Constructing courses - Part 3 Development ideas

Reflecting on the overall course

Reflecting on the Environmental Science and Education 2 course from last year there were aspects that worked well and aspects that I wanted to develop and improve. This was also identified from gathering feedback from students. Last year was my first year running this course so I now have a better big picture understanding of how the polytechnic systems work and how this course could work well within our program.

What worked well;

·         The students highlighted that they found the power point lectures and quizzes that I put together on geology and alpine ecosystems to be valuable.

·         They also really enjoyed learning through the use of movies e.g. McLibel.

·         Students enjoyed the field trips during ESE1 e.g. Quarantine island trip.

What could be improved;

·         There was no lecture schedule/timetable. Lots of program changes meant that it was hard to organize lectures or aspects would be dropped. This was particularly frustrating when it involved other outside lecturers e.g. with the living campus project.

·         The students found the course outline was not user friendly. They found the assessment tasks were hard to follow.

·         Most assessment tasks could be done anytime during the year – which made it challenging for students who left assignments to the last minute and had three assessment tasks due towards the end of the year. It also meant I had a huge amount of marking coming in all at once. Students also found it difficult to remember when due dates were, I believe as a result of being out in the field a lot.

What I have changed or intend to develop

·         At the start of this year I completely re-wrote the course outline. I will attached a link on my web page (task 4) to the ESE2 2011 and ESE2 2012 course outlines for you to see. This was part of the Institute of Sport and Adventure collaborative attempt to improve all our course outlines and make them more generic. As part of this I went through the yearly program and came up with a lecture schedule/timeline. There are still a few free lecture spaces that I need to consider – and what would be the best use of this time. One idea I am considering is doing a field trip to the refuse/recycling centre as an education tool – and including having a competition for the best creation made out of recycled materials (with a $5 limit).

·         I intend to get some more environmental specific and empowering movies together that can be used in my teaching.

·         I changed the assessment tasks so that there was one a term (with due dates being set at either the start or end of each term). The number of tasks was also reduced from four to three, as it was identified that there was too much of a work load for the number of credits for this paper.

·         Times were set at the beginning of the year with the living campus team.

·         I intend to create some more interactive lectures.

