Decolonizing Literacy Instruction

Introduction
Northwest Community College held a regional conference to address decolonization of post-secondary education. Faculty participated in discussions to critically examine curriculum/content changes to make courses more relevant to First Nations learners. The conference served as the catalyst to begin considering a number of issues for research, summarized in the following question: What changes to instructional strategies, content, and program delivery would effectively redress colonization, modify the traditional educational paradigm, increase learner retention, and improve completion rates of First Nations adult learners in adult literacy programs?
This paper argues for the use of the critical pedagogy paradigm over the positivist paradigm to address the research question above. To investigate perceptions of First Nations adult learners, it is crucial to go beyond what can be observed. The critical social science paradigm is concerned with investigating belief systems, values, and processes of how perspectives are transformed, how meanings are created and modified, and how souls are healed and emancipated (Garrison & Shale, 1994). This paper will provide an overview of critical pedagogy and the indigenous worldview, and proceed to argue for the adoption of critical theory rather than positivism to address the research question above. This essay will cover a number of standpoints: the purpose of knowledge, the construction of knowledge, the role of the researcher, data collection methods, and validity and credibility.
Critical Pedagogy as a Decolonizing Paradigm
Critical pedagogy asserts that positivism is “…anti-democratic, narrow, and non-humanist in its use of reason” (Neumann, 2006, pg. 94). The positivist paradigm seeks to reduce the study of human beings to what can be observed, to what can be seen in external reality. Educators influenced by the positivist paradigm reduce learning to outcomes, evaluating success based on performance, and minimizing of a person's subjective experiences and mental processes.

In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire (2006) described the oppressor consciousness in terms that mirror several key characteristics of the positivist research paradigm:

“The oppressor consciousness tends to transform everything surrounding it into an object of its domination. The earth, property, production, the creations of people, time, everything is reduced to the status of objects at its disposal” (Freire, 2006, pg. 58).

The Indigenous World View
In Wisdom of the Elders, Knudston and Suzuki (1992) explained the holistic viewpoint of the Native Mind:
"...human thoughts, feelings and interpersonal communications as inextricably intertwined with events and processes in the universe rather than apart from them. Indeed, words themselves are considered spiritually potent, generative, and somehow engaged in the continuation of the cosmos, not neutral and disengaged from it" (pg. 14).
Among indigenous learners, the focus of knowledge is on “the web of relationships among human beings, animals, plants, natural forces, spirits, and landforms in particular localities” (Battiste & Henderson, 2000, p. 44).
Hart (2007) describes the indigenous knowledge paradigm as dependent on the relationships within personal and social contexts. It relies on subjective experiences and interpretations, on how individuals carve out meaning. The goal of knowledge, according to the indigenous knowledge paradigm, is to learn to better create a harmonious lifestyle with the local ecosystem and remain embedded harmoniously in the extended kinship network the individual is an inseparable part of.

Purpose of Knowledge
In the positivist paradigm, knowledge is discovered and verified through direct observations or measurements of phenomena; facts are established by taking apart a phenomenon to examine its component parts. Knowledge for positivist researchers has relevance to the extent that it can be used by people to control their environment or achieve goals, and to the extent it enables people to master or control events in the world around them. Positivism aims to lead to research results that are detached from human concerns, and concerned only with studying it instead of acting on it (Neumann, 2006).
The critical pedagogy approach for conducting research views knowledge as a process that combines greater awareness with taking action (Neumann, 2006). The purpose for research using the critical pedagogy paradigm is to critique and transform social relations, and deal with empowering people.

