Transcript Slide 1

Preparing university students for employment
through work-related learning – a matter of
principle (s)?
Sabine McKinnon
Lecturer in Employability
Glasgow Caledonian University
Caledonian Academy
[email protected]
What should students learn at university?
The Scottish policy background
“Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Learning Strategy”
(Scottish Government , August 2007)
Universities need to …
• “provide high quality, relevant learning opportunities that
have value in the workplace”
• “emphasise and prioritise employability as a key outcome
from learning”
• “work closely with business to develop courses that will lead
to individuals having the knowledge and skills that meet both
business need and individual aspirations”
(p.48)
The agenda for Scottish universities
Scottish Funding Council for Further and Higher Education (SFC):
“Learning to Work: Enhancing Employability and Enterprise in Scottish
Further and Higher Education” (2004)
“ …every learner should have the opportunity to benefit from
their education in terms of their employability – not just those
on vocational programmes or those who take the initiative
themselves.”
(p.37)
What is employability?
“ … a set of achievements, understandings and personal
attributes that make individuals more likely to gain
employment and be successful in their chosen occupations
which benefits themselves, the work force, the community
and the economy.” (Knight and Yorke, 2003, p.5)
A shared responsibility
(SFC, 2004, p. 23)
Glasgow Caledonian University’s
Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy
(2008)
1.
To equip students with the knowledge, skills and attributes to operate
as flexible, independent lifelong learners
2.
To build students’ competencies in the skills demanded by employers in
a global knowledge economy
3.
To develop and embed innovative and relevant learning and teaching
based on sound research and scholarship
http://www.caledonian.ac.uk/quality/strategy/ltas.html
The Real WoRLD Project:
(Realising work-related learning diffusion)
Aim: Improve and enhance students’ employability skills by
embedding work-related learning activities across the university
 at institutional level : develop and support a coordinated, sustainable
strategy for work related learning
 at programme level: encourage implementation of work-related
learning activities in the subject specific curriculum
 at pedagogic level: develop innovative approaches to teaching,
learning and assessment
http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/realworld/
Real WoRLD Project Plan (2008-2011)
Phase 1:
Consultation exercise involving students, staff, graduates, employers
What are the opportunities for and barriers to embedding work-related
learning?
Phase 2:
Create a community of interested staff and students
Pilot and evaluate innovative solutions
Disseminate best practice to all subject disciplines
Phase 3:
Develop guidelines and support mechanisms for implementation universitywide
What is work-related learning?
• work-based learning?
• workplace learning?
• work-focused learning?
• work-integrated learning?
• work-experience?
• experiential learning?
The ‘official’ definition
“…planned activities that use the context of work to
develop knowledge, skills and understanding useful in
work, including learning through the experience of
work, learning about work and working practices, and
learning the skills for work. “
(Quality and Curriculum Authority, 2003, p.4)
Employability
Work-related
learning
Work-based
learning
Personal Development
Planning
Careers Advice
Labour
Market Developments
Non work-based
learning
Placements
Live
projects
Work shadowing
Case studies
P/T employment
Employer talks
Voluntary work
Role plays and
simulations
Mentoring
Enterprise activities
Professional skills
training
(Adapted from Hills et al,
2003)
Real WoRLD scoping study
(July 2008)
• 59 staff interviewed (49 academics from all schools, 10 support staff)
• 7 focus groups with 37 students from 6 schools
• many examples of good practice
• provision of work-related learning is uneven and can be improved
• some evidence of barriers
• need for shared understanding and joined-up thinking
Some key barriers to embedding
work-related learning
• scepticism amongst academics questioning the value of workrelated learning
• lack of agreed understanding of key terms amongst staff and
students
• lack of universally agreed criteria for benchmarking the
quality of work-related learning activities
• no explicit baseline → principles of work-related learning
Why use principles?
• All learning and teaching activities are based on principles.
• A principle is “a relationship that is always true…regardless of programme
or practice” (Merrill, 2002, p.43)
• Principles can be implemented with any cohort in in any context.
• They are simple without being simplistic.
• Contextualisation is up to subject specialists.
Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction
Learning is promoted when …
1.
learners are engaged in solving real-world problems
2.
existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge
3.
new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner (“show me”)
4.
new knowledge is applied by the learner (“let me”)
5.
new knowledge is integrated into the learner’s world (“watch me”)
(Merrill, 2002)
Developing principles of work-related learning
Principles should be
• simple: they must not be too onerous to use
• broad: cover all major considerations/possible scenarios
• useful: lead to action that improves the quality of learning
• accessible: represented in a language that is readily understood
• meaningful at different levels of sophistication: make sense to
researchers and practitioners
(adapted from: Boud and Prosser, 2002, p. 240)
Real WoRLD’s
Principles of Work-Related Learning
(McKinnon and Margaryan, 2009)
Work-related learning activities should be designed so that they:
1.
provide students with learning opportunities to integrate theory and
practice (Bereiter, 2002; Edelson and Reiser, 2006; Merrill, 2002)
2.
achieve learning outcomes that state what students will be able to do
in the workplace (Collis and Moonen, 2001; Gulikers, 2006)
3.
encourage and support students’ interest in a wide variety of careers
4.
require students to take an active rather than a passive role in the
learning process (Pintrich and Zusho, 2002; Bates, 2008)
5.
(Tuomi-Groehn and Engestroem, 2003; Bransford et al, 2000)
accommodate cultural diversity (Hofstede, 1991; Palfreyman and McBride, 2007; Guirdham,
2005)
Reflective questions break down the components of each principle.
(See handout)
Work-related learning – a matter of principle?
What is good quality academic learning and teaching?
The graduate attributes debate
Work-related learning - a matter of principle?
“Colleges and higher education institutions should not address employability
as an ‘add-on’, but rather as part of the quality of the learning experience.”
(SFC, 2004, p. 26)
• There is no conflict between work-related learning and good academic
learning.
• What makes a student employable is what makes a good graduate.
• Good quality academic teaching has enabled students to be confident
communicators and critical problem-solvers for decades.
 Work-related learning makes it explicit and visible to …
students,
staff,
employers.
References
Bates, M. (2008) Work-integrated curricula in university programs, Higher Education Research & Development,
Vol. 27, No.4, December 2008, 305-317
Bereiter, C. (2002). Education and mind in the knowledge era. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A. L., and Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (2000). How people learn: brain, mind, experience, and
school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press
Boud, D. and Prosser, M. (2002) Appraising new technologies for learning: a framework for development,
Education Media International, pp. 237-245
Collis, B. and Moonen, J. (2001) Flexible learning in a digital world: experiences and expectations. London:
Routledge
Edelson, D. and Reiser, B. (2006) Making authentic practices accessible to learners: design challenges and
strategies. In: Sawyer, K. (Ed) The Cambridge handbook of learning sciences (pp.345-354). New York: Cambridge
University Press
Guirdham, M. (2005) Communicating across cultures at work. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave MacMillan
Gulikers, J. (2006) Authenticity is in the eye of the beholder: beliefs and perceptions of authentic assessment
and the influence on student learning. Doctoral dissertation, Educational Development Expertise Centre, Open
University, Netherlands. Available from
http://www.ou.nl/Docs/Expertise/OTEC/Publicaties/judith%20gullikers/Thesis%20Gulikers%20v4.pdf
Hills, J. et al (2003) Dining out on work-related learning, Newcastle, Centre for Academic Development,
University of Newcastle
Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organisations: software of the mind. New York: McGraw Hill
Knight, P.T. and Yorke, M. (2003) Assessment, learning and employability, Open University Press and
McGraw Hill Education, Maidenhead
Merrill, M.D. (2002) First principles of instruction, Educational Technology Research and Development, 50,
No.3, pp. 43-59
Palfreyman, D. & McBride, D.L. (Eds), (2007). Learning and teaching across cultures in higher education.
Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave MacMillan
Pintrich, P.R. & Zusho, A. (2002) Student motivation and self-regulated learning in the college classroom. In:
Smart. J.C. & Tierney, W.G. (Eds), Higher education: handbook of theory and research, Volume XVII, New
York: Agathon Press
Quality and Curriculum Authority (2003) Work-related learning for all at key stage 4: guidance for
implementing the statutory requirement from 2004, Quality and Curriculum Authority, London
Scottish Funding Councils for Further and Higher Education (2004) Learning to work: enhancing
employability and enterprise in Scottish further and higher education, Edinburgh
The Scottish Government (2007) Skills for Scotland: a lifelong skills strategy, Edinburgh: The Scottish
Government
Tuomi-Groehn, T., & Engestroem, Y. (2003) (Eds.). Between school and work: new perspectives on transfer
and boundary-crossing. Amsterdam: Pergamon