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BringingLearningtoLife:EvaluationofEverydaySkillsinmathsandEnglish 23rdOctober2019Dr.RobertFarrowOpenEducationResearchHubInstituteofEducationalTechnologyTheOpenUniversity,UKWaltonHallMiltonKeynesMK76AArob.farrow@open.ac.ukSuggestedcitation:Farrow,R.(2019).BringingLearningtoLife:EvaluationofEverydaySkillsinmathsandEnglish.OpenEducationResearchHub.TheOpenUniversity(UK).CC-BY4.0http://oro.open.ac.uk/67478/
BringingLearningtoLife:EvaluationofEverydaySkillsbyRobertFarrowislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution4.0InternationalLicense.
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TableofContentsEXECUTIVESUMMARY.............................................................................................................................4I.SURVEY1(JAN-MAR2019).................................................................................................................71.SUMMARY...............................................................................................................................................................................71.1Rationale&Method...............................................................................................................................................71.2DataCollection.........................................................................................................................................................8
2.DEMOGRAPHICS.................................................................................................................................................................102.1LearnerDemographics.....................................................................................................................................102.2LearnerProfiles....................................................................................................................................................122.3StaffDemographics............................................................................................................................................152.4StaffProfiles...........................................................................................................................................................16
3.LEARNERCONFIDENCE....................................................................................................................................................193.1ConfidencewithEnglish..................................................................................................................................203.2Confidencewithmathematics.....................................................................................................................203.3ConfidencewithLearningSkills..................................................................................................................20
4.TECHNOLOGYUSE.............................................................................................................................................................214.1ConfidencewithTechnology.........................................................................................................................214.2AccesstoTechnology........................................................................................................................................21
5.BARRIERSTOLEARNING.................................................................................................................................................226.LEARNINGPREFERENCE.................................................................................................................................................247.ANTICIPATEDIMPACT.....................................................................................................................................................277.1CommentsbyLearners....................................................................................................................................28
8.STAFFPERCEPTION..........................................................................................................................................................308.1PerceptionofLearnerMotivation..............................................................................................................308.2PerceptionofTechnologyUse......................................................................................................................318.3PerceptionofChallengesFacedbyLearners........................................................................................318.4PotentialStrategies............................................................................................................................................348.5ChallengesfacedbyStaff.................................................................................................................................368.6ChallengesfacedbyEducationalInstitutions.......................................................................................388.7OrganisationalStrategy....................................................................................................................................388.8Improvingstrategy.............................................................................................................................................39
9.LESSONSLEARNEDFROMSURVEY1............................................................................................................................39II.OPENLEARNANALYTICS(JAN-AUG2019)..................................................................................4110.SUMMARY.........................................................................................................................................................................4110.1OpenLearninBringingLearningtoLife...............................................................................................4110.2Method&Limitations.....................................................................................................................................42
11.NUMBEROFLEARNERS,ACCESSPATTERNSANDENROLMENTS......................................................................4312.COMPARISONWITHOTHERBADGEDCOURSESONOPENLEARN........................................................................4712.1AllBadgedOpenCourses..............................................................................................................................4712.2Benchmark:“ManagingMyMoney…”....................................................................................................48
III.SURVEY2(JUN-JUL2019).............................................................................................................4913.SUMMARY.........................................................................................................................................................................4913.1Rationale&Method.........................................................................................................................................5013.2DataCollection...................................................................................................................................................50
14.LEARNERDEMOGRAPHICS...........................................................................................................................................5015.LEARNERPROFILES.......................................................................................................................................................5315.1EmploymentStatus&FamilyCommitments.....................................................................................5315.2ExistingQualifications...................................................................................................................................55
16.LEARNERCONFIDENCE.................................................................................................................................................5616.1ConfidencewithEnglish...............................................................................................................................56
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16.2Confidencewithmathematics..................................................................................................................5716.3ConfidencewithLearningSkills...............................................................................................................57
17.TECHNOLOGYUSE..........................................................................................................................................................5817.1ConfidencewithTechnology......................................................................................................................5817.2AccesstoTechnology.....................................................................................................................................5917.3TechnologyuseinEverydaySkills..........................................................................................................59
18.MOTIVATIONSANDBARRIERS....................................................................................................................................6018.1Motivations..........................................................................................................................................................6018.2BarrierstoLearning........................................................................................................................................61
19.USEOFEVERYDAYSKILLSBYCOLLEGELEARNERS...............................................................................................6519.1BedfordCollege.................................................................................................................................................6619.2MiddlesbroughCollege..................................................................................................................................6719.3WestHertsCollege...........................................................................................................................................68
20.EVALUATIONOFEVERYDAYSKILLS..........................................................................................................................7120.1Coursesstudied.................................................................................................................................................7120.2CoursePathways&Retention...................................................................................................................7120.3LearningExperience.......................................................................................................................................7220.4Impact.....................................................................................................................................................................74
IV.DISCUSSION.......................................................................................................................................7621.1KEYFINDINGS...............................................................................................................................................................76MeetingDemand..........................................................................................................................................................76IdentifyingChallenges..............................................................................................................................................77AConfidenceParadox?.............................................................................................................................................78DriversofCompletion...............................................................................................................................................78SupportingLearners..................................................................................................................................................79
21.2CONSTRAINTS...............................................................................................................................................................8121.3SUGGESTIONSFORFURTHERWORK........................................................................................................................82
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ExecutiveSummaryThisreportdescribesandanalysessurveydataresponses,webanalyticsandotherdatarelatingtotheBringingLearningtoLifeproject.BringingLearningtoLifewasfundedbytheDepartmentforEducation’sFlexibleLearningFundtoofferfunctionalskillscoursesinEnglishandmathematicsthroughtheOpenLearnonlinelearningplatform.OpenLearnisTheOpenUniversity(UK)repositoryforopenlylicensedlearningmaterialsthatsupportsflexibledeliveryofstructuredcontent.TheBedfordCollegeGroup,MiddlesbroughCollegeandWestHertsCollegeworkedwithTheOpenUniversitytodeveloptheonlinecoursesandoffervalidationoflearningthroughqualifications.Thegoalsoftheevaluationstudywereto:
§ EstablishbaselinedataaboutlearnersinBringingLearningtoLife§ Describelevelsofconfidenceandkeychallenges§ Identifyopportunitiesforflexible,openandonlinedeliveryoffoundational
courses§ Developanunderstandingofhowlearnersandeducatorsunderstandtheissues§ Comparebetweenfurthereducationcollegeandnon-formalflexiblelearning
contextsInthefirstroundofresearchactivity,learnersandstaffatthethreefurthereducationcollegesweresurveyed.Threeinstitutions(BedfordCollegeGroup;MiddlesbroughCollege;WestHerts.College)provideddataandasmallnumberofnon-formallearnersalsocompletedthesurvey.Theinstrumentfocusedonthechallengesfacedbylearners;theapproachestheythinkwouldfacilitatelearning;andthepotentialforonlineandflexibledeliveryofeducationalmaterials.ThisdatawascollectedbeforebeginningtouseBringingLearningtoLifematerials;oratthebeginningofthecourse.TheseactivitiesarereportedinSectionI.EverydayEnglishandEverydayMathswerethecourseswereinitiallyoffered,witheachrepresentingabout48hoursofstudy.Level2coursesbecameavailablelaterinthepresentation.ThecoursestogetherwerebrandedasEverydaySkillsinmathsandEnglish.1Coursecontentwasmadeavailableonanopenlicencetofacilitaterepurposingandreuseofthecoursecontent.DuringthepresentationofthecoursematerialsforEnglishandmathematicsontheOpenLearnrepository,analyticdataabouttheiractivityandperformancewascollected.ThisdataisinterpretedinSectionII.ComparedwithothercoursesonOpenLearn,EverydaySkillsattractedahigherrateofenrolmentbutalowerrateofcompletion,possiblyreflectingtheinterestandexperiencesoftheintendedaudience.ItwasfoundthatEnglishcoursesattractmoreinterestbutmathematicscoursesaremorelikelytobecompletedandabadgeawarded.OpenLearnanalyticsalsoprovideevidenceofre-useoftheEverydaySkillscoursesbyinstitutionsandlearnersnotassociatedwiththe
1Thecoursesmaybeaccessedfromhttps://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/education/everyday-skills-maths-and-english
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project(includingfromoutsidetheUK).Thereisevidenceoffurtheruseoftheopenresourcesintheprivatesectorandintheclassroom.Afinalphaseofevaluationactivitytookplacewithasecondsurveyinvolvinglearnershadcompletedtheircourse(orwithdrawn).ThissurveycombinedsomeofthemeasuresusedthefirstsurveyforconfidenceandperceivedbarriersbutalsoincludedsomequestionsdesignedtoevaluatethematerialsusedonOpenLearn.TheresultsofthissurveycanbefoundinSectionIII.ThekeyfindingsforthosewhohadstudiedanEverydaySkillscoursewereasfollows:
• Learnersrespondedhighlypositivelytoboththecoursematerialsandtheirflexibleandopendelivery.
• 78.7%ofthosewhotookanEverydaySkillscoursewouldrecommendittoothers• Similarly,71%reportedthattakingthecoursemadethemwanttostudymore• Morethanhalfthesample(51.3%)felttheyhadseenimprovedperformanceat
workorintheirstudiesasresultoftakingEverydaySkills.43.5%felttheynowhadimprovedemploymentprospects.
• Improvedjob/careerprospectsareanimportantmotivationformany,butnotall• Financialconcernswereseenasthegreatestbarriertolearning,followedbylack
ofconfidence,work-lifebalanceandtimemanagement• Disabilitywasseenastheleastseriousbarrier(includingbydisabledlearners)• TherewerehigherlevelofinterestintheEnglishcoursesbuttheMathscourses
attractedlearnerswhoweremorelikelytogoontocompletethecourseandbeawardedabadge
• Notknowingwheretobeginorlackingstudyskillswereseenasbarriersbymorethanhalfthesample
DatagatheredaboutthelearnersonEverydaySkillsrevealthattheyhavediverseexperiencesandexpectations.Survey2showedthatmorethanhalfarealreadyinworkwhileathirdareclaimingsomeformofbenefit.Morethanathirdindicatedadesiretogoontoformalhighereducation,buttheselearnersoftenhavenoqualifications(orareunsurehowtonavigateapathwaytowardstheirgoal).Supportingtheselearnersinfindingtheirpathwaytoskillsandeducation–especiallywhentheyhavetakenasteptowardsformallearning–iscrucial.Workinginconjunctionwithcollegepartnershasbeenextremelyeffectiveforestablishingasharedapproachandbodyofknowledge.BringingLearningtoLifehasshownthatthereismuchpotentialtofurtherengageadultlearnersthoroughflexible,opendelivery.PartI(sections1-9)presentsandoffersinterpretationofresultsfromthefirstphaseoftheevaluation(Q1,2019).PartII(sections10-12)describespatternsofwebactivityobservedwithlearnersontheEverydaySkillscourses(Q1-Q6,2019).PartIII(sections13-20)reportsontheresultsfromthefinalphaseofevaluation(Q2-3,2019).Inthefinalparttherefollowsadiscussionandinterpretationofresultsasawholealongwithrecommendationsforfurtheractivityinthisarea.
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I.Survey1(Jan-Mar2019)1.SummaryTheevaluationprogrammebeganwithasurveyofbothlearnersandstaffassociatedwiththecollegesinvolvedwiththeproject.Thekeyfindingsfromthisphaseofactivitywereasfollows:
§ Improvedemploymentprospects,professionaldevelopmentandjob/studyperformancewereseenasthemostimportantorlikelyimpactsofmeetingcurrentlearninggoals.
§ Learnersreportedthatthemostsignificantfactorsintermsofimpactonlearningwereworklifebalance;financialconcernsandtimemanagement.Morecommon(butlowerimpact)challengeswerecaringorfamilycommitment;lackofconfidence;andnotknowingwheretobegin
§ Staffperceivethemostseriouschallengesfortheirstudentstoclusteraroundlackofconfidence,work/lifebalance,lackofstudyskills,andfearoffailure.AccesstotechnologyandInternetwerethoughtleastsignificant.
§ Themajorityofthelearnerswhoansweredthesurveyareinwork§ Mostarenotstudyingformallyatthemoment,butamajority(36%)expressed
aninterestinstudyingtowardsaqualification.Many(27%)areenrolledinparttimestudy.Only2.9%saidtheywereinfulltimestudy.13%arenon-formalself-directedlearners.8%wereinterestedinstudybutnottowardsaqualification.
§ OnthewholelearnersexpressedhighconfidenceintheirabilitieswiththeEnglishlanguage.
§ Generally,therespondentsexpressedahighdegreeofconfidencewiththeirabilitytousemathematics,butwithlessconfidenceexpressedaroundmathematicalsymbolsandformula.
§ Thereisevidencetosuggestthatformalqualificationsystemsarenotwellunderstoodbymanylearnersatentrylevel.
§ LearnerscommonlyhaveaccesstotheInternetandoftenhaveasmartphoneorotherpersonaldevice.However,itshouldbenotedthatthosewholackaccessoftenlackaccessacrosstherangeoftechnologies:around10%ofthecohortappearnottohaveregularorconsistentaccesstotheInternetandrelatedtechnologies.
