schools, between schools and colleges and universities, and even within ... Perraton (1988: 3) wrote that "until the invention ofprinting, the cheapest way to pass ...
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CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION IN DISTANCE
LEARNING
By
Prof. G. C. Offorma
INTRODUCTION
A
well planned curriculum that is not well implemented is a waste of time, energy and resources. Curriculum implementers should in the first instance be aware ofthe goals of such curricula so as to effectively plan for their implementation. Curriculum implementation is as important as curriculum planning. This chapter discusses curriculum implementation in distance education. The concepts of curriculum implementation and distance education are presented. The rational for distance education, models of distance education and the requirements for effective implementation of distance education are discussed. Finally, some recommendations for effective implementation ofdistance education are made.
What is Curriculum Implementation? Curriculum implementation is sometimes regarded as curriculum development. This entails the arrangement of the preplanned curriculum through assessment ofthe facilities, resources and environment to ensure that the planned curriculum will be implemented without problem. Curriculum implementation is the putting into action the planned curriculum. It is the execution ofthe planned curriculum in the classroom through the efforts ofthe teacher and the learners. This implies that curriculum implementation takes place in the classroom. When the teacher is teaching a lesson, he/she is implementing the curriculum because several lessons make up a unit of instruction and several units make up a scheme of work, several schemes of work make up the syllabus and several syllabuses make up the curriculum. So in the long run, the first lesson that is taught in the class room is the beginning of the implementation of the curriculum. Curriculum implementation is the interpretation ofthe planned curriculum by the teacher, who is the implementer. After planning the curriculum, it is downloaded to the teacher, who will then interpret it for execution. According to Amadi (1993: 17), curriculum implementation can be defined as:
that stage in the curriculum process and system whereby' all the relevant curriculum input are brought into direct contact with the learners through a 'wide variety of activities. so that learning experiences and mastery can be maximizedat a minimalcost. Obasi, Adaobi and Ajeka (2007) understand curriculum implementation as 'the weaving together ofthe subject matter and method to produce desired learning activities which lead to the relevant learning outcomes'. They believe that the main focus of implementation is the learner, while the most important person in curriculwn implementation is the teacher. Implementation is the instructional phase of the curriculum. After the selection of the objectives, content, method, resources and evaluation procedures, the teacher puts into action his/her plans. The teacher selects the activities and strategies he/she would use to execute the ---------------- 196---------------
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plan. This is implementation and it is at the classroom level. All the activities engaged in by .~. _
'teacher and the learners for the attainment of the stated objectives are classified implementation. During implementation, the teacher employs various pedagogical materia such as textual materials, pictures, objects, recorded cassettes, video and television, compute and internet facilities to mention but a few. He/she also applies some strategies such as son; . drama, simulation, demonstration, use of examples, questioning, excursion etc, to ensure effective implementation ofthe plan.
The main purpose ofimplementation is to promote learning. Each time the teacher engages in some activities which focus on the attainment of the objectives, he/she is implementing the curriculum. It is very important to monitor the learner's behaviours during implementation to ensure that the learner's interaction with the learning environment is purposeful and leads to acceptable change in behaviour. Curriculum implementation is a process of determining the total programmes for the learners. For Nicholls and Nicholls (1980: 14) 'curriculum implementation is the planning of opportunities intended to bring about certain changes in pupils and assessment ofthe extent to which these changes have taken place'. Curriculum implementation as seen by Offorma, (2002), is the term used to describe the creation of curriculum materials that are products of curriculum planning for use by the learners. DISTANCE EDUCATION Distance education and distance learning are two terms that have been used interchangeably by many different researchers. Its main characteristics are the separation ofteacher and learner in space andlor time. (perraton, 1988), sees distance education as the volitional control of learning by the student rather than the distant instructor. (Jonassen, 1992), sees it as a noncontiguous communication between student and teacher, mediated by print or some fonn of technology. (Gachuhi and Mattiru (1989: 11) see it as 'forms of study at all levels where students are not in direct physical contact with their teachers.'
