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Planning and Enabling Learning Assignment I am currently employed as an Apprenticeship Coordinator with the ‘*************************’. I guide my learners through the whole process of gaining a Modern Apprenticeship in Engineering. This journey includes the initial assessment of students, delivery of Key/Functional skills at differing levels (AON, Communication, ICT, Working with Others and Improving Own Learning and Performance), NVQ Level 2 Engineering Maintenance and Installation and Employment Responsibilities and Rights (ERR). My learners are all soldiers predominately male and aged between 17 and 25 years old, however I do deliver courses to slightly older students. Although are all currently employed within the military, they come from varying backgrounds and lifestyles. Before I begin the program I carry out an initial assessment of my learners which helps me to assess the level at which the teaching is to be aimed. The assessment is cross referenced with the National curriculum for numeracy and literacy. This is explained to the students prior to the assessment. I also take care when I carry out this (Do not carry out assessment immediately after physical exercise or prior to them going on leave), as this can drastically affect the results and lead to inaccurate results. I therefore explain the importance of carrying out the work to the best of their ability as this will affect the level that they will be working towards. In essence their targets may be lower than they could effectively achieve and therefore hinder their progress. As well as an initial assessment I also carry out a learning style assessment which will allow me to prepare my lessons to meet the needs of all my learners as not to exclude some members of the group. During the planning process for my lessons, I take into account the learning styles and the level of my learners. This is vital as to keep the students motivated and enhance the learning process to allow the group to achieve their aims and objectives. I try to use scenarios that the students can relate to easily especially with their lifestyle in the military. I feel that my learners interact more to the lesson as their subject matter knowledge is current and accurate. As the role I have in the teaching sector, is work based learning, it is imperative that functional skills are embedded into the lessons. This will help the learners’ skills as they progress in their personal and also their work life. I use this embedding process in all aspects of the learning journey, for example during the teaching of Key skills Application of Number; I emphasize the need to use the correct communication skills whilst building the portfolio. I explain to the learners although maths is the core of the subject, good communication skills are required to present their findings in a clear concise manner. Another subject area I embed functional skills is during the NVQ process, where I encourage the learner to use more complex vocabulary during our meetings and discussions. This in essence increases their vocabulary database which they will be able to use later in varying situations they may face. As with all learners, they are all individuals and react to the way lessons are taught in different ways. Although I served in the military I try to deliver my lessons in a more relaxed manner. I find this gives a more comfortable atmosphere which I feel this is conjusive to the learning process and I have found that the students achieve their goals more easily. Although most of my soldiers who I teach are from the same part of the UK, I have a number of Foreign and Commonwealth soldiers varying from the African continent, the Fiji islands and the Caribbean. Some of these learners, English is not their first language therefore I have to take this into account during the planning process and adjust my method of delivery accordingly. This also often has an effect on the timings of the session, in some cases drastically increasing the length of time spent covering specific areas. Education Theorists David Kolb (1984) has defined one of the most common theories with reference to different learning styles. He states that there are four different dimensions to learning: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experimentation. Kolb’s theory then uses two of these dimensions to give the specific learning style of which there are four: • Divergers (Concrete experience/Reflective observer) • Convergers (Abstract conceptualization/Active experimenter) • Accomodators (Concrete experience/Active experimenter) • Assimilators (Abstract conceptualization/Reflective observer) I have looked at this theory and can relate to the reasoning that the design of the session needs to take into account that individuals have different learning styles. It describes that individual’s use more than one learning dimension in the learning process whereas in the learning style questionnaire I use from my employer indicates one style: Audio, visual, kinesthetic. When in practice they probably use a mixture of all three. Howard Gardner (1983) believed that the traditional perception of intelligence did not fully take into account the wider range of styles used. He expanded the list of the traditional forms of styles and expanded the list to eight intelligences. Once again after looking at all of these, I endorse his findings but due to the subject matter I teach, there a couple of areas which are not relevant: Musical and Emotional would not be pertinent to my learners. During my sessions I would aim to use as many styles as possible in order for the learner to reach his/her potential and to achieve their goals. After researching Gardner’s theory, I can now relate this to my own teaching process and have now a greater understanding of how to gain the most from the learners. There are many other theories on learning styles; however I believe that these are not 100% accurate as they require the learner to be honest with their answers and not answer with what they think the answer should be. There are no right or wrong answers but to be beneficial to the tutor the learners must be made aware of their input. The information gained from the questionnaire is used by the tutor to plan the sessions accordingly. When deciding on what resources to use for a teaching session it is important I feel to think how relevant they are to the subject matter and also how the learners will benefit from them. I could decide to read an excellent report on a particular subject but how much information would be retained by the learner. Whereas if I had shown the report in a different context i.e. used a DVD, the audience would probably gain more from it. An example of this idea is seen in Edgar Dales (1969) “Cone of Learning”, in which he researches the amount of information we retain. He states that after 2 weeks we only remember 10% of what we READ but if we SAY and DO we retain approximately 90%. For myself this is relevant when teaching Key skills, I start by explaining the subject, back it up with the use of ICT (PowerPoint) and then get the learners to carry out worked examples. By using this method the learners I believe retain more information and knowledge. Albert Mehrabian (1981) and Michael Argyle (1990) have both carried out studies on communication, both verbal and Non-verbal. In essence both of these theorists have stated that information passed is through non-verbal communication including body language, facial expressions and the way words are spoken. This can be useful for both the learner but also the tutor, as they can see from the learners actions how much they are taking in from the session. Once again I agree with some of the points the theorists are making but it could be simplified and taken out of context. I believe in my role, non-verbal communication is used alongside verbal communication however the latter is more relevant in this situation. Conclusion I have researched a number of education theorists with reference to planning and enabling learning. This has improved my knowledge on the different ways of finding out the different learning styles of learners and also how many more styles there are, although my organisation only uses three main styles. At my next team meeting I will bring this matter to the attention of the management team as I believe a different, more in depth questionnaire would be beneficial to my learners. The type of resources used during a session (Passive or Active), does have a bearing on retention of information and I will be looking to improve the quality of my own resources to enhance the learning journey for my students. Experience I feel, has a bearing on the quality of the session being delivered. In our organisation I am observed on a regular basis by my team leader and also by my peers. I am also involved in regular team meetings and standardisation meetings both within my own local team but also have the opportunity to visit other teams within our organisation which helps tremendously in improving my own session delivery. During the completion of this assignment, I feel that my knowledge through research has improved and this will aid my knowledge of the planning process for future sessions. This in turn will inevitably aid the learner journey with the objective of achieving goals for the learner. References www.infed.org/biblio/b-explrn.htm www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm http://www.willatworklearning.com/2006/05/people_remember.htm http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/body_language/mehrabian.htm http://www.afirstlook.com/docs/proxemic.pdf