The Work-based Learning Route in the Netherlands and in England: Comparing ideas and meanings

The paper provides the outcomes of two small-scale sets of interviews carried out in the Netherlands and in England on views about and interpretations of the work-based route for young people. In the light of current revival of interest in work-based learning for young people, and in particular the apprenticeship model in England, I was particularly interested in the issue of parity of esteem between the work-based route and other routes. Whereas in the Netherlands the focus for the development of Vocational Education and Training (VET) is on the full-time vocational route, which has a reasonably high status, England has opted for the apprenticeship route to be the development tool for high quality VET. The paper explores what we can learn about our own experiences in England in the light of what is happening elsewhere (Raffe, 1998; Raffe et al ., 1999). It becomes clear from the data obtained that policy development in the Netherlands aims to increase the status of work-based learning through incorporating the route into the full-time route and providing end qualifications that can be achieved through either a full-time college-based route or through a work-based learning route. The modern apprenticeship route or work-based learning route as such has not a high status, contrary to what is sometimes claimed to be the case. In England, the aim of policymakers is to create a work-based learning route, which is considered to be a high quality route, and is comparable to the general/academic route. The paper shows that there are various reasons as to why this attempt might fail. Both countries aim to provide a 'ladder' or 'column' of opportunities in VET. The research shows that very few young people in fact move up a ladder, but rather move into work-based learning or apprenticeships at certain points on the continuum, and subsequently move sideways into general or theoretical provision in order to be able to progress higher up. Target groups for work-based learning are different at the lower end from those at levels 3, 4 and 5. Very few participants in either country move from level 1 up to level 4 through participation in a work-based route, and it may therefore be appropriate to talk about the provision of a climbing framework, where young people move backwards and forwards and sideways, rather than about a ladder of opportunities.     

How valuable is ‘short project’ placement experience to higher education students?

Much of the research into higher education and its role in work-based learning, and especially in supporting undergraduate students on placements, has focused on longer-term internships and sandwich courses. Research has also concentrated on subject areas that have traditionally been associated with the above, for example business, health and engineering. By contrast, the aim of this study was to gather data from students on a much shorter period of placement categorised as a ‘short project’. In addition, the data recovered was from students studying within the social sciences paradigm, undertaking an undergraduate degree in education studies (not teacher training). The social sciences and humanities more generally have not been discussed to any great extent within the context of research on placement or work-based learning; the subject area of education studies is not covered by previous research. The results suggest that even a relatively short period of structured placement can be of significant benefit to students and provide them with an opportunity to assess their career direction and gain valuable experience. The article also considers to what extent this type of placement can be applied to other subject areas within higher education.     

Enacting educational partnership: collective identity,decision-making (and the importance of muffin chat)

The rhetoric of partnership is ubiquitous in the current policy context. In education, partnerships take a number of forms among which is ‘interorganisational collaboration’ (IOC), defined as a partnership between institutions/organisations aimed at developing synergistic solutions to complex problems. But policy has a tendency to veneer, obscuring its enactment. The purpose of this paper is therefore to examine what such partnerships look like on the ground. Here we present an empirical analysis which aims to produce knowledge about the working of such collaborative groups and to provide insights into leadership within such partnerships. Drawing on communicative constitution of organisations operationalised within a schema for understanding the emergence of collective identity in IOC, we undertake an analysis of meetings held by a working group comprising academics and local authority staff set up to develop masters-level work-based professional learning for teachers. We ask, how do professionals working within different contexts create a collective identity that supports decision-making, and what are the implications for leadership?     

“An adjective is a word hanging down from a noun”: Learning to write and students with learning disabilities

By the upper elementary grades, writing becomes an essential tool both for learning and for showing what you know. Students who struggle significantly with writing are at a terrible disadvantage. Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that only 25% of students can be classified as competent writers; students with learning disabilities (LD) have even greater problems with writing than their normally achieving peers and frequently demonstrate a deteriorating attitude toward writing after the primary grades. In this article, we focus on composing and the writing process, and examine the knowledge base about writing development and instruction among students with LD. We address what research tells us about skilled writers and the development of writing knowledge, strategies, skill, and the will to write, and how this relates to students with LD. Next, we summarize what has been learned from research on writing development, effective instruction, and the writing abilities of students with LD in terms of effective instruction for these students. Finally, we indicate critical areas for future research.     