According to Shabani and Okebukola (2001), distance education (DE) is a set ofteaching and learning strategies or method that can be used to overcome spatial and temporal separation between educators and learners, which can be integrated into any educational programme and potentially used in any combination, with any other teaching and learning strategies in the provision ofeducation strategies which demand that learners and educators be together at the same or in differentplaces. For Barikor (2003: 1), 'it is the art ofbringing together both the teaching and learning elements ofthis field through a multi media education process in a situation where the teacher and the learners may never meetfa ce toface. I . Distance education is all education that delivers training and information between two places which include: synchronous - training that happens at the same time in two different places e.g. Internet, chat or video-conferencing. Asynchronous is the exchange of information that happens at different times e.g. sending an e-mail or correspondence. There is also one way information delivered from one point to another or many other points but with no opportunity for response e.g. a television broadcast. Two-way-exchange of information delivered where the trainee can respond to the trainer. Multi-point-exchange deals with information delivered simultaneously from one place to many places e.g. video-conferencing from one classroom to several other remote classrooms. _______________ 197--------------
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This mode of curriculum delivery has two unique components, namely: the development of a sub system, distance teaching and a student support sub system (distance learning). Distance learning can be defined simply as an instruction and learning practice utilizing technology and involving students and teachers who are separated by time and space. It can occur between schools, between schools and colleges and universities, and even within school buildings and districts. Distance education first emerged as a concept in the nineteenth century, when it was characterized as a correspondence course. It reappeared as the open universities ofthe 19705, a~d then jS the ~ideotape, broadcast, satellite, and cable produ~tions. of the 1980s. Today, distance "educatlOn commonly refers to the use of audio, Video, and computer videoconferencing technologies as delivery modes. The teacher is the curriculum implementer while the learner is the curriculum recipient. Distance education therefore means distance teaching and distance learning. Distance teaching is teacher-oriented, while distance learning is learner - based. . Perraton (1988: 3) wrote that "until the invention ofprinting, the cheapest way to pass on learning from one person to another or from one generation to another was by human contact". This was the accepted norm until the middle oflast century, when instructional radio and television became popular. The earliest form ofDistance Education took place through correspondence courses in Europe. Erdos (1975) noted that in 1856, Charlse Towssaint, a Frenchman, who was teaching French in Berlin and Gustav Langesscheidt, a member of the Society of Modern Languages in Berlin, co-founded a' school for distance learning using correspondenceteaching for teaching languages. RATIONALE FOR DISTA~CELEARNING Distance education is a mode of education which began as a result of problems due to changes in the society as man quests for development and improvement of life. Perraton (1988) wrote that distance teaching started due to a concern to reach Ileop. ho could not attend regular classes. In 1880s, in Sweden, Hans Hermod, a teacher of bool. "ping, continued to teach a student who moved away from his town, by sending lessons through the mail. About the same time, an English teacher, William Briggs, who already rd.· a tutorial college, started to offer instruction by mail for students who could not attenu He called his institution University Correspondence College, using Cambridge as his address. In the United States, from the 1890s, the notion of a Land Grant College with a campus extending to the state boundaries led American universities to offer correspondence courses. The main focus of all these was to reach students who were isolated from regular institutional teaching and to try to compensate for some ofthe disadvantages ofisolation. These early attempts relied mainly on an efficient postal service and on a high level of student motivation. One of the greatest challenges confronting education today is the ability to provide students with low-cost high quality educational services. In addition, many institutions 'of learning often face large numbers of adult learners with a plethora of educational needs, from basic literacy to career planning, training, and placement. Constricted by shortage ofresources, lack of public transportation, and questionable street safety, these schools are increasingly turning to distance education as a means ofservice delivery as viewed by Harrington-Leuker (1999). Distance learning encourages students to be creative, to participate actively in their own learning, to experience others, and to prepare for the kind of world that they will enter as adults. Further, computer learning activities that employ multiple interactive media (sound --~------------- 198 --'~--------------