1.1Rationale&MethodThesurveyinstrumentwasdesignedtocollectdatafromlearnersintheearlierphasesoftheirengagementwiththeEnglishandMathscontentmadeavailablethroughOpenLearn.Thedraftsurveywaspilotedwiththeprojectteamandrefinedbeforedistribution.ThesurveyquestionswereapprovedbyTheOpenUniversityHumanResearchEthicsCommittee(HREC/2008/Farrow:BringingLearningtoLife).
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TheJISCOnlineSurveysplatformwasusedtodistributethesurveyandcollectresponses.Thereweretwosurveys.Bothcategorieswereintendedtobeflexibleandinclusive.
§ “Learner”survey–forthoseinvolved(orpotentiallyinvolved)informalorinformallearningfromtheperspectiveofthelearner
§ “Staff”survey–forthoseinvolvedinformallearningfromtheperspectiveoftheeducatororserviceprovider
Inthisreportresultsarepresentedforthecohortswhotookpartindifferentelements.Itshouldbenotedthatthismeansthatresponsesfromlearnersandstaffdonotnecessarilycorrespondtothesameinstitution.Similarly,thereweretworoundsofsurveyswhichcorrespondapproximatelytoapre-andpost-interventionstudy,butthesamplesarenotthesame.Sincenopersonaldatawasheldonparticipants,acodewordsystemwasusedtoidentifypeoplewhotookpartinbothphasesofevaluation.Thequestionsaskedwereoftenthematicallythesamebutrephrasedforthedifferentaudiences.Thelanguagewashonedtowardssimpleexpressiontoencourageengagement.Typically,questionswereeithermultiplechoicefordemographicinformationandinformationaboutlearning;Likertscalesforcollectingattitudinaldata;andfreetextfieldsforcollectingqualitativedata.Therewere20questionsinthelearnersurveyand24questionsinthestaffsurvey.Thestaffsurveycontainedmoreopen-endedquestionstoencouragericherqualitativedata.LinkstothesurveysweredistributedbyprojectpartnerstocollegeaudiencesthroughemailandsharedonrelevantFacebookpages.Somecollectorswereultimatelyunused.Allcollegescontributeddataforlearners.Thougharangeofcollectorsweremadeavailabletoisolateparticularlearnerpopulationsintheanalysis,themajorityoflearnerdatacamefromthreecollectors(oneforeachcollege).Thedatawasexportedfromthesurveyplatformforcompilation,cleaningandanalysisinExcel.7learnersurveyswereincompleteorotherwiseunusable.1.2DataCollectionSurveydatawascollectedbetween9thJanuaryand15thMarch2019throughtheJISCOnlineSurveysplatform.Thetablebelowsummarisesresponsesforthe“Learners”surveybycollector.Table1.LearnerSurveyCollectors(Survey1)
Stakeholder Collector Description ResponsesBedfordCollegeGroup)
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-bedford-1
AccesstoHE 1
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-bedford-2
LearningCentreTresham
82
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-bedford-3
InterestedNewLearnersTresham
1
9
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-bedford-4
InterestedNewLearnersBedford
5
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-bedford-5
n.d.
MiddlesbroughCollege
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-middlesbrough-1
19+AdultProvision
n.d.
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-middlesbrough-2
19+Infills n.d.
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-middlesbrough-3
PotentialNewStudents
48
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-middlesbrough-4
n.d.
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2018-middlesbrough-5
n.d.
WestHerts.College
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/learner-survey-jan-2019-west-herts-1
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Non-formalLearners
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/bringing-learning-to-life-learner-survey-facebook-1
BedfordandTresham
5
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/bringing-learning-to-life-learner-survey-facebook-2
Middlesbrough 2
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/bringing-learning-to-life-learner-survey-facebook-3
WestHerts 0
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/bringing-learning-to-life-learner-survey-facebook-4
TheOpenUniversity
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TotalLearners 174Asmallernumberofresponseswasreceivedfromstaff(asmightbeexpected).Thistablesummarisesthedatacollectedforstaff.Table2.StaffSurveyCollectors(Survey1)
Stakeholder Collector Description ResponsesBedfordCollege
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/staff-survey-jan-2019-bedford-1
English&MathsTutorsTRESHAM
8
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/staff-survey-jan-2019-bedford-2
English&MathsTutorsBEDFORD
6
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/staff-survey-jan-2019-bedford-3
StudentRecruitmentTeam
4
MiddlesbroughCollege
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/staff-survey-jan-2019-middlesbrough-1 PrimaryStaff
n.d
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/staff-survey-jan-2019-middlesbrough-2 SupportStaff
n.d
WestHerts.College
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/staff-survey-jan-2019-west-herts-1
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Employers/TradeUnions
https://openuniversity.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/bringing-learning-to-life-employer-survey-1
n.d
TotalStaff 23
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2.DemographicsThissectiondescribesthepopulationswhotookpartinSurvey1.2.1LearnerDemographicsAgeTheageoflearnersfollowsastandarddistributionwiththemostcommonresponsebeing35-44years.Table3.AgeofLearners(Survey1)
Age Responses %12-17years 1 0.6%18-24years 18 10.3%25-34years 39 22.4%35-44years 46 26.4%45-54years 37 21.3%55-64years 26 14.9%65-74years 7 4.0%75+years 0 0.0%
Figure1.DistributionofLearnerAges(Survey1,n=174)
GenderMostlearnerswhorespondedtothesurveywerefemale,asshowninTable4.
0.6%
10.3%
22.4%
26.4%
21.3%
14.9%
4.0%
0.0%0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
12-17 years 18-24 years 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65-74 years 75+ years
LearnerAge
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Table4.LearnerGender(Survey1,n=174)
Gender Responses %Male 39 22.4%Female 133 76.4%Trans 1 0.6%Other 1 0.6%EthnicityAlmostthreequarters(77.3%)responsescamefrompeoplewhoidentifyasWhiteorWhiteBritish.Theremaining20%comprisedarangeofethnicities.Table5.LearnerEthnicity(Survey1,n=171)
EthicGroup(UKCensusCategories) %English/Welsh/Scottish/NorthernIrish/British 59.3%AnyotherWhitebackground 18.0%African 5.2%Indian 2.9%WhiteandAsian 1.7%Pakistani 1.7%AnyotherBlack/African/Caribbeanbackground 1.7%Other 1.7%Irish 1.2%Caribbean 1.2%Anyotherethnicgroup 1.2%GypsyorIrishTraveller 0.6%WhiteandBlackAfrican 0.6%Bangladeshi 0.6%Chinese 0.6%AnyotherAsianbackground 0.6%WhiteandBlackCaribbean 0.0%Arab 0.0%Mixed/Multipleethnicbackground 0.0%n.d. 1.2%Disability14learners(8%ofsample)declaredsomeformofdisabilitythataffectstheirabilitytoworkorstudy.(Thiscomparesto19%ofworkingageadultshttps://www.scope.org.uk/media/disability-facts-figures).
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Table6.DisabilitiesdeclaredbyLearners(Survey1,n=14)
Disability %Learningdisability 35.7%Mentaldisability 21.4%Physicalormotordisability 21.4%Other 14.3%Developmentaldisability 7.1%Nolearnersdeclaredavisual,hearingorneurocognitivedisability.Conditionsreportedunder“other”werediabetesandemphysema.2.2LearnerProfilesEmploymentStatusTable7.LearnerEmploymentStatus(Survey1,n=172)
Status %Full-timeemployment 48.8%Part-timeemployment 25.0%Seekingemployment 14.5%Notseekingemployment 11.6%
100.0%Justunderthreequartersofthesample(73.8%)arecurrentlyinwork(eitherfull-orpart-time).ExistingQualificationsDatawascollectedonpre-existingqualificationsaccordingtotheInternationalStandardClassificationofEducation(ISCED,2011).
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Figure2.LearnerPriorQualification(Survey1,n=172)
TheimmediatelystrikingfeatureoftheseresponsesisthatthevastmajorityreportedhavingGCSEorequivalentqualifications.TherewerefewerresponsesforLevels4/5;thiscouldreflectlowerfamiliaritywithqualificationsattheselevelsintheUKsystem.Inthecomments,someofthepeoplewhoanswered“Other”saidtheyhadaCSE,anoverseasorNVQ/BTEClevelqualification.ThereareperhapsasurprisinglylargenumberoflearnersinterestedinbasicMathsandEnglishwhoreportedalreadyhavingadegreeorpostgraduatedegree.48ofthe172whorespondedsaidthattheyalreadyhadadegreeorpostgraduatequalification.InmanycasesthisislikelytobedowntoaprofessionalwhohasrelocatedtotheUKwhoisinterestedinimprovingtheirEnglish(andthisissupportedanecdotallybytheexperiencesofFurtherEducationcollegesinvolvedinthestudy).However,comparingthisdatawithTable5thattheremayalsobesomelearnerswhohavemisinterpretedthequestionorthequalificationsranking:thenumberwhodeclaredentrylevelqualificationswasthesameasthenumberwhodeclaredaMaster’sdegreeorequivalent.LearningGoalsRespondentswereaskedabouttheirlearningstatusandaspirations.Mostarenotstudyingformallyatthemoment,butamajority(36%)expressedaninterestinstudyingtowardsaqualification.Many(27%)areenrolledinparttimestudy.Only2.9%saidtheywereinfulltimestudy.13%arenon-formalself-directedlearners.8%wereinterestedinstudybutnottowardsaqualification.Sevenpeopleinformaleducation(FT/PT)didnotknowwhethertheywereworkingtowardsaqualification,andonesaidthattheywerenotworkingtowardsaqualification.Conversely,fourpeoplewhoarenotinformalstudysaidtheywereworkingtowardsaqualification.Twopeopleintrainingschemesdidnotknowwhether
2110
2332
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2721
015
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0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Entry level (e.g. GCSEs below Grade G)Level 1 (e.g. GCSEs Grade D-G)
Level 2 (e.g. GCSEs Grade A*-C)Level 3 (e.g. A Levels, BTEC Extended…
Level 4 (e.g. Year 1 Foundation Degree, HNC)Level 5 (e.g. Year 2 Foundation Degree, HND)
Level 6 (e.g. Honours Degree)Level 7 (e.g. Masters Degree)
Level 8 (e.g. Doctorate)Not known
Other
LearnerPriorQualification(s)
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itledtoformalqualification.Ofthesevenpeoplewhosaidtheyhadnointerestinstudying,twosaidtheywerenonethelessworkingtowardsaqualification.Similarly,34ofthe63whoexpressedaninterestinformalqualificationssaidtheyeitherwereworkingtowardsaqualificationor“didn’tknow”.Theoverallimpressionisthatsystemsofformalqualificationarenotwellunderstoodbymanyrespondents.
Figure3.FormalStudyStatus(Survey1,n=170)
LearnerMotivationTable8.LearnerMotivation(Survey1,n=170)
LearnerMotivation f %Improvemyjoborcareerprospects 90 52.9%Qualifyforaparticularjob 14 8.2%PromotionCase 0 0.0%Furtherstudy(Tertiary) 26 15.3%
Interestorhobby 7 4.1%
Enjoymentoflearning 8 4.7%
Senseofpride/achievement18 10.6%
Other 7 4.1%
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47
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22
63
157 4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
I am
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FormalStudyStatus
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Improvedemploymentprospectswerethemostreportedreasonforstudy,withpreparationfortertiaryeducationthesecondmostpopular.Thereseemedlittleinterestinimprovingacurrentpositionthroughpromotion.Reasonsgivenfor“Other”:
§ togivemykidseverything§ althoughIownanduseacomputerandI-pad,Ionlyperformbasictasksandwould
liketofeelmoreconfidentinusingalltheotheradvancesofcomputertechnology.§ Alloftheaboveequally!§ Wantaqualificationinmaths.§ Ineedtokeepupwithmodernwaysofcommunicating§ Iwanttobemorecomputerliterateandconfidentusingit
2.3StaffDemographicsAgeTable9.StaffAge(Survey1,n=23)
12-17years 0 0.0%18-24years 2 9.5%25-34years 3 14.3%35-44years 5 23.8%45-54years 5 23.8%55-64years 5 23.8%65-74years 1 4.8%75+years 0 0.0%
21 100.0%Staffdatasuggeststheyaretypicallyolderthanlearners–thoughthesampleissmall.
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Gender
Figure4.StaffGender(Survey1,n=23)
Staffansweringthesurveywerepredominantlyfemale.EthnicityAllofthe23staffrespondingtothesurveyidentifiedasnativewhiteBritish(“English/Welsh/Scottish/NorthernIrish/British”).Thiscompareswith59%ofthelearnerpopulationsdescribedinTable5.Disability3outof23respondentstothestaffsurveyidentifiedashavingadisabilitythataffectstheirworkorstudy.(Tworeportedaphysicalormotordisabilityandonereportedanendocrinaldisorder.)2.4StaffProfilesTable10.StaffRoles(Survey1,n=17)
Role FrequencyIAG/CareersAdvisor 4LibraryServices 1Manager/Administrator 1Educator/Teacher/Tutor 17
82.6%
17.4%
StaffResponsesbyGenderFemale Male
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Thesurveywasmostlyansweredbyeducators.Thoughsomeotherrolesarerepresentedwedonothaveenoughdatatogeneraliseaboutpatternsbasedonjobrole.YearsofExperience
Figure5.StaffExperience(Survey1,n=23)
Weseethattherewereasignificantnumberofstaffwithhighlevelsofexperiencethatansweredthesurvey.Ratherthanastandarddistributionweseeclusteringofresponsesforlessthanfiveyearsormorethan16years.ThismayreflectrecruitmentpatternsforFEstaff.EmploymentStatusTable11.StaffEmploymentStatus(Survey1,n=23)
Asexpected,allrespondentsreportedbeingemployed.Mostareemployedfull-time.
