Example of Flexible Delivery

I am fortunate enough to have seen some excellent examples of flexible delivery throughout the polytechnic, but I openly admit that I sometimes struggle to envision how I can adapt these to horticulture.  Therefore I am going to take a different approach.  Instead of looking at the big picture and trying to focus it into my subject area, I am going to focus on my subject area and expand out.  The key is to keep expanding beyond my own limits.  Let's hope.

Case Study 

Diploma in Horticulture - delivered by the Central Otago Campus, Cromwell

The Diploma in Horticulture is delivered using a combination of on-line learning (using Moodle) and block courses.

Students

The programme was specifically developed to cater for students who:

• Already hold the National Certificate in Horticulture
• Are already working within the horticulture industry (mostly within fruit production/viticulture in Central Otago)
• Are studying to up-skill, or may need a diploma to gain a managerial position

Background Information

 The Diploma in Horticulture has been designed to study part time, often over two or three year.

• The programme is mainly theoretical, with one practical unit.
• The programme is largely prescribed, with one elective course. 
• Accreditation of prior learning or experience (apl) is possible for individual courses or the entire programme.

Moodle

The following resources are used within moodle:

·         Images

·         Text

·         Reading lists

·         PDF files

·         Word documents (usually for assessments)

·         ISpring (to convert PowerPoint files)

·         Excel spreadsheets

·         Moodle books

·         Audio files

·         Tests

·         Links to websites (list format)

·         Links to websites (embedded in text)

·         Links to specific documents on the internet

Student communication:

• News forum (not really used)
• Embedded email addresses
• Email contact via the profile page
• Phone
• Text
• Face to face

Student Experience


The Diploma in Horticulture is in it's second first phase of development - a complete programme, excellent content, well supported by staff, but without some of the technological innovations that some of the older flexible programmes have developed.

The student experience is one of consistent dependability and reliability.  This works well as most students are already working within the horticulture industries, and many will have already studied as distance students receiving traditional printed packs.

The programme is about to undergo a revamp, and will only get better and better.

Discussion

The Diploma in Horticulture will be analysed against an adapted version of the ‘Dimensions of Flexibility’ developed by Collis and Moonen (2004)

I have decided to attach a numerical value to the ‘Fixed – Flexible’ scale.  1 represents completely fixed, 7 represents completely flexible.

Dimensions of flexibility
Time	Fixed                         Flexible       1   2   3   4   5   6   7
Starting and finishing the course	5	Most courses within the programme can be started at any time and are only constrained by the polytechnic student management system (course occurrences).  Finish dates are calculated in accordance with government requirements for funding. The practical course has a specific requirement for time period and hours worked. Two courses within the programme are delivered via block course.
Submitting assignments and interacting within the course	4	Assignments will need to be submitted before or at the course finish date.
Tempo/pace of study	5	Work will have to be completed by the course finish date, but eh daily/weekly tempo is flexible.
Moments of assessment	5	Theory units require a written assignment to be submitted before or at the course finish date.
Content	Fixed                         Flexible       1   2   3   4   5   6   7
Topics of the course	2	Prescribed programme with one elective opportunity
Sequence of different parts of the course	4	Programme sequence is optional, but there is a recommended order – some courses build on previous courses. Parts of the programme are delivered by block course (2 courses).  The block courses are not delivered every year, attendance is recommended.
Orientation of the course (theoretical, practical)	1	Fixed
Key learning materials of the course.	6	Various - delivery via Moodle              There are two block courses – one topic could be completed via moodle alone. No video conferencing has been set up – to the best of my knowledge.
Assessment standards and completion requirements	1	Fixed
Entry requirements	Fixed                         Flexible       1   2   3   4   5   6   7
Conditions for participation	1	National Certificate in Horticulture (Level 4) or higher
Instructional approach and resources	Fixed                         Flexible       1   2   3   4   5   6   7
Social organisation or learning (face to face; group; individual)	4	Largely fixed. Mostly distance via moodle Students in Central Otago have individual face to face support from the programme co-ordinator Block courses offer group face to face learning Students can organise their own study groups – but they do not use the moodle forums
Language to be used during the course	2	Fairly formal
Learning resources: modality, origin (instructor, learner, library, WWW)	7	Varies from course to course, but a good range is offered including both instructor led and student led options.
Instructional organisation of learning (assignments, monitoring)	2	Fairly fixed The practical unit has a log book that contains a greater level of flexibility
Delivery and logistics	Fixed                         Flexible       1   2   3   4   5   6   7
Time and place where contact with instructor and other students occur.	4	Synchronous (phone) contact will be limited to certain office hours. Asynchronous contact can occur at any time.
Methods, technology for obtaining support and making contact.	3	Technology use is limited.  Moodle forums are available along with face to face contact (for local students), email and phone contact.
Types of help, communication available, technology required	3	Basic but effective
Location, technology for participating in various aspects of the course.	4	Other options are available, but realistically a student needs a computer with broadband access. Software requirements are Microsoft office. The limited use of technology is an advantage. Location is not important, but much of the programme content is Central Otago focused. To attend the block course, student are physically located in Cromwell Students need to do a practical with the horticulture industries.
Delivery channels for course information, content, communication.	3	Currently fixed with moodle being the only platform. Letter, email, text and phone are all option for communication

Conclusion

Total score 66 divided by 19 questions equals      3.5.

Time                                                                             4.8

Content                                                                        2.8

Entry requirements                                                     1

Instructional approach and resources                      3.8

Delivery and logistics                                                 3.4

Within the constraints of the polytechnic environment, the Diploma in Horticulture manages to be a fairly flexible programme that caters well for the needs of the learner. 

It is interesting to note that most flexible areas, e.g. resources and materials, are as a result of staff input, and many of the weaker or less flexible areas are as a result of academic  requirements.

There are always opportunities to make a programme more flexible in terms of technology use, and communication methods, but delivery logistics are often controlled by the educational institute and content dictated by industry needs.  Greater flexibility does not always guarantee a better outcome for the student, or guarantee quality.  Industry appropriateness and academic rigour still remains the driving forces behind most of what we are trying to achieve.

Appendix - Communication between myself and Raewyn Paviour, Cromwell Campus

Hi Lisa, I have written my answers in red alongside your questions.  I hope it works, so please let me know asap if you have received it as I have intended.

Hope it helps

 Hi Raewyn, I hope you are well.

I need to study examples of flexible learning within the polytech, and the Diploma in Horticulture is an obvious choice.  Could you possibly give me a quick rundown on how it runs. 

E.g.

• How long does it usually take  2-3 years as the students are working full time and studying part time.
• Are there assessment deadlines, sort of as the occurrences  are 9 months duration
• Does the student have to start at a particular time of the year – how do the occurrences run?  As the occurrences are 9 months, they often run into the next year
• Can a student do the programme without computer access – yes but not as efficiently

The questions and areas of discussion that I am looking at are:

Who are the students?  Mainly supervisors or property managers, mature and motivated

Then the five dimensions of flexibility, which are:

• Time
• Content and course
• Entry requirements NCH level 4 or equivalent
• Instructional approaches and resources
• Delivery and logistics – moodle, coordinator & block courses

Take care and best wishes

Lisa