This resource aims to support the language and literacy requirements of workplace learners studying the Unit BSBFLM304A "Participate in work teams" from Certificate III in Business (Frontline Management), as well as encourage the learning and use of computers in the process of completing the training and the set tasks.
Project Background
The Setting
Competency based learning and teaching
Target Audience
Assessment
Setting up the Program:
Teaching and learning materials
Bibliography
Through previous experience with workplace training programs, a need was identified for materials to support teachers, learners and mentors involved in the study of Units of Competency from Certificate III in Business (Frontline Management).
For many employees involved in training up to Certificate III level, some of the Units of Competency within Frontline Management at that level demand a higher level of language and literacy and communication skills, including electronic communication, than other Units at the same level.
The language and literacy demands increase significantly with Units at level 4. Some learners who are otherwise "competent" in Units at Certificate III find it difficult to complete the tasks requiring reading and writing skills that are at National Reporting System (NRS) levels 2 & 3. This puts them at risk of not completing the qualification, and not being able to progress to the next level and take on tasks of greater responsibility.
This resource aims to encourage learning of the relevant language and literacy as well as developing skills involving computer technology. Teachers are asked to initiate, assist with and encourage electronic communication, where applicable, as much as possible.
The computer and computer-aided systems are the basis of the learning as well as being a key medium (thereby encouraging practice) for the workplace tasks that will be an integral part of the learning and assessment process.
This program is aimed at, although not restricted to, the manufacturing industry, including enterprises of all sizes where the supervisors / team leaders are competent in the technical aspects of their job and may have trade qualifications, but require assistance in developing leadership skills.
The program would suit enterprises that have a number of work teams already established or intend to establish work teams.
The communication systems in the organisations may be limited, as traditionally, direction often comes from management and the shop floor may be given little opportunity for input and to take on leadership roles.
This program aims to support the language and literacy skills of personnel involved in training for the establishment and maintenance of teams that are effective, productive and valued, and suit the company's particular situation.
Enterprises may expect outcomes such as improved communication systems, more confident supervisors / team leaders, improved problem solving by shop floor personnel and a better understanding by all staff of the organisation’s goals, values and plans.
Assessment of tasks should be conducted in line with the assessment criteria set out in the Certificate III in Business (Frontline Management) Training Package. Participants should be encouraged to keep samples of their tasks for a final assessment (where appropriate) of the entire Unit, "Participate in work teams". It would be useful for teachers using this resource to check the appropriate Purchasing / Implementation Guide for delivery and assessment information. The Guide is available from the Training Support Network through the State Training Authorities. Check their web page.
The target audience for this program includes workers who are already in supervisory / team leader roles, or workers who have been identified by management as potential leaders. These people may have limited prior experience in leadership.
Workers would have some autonomy in operation and work with limited guidance. They may have responsibility for others, and for workflow. They may be aware of the organisation’s goals, values and plans.
The program is designed for workers who are competent in the technical aspects of their job, have had a lot of experience, and perhaps possess trade qualifications in their industry / trade, but limited training and experience in leadership.
Workers may have some difficulty with the language requirement of their position, such as communicating clearly, both orally and in writing, with the members of their team, peers and management.
The participants in this program may be required to have basic computer skills, depending on the company’s current and planned communication system.
Competency-based, workplace learning and teaching
In competency-based and workplace learning, the teacher’s role is difficult to define. This program reflects many industry learning programs where there is very little teacher / learner face to face time allowed, and no one sequential curriculum to follow. There is a set of goals that the learner sets out to achieve, through various processes. An additional goal may therefore be the learning process and this is where the teacher may need, at times, to focus attention.
Learning goals need to be contextualised (put into the context of the learner’s own workplace and experience) to ensure that the learning is efficient and effective for the learner. Both the goals and the learning process need to make sense to the learner.
There is often little educational value in learners conducting a task repetitively in the hopes that they will "pick up" the required skill. It makes more sense to the learner if s/he is aware of what they are trying to "pick up", whether it be background knowledge, practical skills or both.
The teacher’s role, therefore, may be to assist the learner in identifying many different elements from both in and outside their workplace that could contribute to the learning process. These elements may include colleagues and job areas that they may not necessarily be involved in.
The teacher will also be required to keep the appropriate records and assist the learner with their own record keeping system. This is particularly important in regards to compiling evidence for assessment of the selected Units of Competency. The teacher will therefore be required to have a good knowledge of the relevant Units of Competency, including the Underpinning Skills and Knowledge and the Performance Criteria.