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3 32
5
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
1-2years 3-5years 6-10years 11-15years
16-20years
21-25years
26years+ n.d.
YearsofExperience(Staff)
Full-timeemployment 17 73.9%Part-timeemployment 6 26.1%
23 100.0%
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Qualifications
Figure6.StaffQualifications(Survey1,n=23)
Manystaffarehighlyqualified,withevidenceofongoingprofessionaldevelopment.Thesuggestionfromthisdataisthatformoststaffhavenotobtainedaqualificationsubsequenttotheirmainorhighestqualification.(NBmanyarehighlyexperienced.)Itwasmorelikelythattheywouldworktowardsaprofessionalqualificationthanadegree,thoughagainthesampleistoosmalltosupportgeneralisedconclusion.“Other”referredheretoateachingqualification.
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Entry
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GCSEs b
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GCSEs G
rade D-G
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Level 2
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GCSEs G
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NC)
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Mast
ers Degre
e)
Level 8
(e.g.
Doctorat
e)
Not known
Other
StaffQualifications
Highest Qualfication Most Recent / Working Toward
19
SubjectandLevel
Figure7.SubjectsupportedbyStaff(Survey1,n=23)
Tworespondentsareresponsibleforsupportinginlearninginarangeofsubjects(includingEngineering,ManufacturingandConstruction,InformationandCommunicationTechnologies,NaturalSciences,Statistics,mathematics,Services(includingSecurity,Transport).Theyareincludedhereontherightofthechartas‘STEMCluster’.OneoftheseresponsesisfromaLibrarianwhoisperhapsaspecialistworkingacrossseveralsubjects. 3.LearnerConfidenceLikertscaleswereusedtoassessattitudesoflearnerstowardstheirownabilitiesandstrengths/weaknessesasalearner.Eachscalewasonapointof1(lowestconfidence)and10(highestconfidence).Thetablesbelowsummariseaveragevaluesreported.AnyofthesecouldbeanalysedforcomparingFEcolleges.
0
1
2
3
4
5
Arts
& H
uman
ities
(inc
ludi
ngLa
ngua
ges,
Hist
ory)
,Ser
vice
s(in
cludi
ng S
ecur
ity, T
rans
port
)
Busin
ess,
Adm
inist
ratio
n &
Law
,Edu
catio
n,He
alth
and
Wel
fare
,Oth
er
Educ
atio
n
Engi
neer
ing,
Man
ufac
turin
gan
d Co
nstr
uctio
n
Gene
ric p
rogr
amm
es a
ndqu
alifi
catio
ns (b
asic
liter
acy,
num
erac
y, p
erso
nal
deve
lopm
ent)
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
icat
ion
Tech
nolo
gies
Natu
ral S
cienc
es, S
tatis
tics,
Mat
hem
atic
s
STEM
Clu
ster
SubjectsSupported
20
3.1ConfidencewithEnglishTable12.LearnerConfidence(English)(Survey1,n=167)
Reading Speaking Understanding Writing8.3 8.1 8.1 7.6
Scoresaremarkedonscaleof1(leastconfident)to10(mostconfident).OnthewholelearnerswerehighlyconfidentintheirabilitieswiththeEnglishlanguage.Somelearnersscoredthemselveslowlyacrosstheboard.(Inonecasethiswasattributedtodyslexia.)Incomments,somelearnersexpressedlessconfidencewithwritingthanwithotherelementswhichmightexplaintheloweraveragescore.3.2ConfidencewithmathematicsTable13.LearnerConfidence(mathematics)(Survey1,n=168)
ConfidenceAddition&subtraction 8.2Multiplication&division 7.5Understandinginformationabouttemperature,weightsandmeasures 7.1
Doublecheckingsomeoneelse'scalculations 7Understandingmathematicalinformationandsymbols 6.9
Workingwithmeasurementslikeheight,weight,lengthandwidth 6.9
Convertingunits(e.g.currencyexchange) 6.8Usingmathstosolvereal-worldproblems 6.7Usingmathematicalformulas/algebra 5.7Generally,therespondentsexpressedahighdegreeofconfidencewiththeirabilitytousemathematics,butwithlessconfidenceexpressedaroundmathematicalsymbolsandformula.3.3ConfidencewithLearningSkillsTable14.LearnerConfidence(Survey1,n=165)
ConfidenceAbilitytolearnnewskills 8.1Respondtonewchallenges 8.1Self-management 8Solvenewproblems 7.9Professionaldevelopment 7.8Dealwithsocialsituationsorchallengingbehaviour 7.7
Usingtechnology 7.7Academicstudy 7.6
21
Onthewholelearnersexpressedahighlevelofconfidenceintheirownabilitytoengageinbehavioursassociatedwithlearninganddevelopment.Academicstudywasthelowestrankedconfidencemeasure.Thiscouldbeinterpretedtosuggestthatlearnersdonotseeacademicstudyassupportedbylearningnewskills(whenthisisnotinfactthecase).Asimilarpointcouldbemadeabouttechnologyusealthoughitshouldbenotedthattherangeofresponseshereisquitenarrow.4.TechnologyUse4.1ConfidencewithTechnologyTable15.LearnerTechnologyConfidence(Survey1,n=165)
ConfidenceDesktopcomputer 8.6Internetconnection 8.5Laptopcomputer 8.5Smartphone 8.5Wirelessnetworking 8.4Tabletcomputer 8.3Socialmedia 8Respondentsweregenerallyconfidentwithusingtechnology,withhighscoresacrosstherangeofdevicesthatcouldbeusedforlearning.Socialmediawasthetechnologyaspectwherelearnersshowedleastconfidence,perhapsreflectingconcernsaboutprivacyandsharing.Learnersratedtheirconfidenceforusingspecifictechnologieshigherthanfortechnologyuseingeneral(see5.3)4.2AccesstoTechnologyTable16.Learneraccesstotechnologies(Survey1)
Ihaveaccessfrequently
Ihaveaccess,butnotallthe
time
Ihaveverylimitedaccess Ihavenoaccess
InternetConnection 85.9% 5.3% 6.5% 2.4% n=170
LaptopComputer 71.0% 13.0% 9.9% 6.2% n=162
DesktopComputer 61.9% 16.3% 3.1% 18.8% n=160
SocialMedia 74.7% 9.6% 4.8% 10.8% n=166Smartphone 87.8% 1.2% 2.4% 8.5% n=164TabletComputer 62.2% 14.0% 4.9% 18.9% n=164WirelessNetwork 80.8% 10.2% 1.8% 7.2% n=167
22
Only2.4%oflearnerssaidtheyhadnoInternetaccess.LearnerscommonlyhavefrequentaccesstotheInternetandoftenhaveasmartphoneorotherpersonaldevice.However,itshouldbenotedthatthosewholackaccessoftenlackaccessacrosstherangeoftechnologies:approximately10%ofthelearnercohortappearnottohaveregularorconsistentaccesstotheInternetandrelatedtechnologies.Furthermore,sincethesurveywascompletedelectronicallythereisarguablyariskofomittingthosewhodon’tusedigitaltechnologies.
5.BarrierstoLearningLearnerswereinvitedtoprovidecategoricaldataaboutwhattheyperceiveasthemainbarriersorchallengesthataffecttheirlearning.A5-pointLikertscalewasusedtorecordsentiment.TheirresponsesarepresentedinTable16.Table17.LearnerPerceptionofBarrierstoLearning(Survey1)
Notanissueforme
Somerelevance
Itcausesme
problems
Significantissues
Majorbarrierto
mylearning
Accesstotechnology 138 11 8 2 2 n=161
AccesstoInternet 157 6 3 2 2 n=170
Caringorfamilycommitments 73 43 20 10 14 n=160
Disability 146 5 5 3 2 n=161
Fearoffailure 89 28 21 12 8 n=158
FinancialConcerns 60 34 28 23 15 n=160
Lackofconfidence 84 27 30 9 11 n=161
Lackofstudyskills 96 19 27 8 8 n=158
23
Lackoftechnologyskills 106 12 25 8 6 n=157
Language&communicationskills
113 20 20 3 5 n=161
Notknowingwheretobegin 78 28 38 11 4 n=159
Pressurefromothers 116 19 14 5 2 n=156
Socialinteractions 123 14 14 6 1 n=158
Timemanagement 66 39 33 12 10 n=160
Work/lifebalance 55 42 30 17 18 n=162
Themostsignificantfactorshereintermsofimpactare:
§ Worklifebalance(weighted332)2§ Financialconcerns(319)§ Timemanagement(275)
Morecommon(butperhapslowerimpact)challenges:
§ Caringorfamilycommitment(256)§ Lackofconfidence(235)§ Notknowingwheretobegin(234)
Oneinterestingaspectofthisdataisthediscrepancybetweenconfidenceinownstudyskillsexpressedin“LearnerConfidence”section.Learnersseemtohaveconfidenceintheirownabilitytolearnandstudy,butalsostatethatlackofconfidenceisanissue.Thismayreflectadegreeofbeliefinselfandabilitythatistemperedbyexternalfactors(financial,caring,time,etc.).
2Weightingprocess:disregardleftmostcolumnandthenmultiplyvalue2Xfor“Somerelevance”;3Xfor“Itcausesmeproblems”;4Xfor“Significantissues”;5Xfor“Majorbarriertomylearning”toprovidetotalforvariable.
24
AccesstoInternetisnotgenerallyseenasanissue;thisisconsistentwithwhatisreportedelsewhere(6.2).6.LearningPreferenceLearnerswereaskedtoperformasimilarcategorisationwithrespecttolearningapproachesandtheirperceptionofwhethertheyasalearnerwouldbenefit.Thesevariablesfocusedonflexible,openandtechnology-enhancedapproaches.AfivepointLikertscalewasusedtocapturesentiment.Table18.LearnerPerceptionofPotentialApproaches(Survey1)
Wouldnotbenefitme
Unlikelytobenefitme
Noopinion
Likelytobenefitme
Highlylikelytobenefitme
Accessinglearningresourcesonline 6 4 9 75 65 n=159
Accessinglearningresourcesforfree 5 2 5 48 79 n=139
Accessinglearningresources'anywhere,anytime'
5 5 7 48 66 n=131
Beingabletolearnatmyownpace 4 4 4 56 96 n=164
Closesupportfromotherlearners 11 8 37 63 41 n=160
Closesupportfromtutors/teachers 4 1 16 71 66 n=158
25
Learningthattakesaccountofmyparticularneeds
12 2 21 65 59 n=159
Lesstextandmoreaudio/visualresources 14 15 51 46 38 n=164
Managingmyownlearning 9 9 28 65 47 n=158
Usingassistivetechnologies(e.g.screenreaders,hearingdevices,memoryaids,etc.)
46 18 30 31 35 n=160
Onthewhole,weobservehighlevelsofenthusiasmforflexibleandsupporteduseofonlinelearningresources.Figure8presentsthesevaluesinorderofperceivedrelevance.
26
Figure8.LearnerPerceptionofPotentialApproaches(Survey1)
Therewasmostenthusiasm(leftsideofgraph)forlearningatone’sownpaceandaccessingresourcesforfree.Takeninconjunctionwithdataaboutlearnerconfidenceitcouldbethatpeoplefeeltheycouldsucceedwithmoretimeratherthanmoreclosesupportfromstafforpeers.Therewasleastpreferenceforusingassistivetechnologies,thoughthisisperhapstobeexpectedsincetheseareusedinresponsetoaspecificneed.Therewasmostuncertaintyaroundpeer-supportedlearningandpreferencefortext/audio-visualresources.
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
Bein
g ab
le to
lear
n at
my
own
pace
Acce
ssin
g le
arni
ngre
sour
ces f
or fr
ee
Acce
ssin
g le
arni
ngre
sour
ces '
anyw
here
,an
ytim
e'
Clos
e su
ppor
t fro
mtu
tors
/tea
cher
s
Acce
ssin
g le
arni
ngre
sour
ces o
nlin
e
Lear
ning
that
take
sac
coun
t of m
y pa
rtic
ular
need
s
Man
agin
g m
y ow
n le
arni
ng
Clos
e su
ppor
t fro
m o
ther
lear
ners
Less
text
and
mor
eau
dio/
visu
al re
sour
ces
Usin
g as
sistiv
ete
chno
logi
es (e
.g. s
cree
nre
ader
s, he
arin
g de
vice
s,…
LearningPreference
Would not benefit me Unlikely to benefit me No opinion
Likely to benefit me Highly likely to benefit me
27
7.AnticipatedImpactLearnerswereaskedtothinkabouttheimpactontheirlifeiftheywereabletomeettheirlearninggoals.Whichaspectsoftheirlifedotheythinkwouldchange?Table19.AnticipatedImpactofAchievingLearningGoals(Learners,Survey1)
Significantlyworse
Alittlebitworse
Alittlebitbetter
Significantlybetter
Nochange
Culturalbenefits 1 1 73 24 59 n=158
Socialinteractions 0 0 59 39 67 n=165
Beingamoreroundedperson
2 0 38 58 68 n=166
Beinghappierormorecontented
1 0 32 53 77 n=163
Enablefurtherlearningorstudy
1 0 21 54 85 n=161
Confidence 0 0 20 57 89 n=166
Performanceinjob/study 0 0 23 48 93 n=164
Professionaldevelopment 0 0 17 49 94 n=160
Employmentprospects 0 0 22 46 97 n=165
28
Table20.AnticipatedImpactofAchievingLearningGoals(Learners,Survey1)
Improvedemploymentprospects,professionaldevelopmentandjob/studyperformancewereseenasthemostimportantorlikelyimpactsofmeetingcurrentlearninggoals.Culturalandsocialbenefitswereseenaslesslikelyorimportant,though,onthewhole.7.1CommentsbyLearnersLearnercommentsarepresentedhere,organisedbythethemesofattitudestowardslearning;professionaldevelopment;andchallengesfaced.Attitudetowardslearning
§ IfindthatopenlearningisthebestwayformetolearnandIdon'thavetoworryabouttherestrictionsofmydisability.