应用型人才相关问题辨析

应用型人才是一种社会需求越来越多的人才类型,是近年来教育主管部门大力倡导的人才培养目标,也是高等教育研究的热门领域。但学界和业界对什么是应用型人才、怎样培养应用型人才等基本问题还未达成共识。综合各家观点,应用型人才应该是指具有一定的专业知识,应用客观规律为社会谋取直接利益或社会效益的人才。应用型人才分为技术应用型、工程应用型和知识应用型三类。应用型人才的培养应从开放的教育理念、官产学合作的外部环境、注重能力的培养方案、有效的实践教学、复合的师资队伍、改良的教学方法等方面着力,同时,应建立有别于传统方法的应用型人才评价体系。     

Implications of facilitated work-based learning implemented as an approach to continuing engineering education

ABSTRACT

The development of employees’ skills and competences has become a key driver of economic growth in the developed world. It is widely recognised that enhancing people’s skills and competences will be a major cause of future competitive advantage. Consequently, companies need to be able to identify precise areas where they have, or can build, distinctive competences. To meet these needs, various models and approaches for continuing engineering education have emerged. One such approach is the facilitated work-based learning (FWBL) model, the aim of which is to introduce an approach to tailor-made courses built on work-based learning (WBL) and problem-based learning (PBL). This paper addresses the implementation of tailor-made continuing engineering education in company settings through the use of FWBL. It draws on a huge amount of documentation produced within the Via Nord project, which was supported by the European Social Fund and engaged various companies in northern Denmark. The aim is to investigate how the FWBL model worked in practice when implemented as a means for tailor-made continuing engineering education applied in a company setting.     

Laboratory apprenticeship through a student research project

There has been a long tradition of laboratory activities associated with science instruction. Despite constructivists' claims advocating open-ended inquiry and mentoring, little is known about what students are thinking when engaged in laboratory activities. Laboratory learning as a process of cognitive apprenticeship has been proposed as a metaphor to guide teacher practice and student learning. The viability of cognitive apprenticeship for learning science in school is discussed in relation to findings from an investigation of a research project involving high school students working in a university chemical engineering laboratory under the mentorship of a university-based scientist. Data from a variety of techniques were analyzed in an interpretive style. We found that the students were empowered to seek empirically viable knowledge claims as they became independent researchers. However, we argue that caution needs to be exercised before advocating open-ended inquiry as a general model for laboratory learning without additional studies in different contexts. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Making inquiry-based science learning visible: the influence of CVS and cognitive skills on content knowledge learning in guided inquiry

ABSTRACT

Many science curricula and standards emphasise that students should learn both scientific knowledge and the skills associated with the construction of this knowledge. One way to achieve this goal is to use inquiry-learning activities that embed the use of science process skills. We investigated the influence of scientific reasoning skills (i.e. conceptual and procedural knowledge of the control-of-variables strategy) on students’ conceptual learning gains in physics during an inquiry-learning activity. Eighth graders (n?=?189) answered research questions about variables that influence the force of electromagnets and the brightness of light bulbs by designing, running, and interpreting experiments. We measured knowledge of electricity and electromagnets, scientific reasoning skills, and cognitive skills (analogical reasoning and reading ability). Using structural equation modelling we found no direct effects of cognitive skills on students’ content knowledge learning gains; however, there were direct effects of scientific reasoning skills on content knowledge learning gains. Our results show that cognitive skills are not sufficient; students require specific scientific reasoning skills to learn science content from inquiry activities. Furthermore, our findings illustrate that what students learn during guided inquiry activities becomes visible when we examine both the skills used during inquiry learning and the process of knowledge construction. The implications of these findings for science teaching and research are discussed.     

How do Student Teachers Elicit their Mentor Teachers' Practical Knowledge?

