Note: This article was written in 1997, during the second year of the program. Now in its seventh year, a more recent learner survey has provided similar results.
Blending Popular Education with Distance Technologies: Sharing Through
Interactive Television.
Abstract:
For two years, a child care training program with an emphasis on inclusion of
children with disabilities within the regular child care setting has been conducted
in Vermont using principals of popular education within a two-way interactive
television video conferencing environment. So far 60 child care providers with
almost no other access to technology participated in this academic year long
10 credit training sequence. Class evaluations and a survey conducted eight
months after completion of the program indicated significant changes in interactions
with children, parents, the special education community and the community at
large, as well as individual changes in career, and educational activities or
goals. Conclusions indicate that learning through doing, in a respectful, responsive
interactive television environment can produce changes that go beyond the boundaries
of the classroom environment. Results included increased self-confidence, improved
interactions with children, more respectful and frequent contact with parents,
increased numbers of children with disabilities being served, and strong interest
in continuing to learn.
About the Authors:
Steven Stahl has his doctorate from Nova Southeastern University
in Instructional Technology and Distance Education. He has worked in the
field of early childhood education and adult education for eleven years and
was grant author, coordinator and instructor of the interactive television-based
child care training program described in this article. He is currently Senior
Instructional Technologist at Norwich University
Karla Hull has her doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Vermont. She is currently an Associate Professor at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia. Dr. Hull has worked in the field of speech/language pathology, early education, and special education for over 20 years and is currently writing a reflective practitioner textbook for Houghton Mifflin Publishing Co. Dr. Hull has served as the principal evaluator for several federally funded grants and is the author of numerous chapters in books relating to early childhood special education.
In the past decade, a vast network of educational facilities offering interactive
television (TV-I) video conferencing has sprung up worldwide. Many educational
institutions have now offer regular academic courses through this medium
in order to serve non-traditional students and distant learners. This shift
in physical environment for academic programs has resulted in a need for
modification of curriculum materials and instructional methods.
This article will discuss methodologies used and results of evaluations of
the first year of a three year statewide child care training program offered
through The Family Center of Washington County in collaboration with Community
College of Vermont. The goal of this training program was to increase the
number of child care providers in Vermont competent to serve children with
disabilities within the regular child care setting. The program was funded
through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special
Education. A significant need exists for child care providers to serve young
children with disabilities and their families (Craig, 1997). Yet, it is estimated
that fewer than 10% of families who seek child care for their infants and
toddlers with disabilities are able to find providers who are willing and/or
competent to care for young children with disabilities (Fewell, 1993). Providing
training to child care providers to support inclusion of young children with
disabilities within their child care settings continues to be a significant
need throughout the nation (Bureau of National Affairs, 1991; Kontos &
File, 1993).
The participants in this program in general have limited or no access to
technology. Of 60 program candidates enrolled during the first two years,
only one had Internet access. Many did not even have regular access to a
computer for word processing. The technology used by this program provided
access to a population who otherwise would not have been able to receive
this level of training. This targeted population for this program was ideally
suited for this type of instruction and use of medium. The child care providers
frequently described themselves in interviews conducted by a third party
evaluator as being isolated from peers and "house bound or center bound"
for significant portions of the day, five or more days a week. In addition,
due to the mountainous terrain and severe winter conditions of Vermont in
the winter, many of the providers in this study would have been unwilling
or unable to travel the long distances that would have been required had
training been offered in a single location.
Finally, the use of a popular education model of instruction was particularly
effective with this group because these providers work in a disenfranchised
profession. In general, child care providers receive low wages and there
is a sense of receiving limited respect from other educators and parents.
In a needs assessment distributed prior to the beginning of each year's program,
numerous participants identified a desire to be thought of as more than just
"babysitters". The popular education model proved to be empowering, relational,
and an interactive format which effectively increase their skills, knowledge
and attitudes about serving young children with disabilities.
