AVETRA 2013 day one morning

In Perth this week to attend and present at the annual Australian Vocational Education and Training Training Research  (AVETRA) Conference. Conference is at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle, the cooler sea breezes temper the hot 30’C plus temperatures Perth has had over the week. Wifi seems to be working, so should be able to post through the conference.

Day one opens with a welcome from AVETRA president, Dr. Michelle Simons along with a welcome to country.

The first keynote is from Dr.EtienneWenger, who speaks on ‘Learning in and across landscapes of practice – developments in social learning theory and implications of VET’.

Wenger’s approach is to view learning as occurring across all aspects of everyday life and is social in nature. Therefore, the ‘body of knowledge’ of a specialist area is reflected in the practices of various communities of practice. Learning occupational skills is a journey across the various practice communities leading to individual’s vocational identity formation. His presentation provided background on his original work with Jean Lave, how the study evolved. Their premises were founded on Jean’s ethnographical studies on apprenticeship with learning viewed as a trajectory into a community of practice (the legitimate peripheral participation). Through learning, apprentices eventually belong to a community, through engaging in practice, producing meaning from the experience and attaining identity (becoming). Thus, the learning trajectory can be traced through changes in identity as learners progress. However, communities of practices cannot be designed as they arise organically through practitioners’ engagement and interaction. The ‘curriculum’ shifts to align with social, political and organisational imperatives in unpredictable / idiosyncratic ways.

Approaches?? Competence is defined within a COP – claims to competence negotiated in the politics of community formation. Knowledgeability – defined in relation to a landscape of practice – claims knowledgeabiliy negotiated in the politics of landscapes of practice. So there needs to be a negotiation of identity in a complex landscape connecting the individual to professional body, training, research in disciplines, colleagues, clients, workplace and regulatory bodies. Not all of these influences will be in congruence! Mechanisms include informal curriculums, institutes, NGOs, bloggers, COPs, informal communities, personal networks, twitter, google etc. becoming knowledgeable includes the need to modulation across the many influences and mechanisms. Learning is still interface between individual and the social contributions. Need to be shift from ‘curriculum’ to skills to negotiate through. Within the landscape of practice building the trajectory needs to include imagination (seeing the future, locating oneself); engagement (crossing boundaries, being creative, going deep); and alignment (making a difference, seeing a future).  Learning is therefore the need to ask regularly – who am I becoming?  For VET practitioners – how can theory and practice help learners and educators address the learning challenge of on-going becoming /identity transformation.

After morning tea, concurrent sessions begin (7 streams!) so as usual, will summarise the ones I attended and catch up on the others (refereed papers) when I get back to NZ.

My presentation ‘ enhancing deliberate reflective practice using situated technology enhanced learning with tablets’ is a summary of work with Debby Taylor. Improving the learning of hotel front of house receptionists’ check-in and check out processes. Writing the paper for this conference has helped to make more concrete, some of the learning we have gained. The final report, which includes 2 more sub-projects, has now been recently submitted to Ako Aotearoa for peer review.

I stay in the same stream ‘VET practice and attend Hugh Guthrie’s presentation on ‘institutionally based research and evaluation to advise practice: messages and lessons from three projects’. Based on Hugh’s work at the University of Victoria in Melbourne. The projects were to introduce a new approach to trades training - TradeApps; study of youth strategy programme for students who had not completed year 12; and a pilot trade experience programme for people to try out trades – Victoria govt. funded project . Methodologies for these studies are evaluated.  Issues included significance of these evaluations, institutional climate, change and politics, the evaluation approaches and methods, outcomes and utility of the evaluators and the effective planning of the evaluations themselves – shared objectives between evaluators and organisations.

Learning include: Evaluations need to be strategic and significant; evaluators must immerse themselves in the prevailing climate and culture not only to understand what is going on, but also to take what actions are possible to ensure the evaluation gathers the best possible information; and evaluators must spend the time to get ‘buy-in’ from key individuals and groups – at wide levels to unlock more and better sources of information; evaluators must validate the information gathered carefully using multiple sources to ensure veracity. Need to be aware of the limits of the evaluation methodologies and data sources used and what can reasonably be concluded based on the quality of info. collected. Evaluators need to be sensitive to organisational climate and climax. Evaluators need to work closely with their client to ensure that forms of reporting and their timeliness are fit for purpose. Effective institutional evaluation requires careful initial planning, leading to credibility and ability to effect real change.

Therefore, there is a need to have skilled and arms-length evaluative and research capability within VET providers.

Then Berwyn Clayton on ‘Keeping up with the Joneses: updating professionals in knowledge leading organisations’.

Berwyn’s presentation reports on a project examining industry views on the management and maintenance of industry currency on VET practitioners. Study included fields of science, health, engineering, and human resources. Not only need to establish importance of currency but to establish structures to support – including organisational strategies, collaborative undertakings, monitoring and review. Follow up on a NCVTR project on knowledge and professional obsolescence.
The presented project focused on what ways organisations may manage professional obsolescence and what can approaches to these problems drawn from industry and the professions be applied strategically in VET organisations? Approaches to updating professional practice include learning in and through work; collaborative learning; networking; problem-based and project-driven learning; shadowing, peer review and programmed knowledge exchange - eg. weekly seminars to share learning.

Lunch follows with opportunity to catch up with familiar faces and meet up with new researchers.

Visible learning for teachers: book summary

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. London: Routledge.

A follow up to  Hattie’s 2009 book Visible learning: A synthesis of 800+ meta-analysis on achievement, with an emphasis on applying the research findings to enhancing student learning. A powerpoint summarises key points and main messages / arguments.

The 2012 book arrived in the library last week. Had time over the weekend to work through and glean the important messages of relevance to vocational education.

Chapter one provides a short 6 pages introducing the book and purpose - to make the findings from the meta-analysis, accessible and applicable for teachers.

