I see the organisation (in this case Otago Polytechnic) like the picture of this magnificent tree. The solid rock with it's intertwined tree roots is an analogy for the foundations that an institution can provide in order for the student to feel thay can lay roots, feel part of and use the rock to produce upright growth and ultimately flourish. In order to give the student the best chance at succeeding we can aim to be as flexible as possible in our interactions, this can mean time (out of hours for instance), location - do we always need to meet at the office or classroom, and content. The latter can be the most difficult for a lot of unit standards based vocational courses, like veterinary nursing, where stakeholders (agricultural industry for one) have a big say in what type of workforce they require, and we then tailor our courses to meet those needs. We do have some flexibility in the way we interpret the unit standards assessments but these must fall in line with industry not student.I like the notion of treating our adult learners like adults, the use of lerning contracts to set out what we are going to study and when can be very useful, I have found that given the choice students will use their time wisely, and if they know exactly what is expected of them, they can negotiate and take ownership of the study.
There is some good information about using learning contracts at this website
Happy learning!
Hi there
ReplyDeleteI am wondering how much support we have to give the learners straight out of school so that they can transition from being school pupils to adult learners?
I love your analogy to the tree A. If the tree is well nourished the tree will have strong roots and the tree will flourish. I see an organisation also has a role to play (in addition to the storng foundations and infra structure) in helping to provide some of the nutrients which students need to keep going by providing flexible ways of learning.
ReplyDeleteThese nutrients include - confident and innovative teachers who are responsive to their students - like yourself;
resources to provide a creative learning environment;
support to students and teachers with using technology and developing the skills they need to stay afloat.
can you think of any more?
Regarding the learning contracts - I am a fan myself and have used them in the past. However the word contract now seems a little rigid - so I prefer the term negotiated learning and/or assessment agreement. How about your thoughts on the term?
I love the idea of setting your own learning goals or even assessment - gives you so much more control over your learning. BUT...what if you don't know what you have to learn? EG if I am a junior vet nurse student and know nothing about animals etc...how do I know what I need to know?
ReplyDelete