Vlog

I have created a short 8 minute Vlog about delivering and understanding personal effectiveness. Watch this here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5beixNzmKcY&feature=youtu.be

Uploading this short video was a learning experience in itself and once again overcoming some difficulties was a challenge I  enjoyed.

Reflections following delivery of 'Creativity and Innovation' essential employability skill

 

Preparation - reflection

I was very grateful to have the opportunity to teach a group of tutors working for Rathbone – the Training Providers although I quickly realized that teaching for peers is incredibly daunting.

I was part of a team of 4 and we decided I would teach creativity and innovation – one of the for essential employability skills to be taught. I am very creative and enjoy teaching in enterprise ways; I believe in autonomy and interaction for the learner in order to get engagement and true learning.

I planned carefully a couple of engaging activities (and some back-ups) as I knew that 20-30 minutes is very little time but wasn’t sure how quickly the peer group would move through the activities.

Post lesson - reflection

I was the last one of our team to teach creativity and innovation; I followed after critical thinking and problem solving, planning and organization and personal effectiveness. Taking part in all the other 30 minutes lessons each focusing on an essential employability skills (EES) I quickly realized that various elements apply to each skill. Teaching and enabling learning of each skill crossed over from lesson to lesson and I realized that although I was demonstrating a specific skill in the 30 minutes I had – this could not be referred to in isolation from the other employability skills. Standing up in front of the learners it made sense to make connections with the previous lessons, point out links and how all the employability skills complement each other.

On reflection I feel that this is the most valuable lesson I have learnt teaching on this occasion as part of the practitioners team for EES Level 3. Having never taught EES skills previously I understood the theory of all of them being an interactive and connected system where each skill relies upon the other to ensure the individual is equipped for hopefully employment / positive outcome. Following my teaching experience I truly understood firsthand how the EES complement each other and should not be considered in isolation.

Action plan – reflection

I was inspired by some of the ideas and activities used by my colleagues and I will review and improve some of the activities I have planned as part of the Scheme of Work I have already designed. I will also consider using templates for an action plan to aid learners and keep them on track. Good practice that I have seen and experienced today included use of peer assessment, use of team work, connection between theory and practical as well as content of activities always being relevant to the learner and their reality.

Session 2 - Reflective thoughts

I left Session 2 quite inspired and have already put down my first thoughts and impressions in the shape of a mind map :)

I will return to add further details and thoughts in a few days.

Reflective thoughts of a practitioner learning about EES

    It's been a little while since the first session on the EES Practitioners course. I have been thinking about the day, about what I learnt and how this new learning will affect my knowledge, skills and practice however it hasn't been as easy as I expected to put my thoughts down on paper.

I guess I have faced -like all my learners in the Community- varied distractions from a personal and professional perspective hence here why here I am... putting pen to paper sort of speak ...not long before Session 2.

 

 

The first day on the course was challenging but also rewarding; at times it felt as if the test was on us -the practitioners- to see how we can apply and use essential employability skills which we aim to teach and assess in the future. I found it harder than expected to highlight steps we have taken to achieve the given task during the session and I know that as a team we all felt the same. Myself, Rhys and Julie formed the blue team and although we have different backgrounds and very strong personalities we quickly pulled together and used all our strengths combined to achieve the best possible outcome for our task. I was reminded once again (through the nature of our task) of the importance of engagement and accessibility of everything I do ; I teach in the community to adult learners, NEETs or potential NEETs on a weekly basis yet discussion, brainstorming and problem solving on the first day emphasized once again the specific requirements of these groups when learning for a better life.

How do I currently do things in my teaching? How do I asses learner work and incorporate EES maybe?

Thinking about this does not reveal an easy straightforward answer. Having mostly taught so far specific subjects (Psychology, Counselling, Admin skills etc.) I have often focused on subject related content and achieving the outcome of the Unit or course at the time. Teaching in the Community I quickly learnt that most of my learners needed support or even to acquire some essential skills before aiming to meet the course outcome hence why I have worked in a team with other professionals as well as often rethinking my lesson plans and learning aids in an entrepreneurial way to make learning relevant and accessible. Although I haven't yet targeted EES specifically as part of my planning and teaching, some of the ways these skills have been incorporated so far in my work are as follows:

- learners always complete ad Individual Learning Booklet where they have to identify goals and expectations from our course and how they expect to achieve these. We also look at step by step actions they can take every few weeks towards progress, identify their strengths as well as where they feel they need further help. 

- plenty of classroom activities and discussion which would be evidenced and assessed based on how learners themselves record what happens (following suggestions from myself such as mind maps, bullet points etc.).

- Assignment briefs as summative assessment which require learners to complete their own research at home - this is often the only way I have been able to integrate digital literacy in our learning due to limited resources in class although on a few occasions we have used mobile phones too during the lesson.