The second chapter summarises the findings from the 2009 meta- analysis – influences on students’ learning, including the conclusion that the teacher plays a big role in helping students learn. The term ‘visible learning’ is defined as occurring when “ learning is the explicit and transparent goal, when it is appropriately challenged, and when the teacher and students both (in their various ways) seek to ascertain whether and to what degree the challenging goal is attained”. Visible learning occurs when there is deliberate practice to attain a learning outcome, appropriate feedback is provided or asked for and when both teachers and students are engaged and passionate about learning. (page 18)

Chapter 3 puts forward the case for the ‘passionate. Inspired teacher’ and identifies traits of expert teachers as being able to:

- Identify the most important ways to represent the subject that they teach

- Be proficient at creating an optimal classroom learning climate

- Monitor learning and provide feedback

- Have the belief that all students can reach the success criteria

- Influence the learning outcomes of students with respect to deep or surface outcomes.

The next part (part 2) from chapters 4 – 8 presents the recommendations for teachers on preparing, starting, structuring the flow for learning and feedback and ending the lesson.  This part is recommended NOT as a linear process but provides concrete connections with findings from the 2009 meta-analysis on the effective things teacher can do to enhance students’ learning.

Chapter 4

Firstly, a need to establish ‘what the student already knows’ and what the students is able to achieve (Piaget). Secondly, learning is a social and collaborative process between teacher/student and student/student interaction. The chapter summaries the various ways students approach learning – their self-efficacy, readiness and motivation to learn. Then connects to how teachers plan lessons to establish students’ readiness, chart progressing and raise student goal expectations.

Chapter 5

The chapter ‘starting a lesson’ discusses setting a climate for learning and tracks the various studies on the ‘flow’ of a lesson and how learning can be improved.

Chapter 6

This chapter follows on to concentrate on the learning aspect of the flow of the lesson. Summaries of various phases of learning (capabilities in thinking, phases of thinking, motivation, how we learn) and discussion on various methods useful towards meeting students’ learning needs. Includes differential instruction, various learning strategies, backward strategies, deliberate practice, concentration and persistence.

Chapter 7

The role of feedback in the flow of the lesson is discussed in this chapter. A summary of the three feedback questions (where am I going? How am I going there? Where to next) and the four feedback levels (task and product, process, self-regulation/ conditional and self).  Overview of studies of feedback including frequency, types , formative, prompts. Also the role of peers.

The last chapter presents the need for teachers to commit to establishing ‘mind frames’ with support from school leaders and the school system. These mind frames are important through professional development, teachers’ own reflection and on-going commitment, towards adopting, developing and sustaining the concepts presented through part 2.

Eight mind frames are presented. They are:

- A belief that teachers’ fundamental task is to evaluate the effect of their teaching on students’ learning and achievement.

- A belief that success or failure in student learning is about what they, as teachers do, or did not do.

- Encouragement for teachers to talk more about learning than teaching

- To see assessment as feedback on teachers’ impact.

- To engage in dialogue, not monologue.

- Enjoy the challenge and never give up on ‘doing their best’

- The teachers’ role is to develop positive relationships in classrooms / staff rooms

- For teachers to inform ALL about the language of learning.

Overall, the book is easy reading, introducing a wide range of teaching concepts and philosophies through a ‘talking to the teacher’ writing style. I have now placed an order to purchase the book as the book is a ‘must-read’ for anyone in teacher education. I can then highlight and bookmark the many pertinent sections of the book, of which there are many.

Almost all the recommendations are generalizable to the vocational education sector. However, the book is pitched at the school sector, hence the discussions in part two on ‘lessons’ are based around NZ classroom practices and the studies used to substantiate recommendations come from a wide range of mostly Western education school systems.  A synthesis between the workplace based learning literature and the recommendations from this book will be useful for vocational educators. As although there are many commonalities, vocational education has different learning objectives and an intended curriculum which impinges heavily on how teaching and learning is delivered. 

business apps for ipads - vodaphone presentation

A day for catching up with tools to enhance teaching and learning. After lunch, attended a vodaphone sponsored session on Ipads for business.

Presentation began with news on launch of 4G to NZ. Now available in Auckland and arriving to Christchurch in June. Focus of the event is on maximising the mobility of businesses using tablets. Monique and Rick presented. 

Video to begin with  American case studies - JacksonKayaks- of businesses using ipads to improve productivity, sales, manufacturing, marketing and design. Adoption of mobilisation still requires planning and development. Smart devices out sold PCs in 2009. In Oct. To Dec. 2012, 23 million I pads were sold! More than all categories of PC's sold. Therefore, we are in post-PC era.

To mobilise business processes, need to evaluate systems, processes and roles. Ideas of where to start form base of presentation. The key core business processes include Email calendar contacts, document management, customer info. Human resources, ordering and stocks, dashboards, training and financial systems. Mobilizing of all of the core processes now possible.

Traction in large businesses on way to already mobilised. 94% in USA. If any of the following exist,

Paper based processes a good way to start. Job roles where laptops are already issued. Back to office requirements - replaced by mobile access and interaction. Attachments shifted to real time dynamics.

Eliminating or reducing time delays.Siloed data not shared. Profligation of hardware, costs savings through consolidatiin to one device.Collateral that can be more accessible.If just one worked on to produce cost savings or increase productive. Apps need to be chosen to match the business needs.

Examples include dropbox or share plus for document sharing. Streamtime HD and Sao business editors for customer info. Hand base or fikemaker go for stock control. Micro strategy and roanvi anaytics visualiser for dashboards. Ibooks and Vmobilearn HD for training. Imvoice2go and pocketcloud for financial systems.

Important for companies to work out which business process to mobilise, which one will have most impact for effort and resources put in?

Other apps include

Presentations with keynote

Documents with documents to go, smartoffice, expert pdf

Expenses with expensify,

collaboration with gotomeeting 

Note taking with evernote, skitch,

Travel support with trip it and Itranslate.

Fundamental difference between applications on PC and apps on mobile device is specificness of apps. Might need to use a few apps to do a task usually carried on one PC application. Apps cna be individual, integrated with organisation or customised. Check app store for apps status if it is trusted, intuitive or validated.

Demonstrated evernote bringing various note types into evernte folders so that they are accesible from one space and is searchable. Also can be shared or handed to other people reducing effects of silos. Ever note hello takes a photo of business card and transfer to contacts. Then find people and network via linked in. Ever note trunk provides info. on other apps to form networks with - e.g. linkedin.

