Training For Diverse Learners And Contexts

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The aim of this assignment is to specifically identify practices and theories in Vocational Education and training (VET) pedagogy that primarily and strongly impact on workplace training practices. There is an extensive collection of research on accommodating learner’s needs in diverse contexts. However, VET practitioners with apprehension involving student learner needs and the obligation for outcomes such as number of course completions for funding in an emulous VET environment.

Throughout these contexts, and continuing to offer high-quality VET practice and conforming to learner’s needs in particular is a constant challenge. An overview of the readings and research emerging was that learner’s needs are the main focus of VET practice. Existing literature supports that accommodating learner styles in the VET context is more complicated and challenging than merely corresponding a learning style to a learning strategy.

Throughout societies, which traditionally has focused on formal education, has progressively emphasised more on learning in the working life, often articulated as life-long learning (Foley 2004) . Simultaneously, there is a specific need for pedagogy, there is also a need for more self-directed pedagogy to occur to the diverse cultural work environment (Brookfield 1985).

Challenges within the Learning Environment

The Vocational education and training traditionally was to prepare young adults including men and women for a range of roles beyond schooling (Blake 2007). There is a reasonable association among education and training and economic growth. Education and training is a broad conception, blending secondary schooling, higher education, vocational education and training, and workplace training, along with personal individual occupation of training (Blake & Gallagher 2009). Particular consideration is given to the significant importance of VET across an industry and cultural sectors, and the place for VET in the future of education and training in the workplace.

The last decade has shown a rapid change in adult education one of which was opportunities for women in society and in the workplace the improvement towards accomplishing equality in employment – with the distinctness of entry into the lower levels of some professions (Butler & Ferrier 2000). VET apprenticeships and traineeships have an existing degree of stereotyping and segregation in vocational education and training (Nielsen 2008). According to (Butler & Ferrier 2000) it is of specific apprehension that these policy initiatives be reinforced, and not challenge stereotyping and that vocational education and training give young adults and adults with narrow and segregated route ways while delivering to industry and gender-based of talent.

The other change is the various factors that are congregating that construct teaching and pedagogy in cross-cultural and multicultural contexts in a more conventional way (Hofstede 1986). Several professions are developing a world in which cross-cultural interactions transpired more often than at any time in the past. Increasing specialisation within many professions has led to broadly dispersed spectators directed to education and training (Foley 2004). Professional students that want to say current or want to develop specialised skills that match their current employment needs of this rapidly changing working environment, must get access to suitable educational opportunities, even if this entails distance learning approaches (Smith & Sadler-Smith 2006).

(Weeks 2000) explains the rising need for educational access guides to students who truly demand culturally flexible learning experiences that let full development of those students (Wallace, Curry & Agar 2008). As noted by Sparks & Butterwick (cited in Foley 2004) explains that students admitting into professional education in a multicultural environment not associated with their own culture can experience much conflict. Accordingly, VET providers, including VET trainers and course developers, in particular people working in the online environment meet to support enough presence and student engagement, are required to develop skills to enable to deliver culturally holistic and culturally flexible lessons (Wallace, Curry & Agar 2008).

If education and course design are essentially social processes Sparks & Butterwick (cited in Foley 2004), educators can no longer take part in developing course materials. In order for training be successful for students, VET professionals must be mindful of the cultures of their students and see those cultures manifest in learning preferences (Foley 2004). VET professionals should look at the theories they hold about learners’ determination in learning and respond by keeping an open mind for potentially unpredicted responses. VET professionals must also balance the need to aid students to adjust to a particular profession, academic, and mainstream cultures and the need to accept these different embedded cultures (Smith & Sadler-Smith 2006).

The distinct challenge for VET professionals is to recognise which learning behaviors based on learners’ cultural ethics and the learners not be challenged, which behaviors have clear practices that learner be challenged for the benefit of promoting pedagogy (Cunningham 1998). In addition, further challenges include knowing which training methods will be most valuable for a group of students, deciding how different learning methods be tailored in cultural and multicultural situations (Wallace, Curry & Agar 2008). The existing research and literature that aids in addressing these challenges is emerging but still limited. (Smith & Sadler-Smith 2006) explains the different concepts of learning styles for diverse learners. For example young adult learners are typically in a learning environment for the reason that they are supervised to learn by their parents or other peers. Young adults typically learn what shown to them by the educator, learners’ like challenge, and open to new ideas (Blake 2007). They see an adult educator as a model and rely upon them for the skills and knowledge they are to learn. Keeping young and adult learners stimulated is challenging. It is important to keep the pedagogy interesting to keep these youths and adult students stimulated and eager about what they are learning (Blake & Gallagher 2009).