Construction of Knowledge
The positivist paradigm, in contrast, assumes values-free science: knowledge is not based on values, opinions, attitudes, and beliefs. Scientific knowledge transcends personal prejudices, biases and values. Behavioral theory, for example, the foundation of outcomes based evaluation, is based on the premise that learning can be reducible to observable actions, without any reference to any unobservable internal states. The dominant worldview of positivism in education, particularly Adult Basic Education, is apparent by the adherence to Criterion Referenced Instruction principles, where knowledge and skills are broken down into component parts and the focus is on the directly observable. This positivist approach to education is in stark contrast to critical pedagogy and the indigenous worldview.
Leroy Little Bear (2005) explained that the two worldviews are colliding on several levels. Of critical importance to the research question mentioned above are the differences about the nature of how knowledge is constructed. The indigenous worldview holds that we need to depend on each others’ truths to reflect more and more of the whole picture. Learning and knowledge construction occurs through storytelling and shared experiences. The Eurocentric worldview asserts that truth is objective and must be sought out actively, that knowledge is constructed, and that learning occurs on the basis of the transmission of one objective body of knowledge from expert to novitiate (Henderson, 2005).

The Role of the Researcher
As a researcher-practitioner conducting fieldwork based on critical pedagogy, one needs to be prepared to refuse to play the role of researcher as required by the positivist paradigm. While working closely as an educator with adult literacy learners in a remote First Nations community, the social realities make it necessary to instead adopt the role of the researcher as defined by critical pedagogy.
The positivist paradigm requires researchers to remain detached, neutral, and objective while measuring aspects of social life, examining evidence, and replicating the research of others. Positivism fosters a technocratic perspective among researcher-practitioners, who take on the technical expert role of providing answers asked by large institutions. Such researchers adopt the dominant paradigm of their sponsors, and act on their behalf rather than on behalf of those being observed.
Critical pedagogy requires the researchers to examine and critique the assumptions, and reflect on the differences. It requires an open, trusting dialogue. The technocrat, however, is taught not to ask different questions, nor redirect an inquiry into a new area, nor challenge the basic premises of questions, nor defy objectives set by leaders of the large bureaucratic organizations they serve.




Appropriate Data Collection Methods
Data collection needs to be appropriate in addressing the specific question being researched (Garrison & Shale, 1994). To conduct research of First Nations adult learners’ perceptions, beliefs, and values, there is a preference for qualitative over quantitative methods. Qualitative research reports are descriptive, incorporating expressive language and the "presence of voice in the text" (Eisner, 1991, p. 36). Qualitative research has an interpretive character, aimed at discovering the meanings events have for individuals and the interpretations of those meanings by the researcher.
Examples of quantitative data collection methods suitable to research some elements to make the study more comprehensive would be analysis of data from statistics within College databases, identifying variables such as past and present trends for applications of First Nations learners, registration numbers, attendance, grades, percentages of drop-outs, and numbers of returnees. Online activity could be analyzed using the web log files. Such data might predict overall probability of a group of First Nations students completing courses. A survey of adult learners inquiring about barriers and challenges encountered might identify a number of reasons for withdrawals.
Examples of qualitative data collection methods appropriate to address the research questions would include surveys, ethnographic methods, and case studies. Data that can be collected using these methods would include online journal postings published by adult learners, taped interviews with faculty and learners at different points of the academic year, notes and surveys from student focus groups, class notes from instructors, recordings of in-class discussions, discursive analysis of students’ written assignments reflecting on their own learning process, and observations of in-class and online learning activities.

Examining Validity and Credibility
The validity of qualitative research methods consistent with critical pedagogy is further strengthened by triangulation, the application of a combination of methods, data sources, and researchers. The findings then become more comprehensive, providing a holistic approach more in keeping with the indigenous worldview of the community collaborating in the research process (Garrison & Shale, 1994). Qualitative methods are more consistent with the indigenous worldview, where “not everything meaningful can be articulated in language” (Atleo, 2007). Each case is unique. Qualitative methods that add context and provide a greater depth of description are providing an alternative way of seeing that is more holistic and more meaningful.
Applying the positivist paradigm to researching learner retention and completion of First Nations adult learners would be of reduced validity compared to the application of the critical pedagogy approach, because quantitative data collection aims to strip context from the data collected (Garrison & Shale, 1994). Though the study of individual adult learners might not be easily generalized to the characteristics of a large group, the usefulness of the research based on qualitative research methods can offer options, rather than being prescriptive and pinpointing a plan of action (Donmeyer, 1990).
Case studies, in particular, are “more appropriate for suggesting new concepts and explanations rather than for making generalizations” (Hayes, 1991, pg. 79). A case study that depicts authentic responses from learners over time is far more credible when addressing the question of retention and learner success than by only using quantitative methods, as it describes the detailed experiences of actual students, and the reasons they might have over time for not completing courses.
Conclusion
This paper provided a brief overview of critical pedagogy and the indigenous worldview, and compared the positivist research paradigm with critical pedagogy with respect to the purpose and construction of knowledge, the researcher’s roles when conducting research, appropriate ways of collecting data, and issues concerning validity and credibility.
To approach research questions which aim to help people take meaningful transformative action depends upon respectful consultation with First Nations learners and leaders within the remote community. The critical pedagogical approach is more appropriate in this context. Applying the positivist paradigm when engaging in research to find out answers to the question cited at the beginning of this paper is going to be perceived by the community members as paternalistic and elitist, as perpetuating colonial hegemony, and the purpose for research will be questioned. Consequently, cooperation will be restricted, and participation will be minimal because of mistrust that the aims of the research will not serve the community’s goals, but instead serve the professional aims of the researcher.

