Planning_and_Enabling_Learning

Planning and Enabling Learning Negotiating with learners Planning and negotiating with learners with regards to how to achieve aims and goals is extremely important as it allows the learner to take charge and manage their own learning needs. This andragogic approach is especially applicable to my own field of work as I deal almost exclusively with adult learners. Negotiated aims and goals should be specific, measureable and achievable. Learning goals and aims must be recorded on session plans, assessments and individual learning plans so that they can be used as a source of referral if necessary. Assessments Definition: Assessment, (derived from asseoir = to set, settle) involves collecting, measuring and interpreting information relating to students’ responses to the process of instruction. Initial diagnostic assessment before learning commences is a valuable tool. It not only gives advice to prospective learners before the course begins, but allows the teacher to help the learner decide if the learner is suited to the programme of study and enables me to give informed advice and guidance whilst negotiating with the learner to more effectively meet the learners’ individual needs. Initial assessments are vital to ascertain the prospective learners’ level of competency with regards to the learners’ chosen course of study. Some of the awarding bodies that I deal with have entry requirements that learners must meet. The initial assessment process can highlight if the learner possesses the required level of skill to gain entry to the programme, or highlight the need for further training before commencement of the programme. Initial assessments can also highlight any barriers to learning or specific support needs that the learner may have such as a learning disability or difficulty, or physical disability. This information enables me to put in place the appropriate support measures to enable learning. Initial assessments can be delivered by numerous means, such as practical skills, verbal, written and psychometric tests. Verbal assessments can be carried out in person or over the phone, either as a group or individually. Because of the nature of my learners I find that one to one interviews work well for me. They allow me to get a good feel for the learners’ verbal communication skills and their base knowledge and skill set. These interviews should be standardised to get an average of learners needs. Verbal assessments are recorded for further reference if required. Written assessments can be multiple choice or in essay form, and can divulge information like numeracy and written communication skills. I extensively use the Basic Skills Agency literacy and numeracy tests to gauge a learner’s level of skill. Practical skills assessments are predominantly used by myself and my organisation as our courses of study. This type of initial assessment gauges hand-eye coordination, dexterity and any pre-existing practical “spanner” skills. This also allows me to ascertain if the learner needs any extra help developing the necessary practical skill level to successfully engage in our learning programmes. Psychometric assessments comprise of a wide variety of aptitude tests and personality tests. I do not incorporate any psychometric tests at the moment, but I think they would be a useful tool in negotiating goals with the type of learners that I routinely engage with. Progress reviews Another very useful tool in negotiating with learners is regular progress reviews. I conduct regular one-to-one reviews with my long term learners to discuss progress and agree on goals for the forthcoming month. These goals are negotiated and recorded in the learners I.L.P. These interviews not only provide the learner with control over their learning experience but also provide me with valuable feedback as to how effective my teaching method are, and if they cater to the individual learner’s preferred learning style. In conclusion, I have found that a well-balanced initial assessment programme coupled with ongoing dialogue and continuous review process enhances the learning experience for the learner. This process also provides me with valuable feedback on my teaching skills and allows me to adapt and augment my teaching methods to meet the needs of every learner. Inclusive Learning I have found that inclusive learning is about recognising that each of my learners is different from each other in many ways, and I should not exclude any learner from any activity within my sessions for any reason. I plan my teaching and learning sessions to enable all of my learners to take part and achieve their learning goals. Inclusive learning should ensure a match between individual learners and their needs and requirements and the provision that is made for them. This should include provision for learners with learning difficulties or disabilities, visual or hearing impairment, and learners whose first language is not English, or those who require support with literacy, language and numeracy skills. Due consideration should also be given to the religious, ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds of my learners. I have found in my own teaching practice that I need to work in partnership with my learners to ensure that learning is effective, enjoyable and engaging to all of my learners. In my field of teaching there are many challenges in meeting the needs of a wide range of age groups with differing ranges of ability and needs. I promote inclusive learning and equality of opportunity throughout my teaching and give support for, and due regard to, any learning difficulties and disabilities, any form of harassment or bullying, and literacy and numeracy difficulties. During my