MES DE PAGO XIV. DESCUENTO

The meso practice course was developed so that students worked on a complex task and created various artefacts, both independently and collaboratively. These artefacts were used as part of the data for considering how the elements of authentic learning may or may not have been evident in the course. The artefacts considered included:

● discussion forum posts ● the group assignments ● the River of Life drawings ● the PhotoVoice picture.

Brief information is provided on the use of participatory learning and action techniques

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Discussion forum posts

A course requirement was that students make use of the discussion forum feature that was on the Sakai learning management system. Discussion forums offered students an asynchronous platform to share information, create new information, plan, reflect and collaborate. The posts made by the student and the educator created an indelible digital footprint that could be analysed by thematic content analysis. There were eight discussion forum groups created and posts were submitted by the educator and the students. There were 175 posts authored by the educator and 523 posts authored by students. Analysis of these posts was completed using ATLAS.ti and various codes related to the elements of authentic learning and others were developed. Another type of analysis that was done was discussion thread analysis of a set of posts in order to determine the communication flow between the educator and the students.

Group assignments

An analysis of the work of the students in the form of eight assignments was completed. The use of document analysis assists in linking documents to other sources of information, such as the student survey and the interviews. These assignments provide valuable clues on how the students developed a knowledge of meso practice. The assignments developed in the course were called an evaluation of the small group experience. The assignments included information about the social condition around which the group was formed, the group dynamic and collaboration between the members, the identification of participating and non- participating members, the manner in which conflict was managed, the use of reflective diary entries, the use of activities, the use of online discussion forum posts, the challenges and the successes experienced and the recommendations for the next iteration of the course.

Documentary analysis included content analysis of the documents, to ensure a systematic method was used to quantify the frequency of elements within the assignments and thematic content analysis, to understand the meanings of the words and visual artefacts based on themes and codes. The advantages of document analysis are that it is low cost and accessible. The disadvantages are that the information is voluminous, as each assignment was about 200 pages long, including the appendices.

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The River of Life (RoL)

The River of Life activity is a PLA technique where students were asked to provide a narrative with their drawings. Some of these presentations were audio recorded with the permission of the student. The students were informed that they could chose to reveal as much information about their pictures as they wished, based on their degree of comfort within the group, and even chose not to participate in the presentation. Narratives offered significant cues to understanding the pictures, but it is important to bear in mind that analysis is subject to speculation when it does not emanate “from the person who made the artefact”, as the purpose of this type of research “is to get as close as possible to other people’s views and meanings” (Gauntlett and Holzwarth, 2006, pp. 86-87). River of Life drawings were used as teaching tools to explain to students the different types of symbolic representation and how this activity could be used as a starting-point for further discussion on self and identity. A good example of how narratives help in self-understanding is the picture of a rock in one student’s drawing, which may represent obstacles that made the path difficult and represented challenges in the student's life. In another case, a student's drawing of a rock may represent their faith in God. The students were asked to photograph their River of Life drawing and timeline artefacts, and upload them on the learning management system using Google Groups. This allowed for further interaction between students. In Phase 3, a purposive sample of the River of Life drawing and narratives, posters and PhotoVoice pictures, were chosen.

The advantages of having students create these artefacts are that it is an unobtrusive method of collecting data, it provides an opportunity for participants to share their reality directly and it is creative and captures visual attention. Also, it is used to teach students about activities that can be used in meso practice.

The disadvantages are that artefacts such as the River of Life and PhotoVoice could be difficult to interpret without discussion or background and were not accessible publicly. The presence of the observer (e.g. photographer or class member) may be disruptive and affect response. Students were asked to share what they felt comfortable with to the group members, based on their drawing of the River of Life. Many social work students in South Africa have been exposed to trauma in their lives and this was symbolically illustrated in their drawings – similar to experiences of trauma by South African youth, as found by Seedat, Nyamai, Njenga, Vythilingum and Stein (2004). The degree of sharing was consistent

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with the rapport that existed between students and feelings of trust in their tutor. Audio recordings were made of the information shared by the students.

The PhotoVoice project

The students were tasked with creating a PhotoVoice picture/s of their social condition. PhotoVoice was pioneered by Wang and Burris (1997) and has its roots in Paulo Freire’s critical consciousness and empowerment (Bozalek, 2014). PhotoVoice is a process by which people can identify or represent a social condition through a specific photographic technique. PhotoVoice allows groups to creatively and collaboratively develop photographs that may promote critical dialogue and knowledge about a social condition. PhotoVoice is a form of action research that is practical and makes use of digital media and mobile technology, as students used their cellphone cameras to take the pictures. The use of PhotoVoice provides students with the freedom to create and explore. The method has special relevance to social work students, as it is a technique they could later use with their clients.

PhotoVoice images can influence our definition of a situation regarding the prevailing social, cultural and economic context. The analysis of the photographs occurs through a three- phased process of selection and production, contextualising and codifying, based on the content of the images (Wang, 1999). In this project, the social condition around which the group was set up was the theme around which the photographs were taken. All the groups used themselves as the subjects of the pictures and they therefore did not need to obtain informed consent before taking the photographs.

Data analysis of visual artefacts

Multiple artefacts were developed from this research project. Its visual artefacts, such as photographs and pictures, have been found to “illuminate complexities” (Hurdle, 2007, p. 355) and offer creative and thoughtful learning experiences (Gauntlett & Holzwarth, 2006). When these visual artefacts are used in course design they require the students to engage with the project, using mind, body and emotion, and it is an empowering and self-reflective process. The use of these activities coheres with meso practice, as it provides an activity that students can use in the field to better understand their group members.

Participatory learning and action (PLA) techniques “involve the use of open-ended, flexible visual learning methods” (Bozalek, 2011a, p. 471). Moreover, PLA techniques have been

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found to be helpful in building “self-confidence and leadership skills and to identify shared priorities” (Busza & Schunter, 2001, p. 74). The use of PLA techniques is suitable for sharing and in South Africa they have been found to contribute to “decolonising methodologies by alerting participants to privilege and marginalisation through encounters across difference” Bozalek, 2011a, p. 469).