The old saying “When in Rome… do as the Romans” seems to have borne fruit again – From the current Innovations – Kavita Rao – Distance Learning in Micronesia: Participants’ Experiences in a Virtual Classroom Using Synchronous Technologies:
Researchers also note that instructional design should be based on an understanding of the cultural modes and preferences of indigenous peoples being served by distance learning courses (Berkshire and Smith 2000; McLoughlin and Oliver 2000; Zepke and Leach 2002). Predominant learning styles and communication preferences are important factors for consideration. However, Henderson (2007) cautions designers to avoid superficial and tokenistic inclusion of multicultural perspectives and to be aware of stereotypes about cultural preferences. She provides a multiple cultures theoretical model for e-learning that takes into account the various social and cultural factors within a setting. These include the prevailing academic and training cultures, the majority and minority cultures (including indigenous cultures), and the social epistemologies of class and gender.
In particular, researchers often emphasize the importance of community and collaboration for indigenous learners. For example, Berkshire and Smith (2000) studied a degree program for Alaskan Native students in a rural setting. In the asynchronous portion of the course, students engaged in small group discussions that allowed them to engage local mentors and elders in their communities on the subject matter they were learning. The researchers noted that such a format was culturally appropriate for these students whose predominant learning styles were inductive and application based. Likewise, Zepke and Leach (2002) noted that Maori cultural preferences include working in groups, taking holistic approaches to learning, having face-to-face contact and discussion, and linking learning to real-life tasks. For cultural groups that have a preference for collaborative learning, these researchers suggested using the principle of communities of practice.
I think this is an important point to remember regardless of what population you are trying to address. If you are trying to educate anyone on how to do anything or think anything, you have to use frameworks that are familiar to get through to the majority. There are a small portion that will learn regardless, but those are the exception.
While we are doing this, we must also be careful not to fall into the trap that many social researcher has – stereotyping the population, something that McKenzie has accused Prensky of.
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