References

Atleo, Richard, (2007) Challenging the Paradigm: Decolonizing Post-Secondary Education. Conference proceedings. Oct. 10-12, 2007, Terrace, BC.

Freire, P. (2006). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group

Garrison, R. & Shale, D. (1994). Methodological Issues: Philosophical differences and complementary methodologies. In MDDE 602 Course Readings, (pp. 49-69)

Hart, M. (2007). Indigenous knowledge and research: The mikiwahp as a symbol for reclaiming our knowledge and ways of knowing. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 3(1), 83-90

Hayes, E.R. (1991). A brief guide to critiquing research. In MDDE 602 Course Readings, (pp. 79-91)

Henderson, S., (2005). Postcolonial Ghost Dancing. Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision. Retrieved October 10, 2007 from

Hoepfl, M. (1997). Choosing Qualitative Research: A Primer for Technology Education Researchers. Technology Education, 9(1). Retrieved October 14, 2007, from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v9n1/hoepfl.html

Knudston, P. & Suzuki, D. (1992). Wisdom of the Elders: Native and Scientific Ways of Knowing about Nature. Vancouver: Greystone Books

Krauss, S. E. (2005). Research paradigms and meaning making: A primer. The Qualitative Report, 10(4), 758-770. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR10-4/krauss.pdf

Mager, E. (2007). Criterion Referenced Instruction. TIP: Theories website. Retrieved October 15, 2007 from http://tip.psychology.org/mager.html

Neumann, W. L. (2006). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston: Pearson Education Inc.

Smith, L. T. (2006).Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. New York: Zed Books

Thorndike, E. (2007). Connectionism. TIP: Theories website. Retrieved October 15, 2007 from
http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html

Welton, M., (2005). Designing the just learning society: A critical inquiry. Leicester: NIACE

Potential Project #1: Thesis/Project

I am thinking of doing community action research reporting on the process of the set-up of an adult learning centre in Lax Kw'alaams, (aka Port Simpson) a remote First Nations community in Northwest BC. I worked in the community for sixteen months, then moved away for a bit, and I have just been asked to return to resume the adult literacy program, and lead the innovations to modify the program more in line with their local needs.

I will report on the process for determining technologies and implementing ICTs (information and communications technologies) that will enhance delivery of adult literacy courses run by the College. The emphasis would be on blended delivery, combining F2F instruction, classroom enhancing technologies, CBT, and online instruction. It would describe the process of introducing a number of complementary technologies such as a WLAN, laptops, pen computers, and Palm PCs into classroom instruction, and develop and pilot run courses based more on the indigenous paradigm of learning, using online technologies such as blogs, wikis, etc. The previous eighteen months I taught I had limited access to technology, and many issues were encountered, so I want to conduct an adult learner survey about previous learning experiences, and determine technology readiness by interviewing different groups in the community. There would need to be open houses (pizza and coffee essential!) to invite adults to watch technology demonstrations, and have participants fill out response cards about the technology, and indicate if they are willing to participate in product trials.

