Client Acceptance

Client Acceptance

Post contains two assignments

1: Client Acceptance

Paper details:

Attorney Joseph Leslie is known for winning difficult white-collar crime cases. He pushes his staff to work long hours and provide information very quickly even though he does not do the same. He only accepts wealthy clients who pay up front but does not pay his consultants and experts in a timely manner. He would like to hire you to serve as an expert witness for a recently accepted engagement. What faÕÉ?†?†ctors would you consider in deciding whether to accept an engagement? Under what circumstances would you accept this case, if at all? Explain your answer.
Support your initial posts and response posts with scholarly sources cited in APA style.

2 : Dealing with diversity in the classroom
Module Two is designed to provide an overview of the ways in which our understandings of diversity can inform our classroom practices. This module seeks to deepen practitioners’ knowledge of theorisation in this field and also provide practical suggestions for dealing with diversity in the classroom and other educational settings.

Key theories and ideas relating to teaching inclusively

Introduction
Adult Education is located within a social justice agenda with a strong history of promoting access and equity for adult learners particularly as this applies to the notion of second chance education. Since its early inception, adult education has provided educational opportunities to a range of equity groups including the disabled, prisoners, the homeless, indigenous and refugee communities.
So how can we as practitioners deal with the diversity encountered within our teaching and learning contexts? This strand will explore key concepts related to this area and also provide some strategies and approaches to addressing diversity in the classroom
Deficit Thinking and raising aspiration
What is Deficit Thinking?
The following You Tube video provides one perspective on Deficit Thinking – the audience is school teachers but consider how this might apply to your own teaching context:

Deficit thinking is sometimes so deeply embedded in discourse and policy that it attains a certain ‘taken for grantedness’ or invisibility. For example, in the last decade there has been an increase in references to raising aspirations amongst young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is not restricted to Australia but instead is a global phenomenon – for example, have a look at the following newspaper article from the UK’s Daily Mail: Cameron: We must raise aspirations of children from poorer families

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2506974/Cameron-We-raise-aspirations-children-poorer-families.html#ixzz3WsEwOUDt

Based on what you have read so far in this subject – what do you see as some of the issues in this article?
What are some of the alternative perspectives you might adopt as an educator within the tertiary sector?

The emphasis on the need to raise or build aspirations implies that certain groups do not already have such goals, which is an example of embedded deficit thinking.

For example, research by Dr Cherie- Lynn Hawkins on rural young women and their aspirations for higher education, explains how this group were not without aspiration but rather have different types of aspirations The article is available in E-readings (and the reference is available below):

Hawkins, C (2014). The Graduate, the Globetrotter and the Good Samaritan: adolescent girls’ visions of themselves in early adulthood. Australian Educational Researcher. 41(5). DOI: 10.1007/s13384-014-0149-9

Cultural Theories of Capital and Aspiration
Appadurai (2004) argues that aspiration is a cultural capacity and that the rich or powerful have greater capacity to aspire because this group are able to draw upon a broader range of resources. Appadurai explains: ‘…the better off, by definition, have a more complex experience of the relations between a wide range of ends and means, because they have a bigger stock of available experiences of the relationship of aspirations and outcomes…’(2004, p68) and continues by stating:

The capacity to aspire is […] a navigational capacity. The more privileged in any society simply have used the map of its norms to explore the future more frequently and more realistically, and to share this knowledge with one another more routinely than their poorer and weaker neighbours. The poorer members, precisely because of their lack of opportunities to practice the use of this navigational capacity […] have a more brittle horizon of aspirations. (2004, p. 69)
Appadurai, A. (2004). The capacity to aspire: Culture and the terms of recognition. In V. Rao & M. Walton (Eds.), Culture and public action. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 59–84.

Appadurai is simply stating that individuals do not LACK aspiration but rather that their aspirations might have a more ‘brittle horizon’ which is some cases might benefit from expansion. Gale et al. (2013) similarly explain that many young people’s choices and decisions about their futures ‘draw on a limited archive of experience and knowledge’ (p. 6).
Gale, T., Parker, S., Rodd, P., Stratton, G. &Sealey, T. (2013). Student aspirations for higher education in Central Queensland: A survey of school students’ navigational capacities. Report submitted to Central Queensland University, Australia. Centre for Research in Education Futures and Innovation (CREFI), Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

How educational outcomes are constrained by social and cultural factors has also been theorised by Pierre Bourdieu (1930 – 2002) a French sociologist. Whilst Bourdieu’s work focussed on the school system, exploring how this reproduces social inequality by exalting certain cultural practices usually associated with the dominant classes. Bourdieu recognises that individuals enter the educational system with different types of capitals, which are defined by their social background. For Bourdieu, success in learning is not necessarily a result of natural abilities but rather relates to the ‘affinity between class cultural habits and the demands of the educational system or the criteria which define success within it’ (Bourdieu &Passeron, 1979, p22).