The purpose of the present article is to describe an inquiry based teaching
approach which was responsive to the unique needs of child care providers
in rural Vermont. This approach utilized an application of a popular education
model of adult learning theory in practice in a two-way video, two-way audio
interactive television (ITV) environment . Instructional methodologies will
be discussed with discussion on how these practices were achieved using this
technology. Specific outcomes of the program will also discussed including
student identified changes eight months after program completion
Research into the effectiveness of ITV as compared to traditional face-to-face
instruction has indicated that in general, students enrolled in these courses
are able to receive the same level of learning as those students in traditional
face to face classrooms (Russell, 1996). Limited data, however, exists regarding
the use of this format with child care providers and to the authors' knowledge,
no ITV programs have used a popular education approach. What research has
shown is that planning for interactivity is the most effective strategy in
promoting learning in interactive television conferencing based programs
MacKinnon, et. al., (1995).
Many instructors faced with the challenge of converting course materials
to this new medium have had a great deal of difficulty making the transition
to an inquiry based interactive format. The idea of teaching content without
lecture is a difficult concept to comprehend. It not only requires trust
that the learners can be responsible for, and the subjects of their own learning,
but also new methodologies for planning and teaching.
Program Description
(top)
The Family Center of Washington County Child Development Associate (CDA) training
program was designed following the principles of 'popular education' as developed
by Paulo Freire and reflected in the work of Malcome Knowles, Kirk Lewin and
others. In particular, these principles were distilled into a practical approach
to teaching adults as described by Jane Vella. Vella supports a model of instruction
that is characterized by:
learners' participation in naming content via needs assessment, mutual respect, dialogue between learner and teacher and among learners, achievement-based learning objectives, small-group work to engage learners and to provide safety, visual support and psychomotor involvement, accountability of the teacher to do what he or she proposes, student evaluation of program results, a listening attitude on the part of teachers and resource people, and learning by doing (Vella, 1995, p. xi).
Vella's methodologies were adapted to an interactive television format. These principles were applied to the Family Center CDA Training Program.
A Child Development Associate (CDA) training program was developed by The
Family Center of Washington County in collaboration with Community College
of Vermont (CCV). The stated goal of this program is to increase the number
of child care providers in Vermont competent to serve infants, toddlers and
young children with disabilities within the regular child care setting. The
program was designed to develop positive attitudes towards inclusion (of
children with disabilities in the home-based or center-based child care);
to provide opportunities for participants to expand their knowledge base
about specific disabilities, chronic health conditions, and accommodations
for them; to identify the availability of professional resources including
special education personnel and health care providers; and develop a working
knowledge of best practices for caring for all children birth to five. The
goal of this program is not to produce special education teachers. It is
an introductory program.
The program consists of three undergraduate level courses: Early Childhood
Care and Education: Birth to 5 years- 3 credits, (2) Introduction to Early
Intervention - 3 credits, and (3) Field Experience at the students work site
- 4 credits. Most students receive scholarships funded by a federal. All
program participants are required to be employed working directly with children
and families and must demonstrate adequate reading and writing skills to
complete a college level course of study.
Twenty eight students were enrolled to in year one of the program. Thirty-two
enrolled during year two. Instruction occurred during a period from September
through May. Students meet face-to-face at a central location on two occasions
during the program. The field experience includes a total of six
observation/feedback visits to the student's work site by an early childhood
professional.
Student Demographic
(top)
Twenty three women completed the first year of the program. During year two,
30 women and one man completed the program. No students had ever taken a
course before on interactive television, though two had attended meetings.
Only one student had access to e-mail, however, the majority were able to
access and use a computer for word processing. Experience in the field of
child care was quite varied, ranging from 3 months to 20 years. Similarly
some participants had little training, while others had extensive prior training.
The ITV Facilities
(top)
The Family Center accesses a state wide network of 12 interactive television
studios. Vermont Interactive Television (VIT) uses compressed digital video
over T-1 telephone lines. The T-1 line consists of 24 channels each having
a 64kb/second transmission rate with a total through put of over 1.5 mb/sec.
This is equivalent to 24 telephone lines.
In a given program year, five of the 12 available sites are used simultaneously.
Instruction may originates from a different site each week. Students at one
site are able to hear all other sites, but can see only one other site at
a time. Switching between sites is automatic based on microphone usage. The
site where someone is speaking appears on the monitors of all distant sites.
The site where a person is actually speaking continues to see the last site
where someone spoke. Two individuals originating from different sites can
engage in a dialogue and maintain constant visual contact with each other.
At the remaining sites participants see the image of each person as they
speak (a delay of several seconds may occur in camera switching). Each site
has a technician who controls the focus, angle and zoom of each camera and
selects which local image to display on the screen.
