Education Today
Distance delivery represents the future of adult education. Most adults lead very busy lives as they juggle careers, family, and personal pursuits. Traditional classroom instruction means time away from the job and family, and this is not an option for everyone. Distance delivery is a practical alternative.
Distance courses are convenient and cost effective. Courses developed for home centered learning alleviate travel and accommodation expenses. More importantly, these courses eliminate the costs incurred when people are taken away from their regular work. Distance courses allow adults to continue their careers while learning at their own pace and since there are no formal classes to attend, they can study when it best fits their schedule.
Within three years, half of the educational programming for adults will be delivered through distance delivery. While distance delivery is growing in popularity, there are still many difficulties inherent with this method of instruction. Text-based correspondence courses provide limited instructional variety and there is little opportunity to share learning experiences. Rapid changes in information means text materials are quickly outdated and it is cost prohibitive to update hard copy text on a yearly, monthly, weekly or daily basis.
ShirWin's challenge is to improve the quality of the distance delivery approach to adult education. Methods of instruction that are solely text-based have historically had the lowest retention rates of almost any teaching model. The ten percent retention rate associated with text-based systems has led to poor student performance during examination. These limitations also lower student motivation and decreased motivation contributes to higher attrition rates.
Understanding the basic limitations of the distance delivery model is the first step towards improving the learning experience.
WHAT IS POSTMODERNISM
According to Merriman-Webster's dictionary1 postmodernism is defined as relating to, or being any of several movements (as in art, architecture, or literature) that are reactions against the philosophy and practices of modern movements and are typically marked by revival of traditional elements and techniques.
Postmodernism is a complex concept or series of ideas that began to be articulated during the mid-1980's. It origin lies in the definition of "high modernism" between the 1910 and 1930 in the world of art, literature, and poetry.2
POSTMODERNISM EDUCATIONAL THEORY
Lyotard, the first to coin postmodernism, describes the postmodern 'reality' as a kaleidoscope of stories, arguing that reality is impossible to know because it is non-existent and constructed by our consciousness through the use of culture.3
ShirWin's suite of products and knowledge has the ability to look at each organization for their own unique story in order to construct a needs assessment and tailored set of training solutions.
Postmodernism depicts an educational system in crisis, caused by a lack of compatibility between the system and the reality in which it operates. Closed classrooms, book-centered study, the frontal teaching system do not pass the tests presented by the dynamic changes occurring in our society.3
The reality of lifelong learning has been captured in ShirWin's pedagogy, by incorporating several instructional techniques to improve student retention rates, understanding and performance.
Postmodern educational theory opposes modern examinations claiming that they have not achieved their aim, causing, instead, a depletion of study and damage to school graduates' thought processes.3
ShirWin's simulated learning environment is intended to mirror the real world. Our learning environment is a simulation from the first person perspective. Students assume the role of a particular professional in the simulation and make recommendations to their virtual clients, just as they would to real clients.
REFERENCES
1. Merriman-Webster Incorporated. Definition for 'postmodern', 2001. http://www.m-w.com/home.htm.
2. Klages M. 'Postmodernism'. University of Colorado, Boulder. 1997. http://www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages/pomo.html.
3. Weinblatt N, Avrech-Bar M. 'Postmodernism and its application to the field of occupational therapy'. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY. 68(3), June 2001, 164-70.