Environmental Science and Education 2     Learning Outcomes:	Previous Learning Activities (2011) – what worked/what didn’t	Proposed learning activities	Resourcing
1) Understand the natural history of an area and communicate this effectively to others Assessment task 1: Interpretation See course outline	An existing interpretation lecture was the only way the students were set up for this assessment last year. I don’t believe this was enough to create quality presentations. Later on in the year I created several interactive powerpoints which worked really well. These included team and individual quizzes (on geology and alpine ecosystems). These could also be an invaluable resource for when they are working within the industry or sitting outdoor qualifications. Students also plagiarised or didn’t reference material in their handouts. Students were able to do this assessment anytime during the year – a lot of them leaving this to the last minute.	A series of interactive face-to-face lectures prior to them doing their assessment. This will hopefully set them up with a greater base knowledge to draw on and extend during their presentations. Lectures to include: 1)      Interpretation 2)      Below the bushline 3)      Alpine ecosystems 4)      NZ Fauna 5)      Geology of NZ I hope to create a below the bushline and NZ Fauna lectures this semester. Some ideas for learning activities include: visiting the Botanical gardens to learn native plants, creating a herbarium, and a NZ fauna face painting and presenting session. This assessment is now due at the end of term 2 and it is clearly stated in bold that students must write in their own words or reference appropriately. I have also timetabled two afternoon sessions were we will take the ISA vans and they have the opportunity to present to their peers during this time. Also there are still several lecture slots free in term 3. I was talking to a friend from DOC the other day who would be willing to come and do a guest lecture or two for our students. It would be great for our students to learn from his wisdom but also learn about another avenue that they could pursue with an outdoor background.	The greatest resource required to improve and develop this learning outcome is my time. I need time to create learning material for these lectures. Also if we are to get in some guest lecturers it would be finding money for an appropriate koha or payment for their time and efforts. Van and petrol for scheduled afternoon sessions.
2) Identify impact on the environment and develop a deeper understanding on how to lessen these impacts concerning current local, national and international environmental issues. 3) Deliver  environmental education activities to students. Both of these learning outcomes are part of Assessment task 2: Teaching for Sustainability See course outline	The students were expected to draw on their learnings from Environmental Science and Education 1 (in which they looked at their environmental footprint, presented national/international sustainability issues to their peers, and also had some lectures on relevant environmental issues e.g. global warming). This worked well in giving them a base to draw from. However the presentations they did with the clients were often non-interactive and lacked engagement. I believe that the students needed more experience and ideas in what some environmental activities are that you could use to get a message across. Students were able to do this assessment anytime during the year – a lot of them leaving this to the last minute.	Our students have already been taught and delivered to high school students many Adventure-based learning activities. Being creative in adapting these with an environmental focus and drawing on these past experiences will help with their delivery.   I propose to run our students through some environmental activities that I have used or know about. Both at outward bound and peel forest outdoor pursuits centre I was involved in running environmental education for clients. I also learnt some environmental education activities during the Nature and Adventure paper that I took while at University.  I hope to pool these resources together and also research into what else is out there to create a resource and a teaching tool for our students.  Hopefully they can develop and creatively adapt these activities to cater to the client group, environment and message that they hope to get across during their session. This assessment is now due on the last day of term 3.	Again the greatest resource required is my time. Also I will need to use the internet and library to source out other environmental activities. I also thought about visiting and collaborating with the Cromwell campus, as they run a sustainability course – it would be great to see if they have any resources that we could share.
4) Action positive change and awareness to an environmental or sustainability issue occurring in New Zealand. Assessment task 3: Action project See course outline	Last year this assessment task was introduced at the start of the year and they were expected to find a project and go out and make some change. This worked well for some who were motivated, but others got to the end of the year and had done very little. As part of the assessment they were asked to keep a blog. This only worked for 2 of the 13 students. The others did not engage with this.	This year I have already done:  1) Discussion on environmental/sustainability issues in New Zealand. 2)McLibel DVD –  looking at how two people went up against McDonalds corporation and won! Using this to drive/inspire what are they passionate about and where could they make a difference 3) Instead of using a blog I am trialling using a secret facebook page to keep each other in the loop with what they are doing. This also provides a way of support each other with any ideas/suggestions/links. I am hoping this will work better as this is something they are more familiar with. 4) They have had to present their action plans to the rest of the class so everyone else knows what they propose to do. What I propose to do: 1)Have scheduled tutorials where we can touch base where they are at with their plans. 2)Keep in tune with the facebook page when I see anything relevant to a student’s specific project. 3) They will present their posters and what they did to our first years at the end of the year – which will hopefully get the first years already thinking ahead about what they could do the following year.	Facebook as a new technology – this is something I have not used a lot and are still getting my head around.

In Summary

On creating my Flexible learning presentation I reflected on this blog - and the thoughts and ideas that it facilitated. From this I have identified nine key points that I hope to continue developing in the future to help ensure we deliver a quality student-orientated program for our DOLM students

1. Inclusion - in 2012 Leadership program
   - disabled student contact
   - Marae stay
   - waka/mokihi
   - understanding powhiri
   - budget challenges
   - understanding indigenous learners
2. Better understanding of Otago Polytechnic documents including the Strategy, Charter and Memorandum of Understanding
3. Looking at sustainability from a broader perspective - including social, economic and individual factors. Implementing this into our papers especially environmental science e.g. action project
4. Walk the talk environmentally - both as individual and as a department
5. Links and Sharing of resources - both at Otago Poly and in the wider outdoor community e.g. SOPs, curriculum
6. Greater understanding of technology and social media e.g. wiki, u-tube, web conferencing, blogs. Challenge in using e-learning as a medium - has it's place but doesn't cater to all learners and can often be linked to saving money. So find ways to optimise technology without sacrifying instructional quality. Use it as a tool to aid learning, but not to become the only means.
7. Timetabling and course outline challenges - making these student orientated
8. Debriefing and Reflection

Activity Eleven - Cultural Sensitivity and indigenous learners

Definition – Indigenous learner

“Indigenous people are any ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest known historical connection” (Wikipedia, 2010)

Many indigenous people have had similar experiences as a result of colonization or other means of new people coming in. These experience may include;

-         Oppression e.g. Apartheid

-         Inequality

-         Language decline/Cultural dislocation

-         Cultural contraction

-         Resource depletion

-         Low socio-economic status and health

-         Poor education attainment

-         Alienation from Western structures and institutions.