§ Anyonecansitandlearnskillsbutthesedon’tbringresilienceandtheabilitytocarryouttheseskillsinreallife-thiscausessomeissuesasIbelievethepointinlearningistoshareknowledgeandsometimesitishardtodothiswithhiddendisabilities.
§ Tobeabletoachieveallmodulesandachievesuccessthrewunderstandingallthatiamgiventodoasifindallveryuplifting.Iliketheideaofmovingwiththetimes.Ialsoliketheteachingstaff.
§ Therecouldbemorefreeonlinecourses,whichcouldhelpmetostudymoreandachievemore.§ IamhappyinmylifeifIlearnbettercomputer
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
Culturalbenefits
Socialinteractions
Beingamoreroundedperson
Beinghappierormorecontented
Enablefurtherlearningorstudy
Confidence
Performanceinjob/study
Professionaldevelopment
Employmentprospects
Anticipatedimpactofachievinglearninggoals
Significantly worse A little bit worse No change A little bit better Significantly better
29
Commentsreceivedaboutlearninghighlightthatdisabledlearnersoftenseeopenonlinelearningasaroutetolearningwithadisability.Thereisalsothesuggestionthatopportunitiestolearncanhaveadeepemotionalimpact.
ProfessionalDevelopment
§ Iamlearningtobeamotivatorformychildren,getprofessionalqualificationandgetabetterjobtogivebacktomycommunity.challengesIamfacingnowisfamilycommitmentandfinance.
§ IwouldliketolearnmoreaboutAccountantjobsandIT.§ Iwouldliketohavemoretimetostudy.AsIworkparttime.Mainlynightshifts.I
hopeIcanstudyonmyowntimeifit’spossible.§ IcametotheUKin2011andjoinedBiddenhamSchoolattheendofyear9.After
completingmyGCSEsinyear11,IstayedforBiddenhamsixthformtodoaretakeyear,improvingmyEnglish.ThenIwenttoJamia_Al_KaraminRetfordtostudyaDiplomainIslamicSciences,whichIwillcompleteinJuly2018.ThiscoursewastaughtandtestedintheEnglishlanguage.currentlyI'mastudentatBedfordcollageandI'mdoingpreaccesscourseinhealthprofession.mygaolistopassmymathsandenglishthisyeartogotolevel3accesscourseinEarlyyearsteaching
§ IwanttolearnEnglish§ iwishtobeassistedwithajobplacementafterstudyingbecausemostfirm\job
vacanciesusuallyaskforsomepreviousexperience.whichidonothave,sothisismybiggestworry.
§ LackofBPSapprovedpostgraduatecoursespresentedparttimeovermorethantwoyears.OUcoursenotrecognised.SalarydropneededtoundertaketaughtDoctorate(afterpostgraduate).Agediscriminationbylocaluniversitytoover40s.
Commentsreceivedaroundthethemeofprofessionaldevelopmentreflectthewiderangeofexperiencesoftheselearners.Recognitionoflearningisakeyelementhere:forlearningundertakentowardsthisaimtobeeffectiveitshouldalignandbevalidatedinwaysthataremutuallyrecognised.ChallengesFaced
§ I’mquiteworriedIwon’tbecleverenoughforthiscourse§ IhaveafewproblemsinabsorbingtheinformationIreadandrememberingit§ Qualificationsmakingmeover-qualifiedforjobs,ornotprovidingtheexperienceI
wouldneedtoenteranewprofession.§ IfeelIhaveaphobiatomaths.Iwanttoovercomethis.§ justfamilycommitment.myhusbandworksverylonghours.§ AftersomesevereCrisistenyearsagothatinterruptedlearningwithyou.Sofar
notoneofyoucanhelpmepickitupagain.§ currentlyIhavenooneathandtohelpifIgetstuckonmylaptop,somycomputer
skillstayslimited§ Needmoretimeandresources§ Ibelongtoacreativewritingclassandwouldliketobeabletoproducemywork
onthecomputerbutittakesmesolong!§ IfeelasIamgettingolderthatmymemoryisnotsogreatandthatinformationis
changing/developingatsucharateit'shardtokeepup!
30
Challengesidentifiedbylearnersechocommonpatternsseeninotherlearners.Timeandresourcesarecrucialforalllearners,butforadultlearnerstherecanalsobeconsiderableanxietyandconfidenceissues.Onlinelearningenvironmentsalsobringtheirownchallenges,particularlyforthosewhoarelessconfident.8.StaffPerceptionManyofthesurveyquestionedusedfor“staff”(thosewhosupportlearning)werebasedonthoseaskedtolearners.Thisallowsustodescribepossibledifferencesinhowlearningchallengesareperceived.8.1PerceptionofLearnerMotivationStaff(n=23)wereaskedaboutthemotivationoftheirlearners.Improvedjoborcareerprospectswereseenasthepredominantmotivation.3Table21.StaffPerceptionofLearnerMotivation(Survey1,n=23)
Reasonsgivenunder“Other”:
§ Requiredforfundingofmainqualification,thereforenotalwaysmotivated§ TheyhavetostudyEnglishiftheyhavenotachievedahighergradepassforGCSE§ Compulsory
3Thenumberofmeasurementsisgreaterthan23becausemultiplecategoriescouldbeselected.
0
5
10
15
20
25
Improve
job or c
areer p
rospects
Furth
er study
A sense of p
ride/ac
hievement…
Enjoym
ent o
f learn
ing
Qualify
for a part
icular
job
Furth
er study
Supportin
g an in
terest or h
obbyOther
LearnerMotivation(StaffPerspective)
31
8.2PerceptionofTechnologyUse
Table22.StaffPerceptionofLearnerTechnologyUse(Survey1)
Frequentaccess
Accessible,butnotallthetime Limitedaccess Noaccess
InternetConnection 81.8% 13.6% 4.5% 0.0% n=22
LaptopComputer 21.1% 47.4% 15.8% 15.8% n=19DesktopComputer 10.0% 45.0% 35.0% 10.0% n=20
SocialMedia 45.0% 25.0% 15.0% 15.0% n=20
Smartphone 63.6% 9.1% 9.1% 18.2% n=22
TabletComputer 5.3% 36.8% 15.8% 42.1% n=19
WirelessNetwork 71.4% 23.8% 4.8% 0.0% n=21Stafftendedtobelievethatlearnershadlowerlevelsofaccesstodigitalandnetworkedtechnologies.Thismayreflectthefactthattheydealwithawidernumberoflearnersthanthosewhocompletedthesurvey(whichwasdistributedelectronically).8.3PerceptionofChallengesFacedbyLearnersTable23.StaffPerceptionofLearnerChallenges(Survey1)
NotanissueforlearnersIsupport
ItcausesthelearnersIsupportsomeproblems
SomerelevanceforthelearnersIsupport
SignificantissuesforthelearnersIsupport
MajorbarrierforthelearnersIsupport
Lackofconfidence
4.8% 19.0% 4.8% 33.3% 38.1% n=21
Work/lifebalance
13.6% 13.6% 31.8% 9.1% 31.8% n=22
Lackofstudyskills
0.0% 13.0% 30.4% 26.1% 30.4% n=23
Fearoffailure 5.0% 15.0% 35.0% 20.0% 30.0% n=21
Timemanagement
4.5% 13.6% 27.3% 31.8% 22.7% n=22
Notknowingwheretobegin
5.0% 15.0% 45.0% 20.0% 15.0% n=20
32
Language&communicationskills
4.5% 23.8% 52.4% 14.3% 9.5% n=22
Financialconcerns
13.6% 18.2% 50.0% 9.1% 9.1% n=22
Socialinteractions
21.1% 31.6% 26.3% 15.8% 5.3% n=19
Lackoftechnologyskills
20.0% 25.0% 40.0% 10.0% 5.0% n=20
Pressurefromothers
25.0% 10.0% 35.0% 25.0% 5.0% n=20
Caringorfamilycommitments
4.8% 23.8% 42.9% 23.8% 4.8% n=21
Disability 19.0% 27.3% 36.4% 9.1% 4.5% n=21
Accesstotechnology
55.0% 15.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% n=20
AccesstoInternet
70.0% 10.0% 15.0% 5.0% 0.0% n=20
Figure9presentsthisdataaccordingtotheperceivedseverityofthechallenge.
33
Figure9.StaffPerceptionofLearnerChallenges(Survey1)
Staffperceivethemostseriouschallengesfortheirstudentstoclusteraroundlackofconfidence,work/lifebalance,lackofstudyskills,andfearoffailure.AccesstotechnologyandInternetwerethoughtleastsignificant.Itisinterestingtonotethat,despitethehighconfidencescoresrecordedforEnglish(5.1),mathematics(5.2)andlearningskills(5.3)fromlearners,staffthoughtlackofconfidencewasthemostseriousbarrier.Commentsreceivedfromthosewhosupportlearningaboutthechallengesfacedgroupedbythemearelistedbelow.Themainthemestoemergewerework/lifebalance;motivation;lifestyle;andskills&confidence.Work/LifeBalance
§ Timetofitinstudiesalongsidework/familycommitments.§ Ifeelthatalotofstudentsenrolledincollegearenotherebecausetheywanttobe
butbecausetheyhavetobe.Iseemanyofthemlackmotivation/havenointerestinwhattheyarestudying.Havingtochooseauniversitycourseattheageof18isalotofpressure,andIbelievethatnotallofthestudentsthatsubmitapplicationsarepassionateaboutwhattheystudy.Ithinkpressurenotonlycomesfromeducationalinstitutionsbutalsoparents.
§ Earningaliving,studyingandfamilycommitments.
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
Lackofconfidence
Work/lifebalance
Lackofstudyskills
Fearoffailure
Timemanagement
Notknowingwheretobegin
Language&communicationskills
Financialconcerns
Socialinteractions
Lackoftechnologyskills
Pressurefromothers
Caringorfamilycommitments
Disability
Accesstotechnology
AccesstoInternet
StaffPerceptionofLearnerChallenges
NotanissueforlearnersIsupport ItcausesthelearnersIsupportsomeproblems
SomerelevanceforthelearnersIsupport SignificantissuesforthelearnersIsupport
MajorbarrierforthelearnersIsupport
34
Motivation
§ They'rede-motivatedasthey'vefailedbefore,maybeseveraltimes§ WorkingwithAdultsinFEisadifficultgroupasthemotivatorsaresodiverse,
everyoneisstudyingforadifferentreason.Majorchangesincircumstanceshappenregularlysocanhaveamassiveimpactonthegroupsasawhole
§ Theyarereluctantstudentsformathematicsinthemainastheyarere-takingexaminations.
§ Behaviour,motivationandability.Lifestyle
§ Moststudentswhenaskingaboutthiscoursewillaskiftheyareunabletocompletecollegecoursesduetolifestyle
§ Arealmixofchallengesbothlearningdifficultiesandexternalfactors.Someareyoungcareers,somehavefinancialdifficulties,manyparentsarenotengagedintheireducation,healthissues,addictions,massivesocialandbehaviouralissues.
Skills&Confidence
§ Manylackconfidenceandthe"habit"ofstudying.Therearealsosignificantissuesaroundchildcareformany.
§ Themajorityofmystudentshaveaformoflearningdifficultyordisabilityandtheyarebeingmadetocompletequalificationsthatareabovetheirabilityinordertomeetrequirementsofthegovernmentresultinginaseverelackofmotivationandselfbeliefhavingfailedthesaidqualificationsnumeroustimespreviously.
§ Havingfailedoncetheylackconfidenceandselfbelief§ Becausetheyhavetostudyasubjecttheyhavealreadyfailedatschooltheylack
skills,confidenceandmotivationtoprogressasmuchastheycouldorshould.Attendanceisoftenpoorasarebehaviourandengagement.
§ Notbeenineducationforalongtimesolackofconfidence,embarrassment.§ SomelearnersdonothaveEnglishastheirfirstlanguagewhichmakesitdifficult
forthem.§ Negativeexperiencesfromschoolmeanthatwespendfirsttermchangingmind-
sets.8.4PotentialStrategiesTable24.PerceptionofPotentialLearningStrategies(Staff,Survey1)
WouldnotbenefitthelearnersIsupport
UnlikelytobenefitthelearnersIsupport
Noopinion
LikelytobenefitthelearnersIsupport
HighlylikelytobenefitthelearnersIsupport
35
Accessinglearningresourcesonline
4.8% 14.3% 4.8% 42.9% 33.30% n=21
Accessinglearningresourcesforfree
4.8% 14.3% 0.0% 38.1% 42.90% n=21
Accessinglearningresources'anywhere,anytime'
0.0% 9.5% 0.0% 57.1% 33.30% n=21
Beingabletolearnatownpace
4.8% 4.8% 19.0% 28.6% 42.90% n=21
Closesupportfromotherlearners
0.0% 9.1% 9.1% 59.1% 22.70% n=22
Closesupportfromtutors/teachers
4.5% 0.0% 0.0% 31.8% 63.60% n=22
Learningthattakesaccountofparticularneeds
4.5% 4.5% 0.0% 36.4% 54.50% n=22
Lesstextandmoreaudio/visualresources
0.0% 0.0% 4.8% 57.1% 38.10% n=21
Managingone’sownlearning 0.0% 13.6% 27.3% 40.9% 18.20% n=22
36
Usingassistivetechnologies(e.g.screenreaders,hearingdevices,memoryaids,etc.)
