Personalised Learning

Work-based learning is, by its very nature, suited to a personalised approach. A definition of personalised learning is contained within the Education White Paper “Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances” (DfES March 2006);

“A range of practices to personalise learning, including the effective use of e-learning and new technology, aim to make the system as a whole more capable of

responding to individual needs and aspirations.”

The Brief..........................................................................

I would like FENC to carry out action research based on one vocational area which would enable Training Providers to deliver Train-to-Gain programmes to employers through the application of e-learning techniques.

The model will provide a framework within which FENC materials and materials sourced from elsewhere – swap shop and marketplace for example - can be applied that are relevant to the occupational skills area for health and safety and the relevant vocational training elements and modules.

We should also develop a bank of assessment materials to provide formative and summative assessment of the learners’ progress.

Once the prototype has been designed, constructed and tested, then it should be adaptable for the delivery of training with other Train-to-Gain and 16-19 WBL training programmes…..

Working within each of the nine LSC regions, Skills Brokers contact Employers in regard to the agreed priority target groups and sectors specified in the Train to Gain Programme

Train to Gain offers Employers skills advice and matches their business needs with training providers

Skills Brokers will help identify and agree employers’ particular training needs and provide potential solutions

Once selected by the employer, the training provider will advise on the detail of relevant provision and how it should be delivered

The training and advice offered will need to be flexible, responsive and offered at a time and place to suit each business

Providers need to respond quickly to employers’ training needs to provide level 2 (and some level 3) qualifications as an outcome. The assessment, often of existing skills, has to be provided flexibly, often on employers’ premises. This demand does not fit the lock-step pattern of the traditional academic year

The programme is designed to enable the training provider to deliver tailored programmes to employees in a timely way at a location of the employers’ and employees’ choosing. This flexibility is complemented by potential cost savings in the delivery, assessment and administration of the training programmes. The model would be scaleable, enabling savings to be made for larger volumes of training……

Employees who do not have a full level 2 qualification are eligible….

but in addition, they must also have literacy/ESOL and/or numeracy needs at level 1 or level 2 that, if met, would enable them to achieve a first full Level 2 qualification.

The nationally approved Certificates in Adult Literacy, Adult Numeracy and English for Speakers of another Language (ESOL) and Skills for Life at levels 1 and 2 are eligible for discrete Train to Gain funding.

However, these will not be traditional or default schemes. Training Providers are expected to deliver high quality, flexible responsive training for Employers. They will need to respond to the exact skills and training needs of each employer and build long-term relationships and trust.

A national performance management framework will measure primarily the number of eligible employers engaged, employer satisfaction levels that are achieved, and their achievement of the new competency standards.

There is an integrated system which is designed to meet the needs of the LSC nationally, regionally and locally to plan, manage and evaluate Train to Gain in a consistent way. The system aims to minimise bureaucracy for both the LSC and Skills Brokers by enabling electronic uploads of data using a standard system.

The business will be challenging for some organisations, and will require cultural changes. All providers who offer (or have the potential to offer) a quality service, will need to embrace this change and realise the opportunity this presents for them……

The characteristics of the delivery of work-based learning indicate that Information and Learning Technologies (ILT) can contribute significantly to learning and the administration of the learning experience. Those characteristics are:

Demand-led recruitment patterns

Limited scope for classroom / workshop-based activities due to demands on employee time and difficulties for SMEs in releasing staff

Possible reluctance of employees to return to learning within a training organisation

The building of the portfolio of evidence in the workplace

The need to access theory elements and underpinning knowledge at a time and place other than at the provider institution

The need to prove competence in key skills

The need to maintain communications links between the learner and tutor during the working week…….

A personalised approach to the application of e-learning for Train to Gain will include:

Initial assessment and accreditation of prior learningHealth and safety training and assessmentMaintenance of a log of the individual learner’s progressMaintaining up-to-date and accurate personal informationPerformance against targets; profile of achievement against qualification aimsElectronic portfolio building incorporating structured methods of providing evidence of competence including audio, video, photographs, etc Deadlines and progress towards achievementUsage statistics of online systemsAccess to underpinning knowledgeAccess to learning materials that exploit the capabilities of ILT; interactivity, moving images, demonstrations, commercial training materials /softwareAssessment processes including testing to measure short term goals and online assessment contributing to qualification aims, for example, key skills.Information, advice and guidance; counselling, funding, careers education and guidance, etcReturns from the learner related to the payment of the education

maintenance allowanceCommunications enabled between tutor and learner and between learnersLearner and employer involvement and consultation strategies……

CORE PRODUCT

FENC Web Application

Bespoke Solution

Moodle Implementation

Bespoke Solution

Moodle Implementation

Tutor/Instructor

Learner LearnerLearner Learner Learner

Tutor/Instructor

Skills Broker Training Provider

Admin Tools

Support

Individual learner

Deadlines and progress towards achievement

Initial assessment/APL

Log of Progress

Portfolio

10 Communications enabled between tutor and learner and between learners

11 Maintaining up-to-date and accurate personal information

13 Learner and employer involvement and consultation strategies

14 Information, advice and guidance; counselling, funding, careers education and guidance, etc

7 Returns from the learner related to the payment of the education maintenance allowance

8 Health and safety training and assessment

Access to learning materials that exploit the capabilities of ILT; interactivity, moving images, video demonstrations, commercial training materials / software

9 Usage statistics of online systems

Assessment processes including testing to measure short term goals and online assessment contributing to qualification aims, for example, key skills

Performance against targets; building the profile of achievement against the qualification aims

12 Access to underpinning knowledge

Support

Admin

Individual learnerTools

Support:

Admin:

Course packager:Tools:

Client: