Abstract of the seminar

In over a decade of its existence, Indira Gandhi National Open University has established leadership in the design and development of self-instructional materials for open learning.  Currently there are three different models of course development that are used for developing academic, professional and vocational programmes. Prof. Kanwar will discuss the basic question of how to develop quality materials relevant to the needs of a diverse and heterogeneous corpus of learners from different angles ­ the structural and the pedagogic.

In the face-to-face system, student enrolment is standardized in terms of entry qualifications, achievement levels and learning ability ­ other disparities in student capability are tackled by the teacher in the classroom. But in an open learning situation, how does one design course materials to:

A) cater to the different levels of students ranging from the indifferent to the mediocre to the very bright and adjust presentation to capture attention across the board?
B) ensure comprehensibility in terms of language so as not to discourage or denotivate?  This is particularly relevant in pluri-lingual contexts.
C) make the study material interactive and thought ­ provoking so as to hone the critical capabilities of the students? and
D) how to provide consensus in conflict?  Different courses may be written from different ideological standpoints and a distance learner may fall into confusion and doubt.  How would one enable the learner to evolve her own perspective with some degree of confidence?

This presentation aims to describe the IGNOU experience and generate discussion on how to design and develop course materials within the parameters of relevance, innovation, flexibility, interactivity, and the question’s of language and quality.