Peek works with the Ipad cover for doing questions and answers. Pdfexpert for filling in pre-formated forms. Trip it allows upload your ticket and summarises all the details. Flipboard as an RSS feeder in the form of images.

Examples of xero for setting out quotes, invoices and tracking jobs and vend for mobile transactions. Download podcasts using podcast app. Discovr app to find apps bringing up better matches than through appstore. In appstore use app collections to narrow down useful apps. Examples being apps at work or business starter.

Overall, presentation pitched at businesses trying to leverage mobilisation without incurring huge costs for customised software. Consolidation apps like evernote are the key to bringing apps together, for instance in education, to collect multimodal learning evidence using a variety of apps, store and collate into eportfolios or similar.

echo 360 - active learning system -

Attended a presentation on a lecture capture system by Chris Barnes, sales manager for Australia and New Zealand from Echo 360.

To begin, attendees updated Chris on CPIT context so that the diverse nature of the programmes could be  taken into account.

Chris started the session with an overview of company, their philosophies and mission - designed for educators by educators - continued with an overview presentation "powering the age of active learning" on echo 360 as a blended learning, flip learning support mechanism. Echo 360 sees itself as a bridge connecting the traditional institution and digital instruction. Assist by removing technological barriers to using video to supplement or underpin learning.

Possible to use video that has recording triggered either by teachers or students. So can be use to capture student learning for further reflection or to record presentations or demonstrations for archiving, use in a flip classroom scenario. Etc.

Note taking and annotation is build into instructor and student reviews of videoed performance

This is an important advantage to allow for videos to be accessed through live streaming or immediately after event for peer feedback and learner reflection. Automation of upload is a key feature with mobile upload also available but to be upgraded in the near future. Delegated administration also available along with a suite of analytic tools.

Demonstration of the product followed. Including how to use it before, during and after class, and provide access any time and any device. Syncing of slides to audio is tracked and an optional transcribe the lecture option is available. Students can choose to turn off video and listen to audio as they view slides. Analytics track student usage providing data on students' engagement. Interface to moodle and equella available through free plugins allowing access to be more seamless. Video or audio content s search able though Meta tags and downloaded for online or offline viewing.

Personal capture app available to all staff and students to capture screen, audio video etc. And then recording is easily edited and uploaded. Original recording can still be kept for further editing and enhancement.  Workflow of the system allows scheduling of recordings, auto capture to take place (plugins for timetabling systems), auto packaging, auto publish and availability across web, mobile devices or download to play offline. Monitoring and analytics work in the background either via google analytics and also accessible through an instructor dashboard.

System also useful for research using multimodal data collection and analysis purposes as well.

Chris provided some good examples of how to use video capture not just as lecture capture but to provide opportunities for active learning engagement before (flipped classroom, surveys or feedback), during (live response, distance learning) or after class (virtual office hours, multimedia guides, assessment).  Some good ideas to maximise students' notional learning hours created discussion through the group closed the session. 

HP elite pad

Had the opportunity to try out the HP elite pad late last week for a day. A heftier tablet than the ipad or the Lenova but the elite pad was encased in the elite expansion jacket which increases the ports to include a HDMI port. Without the jacket, the tablet has usual USB and mini USB. Pricing is at the top end, around NZ$900. The tablets have been purchased for use by our carpentry tutors who use them to record workplace based skill and knowledge acquisition of apprentices learning in the workplace.

Generally positive reviews on the net from the uk, usa and laptopmag. I am now familiar with the Windows 8 tiles format having used a Windows 7.5 phone for a couple of months. The two tutors  who had a play with the tablet also found the interface to be easy to use.

The main advantage, from a corporate point of view, is the alignment of the Windows 8 tablet. Windows office can be assessed and when you go to Windows desktop, the familiar windows screen with documents on the desktop comes up. The lack of the ‘start’ button on the bottom left hand corner is a bit confusing at first though.

Had a very quick play with Word, Excel and Powerpoint and they have all been adapted to have the various drop down menus and icons work with touch. The multiplicity of icons etc. may be confusing to the beginner but reassuring to people moving from a windows desktop environment into the tablet interface. Did not have time to fully work through all the various capabilities I would usually use on so unsure if I would use a tablet to fully replace what I now do on a desktop. Will need more time to try things out. The onscreen keyboard could have keyboard click sounds turned on. A reassuring feedback for people unused to typing on a glass screen.

At last, window 8 tablets are starting to arrive in NZ. We will evaluate a few more tablets before purchasing a few. Then do a comparative exercise between the tablets we now have – ipads, the Toshiba Thrive running on Android and the Windows tablet.  The main objective would be ease of use for the variety of projects we now use tablets with for technology-enhanced learning (TEL). 

Google glasses and low tech rapid prototyping

This year, we begin working with trades tutors interested in using video cameras to enhance student learning. We are working with point of view (POV) videos and the go pro cameras favoured by outdoor enthusiasts.

The learning and teaching objectives are varied, and dependent on the contexts of each trade. The approach is to try to ‘fill a gap’ in helping students learn a trade. So Peter Harrison is using the POV glasses  to video tutors’ work on engineering lathes and other machinery to provide students with guidance on the nuances of how metals behave when subjected to high speed machinery. The go pro camera is being used with electrical supply industry students, to provide the viewpoint of linesmen and cable jointers via work learnt by Andrew Massie through his academic study leave.

One development we will be closely following is the googleglasses project The google glasses bring mobile learning and the advantages of situated technology enhanced learning (STEL or STL) to an even more accessible level. The google glasses website now has enticing videos on how it feels to be moving about an information on its capabilities. 

Blogsphere and other tech sites have provided their viewpoints, examples from techradar, business insider and fastcompany after the sort of pre-beta launch of the glasses with a call for volunteers, keen to test the glasses and willing to shell out US$1500 for the hardware. Us of A applicants only though :( 

While googling 'google glasses', also happened on a ted ed session featuring the work of Tom Chi (and team?) with a more up-to date profile of Tom from this blog The interesting feature of Tom's work is his use of  rapid prototyping – using everyday materials. The useability and design of Google glasses being undertaken with everyday office or takeaway dining materials. Concepts can be put together very quickly. tested and evaluated, with multiple variations possible in brainstorm sessions able to be tested. Many of the concepts can be tested in a matter of hours and either picked to be extended and refined or thrown out. In the ted ed video, he compares book learning vs hands on learning and describes hands on learning as a form of expansive learning - as in expanding possibilities.