ana VlOeO) encourage active ustenmg, tocused attennon, and the aourty to work muepenuentry (Schlosser & Anderson, 1997). All these promote learning. .M ODELS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION There are l?any models of distance leaming that can be applied in different disciplines. They i/o are: • The correspondence model ;:} • The study centre model The educational broadcasting model • • The non-contact model The study yourselfalone model • • The vacation contact model, popularly called the Sandwich programme. • E-Learning model The Correspondence Model This model is a situation whereby the teacher has the responsibility of imparting knowledge. skills, attitudes and values to the learner who receives instruction orally, but studies in a place and at a time determined by hislher individual circumstances. In Nigeria, the teaching materials are in form of structured and sequenced self-contained texts called modules. The texts are supplemented with face-to-face contact sessions during which the teachers give lectures, tutorials, assignments and mark them. The contact sessions are weekends and vacation periods. The NCE by distance learning offered by the National Teachers' Institute. Kaduna, is a good example of this model and teachers of different subjects enroll in the programme. p~
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Study Centre Model This model is a situation whereby an institution mounts her programmes in different centres. and the spread is dependent on the area the institution can effectively cover. The academic and administrative staffin the model are chosen from the environment ofthe study centre. The staff from the institution mounting the programme teach during weekends and also supervise the other teachers hired from the environment. This model is what many universities were practising known as Satellite Campuses, before they were stopped by the National Universities Commission, the regulatory body in charge ofuniversity education in Nigeria. The Educational Broadcasting Model In this model the mass media is used and the students are given the schedule of lectures to enable them tune in for the lectures at the appropriate time. Lectures and assignments are broadcast to the students from designated radio or television house: They submit the assignments at given spots for the lecturer to collect. The ANAMPOLY UNI-AIR and the Institute ofManagement and Technology, Enugu, UNI-AIR are examples ofthis model. The Study YourselfAlone Model Here, the student is provided with the instructional materials and he/she goes home to study them. Selfinstruction is involved in this case. It is similar to home study. The learner is his/her own teacher. In the past, in Nigeria, many people got their General Certificate of Education (GCE) through this mode. The Non-contact Model In this model, there is no contact between the teacher and the learner. Learning materials and even assignments are mailed to the learner, who reads and mails back any questions and assignme nts to the teacher. He/she can use other means of communication. - - - - - - - - - - ]C)Q - - - - - . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
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'acatlon Contact Model m,,::,.. :-:Jodel is mainly during vacations for serving teachers/workers, who can not leave their ::;,;,;::-Joms/working places for further training. The courses are mounted for them by the :~;,.. .utions during the vacations, where they receive lectures, practicals and assignments. :,,: =. ~ times, they receive lectures during one vacation and do their examinations during L' . -..::er vacation period. Many universities in Nigeria are practising this model. '~"'!1i,,::
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Tbe E-Learning Model :.:.e e-learning model of distance learning is new and many institutions are embarking on it to sc.ve the problem of student teeming population and cost of provision of infrastructure for ::=ective teaching, learning and administration. This means electronic learning through the -=.:ernet, which is net work of computers. It makes use of multi-media presentations such as visuals, graphics, sound and texts which are presented online. The teacher interacts with the .earners in real time Shabani and Okebukola, 2001). Online courses are mounted in cyberspace of the intranet of the institution or the Internet of the Whole Wide World. This means that the institution must acquire space in cyberspace for the courses and get connected :0 it. Some ofthe major values ofonline learning are:
• Accessibility to a larger number and a richer mix of learners. It provides information to many learners from across the world and a richer mix of ethnic, regional and socio economic backgrounds; and will also spread the fame ofthe institution that is mounting the programme.
• Relative ease and comfort of online study. This implies that access can be achieved at horne (in the comfort ofyour living room, study or bedroom), in the office, at the airport, at the train station. As long as one is able to access the internet, the course materials are within reach.
