Making a RealDifference in the Livesof Ontarians: BeyondAccess to Impact andHealthier Lives
Research Team Members:
Lorraine Carter, Mary Hanna, Wayne Warry
[…] distance education is much more familiar to methan actually attending a classroom….So that hasbeen how I have navigated that education system -I’m married to a police officer and so we’ve had allnorthern placements. Distance education is the onlyway to go really.
Our Goals
To examine key aspects of continuing education forhealth professionals in rural, remote, and First Nationscommunities in northern Ontario
To explore perceptions of impact of the learningexperience on professional practice
Stage Setting
distance education: situations in which there was physicaldistance between the learner and the instructor
online learning: integration of pedagogy, instructionaltechnologies, and the internet for the purposes of teachingand learning
Research Methodology
A mixed methods design including severalprogrammatically-focused cases
Six programs recruited for inclusion
Purposive sample: all participants involved in theprogram, i.e., health professionals in the role of student,educational providers including program managers,instructional designers, supporting staff
Partners and Participants
Partners: four online nursing courses; one interprofessionalseries for health leaders in northern Ontario; one series forallied health professionals working in remote First Nations
Five of six programs delivered out of Northern Ontario; oneout of Southern Ontario
Students: 99 participants in total (55 completed pre-surveys; 68 completed post-survey;11 interviews); 86nurses
Education providers/supporting staff: 14 participants
Student Group, n = 99
*Learner Sample is denoted by voluntary survey submissions and interviewees only; not all learners within a program
Gender
Profession
Cultural Identity
Workplace Geography
Predominantlyfemale
Predominantlynurses
~14% otherhealth/alliedhealthprofessions
<5% identified asAboriginal
40% identified asFrancophone
Communities worked inon a regular basis
~57% northern urban
~37% northern rural
~10% northern remote
~10% male
1- 30 years intheir profession
First language:
~% 50 English
~% 37 French
~13% otherlanguages
Re the above, in someinstances, participantsworked in more thanone community.
Essentialsfor Success
TheStudent
TheInstructor
Access
ActualLearningExperience
MultipleRoles
Impact onPractice
Impact onLife andWork
Making aDifference
Essentials for Success, The Learner
When is technology appropriate? Which technology isappropriate?
What about experiential learning?
Learning styles and mixing of technologies
Not a lesser experience
Community of practice made possible
Essentials for Success, The Teacher
Need for pedagogical knowledge and technical skill
Need for just in time support
Know students and where they are from
Engagement and interaction
Access, The Actual Experience
Not a panacea: institutional and technological issues
Resilience and problem solving skills
Part of working and studying in Northern Ontario
I do not have to travel to urban areas for education which can becostly over and above the cost of the course itself not tomention dangerous winter driving conditions for 6-8 months ofthe year. Access to updating knowledge and skills necessary tostay competent in my field.
Access, Multiple Roles
I had two children instead of going to post-secondary and soonce I had raised them all up and started another family, Idecided it was time to go back to school…This whole experiencehas been one of opportunity.
Impact, Practice
It absolutely [does]…it absolutely upped my game.
Professional practice yeah, definitely it has – the review of nursinginformation and that kind of stuff, really enforced a lot of things for me, inmy practice, especially a lot to do with research.
Impact, Life and Work
I think it’s [distance infrastructure] critical. I mean the travel costs beingwhat they are, the geography that has to be spanned…
I am located 4-6 hours from a college/university campus so distancelearning is the only way possible for me to obtain my BScN degree whileworking full time….
A Few Observations Related toCulture
Inadequate supports for educational programs serving First Nationscommunities
Comment by one participant “…never nursed an Asian person”
Not a great deal was said by learners with regards to culturalsafety; had expected different
Our experience as researchers and educators working with the FirstNations program
I do not have a sense that there is uniformavailability or uptake of different technologies forlearning [referring to First Nations/remotecommunities]. There [are] often budgetarylimitations that make it challenging to translate alllearning programs into other languages ofinterest…program planners offering online learningactivities may assume the Internet grants 24.7access to everyone and is inclusive of all culturesdespite geography.
So What Does It All Mean?
Strong evidence of impact; need for evidence in the health sector
Chicken or egg question
Do we value experiences more when they are scarce? Does this valuingincrease transfer of knowledge and skills to practice?
Are the skills of critical thinking and research more important in anorthern nursing setting than a southern nursing setting?
What about the influence of gender and online learning?
Are autonomy and resilience more important in a northern nursing settingthan a southern nursing setting?
How can be better support and enable teachers who teach online so thatstudents experience engagement and authentic learning?
What is the relationship between a northern geography and a humanculture? How might such a relationship affect the learning of workingprofessionals?
Issues of Transferability
Other geographical settings
Other professional learners
Specific cultural groups
We would love to hear from you.
Lorraine Carter: cartel1@mcmaster.ca
Mary Hanna: MX_Hanna@laurentian.ca