Slides from  the ted ed session are available here and an overview on this blog. Overall, a very salient demonstration of flexible, creative thinking being tested using 'no.8.wire' ingenuity. 

Participation in a community of practice - non-participation as peripheral or marginal

Re-reading parts of Wenger, E. (1998). Communities ofPractice (CoP): Learning, meaning and identity. Getting my head around concepts of participation and non-participation in answer to comments from a peer reviewer on an article I have just re-submitted on the topic of ‘proximal participation’.

Proximal participation arose as a concept in my PhD thesis - 'belonging, becoming and being a baker. The term was used to explain how young people with poor academic attainment and limited idea of career opportunities, fell into a baking apprenticeship. These apprentices had all worked as cleaners, dish washers, retail or catering assistants for period of up to a year in the bakery, before an apprenticeship came up and they were offered an indenture. All of these apprentices provided data about how working in the bakery as ancillary workers, provided them the opportunity to view work in the bakery. Many had started to build relationships with other workers in the bakery and establish a sense of belonging to the workplace. All had little pre-conception as to what the trade of baking entailed. Proximal participation as ancillary workers meant they were exposed to the many work roles in the bakery workplace and to the challenges of craft baking.

Wenger includes an explanation of non- participation as either peripheral or marginal (chapter 7). Peripheral participants are poised on the edge of entry into a CoP and transition into becoming legitimate peripheral participants (LPPs) if individuals are keen to become members of a CoP. On the other end, marginal participants may be prevented through lack of social capital or mismatch of interests from actually becoming LPPs. I sort of see the role of proximal participation as assisting individuals to find out if they are an affinity to the CoP they are partially immersed into. If they see a fit, then at some stage, the proximal participation itself provides opportunities for them to build relationships with other CoP members. These relationships may ease the transition of marginal participants into becoming LLPs, circumventing individuals’ difficulties in entering the CoP.

The mind at work – book summary

Rose, M. (2004). The mind at work: Valuing the intelligence of the American worker. New York. NY: Penguin Books.

While out tramping at the end of January, I took along MikeRose’s book, purchased second hand via Amazon. The paperback book is small and light enough to add to the tramping pack but provides a good solid amount of before bedtime reading. After the preliminary read during the tramp, I have worked through the various ‘bookmarked’ parts of the book and these are now summarised.

I first read this book at the University of Canterbury library several years ago, as one of the books to read on workplace learning. A few parts were pertinent to my thesis but the majority I have had to put aside. Now, much of the material in this book has relevance to the ‘learning a trade’ project. see here for completed project resources

Rose’s writing style makes the book an accessible read and he interweaves stories from his own biography. He makes use of the experiences of his mother, a waitress and his uncle, a car finisher to augment research ‘case study’ interviews / observations with hairdressers and novice carpenters, plumbers and electricians. The main argument across the book is the need to value forms of intelligence that are not tested through IQ tests.

 The introductory chapter provides a succinct overview of the key ideas through the book – that all work is skilled although some take less time to learn then others. Everyone who works has to use their ‘smarts’ in order to complete their work with integrity. Work is fulfilling in many ways for people, providing opportunities to socialise, learn specialist skills, become part of a ‘brotherhood’ and earn a wage. Work that is mainly seen to be physical / blue collar, still involves a large range of cognitive skills to be learnt.  The terms intelligence, cognition and skill are defined and discussed as these terms are used through the book –notes on these terms provide the academic references.

Following chapters (1 through to 6) summarise the physical and cognitive demands of occupations – 

- waitressing  (memory, task prioritisation, judgement, people relationship skills, ability to read the context in order to do enough to get the most tip!)

- hairdressers (aesthetic dimension of hair styling, bringing together knowledge of hair and chemistry, tactile skills to work out how to shape different types of hair, fine motor skills – cutting air, putting on curlers etc., visualisation of how a cut will look on a client, ‘counselling skills’ to help customers find the right styles, build rapport etc. )

- plumbing (working with tools and materials, attitudes of craftsmanship, ability to ‘see the whole picture’, problem solving using logic and access to plumbing theory, knowledge of materials etc. important role of mentors in helping disenfranchised young people return to learning)

- carpentry (vocabulary – both text, tactile and spatial, application of arithmetic to specific problems, ability to read plans, visualise in 3D, how to work efficiently through learning tricks of the trade, visual estimation and judgement skills)

- electricians (aesthetics – neat wiring that is also functional, craftsmanship – doing a job well, physics of electrical circuits coupled with problem solving, working with something that is ‘invisible’, making sense of symbols used in electrical plans, applying maths to practice),

- welders (tactile knowledge with difficult tools, multiple materials and welding methods,  reading plans)

 - teaching a trade (compassion, ability to empathise, move from trade worker to teacher, dissect tacit knowledge to make accessible to students)

- motor vehicle finishing (tactile knowledge, persistence in assembly line work, problem solving and innovations to improve quality and save time/ money / increase productivity, ability to find the problem).

Chapter 7 on rethinking hand and brain provides a comparison of blue collar labour with the work of surgeons and physical therapists (occupational  / physiotherapists). Matching the commonalities between how new surgeons have to learn practical skills akin to those of trades people and yet, there is an honouring of surgeons’ skills but nor of the panel beater.

Chapter 8 – hand and brain in school provides a historical overview of the American vocational education systems and how things can be different.  What perhaps is already happening now in NZ, where there is the embedding of literacy and numeracy into authentic learning through pre-trade training programmes and through ‘trade academy’ courses.  Avoiding the reading /writing to be taught only by English teachers and the trades by ‘shop’ instructors.

The conclusion brings the various threads together. The brain and hand work synchronously together, one cannot be separated from the other. To learn a trade is to work dynamically both with brain and hand. 

vocational pedagogy report - summary

Lucas, B., Spencer, E. & Claxton, G. (2012). How toteach vocational education: A theory of vocational pedagogy. City and GuildsCentre for Skill Development. London, UK.

