TAADEL503A Provide advanced facilitation to support learning

Develop learner independence

Learner independence may be achieved using many different facilitation approaches. These include approaches based around the following terms:

• Learner independence;
• Self-directed learning;
• Self-regulated learning;
• Learner-centred;
• Lifelong learning;
• Learner responsibility;
• Learning skills;
• Learning to learn;
• The learning leader.

Independence denotes not only the capacity to be self-directed in the individual learning engagement, but also, one would assume, freedom from other constraints. What these constraints may be will vary. They can include constraints imposed by:

• Cultural and ideological factors;
• Psychological factors;
• Time;
• Geographic location;
• Goals;
• Purpose;
• Learning strategies and methodologies; and so forth.

The concept of autonomy is realised in the learning experience when the learner can take control of their own learning process to serve their own needs and preferences.

Areas where autonomy and learning independence can be built into a facilitation model (as proposed earlier) include the following:

• Prior to entry the orientation can build psychological preparedness (including awareness of intelligences, learning styles, affective factors, etc.);
• The co-orientation can build methodologies and practices that encourage learners not only to preserve individual autonomy during collaboration but also to learn from these exchanges and reconsider beliefs, attitudes and motivational needs;
• Engagement can encourage self-direction in learning processes and interaction with content;
• Measurement can provide points for personal reflection and reappraisal of what has been learnt and its individual importance;
• The final stage of improvement can encourage a personal review on the significance of the achievements and how these relate back to the individual's context and needs.
• their book Developing self-regulated learners, Barry Zimmerman, Sebastian Bonner and Robert Kovach suggested a model for developing self-regulated learning (2002:15). Their diagram is provided following.

Figure 2 Self-regulated learning

Zimmerman et al. make the point that asking students involved in facilitated classroom-based learning to actively participate in rating their 'self-efficacy after studying increases their self-monitoring during the study session and awareness of which goals were accomplished' (2002:14). Self-regulatory processes can be built into all stages of a facilitation process. This results in shifting the responsibility for the learning process from one where the teacher is in control and managing learning, to one where the teacher is a facilitator helping to develop the individual's capacity for monitoring and reflection.

Reading 3

Lambe, T (2003), ' Learning independently? Pedagogical and methodological implications of new learning environments', Proceedings of the Independent Learning Conference 2003, 9 pages. Sourced February 2005, at http://www.independentlearning.org/ila03/ila03_lamb.pdf .

Remove potential barriers to learning and promote accessibility

Accessibility is not a hard concept to grasp. However, the notion that a facilitator should enable accessibility suggests that for all individuals involved, learning should not only be accessible, but also easy to undertake, efficient and useful. Delivery on this promise is, therefore, quite intimidating.

Design and facilitation of learning experiences that are accessible entails effort that has benefits well beyond the learners who have disabilities. Accessibility may occur across issues such as:

• Physical;
• Financial;
• Cultural;
• Learning styles or approaches.

Addressing these issues in the design stage of a facilitation process can have wide ramifications for all students. The following activity takes a more specific look at accessibility issues being addressed in the digital or electronic production of content.

Activity 7

Visit the following site at Aptitude Media and consider how you could use the tools provided to prepare more accessible learning content while still using standard desktop applications (i.e. Microsoft Word®, PowerPoint®, Acrobat®) http://www.aptitudemedia.com/resource_v5/index.htm .

Serving accessible learning services from a website

Accessibility includes the consideration of how people with disabilities can usefully access and navigate a website. Standards exist to guide designers, developers and site owners to understand how people with disabilities can access and navigate (i.e. use text browsers and 'read text').

Activity 8

Generate 10 rules that should be adhered to in the design of an online e-commerce presence that will maximise accessibility for a user (you may make this specific to an Australian or international context). Use the following resources to prepare your list.

The international World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Standards at www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/

Australian website accessibility and usability standards checklist at http://www.agimo.gov.au/practice/delivery/checklists/Web_access

Blind Citizens of Australia Accessible E-commerce Project at http://www.bca.org.au/ecrep.htm

Olejniczak, B (10 March 2004), 'Optimizing Your Chances with Accessibility: Effectively increasing search engine ranking with W3C Accessibility guidelines and Section 508', Digital Web Magazine, sourced November 2004, at http://www.digitalwebmag.com/articles/optimizing_your_chances_with_accessibility/

Web tips accessibility guidelines at http://www.websitetips.com/accessibility/