Jisc case studies wiki Case studies / Work Based Learners in Further Education (WoLF)
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Work Based Learners in Further Education (WoLF)

Lead Contact: Lucy Stone (lstone@lec.ac.uk)

JISC Programme: JISC e-Learning Capital Programme

Lead Institution and Partners: Leicester College, University of Leicester

 

Project Dates: April 2007 - December 2008

 

Case study tags: online learninge-portfolios,leicester collegee-portfolios for application,e-portfolios for assessmente-portfolios for supporting learning processesprofessional body perspectives on e-portfolios

 

Background & Context

 

What is the background to the e-portfolio initiative?

 

Ensuring that all Teaching Assistants are professionally qualified to Level 3 is a priority for national government and the local Learning and Skills Council (LSC East Midlands, 2007). A Foundation Degree in Educational Studies is the main route for Teaching Assistants wanting to gain HE qualifications.

 

The WoLF project is about complementing the core activities of JISC's e-Learning Capital Programme, focused on meeting the needs of learners in a work-based learning environment. The project contributed to creating a personalised learning experience enabling learners to reflect on their practice in a number of locations, for example, at College, home or in the workplace. The mobile device provided the students with the opportunity to capture stills, video and sound to enhance their written work and to put into context what they were learning.

 

Prior to the project the students were using Blackboard to access documents and resources and occasionally participating in a forum discussion.

 

Teaching Assistants often work in hectic classrooms within their chosen early years setting (Primary Schools, nurseries and special educational needs environments), often relying on recording instances that occur with paper and or on a laptop as they do not have desks with available technology. Due to technological advances, there are now many devices that provide the facility to take still images, video clips, Dictaphone recordings and digital note taking. These pocket-sized devices are easily accessible to the Teaching Assistants to record a moment that could be used later for their portfolio of evidence, to refer to when reflecting on their practice or to share with their tutor or peers in a face-to-face lesson.

 

This is a transferable model that complements other types of peripatetic, work-based learners for example, chefs, construction workers and nurses.

 

What were the aims and objectives of the initiative?

 

WoLF addressed two challenges directly concerned with Teaching Assistants' ability to learn.

 

First, systematic recording of classroom activities and developing a portfolio of evidence are key aspects of Teaching Assistants' (TAs) learning which occurs in primary school classrooms. TAs rely on pen-and-paper because it is too awkward to use laptops in a hectic classroom. WoLF examined how Pocket PCs can open up new opportunities for TAs to develop their portfolios and thereby promote reflection in practice.

 

Second, TAs learn in many different spaces: for example, factual and conceptual learning in weekly face-to-face sessions with tutors; through practice and observation while at work; and private studies at home, in the Learning Resource Centres and elsewhere. Varied learning activities occurring in these spaces should knit together so that TAs can map their learning in one space onto their learning in the other spaces. Access to the VLE on a mobile device will help the TAs to have all their learning resources in their 'briefcase', enabling them to integrate learning occurring in all the spaces and to record their classroom observations.

 

How was the initiative implemented?

 

WoLF followed an action research methodology - WoLF is primarily about improving practice and bringing about change hence this approach best suited its aims.

 

Data was gathered qualitatively from multiple sources adhering to ethical guidelines. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews with Teaching Assistants/project staff:

  1. Tracking TAs' use of project VLE both content and discussion
  2. Visits to classrooms to observe TAs at work in schools
  3. Focus group discussions with first year students
  4. Analysis of evidence included in portfolios

 

Owing to the sensitive nature of going into an Early Years setting two processes had to be completed prior to interviews taking place or devices being used. The first was a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check of the Researcher to enable him to go into the schools, nurseries and SEN establishments to carry out interviews. The second was a letter to all heads of the establishments asking if the taking of images and sound recordings was permissible and how and when this information would be shared with the community.

 

Data analysis was carried out using cognitive mapping, a data analysis methodology founded on George Kelly's theory of personal construct to help structure, analyse and make sense of accounts of problems.

 

Technology Used

 

What technologies and/or e-tools were available to you or did you seek to develop?

 

Pocket PCs or PDAs were key to the project.

 

The pocket PCs were synchronised with the College's Moodle VLE.

 

Self assessment of study and ICT skills through surveys helped inform tutors of any additional support needs. Increasing opportunities for learners to liaise and collaborate with their peers and tutors through discussion forums and chat rooms. Improved access to resources and information was provided including a facility to upload still images, video clips or sound in support of written work submitted online. View a Captivate demonstration (SWF).

 

A Technical Help Forum was developed to support the learners with the use of the technology - which will now be replicated across the HE provision as part of the HELLO project (running from April 2009 until 2010 as part of JISC's Lifelong Learning and Work Force Development strand of Benefits Realisation). Visit the HELLO project website.

 

Success Factors

 

What are the key outcomes of the initiative?

 

WoLF has had impact in four main areas:

 

The institutions

 

The project VLE became a platform for knowledge sharing and management around learning objects developed by tutors and learners

A model of delivery learning with PDAs has emerged from empirical research where tasks and assignments provide a structure for learners to gather evidence in a flexible manner using the classroom as a base

Use of the PDA has led to context generated learning design where learning activities in one context are mapped onto learning in other contexts

A new method of formative assessment has been developed through the use of e-Tutorials, a chat service developed by the tutor.

