by Sarah M Oliver, University of Michigan, USA.
How do you consume content? When you read a book, do you start on the crisp title page and read straight through, or flip quickly to the end and assure yourself of how it will all work out? Or are you the detective type, dissecting the table of contents before diving in?
For an open content or asynchronous online course, we aren’t there as “the sage on the stage” to guide the learner through course content, rather having to rely on course structure to do that for us. We work diligently to create a carefully curated experience that we feel meets the needs of the vast variety of learners that hopefully interact with our courses. But what if autonomy of choice, and shifting the responsibility to student-created learning plans can be more empowering in the online sphere? A course structured on “choose your own adventure,” using newer frameworks in learning such scenario-based learning or Modular Professional Learning Framework (MPLF) aim to do just that.
When developing my Massive Open Content Course (MOOC) Equitable Stage Makeup and Hair, for Michigan Online, the goal was to create a course that created a more equitable and inclusive delivery of training in theatrical makeup for all skin tones and hair types, recognizing the value and need for a more sustainable teaching model approach. Far too long traditional modes of teaching theatrical makeup and hair within university training programs have privileged the global minority and the goal when creating Equitable Stage Makeup and Hair, was to ensure training in makeup and hair skills reflected the diverse community in which learners will be working and performing. By disrupting the historical norms of the mass media and the cosmetics industry, we wanted to create online theatrical makeup modules that train learners and performers in the most inclusive practices we want to see in the industry.
The Pandemic afforded me time to examine and reflect on my own course delivery in stage makeup and hair prior to building the MOOC. In considering how to move to the online sphere, the challenge was in not only developing core content for the beginner, but creating capacity for a learner that might have makeup training but needed an introduction to drag makeup or trauma makeup. Or what about the non-industry professional that needs the benefit of camera-ready makeup for zoom? The benefits of a “choose your own adventure” structure was clear, given a topic whose scope is so wide-ranging and with a goal of reaching a global community of learners, including secondary schools, university students, community theatres and instructors. The learner is empowered to construct more personalized learning plans that can meet the needs of many different levels of learners. The module format also gives the course staying power and becomes a flexible toolkit that can be rediscovered over and over as the learner’s needs change and grow, rather than a course to finish and move on from.
It is a delicate balance in course development to move from very small sized classrooms and vocational training learning with active participation to open content courses. How can a MOOC be agile enough to respond to the individualized needs of every learner that interacts with it? We can all hope we have written that book that is read lovingly from cover to cover, but what if chapter four is all our learner needed right then to grow their skills? The module “choose your own adventure” format can be more engaging for the learner and give them a freedom of choice to develop specific skill sets, giving the learner an empowering process in education.
Author
Sarah M Oliver, Assistant Professor of Theatre & Drama (Costume Technology and Design),University of Michigan, USA
