Robertson College introduces complementary learning to meet the needs of learners in a post-pandemic world
O
ver the past two years, we have all been met with many challenges as we dealt with the impact of a pandemic. The education sector, including at the post-secondary level, was no exception. For Robertson College, the pandemic served as an impetus to review the college’s program offerings and delivery model so that it would continue to work for learners living in a post-pandemic world. What resulted was the adoption of a whole new learning delivery model. Launched in the fall of 2021, the complementary learning model puts the needs of the modern learner at the forefront. It reimagines how students engage in their classes and with their instructors and peers. “To complement means to bring together to make something complete. We recognized, now more than ever, there is a need to challenge the traditional models of the past and to
make them work for today’s learners,” says Terena Caryk, vicepresident, product and operations at Robertson College. “By moving instruction to Brightspace, we allow our learners to learn in a way that complements the other responsibilities they may have in their life.” Under complementary learning, programs are delivered in one of three ways – online instructor-guided, hybrid, or online selfguided. Instruction for online instructor-guided programs take place in Brightspace, Robertson’s own online learning platform, where learners have 24-7 access to their learning materials and e-books. Learners engage with the materials on their own time (asynchronously) with optional synchronous sessions each week with their peers or private office hours with their instructors. This provides learners with the freedom to set their own schedules while still providing the structure and support they need to proceed through their program.
“To complement means to bring together to make something complete. We recognized, now more than ever, there is a need to challenge the traditional models of the past and to make them work for today’s learners.”
32 Alberta School Counsellor / Spring 2022
