Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Resorting to Phils line...

Well, wouldn't you know it? Just when Hellie and Gertie finally get comfy with this whole thing, Gerties parents phone up and are very cranky. Not only is their daughter not able to attend lectures with the expert, but they are having to fork out even more dosh to get broadband into Gerties flat... They want to know why Hellie is doing this, and quite frankly just hearing the words "it is the way the polytechnic (and the whole world actually) is going" does not seem to be cutting the mustard.

Fortunately, Hellie has listened to Phil Kerr's talk on flexible/blended delivery of courses from Otago Polytech, and she is able to talk the talk enough to convince Mr and Mrs Farmer that not only is flexible delivery of material a bonus for Gertie and her learning, but that Gertie is actually part of an institution that is at the forefront of utilising the principles of flexible learning.
Hellie emails a concept map summarising Phils take on it all, and is able to quote some of his gems:


  • Learners need to engage with the full range of what is relevent to engage with


  • Developing learner autonomy is a very worthy objective


  • The role of telling and teaching diminishes but staff retain expert role in feedback and facilitation
Whew! Finally Mr and Mrs Farmer are not so cranky, see the value of funding broadband and have faith that despite the new-fangledness of it all their daughter is still likely to become a very good occupational therapist!

1 comment:

  1. Hellie, this was a fantastic use of a mind map to outline the key points of Phil's talk. The process really identifies the important features and considerations of flexible delivery in an educational organisation. It is also good to see how you addressed the relevance of these points in terms of Gertie's situation. You make a good point, the parents are much more likely to support Gertie when they buy-in to the idea of flexible learning and realise its value to their daughter; however, their daughter cannot easily communicate the message unless she is fully aware of the benefits herself! Great work.
    Jennifer

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