In some cases, the teacher may work with both the learner and the mentor, but this should be in agreement with the learner.
Administration
The administrative demands on a workplace teacher can threaten to take up more time than the actual teaching. Teachers can try to avoid this by prioritising and making the best use of the face to face time that is available with the learner, keeping in mind that the learning should continue outside of these times. Good teaching practices apply, including the following
- clarify a point, issue or topic so that the learner is clear about the tasks and objectives
- encourage questioning and debate of an issue, as long as it is constructive
- suggest other learning options, experiences and people they maybe able to speak to
- encourage and motivate the learner, recognising all progression
- keep the learner on track, so that s/he doesn’t deviate too much from the original goals
- assist the learner with how to write notes, reports, letters etc.
- proof read learner’s work as requested and ask questions or offer suggestions for improvement
- make sure you are well organised, particularly if you offer to do or bring something for the learner
- assist the learner with how to study, how to learn, how to research, as requested
- clarify information and instructions, in writing, verbally and with demonstrations (by you or someone else) if possible.
Remember that not all teachers can be expert in everything, however with some discussion, if you don’t know something, then work out ways for assisting the learner to find out. A key aim of this resource is to encourage self directed learning.
Organising and teaching within this program
This resource is designed for use and facilitation by a qualified and experienced workplace English language and literacy teacher. It is not intended as a complete learning resource, but can be taken from, and used with, other materials as deemed suitable for learning programs designed for individuals or groups of learners. It is intended that the workplace English language and literacy teacher will have a good knowledge of, and access to, other language and literacy teaching materials.
This WELL program is competency-based. The skills in frontline management will be a priority and focus for the learner and the company. The language and literacy skills that the learner requires, to achieve the frontline management skills, need to be included as much as possible on an “as needs” basis. As there are many language and literacy teaching and learning materials available, including print based, video, CD Roms and on-line, it is not possible and not necessary to include them all in this resource.
It is recommended that "modelling" of required tasks be used, primarily using models taken from the learner’s own workplace, or similar. From the learner’s tasks, identify errors that are being made and teach to those errors, followed by more tasks, where possible, that are relevant to the learning outcome and that include the language / literacy tasks that have been taught.
Short workshops can be conducted to teach the common language / literacy skills where gaps are identified, again reinforcing the frontline management skills as well.
The teacher's role
The
teacher/facilitator’s role will be to encourage and assist learners to
access appropriate materials as required. A simple analysis of each
learner’s language and literacy needs will guide the teacher/facilitator
to the type of learning resources required. It is recommended that
learners are shown some of the learning resources at an early stage. This
may include and dictionary (either hard copy or on-line) and some basic
spelling and grammar rules.
The
micro skills of language and literacy (such as spelling, grammar, sentence
structure) should be, as much as possible, incorporated in the teaching of
the Unit content, using real, workplace materials as examples. It is
recommended that “modelling” of required tasks be used, primarily
using models taken from the learner’s own workplace, or similar. Example
proformas are included in this resource as Word Documents. These proformas,
along with the exercises, can be saved and adapted to suit different
workplaces, learners and their needs.
From
the tasks that a learner completes, the teacher should identify errors
that are being made and teach to those errors, followed by more tasks,
where possible, that are relevant to the learning outcome and that include
the language / literacy tasks that have been taught. Keep in mind a path
of progression for the learner and include new skills in the teaching. The
new skills (including document layout, new vocabulary) that may be
required by the learner, can be identified by researching other workplace
documentation that might be in the learner’s immediate area.
Short
workshops can be conducted to teach the common language/literacy skills,
where gaps are identified, again concurrently reinforcing the frontline
management skills.
The
teacher who agrees to take on the position of workplace teacher/trainer
should be aware that this will not be a “classroom” situation. Nor
will it be a matter of following a curriculum. The workplace teacher needs
to be prepared to be able to plan the teaching and learning processes in
both the short and long term and in conjunction with the learner. The
workplace teacher also needs to be able to dedicate a reasonable amount of
time to the task and should be accessible to the learner at the agreed
times.
Teachers
should also have a good knowledge of
·
different
learning processes
·
how
workplace environments affect learning
·
guided
learning techniques and strategies
·
relevant
Training Package Units
·
outcomes
expected of the learner in the learning program
·
some
expertise in the subject matter.