Two-way video should not be confused with one-way video interactive television.
The Family Center CDA training program depends highly on dialogue among all
students. This program relies on a two-way video system. In a one-way video
system, students can see only the teacher and not each other and the teacher
can not see the students. Often in a one-way system, a toll free telephone
line is established for students to ask questions. Often satellite systems
offer only one-way video. Another advantage of two-way video is that the
instructor and co-presenters can originate from any site (or multiple sites)
allowing personal contact with all students.
SPECIFIC ADULT LEARNER-CENTERED STRATEGIES
EMPLOYED
CURRICULUM CONSIDERATIONS
Needs Assessment Informs the Curriculum
(top)
Consideration is given to who the students are and what they hope to gain
from the course prior to the actual development of the curriculum for the
program. Although the goals of the program were established prior to the
needs assessment, the specific content was informed by the student input.
This was originally accomplished through student completion of a written
needs assessment prior the beginning of the first course. Students were mailed
a three page questionnaire as part of their initial acceptance package. Results
of the students' narratives were compiled and later reviewed during the planning
for each class session. The same process occurs each new program year, however,
year two required only minor modifications to the curriculum based on the
needs assessment results.
Providing an opportunity for students to complete a needs assessment sends
the students a message that their needs were important to the learning process.
It also provided the instructor with important information about student
background and it allows him/her to be confident of preparing a curriculum
that will be relevant to the students needs and experiences. Though this
step is important for any program, a distance learning situation is enhanced
greatly by any additional feedback that can be shared between students and
teacher.
At the end of the program, the needs assessments were returned to the students
so that they could reflect on their learning compared with their initial
goals. One student responded to a question about what content areas were
not covered well enough, "In the beginning, I felt that I was missing what
I needed, but the end result was what I had hoped for." No technologies were
used for this aspect of the planning as students did not have online access.
Course Objectives Describe Actions Instead of
Abilities (top)
Course work is designed using achievement-based objectives. Objectives for
every class are prepared using statements describing what each student will
have actually done by the end of each session instead of stating what a student
should be able to do. Vella (1995) states, "Achievement-based objectives
are what the learners will do with the content in order to learn it "(p.13).
For example, an achievement-based objective could be written, "By the end
of this class, student will have modified an adult-directed activity
to be child-directed." This is in strong contrast to a class objective being
written in a more traditional format such as, "By the end of this class the
student will be able to identify three differences between child-directed
and adult-directed creative activities." The first objective above creates
an expectation that the classroom experience will provide an activity to
meet that goal. The learner is required to actually do something with the
content. Using a traditional goal statement allows for a lecture format with
no participation by students. Using active language changes the planning
process and ultimately guides the instructor towards creating an active and
interactive class structure.
Using the example above, the following activity was constructed. The students
observed a teacher-directed activity in a role play situation. The class
then critiqued what they observed, considering both the child's perspective
and the teachers perspective as well as what learning was occurring. Students
then directed the instructor to make specific changes to materials, set-up,
teacher behavior, and use of language. The activity was then role played
again incorporating the recommendations of the class. This was then followed
by discussion of the effects of the changes.
Relevant Content
(top)
Content was kept relevant to the issues that the learners experienced. All
participants were actively engaged in the experience of child care outside
of the class, thus shared similar, experiences. Despite many similarities
in the work of each participant in the program, the range of experiences
was quite diverse. When possible, specific scenarios were elicited from
participants for class discussion. In other situations, composite scenarios
were developed by the instructor reflecting issues that were discussed in
reflection assignments and the needs assessment. In response to the role
play situation above, one provider remarked, " I will never forget that
activity!"
Immediacy of Content (top)
Materials and concepts were designed to be used immediately within the classroom
experience as well as later in the work setting. This was expected of the
students and it created high motivation. "Without immediacy there is a dullness
in the learning situation" (Vella, 1995, p.175). As an example, one session
focused on the design of the learning environment involved viewing photographs
of elements of a child care setting and discussing the messages that each
learning area gave to the children. For homework students were required to
submit current and redesigned floor plans from their current child care setting.
In many cases, the result was that students not only submitted very thoughtful
floor plans, but they made significant changes to their actual work site
based on the knowledge they had gained from the assigned texts and class
activities.