This report came through late in 2012 through my Google Scholar alerts and opened up a good resource for all vocational educators to explore. The report is written with practitioners in mind, so well laid out and written in clear language.

The 2012 report builds on work by Professors Guy Claxton and Bill Lucas (who lead the Centre for LifeLong learning at the University of Winchester) including the following:

Bodies of Knowledge; how the learning sciences could transform practical and

vocational education (2010). London: Edge Foundation. see blog entry for summary.

Mind the Gap; Research and reality in practical and vocational education (2010).

London: Edge Foundation.  - which reviews the current state of Practical and Vocational Education

(PVE), drawing on research from across the world.

The Pedagogy of Work-based Learning: A brief overview commissioned by the

DCSF 14-19 Expert Pedagogy Group (2010). London: DCSF - describing some of the main traditions in the pedagogy of work-related learning. 

The need for a vocational education pedagogy is outlined in the introduction section. In the second section, the approach used is substantiated, including some ‘contextual notes’ about the lack of a vocational pedagogy due to the lack of clarity about the purposes of Voc. Ed. (see blog on Billett’s book for a deeper discussion); the dual professional identity of  vocational practitioners as teachers (see previous work on boundary crossing from tradeworker to trades tutor); inadequate models and poor analogies for Voc. Ed. ; and reluctance of Voc. Ed. Teachers to use ‘theory’.

Page 30 – the report at a glance, provides a graphical guide to the rest of the report.

Goals (Section 3) and Outcomes (Section 4) are then summarised – these draw on previous reports produced by the authors – as above.

Section 5 introduces the teaching methods that work. Learning by watching, imitation, practicing, through feedback, through conversation, by teaching and helping, by real-world problem solving, through inquiry, critical thinking, listening / transcribing and remembering, drafting and sketching, reflecting, ‘on the fly’, being coached, competing, through virtual environments, simulations and playing games. I will draw on these for current project - learning a trade - now funding is approved by Ako Aotearoa Southern Hub.

Section 6 lays out the Voc. Ed. contexts for the students (motivations and perceptions); teachers  and settings (physical space & culture of learning).

Section 7 on designing vocational pedagogy provides a framework to bring together the ways in which decisions can be made about Voc. Ed. pedagogy.  Ten dimensions are introduced with continuums between ‘poles’ so that the discipline / context / learner etc. can be considered.  Examples include 

- role of teacher as being from facilitative to didactic; 

- nature of activities to be learnt as being authentic to contrived; 

- the means of knowing to be from practice to theory; attitude to knowledge to range from questioning to certain; 

- organisation of time is extended or bound; 

- organisation of space as workshop to classroom;

- approach to task as group to individual; visibility of process as obvious to hidden; 

- proximity teacher between virtual to f2f; and 

- role of learner from self-managed to directed.

Worked examples included for plumbing (being materials focused), child care (people focused) and accountancy (symbols focused).

Overall, a good guide and beginning towards investigating vocational education pedagogy. The report provides a framework to organise vocational education curriculum. However, common understanding of the framework needs to be established amongst vocational educators. This will take time and is dependent on adoption and support by National bodies and teachers of vocational educators.  So some ‘marketing’ required of the concepts and frameworks proposed. This may be planned to occur in the UK but there will be little traction in NZ for the moment, due to unfamiliarity with the concepts. In NZ, there is also a need to allow for cultural diversity and relate frameworks to Maori pedagogy and other ways of doing. Plus tweaking to the NZ Voc. Ed. system to allow for smoother pathways from school to work / tertiary / vocational education. 

Skill Acquisition in Sport – 2012 edition – book review

Skills Acquisition in Sport - Second Edition -

Edited by Nicola Hodges and Mark Williams

This edition contains brand new chapters (21) collated into 4 parts. The book is an up to date / ‘state of the play’ with regards to sports’ skill acquisition and has much to offer vocational educators seeking to improve their teaching by learning how to enhance motor skills training techniques. Relevant chapter main points summarised.

Part 1 – Presenting information

 Chapter 1

R. A. Magill and D.A. Anderson

The roles and uses of augmented feedback in skill acquisition

**2 types of feedback available - sensory system (task-intrinsic feedback) and external feedback (augmented, external, extrinsic feedback) from coaches, teachers, trainers, or training device. Article focuses on augmented feedback with possibility of providing knowledge of result (KR) or knowledge of performance (KP).

Forms and uses of augmented feedback then discussed including merits and guidelines for verbal augmented feedback. Amount needs to consider short term memory limits and prior experience of learners. Content includes using correct cues (e.g. clock face direction), limiting to one process at a time, identifying and prioritizing mistakes to be corrected using a two-step decision process and allowing learners to work out how to self-correct if possible.

Non-verbal feedback using a variety of training devices in different sports provided as examples (e.g. swimming using different types of flippers to train specific muscle groups).

Theory based guideline for offering augmented feedback based on guidance hypothesis then presented.

Future direction for research include finding out which aspect of performance requires augmented feedback, how and when to provide and what are effects over a long period of practice

Chapter 2

Mixing it up a little: how to schedule observational practice

N. T. Ong and N. J. Hodges

This chapter discusses ‘when and how’ to provide demonstrations.

Recommends – early observation of a skill is useful to novice learners so that learners are able to begin building their own conceptual framework of the activity. So generally, before practice demonstration is more effective that during practice. Learner control may have benefits as well. Mixed practice refers to using both demonstration and practice, not just one method for learning motor skills.

Learners are encouraged to seek a demonstration as required – dependent on their own KR of the progress. In some tasks, demonstrations may compensate for some practice time.

Chapter 3

Attentional focus effect movement efficiency

K.R. Lohse, G. Wulf and R. Lewthwaite

Recommends that learners focus on EXTERNAL feedback rather than internal. Coaches etc. should therefore be careful to ensure that verbal feedback encourages learners to pay attention to external features of movements and not draw attention away from this.