Learning plan
A
teacher needs to be well organised and be able to assist the learner to
organise themselves. It is a good idea to develop a ‘learning plan’
with the learner, including expected learning outcomes and timelines. The
process of developing a learning plan can also assist the learner to
clarify their tasks and responsibilities and may also be useful to show a
supervisor, to validate the worktime they spend on particular learning
tasks.
Developing workplace relationships
Developing
a relationship with both the learner and other relevant personnel (such as
the learner’s mentor if there is one, colleagues, subordinates,
supervisors, managers etc) is important, as is causing as little
disruption as possible to the workplace and workplace operations.
Discretion is also important, particularly with colleagues, subordinates,
supervisors and managers.
Discretion
can be particularly important when there is a need to check a task that
has been carried out by the learner. The teacher should not appear to be
checking up on the learner behind his/her back. The learner should be
encouraged to “demonstrate” the task and the relevant outcomes.
Workplace
teaching and training, although demanding, can be very rewarding and
although the time with the learner is often very limited, it is usually
concentrated and the teacher therefore needs to be very prepared. The
teaching focus need not be on the outcomes, but rather, on setting up the
learning processes for achieving the outcomes. Workplace learners are
generally very motivated and quick to learn, in comparison to many
institution-based learners.
It is recommended that this training program be delivered under the following format, or in a similar format. If this format is to be adopted, the time commitment of the participants is as follows:
- Workshops- 4 workshops of 2 hours (total of 8 hours)
- Individual discussion with teacher / mentor – 1 hour at times between workshops, at worksite or by phone
- Initial discussion with teacher to establish training needs - 1 hour.
Access to computer is essential for the teacher and preferred for the participants.
The program can be delivered when:
- Online - Participants have access to a computer and the Internet as well as to a teacher.
- Booklet - A booklet is compiled by printing off the materials, adapted as required, from the site, again, in conjunction with a teacher.
Each participant will be required to maintain a folder of the worksheet tasks which may be presented as evidence, and should be available for assessment.
The first visit by the WELL teacher will include discussion with management about the program and teacher’s observation of the participants on the job. The teacher will need a tour of the site so as to gain an understanding of participants' work requirements, including Occupational Health and Safety issues, production processes, communication systems and layout of the site.
Individual discussion with the participants about the program would be undertaken in subsequent visits. Teachers will need to undertake some assessment of the current language and literacy skills of the participants to determine the language and literacy skills required and be able to tailor the program to the individual and company needs. This could be undertaken on conjunction with assessment of current skills required for Training Package delivery, using recent samples of participants' work, including written messages, memos, letters and reports. A self assessment checklist, for participants to complete, is available to assist with the skill needs analyses. The teacher will need to negotiate the most appropriate time with each participant and other relevant personnel. This method of observation may not be practical in some cases due to the nature of the site and the job task.
It is recommended that a training room / office be made available onsite so training and meetings can be undertaken with as little disruption as possible. It is desirable that this facility has a white board / overhead projector to assist in training delivery.
Delivery of this program is based around 4 workshops of approximately two hours duration. The time and frequency of these workshops has to be negotiated with participants and their managers. The WELL teacher will conduct the workshops as well as the individual contact / interviews with the participants between the workshops.
During the workshops, the content will be worked through either at a pace to suit individuals, or as a group. Relating the content of the workshops to personal experiences is a feature of the program, therefore group discussion is essential.
The workshops will include the following:
- whole group discussion
- individual support for participants (both teacher, mentors and other participants)
- group problem solving
- identification of learners’ specific needs by the teacher, to be followed up in the individual meetings / discussions
- teacher directed questioning
- participants' questioning (to teacher/group)
- reading the material.
Participants are expected to complete the worksheet tasks either during the workshop and/or between workshops.
Participants are expected to maintain a folder of worksheet tasks for the purposes of assessment.
Training should be monitored to ensure that participants are able to fully take part in the program, understand the purpose of each learning task and be able to relate the tasks to their own position.
The participants are required to complete self-assessment and evaluation forms at the conclusion of each workshop and include these in the assessment folder.
Individual contact with participants between workshops will allow time for the teacher to review the program, worksheet tasks and discuss training issues.
Any skill gaps identified in the workshop by either the teacher or the participants can be followed up in this session.