ICVET Promoting Emerging Practice, TAFE NSW International Centre for VET Teaching and Learning

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Wikipedia

Contains definitions, examples, references and case study.

Wikispaces

This site also contains information and links about blended learning and links to open source resources that may  be utilised in the classroom.

 

AYLING, Billie 2006, Helping students and teachers create their own learning resources,

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, ICVET

COLLINS, Brigitte 2005, Catering to a range of student needs

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, ICVET

TROOD, Cliff 2005, The challenge of remaining flexible

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, ICVET

EVANS Val 2003, Human interaction and construction key to this elearning course

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

FAGUE Phil 2003, Emails motivate distance learners

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

GOODEAR, Lyn & Fitzgerald, Sandra 2003, Managing individual learning pathways for workplace specific training

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

HARDING, Jennifer 2003, Blended Learning for Music and Business Services

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

HOBBS, Beth 2003, Flexibility and choice for Administration Services learners

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

HORTON, Chris & Thompson, Sally 2003, Purpose-built flexible learning space encourages problem based learning

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

HUNT, Marie 2003, Online delivery of Certificate IV and Diploma in Business Administration

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

MATHESON, Steve 2003, Enhancing decision making skills using a range of strategies

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

McMANUS, Mark 2003, Providing learning options to hospitality students

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

SHIRLEY, Wayne & Jackson, Dale 2003, The future is flexible: blended delivery for IT students

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

STEPHENS, Janet 2003, Blended delivery of IT course

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

TURNER, Graham 2003, A blend of old and new for these seafaring distance learners

TAFE NSW VET Pedagogy Project, Part C of Phase 1

Papers and Reports

PITTARD, V 2004, Evidence for E-learning Policy, in Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Vol 13, No 2.

Pittard outlines the challenges for educational researchers to develop the means to measure the impacts of e-learning implementation and for policy makers and institutions in the UK to make subsequent best use of the evidence gathered. She claims there is good reason to argue that use of ICT in teaching and learning is at a critical stage, given the roll-out taking place in that country and the need to ensure both effective take-up and efficient use of scarce institutional resources. The need for a solid research footing on which to make critical decisions is the main argument of the paper. The author points to the difficulty of developing good methodologies for such research, given the complexities of e-learning implementation. Some of the types of research which could assist with gathering useful evidence are noted:

• Examining and monitoring the penetration and 'maturity' of e-learning within education delivery
• Understanding learner needs and preferences toward e-learning
• Identifying factors that maximise effectiveness
• Identifying strategies for transferring effective practice within and between educational sectors
• Examining innovations in the use of ICT that delivers real benefits to learners
• Examining the broader context for factors that enable e-learning to impact positively on educational outcomes
• Examining the impact of ICT deployment on productive time of frontline staff
• Examining the most appropriate forms of assessment in an e-learning environment

The author cites a couple of promising examples of UK research that could add to the quest for evidence-based (or evidence-influenced) policy, these being the ImpaCT2 study, the DfES ICT Test Bed project, and the DfES funded ICT and Motivation study.

This article outlines the background and rationale giving rise to the skill ecosystem model, and draws out the implications for the VET providers.

WEBB, M & Cox, M 2004, A Review of Pedagogy Related to Information and Communications Technology, in Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Vol 13, No 3.

This is a very useful and quite extensive review of the literature relating to the pedagogical issues associated with ICT use and the implications for teachers’ pedagogical reasoning and practices. Although the review focuses on primary and secondary education and specialist subjects within those systems, the key issues raised and the findings have pertinence for VET practitioners. The reviewers claim that the current evidence suggests that the new 'environments' (what they call 'affordance', that is, what the learning environment offers the learner, which depends on both the environment and action capability of the learner) provided by ICT-based learning requires teachers to undertake more complex pedagogic reasoning than in earlier times. The first section of the paper provides a good discussion of the notion of pedagogy. The writers argue that there is need for a pedagogy of ICT to be elucidated within the broader framework of educational practice. Some of the main conclusions drawn from their analysis of the literature include:

• Conceptions of pedagogy are changing in response to developments in our understanding of cognition and meta-cognition
• There is evidence of changes in classroom interaction accompanying increased use of ICT, in particular more student-centred and student-teacher interaction
• Some small-scale studies support the view that well-designed collaborative learning with ICT can be beneficial, although others indicate effective student collaboration for learning with ICT is not easily achieved
• Teachers need to be aware of their students’ beliefs in relation to their degree of control of their learning
• Teachers need to understand the affordances provided by ICT and the usability of those affordances for particular students
• Use of ICT is associated with changes toward a more student-centred model involving collaborative learning, although some research indicated ICT may be enabling teachers who want to adopt a more student-centred model to make this change more readily.

Some of the most salient conclusions for VET drawn by Webb and Cox are:

• There is a need for teachers to make more explicit the underlying theories that influence their work, as a first step to reviewing beliefs they hold about the value of ICT
• Teachers need to understand the relationship between the affordances of a range of ICT resources and the knowledge of concepts and skills in their subject area to be able to plan and select appropriate pedagogic practices
• The role of the teacher is crucial in orchestrating the learning environment to promote collaborative learning and to scaffold student learning

The authors conclude that there is a clear need for teacher professional development, especially since it is a very difficult and complex process to enable teachers to adopt pedagogic reasoning and practices in response to learning affordances offered by ICT.

KIRSCHNER, P & Davis, N 2003, Pedagogic Benchmarks for Information and Communications Technology in Teacher Education, in Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Vol 12, No 1.

This study is an analysis of 26 cases of good practice in ICT teacher training across seven countries, for use in modelling good practice. Whilst the study was concerned with good practice in primary and secondary teacher training, the findings are highly relevant for VET practitioners. The authors identified six benchmarks from the case studies, for teacher training programs, these being:

• Competent personal user of ICT
• Competent to make use of ICT as a mind tool
• Master a range of educational paradigms that make use of ICT as a tool for teaching
• Master a range of assessment paradigms which make use of ICT
• Understand the policy dimension of the use of ICT for teaching and learning

Whilst the authors claim that the first four of these were found in almost all of the programs in the 26 case studies, the last two were also considered important, but weren’t present in all cases. The paper outlines the type of content that should be included in teacher training programs for each benchmark to be reached. This information is very useful for both VET teachers and their managers. Teachers can use the details of the benchmarks to review and plan their own career development, whilst managers can use them to analyse staff skill gaps in sections that are moving (or plan to move) to a more ICT-based pedagogy.

See Also

Blended Learning in Schools, TAFE and University: experience, principles, patterns and practice | BLENDED LEARNING

A joint project of the Centre for Research on Computer Supported Learning & Cognition at the University of Sydney and DET NSW. The project focuses on investigating the quality of blended learning experiences and will use the outcomes to identify and share good practice using a format called 'design pattern'. Due 2006.