Process Considerations
(top)
A typical lesson plan begins with students conversing in small groups to
develop an definition of a concept and then applying it to a personal experience.
From here a larger dialogue occurs as the small groups from different sites
share their results with the larger group. The instructor's role is to develop
the initial lesson plan and to raise questions during dialogue to promote
further conversation and critical thinking about the subject. The instructor
never participates in small group activities, preferring to allow the students
to trust in their own conclusions. During large group discussions the instructor
is primarily a facilitator, however, when s/he has an additional perspective
to offer s/he participates as any student could.
Praxis (top)
Students are invited to examine their own experiences and understanding of
concepts, to reflect on them and engage in dialogue with their peers. They
are expected to use information from texts and discussions in class within
their work settings and to report on their experiences in a formal weekly
reflection assignment. Dewey (1938) states,"...there is an intimate and necessary
relation between the process of actual experience and education" (p.20).
Instead of a banking approach to education, in which the instructor deposits
information in the student, and the student is expected to give that information
back to the teacher when tested (Freire, 1993), students are required to
articulate and reflect on their own experiences and to compare those experiences
with other's experiences. This requires some adjustment for some students
who expect to receive the "correct" answers.
This is similar to Kolb's (1984) description of learning as a four stage
cycle; (1) immediate concrete experience as a basis for (2) observations
and reflections. These reflections are then used to (3) form abstract concepts
and generalizations from which (4) implications of new behaviors can be deduced
and (1) tested. This completes a circle as a new concrete experience can
then be observed and reflected upon. Vella (1994, 1995) and Freire (1993)
refer to this process as praxis, combining reflection and doing.
A significant part of every class allows learners to engage in small intimate
groups for discussion. As noted in the outcome section below, many students
attributed the sharing amongst their peers as a significant part of their
learning. One student identified the importance of being able to apply ideas
the next day in her work setting followed by discussion the following week,
as the most valuable aspect of the program.
Respect and Affirmation
(top)
Respect is promoted in a variety of ways including addressing students by
name, acknowledging all contributions as valid, and never singling out a
student to respond to a question. According to Bruner, "Any subject can be
respectfully taught at any level" (as cited in Kolb, 1984). Affirmations
of all contributions are given. Encouragement almost always moves students
to do more. Vella, (1995) stresses the importance of lavish affirmation,
"What is encouraged here is the learning, not the product" (p.152). One student
recognized the parallel between the instructional methodology, family centered
practice, and child centered practice as she wrote in a reflection assignment:
What surprised me was the correlation in our work with children using a
child-directed approach, your teaching style in class in which you guide
the format yet leave it up to us to find out the answers on our own and the
framework behind the IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). All of these
philosophies rely on mutual respect from everyone involved, the use of positive
reinforcement and the important communication skills such as listening and
feedback that are so very important if we are to understand another person's
world.
Vella (1995) elaborates further as she describes the importance of avoiding
what she refers to as the "plop":
A plop occurs when an adult learner responds to a question or asks a question
or ventures an opinion and the instructor's response is a blank stare or
silence or a move to the next task without reference to what the person said.
Such a response is insulting, damaging, and destructive of learning" (p.153).
The instructor of this course makes a conscious effort to avoid the "plop"
throughout the program.
Of note, it is much more difficult to remember everyone's names when the
students and the instructor are separated by distance and any particular
student can only be seen if he or she speaks (or the person in front or beside
that person speaks). When name familiarity is not yet established, responding
to an individual participant can feel uncomfortable. During the second year
of the program a picture book was created for each site so that both the
students and the instructor could become acquainted with each individual's
name easier. This was very successful for the instructor, however the students
did not make use of the booklet.
Learners as Decision
Makers (top)
The learners are treated as subjects in their own learning, and expected
to be decision makers in their own lives. This program focuses on helping
students develop the skills to make informed and thoughtful moment to moment
decisions in their interaction with children and families. Students are not
given tests to verify that they knew the correct way to provide the best
care to children or to verify that in a specific situation that they could
identify the correct way to communicate with a parent. Each student was
encouraged to be a critical thinker and to dialogue with other students and
the instructor about abstract concepts and concrete applications. According
to Freire (1970/1993), "...true dialogue can not exist unless the dialoguers
engage in critical thinking" (p.73). Of note the same methods were used when
providing training (on ITV) to the mentors who visit the student's work sites.
