‘New Vocationalism’ is about the significant labour market transformation, and Stephen Darwin, from Canberra Institute of Technology, talked about the new ways that teachers need to work to address changing workplace realities and changing learner needs. CIT runs a graduate program in tertiary education, which is based on critical reflection of teacher educators. Old models of instructional design based on a behaviourist or cognitive model do not necessary meet all the current needs, so emergent instructional design practice along constructivist principles is now brought to the fore.
Looking through my notes from this session I have a note that ‘informal PD’ is important for staff, but no notes about what CIT provides in an informal manner, other than the plan to establish a community of practice for new teaching staff. Stephen provided several references to texts on instructional design and Chappell and Johnson’s 'Changing work, Changing roles for vocational teachers and trainers’.
The final session I attended on the first day was a workshop by Christy-Lee Hunt from the Institute of TAFE Tasmania about the evolution in her team’s teaching practice in Aged Care. Christy’s changes addressed two different problems: the demand from local industry that students on vocational placement should have entry level skills before vocational placements, and a particular group of students who were not responding to a problem based learning approach. A videoconference with Dr David Merrill was a catalyst in reassessing the delivery strategies, as was a LearnScope project that included an investigation of digital imaging. Merrill’s model of instructional sequencing provided the structure that the students seemed to be looking for, with a gradual progression from high levels of guidance upfront, to a more student directed approach over the timeframe of the course. Digital images are used extensively to set the context for exercises, and this works especially well where students do not have any experience in Aged Care and this introduces them to the realities of the industry.
Of course there was far more detail from each speaker, this is just a summary of key points that I heard from each presentation.