• Lower cost. It is cheaper for the institution to mount courses online than to produce textual materials, video and audio tapes for the distance learners. A set of online course materials is uploaded on a server and it is available to millions ofaccredited users.
• Environment friendliness. It is claimed that e-learning is environment friendly. Online materials cut off the process ofprinting texts for the learners using paper. Again driving to the study centres means burning fuel and exposing one to road hazards.
• Easier to manage. Quite a lot ofmaterials are needed for the production, distribution and support sub-systems. The needs are fewer and hence the management team is slimmer for online delivery.
• Easier to manage. Quite a lot ofmaterials are needed for the production, distribution and support sub-systems. The needs are fewer and hence the management team is slimmer for online delivery.
• Rapid feedback. Feedback to the learners in online delivery is quicker and more efficient. The feedback is instantaneous; no postal delays.
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• Multimedia presentation. Visuals sound and texts can be embedded easily in online presentation. The teacher can even interact with the learners in real time.
• Access to the rich resources of the internet. A lot of supplementary materials exist in the internet. Online learners can access high quality libraries and other websites to get materials that are relevant to their courses. The Open University Open and Distance Learning Systems are intended to give educational access to wider sections ofthe adult population and enable citizens to compensate for loss ofdeprived opportunities in the past, by acquiring new skills or qualifications for the future. It is also called virtual university or 'Universitywithoutwalls'. The major difference between this mode ofeducation and the conventional university is in the mode of instruction (Jegede, 2006). The Open University is more flexible than the conventional university. The learner can learn in any place, at any convenient time. The leamer's job, duties or work schedules do not conflict with the open learning schedule as learning is individualized and flexible. REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF DISTANCE EDUCATION The implementation of distance education calls for planning, development and delivery of distance education programmes. The initial steps involve identification of the goals and objectives of the programme and the needs of the students. It is necessary to establish the policy, procedures and programming components prior to beginning the programme. Both administrators and teachers should be involved in the entire process. The initial procedures include: resource provision, budgeting and programme scheduling, creating forms for assessing students and providing feedback on their work; selection, development, and technology training of programme staff; and the development of effective instructional designs, Finally, contingency plans for teachers and students are made to handle any technical problems, Programme Design . Implementing a distance learning programme requires time, people, funding and careful planning. According to Pearson (1989), the following factors are identified as essential to successful programme development: needs assessment, funds for capital costs, production, equipment, facilities, high quality educational content, adequate staffing at the study centres, available equipment for delivery of the programme, cost effectiveness, teaching methods, administrators', teachers' and stafrknowledge of the tenets of the programme and accreditation ofthe courses. Technology Connectivity is very essential for implementing :a distance education programme. Connections must be widely and easily available, reliable and predictable. Direct Broadcast Satelite (DBS) for transmission ofthe courses is also very important. Video conferencing and the Internet are very useful in distance learning. The basic hardware components for a videoconferencing system include a camera, a microphone, a monitor for viewing, a CODEC (Compressor/Decompressor) to code and decode video signals for transmission, and a device that sends and receives the signals over a phone line or network connection. According to --------------- 201--------------
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Heines (1997), based on budget and need, videoconferencing systems can be permanent (Classroom or boardroom), portable (group systems on a wheeled cart), compact (videophones), desktop- or LAN based, or Internet-available.