Interested in knowing more about Bourdieu’s theories, the following YouTube clip provides an overview of his theories as these relate to schooling. You might like to consider how you could apply this theorisation to your own adult learning context:

Applying theory to practice

1 Introduction
Whilst most of us are not in a position to change the structures of society, we are unable to alleviate poverty, disability or discrimination BUT we can provide the tools for students to consider their place in the world.

Education is a powerful space where students can learn to question, reflect and evaluate their life goals and horizons. This can begin by simply positioning learners as knowledgeable and thus empowered to recognise the skills and knowledge that they bring to the learning experience.

Validating learners in this way can a powerful experience, particularly for those who have experienced inequity or inequality. This is know as a strengths based or resilience approach to teaching, such approaches can be transformative on a personal and public level. The following article from Virgonia and Waterhouse provides an excellent overview of this approach as it applies to an adult learning context. The citation is below but this article is also available on the E-Readings for this subject:

Virgona, C, Waterhouse, P 2007, ‘Working towards strength-based adult education’, Fine Print, vol.30, no.3, pp.11-16

TAFE NSW have also developed a website that provides an overview of this approach – whilst the example case studies focus on schooling education, there is scope to apply these ideas to an adult learning context. For those of you involved in the VET sector you may want to have a look at the site and the link is available here

http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/Web/13289/resources/strengths_based.htm

The following video provides a summary of facets of strengths based learning as it applies to the higher education context; providing advice to how students can approach their learning in a strengths based manner. While only 4 minutes long Gary Pritchard succeeds in providing a succinct overview and this might be useful in your teaching in this context.

2 Critical Education Theory

Paulo Freire (1921 – 1997) is regarded as one of the key theorists in this area, his ‘pedagogy of the oppressed’ (1972; 2000) focused on approaches to education that empower students. To achieve this, Freire identified the need for students to have equal participation in their learning and be encouraged to question their environments and educational contexts. Whilst Freire focused on differences in social class, the underpinnings of critical education theory have emerged across fields and disciplines informing thinking about race, gender, sexuality and ethnicity.

The Freire Project is a website dedicated to disseminating examples of teaching practice in the area and can be viewed at http://www.freireproject.org/. The site also contains issues of the International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, which contains a number of exemplars of practice and research.

If you interested in learning more about this philosophy and the various applications, some key theorists in this area include bell Hooks, Peter McLaren and Joe Kincheloe.
3 Universal Design for Learning
Overview
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that strives to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. The following quote from Rose and Meyer (2002) provides a working definition of UDL:
“Universal Design for Learning is an extension of an architectural movement called universal design. Originally formulated by Ron Mace at North Carolina State University, the idea behind universal design in architecture is to create structures that are conceived, designed, and constructed to accommodate the widest spectrum of users, including those with disabilities, without the need for subsequent adaptation or specialized design… Universal Design for Learning extends universal design in two key ways. First, it applies the idea of built-in flexibility to the educational curriculum. Second, it pushes universal design one step further by supporting not only improved access to information within classrooms, but also improved access to learning”.
Chapter 4: What is Universal Design for Learning? David H. Rose & Anne Meyer (2002) Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning, ASCD.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/101042/chapters/What-Is-Universal-Design-for-Learning%C2%A2.aspx
Principles of UDL
Curricula and course material are considered to be universally designed if:
• Students can interact with and respond to curricula and materials in multiple ways
• Students can find meaning in material (and thus motivate themselves) in different ways
• Web-based course material is accessible to all
• Information is presented in multiple ways.
There are seven principles of UDL, which can be adapted according to the particular educational setting you work within. The table below is adapted from the ADCET website and is designed to provide a starting point in your consideration of UDL within your professional context:

Principles Examples of UDL Practice
Equitable educational experience • Instruction is understandable and relevant to all students, and accessible to students with a diverse range of abilities
• Information is available in various formats at the same time and same cost (i.e. workbooks are available on disk, in print form and on the internet)
• Assessment is carried out in a flexible manner
Flexible material and instruction • Students can choose how they access material (i.e. formal lectures are supported by online material, labs and tutorials are available at different times of the day and week)
• Material is designed to accommodate the widest range of users
• Material is adapted to suit all learning paces (i.e. lecturers pause after key points)
Predictable structure and instruction • Material is easy to understand and logically sequenced, according to importance
• Instruction occurs in a predictable manner and format
• Material such as notes and websites are offered in a clear, easy-to-read format
• Feedback is adequate and timely
Perceptible information • Information is communicated in multiple ways (i.e. visual and auditory)
• Websites follow the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines
• Information is compatible with assistive technology
Mistakes are tolerated • Learning hazards are minimised (i.e. a homepage link on all web pages allows the user to return to home if they make a mistake)
• Instruction anticipates variation of skill and ability
• Advanced notice about important tutorials and lectures is provided
• Students are encouraged to get help with proof-reading documents.
Eliminate unnecessary physical effort
• Non-essential physical effort is minimised
• Students have the opportunity during class to change their posture or position (i.e. rest breaks are provided for longer sessions)
Physical accessibility • Instruction is equally available to people with different physical characteristics and communication needs
• Learning environments cater for assistive technology.

