The ACCESS Framework: Bridging the Achievement GAP by Fostering Equitable Learning Environments

Format

Workshop

Presenters

Randy Bumpers, HomeFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Foundation for Access and Educational Equity

Second Presenter's Institution

NA

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Relevance

The presentation relates to academic achievement and proposes a teaching framework that aims to close the achievement gaps in K-12 students by creating equitable and inclusive learning environments.

Brief Program Description

The Giving Access to the People (GAP) Project is a subsidiary of the Foundation for Access of Education Equity. It is a K-12 educational program that provides students at-risk with high quality educational opportunities. Using the ACCESS Framework (Ask, Collect, Connect, Educate, Simulate, Support), the program helps students plan for their future by developing financial literacy, personal wellness, personal leadership, and college & career readiness.

Summary

COVID-19 has inevitably provided many challenges to student at-risk education. Attainment and achievement gaps have been exacerbated by the global pandemic. Educators were left scrambling to move instruction online and students were expected to adapt to totally new learning environments. This presentation will highlight the hidden opportunities for educators post pandemic. The global pandemic has forced educators into rethinking student learning environments and the role of an instructor. Educational institutions across the world have increased their capacity for online learning. An increasing number of schools are adopting online learning management systems and more students are getting access to personal web-enabled devices. The ACCESS framework outlines a process for creating equitable online and web-enhance learning environments..

ACCESS is an acronym with six pillars: (1) Ask, (2) Collect, (3) Connect, (4) Educate, (5) Simulate, and (6) Support.

1. Ask is the first pillar in the framework. It refers to taking the time to learn where the students are by identifying entry skills, motivations, and goals. This draws from pedagogical practice of Inquiry-based learning.

2. Collect, the second step of the framework, emphasises data collection and having a data-driven learning environment enabled by technology.

3. Connect is the third step in the framework. Web enhanced learning environments provide the opportunity to connect students with resources that relate to their personal interest and motivations while keeping a context on subject matter.

4. Educate in the fourth step in the framework. Educators have the responsibility to present the learning stimulus for a specific subject or curriculum. Educators often feel limited in instructional liberties and freedoms because of pressures to meet state or school standards. Web-enhancement in learning environments offer the opportunity to create collaboration and mastery-learning.

5. Simulate is the fifth pillar in the framework. Simulate real world situations by creating active learning and project based learning scenarios using web-enhancement to garner collaboration and foster learner productivity.

6. Support is the sixth and final pillar of the framework. This pillar examines the role of the instructor as a “learner facilitator” rather than “lecturer” in a web-enhanced learning environment.

Evidence

The ACCESS framework is based on several learning development theories with the most influence from the community of inquiry which emphasizes social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence to create an effective educational environment.

Social presence is “the ability of participants to identify with the community (e.g., course of study), communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop interpersonal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities.” (Garrison, 2009)

Teaching Presence is the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001).

Cognitive Presence is the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001).

The framework is informed by instructional design models such as the ADDIE Model (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate).

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher educationmodel. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105.

Learning Objectives

Participants will learn and apply strategies that create effective web-enhanced learning environments.

Participants will learn about opportunities to support students at risk in web-enhanced learning environments.

Participants will learn to implement the ACCESS Framework into the educational environments.

Biographical Sketch

Randy Bumpers earned a Master’s of Science in Instructional Design and Development from the University of South Alabama. He is a 2018 participant in the Harvard National Institute of Urban School Leaders. A first generation college student, he began advocating for student success after facing the difficulties of a student at-risk first hand. While an undergraduate, Randy Co-founded the Giving Access to the People (GAP) Project, an educational program that aims to enhance the quality of life for all youth. While in Graduate School, Randy went on to develop ACCESS Academy, an Online Learning community for learners of all ages to collaborate and share resources. Randy is the author of the ACCESS Series, an ongoing series of e-books and educational resources. He also developed the ACCESS Framework which helps educators create equitable learning environments that close achievement gaps.

Most recently, Randy is the Learning Experience (LX) Designer for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. He is a member of the Association of Education, Communication and Technology where he serves on the Culture, Learning, and Technology (CLT) Divisional Board. He also serves as the Inaugural Board President for the Foundation for Access and Educational Equity.

Presentation Year

2021

Start Date

3-10-2021 11:25 AM

End Date

3-10-2021 12:25 PM

Recommended Citation

Bumpers, Randy, "The ACCESS Framework: Bridging the Achievement GAP by Fostering Equitable Learning Environments" (2021). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 58.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2021/2021/58