REVIEW OF LITERATURE
3.9 Instructional support
3.9.1 The module
instructional design needs to gel with the approach to study of students and the media package should also be congruent with their learning style (Kember 1995).
Information needs to create learning environments that let students draw on the internal resources that brought them to college. To do that, materials must create situations where students can gain knowledge and skills in critical thinking and problem solving in their disciplines (Pew 2007).
The positive academic integration factor in Kember‘s theory contains deep approach and intrinsic motivation. The negative academic incompatibility factor has surface approach and extrinsic motivation. For courses to enhance student progress, instructional design should develop intrinsic motivation and encourage a deep approach. Kember (1995) cites Keller (1987) specifying four major conditions to be met for students to become and remain motivated: attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction. Though not an easy task, instructional materials should strive to achieve these factors. It has been found that materials emphasizing knowledge transmission induced surface approach to study while those in which facilitation predominated encouraged students to adopt a deep approach. The facilitation orientation has components for interactive teaching. Absence of facilitation and motivation of students in transmission leads to dry presentations of information.
Module content should be participative. Transmission communication systems are of little value in enhancing motivation. Two-way communication systems provide for interaction desirable for both motivation and enhancing a deep approach. Facilitators can try out modules as videotapes, building in interactivity as it suits the learning styles of students and then integrate real-time satellite programmes into their schedule later on (Sherry 1996). Two-way communicationencourages interaction if faculty and students use them for discussion instead of faculty insisting on lecturing.
Instructional materials should be designed in a motivating rather than a complex,
impersonal style associated with transmission academic writing. Most scholars suggest that study materials should use plain, conversational and informal style of writing that includes didactic conversations. Using such an approach develops a sense of collective affiliation between the student and the teacher, even if the instructor appears in print. Diagrams and pictures are widely agreed to be effective both as learning aids and motivational elements. Use of various media has also been suggested as enhancing interest and motivation (Kember 1995).
Module content should avoid subjecting students under undue pressure. Students adapt approaches to learning to the content and the context of the learning task. They make use of reproductive approaches in circumstances of: high workloads, surface assessment demands, low intrinsic interest in the course, and lack of freedom in the learning environment (Kember 1995). Minimizing surface approach increases pass rates. Programmes that reorient students away from a surface approach are preferred as they are consistent with goals of higher education. (Kember 1995) cites Sparkes (1989) who says deep learning entails grasping concepts and being able to use them creatively. For a module to provide meaningful learning, its content should focus on sequencing key concepts of the subject to ensure that students understand major issues. Students should be equipped with fundamental skills of the discipline so that they can discover for themselves the information they need (Kember 1995). Rather than build a knowledge base, modules should teach students to become self-managed learners that keep themselves abreast of developments.
Concentrating on key concepts instead of covering content is doubly important since heavy workload tends to promote surface approach to study. Research shows that departments that score highly on good teaching allow freedom in student learning and do not impose excessive workloads. Most of their students display a meaningful orientation. Evidence suggests that reduction of content overloaded courses results in a higher quality of learning in spite of reduction of the quantity of factual material
covered (Kember 1995). Sherry (1996) cites White (1987) who corroborates the above view and says that if complex issues are presented in unconnected units, the result may be oversimplification and superficiality. Students must learn to discriminate between "junk" and quality information, to judge reliability and identify distortions, to distinguish facts from persuasion, and to understand information itself.
Module content should be flexible to meet learner needs. Kember (1995) cites Fransson (1977) saying that students use a surface approach when they have little interest in the subject or do not perceive its relevance to their needs. The provision of freedom of learning and materials relevant to students‘ needs implies flexibility and a range of options within courses (Kember 1995).
The module content should be developed in a sequence that makes it easier to grasp.
A course should start with the fundamental concepts and fill in details later.
Otherwise students may fail to distinguish key concepts from the supporting details.
This becomes a case of horizontalization whereby students confuse principle for example. To promote deep learning, the amount of detail in the module should be minimal to avoid heavy workloads that encourage surface learning. Emphasis should be on quality rather than quantity. Instead of providing extensive coverage of knowledge in a subject, it is better to teach students the skills of applying the information to solve problems and discover information themselves. It is more important for students to understand the key concepts of a subject than to memorize information. This implies top-down sequencing rather than the bricks-building approach. Sequencing of material should be based on learners‘ understanding and the logical structure of the subject matter. Learning is meaningful when students understand the important concepts and can relate one concept to another because students often fail to relate concepts to the existing knowledge base (Kember 1995).
Sherry (1996) cites Shneiderman (1992) who cautions instructional designers to begin with an understanding of their intended users, and recognize the difference between their outlooks from the designer's own. She quotes Horton (1994:32) who states the golden rule for designers of instructional materials to, "communicate unto others as they would communicate unto themselves". If material writers want the learner to construct an idea which is similar to theirs, they should use images for their presentations which trigger similar ideas in the learner's mind, in view of the learning environment and the learner's prior experiences.
Module materials should be interesting and easy to understand. Sherry (1996) cites Willis (1993) who gives attributes of effective DL material presentation which are:
developing appropriate methods of optimizing content and pace, adapting to different student learning styles, using case studies and examples which are relevant to the target audience, being concise, and personalizing instruction. Sherry (1996) draws from Schamber (1988) that material preparation must focus on the instructional needs of the students instead of the content itself. It is essential to consider learners‘
ages, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, interests and experiences, educational levels and familiarity with DL methods and delivery systems.
Sherry (1996) further cites Willis (1992) who says the instructional material development process should consist of the customary stages of design, development, evaluation, and revision. In designing effective DL materials, one must consider the goals, needs, and characteristics of teachers and students, and also the content requirements and technical constraints. If unusual delivery systems are required, they must be made accessible to all participants. Recognition of the constructivist andragogical principle that adults should contribute in determining the content of their course should be made in good module writing in DL. Sherry (1996) cites Porter (1994) who states that revision based on feedback from instructors, content
specialists and learners should be continuous. Updating of course materials is necessary to keep the subject matter current and relevant.
Instructional material development and production is a team effort. A development team should include subject experts, instructional designers, writers and editors, audio and video production staff, and curriculum developers. It is important to identify these "people resources", and assign appropriate tasks, responsibilities, and timelines, so that quality control is maintained. It is also important that learning modules be delivered on time to mesh with the school schedule and that of service providers (Sherry 1996). My study explored the support structures and strategies that adults adopted when using the ZOU modules in order to cope with DL.