Taken from: Flexible learning Elluminate Web-based conference with Kate Timmens-Dean, Otago Polytechnic

• How can you include examples of New Zealand's indigenous culture in the design of your eLearning courses - language, society, history, political issues etc.

Again this very question limits flexible learning and associates the term flexible learning with e-learning. Surely it should be much broader than that. In fact there is research to suggest that students spending large quantities of time on the computer can lead to depression, lack of creativity and health related issues as a result of inactivity. So why are we moving so quickly into this style of learning??

For our course using technology can be a great means to use as an additional teaching resource BUT sitting in front of a computer does not create good outdoor instructors!! Rather this question would sit much better with me - how could we include aspects of indigenous culture in the design of our courses!!

-         Recently my colleagues and I were talking about this very topic. We came up with the idea to have an inclusion section in the 2012 leadership course. This would include having both first and second years visiting a local marae to create greater understanding and links to the local Runaka. This could be particularly beneficial to any Maori students. At this stage our 2^nd years do a mihi and Maori myths assessment, so this could be assessed on the Marae itself.

-         Including a Waka or Mokihi component – learning about these as outdoor activities or experiences

-         Many programs, including the outdoors, now have a powhiri as part of welcoming people on. This is becoming more common and it could be an important aspect to include in the inclusion course so that our students understand the protocols that goes along with this.

-         Including more Maori language in our programs, even just using the term ‘Kia Ora’ or other simple greetings could be something we use more every day. We have talked about including the Maori translation for titles in our course outline however every time we changed something in English (which is very frequent) would then need to change it in Maori. Not having the skill to do this is a major limiting factor here. I would be interested in the future to learn more Te Reo, which could help here.

-         The major limiting factor on implementing these ideas would be our budget. Staff at Otago Polytechnic has great opportunities to learn more about Maori culture and I believe that student learning should not be limited by money if we are to uphold agreements we have made with the local Runaka and strategic framework. So perhaps coming up with something that could be recognized by the powers at be who could subsidize or fund these ideas.

• What approaches can you utilise to meet the needs of indigenous learners?

-         Treat them with equality and respect. Be adaptable and acknowledge their culture and preferred learning styles.

-         Incorporate aspects of their culture into our program where possible. An example of this is our myths assessment – where students learn about myths connected to the land (sense of place) that they may pass on to others when operating in the outdoors e.g. adventure guiding

-         If the come from a low socio-economic background try and find ways to enable the students to have access to courses, computers and material/equipment they may need to succeed, e.g. Student Hardship fund, scholarships etc.

-         Understand the Maori term ‘Hauora’ – often linked to health which includes Wairua (spiritual wellbeing), Tinana (physical wellbeing), Whanau (family/social wellbeing) and hinengaro (mental/cognitive wellbeing). In understanding this you identify ways that you could enhance learning for Maori students – and probably many others who don’t associate with being Maori. This could include ensuring the students have the tangible resources or physical ability, support, work-life balance and self belief.

-         Within the polytechnic it is important to understand the history OP has with the four local Runaka in signing the Memorandum of Understanding.

-         Otago Polytechnic Maori Strategic Framework – has identified several priority areas including; upholding the treaty of Waitangi, Kai Tahu and Maori staffing and students, incorporating Kai Tahu/Maori programmes, language and philosophies, inclusive learning environments (including values and protocols), and Maori centred knowledge creation and research.

Key preferences that enhance Maori learning/Ako that I could consider in my teaching practises include:

-         Face-to-face learning and teacher visibility

-         Visual, dialogue and interactive learning (oral tradition)

-         Working together with others – peer teaching, group work, sharing prior knowledge

-         Guidance and facilitation over learning where students have more ownership

-         Direct learner involvement – actively engaged

-         Safe and supportive learning environment – welcomeness (powhiri or introduction?)

