The views of teachers and trainers on vocational pedagogy Dr Jean Kelly 16.11.12

1. The views of teachers and trainers on vocational pedagogy Dr Jean Kelly 16.11.12

2. The research • The views of 120 teachers and trainers in engineering, hospitality and catering and business studies (Jan- April 2012) • From written evidence (individual reflective diaries) and regional seminars • And the views of their learners from 3 focus groups

3. Key questions • Which teaching methods give learners the best vocational learning opportunities? • What barriers are there to improving the teaching approaches in vocational learning? • What support do teachers of vocational subjects need to be most effective?

4. Which teaching methods give learners the best vocational learning opportunities? • There is no one size fits all approach but a series of overlapping pedagogies • A strong consensus that effective methods are based on realistic work problems and scenarios led by teachers and trainers who have recent and relevant vocational experience • The best teaching is based on mutual respect between teachers and learners and the most effective methods are interactive and develop learner autonomy as well as specific skills and knowledge

5. Tacit learning? ‘one of the most valuable assets I have is to be able to empathise and relate to the job roles of the apprentices I teach. The capacity to talk about one’s own experiences and to discuss previous jobs and issues with learners builds a certain level of respect and nurtures a mutual feeling of equality and comradeship which seems natural and right in the workplace. After all, how could any tutor expect a learner to carry out jobs and tasks which they have never carried out themselves?’ (Engineering tutor)

6. Exploring tacit learning in the workplace • The construct of dual professionalism • Explicit skills into tacit knowledge or tacit skills into explicit knowledge? • The challenges of articulating, codifying, and specifying professional learning [transfer] ‘is the learning process involved in which a person learns to use previously acquired knowledge/skills/competence/expertise in a new situation’ (Eraut, 2004)

7. What support do teachers and trainers need to explore tacit learning? • Initial teacher training supported by subject mentors in the workplace • Opportunities to gain relevant and up to date vocational experience • Access to high quality collaborative and critical reflection on practice/pedagogy • Access to high quality vocational CPD

8. Phase 2 research • The establishment of effective partnerships between employers and organisations in order to provide adequate resources and vocational updating for teachers • Effective pedagogical approaches to embedding functional skills into vocational subjects: the two elements of dual professionalism