Virtual learner centred approaches for diversity in learning: Recent experiments with the use of a Blog
Prof Dr Walter Baets
EcKM, the Euromed center for Knowledge Management
Euromed Marseille - Ecole de Management
BP 921
Luminy Science Parc
13288 Marseille Cedex 9
Phone: +33 4 91827922
E-mail:
ABSTRACT
Intercultural dialogue is today a matter of necessity, not choice. Too often, higher education is based on one prevailing cultural model: in business education it is the Anglo Saxon model. Textbooks and teaching/learning approaches are designed in order to fit that culture. Different learning approaches, translating cultural diversity, can seriously enrich mutual learning.
In this paper, a different pedagogical model is proposed, that allows not only to host cultural diversity, but even more so to learn from cultural diversity. Its fundamental idea is based on a virtual, learner centred pedagogical approach that has already been tested out successfully (as described). Today we have used a BLOG (weblog) as cheap and readily available software that might have huge potential for less favoured countries and regions.
Results of the present test with a BLOG are most promising as a “cheap” technological extension to the basic learning model, reinforcing the learning centred learning process. Currently we are experimenting with an integrated Wiki.
KEY WORDS
Research on innovative technology based learning; Online Virtual Universities; Special conditions in developing countries.
1. Introduction
Intercultural dialogue is today a matter of necessity, not choice. Faculty members, staff and the student body are rarely a homogeneous group nowadays. Too often, higher education is based on one prevailing cultural model: in business education it is the Anglo Saxon model, as created, mainly, by the US Business Schools. Textbooks and teaching/learning approaches are designed in order to fit that culture. Even the entry criteria (in business education the GMAT test) fit that one prevailing culture. With a growing internationalisation of the world, we have not paid enough attention to the cultural diversification of (higher) education. Textbooks and learning approaches are indeed highly context bound. However, different learning approaches, translating cultural diversity, can seriously enrich mutual learning. The modern university has grown out of the creative co-existence of different ‘cultures of learning’ – both termed disciplines and pedagogical models – out of different ways of seeing the world and of defining and studying it.
In this paper, a different pedagogical model is proposed, that allows not only to host cultural diversity, but even more so to learn from cultural diversity. This model advances the notion of diversity as an asset of outstanding value. Its fundamental idea is based on a virtual, learner centred pedagogical approach, that has already been tested out successfully (as described). Today we have used a BLOG (weblog) as a cheap and readily available software, that might have huge potential for less favoured countries and regions.
This initial model has been used for the first time, as the basis for the Euro-Arab Management School (EAMS; [1]), a joint project of the EU, the league of Arab States and the Spanish Government. The briefing for this school was to create a pedagogical approach and pedagogical material that could be used through a network of partner schools (in Europe and the Arab countries), allowing them each and all to adapt to their specific settings. For obvious reasons, this model is a hybrid one, combining face to face and virtual learning (and no teaching). The eventual network of schools and students, then could exchange in a second round their experiences in order to reinforce learning.
Results of the present test with a BLOG are most promising as a “cheap” technological extension to the basic learning model, reinforcing the learning centred learning process. Based on our findings, we are currently experimenting with an integrated Wiki.
The theoretical concept developed – one based on a learner centred virtual learning approach - is illustrated here with the EAMS example, in order to combine immediately theory to practice, and in order to be able to illustrate its innovative approach. Its theoretical basis is already described in detail in Baets and Van der Linden ([2], [3]) and therefore does not need any further explanation here. Its main value is in its potential to contribute to culturally diverse and flexible learning and therefore it should perfectly fit the developmental needs of countries and regions with an interest in locally relevant learning of internationally shared issues.
In the second part of the paper, we describe a test we have recently done with the use of a BLOG in order to support a classroom course (hybrid learning forms). The purpose of the test is twofold. First we wanted to explore whether BLOGs might be a readily affordable technology for projects where financing is an issue. Secondly, we wanted to test the pedagogical value of a BLOG in a real life circumstance, and in an easy and controllable environment, not biased by weak technological familiarity of users. In the near future, we are integrating BLOG technology in the basic pedagogical approach as described in order to make this available for regions and countries in development (in cooperation with the Unesco and the UN). Currently we are researching the integration of a Wiki in the discussion section of the blog.
“EAMS” can therefore be replaced by any other “school” with an ambition in culturally diverse and flexible learning, and “EAMD” (Euro-Arab Management Diploma) by any diploma course that such a school would like to deliver.
2. Theories on learning and teaching
There are roughly four groups of theories on learning and teaching which are briefly described below (for detail, one can consult the references). It is important for a tutor to understand these theories in order to be able to judge the advantages and the disadvantages of each one, but primarily such knowledge equips the tutor for a discussion with potential students on the choices the school has made regarding the form of its Diploma.
The first theory is called the transfer theory. Knowledge in general and, more specifically, subject matters, are viewed as transferable commodities. A student is viewed as a vessel positioned alongside a loading dock. ‘Knowledge’ is poured into the vessel until it is full. Whereas the student is the empty vessel, the teacher is a crane or a fork lift. The teacher delivers and places knowledge into the empty vessel. Courses applying the transfer theory would be very much lecture-based, would include talks from leading figures in the relevant fields (the more the better) and would provide students with duplicated course notes. Once the vessel is filled, a ‘bill of loading’, which is the diploma, certifies the content of the vessel. Monitoring a student means monitoring the process of filling the vessel and sometimes sampling the quality of the contents. This type of course is still the prevailing one in most business schools.