Chapter 4

Advances in implicit motor learning

R.S. Masters and J.M. Poolton

Sort of supporting the above chapter, studies in using analogies to improve skills in table tennis and basketball are used to explain the following.  Learners are encouraged to work towards whole skill targets – move the bat as if travelling up the side of a mountain’ or ‘shoot as if you are trying to put cookies into a cookie jar’ instead of breaking the task down into small steps and for the learner to construct their own strategy through trial and error.  Basically, for motor skills – cut to the chase – rather than over-analysing each movement.  Works perhaps because the human body is already ‘well-trained’ in most motor movement and overanalysing, may lead to confusion of the ‘innate process’ for laying down neural pathways to assist with accomplishment of motor tasks.

Part 2 – Optimising practice conditions

Chapter 5

Contextual interference: generalizability and limitations

T. D. Lee

Discusses the pros and cons of different scheduling protocols on learning skill. The term contextual interference (CI) effect is used to explain how differences in the organisation of practice, impacts on learning. Initial acquisition of skill favour block practice (i.e. repetition of skill to be learnt). However, after initial acquisition, random practice leads to higher quality learning ie. ability to be flexible in response to a range of contexts. 

Large numbers of studies have found that CI is now limited to lab tests, practice in single session, CI is not limited to task outcomes, is not only found with young adults, not limited to motor learning, or to learners who expect the effect.

Chapter 6

Mental imagery, action observation and skill learning

A.Moran, M. Campbell., P. Holes and T. McIntyre

Overviews some studies on the efficacy of mental practice (MP) to improvement of performance in a range of sports (golf, tennis, swimming, finger strength, strength performance etc.). Summarises the theories of MP including neuromuscular model; cognitive / symbolic approach; bio-information theory and the PETTLEP. This is an emergent area and important to continue to understand how athletes construct MP.

Chapter 7

Ecological dynamics and motor learning design in sport

K. Davids, D. Araujo, R. Hristovski, P. Passos and J.Y Chow

Takes the view that individuals approach learning from different starting points. Goal is for all learners to achieve ‘experthood’ and for learning to be based on practice that will assist in the attainment of expert practice. Therefore, starting skill or expertise level of learner to be taken into account; understanding of the overall goal of the training needs to be identified; and primary constrains to learning need to be manipulated, or accounted for in the training process.

Chapter 8

The representation, production and transfer of simple and complex movement sequences

C.H. Shea and D.L. Wright

Seeks to explain how understanding the sequence or structure of movement, assist with optimising training. Imagery does not have to encompass the whole task but ‘unravels’ as the task proceeds Example provided is where pianist will retrieve relevant parts of a piece of music, as the instrument is played. Therefore when learning what to ‘upload’ when, it is important to establish movement structure. Learning of movement sequence is impacted by practice extent, schedule and influenced by non-practice factors (for example amount of sleep).

Experts organise the sequence of movement without mental effort, the challenge is to assist novices to learn the task, assist the formation of efficient sequence of movement and be able to transfer the learning to a range of similar tasks.

Chapter 9

Physical guidance research: assisting principles and supporting evidence

N.J. Hodges and P. Campagnaro

Physical guidance involves coaches physically guiding learners movements (haptic guidance) or use of mechanical equipment (passive guidance). Guidance of this sort is recommended for tasks that are difficult to learn and /or might be dangerous to perform without guidance (diving, ski-jumping, trampoline or gymnastics). The pros and cons of guidance of this form are discussed. Recommendations that guidance should be administered through a schedule of ‘fading’ so as to build learner independence; level of guidance and technique to be used determined by individual’s learning needs; and includes active involvement of the learner.

Part 3 – issues in motor learning

Chapter 10

Motor learning through a motivational lens

R. Lewthwaite and G. Wulf

As practice is critical to attaining motor skills, motivation of individuals needs to be also taken into account. Aspects that affect individuals’ motivations include perceived competence; role of positive feedback; and conceptions of ability. Providing learners with autonomy to act on feedback either through coaches of using assisted devices to gather ‘augmented task information and movement demonstrations all assist learners to maintain motivation.

Chapter 11

Motor skill consolidation

M. Tempe and L. Proteau

One of the longer chapters in the book covering some important ideas about how learning is only the first step. Practice is required to ensure neural linkages and strengthened and the relevant motor control areas in the brain are exercised and sometimes enlarged. Sustained practice to consolidate and stabilise performance is required. Practice need not be ‘situated’ or physical but includes ‘offline learning’ – whereby learners ‘digest’ practice and improve performance through perhaps visualisation or internal imagery, rest and sleep. Therefore important to allow time for skills to ‘bed down’ along perhaps with providing strategies to undertake ‘offline’ learning.

Chapter 14

Motor skill learning and its neurophysiology

K.P. Wadden, M.R.Borich and L.A. Boyd

The brain is ‘neuroplastic’. The chapter describes changes in the brain as motor learning is undertaken and consolidates; summarises the current research on what happens to the brain with short-term, within session changes and with long term, more permanent changes; what areas of the brain change during the various stages of motor learning; and what brain networks work together to support motor learning.

Practice and experience leads to recorded changes in brain neural networks and structure.

Part 4 – skilled performance

Chapter 15

The development of skill in sport

J.Cote, J. Murphy-Mills and B. Abernethy

Compares two approaches to talent development in sports. The deliberate practice and one in which later specialisation is possible through development of a range of skills through for instance ‘play’. Findings include early diversification can still lead to later elite performance’ early diversification linked to longer sports careers; early diversification allows for participation and learning of a wider range of positive skill sets; deliberate practice may lead to solid intrinsic motivation; high amount of deliberate practice play establishes motor and cognitive experience that can be transferred to principal sport; end of primary school may be good time to choose specialisation; and late adolescent time to invest in highly specialised training in one sport.

Chapter 16

Anticipatory behaviour and expert performance

B.Abernethy, D. Farrow, A.D. Gorman and D.L. Mann

Overviews the expert performance approach to skill acquisition. In particular summarises and discusses the ability to anticipate or predict events. This skill is important in many sports where speed in decision making and ability to adjust rapidly are important. Includes not only ability to predict fast movement but also have good overview / ‘read the play’ type skills which are important for strategic decision making. Strategies to increase anticipatory behaviour presented.  Visual-perception training approach needs to identify the limiting factor to be improved; device a suitable training medium to address the training need; and ensure improvements lead to enhancement in factor focused on.

