LEARNING OBJECTS AND THEIR ROLE IN ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF WEB-BASED TEACHER TRAINING COURSES Tsvetelina HARAKCHIYSKA Department of Bulgarian Language, Literature and Arts, University of Ruse, 8 Studentska Str, Ruse, Bulgaria
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Abstract: Web based teacher training courses are gaining more and more popularity as they provide rich learning experience in an easily accessible format. The design and implementation of such courses poses certain challenges to trainers as they have to choose methodologies and didactic strategies that allow for the creation of digital content with high educational value, efficiency and interoperability. The applicability of learning objects for solving the problem of developing challenging, interactive, reusable and portable e-learning materials for the training of primary school English language teachers is a subject of discussion in the current paper. Keywords: learning objects, teacher training, e-learning
I.
INTRODUCTION
Teacher training and education is among the strategic objectives on the European agenda as the quality of teaching is viewed as the most important factor which enhances learner performance and which facilitates young peoples’ “personal fulfilment, social cohesion and active citizenship” [1]. The need to equip learners with the necessary knowledge, skills and competences to meet the challenges of the labour market and of contemporary heterogeneous societies which value diversity, tolerance and intercultural dialogue, poses new demands to teacher education which has to develop teachers who are adequately prepared for the complexity of the teaching career today – inclusion of learners with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds, use of ICT-based content and pedagogies, enhancement of innovation and creativity, development of pupils’ learning to learn skills. To achieve this on a sustainable basis higher education institutions have to provide transparent teacher education degrees based on clearly identified competences and performance standards in study programmes which promote lifelong learning and which establish flexible learning pathways as they combine “new forms of learning and the use of new teaching and learning technologies” [2 ]. In this context the design and implementation of distance learning teacher training and qualification programmes is considered to be in line with the recent trends for making lifelong learning a reality and for fostering innovation in all forms of learning which are acknowledged in the Strategic framework for the development of European cooperation in education and training (“ET 2020”). However, the establishment and development of technologically enhanced learning platforms which endeavour to provide high quality e-learning content and assessment tools for distance learning education of MA students enrolled in teacher training programmes, poses certain challenges to course tutors who need to reconsider the traditional pedagogical practices and models they use in their classrooms and transform their teaching and assessment materials into interactive multimedia electronic content. This kind of transformation of the teaching material that course leaders need to make demands from them not only knowledge of the different digital tools and multimedia formats but also creativity, imagination and an ability to identify those teaching methods and strategies that allow for the design of interesting multimedia tasks and activities.
The current paper will focus on those methods of training primary school English language teachers which could be applied in the creation of practically oriented and dynamic e-learning content that contains a variety of learning objects which combine text, graphics and films and which present real-life teaching and learning experiences from the young learner foreign language classroom. As illustrative material the author will present some of the e-learning content uploaded on the developed by the University of Ruse e-learning platform “E-Learning Shell” which is used in the training of primary school English language teachers offered by the university.
II.
THEORETICAL BASIS FOR E-LEARNING CONTENT DESIGN
As it was mentioned in the previous chapter the tutor involved in the design of e-learning content needs to have a clear idea of the methodological and pedagogical capacities that would underpin the developed materials for on-line education. 3.1
A student-centred approach
A starting point in this respect is the adoption of a theoretical basis that would take into account students’ individual learning styles, previous learning experience and knowledge. The paradigm theory which fosters the development of flexible e-learning content is the learner-centred (or student-centred) approach [6, 7]. Based on the socio-constructivist theories of learning, studentcentred approaches involve active student participation in learning and information processing and in taking responsibility for activities such “as planning learning, interacting with teachers and other students, researching and assessing learning” [2]. Moreover, the strong emphasis on student responsibility and independence in web-based courses fosters the development of students’ lifelong learning skills such as motivation, time management, self-assessment, learning to learn skills and leads to the creation of “cognitively deeper and richer learning experiences” [8]. From a pedagogical point of view the socio-constructivist theory and the learner-centred approach enable individualized learning and account for the provision of efficient tutoring support for learners. According to the constructivist perspective, the e-teacher is a facilitator, a resource person rather than an instructor. 3.2
A cascade-method
Once the pedagogical approach has been chosen, the e-learning content designer needs to focus on the method that will be used for the creation of the on-line learning content. The methodology that is widely used nowadays is the cascade method “in which each phase feeds the next phase” [3]. The analogy behind this method is that e-learning content production resembles to a large extend the building of a block of flats in which every floor is put on the lower one and acts as a foundation for the next (Fig.1.1)
Design Development Implementation Assessment
Fig. 1.1. The cascade method
The design phase requires the consideration of elements like: • The mode of the course delivery, i.e. whether the course will be delivered fully on-line or it will be a blended learning course; • The didactical methods that will be used – individual learning or web-based collaborative learning; • Design of the course structure and content – these should correspond to the general objectives of the course; • Course syllabus which provides information about the content of the course, course duration and the learning paths chosen. The course syllabus is a key element in e-learning content creation as it combines the methodological perspective (e.g. target group of end users, course objectives, learning objectives, methodology, assessment procedures, duration of the course) and the architecture perspective (structure of the content modules or units and activities) underlying any web based course. It also establishes the link with the next phase – course development which consists of developing the elearning content through the use of learning objects and interactive activities. The developed e-learning content has to be implemented on a web platform. During the implementation phase the content designer has to choose a suitable method of delivery of the elearning content and provide a manual that would guide end users while operating in the virtual environment. The last step is the evaluation and assessment of both the created content and the e-learning platform. Though it is considered as the last element of the cascade method, evaluation and assessment have to be taken into consideration in all steps of e-learning content and platform creation as they provide feedback on the quality of resources and content of the training materials developed. 3.3
Learning object technology
A specific aspect to be taken into consideration in the particular case of e-learning content creation for teacher training is the development of variety of tasks and learning materials through which the topics on the syllabus are best addressed and platform users are able to experience a rich spectrum of activities that combine new kind of learning with traditional learning approaches. It should be noted, however, that although there is no best recipe as to what activities should there be in an e-learning course, it is advisable to use such resources whose “scope of sharing, reusing and repurposing” [5] is high as the adoption of a standardised nature and format of e-learning content allows for resolving technical issues and building flexible courses through re-use of learning content. The current development of learning environments provides an opportunity for the standardization of learning resources which can be reused, recombined and adapted through the use of learning objects which can be defined as “any digital resource that can be used and reused to support learning” [10]. The importance of learning objects for the creation of sustainable e-learning content lies in their following characteristics that they possess: • reusability – they can be modified and then used in different web-based courses; • accessibility – they can be easily retrieved through metadata standards; • interoperability – they can operate well with different working systems. In fact learning objects are exclusively suitable for the creation of teacher training content as they provide rich and coherent learning experience and at the same time allow for the development of lifelong learning skills of end users who want learning tailored to their individual needs, multimedia content and flexibility of access [9 ].