Accountability
(top)
The instructor remains accountable to the students and the students to
themselves. By providing needs based objectives based on the results of needs
assessments completed by the students, the instructor remains accountable
to the students. In addition, the instructor requests periodic anonymous
evaluations and suggestions for changes in the course. From these responses
the instructor makes ongoing modifications. This proved to be particularly
valuable within this medium as neither the instructor nor the students (with
few exceptions) had any prior experience with interactive television.
Regarding student accountability to themselves, Vella (1995) states "Educators
are not ... accountable for the learning that takes place among adults....the
urge to teach can get in the way of learning" (p.151). This methodology of
instruction requires a certain detachment by the instructor from the end
results of the process (Vella, 1995). As an example, during the role play
activity discussed earlier, the instructor did not offer any suggestions,
but relied entirely on class reflection and discussion. Small group work
in an ITV environment forces the instructor to let go, since s/he usually
has no knowledge of the content of discussion occurring at distant sites.
An Inductive Approach to Learning
(top)
An inductive approach begins with discussion and reflection on experience
and from that reflection personal theories evolve. A deductive approach on
the other hand is one in which begins with an explanation of theory and is
followed by examining experience to prove the theory. Students make discoveries
from their own explorations during focused learning tasks. A strong emphasis
is placed on reflection about their own experiences and those of their peers.
Although it may be practical to use both inductive approaches as well as
deductive approaches, primarily an inductive approach is used in this program.
Evaluations Based on Critical Thinking
and Effort (top)
Evaluation methods relied primarily on assuring the student completes assignments
and are thoughtful in their approach to concepts. Critical thinking, and
application of materials to the students' work sites are emphasized. No single
correct answers are ever required. When students identify actions of behaviors
that seem inappropriate to the instructor, s/he expresses concerns and asks
the student to reconsider or substantiate what he or she said. The student
then has the option of changing the action or of articulating the reasons
why the action chosen is appropriate. This demonstrated respect for the students
and encouraged critical thinking skills instead of having students trying
to guess what the teacher would like to read. Weekly assignments required
critical thinking, application, observation and reflection. This grading
method was something that evolved during the first two years of the program.
Sequenced Lesson Plans
(top)
Material in almost every class is sequenced to begin by drawing on the prior
knowledge and experience of the individuals. This is followed by reflection
on personal experience to explore concepts such as, communication, creativity,
development of self concept, child-centered practice and principles of inclusion
of children with special needs into the regular child care setting. The next
step is to explore these concepts through dialogue about specific concrete
situations. Each step is sequenced to lead to the next such that conclusions
from one task are often the foundation of the next activity. For example
in a session on program management, students are asked to share ways that
they that they handled communication issues with parents such as assuring
that parents did not bring sick children to the child care or encouraging
parents to pick their children up on time. A later planned activity was the
development of a child care policy brochure or contract. Though the later
activity was planned prior to the class session, it was inevitable that the
first activity would lay a foundation for the later one.
Repetition from Many Perspectives
(top)
There is repeated reinforcement of basic principals (such as child-centered
learning) from many different angles. In order for students to change attitudes
and habits that have been developed over long periods of time, it is necessary
to engage students in intense work and to reenforce the learning many times
(Vella, 1995). The program was designed such that the skills, knowledge and
attitudes learned in the first course are an essential foundation for the
second course. There is a great deal reinforcement of the same principals
discussed in the first course repeated in both the field experience and the
Introduction to Early Intervention course.
SPECIFIC STRATEGIES USED TO ENHANCE THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERACTIVE TELEVISION MEDIUM.
Trusting That Learning Is Really
Happening (top)
Initially, the most disconcerting feeling for an ITV instructor is being
uncertain how participants are responding to the lesson plans. A good deal
of trust is necessary on the part of the instructor to let the students work
independently, particularly when students at remote sites are neither seen
nor heard during small group activities. The instructor had students complete
reflection assignments weekly. Though there is a week and a half time delay,
these proved very comforting. In addition, occasional simple evaluations
are very helpful. This program did not use site facilitators and found that
there was not a need to have assistants at remote sites.
