This presentation will focus on the redesign of the Human Development distance learning course for social work students. Two faculty members from the School of Social Work & Human Service collaborated on the project as curriculum developer and consultant to revise and update the course. This redesign was informed by a need to update curriculum to reflect cultural diversity and difference, as well as to locate educational materials within local, national and international arenas. To achieve these aims, we used a variety of online approaches to our material: first, we used two textbooks—one a standard Canadian human development text, the other an Aboriginal approach to women’s development. These textbooks were supplemented by local author Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse, a fictional account of the impact of residential school on an Aboriginal boy’s development. Other innovative approaches included a lengthy interview with Richard Wagamese discussing Aboriginal development and the cultural impacts of colonialism, and short videos from the textbook focusing on intercultural and intracultural differences on human development themes. Curriculum designers, consultants, educators and administrators will be invited to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to incorporating differing worldviews and diversity within curriculum development.
Of Interest to: Online and distance education, Post-secondary education, Instructional designers, Researchers, Educational technologists