research I have found that, when planning teaching to include all of my learners I must: • Create, design and select appropriate resources and activities taking into consideration the needs of all learners • Organise specialist help for learners if needed. This could include provision of a one-on-one basic skills tutor or the provision of a sign language interpreter • Encourage social and cultural activities that relate to my programmes. This type of activity will provide learners with insight and a greater understanding of people from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds • Provide ample opportunity for learners to make comments and suggestions • Give accurate information about the programme and how it will be organised, taught and assessed • Provide a safe, discrimination free leaning environment for all my learners • Adapt my session plans to cater for all the needs of my learners and their learning styles • Provide any equipment and provide adequate access provisions for learners with physical disabilities. This could include a wheel chair ramp and provision for the learner to sit at a lowered workbench instead of standing In my field I regularly encounter learners with diagnosed dyslexia and have found that some learners find that printed materials produced with large print on pale yellow or pale green paper make reading easier. I also have learned during the course of my research that pale yellow and pale green transparencies can be used to place over written materials such as books and magazines to aid learners with dyslexia. I will now be utilizing these resources as part of my teaching. It is the teachers’ responsibility to ensure that they provide an inclusive learning environment and equality of opportunity in all aspects of the learning experience. Integrating Functional Skills into My Subject Area The first question I asked whilst researching this topic was “What exactly are functional skills'” I think the best definition I found is the following. Functional skills are designed to provide learners with practical skills in English, information technology (ICT) and mathematics which will help them to ‘function’ confidently, effectively and independently in their work and life in general. I have found that there are actually four generally recognised approaches to deliver functional skills in further education. These are discreet, partly embedded, mostly embedded and fully embedded. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages. Discrete In this approach skills are taught by specialists separately from other subject areas. Advantages include ease of tracking learners’ progress and easier to manage communications, as the functional skills team is smaller and staff are more likely to be experts (e.g. English, mathematics or ICT teachers). The disadvantages of this approach are that the type of learners that I teach on a regular basis may not understand the relevance and transferability of functional skills. This may lead to disengagement and poor attendance. In my opinion this approach would be entirely unsuitable for the vast majority of my learners. Partly Embedded In this approach functional skills are still taught by specialists, but are flexibly applied in a range of contexts in other areas of the learner’s main programme of study or training. Advantages are: learners have access to functional skills experts, learners see the relevance of functional skills to their main programme of study, and learners are provided with relevant context. Main disadvantages include: time has to be allowed for liaison between functional skills teachers and the main programme teachers, the links between functional skills are not explicitly made, and outcomes may be loosely mapped but are rarely coherently planned or monitored. Mostly Embedded As with the partly embedded approach, skills are taught by specialists and are reinforced and applied in a range of purposeful contexts within and across the learner’s programme. As in the previous approach advantages include access to expert teachers and learner perceived relevance and context. The added advantage is that explicit experiences can be planned across a wide range of the learners programme. Disadvantages mirror the partly embedded approach. Fully Embedded In this approach functional skills are developed and applied across the programme of learning by all teachers. Learners use naturally occurring opportunities for functional skills development. Advantages are that learners see the relevance and transferability of functional skills, and teachers tend to use a wider range of teaching and learning methods in their main programme of study. This drives up standards of work and increases achievement rates. It also has the added bonus of addressing attendance issues and timetabling difficulties. The disadvantages of this approach are negligible, but tracking delivery of functional skills could be more difficult and considerable staff development is needed for teachers. Research by the National Research and development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy shows that, in 79 vocational programmes where delivery of literacy and numeracy was fully embedded: • Retention was 16% higher • Success rates were higher in the main qualification, particularly at Level 2 (by 26%) • 93% of those with an identified literacy need achieved a literacy qualification, compared to 50% for those on non-embedded courses On balance, I think this approach is the most appropriate for my learners. I work in a small delivery team consisting of myself and a Key Skills Teacher. We have experienced difficulty in engaging our learners in literacy and numeracy sessions, and this has lead to poor attendance for functional skills