-         Positive relationships/good rapport

-         Acknowledging whakapapa

• Outline any experiences you have had working with indigenous learners

The main experiences I have had working with indigenous learners was in Malaysia – where I spent one year working at Outward Bound. In Malaysia there is a real mix of culture with many different indigenous people who are broadly referred to as ‘Orang asli’. I had colleagues and students that were Kadazaan and Monsopian – two of the indigenous peoples from Sabah, the latter being one of the head hunting tribes of the past.

I have also worked with Maori people in the outdoors – particularly with Te Atiawa in the Marlborough sounds to help brainstorm ways of providing outdoor courses for them. I also worked alongside the local iwi and was given their blessing in doing the Karanga for Outward Bound when welcoming our students on.

What were some of the challenges that you and the learners faced?

With the Orang asli people one of the main challenges was that I could not speak their local language. So we had to communicate in Malay or English – so at times we had to get creative in non-verbal communication. They are also quite superstitious people so respecting their world views was very important. One example of this was at dusk they believed it was the time when bad genes or spirits came out – and that they had the potential to travel on your body. So we had to arrange our activities so that they weren’t actively outside doing stuff after 7pm.

One of the main challenges I have had working with Maori in the outdoors is when Maori or other islander women are menstruating some believe they should not go in the water. So this could be challenging when we were kayaking, swimming or sailing. But we had to respect this and make allowances for this.
Doing the karanga at Outward Bound was a great honour as I am not Maori, and this combined with a haka was a very powerful way to get you in the right mind set to start the course strong. But at times this could be very challenging and intimidating, particularly when there was a staunch Maori manuhiri responder. One thing that helped here was the pronunciation was the same as Malay and I was given some support from one of the elders from the Waikawa Marae. I found I gained a lot of respect and rapport from the Maori students for having been in this role.

• How did this affect their learning? 

Overall I believe as long as you are open-minded and interested their learning is not necessarily affected. The only one was with the women menstruating where at times their participation was limited.

Activity Ten - Organisational policy and strategy

• On reviewing the Otago Polytechnic Strategy and Charter documents I have identified the following points to relate to flexible learning practises and my plan;
• 2008 - 2012 Strategy 

-          Apply knowledge in both innovative and practical ways

-          Personalised learner centred approach

-          Work with and respect learners, other people including the community, the environment and Kai Tahu (as tangata whenua)

-          Sustainable organizational practices and reduction of the polytechnics environmental footprint

-          Flexible learning opportunities and pathways

• The Otago Polytechnic Charter.

-          Listen to learner views and needs

-          Accessibility -Local, regional and/or national learning opportunities including distance, home or workplace learning.

-          Cater for people from all backgrounds to develop regardless of prior academic achievements. In this valuing people diversity, including internationals and those with disabilities.

-          Equity, up skilling and access through participation, retention and success.

-          Effective and efficient resource use.

-          Flexible delivery.

-          Curriculum reviews, action research, staff reviews and satisfaction surveys to reflect on current practices.

-          Staff training and development to ensure “successful performance towards achieving our organization goals. This prioritises capability in designing and delivering learning in flexible modes, and in meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse constituency of learners.” (p.11)

-          Creative innovative mediums – creating an environment that “challenges, excites and motivates them to gain qualifications and skills that are sought after by employers.” (p.7)

-          Personalised individualized supported learning - accommodate specific aspirations or cross-discipline learning.

-   “Our practical approach to learning which connects theory with practice through applied research, cooperative learning and practical experience.” (p.2)<먼ŝ>

-          Staircase progressive learning through foundation and bridging courses. Removing BARRIERS to learning.

-          Student services and support  including; Learning skills centre, Disabilities service, Health Care, Counselling service, Chaplaincy service, Specialist support personnel – including Maori and Pasifika, International Student Centreand the Student Hardship fund.

-          Equality for all. Including access and participation. Particular reference is made to Maori and Pasifika people including; 1) providing support offices,  and networking with communities, 2)  upholding Kaitohutohu role and relationship with the four Papatipu Runaka, 3) high success and retention rates, and increased level of participation, 4) Inclusive and appropriate learning environments, 5) Uphold principles of Treaty of Waitangi, 6) Reducing barriers to learning.