The students plus Education Chair and Commitee members from Band Council would discuss what factors would make technologies appropriate, and what factors would disqualify them from being used. There would then a series of focus groups and summative assessment tools used to determine effectiveness and usefulness.Initial Research Questions (Option 1 - community action research)
What ICTs are useful for adult literacy learners in First Nations communities? What ICTs are compatible with indigenous pedagogical principles? Would ICTs in a blended learning environment improve learning, and increase learner success? Would flexible learning delivery of instruction increase learner retention? Would social networking software contribute to increased learner self-efficacy?

How do native learners perceive self-paced instruction? What barriers to learning contribute to a student’s decision to drop out? Which DE instructional strategies improve learner self-development skills? Do learner assessment/evaluation tools negatively impact native learners’ decisions to enroll and persist in adult upgrading courses? Would designing instruction based on connectivist principles increase success rates for native learners? What are instructors’/parents/Elders/adult learners' perceptions of native learners’ needs, goals and challenges? What do instructors/parents/Elders/adult learners feel are key reasons for some learners’ failure to complete courses? What do learners think are the most critical reasons for not meeting course requirements? What do they think might improve their completion/success rate? Would these questions be applicable to a comparison of the positivist and critical pedagogical paradigms? Are the objectives outlined in the curriculum of literacy/upgrading courses biased towards a positivist approach? Do courses designed based on behaviorist learning theory deny validity of indigenous ways of learning and knowing?

Still working out ideas on this.

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Principles of Practice

Introduction

The main purpose of this paper is to continue my ongoing journey of reflection about principles of practice as an instructional designer. I am seeking to apply these principles when designing courses in adult literacy instruction.

As a designer and instructor, I strive to promote a learning climate of safety, caring and trust, and support learners to become less vulnerable and more competent (Pratt, 2002). Respect for learners’ previous experiences and capacities to construct their own understandings is crucial for meaningful learning to take place.

The results from the TPI (Teaching Perspectives Inventory) at the start of the MDDE 603 course identified Nurturing as my most dominant perspective, and Transmission as the most recessive. The other perspectives were slightly less dominant than Nurturing. Undoubtedly, the current learning context has played an important role in sensitizing me to more readily adopt the Nurturing perspective. Learning is a very emotional experience, because “[it] involves great threats to students’ self-esteem, especially when they are exploring new and difficult knowledge and skill domains” (Brookfield, 1990, pg. 204).


I am a strong proponent of the Developmental perspective, or constructivism, which aims “…to develop increasingly complex and sophisticated ways of reasoning and problem solving within a content area or field of practice” (Pratt, 2002, pg. 4). Thus, it is crucial to develop learners’ meta-cognitive skills and critical thinking skills. In addition, learners should encounter information in multiple formats and from various perspectives. Learning involves the use of conversation, of dialogue, to negotiate meanings that results in shared knowledge and understandings. It is from these perspectives and issues from which I will draw upon in the formulation of my key principles of teaching practice.

Principles of Practice

Include activities that enhance learners’ self-efficacy beliefs

Instructors need to strive to provide strategies for learners to bolster their self-efficacy beliefs while engaged in learning. This involves “… activities that enhance learners’ confidence and ability to express viewpoints as well as help learners to develop coherent organization and precise expression of ideas…” (Kanuka & Anderson, pg. 151).

Instruction can be designed to instill confidence in learners by providing clear guidelines and structured assignments broken down in steps so that learners can succeed (Driscoll, 2005). In my experience, when several learners expressed low confidence in their essay-writing ability, I re-structured the exercises so that each successive task involved more detail, but that the end product was the essay. By encouraging the learners through each step, giving feedback at each step, and providing models, checklists of items to watch for, and tip sheets, learners not only gained confidence, but were eventually able to complete the entire assignment.

