Visible students, visible teachers: Going beyond the accessibility in distance education discusses a distance education program for social work practitioners in Germany. It uses concepts of reflective practice and emphasizes online tutoring and feedback. An evaluation found that personal introductions using biographies and voice were highly motivational. Live classroom sessions reached few students due to time constraints but recordings were equally appreciated, perhaps allowing vicarious learning. The program design elements include podcasts, summarizing knowledge, reflecting on learning biographies, and workbench cases from individual contexts to support situated and expansive learning.

1. Visible students, visible teachers:
Going beyond the accessibility
in distance education
Prof. Dr. Patricia Arnold, University of Applied Sciences Munich, arnold@hm.edu
References
1 Schön, D. (1983) The reflective practitioner. How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books
2 Lave, J. , Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning : legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3 Holzkamp, K.(1993): Lernen. Subjektwissenschaftliche Grundlegung. Frankfurt/M.: Campus
4 Hattie, J.A.C. (2009): Visible Learning. A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London & New York: Routledge
More Information: http://www.hm.edu/elc http://www.basa-online.de/ http://patriciaarnold.wikispaces.com
Context
“BASA-online” is a distance education degree program offered for
practitioners in the field of social work by a network of seven
German universities
Students may obtain a” BA Social Work“ alongside with a job in the
social realm by 25% face-to-face tuition and 75% online learning
Accessibility and flexibility in time and place is a high priority for
these working students
The program uses the concept of the „reflective practitioner“
(Schön 1983)1 and emphasizes the significance of online tutoring
and personalized feedback (Arnold et al. 2013)4
The educational has been elaborated within the university’s
research and development project “Well Equipped for the Future”)
as part of the “Quality Initiative for German Higher Education,
funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in
Germany (BMBF)
Theoretical Framework
Lave and Wenger’s theory of situated learning and communities of
practice (1991)2: authentic tasks, sense of belonging, contributing
to a shared practice
Holzkamp’s critical psychology (1993)3 : expansive and defensive
learning, exploring learning reasons
Hatties’s study “Visible Learning” (2009)4: active engagement as
“guide at the side”, personal involvement, providing personalized
feedback
Evaluation Results
Standard evaluation survey showed high degree of overall student,
open questions highlighted the following issues:
Personal Intro perceived as highly motivational due to content
(biography) AND medium (personal voice)
Live classroom participation reached only small numbers due to
time constraints, highly appreciated by those participating
Surprising: Recordings of live sessions equally highly appreciated
though content and feedback was customized to students
participating (-> vicarious learning?)
Live classroom also used as collaboration space: “audio & video
enhances involvement”
Workbench cases actually implemented
Design Elements
Podcast as Personal Intro, analyzing teacher’s own learning
biography
Summarizing Prior Knowledge & Creating a “Landscape of
Questions”, with personalized guidance into the module
Reflecting one’s own “Learning Biography”
“Seminar Concepts” - Workbench cases from individual
professional context
“Global Fair” on Adult Education – Showcasing Cases
TOOLS: Learning Management System OLAT plus Live Classroom
Sessions ADOBE CONNECT (also recorded) for formative feedback
and virtual office hours
Case Study