came up with some radical ideas about tailoring learning to individuals and having lots of methods. But this relies on the support structures available. More support to supporters is a key part that needs developing.
Locus of control. This a definite area of development and from a central point of view one that needs more guidance. As a volunteer led organisation, it takes about five years for information to be clearly communicated and actioned across the UK, up to the most important ground level people. Even though there may be clear guidance, volunteer managers often do not follow it, and insert their own rules and control. Often this is because of fear of the unknown. This is evident in the distrust that some training managers have in learners using elearning or workbooks to study at their own pace. Again, a better understanding from those supporting and managing the learner process is required for it to work better.
Different approaches
Our learning is a blend of different approaches - very much linked in with Blooms', knowledge, skills and behaviours.. We want people to take on the situative elements - build on their roles and be able to participate in the wider context of their role. We also though want to enable them to solve problems and action plan, as a people orientated organisation, this will be a key skill. And they also need to know the rules and regulations about what they do, as well as develop practical skills.
The learning outcome DOES need to be meaningful to our learners, as they are volunteers, and so the pressure on time is often of huge relevance. When Beetham talks about designing learning, the considerations about experience and motivation and accessibility and skills are ones that we teach our trainers, and is a personal mission of mine. However this is not always easy, as you don't always know who will be turning up to your training sessions. (especially when you are a national development officer for the UK).
Using technology.
So how do we currently use technology.? We do have the dreaded old fashioned instructional elearning programmes. I view these much the same as videos or web page sin content. There may be some exploration or reflection involved, but without any support structures in place during the learning, they are simply informational. Support has to come afterwards as people work through the validation process. We do however encourage exploration and reflection in the newly designed workbooks. It is still a rather simple learning process, but by asking learners to involve others or to explore resources on the website we are introducing a new dimension to the approach.
We use technology a lot in the processes that lead to learning development. Research, data processing, experimentation all play their part is understanding what the needs is, as well as assessing the approached to take. For instance, we know that learners want more group activities and tasks and less passive lecturing through feedback. We know which areas in the UK may not be completing learning and can offer more support and direct development work.
We are also using more conferencing technology and experimenting with one off activities to try things out and get a feel for whether it can work for us.
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