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Recognising, supporting and credentialising

student engagement in learning at work

Dave Hodges & Clive Cornford

Dave Hodges & Clive Cornford: Unitec Teaching & Learning Symposium 20072

Overview of Workshop

• What is learning at / through work?– Formal and informal learning– Unitec’s current approaches to learning through work – Shortcomings in our current approaches– Overseas’ approaches

• Break out groups: case studies (Mary and Dave)

• Report back and plenary


Formal and informal learning

• Learning is life (I am therefore I learn)

• Learning at and through work is continuous

• Learning through an educational programme is formal

• Most workplace learning is informal

• Occasional overlap between formal and informal learning.

• An opportunity to make stronger links between the two.

• Potential for significant contribution to the upskilling and productivity of our community’s workforce.


Current approaches to work-based learning• Pedagogical practices:

– Work-contextualised delivery– Work-contextualised assessment

• Work placements:– Primarily for full-time students new to the workplace

• Assessment of Prior Learning (APL)– Available to all students - up to 50% of the programme – Very little APL is used in practice– Considered to be complex, unwieldy, and resource hungry

• Generic courses:– Part of mainstream programmes or stand-alone short courses – These include for example: communication, leadership, project

management, critical thinking, critical reflection, information literacy, numeric literacy and so on.

– Are transferable, but little transfer occurs across campus– Few are formally contextualised to workplace learning


Shortcomings in our current approaches to work-based learning• Little integration between each of the different ways we

recognise workplace learning

• We focus attention on internal operational barriers

• Little attention given to the opportunities and value we could bring to learners at work

• Our current approaches are ‘supply-led’ rather than ‘demand-led’


Consequences of being ‘supply-led’

• the learning needs of the workplace are disconnected from the learning requirements of the educational qualification

• much of the informal learning at work is not recognised

• a mismatch in the timing of the formal and informal learning.

• learning at work seen as being separate to, or only loosely connected to, the learning requirements of the programme of study

• perpetuates a narrow view of tertiary education and lifelong learning

• increasing work and life demands of full-time employees acts as a major barrier to:

– uptake of tertiary study in its current form

– success and retention of those who do take it up


A more holistic approach: examples from the UK

A consortium of eight UK universities created bespoke qualifications through a Learning Through Work (LTW) programme (www.learndirect.co.uk). Key characteristics of the LTW programme:

• Demand-led– Programmes are customised to meet the needs of individuals and

employers.

• Work-based– Most programmes have little or no on-campus requirement

• Negotiated, partnership-focused learning– A partnership between the individual learner, employer and university

framed within a learning contract

• Learner managed – Learners take responsibility for managing their own learning (via their

learning contract)

http://www.learndirect.co.uk/


A more holistic approach: examples from the UK

• Individually designed learning– Learners design their own programme (student-driven learning outcomes)– Work-based learning activities, may be supplemented by:

• independent investigative / research activities, • completing existing on-campus, distance and/or on-line university course modules • attending staff professional development courses, • attending conferences, • managing/training/supervising people, • visits to study other work practices and so on…

• Accreditation of prior learning– Through prior study and/or prior work learning

• Technology-supported learning– Relevant on-line support is provided to enable full flexibility for learners

• Achievement is evidence-based

• Evidence is assessed against a trans-disciplinary framework of standards and levels


University of Derby’s approach

• “A new way of getting a university qualification without leaving your workplace”.

• Qualifications range from one year certificates through to postgraduate level

• Currently 750 students enrolled in LTW programmes

• Two thirds are cohort-based

• Focus is on distance, on-line, web-based delivery - tutor response critical

• A suite of LTW courses/programmes are available to students, with some ability to tailor individual programmes

• Initial focus was on cohort-based LTW programmes, achieved via an educational needs analysis (organisational units and their employees)

• Up to 50% of the LTW programme can be gained through APL

• The LTW programme is managed through a central, specialist unit (they bring in / second discipline experts as required)


Northumbria University’s approach

• Northumbria refer to their LTW programme as ‘Work Based Learning” (WBL) and create a framework in which this operates.

• A minimum of 50% (and maximum of 100%) of any WBL programme must be taken from:

– a university-wide WBL ‘menu’ of centrally-developed generic courses (e.g. ‘managing your own learning’, ‘independent study’, academic recognition for CPD’) and

– school-based modules (these must meet a range of specified criteria)

• Qualifications in the WBL framework range from CPD-type certs of 20 credits (called ‘statements of achievement’) through to a Bachelor’s degree (combining APL, WBL modules and a work-based project), and postgraduate certificates (equiv to Level 8 in NZ)


Case Study Questions

• What existing learning / knowledge has already been gained by Mary and how might that convert into credit recognition?

• What new learning / knowledge might Mary acquire in the project she is taking on and how might that be recognised and given credit recognition? How might the NZQA level descriptors attached be used in assessing this learning?

• Assuming resources are not an issue, what is required by Unitec to respond to this need? You might want to consider staff capability, responsiveness, teaching & learning resources and programme structural issues.

1 recognising, supporting and credentialising student engagement in learning at work dave hodges...

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