Another theory is called the shaping theory. The student comes to school as a piece of inert raw material: say, a piece of wood or metal. The piece is shaped using shaping tools, which are the subject matters. The teacher is the craftsman who is able to work the wood or metal. This theory is behind some of the educational reforms which have taken place in some business schools. The shaping theory, in conjunction with the transfer theory, accounts for most business school curricula.
The travelling theory is one by which the teacher initiates and guides the students through an unknown terrain which needs to be explored. The student is the explorer and the teacher/tutor is the experienced and expert travelling companion and counsellor. The guide not only points out the way, but also provides travelling maps and a compass. The ‘teaching methods’ (if one can still call them such) which are most used in applying this theory are experiential methods: projects, exercises with unpredictable outcomes, discussions and independent learning. In courses applying this theory, monitoring means regularly comparing each other’s travelling notes. Tutors using this approach, which is very much the EAMS approach, need specialised skills, equipment and expertise, as well as the basic requirement of possessing a good knowledge of the ‘terrain’. Experiments have shown that this theory is particularly effective in adult education ([4], [5]).
One step on from the travelling theory is the growing theory. In many respects, this theory does not differ greatly from the previous one. Rather, it is an extension of it which focuses more on the self-initiative and personal development of the student. Subject matters are a set of experiences which each student should incorporate into his/her personality. The aim for the student is to develop his/her personality; the focus of a course is on personal development. Student commitment and realistic expectations in combination with a tutor who is competent in coaching personal development is the ideal learning situation. Some business schools have opted for a complete ‘learning by doing’ approach; for instance, learning while creating one’s own company or learning by carrying out a large project. This approach, however, is rather experimental (see Euromed Marseille, ([6]). Within this pedagogical theory, the use of a BLOG can make a lot of sense.
Many tutors have a background, education and experience which is based on the first and/or, to a lesser extent, on the second theory. Since, for reasons explained below, EAMS has chosen to adopt the third approach to learning and teaching, in many cases new EAMS tutors will be required to radically adjust their concepts on teaching and tutoring. EAMS thus ran a Masters in Management Development Programme (MMDP) with the aim of supporting and guiding tutors through that adjustment process by means of the travelling theory. In particular, MMDP sessions on ‘Theories and Practices of Learning’, ‘Tutorial Skills’, ‘Management Competencies’, ‘Case Writing and Use’, ‘Business Simulations’ and ‘Electronic Tutoring’ contribute to achieving such a paradigm shift. The choice for using BLOGs will need yet additionally another set of skills.
3. Pedagogical philosophy of EAMS
EAMS (as an example) has undeniably based its pedagogical philosophy on the European experience in management development and business schools. The business school phenomenon is much more recent in Europe than in the US. In Europe, pre-business career education can be in almost any discipline. In terms of post-graduate education, ‘business’ becomes more of an option, but still a lot of business education is undertaken at post-experience level. Practising managers, often without a formal business degree, want to improve their managerial know-how and their managerial skills. In the case of sustainable development programs, it are often practising (SME) managers that are targeted.
In order to cater for practising managers, courses must offer a high degree of flexibility. Programmes do not need to focus on detailed and specialised knowledge in any particular field(s). Rather, the desired outcome is for the manager to acquire a holistic view of managerial practice. A skills-driven approach is therefore the best way to teach/tutor management at the post-experience level. Most often, when developing learning materials for a sustainable development program, the plasticizing managers are targeted.
Applying the travelling theory to any particular management development programme requires a number of different components. Some are better addressed by a process of self-study (the concepts), while others are better addressed via discussion groups, tutorials or project work (the cases and activities) (see figure 1). Tutorials are group sessions with a limited number of students, possibly held using collaborative tools. Knowledge acquisition is an important component of any programme, which can easily be acquired through the self-study of formal concepts presented in electronic format. Acquisition of skills, such as the power to motivate, is achieved via activities which need to be developed during the tutorials. Other skills, such as problem solving, are better dealt with through developing project work. A third component of any programme should be the development of aptitudes and attitudes, such as judgement, flexibility, and cultural awareness, and these skills are most probably best addressed via a project on a real life case.
For the above reasons, a virtual learning approach has to opt for the travelling theory of education and learning. In practice, that means for most institutions to shift from the subject-centred paradigm to the learner-centred paradigm.
4. Pedagogical material in electronic format
Reasons for choosing to present the pedagogical material in an electronic format are pedagogical in nature and include the efficient maintenance of the material and the flexibility of its use that such a format offers (for an extended discussion, please consult [2], [3]). The process of materials development has involved de-constructing the pedagogical material from its classical text-book format and isolating three categories of material (see figure 1):
· concepts (contextualised definitions with examples)
· company case-studies and more extensive examples
· activities (possibly based on short examples).
The electronic pedagogical material is organised along these three axes in the form of a hypertext database. A hypertext database allows the user to inter-link concepts, cases and activities. So, as a student reads a text about one concept and encounters reference to another, with a simple click on the mouse, s/he can link up to information about the other concept. This allows a reader to focus on exactly what interests him/her, thus enhancing learning possibilities (see below). Such a format allows fast, constant adaptation and adjustments to be made to the case-base without having to alter the concepts at the same speed.
Flexibility in course design
Although very often a school’s aim is to launch a specific diploma, this approach allows to organise any possible and imaginable course, including specific demands from companies. Course design and assembling pedagogical material go hand in hand. In general, electronic learning formats facilitate the process of curriculum design.
Pedagogical concerns
The presentation of pedagogical material in an electronic format is very apt in terms of applying the travelling theory metaphor which forms the basis of the EAMS philosophy. The general orientation of the project is well complemented by a system which allows tutors to easily access and isolate those concepts relevant to their students and their projects. This is the main advantage of the electronic format over the text book format. In addition, the hypertext structure facilitates learning and discovery for the student who browses through material.