The present study focuses on how student-teachers attempt to elicit the practical knowledge of the mentor teachers who supervise their practical training. Having access to the practical knowledge of their mentors means, among other things, that student-teachers have access to the cognitions underlying teaching that can help them to understand their mentors' teaching style, advice, and feedback. The analysis of 29 interviews with student-teachers revealed three self-initiated activities for this access: (1) observing a mentor's lesson; (2) asking specific questions about lessons observed; and (3) discussing the student's lesson or teaching and education in general. Not all the activities mentioned by the student-teachers elicited what is called 'practical knowledge' in the literature. As practical knowledge is an important element of the learning-to-teach process, it was concluded that the stimulation of activities aimed at exploring this knowledge could make a valuable contribution to teacher education. The instruments used in the research on teacher knowledge and beliefs could be helpful for attaining this objective. Implications of this research for teacher education and suggestions for further research are presented.     

Can Didactic Transposition and Popularization Explain Transformations of Genetic Knowledge from Research to Classroom?

We will attempt a synthesis from various research perspectives that have analyzed the alterations that knowledge inevitably goes through while percolating into classroom activities. We will try to identify some of their causes and will illustrate them with examples in genetics. First, we will discuss some research on knowledge transformation when genetics knowledge is popularized (Staerklé and Clémence 2002), to show how knowledge is transformed in specific predictable manners as it moves from experts to general public. Then, we will draw from a large body of (French) research in didactic transposition (Chevallard 1991) in order to highlight what knowledge characteristically thrives or is lost as it percolates into school practice and learner’s knowledge. We will then draw from Huberman’s (Science Communication, 4(4), 478–510, 1983) analysis of knowledge use in schools the specificities of knowledge that teachers effectively use. All three perspectives reveal that cognitive and social environment are crucial determinants of what knowledge will be found in schools. An ecological metaphor explains how different cognitive environments from research into education favor knowledge adapted to specificities of this ecosystem. This transposition of knowledge is therefore not decay but inescapable and necessary. Ignoring this transposition has considerably reduced the effectiveness of many educational reforms. We will combine these three to propose an evolutionary perspective that could inform ways of expressing research into educational recommendations fed into the system to optimize the didactic transposition process.     

高职建筑工程技术专业学分制的创新研究

高职建筑工程技术专业是传统的专业,如何进行改革,如何推行工学结合,构建新的学分制教学体系,是建筑工程技术专业面临的重要问题。为此,必须对目前的学分制培养计划进行创新与完善,在研究该专业毕业生基本能力构成的基础上,深化课程的整合,加强工学结合的力度,采用弹性学制,建立适应社会发展的建筑工程技术专业学分制人才培养体系。     

A Diversity Of Doctorates: Fitness for the knowledge economy?

There is now an increasing diversity of doctoral education in the Australian higher education landscape. As well as the traditional PhD by thesis, there are professional doctorates, doctorates by publication and PhDs by project. The latter are a particularly significant development since for the most part they are entirely work-based with minimal formal disciplinary input. This paper seeks to relate this diversity of doctoral degrees to the growth of the knowledge economy and the imperatives it is said to impose on universities and the education of doctoral students. Changes in knowledge production and what constitutes legitimate knowledge are related to doctoral education. Can research training any longer remain an education in disciplinary knowledge and skills? Does it also need to include the skill development required by the knowledge economy? In this context, the growth of doctorates by project becomes particularly significant since these programs, it is argued, are most appropriate for fitting doctoral studies to the needs of the knowledge economy. However, their growth also poses serious problems of accreditation and assessment, in the process raising fundamental issues concerning the academic mission and purpose of universities.     

Prediction and the Periodical Aspect as Generators of Knowledge in a Social Practice Framework

We start from the assumption that school mathematics knowledge could be better explained if social practices were considered to be generators of knowledge. This perspective changes the way we look at what school mathematics knowledge is and what it takes to teach and learn it. In this article, we will present a teaching situation about periodic functions, which was designed with this perspective in mind. The design was based on the assumption that the scientific notion of periodic function is related with the social practice of prediction. In the situation, prediction as a social practice is transformed into a situational line of argument which redefines that which is periodical. The situation brings into play meanings for the repetition of a movement, which takes place in time in the context of graphs of functions. Our analysis of the situation will focus on the prediction tools that participants generated in order to define that which is periodical. We will conclude with some implications of our observations for the teaching of mathematics.     

