Using distance learning to prepare supported employment professionals

Journal of Rehabilitation, July-Sept, 1998 by Wendy M. Wood, Kay Miller, David W. Test

Course Delivery

The graduate level coursework consists of three classes offered consecutively over a three-semester period. Courses are scheduled one per semester and offered one night a week for three hours. The supported employment courses originate from UNC Charlotte and are broadcast simultaneously to the other sites. All classes are located in the telecommunication studios located on each campus. The interactive capabilities of the NC REN allows students to see and interact with the instructor and other students in other sites in "real time," as if all participants are in the same physical location. The instructor also travels twice a semester to each of the partner-sites to teach and meet the students in person. On these occasions, the class broadcast originates from the partner-site location.

During class, the instructor wears a lavalier microphone for freer classroom movement. Originally, course lecture materials were presented via "paper" overhead transparencies which were telecast, however, now the majority of class lectures are illustrated with Microsoft PowerPoint slides, which are broadcast directly from a laptop computer or scan converter (which converts the signal from the computer to video). Students in all sites are also given paper copies of the slides to minimize the amount of time slides are projected. Instruction is also supplemented through interactive class exercises and videotapes, as well as guest speakers. Having "classrooms" located across the state allows guest speakers to travel to the nearest location, enabling individuals to become guest speakers who would normally not be able to travel to UNC Charlotte.

Each partner site has a class facilitator who is identified and hired by the project. Facilitators are graduate students in related fields without supported employment experience. Facilitators attend each class and are responsible for weekly communication with the instructor. Their responsibilities include copying, faxing and mailing class materials/assignments, monitoring class activities and quizzes/exams, and assisting with the instructor's travel arrangements.

Students in the partner sites communicate with the instructor via telephone, FAX, e-mail, and/or through the facilitator. The instructor also meets with students and partner-site technical support staff during the scheduled visits to each partner-site. UNC Charlotte students use all of these modes of communication, as well as meeting directly in the instructor's office.

Program Content

The course content was designed to accommodate students who are interested in entering, or in improving their skills, in the field of supported employment. The requirements for each course include class participation in a variety of activities, such as role-playing job development strategies, demonstrating teaching techniques, and discussing real-life examples of supporting individuals with disabilities in jobs.

In addition to other class assignments, requirements for each course incorporate at least one field-based assignment per semester that results in a written product, allowing students to develop their own supported employment portfolio (Vince, Miller, Ghiossi, Sharpton, Killam, Slaton & Albano, 1994). Class time is allotted for students to evaluate the draft products of other classmates using a review guideline prior to receiving a final grade on each assignment. This process is utilized to monitor student progress toward course objectives in lieu of field observation, since direct observation by the instructor is not feasible due to the time and travel limitations involved in teaching to a number of sites statewide.