“Evaluation of a web based training course for parents and practitioners living or working with people with autistic spectrum disorders” Karen Guldberg and Lynn Plimley, School of Education, University of Birmingham

StructureStructure Training Courses Training Courses The Course and our Students The Course and our Students Evaluating the Course Evaluating the Course Development Issues Development Issues

Training Courses What is available? Awareness raising Day courses Short day courses Certificated course at different levels Postgraduate professional training Parent training initiatives Flexible training

Training Courses Where are the gaps? Practitioners with little or no training who have a daily input into the care of people with ASDs Parents who want to go beyond helping their own child People with ASDs who want to care for and work with others with ASDs In-depth training over a period of time

The Course The University of Birmingham has developed a unique part-time programme for individuals interested in learning more about ASDs. It will provide a broad understanding of ASD, introducing the latest research findings and insights into current best practice. It will prepare students to draw upon recognised strategies for meeting the needs of individuals with ASDs in a variety of settings

The Course partners The course was initially funded by the The Shirley Foundation for the first 3 years The Management mechanism for the development of the course has the representation of The University of Birmingham The Shirley Foundation Autism Cymru and autism west midlands

Autism Cymru Where does Wales fit in ?

The Course and our Students The Qualification(s) University Certificate (ASDs) Certificate of Higher Education (ASDs) Level 1 Springboard to further study

The Course and our students Our students The Course and our students Our students - some statistics 2002 FIRST STUDENT COHORT 117 of which 83 retained 2003 SECOND STUDENT COHORT 265 of which 211 retained 2004 THIRD STUDENT COHORT 233 of which 216 retained

STUDENT NUMBERS FOR University Cert and Cert HE

Over to KG

The Course and our students Our students Non-traditional students Mix of backgrounds Mix of professions Unusual composition for web based study Uniting factor: community of practice

The Course and our students Our students

The Course and our students Gender

The Course and our students Age

The Course and our students Experience

The Course and our students Background

The Course and our students Student Profile Student Needs Philosophy Pedagogy Course Design

The Course and our students Philosophy Overall: Understanding Developmental Holistic Autism as transactional disorder Mutual change and adaptation No single answers and no single approach

The Course and our students Philosophy Develop the individual: Observation Critical thinking Reflection Practical experiences learning Learning daily practice Learn from each other: a community of learners

The Course and our students Pedagogy: The Learning Environment Multi-modal Integrated Structured Collaborative Reflective Interactive Active

The Course and our students Year 1 Structure Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Section 5 Section 6 Section 1 Section 2 Section3 Section 4 Introduction Audiovisual Pause for Thought Presentation Time to Talk Summary

The Course and our students Year 2 Structure Module 4 Module 5 Module 6 Unit 1 Unit 3 Unit 2 Workshop 1 Observation Workshop 2 Team work and problem solving Workshop 3 Perspectives and behaviour Workshop 4 Evaluation and reflection

Evaluating the Course Research and Evaluation Qualitative and quantitative data Process oriented Practitioner / Action Research Evaluative Impact on practice

The Course and our students Research and Evaluation Questionnaire data Time to Talk analysis Student tracking Module evaluation Evaluation Cycle Evaluation cycle Observation Interviews

Evaluating the Course Research and Evaluation l Understanding the needs of our students l How do they learn? l Is the course doing what it sets out to do? l Is the course impacting on practice and if so, how? l What do we need to do to improve the course?

The Course and our students Community of learners Face to face Online Sharing practice Reflection on learning Relating course material to practice Support and collaboration

Evaluating the Course Research and Evaluation Continuous knowledge construction Active and creative individuals Think through the possibilities and probable consequences of a line of action in the light of their experience “Educators” with a purpose, able to take control over their own futures Constructing a ‘world of practice’ that is meaningful to them

Evaluating the Course Time To talk content analysis Content/learning Students refer to themes from course material Topic relatedness/answering the question set Sharing their own experience/practice Referring to audiovisual material Formulation of own thoughts in relation to reading material Offering a critical viewpoint about the question

Evaluating the Course Research and Evaluation Community of Practice: Autism Community The WebAutism course Learning through and with others Theory and practice

OVER TO LP

Evaluating the Course Module Evaluation l What did you value most? Reflection Website links Portfolio Tutorials Autism friendly design The Module Reader Video/audio clips

Evaluating the Course Module Evaluation 2003/4 Statistics: 85.5% found materials relevant 99% said range of materials suited their learning 93.2% found the Study zone fair-easy to access 65% rated the support of their tutor as fair-very good 84.9% rated the support of the Webautism team as fair to very good 82.1% rated their peer support as fair to very good

LEARNING STYLES QUESTION TAILORED TO ELICIT SUITABILITY OF MATERIALS TO STYLE OF LEARNING Which 3 types of study materials suited you the most - choose from CD ROM video; CD ROM audio; Time to talks; Online content; PDF materials; Face to face tutorials; Chat sessions

Style of Learning data n=71

Future developments Swedish Pilot group n=10 Nationality specific information Involvement of Universitas 21 LDAF links Online Graduation for students Future Collection of data Ongoing commitment to update and revise the content

ConclusionConclusion Link between training & quality of life One particular course Evaluation process in that course Specific and general issues Celebration of what we can achieve