Time: This activity should take you about 20- 25 minutes to complete
Choose any two of the above impediments to successful learning in schools and explain how you would address them in your open school to attract learners and make them succeed. Share your ideas with peers in the discussion forum.
Inadequate learning resources contribute to violence in schools. Everyone tries to fight get the little resources available. This hinders school performance.
Charitable donations can be of great help to institutions with limited resources.
Lack of adequate learning resources also makes learning a dull and demotivating process. The quality of learning generally becomes poor and some learners end up dropping out.
Learners can be allowed to learn without having uniforms and face to face contact with the teacher can be minimised.Also, the community and other organisations can be engaged to help build classrooms and provide teaching and learning advice where there are retired or working people in the educational sector
1.Availabilty to learn: Many students struggle to manage their own learning, including planning their time, selecting appropriate learning strategies, and monitoring their progress. This lack of self-regulation negatively impacts their learning success.
To overcome these barriers, educators and schools need to employ strategies like fostering motivation, accommodating diverse learning styles.
Useful strategies for encouraging participation in schooling have been raised in the posts above. These include not making uniform a requirement for learners, minimising the need to physically be in contact with the teacher in order to learn, making use of retired people in communities with teaching expertise, helping learners with time management and providing learning abundant materials to learners, especially openly licensed materials (OER).
Inadequate access to learning facilities and limited schools in rural areas:
To address this challenges that most youths are out of school faced could be possibly done through providing more resources for our open school to enroll many of the out -of-school learners, and set up remote centers where all open school learners can access. These will help the learners who live in rural and remote areas to access and succeed with their education. They will happy to access such services in their communities.
Lack of engaging learning materials and insufficient teaching and learning resources:
Providing and improving more learning resources, possibly resources such as computer lab, science labs and library to these will ensuring that learning resources are carefully developed and by people with capability in independent learning. Providing such resources will help both the teachers and students to cater their learning for their betterment in education access. This will also help the out-school learner to access and succeed in their education achievement.
Understanding ODL; Activity 6
All these theories play an important role to the ODL and the learning development of learners.
Cognitivism
Cognitivism builds on identifying our mental processes.
Humans have the ability for conscious thought, decision-making, emotions, and the ability to express ideas through social discourse, all of which are highly significant for learning. Thus, we will likely get a better understanding of learning of what is around us and what we have experienced through making sense of new information, interpret, intergrate, organize and manage knowledge.
Constructivism
constructivists emphasize the importance of consciousness, free will and social influences on learning. we refine our own understanding and learn new understandings; we also test and challenge our own understandings with those of others. As this is important for distance learners in interacting with other learners, forming social groups in undertaking group tasks or discussions. So here interacting with others is very important in gaining and constructing knowledge.
Connectivism
Connectivism theory takes into account the new learning process through digital technology to solve problems. And this is where the relevance to ODL comes into light.
Community of Inquiry theory
The focus of this theory is on the interaction between learner and facilitator which is seen through ODL. Here it emphasizes social, cognitive and the teaching existence of learning development.
The challenges you shared are common to all schools. And the attempt to remedy them are exactly the same. Those countries with schools of these challenges, will and can be financed depending of the economical capacity of the country. Question is what happens to those countries (under developed) countries?
• A lack of engaging learning materials and insufficient teaching and learning resources,
Ministry of Education must try to provide all needed and all necessary resource materials that will provide alternatives learnings activities to serve all learners tasts and preferences as well and time place of learners.
How I would address these in my open school:
Improving ICT Infrastructure and Support
As a Computer Studies teacher, I would advocate for the establishment of community-based digital learning hubs equipped with solar-powered devices and low-cost internet access. Where physical infrastructure is lacking, I would support offline learning solutions like USB-based content delivery or mobile-based apps (e.g., Kolibri or MoodleBox) so learners can access resources even without continuous connectivity. I would also run basic digital literacy workshops for both students and parents to ensure they can effectively use the platforms.
Developing Engaging Learning Materials
Instead of using textbook-heavy content, I would design interactive and multimedia-based lessons using simple tools like PowerPoint, video tutorials, and gamified quizzes. These would be made available in both online and downloadable formats to reduce dependence on real-time internet access. To localise content, I’d also create project-based learning tasks where learners use their environment (e.g., designing a digital poster about a local issue) to demonstrate learning.
How I would address these in my open school:
Reducing Hidden Costs
Many students in Fiji struggle with the cost of uniforms, transportation, and materials. In my open school model, I would ensure that learners can study from home or nearby community centres, removing the need for transport and uniforms. I would also provide digital or printed handouts and promote the use of locally available resources for practical activities—such as using recycled fabric for sewing practice or local produce for cooking lessons.
Creating Engaging, Contextualised Learning Materials
I would develop hands-on, culturally relevant learning modules such as “cooking a traditional Fijian meal on a budget” or “sewing and repairing clothes for home use.” These lessons would include videos, diagrams, and voice notes in both English and iTaukei or Hindi where necessary. Learners would be encouraged to document their learning through photos or short written reflections, making the lessons practical and engaging while building a sense of personal achievement.