Transcript Re-shaping Identity: the wider benefits of Learning”

SUMMARY OF THE DELILAH
PROJECT
Joe Cullen, The Tavistock Institute, London
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Target Population
Excluded learners (e.g. women returners;
black and ethnic minority groups)
Corporate learners (how work-based
learning operates)
Policy-makers (particularly how to design
and evaluate policies to promote social
inclusion)
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Statement of problem
Not enough is known about the actual
and potential contribution of advanced
learning technologies (ALT) to promoting
learning outcomes
Especially for socially excluded groups
And therefore policy to promote access is
not sufficiently informed
And evaluation tools to assess outcomes
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
not good enough
May 2002
Goals
 To synthesise existing research on new ways of learning,
particularly ODL and ALT) in different settings, and identify
theoretical and empirical gaps in current understanding.
 To critically assess the contribution of different institutional and
organisational settings to learning, and the potential of ODL and
new ALT within these settings
 to explore ways of raising the skills levels of individuals and
organisations and widening access to learning opportunities,
particularly for less favoured and excluded groups.
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Objectives
 to investigate the potential of 'new forms of learning
arrangements' for improving access to education and training
opportunities and learning outcomes for different user groups,
particularly excluded groups.
focus on the actual and potential contribution of Open and
Distance Learning (and in particular the use of Advanced
Learning Technologies) to education and training
consider socio-cultural contextualisation of
education and
training innovations
promote transferability of innovations across geographical and
cultural learning environments
explore new roles and organisational setting implied by such
innovations
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Research questions
 what are the gaps in state of the art? (cross-cultural issues, learning
patrimony and transferability; pedagogic models; the economics of
education and training innovation, and evaluation).
 what can know-how and research findings tell us about what works
for who and under what circumstances?
 what are the key pedagogic and organisational issues affecting
learning outcomes in five paradigmatic types of 'learning
arrangements': corporate, higher education, schools, SME's and
excluded groups?
 how can we develop frameworks and tools for the design, support
and evaluation of new learning environments and new education
and training products?
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Methodology
 studies of key social, cultural, economic, organisational and
pedagogic factors involved in both 'traditional' and telematics-based
learning, with particular reference to ‘learning patrimony’
 (Develop models, methodologies and tools for supporting and
evaluating education and training innovations, particularly using
new technologies
 validate models, methodologies and tools, within an action
research, user-led environment in four test sites.
 virtual Open University campus (Universitat Oberta del Catalunya)
 schools (European Schools Project)
 corporate (Isvor-Fiat)
 excluded groups (Manchester ‘electronic village halls’)
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Role of ISTs
Cultural Logic of ISTs (Virtual Open
University; Virtual Classroom; ‘HomeAlone’ Learner)
Myth: open up access; promote LLL
Reality: metaphors for traditional
pedagogies; increase social exclusion; lack
social context and relevance
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
New Role for ISTs
Collaborative Knowledge production
Interchangeable Knowledge producers
and Knowledge consumers
Socially contextualised
Peer validation and review
Enriched Document Systems - promote
shared ‘sensemaking’
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Example: DELILAH project
‘Lea Valley Experiment’
 DELILAH: EC TSER project on 'new forms of
learning arrangements' for improving access,
particularly for excluded groups.
 Focus on ODL and ALT; socio-cultural context and
‘collaborative’ learning
 Methodology:
 review of state of the art
 synthesis of studies
 focused case studies in five types of 'learning arrangements': corporate,
higher education, schools, SME's and excluded groups.
 seven EU countries
 build tools to help design and evaluation of new forms of learning
 action research in four innovative 'test sites'
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Lea Valley Experiment
High School in N. London - declining
industry; multi-ethnic; poor performance
Involved in DELILAH in ESP project participant in ‘Energy on the Move’
Objective: open up access to ‘richer
learning opportunities’ with EU peers and
experts
Evaluate outcomes and impacts
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Features of experiment
Competition between 30 EU schools to
design energy strategy for Europe
Access via Internet to ESA, ESOC, Torus,
CERN, ESRF
Teacher support from ESP
Evaluation of experiment: pre-test/post
test exam results; observation; interviews
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Quantitative Results/1
Table 1: Comparative Scores on test module
Test variable
Mean score Variance
Module 1
11.32
9.56
Module 2 *
13.36
7.91
Module 3
11.36
5.28
Module 4
10.36
4.98
Module 5
10.75
8.05
Module 7
9.29
6.29
Module 8
11.25
5.38
Module 9 *
10.74
10.35
Year 10 Science
55.56
115.67
Exam 2 (at start)
67.37
83.44
Exam 3 (at end)
45
260.58
* denotes taken during
Energy on the Move
Range
12
10
9
8
10
8
10
11
50
34
65
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Quantitative results/2
Table 2 : Comparison of class mean scores for Science modules
Variable
With Module 2
With Module 9
Module 1
Module 3
Module 4
Module 5
Module 7
Module 8
t-test
3.55
3.91
5.0
4.26
6.35
3.51
sig
.002
.001
.000
.000
.000
.003
t-test
-1.18
-1.15
0.34
-.11
2.20
-.68
sig
.248
.261
.754
.913
.037
.501
Table 3: Comparison of exam scores for science, before and after particiaption
Variable
With Exam 2
With Exam 3
Year 10 exam
Exam 2
t-test
-9.01
-
sig
.000
-
t-test
3.48
8.90
sig
.002
.000
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Quantitative Results/3
Table 4: ANOVA; Predicted Science exam scores against actual scores, before and after ‘Energy on
the Move’
Variable
F ratio
sig.
R-squared
Year 10
Science exam
3.456
0.054
.291
Science exam
2 (at start of
EoM)
Science exam
3 (at end of
EoM)
34.634
0.000
.803
7.262
0.005
.461
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Deviation
from mean
A/B: 6.88
C: -4.0
D: -4.88
A/B: 9.35
C: -1.15
D: -8.78
A/B: 12.08
C: -6.55
D: -8.80
Student perceptions
Table 5: Student rating of ESP
Item
How easy it was to get connected to the
Internet
Level of support offered to help you use the
Internet
Usefulness of the information provided
How ‘user friendly’ the technology was
How much it helped you in your course work
How much it helped you understand science
and technology
Table 6: Contribution of ESP to learning
Aspect
Improving your knowledge of Information
Technology
Improving your learning skills
Improving your knowledge about science and
technology
Improving your awareness of developments in
science and technology
Increasing your interest in school
Improving your motivation to learn
Improving your access to material for use in
learning
% rating
poor/very
poor
37
% rating
good/very
good
42
10
80
0
5
20
15
60
50
40
35
% rating
minimal/no
contribution
28
% rating
large/very
large
25
40
15
36
30
15
50
50
30
20
10
20
45
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Conclusions from DELILAH
ESP pedagogy emphasises self-managed
and distributed learning
Lea Valley shows conflicts when LL is
transplanted into ‘transmissive’ context
Had positive outcomes, but mainly for
minority
Shows need to embed IL and LL in REAL
organisational and community life
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Main Learning Issues
tackled
Lifelong Learning needs ‘Real Life’
Top-down approach and human capital
methods of limited value
Transitions, mobility and skills socially
contextualised - synchronic and diachronic
dimensions
Need more sophisticated data capture and
evaluation methods
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002
Innovative aspects
Notion of ‘cultural logic’
Elaboration of learning patrimony concept
Techniques to enable ‘pedagogic audit’ to
be developed
Development of policy guidelines and
tools to promote social inclusion
MERLIN Workshop,Barcelona,
May 2002