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Using the Canadian Environmental NOS to Inform Curriculum Design. The results of a 2005 sabbatical project Helen Knibb, School of Environmental & Natural Resource Sciences, Fleming College. Overview. NOS project context
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Using the Canadian Environmental NOS toInform Curriculum Design The results of a 2005 sabbatical project Helen Knibb, School of Environmental & Natural Resource Sciences, Fleming College
Overview • NOS project context • Origins / characteristics of Canadian Environmental NOS as compared to other jurisdictions 3. Applications to post-secondary curriculum development • Challenges in use 5. Tools, resources & case studies
Scope of Research • Applied learning, nurturing of practitioners, school to work transitions, learning ecologies, CoPs • Different NOS models • Promotion of NOS in curriculum design • Curriculum development tools • Curriculum applications / models / best practices
Origins of NOS Evolved out of failure of fragmentary training systems Used to frame national job strategy, certification, accreditation, work place training; P-S funding, credential validation Promoted in UK, USA, Australia,Canada Significant differences in approach and application
Student as individual Technical education valued less than academic Vocational education prepares for personal prosperity Academic education prepares for leadership Individual specialist is priority Apprenticeships lack general education Education and training separate Rigid curriculum divide Old paradigm of learning
Focus on community and individual benefit Specialisations within a flexible academic - vocational structure Mobile and adaptable work force Curriculum reform of academic and vocational curricula Focus on generic skills and transferability Lifelong learning rather than training for a lifelong job New paradigm
CBE Competency based education (CBE) - micro analysis of performance, but no synthesis; reductionist - job specific • promotes technical mastery, but not breadth • Linear, prescriptive, lacks complexity
Learning ecologies • Learning is about making connections • Learning is on-going • All knowledge is intrinsically unified • Knowledge is mobile
Learning ecologies Learning is about: • What works for whom, under what circumstances and context • Understanding vs. controlling context & influences • Our capacity to learn more, not what we know
Learning ecologies Most traditional courses are: • Stop / start learning • Stand alone • ‘Owned’ by faculty • Artificial constructs • Inaccessible once completed
Practice & Learning Professional development model: • Acquisition of knowledge and skills • Observation / emulation of practitioners • Attainment of personal practice experience • Development of understanding and meaning • Personal development - practice, reflection, sharing (Ryan, 2003)
Communities of Practice Frameworks for learning • Foundation • Application • Integration • Enculturation John Seeley Brown
Functions of NOS • Describe standards of good practice • Reflect best employment practice • Identify main roles and responsibilities within a work area • Describe the outcomes of competent performance • Are a comprehensive, yet flexible tool • Can help promote successful school to work transitions • www.skillset.org
Challenges - UK • NVQs not well received • Research indicated NOS were confusing to students and employers • Students challenged by the portfolio as ‘evidence of skills’ • Higher levels not adopted ‘A disaster of epic proportions’
Challenges ‘A question arising is whether it is better to have exhaustive and detailed standards or simpler, holistic standards that concentrate on the critical aspects of assessment’ Eraut, 2001
Characteristics: Canadian Environmental NOS 3 sub-sectors • 19 NOS profiles – degree level • 10 NOS profiles - college level Across all sub-sectors • 11 competency functions • 36 competency clusters • 280 environmental competencies • 7 / 34 enabling competencies
Characteristics Canadian Environmental NOS: • Environment falls under one sector council • Developed / updated with broad-based industry consultation • Independent of credential frameworks • Reflect competence of practitioners after five years in the field • No detailed performance standards / benchmarks
Characteristics • Offer a design matrix, not a list • Flexible - not prescriptive • Focus on connections between sub-sectors • Emphasize broad functions over vocational specificity • Developed at the high level – 280 competencies for the entire environmental sector
Characteristics • Clear, brief, jargon free • Written holistically, build connections • ‘Discipline-plus’ versus ‘discipline-specific’ • Anticipatory • Voluntary
Characteristics • Competencies classified by significance / frequency of use, not level of performance • Do not include assessment • Developed at two levels (college / university), not five as in UK • Require diligence in order to use them to effect
Applications to P-S • Develop curriculum based on research, not assumptions • Find common language • Promote documentation • Develop new curriculum that’s anticipatory of industry needs • Validate existing curriculum
Applications to P-S • Develop areas of specialisation • Develop common curriculum over multiple programs • Enhance students’ employability skills and functional skills transferable across the sub-sectors
Applications to P-S • Identify curriculum gaps • Align levels of learning • Re-balance / change emphasis • Develop better strategies for applied learning / authentic assessment • Application to co-op / placement
Applications to P-S • Help to build a culture of student awareness • Develop non-linear student career paths • Design continuous professional development for practitioners
Applications to P-S • Promote and design articulations (vocational–vocational and vocational–discipline) • Align existing curriculum for PLAR processes
The Tools ECO Canada web site offers educators: • An overview of the NOS • 9 ‘Tip sheets’ for application to curriculum challenges • Case studies & glossary • Future development of an Educators’ Forum / Community of Interest
Implementation Requires • Thinking across the curriculum • Vigilance in application • Setting realistic performances as contributing elements to the competency • Curriculum mapping
Helen Knibb hknibb@flemingc.on.ca