 

I will continue to think about this and how implementing EES in my current work can be done effectively. Since the first session on the EES course I had one routine observation during my English GCSE class. Following the inspiration from Day 1 I had introduced a new worksheet for my learners aiming to give them more confidence in their skills as well as improve their knowledge of Psychology: they all have a 'New words' sheet where they record new words we learn each lesson or words they find easy to spell or use in sentences. We discuss these words and then learners have to complete a few sentences using them by the next lesson. Furthermore I asked them how could they remember a word or check it's meaning if they don't have the 'New words' sheet to hand; I was really pleased to see that they suggested using the index at the back of their books and they put this in practice during our lessons.

 

I am looking forward to Day 2 on the EES practitioners course and I am keen on learning more myself so I can offer more to my learners ;)

Importance of Essential Employability Skills (EES) to Adults and Young People

• What are employability skills in the context of essential skills in Wales?

 

A range of skills (generic skills) that people need to achieve progress and success in all aspects of learning, training, work and life in general. Employability skills are capabilities that enable people to get a job, have confidence, plan and implement their plan, reflect on and review progress as well as develop further.

 

References:

http://qualificationswales.org/qualifications/essential-skills-qualifications/?lang=en

 

http://qualificationswales.org/qualifications/essential-skills-qualifications/?lang=en

 

• What is meant by the following terms ( namely EES )

 

Planning and Organisation Skills – ability to organise personal time, identify goals and aims, prioritise tasks and measure results; being able to define the main purpose of a task, set targets and timescales and list the activities to allow for achievement of each target.

 

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving – identify relevant information within a situation which then requires decision making; ability to question and search for answers and arguments rather than just accept given information and apply arguments to solve tasks/situations.

 

Creativity and Innovation - outline new ideas (new ideas to the learner) and use opportunities to try out ideas; ability to have an open mind, think outside the box and recognise unique ideas; state opportunities in response to a task using convergent and divergent approaches challenging own thinking.

 Personal Effectiveness – identify personal skills that can be used effectively in the context of a task or relevant to personal aspirations (e.g. attitude, time management, self-motivation etc.); capability to be self-aware, make the most of personal strengths and be proactive.

 

 

References: https://moodle.colegaucymru.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=144&lang=en

 

·         What is the role of employability skills for individuals?

Employability skills are necessary to engage learners in social and cognitive learning tasks, necessary for improving wellbeing and family life and therefore have a crucial role in cultivating confidence and employability. Essential skills and knowledge could be used in everyday life in dimensions relevant to each person and therefore would support motivation, mental development and have a direct impact on self-confidence and financial status to name but of a few aspects. Employability skills enable the individual to develop on a personal and professional level.

 

·        What is the impact of individuals not having EES?

 

Gaps in essential skills have crucial consequences for progression and further performance in learning, work but especially key impact on individual wellbeing and quality of life. Good essential employability skills are crucial in determining educational or training attainment, improve employment prospects and better social cohesion (Dixon, et.al, 2000) therefore a lack in EES would have a fundamental detrimental effect on local communities and society in general.

There are seven million adults in England who cannot read and write to the level expected of an 11-year-old. Furthermore reports show that 16% of 18 year olds are NEET (not in education, employment or training) and many of them struggle to communicate well (Godfrey et. al, 2002).

References:
Godfrey, C., Hutton, S., Bradshaw, J., Coles, B., Craig, G. and Johnson, J. (2002), Estimating the cost of being 'not in education, employment or training' at age 16-18, Research Report, 346, Department for Education and Skills, Nottingham.

 

A holistic approach to learning and teaching interaction: factors in the de...: EBSCOhost

A holistic approach to learning and teaching interaction: factors in the de...: EBSCOhost

It's been a long time since I have posted anything on the blog but it is nice to be back :) Not having an email I can access at the moment is a very good excuse and I wanted to post the link to the article I was going to use in my presentation yesterday. This is an article about holistic teaching and leanring, an approach that fascinates me and I can see both limitations and great benefits with it.

Mandy, I hope you see this as I know you wanted us all to send you the link (please let me know if you do).

Has technology changed the way we learn?

According to Nicholas Carr ‘our deepening dependence on networking technology is indeed changing not only the way we think, but also the structure of our brains’ (Naughton, J., The Observer, 2010)

This argument is debatable and in fact is debated in various literature articles which in general seem to agree that used properly, technology has many advantages

Having grown up without a computer, without a coloured TV (in fact my black and white TV only had once channel that was showing hymns for our communist leader) and having not seen a mobile phone until the age of 18 years old, I would say that technology has changed the way we learn, the way we develop, how we live.
Working in Schools I can see how different learning is now compared to how it was when I grew up. In the contemporary society learning through play involves the use of an X box, tablet, Ipad, Kindle and various other gadgets. Learning seems to happen faster everyday and the use of Internet and technology has given people to learn anything , at any time in the comfort of their own privacy without worrying they cannot get to the Library to borrow a book.  Technology has not only changed the way we learn but it has also changed the way we demonstrate our learning.

Not so long back if anybody would have told me my assignment would be an electronic journal, a blogg even...I wouldn't have even known what they meant. But technology is quick, it's clever and it never stops surprising me.