4.5% 13.6% 4.5% 50.0% 27.30% n=22
Figure10presentsthisdataaccordingtotheperceivedusefulnessoftheintervention.Staffweremorelikelytoassertthatclosesupportwouldbehighlybeneficialtolearnersthanlearnersthemselves.Theywerealsomorelikelytobescepticalaboutthevalueofself-managedlearning,orlearningatone’sownpace.Onthewhole,however,collegestaffwerehighlypositiveaboutthelikelihoodofaparticularapproachtobeofbenefittotheirlearners.
Figure10.PerceptionofPotentialLearningStrategies(Staff,Survey1)
8.5ChallengesfacedbyStaffStaffwereprovidedwithafree-textfieldtoexplainthechallengestheyfaceintheirrole.Thesecommentsarepresentedhere,organisedbytheme.Theimpressiongivenisthat
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
Closesupportfrom
tutors/teachers
Learningthattakes
accountofparticular
needs
Accessinglearning
resourcesforfree
Beingabletolearnat
ownpace
Lesstextandmore
audio/visualresources
Accessinglearning
resourcesonline
Accessinglearning
resources'anywhere,
anytime'
Usingassistive
technologies(e.g.
screenreaders,…
Closesupportfrom
otherlearners
Managingmyown
learning
Staffperceptionoflearningapproaches
Would not benefit the learners I support Unlikely to benefit the learners I support
No opinion Likely to benefit the learners I support
Highly likely to benefit the learners I support
37
resourcingisseenastheprimaryissueaffectingtheirrole,andthisoftenaffectstheirabilitytoengagelearners–whichisseenascrucial.Resourcing
§ Thebiggestchallengeformerelatingtotechnologyisinstitutionalbudgeting.Wehavetousenextgentechnologybutthecollegeisn'twillingtoinvestasthetechnologyisoutdatedassoonasinstalled.
§ Istruggletoknowhowtoengagestudentsstudyingatalldifferentlevelsintheresourceswehavewithoutthesupportoftheteachingstaff.
§ Timemanagementnothavingappropriatetimetoplanlessons,providefeedbackandallotherresponsibilitiesconnectedtomyrole.Planninglessonsappearstobeasecondthoughtwhenitshouldbethemostimportant.
§ Classsizesof35often.§ LackofITforallstudentsineveryclassroom.§ Timeconstraints§ Temporarystaff-notajobthatyoucanlearnquickly.Staffshortages.§ Unevenwork-lifebalance-lotsofmarkingrequired.
Discipline
§ Studentshavingadisregardforcollegepolicies.Managingstudentbehaviourinthelibrary.
§ Disciplineduetosmartphonebullyingbythosewithofthosewithoutbydistractingfocus.
§ Colleaguesnotunderstandingthelevelofassistancerequiredbythelearnersandthelearnersbeingdeemedas"lazy".Alsothevocationaldepartmentsnotdiscipliningstudentsadequatelywhichaffectsstudentswhowanttolearn.
§ Attendanceofstudentsinlessons
Skills&Confidence
§ Learnershavetakentheexammanytimesbeforetheygettocollege,haveverynegativeattitudeandextremelylowconfidence.TaughtentireGCSEprogram(2yearswork)in30weekswith2x1.5hrsessions.Manylearnersarrivenotabletosubtract,multiplyanddividesotimeconstraintsarehuge.Classesarenotstreamedsolearnerswhomissedby1markareinwithlearnerswhohavescrapedalevel1functionalskills.
Engagement
§ Settinganappropriatepaceforlearningforthedifferentlearners'needs.Toensurecoveralltopicsinthenecessarydepthinthetimegiven.
§ Motivatinglearnerstostudyasubjecttheydidnotchoosetostudyandhavenotstudiedsuccessfullyinthepast
§ Notknowinghowthecoursewillberun§ Tryingtogetstudentstoengage.Attendance§ Esolstudents,Studentsnotattendingregularlybecauseofothercommitments,low
confidenceinthestudents
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§ Ihaveadifferentcohorteveryweekforaoneweekblock.Sometimesthisisnotconducivetolearning
§ StudentsdislikeMathsandEnglishsofinditachore.§ Poormanagement§ Learnersarekeentosucceedbutmoststruggletofindthetimetocommittotheir
studies.Contacttimeisalsoverylimited.
8.6ChallengesfacedbyEducationalInstitutionsStaffwerealsoaskedtodescribewhattheyseeasthemainchallengesfacedbytheirorganisation.Thesecommentssurfacedsimilarthemesaroundlackofresourcesandaperceptionthatpoorleadershipandmanagementrepresentachallengefortheirinstitutions.(Itshouldbenotedthatthesurveydidnotaskaboutwhattheirinstitutiondoeswellasthefocuswasonidentifyingbarriers.)Comments
§ Lackoffundstoappropriatelysupportlearnersegsmallgroups,technologyinallclassrooms,
§ Lackofadequateresourcestoaidstudents§ Theyseesmartphonesasnecessary,whichtheyarenot.§ Resultsfocusedlearning.Budgetconstraints.§ Fundingcuts.§ Financialoverheads.§ cost/funding§ FundingofFE§ Mergerwithanothercollege.§ NotknowinghowthecoursewillberunNotallstudentshaveInternetaccess§ Lackofteachersastheyconstantlyunderminethosethattheyhave.Funding§ Poormanagement§ Fundingandmeetingretentiontargets§ Funding,limitedportableICT
8.7OrganisationalStrategyStaffwereaskedtodescribethestrategicapproachoftheirinstitution.Mostresponseshereidentifiedtensionsintheperceptionofinstitutionalstrategies.Comments
§ Putlearnersfirstaslongasitdoesn'tcostusanything§ Attheheartlearnerledbutinrealityitisdictatedbyfunding,numbersanddata.§ Tooreliantonacustomerfocusinsteadofheedingteachers.§ Togetasmanylearnersenrolledformaximumfunding.§ Shapinglearningtogether.§ Variedtomeetindividualsneeds§ Inclusivebutinconsistent§ Flexibleforindividualstudentneeds§ Allequalandtobeincluded
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§ Detachedfromreality§ Fairlytraditionalclassroombased
8.8ImprovingstrategyFinally,staffwereaskedhowtheythinkthattheirinstitutioncouldimprovetheofferitmakestoitslearners.Thesesuggestionsincludedinvestinginstaffandtechnologyresources;providingbettersupporttostaff;improvingdiscipline;andofferingmorepersonalisedlearning.Comments
§ Investmentintechnologyandassistiveaides§ Findawaytoimprovecommunicationsbetweendifferentdepartments§ Smallerclasseswhichareappropriatelymixed.Timetoplanlessonswhichtruly
areindividualized.§ Provideincreasedadditionalsupport.Stoprequiringpeopletodomultiplejobsto
givestaffthetimetofocusonthelearners.§ Strictbehaviourenforcementinlinewithwhattheywillfindintheworkplace.§ Streamlinegroups,offermore1:1orsmallgroupsupport.Reduceclasssizes.Offer
2yearGCSEprogram.Providemorelearningsupportforinclass.§ ITineveryclassroom.Morefulltimestaffratherthanhourlypaid.§ Givemoretimefortuitionandlowerfees§ Smallerclasses,moreflexibilityindelivery§ Moreinformaldropinsessionswithpersonalachievementtutors.§ Providelaptopsforthoseunabletoaccesstheinternet§ Bettersupportofteachers,sothatwecangetonwithourjobswithoutbeing
questioned.§ Havemoreresourcesavailabletothemathome§ coursetosuitthelearner,ratherthanlearnerstosuitthecourse.(rightstudent,
rightlevel,rightcourse)§ Betougheronthosethatdon'tworkashard,asitfrustratesthosethatdo.§ Openthevarioussitesatawidervarietyoftimes.
9.LessonsLearnedfromSurvey1Survey1wasplannedandconductedwhiletheEverydaySkillscourseswereunderdevelopmentandintheearlyphasesoflaunch.FromaresearchperspectiveanumberoflessonswerelearnedfromtheactivitieswhichtookplacetosupportSurvey1.
• Somestudentsrequiredextrasupportincompletingsurveysbecausetheyneededhelpusingacomputer.Thiswasn’treallytakenaccountofintheplanning.Itmightbeagoodideatoofferapaperversionintheevaluationsurveys.
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• Theuseofacodetoavoidcollectingrespondentpersonaldataseemstohaveworkedquitewell.
• Onecollectorpercollegepersurveyisprobablysufficientastherearen’tenoughresponsestojustifyseparatecollectors(e.g.fordifferentsubjectsorclasses).
• LearnersmaynotfullyunderstandISCEDclassificationlevels,ormaymisunderstandtheirownformalstudyclassification.Alternately,highlyeducatedpeoplefromoverseasmightbetakingcoursestoimproveEnglishwithaskewingeffectonthedata.
TheseinsightswereaccommodatedintothedesignandprocessforSurvey2.
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II.OpenLearnAnalytics(Jan-Aug2019)10.SummaryThissectiondescribesandinterpretsdatafromthewebanalyticsproducedbytheEverydaySkillscourses.ThekeyinsightsderivedfromOpenLearnanalyticswereasfollows:
• AsignificantproportionofthosewhovisitEverydaySkillscanbeexpectedtoenrolforstudy
• ComparedwithotherOpenLearncourses,EverydaySkillscoursesattractedahigherrateofenrolmentbutalowerrateofcompletion.ThismayreflectthehighlevelsofinterestandinexperiencewithformalstudyamongtheaudienceforEverydaySkills.
• Englishattractsmoreinterest,butMathslearnersweremorelikelytocompleteandbeawardedabadge
• Thereisevidencethatthecoursematerialswerebeingusedintheprivatesector,inUKcollegesnotdirectlyassociatedwiththeproject
• Thereweresignificantnumbersoflearnerswhowerenotconnectedwiththecollegestakingplaceintheproject
• UrbancentreswerethebiggestsourcesofvisitorsfromtheUK• ThecoursesalsoattractedvisitorsfromoutsidetheUK
10.1OpenLearninBringingLearningtoLifeOpenLearnisafreerepositoryandlearningmanagementsystemprovidedbyTheOpenUniversity(UK).DuringBringingLearningtoLifecoursematerialsforEnglishandmathematicswerehostedandaccessedthroughtheOpenLearnplatformbyavarietyofformalandnon-formallearners.TheEnglishmodulewasnamed“EverydaySkillsinEnglish”andthemathematicsmodule“EverydaySkillsinmaths”.Analyticinformationwhichdescribespatternsofactivityforthoseaccessingthecoursematerialsarepresentedinthissection.4InitiallyonlyLevel1courseswerereleasedaspartofEverydaySkills,butLevel2coursesbecameavailablemid-waythroughpresentation.Eachcoursecomprised48hoursofelearning.
4OpenLearnanalyticsdataprovidedbySueMannandBenWoodoftheOpenMediaandInformalLearningunitatTheOpenUniversity,UK.
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InJune2019aseriesofadditionalcourseswithvocationalfocuswerereleased.Thesecomprised:
• EverydayMathsforConstructionandEngineering1• EverydayMathsforConstructionandEngineering2• EverydayMathsforHealthandSocialCareandEducationSupport1• EverydayMathsforHealthandSocialCareandEducationSupport2• EverydayEnglishforConstructionandEngineering1• EverydayEnglishforConstructionandEngineering2• EverydayEnglishforHealthandSocialCareandEducationSupport1• EverydayEnglishforHealthandSocialCareandEducationSupport2
10.2Method&LimitationsDatawasextracteddirectlyfromtheOpenLearnplatformusingAdobeAnalyticsatregularintervalsoverthecourseoftheprojectaspartofaregularreportingcycle.ThedatareportedbelowpertainstotheperiodJan-Jul2019.Whiletheseanalyticsprovidecertaininsightsintotheaccessandusepatternsoflearners,therearesomelimitationsthatshouldbenoted.Forinstance,itisnotcurrentlypossibletocross-referencesurveyresponsesandlearneranalytics.Theanalyticsprovidenoinsightsintothedemographicsorstudyapproachesofdifferentlearners.Itwasnotpossibletodistinguishcollegelearnersfromotherlearnersusingtheplatform.Asaconsequence,analyticsgiveusonlya“bigpicture”accountofwhatishappeningacrosscoursepresentationsasawholeratherthandescribingindividuallearningpathwaysorexperiences.However,thesepatternsprovideevidenceofengagementandcanbecomparedwithsimilarcoursepresentations.
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11.NumberofLearners,AccessPatternsandEnrolmentsFromJanuary2019(Month1)thenumberoflearnersaccessingmaterialsforEssentialEnglishandEssentialMathswererecordedalongwiththenumberofenrolmentsforthatcourse.ThisinformationispresentedinFigure11.