The following article by Burgstahler provides some practical points about UDL (or UDI – Universal Design of Instruction) particularly as this relates to teaching students with a disability; the article is available at the link here or at the website below:
http://www.washington.edu/doit/equal-access-universal-design-instruction
Conclusion
There are many different ways to ensure that you teach inclusively and the previous sections have only touched on Critical Pedagogy and UDL as two examples of possible frameworks for this area. However, in order to enact inclusive teaching practices, it is important that educators develop a ‘practical toolkit’ of activities. These should be flexible enough so that they can be adapted and designed for use in a variety of educational settings and with a various learners. The next module in this subject provides a range of sources of possible activities that you can adapt but prior to this, there is a brief overview of legislation in this field, which highlights the need for all practitioners to be mindful of their legal responsibilities in this regard.

The previous sections have not convinced you of the moral and social obligation of adult teaching practitioners to enact inclusive teaching and learning approaches, the following details about legislation in the field might do so!
This section provides an overview of key legislation and policy in this regard – this is not a comprehensive overview as there are changes in the field regularly. The various acts mentioned below are applicable to all sectors in education and provide very clear requirements incumbent upon both educational institutions and also their teaching staff in relation to supporting learners from a range of backgrounds.
The chapter : Diverse Learners in Kemmis, R & Atkins, L (eds) Teaching in the VET sector in Australia. David Barlow Publishing provides more detail in relation to this area.

2 Overview of Legislation
Regardless of the sector that you teach within, there is a legal obligation to provide an appropriate level of education. This requirement is underpinned by a diversity of legislation and policy in this area. In relation to diverse learning cohorts, one of the key legislative documents are those related to discrimination as both you and your institution are legally required to make sure no one is being discriminated against on the basis of age, gender (and gender choices), race, or disability.

The umbrella document (below) highlights the five key pieces of anti-discrimination legislation that are relevant to you as a practitioner in the tertiary sector:

Source: (Kelly, O’Shea & Tanner, 2014)
If you are interested in learning more about these pieces of legislation you can look each up on the web (they are freely available) but the Anit-Discrimination Commission (Queensland) has created an excellent resource (including case studies) that explains how these pieces of legislation might impact you as tertiary educators:
https://www.adcq.qld.gov.au/
As the umbrella diagram indicates each of these Commonwealth Acts is further defined and enacted via State based legislation and policy. As a tertiary educator you will probably find that your institution has embedded this legislation within policies and so it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with these in order to understand how State and Commonwealth legislation has been translated at an organisational level.

For those of you working in VET or Adult Education the NVEAC’s Equity Blueprint 2011 – 2016 (Bowman & Callan, 2012), provides an excellent overview of how VET can successfully enact social inclusion. The National VET Equity Advisory Councils (NVEAC) advises Ministers on VET reforms to achieve better outcomes for disadvantaged students. The Blueprints defines the NVEAC’s vision/policy direction for improving participation and outcomes for disadvantaged learners across the VET system through six reform areas.

The whole document (entitled Equity Blueprint 2011 – 2016: Creating futures – Achieving potential through VET (Bowman & Callan, 2012) can be viewed here:
http://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A58255
Your responsibility as a teaching practitioner is to deliver high quality programs that respond to the needs and abilities of all students. However, one group, which are provided with specific adjustments according to their particular needs, are students with disabilities. The Disability Standards (2005) indicate that if a student discloses a disability then the organisation should consult with the students to ensure that ‘reasonable adjustments’ are made to ensure individuals are able to participate in programs fully.

3 Reasonable Adjustment
The term ‘reasonable adjustment’ is very important in the tertiary sector and depending on the institution you work for there will be various processes involved in fulfilling these requirements. According to the ADCET : “Reasonable adjustments refer to a ‘measure or action taken to assist a student with disability to participate in education and training on the same basis as other students’ (ACARA, 2013). An adjustment is considered reasonable if it achieves this purpose while taking into account student’s learning needs and balancing the interests of all parties affected including those of the student with disability, the education provider, staff and other students.”

