Learner Identity

I think the traditional student/teacher relationship at a post-secondary level does a disservice to some students. Student success can depend on the relationship with the professor or the teacher, instructor, whoever. And that relationship ought to be open and honest, as open and honest as possible, especially the professor/instructor/teacher has to be open and honest as possible. There needs to be conversation. It can't just be a limited interaction just about assignments, grades, and content. A relationship should be developed over time, especially for students that stop out a lot. By starting that relationship and building on it every time they revisit, they become more comfortable with the teacher. They're more likely stay and finish the program, in my opinion. So that's been a learning curve for me. But I think I'm getting better at it. Sometimes I feel like maybe it does slightly hinder the student's progress because we get into conversations about life rather than focusing on the curriculum, but at least they come back. 

We live in a rural area; living in rural area presents many barriers. There's isolation due to geography. There's very limited opportunity for work, and the available jobs are usually precarious and underpaid. Many jobs are seasonal because we're a tourist destination. Many retail businesses close after Christmas and don't open until April. Partly because of these factors, we have many people living in poverty. I can't remember the exact statistic but the unemployment rate on Manitoulin Island is approximately double the provincial average.

Our percentage of the population who do not have a secondary school diploma or any other certificate or degree is approximately 7% higher than Ontario’s. We also have many marginalized populations on the island. As an example, Manitoulin is home to six different Anishinaabe First Nations cultures. And, as you know, unfortunately, in Canada, our Indigenous populations are underserviced and unappreciated. They face many barriers to education. As well, many Indigenous communities tend to experience disproportionate rates of suicide, addictions, residential instability, and unemployment due to Canada’s past and current colonialism—it's unacceptable. I think it's well known that, as a country, we need to support the Indigenous communities more than we currently do. One step in the right direction would be to decolonize and indigenize the educational curriculums across Canada, including adult literacy. For example, the Ontario Adult Literacy Curriculum Framework and the Performance Management Framework should be redesigned. Reconciliation was not considered when the OALCF, its milestones, and the PMF were developed, so in their current designs, they are unsuitable for the present and future adult literacy needs in Ontario. 

There's no public transportation, so people can't conveniently travel outside of their communities without access to a personal motor vehicle. They'd have to get somebody to drive them. They'd have to pay for a taxi or hitchhike. Sometimes people walk. I see people walking between Little Current and M’Chigeeng all the time, trying to hitchhike along the way. That is a 30-kilometer distance, and people do it in the wintertime. Residing in rural area can be a barrier to education and employment. 

There's sometimes a bus that travels around the island at certain times, picking people up and dropping them off. There has been a service like that at least a couple times since I've lived here, but usually, the service goes under because it can’t maintain solvency.

Pre-COVID, because of the geographical barriers that people face on the island, the limited opportunities they have within their communities, and the barriers and resistance associated with online learning, we borrowed a van from OW (Ontario Works), the District Services Board, to transport students to school. Generally, we tried to recruit volunteers to drive people in the morning and the afternoon, to and from school. The volunteers received gift certificates for food, as an example, because we couldn’t give them cash. But the problem was that keeping volunteers is very, very difficult, so it's quite an unstable way of providing transportation to the students. We cannot guarantee the volunteer will show-up. One year, we couldn't find a volunteer, and I also decided there was too much inconsistency for the students. I started driving the van. I would pick up the van early in the morning, and I would drive around the island. I would drive to Wiikwemkoong which is 50 kilometers one way and pick-up students. Some days I would drive to Mindemoya to pick-up students too, which is 45 kilometers one way. Eventually, I decided to visit either Wiikwemkoong or Mindemoya on alternating days of the week because they're both long drives from the campus. 

Every learner's identity is different and changing, but usually, for our learners here in Sioux Lookout, the emotional side of someone's identity is heavily weighted. Therefore, when we try to teach something, we have to consider the countless ways that they might interact with learning. For example, if they're going to learn how to send an email, the number of skills that have to be learned is huge—we're talking about time management skills, dexterity skills to use the keyboard, tech skills to feel comfortable with it, emotional management to deal with learning all those things, general communication skills like how to put appropriate language into your email, and so much more. There are dozens and dozens of things that have to be considered.