Use of a Laptop Computer
(top)
A laptop computer linked to the ITV system is used to delineate tasks and
for creation of class generated lists. Presentation software (Power Point)
and word processing software is used regularly. The use of a word processor
is similar to the use of a flip chart in a traditional classroom (except
it has a spell checker!). It can be seen and read easily by all sites
simultaneously. It has the advantage of being printable for later distribution
to students when appropriate.
A second method of sharing class lists is to have each site simply add new
items suggested by students at other sites to their own lists. This is done
only when information generated in one task will be used later.
Quick Pacing
(top)
When a learning task is assigned, less time than will likely be needed is
initially provided, however, time is frequently extended when participants
need more time to complete the task. Pace is kept quick!. The result that
time seems to go by quickly, there are few lulls where attention can wander,
and groups are more likely to stay on task. Keeping students on task is more
difficult in a distant environment since the instructor may not know when
the group is off task. The instructor of this program feel that a certain
amount of off task behavior is actually desirable to promote personal connections
between students which may extend beyond the life of the program.
Sharing Text and Pictures
An overhead camera mounted in the ceiling or Almo ( a type of overhead projector)
was used to display text and pictures. This was used primarily for student
sharing of photos or identification of documents that would be used in a
task.
Emphasize Small Group Interaction
(top)
Use of small group learning tasks allows for a safe place for students to
share ideas without the discomfort of being on "TV" or of presenting to a
large group. In a large class, if only full class size group dialogue was
the methodology of instruction, many students would not have the opportunity
to participate. Many students commented that most of their learning occurred
in the small groups.
Student Diversity
(top)
It is the authors' belief that the greater the diversity of participants,
the greater the learning that will occur. This creates opportunities for
many ideas and activities to be discussed beyond any single person's repertoire.
Students indicated this sharing as having a significant impact on their learning.
One student reported, "Every other person in the class impacted what I do
in my program."
Students are encouraged to invite other professionals and parents of children
with disabilities to class provide additional perspectives to the group and
within individual sites.
Guest Co-Presenters
(top)
During the second course, co-presenters are invited and payed to participate
at each site, thereby exposing participants to parents, and education and
health professionals with whom they normally would not otherwise have the
opportunity to engage in dialogue. Numerous students felt that this brought
a new level of reality to them to have parents of children with disabilities
share their experiences and to have special education and health professionals
discuss their expectations and experiences with them.
Coordinating a "doing" approach to teaching with co-presenters is often
challenging. One co-presenter for example, stated that usually she gave 'a
prepared lecture which anyone could memorize and present'. E-mail and telephone
is used extensively to coordinate planning with distant co-presenters. In
general, co-presenters appreciate when the regular instructor maintains some
control and facilitates throughout the class session.
Promoting Peer to Peer Interaction Through
Camera Work (top)
It is easy for the instructor to become the center of focus in an ITV
environment. In order to encourage peer to peer interaction, the instructor
encourages the technician at his site to put camera shots on the group rather
than only on the instructor. When the instructor is speaking, the image can
be split with other students in the class. It is important that when a student
at another site is speaking s/he can feel that s/he is dialoging with other
students as well as the instructor.
Copies of the Class Plan Sent to All
Sites (top)
Every class session hard copies of the class plans are mailed to sites for
students to access. This is necessary on-screen text does not remain on the
monitors of distant sites long enough for students to read and reread
instructions. It is important otherwise for an instructor to keep talking
when displaying text so that the monitor at the distant sites remains fixed
on the instructor's site. If someone at a remote site poses a question, flips
pages near the microphone, or sneezes, the monitors of other sites then switch
to that site and the information at instructors site is no longer visible.
By providing written class plans to each site, this problem is alleviated.
It is still important, however, to post the instructions on the monitor.
This gives the students clear messages about what they are supposed to be
doing and when. At times when the instructor failed to use this visual aid,
the class tended to get lost with some students unsure whether we were talking
in a large group or small groups and unclear of where we were in the class
plan.
Frequent and Rapid Homework Return
(top)
Rapid return of homework was appreciated by students. Students homework was
collected at each class session mailed to the instructor, reviewed and returned
by mail for the next class session. This provided important feedback so students
could make improvements and maintain momentum for future assignments.
OUTCOMES
(top)
Extensive evaluations were conducted following year one of the program, involving
students, mentors, and program directors where non-director center-based
candidates were employed.
