Definition of work-integrated learning and related terms

[Updated 27 April 2010, based on commentary received]

Work-integrated learning (WiL) is one of the tuition and learning components of Unisa students, registered for vocational and professional programmes offered by Unisa. Work-integrated learning:

· focuses on theory and practice in relevant authentic, work-based contexts

· helps the student socialise into the workplace environment

· is differentiated from laboratory and field practicals

· is aimed at developing specific competence that forms part of the overall curriculum

· relates to the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes -- in an integrated way; learning work practices; whole person and interpersonal relations development

· is achieved through the placement at and hosting of students by employer organisations

· is enabled by workplace mentoring, aimed at helping the student recognise her/his strengths and development needs

· is monitored by academic staff and assessed by both workplace practitioners and academic staff

· is ultimately an institutional responsibility, accountable to statutory, professional and/or vocational bodies

· is dependent upon a structured training relationship between Unisa, host employer organisation and the student, as illustrated below:

 

 

Download Wil definition - 1st notes by Prof Geertsema + Prof Hendrick + Dr Groenewald

Terminology in use and/or well known among stalwarts in the vocational and/or professional fields:

· Cooperative education	1. A form of education in which the educational institution and the occupational field co-operate in order to provide a joint educational programme, which includes workplace experience 2. A strategy where students undergo in-service training and gain work experience as integral part of their curriculum. The experience complements and supplements the academic learning to produce employment ready graduates. The experience must be well planned and supervised.
· Employer organisation	A host organisation that receives students and provides services, resources, etc. in aid of a student’s learning: welcome, orientate, dwell and sent forth.
· Experiential/in-service training or learning	The in‐occupational field experiences described as a process of placing students in the workplace for hands‐on experience. A workplace activity linked to the formal academic programme for purposes of experiential performance and to allow the student first‐hand experience. The process must allow for abstract conceptualization, experimentation, real and concrete experience and reflective observation. Is typically done in terms of a log book with supervision by a workplace mentor. Students apply their knowledge gained and by doing and experiencing the daily routines.
· Experiential learning grant (ELG)	A Sectoral Education & Training Authority (SETA) grant that caters for studnets who need in-service training as a requirement for the successful completion of a registered qualification.
· Laboratory or field practical/practicum	It is a form of tuition where activities and/or experiments are done with required apparatus in order to illustrate theory and give students an opportunity to gain supervised experiences. It is differentiated from work-integrated learning in that it forms part of the theory tuition, but undertaken in a suitably equipped laboratory, which could be in nature.
· Field based training	A model of distance education for teaching the conceptual material and enabling students located throughout the country to be trained largely in their home-based contexts, with the focus on professional development work. This comprises fieldwork practice and supervision in home locations.
· Mentoring	A competent and suitably qualified practitioner (the mentor), fostering, helps and guides the student’s (the mentee) growth and development—normally not done for personal gain.
· Monitoring	On-site monitoring by academic staff is done with the following specific objectives in mind: ·    To gather evidence regarding the learning of the student ·    To detect the student’s progress towards attaining the learning outcomes ·    To obtain the workplace supervisor’s (mentor) evaluation about the performance and conduct of the student ·    To mediate discretely regarding problems identified ·    To aid the student to reflect on experiences, in order to optimise learning
· Placement	1. The site where a student undergoes experience 2. The process of facilitating the student’s application and interview process as may be required by host organisations after short-listing
· Workplace learning	Many higher education programmes consider workplace learning to be a valid learning experience for students. Most professional training programmes include a ‘practicum’, which can vary from a few weeks to a few years of practical experience at a site of professional practice. This model can be strongly or weekly integrated into the formal learning programme, depending on how it is supported, supervised, and assessed. In such programmes, the workplace is present, both as a learning resource and as a benchmark of practice

Download Glossary of Terms related to work-integrated learning (WiL)

Comments

[Marius Wessels]

Referring to what Wilson (2005)said that “having debates to find the “proper” definition in cooperative education is a futile exercise”, I would like to suggest that we should perhaps set up a national approved glossary of terminology on cooperative education and related terminology. This has come up during the WACE conference in Vancouver and will always remain an issue.

My suggestion is that we start “pooling” accessible terminology and then perhaps agree on a glossary of such terminology. I have done so already and maybe we can agree to start “pooling” such terminology and perhaps agree to do a selection of preferred terminology.

Such terminology we can submit to bodies like SATN, SASCE and Universities for endorsement.

Hope we can work together to do so, as we all work independent nationally and academics are even further “confused” because we as coop ed practioners have not delivered on this matter.

I think this blog would be a suitable means to achieve this goal.

[Estelle van Rensburg]

1. In my view, integration (rather than focus on) is the ultimate point – learning how to involve the theory knowledge learnt during formal education with the activities of the workplace. I would thus suggest using this term somewhere.
2. This is just a question of formulation of the sentence – I would say Wil is not 'aimed at learning competences', the student learns competences; Wil develops them.
3. There is a lot of overlap between the concepts 'competency' and 'competence' in the literature and a variety of differentiations. To me, competencY = connotations of the 'competency-based learning' movement = behaviourist orientation. CompetencE = term used by SAQA (eg theoretical, practical, reflexive competence) = broader and more general, involves knowing, acting as well as values. I thus prefer the latter. (But it's contentious, you might want to stick to competency.)
4. I'd phrase this aspect positively rather than negatively.
5. Do you mean evaluated, or assessed? The latter refers to assessing the student; the former to reviewing and improving the module. Both are important.
6. In general, I like your points. Just some thoughts … If you are highlighting the key components of WIL, should there not also be mention somewhere of reflection (or is that part of whole-person development); of student assessment, which in WIL is (I think) collaborative – mentor + lecturer + perhaps student self-assessment as well; and possibly of the importance of the student becoming socialised into the workplace environment?