Five types of Flexibility in Learning

By reading articles about flexible learning and following the course lecture of last week, it became clear to me that there are about five types of flexible learning. In this blog I will talk about these types and their advantages and disadvantages. 

Flexible learning can occur in time of the course, in the content of the course, in the entry requirements, the approach and resources and, the last, in the delivery and logistics of the course. In this course I will describe each of these types a bit more deeply, to get a clear understanding of what it means, and what it can add to the learning of people. Flexible learning in generally goes about the freedom of students to choose their way of learning. In every type, this choice is the basis of the flexibility (Collis & Moonen, 2001).

The first type is flexibility in time. When a course is fully flexible in time, students can choose when they start the course and when they finish it. But also how much time they spend on the course and when they’ll do the assignments and assessments. It’s about the ‘when’ of the learning. When a course is set up with fixed lectures, fixed assignment- and assessmenttimes, there is little flexibility related to time. This can be a problem for students who have also other commitments, by example to work or family. Flexibility in time can help these students to follow and finish the course. On the other hand,  the instructor has to react on the choices made by every individual student. When all students do their assignments or assessments on different times, it costs the instructor much more time than when all students do them on the same time. The same thing goes on for the lectures, although, the instructor is also more flexible in his time spending on the course. For the student their can also be problems with flexibility in time. When they have the choice to do the course and activities on their own time, they have the full responsibility to finish them indeed. It can happen that a student never finish the course, because he or she never plans the final assessment. So, flexibility in time can be an outcome for students, because they can more easily combine their study with other commitments they have. But also their can be problems because students have the full reponsibiliy of their own learning, which can be difficult for some students (Collis & Moonen, 2001).

Lets’ go further to the second type of flexibility in learning. This type is going about the content. This type is going about the ‘what’ of learning. When their is a lot of flexibility about the content, students are free to choose the topics they want to learn about or the sequence in which they learn the content. In this type, also the learningstyle of students can play a role. Do the student wants to learn more practical or more theoretical? The learning materials he or she wants to use can also be choosen in order of the learningstyle. The students can have the choice in the materials, the topics and the goal of the course when their is a lot of flexibility related to the content. This has the advantage that students can learn what they are interested in. Thereby, students can learn on the way they learn the best, by chosing their materials or practical/theoretical orientation. Even the goal can be within their own interests. So the course can be filled by the interest of the student, which will make the student more motivated to learn. This can have the result of better learning outcomes. But, flexibility in content can be very difficult for the instructor. He or she has to offer all kinds of materials, all kinds of standards. This can be a lot of work. Also, I think it can be difficult to make sure that the quality of the course stays high. When the student choose the materials, the goals and the content by themself, the instructor has little to bring in, and can not make sure the level and quality of the course. So, by choosing the level of flexibility in content, the motivation of learners and the quality of the course the instructor stands in for, has to be taken into account (Collis & Moonen, 2001).

The third type of flexibility is about the entry requirements. Which students are allowed to take the course? How many prior knowledge must they have? When there are fixed entry requirements, it’s easier for the instructor to deside what kind of information he or she should give, on which level the course starts and which materials and technologies can be used. When the requirements are fixed, the students do have kind of the same prior knowledge and the same skills to use materials and technologies. When the entry requirements are flexible, all the students can have different backgrounds and different prior knowledge. The instructor than must offer information and activities on different levels. That will cost much more effort and time. An advantage of this flexiblity is that the course is open to follow for many students with different backgrounds. In that case, students can give a lot of different views on the topic. I think students can learn a lot from eachother then (Collis & Moonen, 2001).

Flexibility can also be given in the approach and resources. In this type you must think about the pedagogy of the course, or the resources that are used for the information given. Is the information strict from the instructor or do the students have to use the library or the internet. In fixed resources, the instructor tells the students which resources they have to use. In flexible resources, the students have the choice which resources they will use. In the approach, instructors can say whether the students have to learn individual or in groups. Is the course based on lectures from the instructor, or do the students have to work together? Evenso for the assignments or assessments. Which place do the assessment take in the course. Is it for grading, or for monitoring? When there is much flexibility in the course, students can choose which approach they want and which resources they want to use. When it is all fixed, the instructor choose everything. The last is more easier for the instructor because everyone can use the same things. But in that case, the learner has nothing to choose. When the student can choose, he or she can learn on the way fitting to their learningstyle. This would be more effective in most cases. On the other hand, as said in earlier types, the learner has to take much more responsibility. This can be a problem for some students. That students will learn less by more flexibility (Collis & Moonen, 2001).

The last type of flexibility is in relation with the delivery and logistics of the course. Its about the ‘where’ and ‘how’. Do the students have to come to class, or can they learn from a distance? Which options are there for contact with instructor and students, or for the methods and technology used? Where can The student find information for the course?In the most flexible courses, students can choose every kind of delivery. In the most fixed courses, they have to follow the choices of the instructor. The advantage of fixed delivery and logistics is that it is clear to the students what they have to do and when and where they have to do it. They just have to follow the things the instructor tells them to do. But in this case, students are not free to do it on a way they like, they can’t combine it with other commitments they have. Therefor, students may have much effort when there is a lot of flexibility in the delivery and logistics. It’s more easy to combine the course with their other activities. Also it is more easy to work in a way they learn the most from. When they like having contact with other students or with the instructor, they can have that. But students who learn more from doing it all alone, can do that also. Also this type of flexibility asks a lot of the responsibility of the learner. And also from the instructor. It costs a lot more time to fix all the options (Collis & Moonen, 2001). 

To summarize the long story above... Flexibility in learning can be in relation to time, content, entry requirements, approach and resources and in relation to delivery and logistics. In all these types, when there is more flexibility, the students can choose from more options. When there is less flexibility, the instructor make most of the choices. The advantages of more flexibility is that students can easier combine their studie with other activities, they can learn more in line with their own learningstyle and preferences and, as a result of that, they will be more motivated to learn. But the other side of this freedom is that they must take much more responsibility of their learning. The students must be able to choose the things that are best for them. For the instructor it will cost a lot more time and effort to offer all that options and to react on students needs. But also the instructor is more flexible in the time spent on the course.

I think flexibility can be a good thing in learning. Students will be more motivated and will have deeplier learning experiences. But the flexibility must have boundaries. When students are totally free, the quality of the options of the course will probably decrease. So, their has to be a balance. 

Reference: Collis, B., & Moonen, J. (2001, second printing 2002). Flexible learning in a digital world: Experiences and expectations. London, United Kingdom: Kogan Page.