According to Sadler‐Smith (1996) students who engage well in their pedagogy and appreciate what is being learnt will understand what they have learnt instantly. If the educator focuses on these skills students will feel important and boost their self-confidence and autonomy. (Wright 1987) expands on learners being more independent and will take education seriously, and they commit to their own pedagogy. Adult students like to manage their lives plus feel accountable for their studies; it is essential to listen to the students needs and to integrate them into the lesson plans (Ramsden 2003). Adults bring many years of life experiences to their learning (Smith & Sadler-Smith 2006). These knowledge and experiences draw to make their pedagogy very interesting and interactive. Keeping adults motivated is crucial in their pedagogy process (Brookfield 1985). Further examination of literature and research we can see that there are similarities in teaching or training whether its youths, adults from different cultures (Hofstede 1986). These student groups will entail clear instructions from their educator, and will learn more when being challenged. (Kember 1995) explains, all students need respect, trust, support and successful in learning, the educator is there to guide the pedagogy.

Methodology Challenges in the Workplace Training

Pedagogy is a workplace and economic necessity in the VET industry, with examining what education is in an adult/student environment. This framework focuses on the ability based assessment and learning strategies and styles (Velde 1999).

How do we assess learning critically, especially in the workplace? Why is workplace learning so important? (Billett 2002) argues that workplace learning principles and practices needs critiquing as it restricts how workplace learning is conceptualised. Workplace learning or training is undertaken in the workplace environment, usually on the job, which includes on the job training under customary working conditions, along with onsite training, which away from the work practice and in a training classroom environment (Mansfield 1991). How do you apply these learning techniques in the workplace? (Blake 2007) defines that applied learning based on experimental learning. Some characteristics of pedagogy identified by (Kalantzis, Harvey & Cope 2001) and explains the ‘New Basics’ change and diversify. (Sadler‐Smith & J Smith 2004) discusses the learn-as-they-go, solve problems, collaborate, and be flexible and creative in the teaching process. (Kalantzis, Harvey & Cope 2001) explains the concept of skills and knowledge which required from learners to be successful. Effective learners will increasingly need autonomous and flexible, collaborative and self-directed, and generally knowledgeable, and able to work effectively with linguistic and cultural diversity (Wright 1987). To conceptualised workplaces as justifiable learning environments, it is essential to transform the existing discourse on learning through work (Billett 2004) describes the challenges about workplace learning and experiences being unsatisfactory and experiences by the training institutions or workplaces, from the potential independence of the learning outcomes.

Diverse Learning Methodologies in the Workplace

The current training packages in VET show outcomes and not processes, the strategies used to ease outcomes are to some extent flexible. Flexibility and self-direction is important as the learners take accountability and control for their own learning development (Velde 1999). Some students will also differ in their cognitive capabilities and the use of different learning strategies to meet their goals (Billett 1993). Student centred teaching methods and strategies in training involve students to have some independence and self direction(Brookfield 1985). A student-centred approach focuses fundamentally on what the student desires to do to learn, and not on the course content or the program of information by the educator (Shuell 1986).

Shuell (1986, p.429) describes the concept of student learning ‘Without taking away from the important role played by the teacher, it is helpful to remember that what the student does is actually more important in determining what is learned than what the teacher does’. Student-centred pedagogy allows the students to develop knowledge, as opposed to actively receiving information, and promotes deep learning. White (2012) expands on the different methods and strategies for promoting metacognition and the capacity to analyse problems. These strategies include active learning, or student centred pedagogy and reflective techniques along with self-evaluation of critical incidents, using problem solving activities lastly behaviour modeling (Sadler-Smith & Riding 1999). Blake (2007) suggests using similar methods for development of key competencies such as workplace projects, problem solving activities, enquiry based learning and reflection.

Within the changing nature of the VET system, apprenticeships, traineeships and the work environment, Australia is seeing traditional pathways through employment (Velde 1999). Chappell et al. (2003) has argued that this shift is not only changing in the workplace but culture and society are changing about employment and the necessary skills that these people need to engage in the new economy, knowledge, learning and the affiliation between training and education (VandenHeuvel & Wooden 1999). Necessary skills or known as generic skills have been broadly identified as general and personal abilities and approaches in workplace training (Velde 1999). The difficulty with generic skills in the current VET system is the distinct reflection in the training package units. Generic skills encapsulated into the training packages, which seem to have issues in developing generic skills. A transferability skill is lifelong learning and of students being participants in a society of learners. (Marett & Hoggard 1996) expands on connecting generic skills with student understanding of learning transfer. Whilst the key competencies offer a framework about outcomes for fostering generic skills; students need to find how to build their own knowledge (Velde 1999). Billett (1998) expands teaching of metacognitive methods thinking about thinking or learning to learn and guiding these students in the areas of problem solving will be the key to whether the learned skill to new situations. Therefore, educators must integrate suitable adult learning strategies in the classroom environment to help metacognition; so students expand their strategies for reflective and learning practice (Misko 1995) .