Each learner has a connection to the past to be considered. All teachers (good teachers at least) know this: every student is different; every student comes to learning with a different backstory. So to teach well, as a teacher, you have to be willing to accommodate for each learner, and you have to know how to adapt your teaching methods quickly. For example, one day we’ll be talking to a learner about how they learn while dealing with anxiety. On another day we will have to talk about what happened in their world before they, for example, dropped out of high school in grade nine. What made them not feel comfortable on the computer? We as teachers learn how to help the learner work through that emotional pain in order to gain the confidence needed to learn how to use the computer, to get their fingers moving again. So, for example, to help a learner to get an email written might be one hundred days, one hundred different learning scenarios and histories that I'm having to navigate.

We need to remember that searching for the right information online is a complex process. It's not just about our cognitive skills or knowing the right kinds of keywords, nor is it limited to our technical or computer skills. Our emotional state is also an important aspect of the process. All these, as a package, help us to search and find the information we need. It is important to know how each of these aspects plays a role in our online searching activities. If we can't come up with the right keywords, or if we have low technical skills, chances are high that we get frustrated, overwhelmed, and even scared. This, for sure, affects our learning journey. Therefore, we need to be aware of the emotional side of the learner and provide enough and appropriate assistance to ensure the learner's success in the online information seeking process.

In literacy and basic skills, the learners should drive their learning. They need to be motivated—they need to be encouraged, excited—so that they tell us they're ready to learn. That's our goal. When they come in, we need to open their mind to possibilities. The content should be relatable. Each learner is unique and no matter what subject we are dealing with, they have to relate to it. We have to present the material in a way that they see it—as soon as you open your mouth it's like, “Aha, yeah, I get that,” and they're engaged. If I stand up and say, “Okay, this is how you multiply, an essay is composed of this, this, and this,” it is not going to work. But if I say, “Hey, did you do a grocery list?” before you know it you get them involved in a conversation—you’ve already met them, you know them. I always think back to, if you're running a business or you're part of a corporation, how do you train people on a new task? You do it by understanding what they bring to the table, what they need to deliver, and then, how do they learn. LBS is no different and our learners should be the same. Whatever we do we have attached to its storylines and the storyline belongs to the learners. That is how we are able to get them to get excited. When they say, “I hate math,” I go, “Yeah, no kidding. Join the millions across earth that hate math. We are not going to do math. We are going to do real stuff, stuff that you will see every day.” 

During the pandemic we’ve really learned to use all the tools at our disposal to help people learn, including: phone, mail, email, help from partner organizations, help from learner’s family members and more. I think there’s no reason to continue to see learning as something that only happens in the classroom, and only involves the learners and the instructor. 

This is obvious, but the more you teach learners to do for themselves and take the lead online, the more benefit they get. Plus, the easier the lesson becomes for the instructor. Instead of having to lead and perform all the time, I can observe, listen and learn more about my learners, and then think and create ways to help them more.

I have been given a “valuable window” into how they all work as I see what they do, and how they do it much more closely and intently. However, it does not feel invasive through the computer whereas it would in the classroom. In fact, generally they are showing me things so that I can help them wherever they are stuck. This improves my knowledge and understanding of their abilities and needs as I learn more about every learner. Some surprise me when I see how capable they are on the computer … and I learn where others need more help. This level of observation is simply not possible in the classroom.  

A metaphor of entering a house of literacy learning was developed to describe how learners become part of a community of literacy practice. Initially, an individual comes to the program with hopes and dreams for the future, including personal goals, further education, or employment preparation. ... Once an individual decides to cross the threshold, he or she steps forward into the house of literacy learning and engagement in activities begins. These include developing a sense of personal safety, encouraging a sense of respect for the learners, increasing motivation, and forming groups of like-minded learners.

A Portrait of the Adult Learner: Pluralistic Interpretations of Literacy Learning Outcomes Over the Years 

by Maurice Taylor and David Trumpower, University of Ottawa

in Adult Literacy Education Journal, Spring 2021