Engineering teachers' pedagogical content knowledge

The aim of the study was to discover the essential characteristics of engineering teachers' pedagogical content knowledge by studying teachers' conceptions of their students' ideas of moment. To compare the conceptions maintained by teachers with those of their students, the most common difficulties experienced by first-year engineering students in understanding the moments of forces were looked at. The data on students' conceptions were collected by means of a questionnaire. In addition, four experienced teachers were given the same questionnaire as the students and then were asked to write what they expected the students' answers to be. The students' answers and the teachers' conceptions of their students' potential answers were compared. It was found that although the teachers originally appeared to be familiar with their students' conceptions, they were rather astonished by the general pattern of the students' thinking. It is planned that the information gathered about the teachers' pedagogical content knowledge will eventually be used to improve engineering teacher training.     

Training Older Workers: Implications for HRD/HPT Professionals

In corporations across America, a race is on to find new ways to maximize human capital. An emphasis on lifelong learning will be vital for the success of our future workforce. As demographic shifts occur, the “older worker” will emerge as a primary target for this human development effort. This article explores the implications of this demographic shift for the human resource development and human performance technology (HRD/HPT) professional and recommends strategies for meeting this business need. First, we discuss the realities of this demographic shift and compare our current workforce demographics to those of the future. Next, we examine the common myths about the “older worker,” as well as what current research reports about this special population. Finally, we examine the impact of this trend on our profession. We discuss strategies for modifying the workplace environment, reassessing workforce motivational strategies, and altering training practices in order to serve this older worker population. In conclusion, we look at the implications for the future in HRD/HPT research.     

Applying activity theory to computer-supported collaborative learning and work-based activities in corporate settings

Business needs in many corporations call for learning outcomes that involve problem solutions, and creating and sharing new knowledge within worksplace situation that may involve collaboration among members of a team. We argue that work-based activities (WBA) and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) are appropriate components for courses in such learning situations. Via this approach, collaborative work situations become the core of a course. We further describe how activity theory can provide a framework for the design of courses that involve WBA and CSCL as part of a workplace-oriented activity system for learning. The use of this design approach for courses offered by the Learning and Leadership Development organization of Shell International Exploration and Production is described and an example is elaborated. Finally, we identify four main issues and challenges that arose during the use of the design approach.     

校长新课程“参与式培训”的实践探索

校长新课程培训是课改实验区师资队伍建设的重要一环 ,转变理念的通识培训是关键。选择何种途径、形式施训 ,以提高培训效果 ,是培训者直接面对的重要课题。为此 ,在培训实践中 ,着力引导校长主动参与培训过程 ,尝试“参与式培训” ,试图探索从内容设计到过程形式的统一。以实现培训者与校长、校长与校长在互动中共成长 ,取得了较好的培训效果。     

The strategy to align road safety education to the Further Education and Training band curriculum

Road safety education is a complex phenomenon which should be viewed holistically if taken into account the interconnectedness of education, infrastructure and enforcement. Effective road safety education is specifically important for learners in the Further Education and Training (FET) band, as they are active contributors to a community. The greatest criticism against road safety education is that it is aimed at changing learners’ knowledge about the subject, but not necessarily influencing their attitudes as road users. The aim of this discussion article is to explore a strategy to integrate road safety education into the formal curriculum of specifically schools responsible for the FET band. By applying the desktop research method, the article conceptualises what the specific purpose of the FET band is and what the possible focus of road safety education and training should be. The article then explores international common practices in road safety education and training, and considers the necessary synergy between education, engineering and enforcement. The article uses secondary data collected from documents which are then thematically analysed. A coordinated and comprehensive education and training strategy is needed, facilitating partnerships in various sectors to implement such education in the FET band, in multidisciplinary ways, in a contextualised curriculum.