Every student will have different life experiences and a variation of learning styles, Brookfield (1995) expands these strategies as: critical reflection, self-directed, experimental, and learning to learn. Self-directed students take responsibility of their own learning and achieving their goals, this however, indicates that self-directed learners will focus more on the processes of being taught than on real content (Brookfield 1995). However this indicates that students are more engrossed in procedural knowledge and not propositional knowledge. Critical reflection in plain terms is critiquing what has been done and deciding how it can be improved or different in imminent situations (Mezirow 1990) . The competence is to show critically on experiences, and knowledge gained from experience with knowledge already possessed, and act on insights is analysed by some educators to be a unique feature of the student learners (Brookfield 1998).

The principles and practices to the vocational education and training industry is competency based (Velde 1999). The extensive concept of competencies associated to the human resource development (HRD) in terms of needs assessments (Smith & Sadler-Smith 2006) p.107, where the skills and abilities and knowledge, for specific employment responsibilities, and then used to close whether the students acting in those roles have the essential skills and abilities to do their occupation to the mandatory standard (Misko 1994). When definition of competence or competency achieved, what is found is a lack of a single clear or specific construct Velde (1999), however there is some agreement that competencies are a clustering of elements which concerns some aspects of training and development.

The Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (Innovation.gov.au) indicates a cognitive connection which annates competency as: ‘Competency is the consistent application of knowledge and skill to the standard of performance required in the workplace. It embodies the ability to transfer and apply skills and knowledge to new situations and environments’.

The Australian government has attempted to show competency in such detail, as the VET industry in Australia established on a competency based system of training which consists of training packages which includes units of competency (Velde 1999). As an Educator/Assessor in the VET industry my criticism about CBT is the deficient in flexibility imposed by the use of training packages. The workplace is self-motivated, frequently changing and requires students creativeness (Cunningham 1998). If you combine all these methodologies of learning into a mixer you come up with blended learning. (Stacey & Gerbic 2009) expands on the concepts in perspective and what they define blended learning really is. In the last decade the learning and development industry has had to regularly recreate itself with the continuous introduction of different platforms and new tools along with different approaches to pedagogy (Peoples, Robinson & Calvert 1997).

Blended learning is to create a number of diverse approaches to create high effect in learning (Sadler‐Smith 1996). Whilst a blended approach is not a new theory, various training institutions are now combining resources such as on-line learning with classroom training or a self-paced course workbooks with one-on-one training (Sadler‐Smith & J Smith 2004) p.109. This is beneficial to training organisations as they are optimising and maximising the use of their learning resources. This collective approach using learning resources in addition to proving linked alternatives to learning can habitually amplify what has been learnt (Forrester & McTigue 2004). Blended learning is almost certainly more pertinent now (Stacey & Gerbic 2009), than in the past, and the complicatedness of developing the blend, with distance and external learning with a series of collaboration tools has by no means been more challenging for the course developers and more critical for the training organisation. We all recognise how valuable classroom training is, we recognise how well e-learning can bring basic skill training, practical training and simulations to broad and geographically dispersed spectators (Smith & Sadler-Smith 2006). The on-the-job training, one-on-one training and mentoring cannot be denied (Smith & Sadler-Smith 2006)p. 109. We find the strengths and a weakness of these training resources, so we blend using the effective contexts from each learning approach (Party 1992) . This way, the learners get the best from every learning resource to have significant, high effect on the training. Blended learning is different learning approaches to training and learning (Stacey & Gerbic 2009) . Blended learning uses delivery methods such as combining e-learning with more conservative facilitator focus training. Blended learning is significant as it allows an array of different teaching contexts and can address different learning methods and styles (Misko 1994).

CONCLUSION

Workplace transform will need the training sector and re-education to a great extent of the workplace environment in the next decade. The curriculum already stated, must present students with the tools to work in the current global economy – as a whole in academic regulations. It must also be adjusted to show youth and adult workers to knowledge-based workers. A concept to competency-based training, which facilitates pedagogy in fast change and complexity, so becomes paramount, for the reason that the needs to not only get new skills to revise old ones, but to understand the impact of diverse conceptions of competence on pedagogy.

It is customary practice to differentiate ‘occupational’ skills from ‘general’ skills, although this distinction is ultimately to some extent arbitrary and the two categories has different effects in the education sector. Specialised occupational skills of today may become part of general knowledge in the next decade; therefore, development of skills in VET is fundamental, suitable strategies and methods used to promote cognitive development growth. In order to formulate these skills manageable it is imperative that institutions and professionals in the VET industry recognise what students are looking for from this type of pedagogy, therefore enabling learner’s action and the immediate use of pedagogy for which they are searching.