Bandura (1982, 1987) referred to four sources by which students can gain information that will positively impact their beliefs of self-efficacy. These sources consist of learners’ own previous successes, anecdotes of someone else being successful at the same task, encouragement from others, and gut feelings and intuitions (Driscoll, 2005). Instructional strategies that I have found to be successful among literacy learners that can be built into the learning process to foster learners' self-efficacy are as follows:

Journaling
Students assess their gut feelings and intuitions about their learning experiences, describe their frustrations, and recount previous attempts of learning (successful and unsuccessful). In my own experience, I worked with several learners who grappled with essay-writing because of their concern over the nature of the feedback they would receive from me as their instructor. The process of putting ideas down on paper encouraged learners to place these ideas outside of themselves and commit their personal opinions and feelings to written form. The process of this acknowledging and validating the learners’ own ideas is transformative.

Mentoring/Partnering
Students identify a partner to share learning experiences with, discuss feelings and concerns, and work together to ease isolation and mutually promote success. The process of giving and receiving feedback provides the exchange and discussion of another perspective other than the instructor’s. Many literacy learners enjoy this process of mutual help, and prefer to submit their work informally to one another for checking before handing it over to their instructor.

Meaningful learning occurs when greater learner control over the learning experience is incorporated into the learning experience

The freedoms learners need to have in the context of literacy instruction in such a remote location are: the freedom of time and space, the freedom to pace one’s own learning, the freedom of instructional media, the freedom of access, the freedom of content, and the freedom of relationship (Anderson, 2005).

The concept of learner freedom is relevant for literacy learners in remote First Nations communities because of the varied circumstances that prevent or hinder full participation in traditional instruction. Many of my learners require flexibility with start and end times, extensions on assignments, and request exceptions to classroom participation, opting instead to remain home. The reasons are varied, but compelling. For example, many young women with children rely on extended family for childcare. When unavailable, they are not able to arrange a babysitter at short notice. Other adult learners work seasonal jobs, participate in seasonal family-based food-harvesting activities, and attend family gatherings. In addition, unscheduled absences occur due to power outages, or flooding, or snowstorms, and all these combine to limit scheduled classes. When deaths occur within a small close-knit community, schooling is often interrupted. When someone falls seriously ill and requires medical treatment, a family member needs to escort them for an extended period of time to a larger city where medical treatment is available. Because of the elaborate kinship network, travel between communities to maintain kinship ties is common, and frequently younger students move between communities as their life circumstances change.

As a consequence, cohort-based traditional instruction is very difficult to manage under these circumstances. Several learners, if given the option of accessing instruction online using email, blogs, and forums, would be able to bridge some of these periodic gaps in attendance and participation more successfully. Others would prefer to interact exclusively through electronic means, including via webcam, with the instructor. Others choose to interact with the instructor as little as possible, preferring to participate in study groups or form learning partnerships. Others prefer to start and stop according to their own schedules.

Designing instruction for such circumstances requires a rethinking of the presentation and delivery of content into smaller modules, to allow for more flexibility to improve learner retention and completion rates, and reduce attrition. Providing a variety of online learning activities that learners can opt to take to complete courses irregardless of their location could improve completion rates. The potential for encouraging learners to make use of their informal social networks already in place online to extend it to learning (for example, Bebo or FaceBook) could engage more learners more often than is currently the case.

Instruction needs to facilitate development of greater learner self-directedness

If learners are to be encouraged to be more independent, utilizing their informal networks and tying them to formal learning opportunities, learners must be encouraged towards greater self-directedness, such that students are given choices in and control over learning and motivation, with many opportunities for self-appraisal.” (Driscoll, 2005, pg. 331).

Encouraging learners to be self-directed is a critical skill that students need to acquire in order to be successful in post-secondary education. This method encourages students through supports to build research skills that can be used throughout their educational experiences (Driscoll, 2005).

Meta-cognitive skill development requires learners to undertake a process of taking more and more responsibility for their own learning and performance (Jones et al, 1997). This process involves teaching good strategies to learners, modeling good strategy use, and coaching learners. It also involves a dialogue between the instructor and learners guiding when and why certain strategies may be effectively used (Driscoll, 2005).

