Why

The 'Why' of learning

Reasons for the digital learning programme

'Business Problem' This is what the organisation (which is an Education and Training Board (ETB)) would like the participant educators to be able to do after the programme (the resulting enhanced performance of duties from the knowledge, skills and expertise gained)

Learner Personas These give an insight of where the educators who will participate in the programme are now in terms of skills, knowledge and expertise in the relevant performance area

Learning Gap

Use Blooms Taxonomy levels to guide development of Learning Outcomes to bridge the gap

i.e. the performance area to be supported and enhanced by the digital learning programme

The 'Business Problem'

Within the priority target learner groups for ETB Further Education and Training (FET) Programmes, there are many individuals who experience particular and acute barriers to participation. The learner demographic is very broad, with adult learners of all ages, including non-native English speakers, learners with few digital skills, unmet literacy and numeracy needs, early school leavers and those who are returning to education after a long break. As part of the social inclusion measures in its the ETB committed to enhance the quality of the learner experience by establishing an embedded learning and language support service across its FET provision. In the initial research phase of the support service, a number of key areas for development were identified. One area involves building capacity to integrate learner supports in programme design and delivery, which will: • ensure a consistent service level of support to learners wherever they are in the ETB • integrate and embed literacy and language into teaching and learning • widen accessibility – resulting in benefits to all learners • support learner progression pathways Building capacity will involve developing educators' knowledge, skill and expertise around inclusive practice and accessible teaching and learning strategies (such as the principles of Universal Design for Learning).

(See DES Operational Guidelines. )

Strategic Performance Agreement with SOLAS,

Learning Gap

An examination of the learner personas reveals that educators are delivering Programmes across a wide span of levels (from QQI Level 1-6) in a number of different FET settings (Adult Basic Education, Youthreach, PLC BTEI and VTOS). They have differing levels of prior knowledge and experience of adult teaching and learning methodologies and inclusive/accessible strategies. The design of the Learning Outcomes and course content must accomodate all of the above.

• An analysis of the business problem and the learner personas discloses a need to develop expertise on strategies to:
• engage, motivate and support the organisation's diverse learner cohort
• make programmes more accessible for all the organisation’s learners, including learners with unmet literacy or numeracy needs and those whose first language is not English
• collate and develop accessible teaching, learning and assessment resources, tailored for the educator's learner group

Learning Outcomes

What do I want the learners to know and do by the end of the programme?

• Rationale for my learning outcomes - develop knowledge but also skills and behaviours: be able to use it and apply it - change selection and development of learning materials and supports.
• I used SMART to draft my learning outcomes

Bloom's Taxonomy

Developing Learner Outcomes

Create

I used Blooms Taxonomy to frame the learning gap into my learning objectives and the participants' learning outcomes.

Evaluate

Analyse

Apply

Understand

Remember

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this Programme learners will be able to:

• Analyse who are your learner group, what they bring to the learning and how they impact your design
• Identify barriers to learning and a range of strategies to overcome them
• Analyse the impact of different learning theories on the design of effective adult learning programmes
• Discover, assess and make informed choices on the most appropriate accessible tools and strategies, including assistive technology, to apply for specific needs
• Design and develop a sample accessible learning or assessment resource that could be used in your professional setting