Figure11.EverydaySkillsonOpenLearn:visitsandenrolments(cumulative)
Weobserveafairlyconsistentpatternofenrolmentsrelativetositevisits,atarateofbetween15%and30%.Thesteadygrowthofinterestandenrolmentssuggeststhattheresourcesarebeingaccessedandusedbyawiderbasethanthecollegesdirectlyinvolvedwiththeproject.Weseeasimilarpattern(Figure12)withthenumberofbadgesearnedoverthesameperiod,confirmingthataconsistentproportionofthosewhovisitthesiteenrollandthengoontocompletethecourse.
1,527
299
2,993
562
4,789
934
6,935
1,360
8,973
1,648
9,358
1,862
16,538
3,149
2,410
433
5,857
1,117
9,310
1,799
12,289
2,236
14,185
2,605
15,351
3,069
22,665
4,339
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000
unique browser visits to course
enrolments
unique browser visits to course
enrolments
unique browser visits to course
enrolments
unique browser visits to course
enrolments
unique browser visits to course
enrolments
unique browser visits to course
enrolments
unique browser visits to course
enrolments
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
M7
EverydaySkillsonOpenLearn:visitsandenrolments
Everyday English Everyday Maths
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Figure12.EverydaySkills:BadgesAwarded(cumulative)
Together,Figs.11&12showthatthereisahigherlevelofinterestintheEnglishcoursesbuttheMathscoursesattractslearnerswhoaremorelikelytogoontocompletethecourseandbeawardedabadge.Itshouldbenotedthatforthecollegesinvolvedintheprojectwouldbeexpectedtoencouragelearnerstoregisterintheearlierphaseofthepresentationofthecourses.Theenrolmentsandbadgesawardedinthelaterpartarelikelytobefromnon-formallearnersoutsidetheprojectorbit,suggestingthatpromotionwaseffective.Evidenceforthiscanbeseenintheanalytics.ByJuly2019,15%ofallsitereferralswerecomingfromreed.co.uk,arecruitmentagencywhichoffersarangeofservicestojobseekersincludingtrainingandcareeradvice.TheyprovidedalinktotheEverydaySkillscoursesandareviewsystemthatallowsuserstoprovidefeedback.Table24presentsdataaboutsitereferralsasawhole.
23
60
112
145
171
207
380
12
45
76
96
123
148
284
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
M7
EverydaySkills:BadgesAwarded
Everyday English Everyday Maths
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Table25.ReferralstoEverydaySkills(31stJuly2019)
ReferringDomain Description Visits %typed/bookmarked Typedintobrowser
orbookmarkedpreviously
15,555 45.9%
google.com GoogleSearch 9,103 26.9%reed.co.uk Reed 5,435 16.1%google.co.uk GoogleSearch 2,806 8.3%facebook.com Facebook 2,325 6.9%westherts.ac.uk WestHertsCollege 1,853 5.5%bing.com BingSearch 1,006 3.0%com.google GoogleAndroid
Search656 1.9%
bradfordcollege.ac.uk BradfordCollege 596 1.8%mboro.ac.uk Middlesbrough
College584 1.7%
youtube.com YouTube 344 1.0%yahoo.com Yahoo!Search 331 1.0%bbc.co.uk BBC 310 0.9%bedford.ac.uk BedfordCollege 287 0.8%tresham.ac.uk TreshamCollege
(BedfordCollegeGroup)
261 0.8%
ounews.co OpenUniversityNews
221 0.7%
boston.ac.uk BostonCollege 131 0.4%sharepoint.com SharePoint
collaborationplatform
109 0.3%
vk.com VKSocialMedia(Russia)
109 0.3%
t.co Twitter 102 0.3%ccsw.ac.uk CheshireCollege-
South&West84 0.2%
live.com MicrosoftOutlook 83 0.2%
msn.com MicrosoftWebPortal
75 0.2%
google.com.au GoogleSearchAustralia
67 0.2%
google.co.in GoogleSearchIndia 64 0.2%Mostofthetraffictothecoursescamethroughsearchenginereferralfromavarietyofcountriesandplatforms.Alsorepresentedarethecollegesinvolvedintheproject(BedfordCollegeGroup;MiddlesbroughCollege;WestHertsCollege)aswellasothereducationalinstitutions(BostonCollege;BradfordCollege)evidentlyusingorrecommendingthecoursematerials.(ItshouldbenotedthatcollegeswerealsofreetoinstallaversionofthecourseswithintheirownLearningManagementSystems,sothenumberofreferralsneednotcorrelatewithuse.)WealsohavesomeevidencethatthematerialswerebeingdiscoveredandaccessedfromlearnersoutsidetheUK.Only76.7%ofvisitorswerebasedintheUK.Theothercountrieswiththehighestnumberof
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referralsweretheUSA(3.1%),India(2.7%),Australia(0.8%)andRussianFederation(0.8%).ThebreakdownofvisitorsfromUKcountrieswasasfollows:
Figure13.UKVisitorstoEverydaySkillsbyCountry(n=23,766)
ThispatternisexpectedbecauseofthelocationoftheprojectandtheinstitutionscollaboratingaspartofBringingLearningtoLife.ThereweresignificantnumberofvisitorsfromScotlandandWales.(TheOpenUniversityinWalesisdevelopingversionsoftheEverydaySkillscoursesforWelshcolleges.)AlthoughthemajorityofhitscamefromEngland,therewasmoregeographicalcoveragewithinEnglandthanmightbeexpected.Whiletherewereclearclustersofvisitorsfromthelocationsassociatedwiththecolleges–predominantlyBedfordshire,Yorkshire,Hertfordshire–mostvisitorscamefromelsewhere,asthefollowingtableshows.Table26.UKVisitorsbyCity
Rank UKCity Frequency %1 London 996 4.2%2 Birmingham 922 3.9%3 Manchester 692 2.9%4 Southwark 639 2.7%5 Watford 600 2.5%6 Nottingham 492 2.1%7 Islington 473 2.0%8 Bedford 457 1.9%9 Bradford 444 1.9%10 MiltonKeynes 441 1.9%
89.3%
5.8%
4.1% 0.8%
%ofvisitors(UKonly)
England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
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ThetoppositionsofthebiggestUKcitiessuggeststhatdemandforbasicEnglishandMathscoursesmaybedistributedevenlybypopulation(orthaturbancentresmayhaveincreaseddemandfortheseservicesonaccountoftheirpopulations).Themostvisitorscamefromurbancentreswithnoinstitutionallinktotheproject.Thisalsosuggeststhatprojectmarketingandpromotiontoageneralaudiencehasbeeneffective.12.ComparisonwithotherbadgedcoursesonOpenLearn12.1AllBadgedOpenCoursesLearnerswhovisitthewebsitearearound25%morelikelytoenrolontheEverydaySkillscoursesthantheaverageofall“badgedopencourses”orBOCs.5However,thecompletionrateisconsiderablylower(4%)fortheEnglishcoursethanforBOCsasawhole.Table27.ComparingEverydayMaths/EnglishwithotherOpenLearnBOCs
uniquebrowservisitstocourse enrolments %enrolling badgesearned %completion
allbadgedcourses(Jan2019)
1,114,792 161,814 15% 21,383 13%
EverydayMaths 4789 934 20% 112 12%
EverydayEnglish 9310 1,799 19% 76 4%
ThishigherlevelofinterestatthestartofaprogrammeofstudycouldbeinterpretedasconsistentwiththehighlevelsofconfidenceexpressedbylearnersinSurvey1.OveralltherewasmoreinterestinEverydayEnglishthanEverydayMathsbutlearnersontheMathscourseweremorelikelytocompleteand/orbeawardedabadge.ThelowercompletionrateforEverydayEnglishcouldbereflectiveofalowerlevelofinterestinreceivinginformalrecognitionoflearningthroughdigitalbadging.ItshouldalsoberememberedthatthelearnerstakingEverydaySkillscoursesareofteninexperiencedlearnersandthiscaneasilyresultinalowerrateofcompletionthanseeninotherbadgedcoursesonOpenLearn. 5BadgedOpenCourses(BOCs)areOpenLearncoursesthatawardafreeStatementofParticipationoncompletionandanOU-brandeddigitalbadge.Theycontainrichmedia,robustonlineassessmentsandareusually24hourslong.Theirpopularityandhighimpact(click-throughs)meanthattheyformabusiness-as-usualactivityforOpenLearninsupportoftheoutreachoftheplatformandincreasingly,asameanstomotivateandrewardOUstudentsforinductionandparticipatinginadditionalcareerdevelopmentactivities.http://intranet6.open.ac.uk/learning-teaching-innovation/main/badged-open-courses
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12.2Benchmark:“ManagingMyMoney…”AusefulpointofcomparisonmaybemadewiththeManagingmymoneyforyoungadultsbadgedcourseonOpenLearn–whichalsohasinexperiencedadultlearnersasacoreaudience.Similarly,learnersmaynothavefoundthecoursethemselves,butwereencouraged/persuadedbyschools,colleges,andparentstovisitthecoursethroughahigh-profilepromotioncampaign.Thiscoursereceivedalotofpublicity,hencethelargenumberscomingtothewebsite,buttherehasnotbeenacorrespondinghighnumberofenrolmentsandbadgesearned.Managingmymoney…thereforeprovidesahelpfulbenchmark.Table25comparesstatisticsforthefirstthreemonthsofManagingmymoney…andEverydaySkills.ItshowsthatvisitorstotheEverydaySkillscoursesweremorelikelytoenrolasaresultoftheirvisitbytheendofmonth3comparedwithManagingmymoney….Table28.Comparisonwith"ManagingmyMoney..."
Course Month1 Month2 Month3
uniquebrowservisits
Enrolments
badgesearned
uniquebrowservisits
E nrolments
badgesearned
uniquebrowservisits
Enrolments
badgesearned
Managingmymoneyforyoungadults
12,106 766 20 13,776 898 25 15,889 1,047 33
EverydayMaths
1,527 299 23 2,993 562 60 4,789 934 112
EverydayEnglish
2,410 433 12 5,857 1,117 45 9,310 1,799 76
Comparingtheconversionratesofthesecourses(theproportionofuniquebrowservisitscomparedwithenrolment)weseethattheEverydaySkillsexperiencedaveryhighlevelofinterestwhichtranslatedtoregistration.Thiscouldbetakentomeanthatthereisgenuinedemandforthesecoursesandthepromotionactivitiesconductedbytheprojectwereeffective.However,therateofbadgesearnedwasalsomuchhigherintheEverydaySkillscourseswhichindicatesthatmanywereabletomaintaininterestthroughdeliveryandassessment.
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III.Survey2(Jun-Jul2019)13.SummaryWhileanalyticdatarepresentstheactionsofalllearnersonEverydaySkillstherearelimitstowhatdatapatternscantellus.Asecondroundofsurveyactivitywasusedtogenerateamoredetailedaccountoflearnerexperiences.ThesecondroundofsurveyactivitytookplaceinJuneandJuly2019.ThesurveysincludedrepeatversionsofsomequestionsfromSurvey1inadditiontoevaluationquestionsroutinelyaskedinOpenLearnevaluations.ThefocuswasontheimpactoftheEverydaySkillscoursesandtheexperienceofonlineandflexibledelivery.Keyfindingsfromthisphasewere:
• EvaluationoftheEverydaySkillscourseswasoverwhelminglypositive:asignificantmajoritywouldrecommendthecoursetoothers;saiditmadethemwanttolearn;andfeltthatthequalityofmaterialswasappropriate
• ThehighestrateofattritionamongthoseansweringthissurveywasseenforEnglish(Level1)where54%ofthosewhoattempteditdidnotcomplete(bycontrast,almosttwothirds(63.6%)ofthosewhoattemptedMaths(Level1)completedit)
• Wherepeopledidnotcompletethecourse,itwastypicallybecauseoftimeandworkloadissues(thoughsomethoughtthecoursestooeasyordifficult)
• TheimpactofEverydaySkillsonlearnerswasmeasuredintermsofimprovedconfidence,improvedperformanceinjob/study,professionaldevelopmentandpersonalfulfilment.
• MostEverydaySkillslearners(53.5%)areinworkwitharoundaquarter(27.1%)notseekingwork.
• Justundertwothirds(65.3%)areclaimingnobenefits• Manyadultlearnersreporteitherhavingnoqualificationsornotknowingwhat
theirqualificationsare.• Aroundathird(36.8%)indicateadesiretogoontoformalhighereducation• Thoughnotmatchedsamples,confidencescoresrelatingtoEnglish,Mathsand
studyingskillswerelower• It’scommonforlearnersinthisaudiencetoratethemselveseitherconsistently
highorlowintermsofself-confidence• Improvingjoborcareerprospectsareanimportantmotivationformany,but
lesssothaninSurvey1.• Financialconcernswereseenasthegreatestbarriertolearning,followedbylack
ofconfidence,work-lifebalanceandtimemanagement• Disabilitywasseenastheleastseriousbarrier(includingbydisabledlearners)• Notknowingwheretobeginorlackingstudyskillswereseenasbarriersby
morethanhalfthesample.
