Learning in vivo

Three key dimensions of work-integrated learning

When work-integrated learning is considered a necessary part of the curriculum of a qualification, it is important to systemically link three key dimensions, namely: teaching, marketing & counselling.

Two of the Ps of marketing are important considerations. Firstly, product—educational institutions are obliged to consult the relevant occupational field in the curriculum design of a qualification. Adequate representation of stake holders (including statutory, professional and/or vocational bodies) is important, not only for relevancy, but also for buy-in and support—an institution cannot offer a qualification that includes work-integrated learning, without sufficient host organisations willing to take students for real-life experiences in accordance with the curriculum outcomes. It follows logically that if there is good support within the occupational field that work-integrated learning is an important aspect of the curriculum, then less marketing (place, another P) efforts would be required to secure sufficient host organisations for students to undergo experience. It further follows logically that to ensure continuous relevance of the qualification and the support of the occupational field, continuous consultation is necessary—the formation and regular gathering of an advisory committee is therefore advocated. Advocates of academic freedom resist the idea of consumerism; however, public higher education institutions are accountable to its public and the state. Institutions might as well reap the benefit of sound marketing—satisfying the needs of the occupational/professional field the qualification intends to serve.

Teaching involves many aspects. It is among others very important to design a curriculum of a qualification as a whole and develop the learning of each part of the curriculum with the overall outcome in mind. Work-integrated learning as part of the overall curriculum requires special attention because students are generally removed from the institution—the learning takes place in a environment that academia do not have control over, yet the institution is ultimately responsible to ensure the learning outcomes were achieved. Orientation of students to the desired learning and a learning design that would bring about the desired learning is important. The workplace mentor needs to be given guidance in order to facilitate the relevant learning. The learning design includes the design of the appropriate learning evidence that will serve as substantiation that the student mastered the required learning outcomes. Formative assessment and summative evaluation of work-integrated learning also forms part of the teaching. In the South African context the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the Council for Higher Education (CHE) determined a number of criteria towards good practice with regard to work-integrated learning.

Students come from various contexts; some are better prepared for entry into the world of work than other. Those underprepared students need counselling-type interventions to aid their development. Often higher education institutions offer a range of career and counselling services, such as CV writing, business writing, life skills, assertiveness, communication skills, etc. In the South African context the Department of Higher Education & Training gazetted that institutions that offer qualifications that include work-integrated learning are obliged to make sure that students are placed for such learning. It is advisable that those institutional support staff responsible to secure willing host organisations work together with the career and counselling staff in preparing students for the selection for work-integrated learning placements. It should be evident that the marketing aspect outlined in the first paragraph is crucial to the gazetted placement obligation.

Revised 17 August 2010: What I omitted, in error, from the above is the organisational perspective of talent growth through programmes that include work-integrated learning. The entire dimension of succession planning, people/talent development and the facilitation of organisational learning.

Appreciative inquiry enhances learning

… because it (appreciative inquiry) reduces anxiety and fear; eliminates blame games and expands the capacity for creative thinking.

David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva developed appreciative inquiry (AI) in the 1980s. They based AI on the premise that 'organisations change in the direction in which they inquire'—if inquiring into problems the organisation will keep finding problems; but if attempting to appreciate what is best in itself an organisation will discover more and more that is good. AI often follows the '4-D' model:

1. Discover—get incumbents to talk about the organisation is at its best.
2. Dream—encouraged incumbents to envision the organisation/department as if the best moments identified in the 'discover' phase were the norm
3. Design—ways of creating the dreamed about organisation/department
4. Destiny— implement the design as means to realise the dreamed reality

It should be obvious that learning derived from AI would be amplified.

Preparing students for work-integrated learning

There are two distinct preparation dimensions concerning students:

1. for entry into a suitable environment
2. orientation for the learning

Regardless if the theoretical teaching is residential or distance-mode, a key role of academic staff regarding work-integrated learning is the development of learning materials that would orientate students for their experiential learning process, with the view of:

• Attuning students to the learning they ought to derive from the real-life experience.
• Preparing the mindset of students to interact with the learning environment from which to derive learning.
• Raising the awareness of students with regard to the learning outcomes expected from their experiential learning.
• Reminding students about the theoretical knowledge that they need to operationalise within their work-integrated learning (an overall learning-map for the qualification might serve this purpose).

However, the above assumes that students readily have access to an appropriate real-life learning setting. In the South African context institutions offering qualifications with one or more work-integrated learning components are obliged to place students for such learning. A colleague, Ms Lizzie Mbuli emphasise the following:

• Students experience difficulty, during interviews, expressing themselves
• Students do not realise the competition students from Universities of Technology and other Comprehensive Institutions represent
• The academic record of a student plays an important role — it serves as evidence of accomplishments — if results are generally poor, with lots of failures and repeats it reflects negatively on the student's abilities
• Organisations prefer more advanced students, because they need not be frequently away for examinations and other university matters
• Importance of a marketable CV (not old fashioned) and a covering letter stating why a work-integrated learning opportunity is needed
• Value of a thank you letter to present to interviewers at end of interview
• Professional telephone skills — often secretaries complain about lack of professionalism
• Students must develop their own company database of likely employers or work-integrated learning host organisations, from newspapers and Internet searches
• Collaborative learning—work shopping in groups what taught to build confidence
• Organisations want to hear what students can bring/contribute — students often not capable to portray their acquired knowledge base
• Students must familiarise themselves about the purpose and expected outcomes of their work-integrated learning — it creates a negative impression if students don't understand why work-integrated learning and/or know what the work-integrated learning is suppose to entail — they must be able to state why and what
• Basic conduct when invited to an interview, e.g. wait until invited to sit down
• First impressions count, e.g. how dressed
• Students must improve their verbal and communication skills in English, in particular

Learning in Work and the Community (LiWC)

Learning in the Workplace and Community (LiWC) is, according to Victoria University, "an umbrella term that encompasses the many models and integrated approaches to teaching, learning and assessment that involve learning in and through the workplace and community. These LiWC models and approaches may include but are not limited to, projects in a workplace, practical, co-operative and clinical placements, fieldwork, simulated learning environments, apprenticeships, traineeships or internships and enterprise initiatives."

Tweets enrich learning from work

Tweet-sharing presents a potentially powerful means of spreading learning derived from work experiences for students during prerequisite in vivo learning; for members of a community of practice; for participants in a learning through work programme; etc. Download Academic tweeting to learn MG29Jan-4Feb2010 What do readers of this post think of the idea? Could tweets and re-tweets become the material for reflective practice?