Indirect Delivery

Involving service users and carers in developing learning materials may be a less obvious form of engagement. However it can be an important way of including the experiences of people who it might not be possible to engage with in a classroom setting. It is important that students have access to a wide range of service user and carer experiences, including experiences of services in the past. There are many online resources available that can be drawn upon and the process of developing new materials can also be an effective form of involvement.

What the Experts Say

“Preparation is essential”

—Alan Macdonald, SUCIG member

Lessons from Local Research

All three HEIs use written testimonies. Two out of three HEIs use visual formats and one HEI uses audio formats.

Ten FEIs use visual formats. Four FEIs use audio formats. Five FEIs use written testimonies.

To Tip: A key benefits of indirect delivery is that it may enable the participation of a wider range of people who use services and carers.

For example indirect delivery through case studies, recorded testimonies or online materials can:

• Provide an opportunity for involuntary users of social work services to recount their experiences without encountering further negative reactions
• Illustrate past experiences of services such as life in institutions

The same principles of involvement should apply and learning can still be a two-way process:

• Support people to be actively involved in designing and creating the materials
• The process will then enhance everyone’s learning and an individual will be more than just a provider of their life story
• Consent must be sought for the use of any material

Messages from Wider Research

Green and Wilks (2008) discuss how they involved young people leaving care services in a problem-based model of learning. They describe a model of learning which incorporates both direct and indirect involvement. They found that:

• Commenting on case study materials was an excellent way for the young people to share their expertise
• The young people became consultants whom the students could approach in the active experimentation phase of their learning
• The young people and students all had access to the same trigger materials
• The young people’s expertise wasn’t limited to their direct experience and so challenged power relationships between students and service users

Good Practice Examples

The Open University provides an information sheet to let service users and know what is involved in sharing their story. It summarises the process they follow. You can read it at the end of this section, followed by Alan Macdonald’s experience of sharing his story in this way. Alan speaks as a person with visual impairment who found audio recording an excellent way to convey his experiences to students.

The Rix Centre trains staff and people who use services in Multimedia Advocacy to become champions of new media. They can then develop their own online materials and the benefits in communication come from learning together.

Video of a mother’s account of her experiences of child protection was used to enable students to access a negative experience without exposing the participant to further trauma (Waterson and Morris, 2005, p. 665 ff.)

A video, “Just Ordinary People” in which people with learning disabilities discuss their experiences of health services has been incorporated in self study materials called Getting it Right Together for first year nursing students.

Action

Check out The Learning Exchange for Learning Objects and other materials that can form part of blended learning.

Further Information

Green L., and Wilks T. (2008). Involving service users in a problem based model of teaching and learning. Social Work Education i: 1-14.

Open University Learning Disability Research Group – Life Stories and Video Testimonies

PAMIS is an organisation that supports the families of people with profound and multiple disability. It maintains a collection of sensory stories which use objects of reference to explain an issue significant to a person with profound and multiple disabilities.

The Scottish Dementia Working Group is an independent group of people with experience of living with dementia. Their video “Listen to the Experts” is available online.