Chapter 17

Perceptual expertise: What can be trained?

J. Causer, C.M. Janelle, J.N.Vickers and A.M. Williams

The ‘quiet eye’ approach for training visual acuity in sports like archery, shooting and basketball is backgrounded. Then the range of perceptual-cognitive skills that contribute to athletes being able to anticipate and make decisions in racquet and team sports also discussed. A good follow up chapter 16 and useful for skills requiring accuracy in targeting and visual overviews for rapid decision making.

Chapter 18

Embodied cognition: From the playing field to the classroom

B.Kontra, N.B. Albert and S.L. Beilock

Covers the ground of expertise leading to observable physical / structural changes in brain. Skills attained through practice of motor-skills may transfer across to specific higher-level cognitive activities – like learning language and comprehension of scientific concepts. The chapter uses studies on expertise (London cab drivers) and musicians and studies on embodiment exampled include ballet dancers and capoeira (Brazilian martial arts) practitioners.

Overall, much in this book to constantly dip into for insights. In the past decode, much progress has been made in the sports psychology discipline on skills learning. Vocational educators need to tap into this source of rich literature and work already completed to inform on better ways to design curriculum and engage students learning trade skills.

Bodies of knowledge - report summary

Bodies of Knowledge; how the learning sciences could transform practical and

vocational education (2010). London: Edge Foundation

Claxton, G., Lucas, B., & Webster, R.

This report is a precursor to another published at the end of December on vocational pedagogy - blog entry next week. It is a summary of  recent work and written for educational practitioners and policy makers in all education sectors.  For the school sector to better prepare children for the future world of work and for the further and higher education sectors to change current approaches to vocational education.

The report lays out the argument that learning practical skills and the curriculum of vocational education are no less demanding or complex than ‘academic’ disciplines. They summarise recent research in cognitive sciences, especially in the area of embodied cognition / embodiment (Johnson's book summary) and other ways of knowing to argue the following:

• Doing comes before seeing and thinking
• The body and the mind are closely interlinked
• Our bodies are cleverer that we thought
• Physical movement helps thinking
• Much thinking is not conscious

Therefore, practical and academic learning are much more similar that previously theorised.

The myths surrounding practical and vocational education include: practical learning as being cognitively simple, involves lower order thinking and is second rate; that clever people grow out of practical learning; understanding has to happen before learning occurs; clever people don’t get their hands dirty or to work with their hands; practical learning is only for the less ‘able.

Compares the learning required to become glass blowers, motorcycle mechanic and scholar to be similar in complexities but with different focuses. However, all require the learning of ways of doing and approaching tasks which have commonalities. They call these ‘presence of mind’ and argue the importance of schooling in helping young people learn these important generic skills.  “it is only a very narrow view of intelligence that cabinet ministers are in a sense ‘brighter’ than cabinet makers”

The habits of mind – investigation, experimentation, reasoning and imagination along with frames of mind – curiosity, determination, resourcefulness, sociability, reflection and wisdom, all contribute to the development of ‘presence of mind’.  These are summarised in the 4-6-1 model. 4 habits and 6 frames lead to presence of mind.

The last chapter (chapter 5) also brings in the ‘social contribution’ to learning as the 4-6-1 model focuses on individual learners. Has a good overview of ‘situated learning’ summarising and updating Lave & Wenger’s work. Combines the 4-6-1 model with aspects of activity theory (leading to socio-materialism / sociomaterial approach) to extend understanding on the context of where learning occurs. Of note is a comment on how the authors have not come across work on “how talk between apprentices and those engaged on vocational learning can best be facilitated” – perhaps some of our work on peer feedback  and peer learning is a beginning contribution. Various approaches to teaching and learning are also discussed with regards to relevance to the 4-6-1 model and vocational education.

Footnotes are provided on the side of pages, providing for a few articles / books to follow up. References provide a comprehensive list of contemporary cognitive learning scholarship.

Shop class as soul craft - book summary

Crawford, M. (2009). Shop class as soul craft: An inquiry into the value of work. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Worked through this book in greater detail over the last few days. Second hand book in pristine condition purchased through Amazon, taking about a month to arrive in NZ, just in time for summer weekend when it was too hot to do much gardening or walk in the hills.

I had borrowed the book from the library and browsed through the book when it was first released. This time a good opportunity to read the book in greater depth.  Here are notes taken, summarising each chapter of book.

Introduction provides background on the decline of ‘shop class’ in the U S of A and Crawford’s thesis that the manual occupations are still important in contemporary life due to our reliance on large numbers of material goods. People who make, maintain and repair things are now more important than ever (as per $$ we pay plumber to unblock drains) and yet the education system puts its main emphasis into preparing ‘knowledge workers’.

1.       A brief case for the useful arts. Here the discussion revolves around how manual work can be fulfilling and requiring use of both bodily and cognitive skills. Plus an argument on how some forms of work in the trades, cannot be ‘outsourced’. So American workers in occupations that can be accomplished remotely (accounting, IT, call centres etc. ) may be more at risk to job restructure than builders / carpenters and joiners who build houses.

2.       The separation of thinking from doing. An overview of how thinking and doing has been seen to be either white or blue collar. Some white collar work is now similar to ‘assembly line’ work and some blue collar requires high levels of adaptability and innovation.

3.       To be a master of one’s own stuff. In this chapter, the argument for work to allow individual agency is presented. Plus some history on the development of motorcycles (and cars) from being fixable by the ‘amateur’ to being difficult for even mechanics to get into.  How society has moved from individuals being able to rectify their own tools / appliances / vehicles to machinery becoming so complex (and relatively cheap to replace) has removed individual’s choice to fix and re-use. Yet, it is more satisfying for humans to have input (using cake mix example – all in product does not sell as well as a product that requires the addition of an egg).

4.       The education of a gearhead. The chapter traces Crawford’s development as a mechanic His first experiences as an apprentice in an automotive workshop where he did the boss’s housekeeping before being allowed to clean engine parts. And reflections on learning the complexities of automotive engineering from mentors, mistakes, dwelling on problems, development of individual understanding and knowledge base.