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13.1Rationale&MethodItwasfoundfromSurvey1thattherewaslittlepointinhavinglotsofseparatecollectorsfordifferentclasses,potentiallyinterestedgroups,andsoon.Inaddition,becauseofthewaythatthelinktothesurveywassharedbyemailinglearnersregisteredforthecoursesdirectly,itwasnotpossibletousearangeofcollectors.Consequently,thereweresomeadditionalfilterquestionsaddedtothesurveytocompensateforonlyhavingonecollector.Forinstance,therewerefiltersdesignedtoidentifylearnersfromanyofthecollegesinvolvedwiththeproject.Allquestionswereoptional.ForSurvey2thefocuswasonevaluatingtheOpenLearnmaterials,theirdelivery,useandimpact.SeveralquestionsweretakenfromthequestionnairethatisroutinelyusedinevaluationofOpenLearncoursestoprovidepossiblepointsoftriangulationorcomparison.Severalquestionswerealsore-usedfromSurvey1inordertoalignwiththesamevariables,andtomeasureanypossibleupliftinconfidenceandmotivationasaresultoftakingthecourses.6Inaddition,someadditionaldemographicquestionswereaddedtosupportthenationalevaluationoftheFlexibleLearningFundconductedbyKantarPublic.Staffwerenotsurveyedaspartofthesecondroundofevaluation.Thiswasmainlyduetothedesiretofocuson(particularlynon-formal)learners,butalsoreflectedthelowerresponserateofthestaffsurvey.Impactstatementsfromthecollegesinvolvedintheprojectcanbefoundinsection19.13.2DataCollectionSurvey2wassharedbyemaillinkwithlearnersontheOpenLearnplatformwhohadregisteredforatleastoneofthefourEverydaySkillscourses(English1;English2;Maths1;Maths2).Datacollectionbeganon17thJune2019andthecollectorwasclosedon31stJuly2019.ThiswastimedtoencourageresponsesfromthosewhohadcompletedtheEverydaySkillscourses.TheJISCOnlineSurveysplatformwasagainusedtocollectthedata.Therewere131recordedresponses.Twoofthesewereblank/unusable,givingasampleofN=129.
14.LearnerDemographicsAge
6ItshouldbenotedthatthepopulationswhoparticipatedinSurvey1andSurvey2werenotmatched,andanygeneralizableclaimsabouttheimpactofthecoursematerialsonlearnersshouldbecarefullyqualified.However,learnerswhousedthesameparticipationcodeforSurvey1andSurvey2canbeassumedtobepartofaconsistentcohort.
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Table29.Agedistribution(Survey2,n=129)
Age Responses %12-17years 3 2.3%18-24years 9 7%25-34years 18 14.1%35-44years 25 19.5%45-54years 32 25%55-64years 24 18.8%65-74years 13 10.2%75+years 4 3.1%
Figure14.DistributionofLearnerAges(Survey2,n=128)
WeobservehereaverysimilarpatterntothatseeninSurvey1(Figure1).ThereisaclearstandarddeviationalthoughcomparedwithSurvey1therewererelativelymoreolderlearners.GenderTable30.Gender(Survey2,n=127)
Gender Responses %Male 43 33.9%Female 84 66.1%Trans 0 0%Other 0 0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
12-17 years 18-24 years 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65-74 years 75+ years
LearnerAge
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TheproportionofmalelearnerswasslightlyhigherinSurvey2.(InSurvey1,76%responded‘Female’.)EthnicityTable31.ResponsesbyEthnicity(Survey2,n=120)
Ethnicity Responses %English/Welsh/Scottish/NorthernIrish/British
73 56.6%
AnyotherWhitebackground
21 16.3%
Indian 6 4.7%African 6 4.7%AnyotherAsianbackground
4 3.1%
Anyotherethnicgroup 4 3.1%Other 4 3.1%Caribbean 2 1.6%Mixed/MultipleEthicBackground
2 1.6%
Irish 1 0.8%WhiteandBlackCaribbean 1 0.8%WhiteandBlackAfrican 1 0.8%WhiteandAsian 1 0.8%Pakistani 1 0.8%Chinese 1 0.8%AnyotherBlack/African/CaribbeanBackground
1 0.8%
TheseresultsarehighlysimilartothosefromSurvey1(Table5)withaclearmajorityofWhiteBritishandotherWhiteethnicityalongsideadiverserangeofotherethnicitiesmakingup20-30%ofthesample.Disability25outof129respondentsreportedhavingadisabilitythataffectstheirabilitytoworkorstudy.
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Table32.DisabilitiesdeclaredbyLearners(Survey2,n-25)
Disability %Learningdisability 27.6%Physicalormotordisability 24.1%Mentaldisability 20.7%Other 20.7%Neuro-cognitivedisability 13.8%Hearingdisability 10.3%Visualdisability 6.9%Developmentaldisability 3.4%Conditionsreportedunder‘Other’includedmotorneuronedisease,dyslexia,and“illness”.ThiswasamorediverserangeofdisabilitiesthanreportedinSurvey1,andtheproportionofthesamplewhoreportedhavingadisabilitywasalsomuchhigher.Thisisnoteasilyexplainedbyasignificantdifferenceinagebetweenthetwosamples,andmayreflecttheusebydisabledlearnersofplatformslikeOpenLearn.15.LearnerProfilesSurvey2askedthesamequestionsaboutlearnersandtheirmainoccupation(s)asSurvey1.15.1EmploymentStatus&FamilyCommitmentsTable33.LearnerEmploymentStatus(Survey2,n=129)
Status %Full-timeemployment 30.2%Part-timeemployment(16-30hours/week) 17.1%Part-timeemployment(1-15hours/week) 6.2%Seekingemployment 19.4%Notseekingemployment 27.1%Thepart-timecategorywassplitintotwoforthissurveyasawayofaccommodatingarequestfromthenationalevaluators.Thedatasuggeststhatmostofthoseworkingparttimeareworkingmorethan16hoursandsomemaybeclosetofull-timehours.AmuchhigherproportionofthissamplereportedthattheyarenotcurrentlyseekingworkcomparedwithSurvey1(11.6%).Thiscouldreflectthehigherproportionofdisabledand/orolderlearnersinthissample.However,therewasalsoaslightlyhigherproportionofthosewhoreportedactivelyseekingwork.AsmallerproportionofthosewhoansweredSurvey2wereinfulltimework.ForSurvey1,73%wereinfull-timeorpart-timework(seeTable7).
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Anadditionalquestionaskedaboutanystatesupportthelearnermightbeinrecipienceof.Itasked:“Atthetimeyoubeganyourstudies,wereyouclaiminganyofthefollowingbenefitsortaxcredits?Selectallthatapply.”Table34.Benefit/TaxCreditStatus(Survey2,n=124)
Status f %Nobenefits 79 65.3%UniversalCredit 14 11.6%Other 12 9.9%Don’tknow 8 6.6%WorkingTaxCredit 6 5%Employment&SupportAllowance
5 4.1%
JobSeekersAllowance 0 0.0%Approximately1/5thofthesampleanswered‘Other’or‘Don’tknow’.Someofthismayreflectconfusionwiththesystemofbenefitsoffered.Answersgivenunder‘Other’includedPIP,incomesupport,housingbenefit,pensionand‘nocomment’.Approximately2/3rdofthesampleisinworkandnotclaimingbenefitsofanykind.NotethatinTable31,53.5%saidthattheywereineitherfull-timeorpart-timework.Takentogetherthismaysuggestthattherearesomelearnerswhoareneitherworkingnorclaimingbenefits.27.3%(n=35)reportedhavingachildunder16wholiveswiththemintheirhousehold.Conversely,72.7%(n=93)reportedthattheydidnotlivewithachild.Respondentswerealsoaskedwhethertheyhadadditionalcaringresponsibilitiesforanimmediatefamilymemberorcloserelative.12.5%(n=16)reportedthattheydidwhiletheremaining87.5%(n=112)saidthattheydidnot.
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15.2ExistingQualifications
Figure15.LearnerPriorQualification(Survey2,n=127)
ThepatternwasquitesimilartoSurvey1,withsomepostgraduatequalificationsandmosthavingaGCSE(orequivalent).Themaindifferenceobservedisthegreaternumberofpeoplereportingthattheyeitherhadnoqualificationsordidnotknowwhattheirqualificationswere.Aroundathirdofthesample(34.6%)reportedhavingapriorqualificationatdegreelevelorabove(Levels4-8).Figure16showsthesituationofEverydaySkillslearnerswithrespecttoformalstudy.
Figure16.FormalStudyStatus(Survey2,n=125)
210
1117
133
1917
82
16
0 5 10 15 20 25
Not knownLevel 8 (e.g. Doctorate)
Level 7 (e.g. Masters Degree)Level 6 (e.g. Honours Degree)
Level 5 (e.g. Year 2 Foundation Degree, HND)Level 4 (e.g. Year 1 Foundation Degree, HNC)
Level 3 (e.g. A Levels, BTEC Extended Diploma)Level 2 (e.g. GCSEs Grade A*-C)Level 1 (e.g. GCSEs Grade D-G)
Entry level (e.g. GCSEs below Grade G)No qualifications
LearnerPriorQualifications
7
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31
46
11
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FormalStudyStatus
Formal Study Status
56
Justoverathirdoftheresponses(36.8%)indicateadesiretogoontoformalstudy–thiswasthemostpopularresponse.Therewereproportionatelyfewerpart-timestudentsandmoreinformallearnerscomparedwithSurvey1(seeFig.3).Onlyasmallnumber(n=12)expressednointerestinformalstudy.16.LearnerConfidenceLikertscaleswereagainusedtoobtainameasurementoflearnerconfidencewithdifferentaspectsofthecoursesandlearningingeneral.16.1ConfidencewithEnglishTable35.LearnerConfidence(English)(Survey2,n=128)
Reading Speaking Understanding Writing8.0 7.4 8.0 7.0
Scoresareagainrankedonascalewhere1indicatesleastconfidenceand10greatestconfidence.ThepatternobservedissimilartoSurvey1withparticipantsshowingtheleastconfidenceaboutwriting,thoughtherearetwosignificantdifferences.Firstly,averagescoresoverallarelower(withtheexceptionofUnderstanding)bybetween0.3and0.7points.Secondly,thereseemedtobelessconfidencewithspeakinginSurvey2.Thismightpartlybeexplainedbytheonlinenatureoftheselearners.WhileweneedtobecarefulaboutgeneralizingbetweenthetwosamplegroupsforSurvey1andSurvey2,itisnoteworthythatthosewhohadtakentheEverydaySkillscoursetendedtoreportlessconfidencewithEnglishthanthosewhohadonlyjustbeguntousethematerials.Asnotedin§3.1,peopletendedtobequiteconfident.Itcouldbethatlearningmoreaboutwhatisrequiredforformalstudyhasthesomewhatperverseeffectofreducingconfidence(orperhapsidentifyingoverconfidence)thoughmoredatawouldbeneededtosubstantiatethisadequately.
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16.2ConfidencewithmathematicsTable36.LearnerConfidence(mathematics)(Survey2,n=128)
ConfidenceAddition&subtraction 8.0Multiplication&division 7.6Understandinginformationliketemperature,size,volume,weight
7.4
Understandinginformationliketemperature,size,volume,weight
7.4
Usingmathstosolvereal-worldproblems 7.1Understandingmathematicalinformationandsymbols
7.0
Convertingunits(e.g.currencyexchange) 7.0Workingwithmeasurementslikeheight,width,length
7.0
Doublecheckingsomeoneelse'scalculations 6.9Usingmathematicalformulas/algebra 5.8ScoresherewerequitesimilartothosefromSurvey1,withlessconfidenceassociatedwithmoreabstractmathematicaloperationsandcheckingtheworkofothers.Itshouldbenotedthatpeopletendedtoexpressasimilarlevelofconfidenceacrossalltasks.Forinstance,iftheyscoredthemselveshighlyontasksrelatingtoEnglishtheywerealsolikelytoscorethemselveshighlyforaMathstask.Therewerequiteafewexampleswhererespondentsratedthemselvesa“10”acrosstheboard,forinstance.Obviously,thishasaninflationaryeffectonaveragescores,thougharound80%ofpeopletendedtoratethemselvesan8orhigherformostthings.Asnotedin§3.2,thishighlevelofconfidencemightbesurprisingconsideringthesearelearnersfrombasicfunctionalcourses.AlthoughthesamplesfromSurvey1andSurvey2aredifferent,wemightexpecttoseesomeimprovementinconfidenceoncethecourseshavebeentaken.Ifanything,weseeslightlylowermeasurements.Thiscouldbetakentosuggestthatinexperiencedlearnersbecomelessconfidentwhenexposedtocoursematerialsthatchallengetheminsomeway.However,weshouldalsobearinmindthattheEverydaySkillscoursesarequiteshort:only48hoursofplannedactivityeach.16.3ConfidencewithLearningSkillsTable37.LearnerConfidence(Survey2,n=129)
ConfidenceAbilitytolearnnewskills 7.8Respondtonewchallenges 7.5Self-management 7.5Usingtechnology 7.5Solvenewproblems 7.3Professionaldevelopment 7.2Dealwithsocialsituationsorchallengingbehaviour 7.1Academicstudy 7.1
58
TherankinghereisthesameasinTable14withtheexceptionthatthoseusingtheOpenLearnplatformexpressedaproportionatelyhigherconfidenceintechnologyuse.However,participantsinSurvey2tendedtoexpresslessconfidencebyupto0.6points.Academicstudywasonceagainthelowestmeasurement,thoughthistimejoinedbydifficultywithsocialsituationsorchallengingbehaviour.Again,thereweresomelearnerswhoratedtheirownskillsveryhighlywithhighscoresacrosstheboardandsomewholackconfidenceinallareas.Itwasraretoseesomeoneofferanassessmentoftheirownskillswhichassignedverydifferentscorestodifferentelements.17.TechnologyUse17.1ConfidencewithTechnologyTable38.LearnerTechnologyConfidence(Survey2,n=124)
ConfidenceInternetconnection 8.3Desktopcomputer 8.1Tabletcomputer 7.9Laptopcomputer 7.9Smartphone 7.7Wirelessnetwork 7.7Socialmedia 7.2WeseeaquitesimilarrankingtothedatainSurvey1,thoughthesescorestendedtobeconsistentlylowerby0.3-0.8.Itwasonceagainquitecommonforresponsestoreflecteitherahigherorlowerlevelofconfidenceacrosseverything.Socialmediawasagaintheareawithleastconfidenceexpressed.