Inquiry Based Learning is a form of self-directed learning that develops and practices meta-cognitive skills. Using this approach, students take more responsibility for determining what they need to learn. Students identify resources and how best to learn from them, determine strategies for collecting and using resources, determine how to validate their learning, and conduct their own self-assessments. Teaching through “inquiry” involves an instructor helping to engage students in research and coaching them through the process starting from an appropriate level. The Inquiry-based learning process develops skills to conduct research, drawing from library resources, interviews, and web sites. The process also involves developing critical thinking skills by providing learners with models on how to best report their learning in oral or written form. By providing various methods for learners, such as interviews, progress reports, or checklists, educators help students monitor their progress within the course. (Queen’s University website, 2007)

Instructional strategies that can be built into the learning process to foster learners' self-directedness and meta-cognitive skills are as follows:

Learning Contracts
Students engage in an independent project (related to the academic subject), identify their own learning objectives, timelines, resources, strategies, expert assessors, and means of assessment.
The Learning Contract model is well-suited to the highly mobile learners I work with, drawing upon their previous experiences, using their current networks of contacts, and engaging them in more meaningful, relevant learning.


Interviews of role models
Students set up interviews with role models, or prepare to host a visit by a role model to the "classroom". A student doing an independent project that involved identifying resource experts within the community and then interviewing them explained that the whole process was very elaborate: doing background research, preparing questions, doing the interview, sending thank you letters, note-taking, summarizing notes, preparing it as a short report, preparing a brief talk, and finally discussing the experience with me, the instructor, all engaged her far more than being told how to proceed. Because she had choices over the subject matter and the person who she would interview, the student felt that the assignment was quite worthwhile.

Portfolios
Portfolio assessment using educational social software (ESS) is a form of assessment based on situated learning principles. Anderson (2005) describes the importance of elgg in the roles of interaction and social presence. Student learning objects, discussion postings, and other artefacts could be combined to provide comprehensive assessment. The portfolio is useful for literacy students in remote communities who share photos, poems, blog entries, and other projects involving multimedia. In addition, it is an evolving work in progress, as the student has continuous access to it throughout the course or program of study.

Effective interaction involves personal narratives, inter-subjectivity and scaffolding through reciprocal teaching.

Cognitive learning theory asserts that learning involves a process when learners internalize knowledge, whether discovered, transmitted by others, or experienced during interaction with others (Driscoll, 2005). Thus, my aim is to design courses that incorporate several types of interaction.

When designing instruction, I aim to structure learning activities that revolve around the learner’s personal narratives. As an educator, I strive to assist adult learners to reflect on the manner in which values, beliefs, and behaviors previously deemed unchallengeable can be critically analyzed. (Driscoll, 2005). This reflective process leads to tremendous opportunities for self-transformation. Although one student was shy of speaking in public, by reflecting on her feelings in her journal, and sharing her ideas with me as her instructor, she overcame her shyness and gained confidence gradually to record a short talk. The exchange of personal narratives between the learners among themselves, and between the learners and the instructor, involves learners in the act of reciprocal teaching. It facilitates more interaction once learners are confident their voices are heard, and their stories validated.

Social interaction must involve inter-subjectivity, or joint co-construction and decision-making. Participants would share power and authority, but would be unequal only in their differing levels of understanding. Inter-subjectivity might involve interaction between the student and the instructor, or between learning partners, or amongst a group. The discussions generated between learners would provide a mutual support system. The informal social network is expanded by the new connections among learners. Interaction online can involve members of several communities, so that irregardless of where the students are, they can still participate and become involved in the online community.

Scaffolding involves guiding learners to bridge gaps between their current knowledge or skill level and the desired learning goal (Greenfield, 1984). Instruction needs to be designed that provides examples of previous student projects, templates that outline the steps of a project or assignment, rubrics of incremental complexity, that explain what is being looked for by the instructor, and anecdotes of previous learners’ experiences while completing the assignment.

Blended learning combines different formats and media of delivery, and offers options for learners to use various technologies within learning environments.

I aim to develop instruction that integrates the development of students’ Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) literacy skills with the use of technology-enhanced classrooms, so that students can make use of wireless networks, laptops and other mobile learning technologies. The integration of ICT literacy skills into teaching will facilitate learners’ development of higher order thinking skills (Kanuka & Anderson, 1999) and will provide learners with greater choices to move devices around in the classroom, thereby supporting the various learning contexts they might encounter. Furthermore, combining ICTs and a blending of delivery formats improves learning, as “… learners require a variety of different experiences to advance to different kinds and levels of understanding” (Kanuka & Anderson, 1999, pg. 143).

