Mr_Jim_Smith

Unit 2 Planning and Enabling Learning Level 4 theory assessment Examine the impact of planning and enabling learning of: Negotiating with learners; inclusive learning; integrating functional skills; communication Context (your teaching and learning groups) To contextualize this work it is first necessary to explain my role and teaching within Petroc (Tiverton Campus). I’m a catering Lecturing in my third year of teaching this current academic year 2009-10 being the first where I have been employed on a full time lecturing contract. My background before embarking on my teaching career is in both Fine dining restaurants and award winning Gastro Pubs. I specialise in kitchen rather than restaurant. This year I’ve been made lead lecturer in the Food Production qualifications on all three NVQ levels 1, 2 and 3. I’ve been tasked with introducing new menus, with a much more modern and current industrial standard than previously delivered at the college. I’ve also been building links with employers and placing students to make the nature of what we are delivering far more inspirational than it had been previously. We now have students being placed a Rick Steins, The Michelin Stared Castle Hotel at Taunton and Woods, Somerset’s dinning pub of the year. I’m a tutor of the NVQ level 3 group. I deliver both theory and skills with this group, as well as running sessions in the production kitchen where we open a restaurant to the general public. The production sessions are mixed sessions with all three levels of students participating as well as integrating year 11 Links students who are on a multi skilled level 1 NVQ qualification and released to the college one day a week from their schools. There is Learning support provided in the production classes, this is targeted on a daily basis as to which students needs are greatest. This allocation of support can depend not only on the students’ abilities but also what section they are working on and who they are working with. I also teach a year 10 Links group of 11 students from Uffculme School on the multi-skilled level 1 programme one day a week; these students are not integrated into the main production kitchen. This group comes with a Learning support assistant provided by their school. This provides support in the classroom and practical sessions. All of the groups have a large cross section of abilities and behavioural issues. Some students have quite severer learning difficulties. The year 10 links group particularly. I’m involved in all aspects of the student’s journey through Petroc, from delivering taster sessions in our feeder schools, interviewing prospective candidates, progression right through to helping the students find employment on leaving the college. Rational With reference to the learners I teach the areas I needed to research were;- (a) Negotiating with learners, “Initial assessment needs to be done with learners rather than to them. It should be a benefit to learners and help them feel positive about themselves and their potential to learn.” Green, M (2009). Good initial assessment is imperative to successful learning programmes. By getting methods of initial assessment correct not only does it make sure that a candidate is placed on the correct programme but it gives the candidate the best chance to succeed. (b) Inclusive learning, it’s hard to sum up inclusive learning better than Gravells, A and Simpson, S. (2008), “Inclusive learning is about recognising that each of your learners is different from each other in many ways, and should not be excluded from any activities within your sessions for any legitimate reason” she goes on to say “teaching and learning should be planned to enable all learners take part”. As caterers this is something that naturally takes part in all good classes. (c) Integrating functional skills could not be of greater importance than it is in catering as kitchens and restaurants depend on quantities, proportions and timings. So therefore maths is naturally embedded in the core of all we do. English is also of prime importance not only verbally with kitchen brigades or customers, but also written in terms of booking diaries, letters and emails. This also implicates embedded ICT. (d) Communication, like the previous point is fundamental in catering and to teaching of the subject. A kitchen and restaurant are busy environments where good communication skills will improve students chances of success firstly through there qualification but onwards from there in their career paths. Understanding Transactional Analysis is a useful tool to gaining the most from communications, Berne, E (1964). Methodology My research was done over a period of two months. I broke the research down into the four areas a-d, spending two weeks researching and reading around each area. Firstly part (a) after discussion in class and doing the further reading as suggested. I arranged a meeting with my learning mentor and also with one of my colleagues. From this some other reading and websites were suggested. I chose this course of action as much of what I had initially read was being done within the department but I wasn’t sure how it fitted together. After doing this research a made notes relating to my finding for reference later. (b)With this particular area I started my research by looking at what the Educational Theorists views on the subject were. Reading on theorist such as Skinner, Rodgers, Piaget, Bruner, Maslow, Bloom and Vygotsky. This helped me further focus my research discussions were had with my head of school as to her view on how inclusive learning should take place within the catering section, and what practices were currently in place. I also chose to speak to a college from the Tiverton site to find out more specifically what was happening day to day. (c) This area was a little more fragmented compared to research in the other areas. This is due to the fact that Functional skills are an initiative that starts next academic year 2010-2011. For this reason my research started with Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS). After this reading I set up a meeting with my head of school to find out how she wanted this initiative implemented into our department for the coming year. A further discussion was had with Ruth Stevens as to how functional skills would be implemented at Petroc as a whole in the coming year. (d) After the initial class session looking at communication I was guided to look at Eric Berne’s “Transactional Analysis”. I did so and felt it was a good starting point to understanding how any communication takes place. I then moved to looking at communication within Petroc. I was particularly interested in barriers to communication and looked specifically how technology could be used to overcome these. This then took me in a direction I had not initially foreseen which was the ethics and boundaries set by the organisation relating to each of these communication methods. I spoke to Clare Howarth (Learner Support) who discussed the boundaries that should be considered to protect both the learners and the staff. Finally I engaged my students in a dialogue to which methods of communication that they most used and what language they communicated in. Approach Taken I found that much of the research planned was straight forward but with all four areas there was no limit to the amount of research that potentially could take place. Time was the only constraint. People throughout the college where all happy to have discussions and I found that they found it useful as well as myself. I always had these conversations after reading as it contextualised the theory. Often by speaking to people my research plan would change direction. On most occasions I decided to go with new direction highlighted by my specialists on each subject as I felt they had a better overview than I had at the given stage of my research. The main area of difficulty with my research was surrounding functional skills. As its not yet been implemented there was much uncertainty within the organisation as to how it would be delivered and by whom. Also the lead for this area within Tiverton Campus of Petroc (Neil Warrick) was off with Sickness during the period of the research. I will endeavour to discuss the subject with him at some point in the future. Findings By undertaking this piece of work I pulled together many threads of information and conversations which I had heard and been involved with for the last three years. Initial assessment was a term I was familiar with but by researching I now have not just an overview as to how it’s done within our department but a clear understanding of the process and who is available to help, also the nature of it being an ongoing process. Inclusive learning undoubtedly takes place in all sessions in catering but fitting into the theorists models was particularly interesting and contextualised why we do what we do. Functional skills whilst not yet taking place in the new form are something that as a team in catering we constantly do. I will certainly be aware that if we are to teach these within our section which looks like a strong possibility, how they could be fitted into our teaching framework. Lastly communication. Berne’s transactional analysis was an insight to communication in any verbal form whether using new technologies or not. The non verbal communications also are something that we do every day but by completing this research I will certainly question students a little more on what they are saying non verbally. As I previously mentioned over all there was a realisation of all that I had been doing fell into place. References Gravells, A and Simpson, S. (2008) “Planning and Enabling Learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector”. Exeter, Learning Matters. Green, M (2009)”Initial Assessment: A Learner-centred Process”. London. Learning and Skills Development Agency. Berne, E (1964).”Games People Play: the Psychology of Human Relations”, Grove Press. Dean, C. (Ed) (2008)”Great Minds: Education’s most influential philosophers: A TES Guide” TSL Education. London.