Students felt that the instructor was available to answer her questions during class and that the instructor paid attention to students at remote sites during class. Without exception every student felt that everyone at their own site contributed significantly to small group discussions. They felt encouraged to participate in class activities and felt like a part of the larger class. Of particular note, all but two of 21 students indicated that they believed that they learned as much in in an ITV environment as they would have in a traditional classroom, and all but one student felt they would enroll in another ITV class. Six students did indicate that being on "TV" did inhibit their class participation, however, only two of these students indicated that is was a large obstacle to their participation. Without exception, students strongly agreed that having written copies of the class plan at their site was valuable.
Survey Results
(top)
Eight months after completion of the program a follow up oral interview was
conducted (see figure 1 for survey summaries). Many students said that they
could have identified many more changes in their interactions with children,
however, these were to them the most significant. Click to view chart
The results indicate an increase in confidence in dealing with both parents
and children. In addition, an confidence to succeed in a college program
was evident in many responses. No participants were asked about specific
changes, so for example, the question was not posed, Did you feel you gained
more confidence dealing with parents?" The only question asked was,"Were
there any changes that occurred in your interactions with parents that you
consider the result of your participation in the CDA training program? In
the authors' opinion, had specific questions been asked, the number of responses
in each category would have been significantly higher. The results indicate
what students felt to be personally significant changes for themselves.
Each student arrives at the first class session with her or his own wealth
of experience, needs and strengths, and each must integrate the information
from class and readings with their own schema. The students must then apply
new ideas to their own child care setting, each with different variables.
Individual reflection assignments and competency statements demonstrated
a wide range of learning and growth. There is no test that could capture
the depth individual learning that occurs. The results of the final survey
confirms that a wide range of change occurred as a result of participation
in this program.
It is the authors' opinion that the instructor's role is to create a learning
environment and then to step aside and trust that the students will learn
what they individually need to learn. The creation of a supportive respectful
environment is the foundation from which learning will occur. Evaluations
of this program confirms that supporting and trusting students' ability to
be responsible for their own learning develops self-confidence in the learners.
This was illustrated by the example of one student who responded to the end
of year evaluation question,"How have you or your program changed as a result
of the CDA program?" with "I feel I have improved in all competency areas.
The physical changes to the (play) room are the most obvious - but my
self-confidence 'feels' the best."
One of the goals of this program was to increase the number of child care
providers competent and willing to include children with disabilities within
the regular child care setting. As of 8 months after completion of the program,
eight of 21 providers were serving one or more additional children with
disabilities. This increase is quite significant considering the short time
that had passed. It would be expected that in that period of time most child
care facilities would not have experienced significant turnover of children.
Almost twenty five percent of the participants of the program had contacted
a college to discuss a degree program. Two of those are now enrolled in bachelors
degree programs. Another 25% had made a firm commitment to attend further
trainings. With a 41% annual turnover rate in child care in Vermont, it is
of note that all students were still working in child care and no one indicated
a likely change of employment.
One other area of note is the completion rate of program participants. In
the first year of the program only four of 28 students withdrew from the
program (due to personal life crises). One additional student did not complete
all written assignments. In year two of the program, of 31 students beginning
the program, 31 completed the program ( at the time of this writing, several
students have extensions to complete assignments). It is the instructor's
belief that the all of the factors listed prior were critical to this favorable
retention rate.
Conclusion and Summary
(top)
It is the conclusion of these authors that bringing together a popular education
model of instruction/facilitation with an interactive television format can
produce the same results that would be expected in a similar face-to-face
learning experience. Senge (1990) defines learning as "...expanding the ability
to produce the results we truly want in life" (p.142). Results of this program
indicate learning that goes well beyond basic content retention that is usually
assessed in studies of distance education effectiveness. Measuring student
test scores or student attitudes towards the interactive television medium,
though important, does not examine what skills, attitudes or knowledge is
applied to the work setting and other life circumstances after completion
of a course. The evaluation results from the program described in this article
indicate that most of the child care providers participating experienced
notable change in their attitudes, perceptions, policies, practices and their
sense of professional identity. Though interactivity may not be suitable
for all students, it is clear that the advantage of being able to provide
resources to learners across a wide geographical area can be accomplished
with a blend of popular education and distance technologies.
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