The ADCET provides examples of what might be considered a Reasonable Adjustment and some examples have been reproduced below:
• provision of information or course materials in accessible format, e.g. a text book in in braille
• changes in teaching practices, e.g. wearing an FM microphone to enable a student to hear lectures
• supply of specialised equipment or services, e.g. a notetaker for a student who cannot write
• changes in lecture schedules and arrangements, e.g. relocating classes to an accessible venue
• changes to course design, e.g. substituting an assessment task
• modifications to physical environment, e.g. installing lever taps, building ramps, installing a lift
• modifications to computer equipment in the library
(ADCET website:http://www.adcet.edu.au/inclusive-teaching/working-with-students/making-reasonable-adjustments/
If you work in the VET sector, the document “Reasonable Adjustment in teaching’ learning and assessment for learners with a disability: A guide for vet practitioners” may be a useful resource and can be downloaded here

For those of you working in the higher education environment, most universities have very clear guidelines relating to reasonable adjustments and how these need to be enacted. At University of Wollongong, the following website details the process:
http://www.uow.edu.au/student/services/swd/ra/index.html

Assignment (2)

1 Assignment 2
Task 2
Weighting: 30%
Length: 1,500 words
Task: Based on the group of diverse learners you identified in Assignment (1), consider how you might adapt or deliver a particular teaching area. Draw upon the readings and approaches described in Module (2). In your answer include the following:
– Briefly describe the cohort of diverse learners you are targeting
– Provide a summary of the topic area / learning outcomes / skill that you are required to teach.
– Consider how you might address diversity in your delivery, content and resources
– What issues or considerations might you have to reflect upon in designing the learning materials for this group.
Use evidence from the course materials and online to verify and support your response. Submissions will be assessed based on the assessment criteria detailed below:
EDGH 959 Assignment (2) Marking Criteria

1 2 3
Structure Poor paragraph structure
No introduction or conclusion
Failure to identify the learner cohort or the learning area Basic flow from one section to the next
Use of appropriate language that draws upon areas related to diversity, equity and equality
Considerations around design and delivery are presented in a logical manner Information is synthesized into relevant themes
Moves from generalisations to specific conclusions
Appropriate transitions within and between sections.
Confident control of appropriate language associated with the field.

Knowledge and analysis Basic understanding of key issues / concepts.
Limited evidence of relevant material retrieval.
Lack of coherent integration and synthesis of information.
Little or no critical engagement with the literature on dealing with diversity in the classroom
Clear understanding of how to address diversity in the identified area
Identification of different positions or approaches.
Evidence of knowledge retrieval and synthesis of various sources
Beginning skills in critique and analysis rather than acceptance of material
Engagement with the literature on pedagogical approaches is apparent
Recommendations for appropriate ways to address diversity are presented Thorough understanding of key areas within the field
Capacity to identify the links between theory and practice
Capacity to evaluate conflicting opinions and draw conclusions
Highlights the gaps in literature based on extensive reading
High degree of precision and vigor in
the justification of responses to the challenges presented
Critical engagement with the literature on addressing diversity in adult, vocational or higher education

Sources and Referencing Consultation of adequate sources most of which are derived from the module readings.
All sources are referenced
Use of a wide range of sources outside of the prescribed texts within the module.
Some use of library databases apparent
All sources are referenced using the APA system Reflects wide reading
Evidence of wider information retrieval and use of library databases to source material.
Use of primary source material where appropriate
Systematically and consistently use of the APA style of referencing
Presentation Minor spelling mistakes and grammatical inconsistencies
Basic formatting

Relative absence of spelling or grammatical errors.
Formatting and style appropriate to genre Absence of spelling mistakes, grammatical inconsistencies and corrections.
Superior presentation and attention to detail

Marking guide reference
This marking guide expands upon the criteria stated in the subject outline and is based on the Faculty of Education Guide to Assessment of Written Work. Criteria are listed down the right hand column and there are three levels of performance (1, 2, 3).
High Distinction 85-100% For all criteria at level (3)
Distinction 75-84% For the majority of criteria at level (2) with some at level (3)
Credit 65-74% For the majority of criteria at level (2), with some at level (1)
Pass 50-64% For the majority of criteria at level (1)
Fail For all or some of the criteria listed below:
Very poor presentation, no grasp of the theories or concepts, waffled, incomplete, unreadable, not on the topic, no evidence of relevant reading, no line of argument, misunderstanding of set material, superficial, major errors of focus, way under length, way over length. A fail grade will also apply to any piece of work which does not satisfy the Faculty of Education lateness of work and plagiarism policy.

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