Currently, literacy courses tend to be either instructor-led, self-paced, or entirely online. For the courses that are not online, computers are commonly in separate locations from where the instruction takes place. Students rarely use any Internet tools for learning while supervised by an instructor, and work individually or in small informal groups when using computers while taking self-paced courses. Learners taking online courses for the first time never meet their fellow students or their instructor face-to-face, and are given a short orientation course to prepare them for online learning. This course is delivered on a cohort basis, so everyone needs to start and finish at the same time.

Designing instruction that incorporates Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) into the literacy curriculum is a necessity. In Weaving the Web, Tim Berners-Lee (2000) states that his driving force to creating the Web back in 1989 “…was communication through shared knowledge, and the driving “market” for it was collaboration among people at work and at home” (pg. 162). To provide literacy learners with the skills and knowledge to become independent, lifelong learners, instruction needs to be designed to develop the skills necessary for these learners to create and maintain their own informal social learning networks.

Conclusion
I will be working to design instruction that takes into account the context of the learners, their goals, their experiences, and their hardships. I will also need to consider the process of facilitating self-direction and meta-cognitive skills, bolstering positive self-efficacy beliefs in learners, and promoting skills and attitudes for lifelong learning.

I think that my greatest challenge and opportunity is to provide greater learner autonomy along with the need to support learners as they move along their learning curves to build meaningful social networks and mutual individual supports (Anderson, 2005). My concern is that without a paradigm shift in the design of the literacy courses for adults in post-secondary institutions, educators might be unwittingly setting up many learners for failure in future, as learner autonomy is not being encouraged, and support for students continues to be limited. Because the students lack the ICT skills and experience interacting as learners in various contexts, their chances to successfully navigate through formal instruction provided by post-secondary institutions in future is reduced. Even though mixed-mode instruction is increasingly common, literacy students are not yet being prepared for participation in this type of instruction.

Although the blended learning paradigm I have described is currently unavailable within my teaching environment, my central aim for this clarification of my principles of instruction is to recommend changes to make persuasive arguments that these students should not be restricted to just one delivery format (self-paced or instructor-led or online) and limited to simply using computer labs unsupported by their instructors, or learning in classrooms unsupported by computer technology.

Learning needs to be extended beyond the traditional classroom, and be respectful of learners’ communities and socio-cultural contexts. Instruction needs to be designed to empower learners to become more confident, more autonomous, and more effective. It is essential that educators teach learners how to learn throughout their lives (Bandura, 1997).


References

Anderson, (2005). Distance learning – Social software’s killer ap? ODLAA Breaking Down Boundaries Conference, Australia, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2007 from www.unisa.edu.au/odlaaconference/PPDF2s/13%20odlaa%20-%20Anderson.pdf

Berners-Lee, T. (2000). Weaving the Web: The original design and ultimate destiny of the World Wide Web by its inventor. San Francisco: Harper.

Anderson, T. (2002). Getting the mix right: An updated and theoretical rationale for interaction. Instructional Technology Forum, Paper #63. Retrieved March 1, 2005, from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper 63.htm

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. Freeman: New York (212-258). Retrieved July 14, 2007 from http://www.ldrc.ca/projects/atutor/content/7/bandura.htm

Brookfield, S. (1990). The Skillful Teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.

Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (3rd ed.). Boston MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Kanuka, H. & Anderson, T. (1999). Using constructivism in technology-mediated learning: Constructing order out of the chaos in the literature. Radical Pedagogy, 1(2).

Pratt, D. D. (2002).Good teaching: one size fits all? In An Up-date on Teaching Theory, Jovita Ross-Gordon (Ed.), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.

What is Inquiry-Based Learning? Queen’s University, Centre for Teaching and Learning website. Retrieved July 14, 2007 from http://www.queensu.ca/ctl/goodpractice/inquiry/index.html