 

Learning

 

Learner generated audio and video clips based on classroom activities driven by course assignments are now embedded into portfolios

Learner generated online reflective journal distilling learning from practice and tracking learning processes and experiences in use

The potential for collaborative learning is emerging along the lines of cohort-based communities of practice

 

Research Community

 

The use of cognitive mapping methodology has proved valuable for detailed modeling of the views, experiences and feelings of the Teaching Assistants

 

Employers

 

Use of the device can be adjusted to any learning or working environment

Most students produced resources for assessment/feedback from the tutor; however, some students commenced production of resources during the project. It is likely that their awareness was raised overall for using personally owned devices in the future.

Learners have acquired transferable ICT and e-communication skills that are potentially of added value to employers. Some students recognised importance of ICT skills to future learning and employment.

 

Other outcomes include:

  • A course site has been developed offering tools including a reflective journal, online tutorial chat room, discussion forums, and online formative and summative feedback.
  • A pedagogical framework for work-based mobile learning which will continue to influence the institution and the sector and is already in use in a new project (Duckling)
  • A number of developments on Moodle that can be shared across the HE provision at Leicester College (HELLO) Project and the wider community, including an e-Tutorial Chat Room and Reflective Journal.
  • Learner generated online reflective, multimedia evidence-based journals for personalised learning. Using the technology to capture visual and auditory evidence enabled students to put into context their written work, adding to existing lesson observations in the workplace. Work place evidence and moments captured on the mobile devices, allowed students to reflect back on their practice and to embed the evidence within their portfolio.
  • Teacher-driven e-tutorial service as part of formative feedback. An understanding from practitioners for a need to identify uses of the technology in their classroom and work-based learning settings and to 'guide' students
  • Increased communication tools to assist the tutor in communicating with cohorts or whole course
  • Increased communication tools to assist with students collaborating on joint assignments and presentations
  • Opportunities to try out the mobile devices in other work-based settings
  • Bringing early years' classrooms into the FE classroom enabling students to carry out discussions with real-life examples which were shared via a student VLE site as well as in the classroom.

 

What follow-up activity will be/has been carried out as a result of the project?

 

Outcomes from WoLF are already being deployed in a new Curriculum Delivery project at the University of Leicester,Duckling and have featured in another JISC bid (Swallows - awaiting outcome).
Leicester College received confirmation of funding for a new project - HELLO (Higher Education Lifelong Learning Opportunities). The HELLO project will focus on two aspects:

  1. The replication of the reflective tools developed during the WoLF project
  2. The development of a social networking site that allows the HE students to develop their own communities but also acts as a portal for business and industry experts and other HE institutions to participate in, advise on and advertise possible work placement opportunities

Through dissemination of the WoLF project, the Project Manager has been asked to re-develop the Student Services Moodle site in order to offer more interactive and collaborative features including a Reflecting Journal, a discussion forum for Disabled students, self assessments of needs, and evaluation of careers advice and guidance services.

Similar developments are to be made to a Project, Partners and Innovators Moodle - allowing 1300 students who study outside Leicester College and throughout the UK access to support and self assessment tools appropriate to students who are studying in the workplace and at other partnerships.

A number of summer courses are to be developed for staff, using examples from the WoLF project - to focus on encouraging staff to engage students in using their own mobile devices to record and share evidence, incidences and experiences.

 

Lessons Learned

 

What are the lessons learned from the project?

 

  • The PDA was added to the foundation degree programme rather than being embedded into it, and as such was less integrated than if curriculum design occurred earlier
  • In view of the differences in learner competence and confidence, early profiling of learners is important for the provision of personalised support
  • Attention to work roles and mentoring is useful for building horizontal communities of practice around work teams and learning cohorts
  • Context sensitive classroom activities within small groups is more likely to promote engagement. Formative feedback is useful for distilling learning from practice
  • Mobile learning occurs mainly in public spaces. Institution-wide ethical policies are thus important for learning across different spaces
  • Effectiveness of mobile devices depends on the quality of output generated. It is thus important to purchase devices that produce quality outputs, for example, use of images in PowerPoint presentations, sound files used as portfolio evidence picking up background noise
  • Seamless cross-institutional access to learning platforms is important
  • Learning 'anywhere and at anytime' should go hand in hand with 'support anytime in any location'. It is important to integrate formal and informal support mechanisms
  • The Pocket PC is good as an active device to capture spontaneous moments but not so good for accessing pre-prepared activity and resources which are better delivered through an institutional VLE
  • Better use of the technology may be as a result of encouraging learners to use their own devices
  • Individual confidence and competence is crucial for engaging with mobile devices

 

Further Resources

 

A public facing project Moodle site on which to share information to the wider community - http://wolf.lec.ac.uk

Quote from Sahm Nikoi's podcast on WoLF website (1:24 in to audio track)

"For the Piaget's Conversation task which is when I recorded it I think it worked quite well because you're able to listen back to exactly what you said so as far as observations are concerned you have to write really quickly"