Both Gilly Salmon 5-step model and the RASE pedagogical model have one central theme. PURPOSE. Initially after watching Gilly Salmon’s video, my takeaway was making classes fun (Salmon, 2020). Just like any party or event I had attended in my college days, parties that were so good that I didn’t want to leave or kept going back every weekend.
RASE - Resources, Activities, Support and Evaluation (USNWeLearning, 2017). However, after watching the video on the RASE model, I found my “aha” moment. I am now able to connect the dots between Gilly Salmon’s 5-step model and RASE and link it to Malcolm Knowles’ theory (Pappas, 2013). When adult learners go back to school, they want to be sure that it is relevant and hopefully, it will improve their lives or job prospects. If I look at my own personal experience, this is exactly what I am doing. I have enrolled in this program because I want to acquire online teaching skill with the potential of finding work in this field in the future.
Both models have emphasized that students need to know the purpose upfront when they are asked to work on an assignment. Otherwise, they see no value in doing so. I often overhead students complaining to one another when instructors asked them to work on the assignments that had no connection to what they learned in class or on the exams. This happened to me when I first started teaching a course that required students to work on a group project requiring them to learn how to use an accounting software. Firstly, the students didn’t see why they needed to learn the accounting software. Their objective is become a CPA, not a bookkeeper. As most students did not know how to use the accounting software, they felt that they were left on their own – swim or sink. Compounded by the fact, I assigned the group project 4 weeks prior the final exam. The student reviews and feedback weren’t pleasant. In the leadership course I teach at another college, one of the traits of a good leader is walking in the shoes of others. It suddenly dawned on me that they had every right to be upset with me. I was totally clueless to their learning needs.
After that semester, I revamped my strategy. On the first day of class, I immediately communicated to the students why they had to work on this project. I even shared success stories of past students who had found part time work because they had learned how to use the software. I posted the project outline, grading criteria and a variety of training manuals (print and video) on Blackboard a week even before classes officially started. This way, they had lots of opportunity to review the materials. I worked with our IT dept to ensure that they could have remote access to the software working from home. For those who still chose to work on the computer labs at the college, it was available for them as well. I advised students which computer labs had the software installed on it. There were still rumblings from students, but less than in the past. For most students, they could see the benefit of knowing the software as it provided them with an employable skill in the world of business immediately. For this semester, I have added more appropriate content for the project so as to relate to the learning materials. One of the assigned reading discusses about price fluctuations in share investments. As accountants, we need to know how such transactions should be recorded and reflected in the financial statements.
Initially, Gilly Salmon and RASE models seem too theoretical for me. However, when I started breaking it down into pieces and relating it back to my course design, a lot of their concepts are common sense and practical. In fact, these two models even apply to our own daily lives, not just learning. If something doesn’t make sense or doesn’t add value, we procrastinate and avoid doing the task. Students are no different.
References:
Pappas, C. (2013, May 9). The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles. Retrieved from eLearningIndustry: https://elearningindustry.com/the-adult-learning-theory-andragogy-of-malcolm-knowles
Salmon, G. (2020, May 2). Homepage. Retrieved from GillySalmon: https://www.gillysalmon.com/five-stage-model.html
USNWeLearning. (2017, Aug 23). RASE. Retrieved from USNWeLearning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2B8i8ldqZo&feature=youtu.be
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