Designing an instruction is easier said than done. I still can't believe I spent a whole month writing my project proposal. It takes enough writing skills, analysis of needs, multiple points of view, and—most of all—empathy to design one. What kept me going while I was observing the class is everyone's resiliency. Both learners and teachers are dedicated to achieving their goals. I had no reason to procrastinate or produce a mediocre work when I am surrounded by working students, student-parents, student OFWs, and a kind-hearted ALS teacher.
Most of the learners are around 20-30 years old, but there are a few 16-18-year-old learners in the same grade level. Everyone is independent, focused, and mature about their views on learning. At first, I was hesitant to think an adult learning-based instruction would be helpful to them. These are students in Junior High School, and some of them are not yet of legal age. But after days of reading Malcolm Knowles' works on andragogy or adult learning, I realized there is no specific age that defines an adult learner. The adult learner is a non-traditional student who is defined by her views, beliefs, and goals in learning. Some even propose andragogy-based instruction on schoolchildren because of the active learning methods!
I was able to finish the project proposal or design blueprint (Appendix C) during the last week of April. It's still based on the initial needs of the learners: the lack of resources for LS6: Digital Citizenship. To make it more relevant to the ALS learners, the instructional strategies will adhere to the guidelines of creating online and distance education materials for adult learners.
While I am proud of my work, I think I could have done better at seeking thr thoughts of the learners. I am a firm believer of continuous evalutaion to make room for improvments, so I always ask for feedback from my gatekeeper. I also joined their group learning sessions to talk to them during the needs assessment. But I had little contact with them during this design process, probably because of Holy Week and election period.
I am looking forward to build stronger communication with the learners, especially now that I'm already developing the materials. You can find my complete project proposal and design blueprint here.
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