Support A distance learning facilitator is needed to help the learner learn and ensure technology maintenance. Support for staff participation is also an important factor in the success of a programme, since the introduction of distance learning can be intimidating, even for experienced teachers. Online mentoring systems that match teachers with experienced distance learning staff is provided to support and advise new members. To be effective distance educators, teachers should be involved in the programme organization, collaborative planning, and decision-making and must be able to do the following: • Understand the nature, philosophy, and goals ofdistance education. • Identify the characteristics ofleamers at distance centres or sites. • Design and develop interactive course ware to suit each new technology. • Adapt teaching strategies to deliver instruction at a distance and ensure participation in onair discussions ofstudents at the remote site. • Format instructional resources for independent study. • Use telecommunications systems knowledgeably and skillfully. • Evaluate student achievement, attitudes, and perceptions at distant sites. • Finally, in urban settings, additional fiscal and individual support ofthe programme can be secured from community distance learning events CONCLUSION Today learning institutions are overwhelmed by very large student population sharing very limited facilities. These institutions are not adequate to accommodate the teaming education hungry youth. In 2005, the National Universities Commission allocated quotas to universities depending on their carrying capacity. That was in a bid to solve the problem of overcrowded campuses. The answer to the problem is not quota allocation to institutions, but introduction of e-learning or any other model or combination ofmodels ofdistance education. Although technology is an integral part of distance education, any successful program must focus on the instructional needs of the students, rather than on the technology itself. It is essential to consider their ages, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, interests and experiences, educational levels, and familiarity with distance education methods and delivery systems. The most important factor for successful distance learning is a caring, concerned teacher who is confident, experienced, at ease with the equipment, uses the media creatively, and maintains a high level of interactivity with the students. .Effective distance learning requires extensive preparation, as well as adapting traditional teaching strategies to a new learning environment which often lacks visual cues. The student, the teacher, and the site facilitator must function as a team. Students must become aware ofand comfortable with new patterns of communication (lCT), learn to manage their time, and take responsibility for their own learning. Teachers must be leT compliant to enable them implement distance learning strategies that require such media. Implementation of distance education is resource-intensive. Sufficient money and time must be allocated to deliver whatever required courseware.
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REFERENCES
Amadi, I.E. (1993). Curriculum development, implementation and evaluation: the Nigerian experience. Owerri: University Press, P1c.
Barikor, CN. (2003). A handbook on distance and open education Port Harcourt: Sar-el Printers & Publishers. Belanger, France & Jordan Diana, H. (2004). Evaluation and implemetation ofdistance learning: technologies, tools and techniques. Turkish Online Journal ofDistance Education. 5 (2), pp246. httpv/www.idea-group.com. Retrieved 2/12/08. Erdos, R.F. (1975). Teaching by correspondence. LWESCO source book. Geneva; Longmans. Gachuhi, D. & Matiru, B. (1989) (eds). Handbookfor designing and writing distance education materials. Nairobi: College ofEducation & External Studies. Harrington-Leuker, D. (1999).Urban tech. The American School Board Journal, 186 (7), 25-28. Heines, Scott.(l997). Videoconfrencing. Presentations. 11 (4),34-36,38,40-41, 43-45. . Jegede, Olu (2006). Getting to now your university: An orientation and information guide for students ofNational Open University ofNigeria. Lagos: NOUN. Jonassen, D.H. (1 992). Applications and limitations ofhypertext technology for distance learning. Paperpresented at the Distance Learning Workshop,Annstrong Laboratory, San Antonio, TX. Nicholls A. & Nicholls. H. (1980). Developing a curriculum: A practical guide. London: George Allen University Press. Obasi, Adaobi & Ajeka, Rl. (2007). Implementation ofsocial studies curriculum in the junior secondary schools in Owerri educational zone. Journal ofcurriculum and instruction. 6, (3), 1-14. Offorma, G.c. (ed) (2002). Curriculum implementation and instruction. Onitsha: Uni World Educational Publishers Ltd. Pearson,V.W. (1989). Critical factors considered in the planning for the administration of long-distance interactive video instruction. Doctoral Dissertation, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater. Perraton, H. (1988). A theory for distance education. In D. Sewart, D. Keegan, & B. Holmberg (Ed.), Distance education: Internationalperspectives. New York: Routledge. Shabani.J, & Okebukola, P. (2001) (eds). Guide to the development ofmaterials for distance education. (Trial Edition). UNESCO BREDA, Senegal. Schlosser, C.A. &.Anderson, M.L. (1997). Distance education: review ofthe literature nd (2 Ed.) Washington, D.C.: Association for Educational Communications and Technology - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 203 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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