III.
TRANSFORMATION OF TRADITIONAL CONTENT
The transformation of traditional content in teacher training courses, which are delivered in a face-to-face mode, poses certain challenges to the e-learning content developer who has to think of the ways in which to organize and transform the existing teaching materials into “discreet, inseparable, self-consistent and self-sufficient units of data” [9].
3.1
Learning object characteristics
The process of transformation of traditional training materials into learning objects involves not only the selection, adaptation and / or transformation of teaching materials so that they incorporate various design models, meet different learning styles, needs and abilities but also the shift from curricular learning paths to modular pathways which contain learning units which satisfy specific, autonomous learning objects that could be used in different learning environments. Or said in other words: the developed e-learning content which incorporates learning objects should comply with the following main principles [10] summarized in Fig 2.1.
Granularity
Interoperability
Generativity
Adaptability
Semantic consistency of the learning object (LO)
Conceived and organized irrespective of the media, communication codes and delivery
Dynamic, flexible and adaptable LOs
Ability of the LO to adapt to the learning and technological contexts
Different LO formats: - an image; - text and images; - animation
LOs can be easily retrieved, assembled and reused through a defined description and standard
LOs enable variation in learner: - readability level; - language level; - learning styles
LOs allow structured learning and guarantee customized learning
Fig. 1.2. Main principles underlying learning objects From a didactic perspective learning objects which could be used in the design of teacher training web based content could include: 1. Videos – e.g. teacher delivered lessons that provide invaluable opportunity for elearning platform users to observe examples of classroom practice which could provoke self-reflection or serve as a flexible resource for illustrating a model of a teaching technique or for exploring various aspects of teaching young learners. 2. Audio resources – e.g. feedback from teachers on lessons they have delivered; lesson discussions between a teacher and a mentor; discussions on topics such as: effective ways of using language in the classroom; using the blackboard in a conventional way.
3. Flash animations – e.g. samples of activities that could be used by teachers to develop learners’ reading, writing or listening skills in a foreign language. 3.2
Video lessons as teacher training learning objects
When training young learner teachers of English through an on-line learning course, there are some key aspects of the teaching profession such as: classroom management, classroom language, sequencing of lesson stages and activities, working with mixed ability classes, development of the four skills, etc. that could be easily illustrated thorough the use of video files. The interactive content of video files, the combination of visual material, audio input and real-life classroom situations provide the course designer with a variety of activities which could be designed by using a single video file. Moreover, the implementation of those video films on the e-learning platform make the life of the course tutor easier as the video resources are managed automatically and students are able to replay the films as many times as they like. Video films allow the e-learning content designer to focus on the following aspects of teacher training:
Intercultural learning
Classroom management
Working with mixed ability groups Language of praise
Using games with young learners
Video lessons
Using songs in the young learner classroom
Lesson planning
Designing teaching materials
Grading and assessment Integrating other areas of the curriculum
Working with learners with disabilities
Fig.1.3. Aspects of teacher training elaborated in video lessons When dealing with video files some of the task questions that might be used include: • Watch the video lesson and try to find out what the aims and objectives of the lesson are. • Watch the beginning of the lesson (the warm up stage) and try to infer how the teacher will present the new lesson content. • Watch the video lesson and try to decide what the different stages of the lesson are. • While watching the video try to identify the ways which the teacher uses to group pupils for the different tasks. Write down the interaction patterns in the lesson.
• • • •
Watch the lesson and make notes of the different error correction techniques the teacher uses. How does the teacher provide feedback on pupils’ performance? How does the teacher set up a speaking activity with the children? Watch the video and note down examples of what language the teacher uses when he / she gives instructions.
Taking an active part in the completion of the questions gives an added value to learning objects as they not only effectively summarise and show complex concepts and processes but also provide a rich e-learning experience.
IV.
Conclusions
The example provided above is just one of the many possibilities that exist when we use learning objects in e-learning content design. It is quite a general one and it is presented with the assumption that in contemporary teaching and learning realities when new environments are introduced, teachers and course tutors need to be aware of the fact that there are other ways for planning and designing course content – ways which allow for creativity and flexibility. The pedagogical methodologies described in the paper and the characteristics features of learning objects discussed present a starting point for reconsidering the traditional approaches to course content and material design. In fact the intention of the author is to provide some initial ideas that would serve as a trigger for designing new ways for teaching teachers in virtual contexts.
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