5.       The further education of a gearhead: from amateur to professional. Here Crawford describes his on-going learning as a motor cycle mechanic and self-employed business owner. How he learns on the job by undertaking difficult work on obscure, older models of motor cycles. How he undercharges as some of the jobs take effort to work through beyond what would seem to be commercially viable charge out rates.

6.       The contradictions of the cubicle. Provides examples of some of his ‘knowledge worker’ jobs and how some have become production line orientated, as per his work indexing and abstracting articles, or without clear outputs that lead to job satisfaction (work in a ‘think tank’).

7.       Thinking as doing. Provides arguments and examples of how manual work involves many aspects of having to also use large amounts of brain power. How practical know how is difficult to pin down. Examples include fire fighters’ ‘sixth sense’, common sense and tacit knowledge in automotive trouble shooting (lubricant or air to clean spark plug based on recent weather  activity or if sand is found around the vehicle), the role of being able to ‘ask the right question’ in problem solving, deciphering archaic and poorly translated vehicle repair manuals.

8.       Work, leisure and full engagement. How leisure and work may be complementary. Also how many people now work to earn $$ to indulge in activities that feed their soul. Perhaps some forms of manual work may both earns $$ and be fulfilling.

Concluding remarks on solidarity and self reliance: Summarises the argument – to have a trade skill means having solidarity with other trade workers in the same field (understanding a common language / ethos and practising skills), being attuned to learning from mistakes / failure and yet taking individual responsibility for one’s on-going learning and improvement.

The notes themselves make interesting reading, some revealing Crawford’s personal history, others filling in on the specialist knowledge of motor cycle repair and overviews of various philosophical approaches. The style of writing is readable without being condescending to the reader.

The return of 'making'

Summer holiday reading included a couple of books on the return of ‘making’. Firstly, a book published in the UK by the Crafts Council, edited by D. Charny (2011) called ‘power of making: the importance of beingskilled’ and a book by C. Anderson (editor for Wired Magazine) called ‘Makers: Thenew industrial revolution (kindle version 2012).

Both extol the return to making. Humans evolved as makers of things. The industrial revolution shifted manufacturing into mass production, removing many artisanal , small /family owned businesses. Specialised craft skills and craftsmanship approaches have been lost as a result of the ‘material’ society whereby all products are ‘mass-produced’ / manufactured and purchased from retailers. A similar theme explored in other books, including Sennett’s ‘the craftsman’ and Crawford’s ‘shop class as soul craft’.

Now, it is possible for designers to manufacture their own product through using open source / crowd sourced software / hardware, ability to tap in to specialised manufacturers for components / parts and access to the ‘long tail’ of the market demand curve.  Specialists products / bespoke / individualised items now attainable. Rapid prototying using 3D printers and crowdsourcing lowers time for product development. Availability / democratising of hardware also assist the process. In the Makers book, Anderson compares the example of his grandfather, who invented a system to set up automatic / timed lawn watering. Anderson’s grandfather had great difficulty finding a manufacturer and then keeping control of the quality of the product. In contrast, Anderson himself set up a business that designed, assembled and sold radio-controlled  or robot helicopters. The process evolved quickly, with design and software development in US of A, parts sourced via internet, website took care of sales, just-in time manufacture in Mexico and delivery via the extensive courier / mail delivery system we now all take for granted. Development of hardware and software was completed with a mixture of open-source, crowd-source and mashing, leveraging on global intellectual minds of enthusiasts and specialists. 

Therefore, there is now greater need for skill sets that include conceptualisation of the ‘entire’ making from notion, to design process, to testing and production. The focus of the ‘crafts person’ has also shifted - a book reviewer who is also a cabinet maker details how his business now works. Customised kitchen cabinets etc. are ordered from specialist manufacturers who put together these components using CNC machines. Delivery time 24 hours. Then a need for craftsmanship skills (Pye’s - craftsmanship of risk) to fit the cabinets into kitchens where walls, floors and ceilings are not always guaranteed to be square. So focus has changed from skill sets required to manufacture to problem solving required to work through real-world challenges. Another example of how not all types of work can be ‘outsourced’.  Production of cabinet components may be mass produced but installation still needs to occur in-situ. Therefore, training of young trades people need to account for work skills now required plus include generic skills to learn new technology / new skill sets as the market evolves. 

plans for 2013

Last year, I devoted a large amount of time to reading related to improving ‘learning in the trades’. The literature from sports psychology, learning music/voice/performance arts, expertise, and practice-based learning all contribute much material to work through, evaluate and contextualise.

In the first half of this year, I hope to be embarking on a project that is a continuation of the first year apprentices project. The funding application is still in the process of seeking approval. Apprentices who we interviewed in 2010 will be re-contacted to find out how they went about learning the skills to become trades people. The apprentice cohort in the original first year apprenticesproject will now be near the end or would have just completed their apprenticeship. A synthesis with recent work on vocational learning / pedagogy exampled by booklet from the City and Guilds Centre for learning and the literature I have been working through will inform the outputs from the project. This will be two brochures, one to assist apprentices to enhance workplace learning opportunities and another for workplace and polytech/private provider educators to help prepare apprentices for the challenges of workplace learning.

The second half of the year will be busy with programme design work with several programmes. These include programmes for fabrication/engineering, automotive, tourism/travel, business admin., veterinary nursing and electrical engineering, all interesting subject disciplines, with a mixture of staff capability / willingness to change. This is an outcome of the NZ Qualifications (NZQA) targeted review of Qualifications(TroQ). As programmes complete TRoQ, institutions need to redevelop programmes. At CPIT, we will also be working with strategic direction for increasing flexible and sustainable delivery. We need to build capability with our staff with regards to the pedagogical implications of shifting from content-based to student-focused  and flexible delivery programme design.

There is also on-going work with Ako Aotearoa on their professional development workshop series. Dissemination through journal articles and conferences will also continue. I will also need to continually chip away at drafting and refining articles for submission to peer-reviewed journals. So, looks like another busy and interesting year.