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Orenna Krut
Director Africa, City & Guilds
How to teach Vocational
Education
A Theory of Vocational
Pedagogy
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Vocational Pedagogy
• Who is vocational education for? Students or employers?
• What is vocational education for? Develop/ improve
execution or gain access to HE?
• What is vocational education? Definition
• Effective teaching and learning methods
• Theory of vocational pedagogy
• Commissioned Professor Bill Lucas, Dr Ellen Spencer and Professor Guy
Claxton from the Centre for Real-World Learning at the University of
Winchester
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Methodology
• In-depth literature review
• Appreciative inquiry with expert practitioners
• Expert interviews
● Sally Dicketts, Principal, Oxford and Cherwell Valley College
● Lorna Fitzjohn HMI, Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
● Lord Kenneth Baker, former Education Secretary
● Andy Smyth, TUI Travel Ltd
● Professor Alison Wolf, author of the Wolf Report
● Professor Richard Pring, Director of Nuffield Review on 14-19
Education and Training 8
The lack of a widely accepted
definition of vocational pedagogy
A definition:
The science, art and craft of teaching that prepares
people for certain kinds of working lives
The sector is constantly changing, therefore…the ground rules
for vocational education change
1. A lack of clarity about the purpose of vocational education
2. The dual professional identity of vocational practitioners as
teachers
3. Inadequate models of vocational education
4. Poor analogies for vocational education (Like school but with
work experience, like learning to drive, like working but without pay...)
5. The reluctance of vocational education teacher to use
theory e.g. teaching strategies, learning styles
Types of vocational education Most programmes a mix of all three
• Physical materials
• Symbols
• People
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Outcomes
Outcomes exercise
1. Routine expertise
2. Resourcefulness
3. Functional literacies
4. Craftsmanship
5. Business-like attitudes
6. Wider skills for growth
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Routine expertise
• Anticipating the need to book travel and providing the
appropriate format for the organisation to colleagues (list of
questions, specific travel form, confirm budget for travel)
• Using on-line travel booking system to log in and search for
flights, trains and hotels using the requirements specified.
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Resourcefulness
• On-screen search doesn’t pick up a hotel or a flight that the
administrator can see from searching public websites.
• Contacting the travel company by phone to check the
availability of these other flights or hotels.
• Checking local circumstances e.g. weather patterns or
strikes, on the specific dates of travel and informing
colleagues of any changes they may need to make.
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Functional literacies
• Explaining the travel options to colleague based on their
requirements, with particular regard to time and cost
implications.
• Ensuring names etc. are correct on all bookings made
• Checking the budget available for travel and suggesting
appropriate travel, which is within the budget available
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Craftsmanship
• Ensuring that when a frequent traveller is returning to a
particular city, they are booked into the same hotel where
they have previously provided good feedback.
• Putting together travel packs with the relevant elements
highlighted to ensure colleagues have the most important
information when they need it.
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Business-like attitudes
• Balancing cost implications against travel requirements,
and presenting alternatives e.g. changing planes or
different timings, in order to reduce the cost of travel.
• Being available to address issues when colleague is
travelling, with an awareness of where the colleague is i.e.
hotel/travelling
• Some businesses make an explicit connection between
business-like and being ethically minded
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Wider skills for growth
• Being pro-active in contacting the travel agent in order to
address service issues and save time in future for travel to
specific places where there have been previously been
problems.
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Range of teaching and learning methods
(1)
• Learning by watching
• Learning by imitating
• Learning by practising (‘trial and error’)
• Learning through feedback
• Learning through conversation
• Learning by teaching and helping (peer)
• Learning by real-world problem-solving
• Learning by thinking critically and producing knowledge
• Learning through enquiry (philosophy, research)
Range of teaching and learning methods
(2)
• Learning by listening, transcribing and remembering
• Learning by drafting and sketching
• Learning by reflecting (revising, distilling, etc)
• Learning on the fly
• Learning by being coached
• Learning by competing
• Learning through virtual environments
• Learning through simulation and role play
• Learning through games21
Context
Students
- Age
- Prior learning/experience
Teachers
- Different subject specialisms
- Level of teacher training
Settings
- Workplace
- School/College/University
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A theory of vocational pedagogy
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