lessons. I already embed ICT skills into my delivery of a Level 2 VRQ in cycle maintenance and repair by means of internet research projects; this engages the learners as they see it as relevant to their chose field of study. I will now liaise with my Key Skills tutor to produce amended session plans, schemes of work, course materials and resources to fully embed literacy and numeracy to the correct academic level in to the main body of the programme. This should be easily achieved as most elements of this qualification require the learner to complete multiple choice tests and some essay work. The learners will be more likely to engage and achieve their goals if they perceive that they are working towards their chosen qualification. Communication and Barriers to Communication Communication is a means of passing on information from one person to another, it can be verbal, non verbal and written. Verbal and Non-Verbal The act of communicating involves verbal, non-verbal, and paraverbal components. The verbal component refers to the content of our message and the choice and arrangement of our words. The non-verbal component refers to the message we put across through our body language. The paraverbal component refers to how we say what we say: the tone of voice, speed and volume of our voices. I have learned that in order to communicate effectively, I must use all three components to do two things: to send clear, understandable messages and also to hear and correctly understand messages being sent to me. Sending effective messages requires that I state my point of view as briefly as possible. A long, rambling oration is confusing and boring to the learners and the message loses its relevance and impact. Also selecting the correct tone, pitch, and pacing of my voice can convey the correct message to my learners. The paraverbal message accounts for approximately 38% of what is communicated to someone. A sentence can convey entirely different meanings depending on the emphasis on words and the tone of voice. Nonverbal messages are the primary way that we communicate emotions. The face is perhaps the most important conveyor of emotional information. A face can beam with enthusiasm, energy, and approval, express confusion or boredom, and scowl with displeasure. The eyes are particularly expressive in conveying information. Body language can create a feeling of openness or rejection. When someone faces us, sitting quietly with hands loosely folded in their lap, a feeling of anticipation and interest is created. A posture of arms crossed tightly on the chest portrays a feeling of stubbornness. The act of gathering up papers and reaching for your briefcase signals a desire to end a business meeting. The clothes we wear and our personal hygiene also act as a form of body language. These can portray a strong professional image or instil a sense of incompetence. Thus, it is important that as a teacher, I am aware that I need to convey the correct non-verbal “signals” to my learners. I think the phrase “it’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it” speaks volumes in this case, especially when you consider that non-verbal messages account for about 55% of what is perceived and understood by others. Written Communication Written communication consists of any written media such as books, magazines, handouts, letters, and electronic based media. I must ensure in my teaching practice that such materials are pitched at an appropriate level to meet academic standards set by awarding bodies, but are understandable to my average learner. Barriers to Communication I have found that several key barriers to communication exist that must be overcome for effective two-way communication to take place between my learners and I. These include linguistic, cultural, social and personal barriers. Linguistic barriers include such things as: learners do not speak English, English is a second language, learners speak on a different level, or learners use different colloquialisms than teachers. Therefore, I am aware that I need to pitch my sessions at an understandable level. I am also aware that my accent may be a linguistic barrier. Cultural barriers arise when learners’ cultural origins are diverse. Because of this, learners may have a different perception of the world and its relations, different values and values hierarchy, different social norms, or formal and informal rules that affect behaviour and regulate their system of interactions with myself and other learners. Social barriers can exist if learners originate from different social groups. These groups may differ in their in their general behaviour as an effect of different social norms, rules and customs, standards, beliefs and priorities, background, education and use of language and level of knowledge. Individual/personal barriers are by far the most frequent barrier to effective communication that I encounter and must overcome as a teacher. These barriers can consist of physical and mental abilities (these can include hearing impairment and dyslexia), personal values and their hierarchy, different model/image of the world, general behaviour and emotional states, background and education, unnecessary projection and different use of language and the level of knowledge. Works Cited Curzon, L.B. Teaching in further education – an outline of principles and practice. Continuum (Publishers), 2007 Gravells, A. Simpson, S. Planning & Enabling Learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Learning Matters Ltd (publishers) 1988. Mager, R.F Making Instruction Work Centre for Effective Performance (publisher) 1988 Mehrabian, A. Silent messages. Wadsworth (publishers), Belmont, 1971 NCFE’s Guide to Functional Skills, Issue 1 March 2009.