Tamara’s Blog

Storyboard

 

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Design Recommendations Report

 

The design of the Cultural Awareness Training course will sit on a social network platform similar to that of Ning. There will be two parts to this website: firstly, an area where learners can access the content and learning modules, and secondly an area where learners are able to access their own personalised profile page and blog, for the purpose of completing the activities. There will also be a discussion forum blog and separate to this, at the completion of modules one through to five, learners will be directed to session six, involving a more interactive community page where user generated videos can be posed and comments can be left in discussion boards that can be easily tracked and organised by learners and the facilitator.

 

The majority of learners who will undertake this course are workers within Non Government Organisations (NGOs) who receive Department of Community Services (DoCS) funding. These workers can be found in various locations such as in neighbourhood centres or in small community services organisations, which service a particular part of the community, such as the Italian Association of Assistance who receive funding from DoCS to support their youth and family program. Most of the workers who are likely to complete this training course, have a basic social work qualification. For the youth worker in the Italian Association of Assistance it was essential for him to have a university degree in social work and be bilingual. Many similar workers would take part in the Cultural Awareness training course, as typically workers receiving this type of training are doing so because they deal with clients from specific ethnic communities as well as clients for whom English is not their first language. Workers in the Ku-ring-gai Neighbourhood Centre, for example, could take part in this training to assist them in the running of their ESL program, assisting them to better understand the people that they are teaching.

 

Many workers wanting to develop their skills in cross cultural communication may have already had exposure to various situations involving people of diverse backgrounds. It is important therefore, for this training course to cater for all those workers and teach them communication methods and strategies that will help them improve their cross-cultural communication. As Brett Lyon explained to me, there are two types of workers, those that go out into the streets to work within the community, and those that work in an office assisting people who come into the office in search of assistance. For this second type, computer training is probably more accessible. I know, for example, that the youth worker at the Italian Association of Assistance, Nino Lo Giudice, has his own desk and computer, and would have no difficulty accessing and using computer training. Workers in neighbourhood centres, however, may not have the same access and computer skills, as it is not a day-to-day job requirement.

 

The learning theory I have chosen to adopt in the design of this course is a combination of three learning theories and each theory is only used because it is the most appropriate for covering a certain section of content. From the introduction through to the end of session one, a cognitive approach is adopted as it suits the content, which progresses from simple to complex themes. This session allows learners to view the session as a meaningful whole. Learners make sense of the information given, create a connection with the content and the learner is then able to interpret scenarios and give meaning to everything that he/she is engaging with. I have chosen to use this cognitive approach in session one to teach about Australia’s Diverse Population, as I want learners to draw from their pre-conceived conceptions of what they think of Australia’s population and relate this to the new information that they are learning. This is supported by the view held by Ausubel (1967) that states that “learning can only be meaningful when it relates to concepts that already exist in a person’s cognitive structure” (Ausubel 1967 in Merriam & Caffarella 1999 p.254). Learning is about an internal cognitive process which initiates a personal connection with the material in the course.

 

In section two, three and four, I have chosen to incorporate constructivism into the design of the course to give learners some choices as to what order they learn material in. Once a learner has completed section one, they are given the choice of which self-contained section they would like to complete next. This choice, according to Burns, makes the content within each module “more meaningful and therefore more easily remembered and understood” (Burns 2002 p.241). By allowing learners to choose the content order, they are able to organise and personalise their learning in a way that makes the most sense to them. They are able to progress through sessions two, three and four in any order that they like because the content in each session is not linked to the previous session’s content.

 

Within each session, learners are not exposed to pure constructivism as some activities and modules are reliant on one another and generally the modules need to be completed in a certain order. This order does not interfere with the personalised structure they have created, but rather provides them with a logical structure to ensure they fully understand the material. There are instances, however, where learners are able to choose between three activities which have the same content, but differ in learning styles. Learners would be offered a choice of a visual activity, an auditory activity, or a kinaesthetic activity. 

 

 

For session five, learners return to a single cognitive format as they learn about the resources available to them in the area of interpreting and translating services. This session is quite informative and requires learners to build on experiences and knowledge that they have already obtained earlier in the course.

 

In session six, all learning is approached from a humanist perspective as in order for learners to implement their new knowledge and skills into their workplace they must be given the liberty to go out and develop their potential, self expression and self determination. In this section learners will receive encouragement and will be asked to formulate their own personal goals. They will report back to the group and to a facilitator which will enable them to learn cooperatively in an environment that is non competitive with active open feedback channels. Learners must learn by doing (experiential learning) and constantly try to improve themselves. This session will be critical in ensuring that all previous sessions are really learnt well and that the meaning formed is incorporated into the current practices of DoCS workers. For DoCS, the purpose of training workers is to work towards improving the quality of services provided, so if all workers actively participate in this learning process, the results could be very beneficial. 

In session one and session five, the cognitive approach to the design of learning activities requires the use of technologies that support these learning processes. I have decided to use blogs as one main technology, to allow learners to consolidate and reflect on their prior knowledge and experiences. As a style of learning I find this type of activity beneficial as through using blogs, learners form a record of their learning and can be encouraged through writing posts, to draw conclusions, work out patterns, problem solve, and reorganise their experiences. Another technology incorporated into session one is video, which presents scenarios for learners to discuss. These videos are a supportive technology for the cognitive theory as when learners view images and actions they can associate with these real life scenarios and easily build on their prior knowledge.

 

In session two, three and four, blogs and videos will continue to be used, however the blog function will be extended to form a discussion forum. Individual learners will post blog discussion posts and will be able to comment and view other learners’ responses.

 

In session six, the humanist approach that is adopted requires slightly different technologies to ensure that learning actively takes place. Technology therefore needs to be used in an interactive manner and the notion of encouragement will also need to be transmitted. The discussion blog forums can again be used, however this time learners will be assigned tasks of creating user generated videos (grassroot videos) so that feedback can be more detailed and specific to the situation presented. This will also encourage learners to implement content from the course, as they will be supported by peer learners and a facilitator who are taking interest in their activities. For DoCS workers this form of peer mentoring and interaction will be highly beneficial for creating networks amongst social workers. The use of this site as a social networking site with user-generated content is what will assist learners in being encouraged to constantly strive to improve themselves. The technology used will support the formation of this community and DoCS will be able to measure the impact of the course on the quality of the services offered by monitoring content and comments to see how workers are improving their skills and participating as learners in the course.

 

 

References

 

Burns, R., 2002, The Adult Learner at Work, 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, Sydney

 

Merriam, S.B. and Caffarella, R.S. 1999, Learning in Adulthood: a comprehensive guide, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.