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17.2AccesstoTechnologyTable39.Learneraccesstotechnology(Survey2)
Ihaveaccessfrequently
Ihaveaccess,butnotallthe
time
Ihaveverylimitedaccess
Ihavenoaccess
Internetconnection
82.2% 8.5% 6.2% 3.1% n=129
Laptopcomputer
62.2% 15.7% 9.4% 12.6% n=127
Desktopcomputer
55.6% 14.3% 9.5% 20.6% n=126
Socialmedia 68% 16.4% 7% 8.6% n=126Smartphone 77.5% 6.2% 4.7% 11.6% n=129Tabletcomputer
53.9% 14.8% 7.8% 23.4% n=128
Wirelessnetwork
68.5% 11.8% 7.9% 11.8% n=127
17.3TechnologyuseinEverydaySkillsInSurvey1wefoundthataround10%ofrespondentsdidnothaveregularaccesstotheInternet.SinceSurvey2wasdistributedonlinewehadevenlesschanceofhearingfromexcludedormarginalizedlearners.Survey2–answeredfromtheperspectiveofhavingcompletedsomepartofEverydaySkills–askedwhichtechnologieswereusedinthecourseofstudies.
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Table40.TechnologyUse(Survey2,n=123)
GiventhatthepresentationofmaterialsonOpenLearnisonline,wemighthaveexpectedahigherproportionoflearnerswithInternetaccess.(Somemayhaveinterpretedthisasanethernetconnectioncomparedwiththe‘wirelessnetwork’option.)Justoverhalfoflearnersusedalaptoptoconnect,makingitthemostpopulardevice,withasimilarnumberofbothdesktopandsmartphoneusers.Morethanathirdofuserslearnwiththeirsmartphone,highlightingtheimportanceofpresentingmaterialsthatcanbeaccessedinthisway.18.MotivationsandBarriers18.1MotivationsLearnerswereinvitedtosharetheirprimarymotivationforstudying.Mostreportedthattheywerestudyingtoimprovecareerprospects,thoughtherewereseveralanswerswithasimilarrating.Morethanathirdsaidthattheywerelearningforpersonalenjoymentorasenseofachievement.Onefifthareinterestedinformalhighereducation.
74.8%
53.7%
35.8%
8.9%
34.1%
23.6%
39.8%
0.0%
50.0%
100.0%
Internetconnection
Laptopcomputer
Desktopcomputer
Social media Smartphone Tabletcomputer
Wirelessnetwork
TechnologiesusedinEverydaySkills
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Figure17.LearnerMotivation(Survey2,n=128)
ThereisawiderrangeherethanwesawintheanswersforSurvey1,whichwerepredominantlycareerfocused(especiallyinthecaseofstaffperceptions–seeTables8&21).It’spossiblethataftertakingEverydaySkillslearnershaveawidersenseofpossibilityandmoreself-confidence,butmoredatawouldbeneededtosubstantiatethis.Responsesreceivedunder“Other”:
• Itisarequirementforapprenticeshipprogrammes.Ileftschool35yearsagoandhavemanagedfinewithmymathswhichIlearntatschoolsoIamnothappytohavetodoamathstestafterallthistime.
• Iwanttoimprovemyselfesteemandconfidence• Ireferpeoplefordevelopmenttothiscourse
18.2BarrierstoLearningTable41describeslearnerperceptionsofthebarrierstotheirownlearning.Table41.Learnerperceptionsofbarrierstolearning(Survey2)
Notanissueforme
Somerelevance
Itcausesmeproblems
Significantissues
Majorbarriertomylearning
Accesstotechnology
94 19 5 3 2 n=123
AccesstoInternet
104 8 4 4 2 n=122
0.0%
2.3%
2.3%
8.6%
14.8%
21.9%
21.9%
28.1%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0%
Promotion
Supportinganinterest/hobby
Other
Qualifyforaparticularjob
Senseofachievement/pride
Furtherstudy/highereduction
Enjoyment
Improvejoborcareerprospects
Motivationsforstudying
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Caringorfamilycommitments
62 33 9 14 7 n=125
Disability 96 8 12 4 1 n=121Fearoffailure 51 36 16 8 10 n=121Financialconcerns
29 41 16 17 18 n=121
Lackofconfidence
39 42 22 16 5 n=124
Lackofstudyskills
46 42 18 10 7 n=123
Lackoftechnologyskills
76 22 9 10 4 n=121
Languageandcommunication
71 30 12 2 7 n=122
Notknowingwheretobegin
47 43 17 6 9 n=122
Pressurefromothers
87 22 8 2 2 n=121
Socialinteractions
72 29 11 4 3 n=119
Timemanagement
49 34 18 14 8 n=123
Work/lifebalance
48 35 15 13 11 n=122
Applyingthesameweightingtoreportedbarriersusedin§5,thefollowingpictureemerges:
• Financialconcernswereperceivedasthegreatestbarrierstolearning(weighted288)
• Thenextgreatestbarrierwaslackofconfidence(weighted239)followedbywork/lifebalance(222)andtimemanagement(218)
• TheleastimportantbarrierswereaccesstoInternet(weighted54),disability(73)andaccesstotechnology(75)
• Financialconcernsweremostcommonlyreportedasconstitutingthegreatestbarrier
• Disabilitywasonthewholenotconsideredtobeamajorbarriertolearning–includingbythosewhoreportedadisability
• Themostoftenreportedbarriersfocusedondevelopinganenvironmentwheretheycanlearnratherthanissueswithhavingtheappropriateskillsandconfidencetolearn.However,thereweresignificantnumbersforwhomfearoffailureand/orlackofconfidencearerealissues
• Notknowingwheretobeginorlackingtherequisitestudyingskillswasconsideredabarrieratsomeleveltomorethanhalfthesample
• Wherepeoplehavecaringcommitments,thesearelikelytohavesignificantimpact
• Internetaccesswasconsideredtheleastsignificantbarrier,thoughthisisnodoubtinfluencedbytheonlineadministrationofthesurvey
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Aspartofthisquestion,respondentswereinvitedtodescribetheirownlearning,thechallengestheyfaceandhowtheycanbestbesupported.Theirresponsesareorganisedbytheme.CommunicationandConfidence
• IwasbornandraisedinJapansoI'mnotgoodatEnglishverymuch.Iaminterestedinlearningbutthatismybarrier.
• Goodcommunication• I'mnotworriedaboutnotsucceedingasIreallyhavenothingacceptpersonal
achievementatstake.• Iwouldliketogoasfarasispossible,withnolimitationstowhatIcanachieve-Age
notwithstanding???• Ihaveonlybeenhavingagoatthefreelearningsosomeofmyanswersarenot
significant
ProfessionalDevelopmentPathways
• AdiplomainmathematicswhichgivesmetherighttoteachMaths• IhavebeenstudiedinSouthAfricaGCSEandIdidmyDiploma.Ihavenowbeen
almost15yearsinUKstaying,buttodateIhavestillnotachievedmygoal.IhadworkedforNHShospitalfor9yearsandanother2yearsincommunityasHCAand4thyearatpresentandIamstilltryingtoenrolinuniversitytodomynursingdegree.From2009didNVG2butthefundingstopped,thenagaintryingtodomyfoundationdegreeinnursingbuttheUniversitystillwantsmetohaveFunctionalSkillEntryLevel1and2EnglishandMaths.Itsbeen2yearsnowthatIenrolledwithLearnDirectonlytofinishtheLevel1and2MathsthenitwasassuredthatIwillfinishmycausebyFebruarybutitshutdown.Soitisadeadend.ItslikesayingthatIjustgotsomuchskillandexperiencethatIstillcantgetmyLevel2Englishcertificatetoenteruniversitysomanyyearsdownthedrain.IfeelverydisheartenandyetIamdoingthejobwithconfidence.
• IhaveanNVQ3incareIwouldliketogofurtherbutasIworknightsIamtoldthatIcantbeaseniorcarerIwouldhavetoworkdaysbutsometimeshelpwithgrandchildren
• Sometimesassumptionsaremadeonpriorknowledge,morepracticeandfeedbackneeded.Morespecificoffice-basedskillslikeexcel,wordetc,wouldbeextremelyuseful.
• Iamalwaysinterestedindevelopingmyskillsandhavesomelikethisthatprovidetheflexibilitytolearnaroundmyfamily.MymaininterestwasresearchandIhavereferredmanyclientsfordifferentreasonontothiscourseformanyreasonbuttheonesthatseemconsistentaretime,travelcosts,improvingEnglishwhilstinworkandnotbeingabletoaccesscollegeprovisionsduetonationality,childcareandfinance-thishasbeenagreatsuccesswiththeclientsIhavespokentoandIampleasedtoseethatthecollegeisfinallydoinganinitialassessment,howeveritisstillunclearifyoucanaccesstheexamwithouthavingalessonsatthecollegeaspeoplefinditdifficulttoaccessandthiscanbethedecidingfactorastowhypeoplearenotapproachingBedfordCollegefortheaccreditation.
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Self-directedStudy
• Idon'tknowwhatcanIreallystudy• Ifindithardtoconcentrate• Itaketoomanynotes• Lovethefactthatyoucanstudy,withfeedback,andwidenyourhorizonsinyour
owntime.• OnceIlearntheskillsrequiredtolearneffectively,I'mconfidentI'llreachmygoal.• Onoccasionbalancingabusyworklifewithstudywaschallenging.Perhapsmore
opportunitytomeetwithatutoratthelocalcollegewouldhavebeenbeneficialPlatformIssues
• Ifindsomeofthequizzesabitprescriptive.Ifyoudon'tgivetheexactanswerintheexactwordsyougettolditisincorrectevenwhenitisn't.IhavealsoencounteredacoupleofsituationswheretheanswerIselectedwasdeemedincorrectbutwhenIhadrunoutofchancesandtheanswercameuponscreenitwasonceofthoseIhadtriedtoselect!
• Ifindpunctuationabitofachallengeduringthiscourse.Alsoitwouldhavebeennicetohaveanaudioversionofthiscourse.Fullaccessonsmartphonetohearaudioscriptswouldhavebeenhelpful
• Nothavingawaytodothespeakingparts• PeertopeerassessmentsaresomethingIdislikeandIquitcourseforthis• Thereareseveralreasons,mainisIwanttolearnandbeingassessedbysomeone
ataboutsamelevelofknowledgeorlowerisjustnotacceptable.SecondmajorreasonisIdon'twanttobestreamlined.Idon'tcareifothersagreewithmeornot.Iamnotinterestedincommunicatingwithpeersatall.
• Itsisagoodcoursebutsometimesthequizdoesnotgiveuasecondchancetocorrectyourself,thesystemisfaulty
TimeandMoney
• IwouldliketolearnasmuchasIcanandusingmytimebettertodothat.MygoalwouldbetostartwithEverydaySkillsEnglishandMathsthencarryonlearningtoachiveGCSEfromthissubjectsandperhapstokeepcarryonlearninghigherlevelsasIdevelop.Unfortunatelymyworkdoesnotallowmetojointostudyatlocalcollages,theOpenUniversity'smoreflexibleonlinecoursecouldbethesolutiontothisproblem.
• IfonlyIshouldhaveapersonallaptopandhaveaccesstointernetsocancontinuethestudyathomeaswell.Financeistheproblemhere.IdidthestudyatworkthatwhereIhaveaccesstointernet.myaimistogetasmuchinformationandunderstandingoutofthelearningorstudiestoapplyinmyworkwithconfidence.challengesIgavebirththisyearandmosttimesspentmytimewithmychildsametimehousechore.
• Mayrequireextratimetocompleteprojects.
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• Timemanagementstartsworkatonefinishatninegetshomearoundtentieredweekendscanbeverychallengingsomanythingstocatch-upwiththat’smyproblem
InthisrangeofthemeswecanseeclearcorrespondencewiththeissuesbybothlearnersandcollegestaffinSurvey1.Itisnoteworthythatseveralresponsesproposesomeversionofopenonlinelearningasapotentialsolutiontotheirstudyneeds(evenifissueswereraisedaboutplatformfunctionality).However,itshouldberecognisedthatmanyofthesechallengesrelatetowidersocioeconomicconsiderations.Keyareaswherelearnersmightbebettersupportedrelatetostudyskills,confidenceandcommunication.19.UseofEverydaySkillsbycollegelearnersInordertoidentifyanylearnerstakingthesurveywhowereregisteredatoneofthecollegestakingpartintheproject,afilterquestionwasasked.86.3%ofthesampleindicatedthattheywerenot.Therewere5responsesfromBedfordCollegeGroup,2fromMiddlesbroughCollegeand7fromWestHertsCollege.Thesenumbersweresmallerthanexpected,andsupporttheinterpretationthatthesamplesfromSurvey1andSurvey2havelittleoverlap.Withasamplethissmallitwasnotpossibletodomeaningfulanalysisofthedifferencesbetweencolleges.ThosewhoindicatedthattheywereastudentatoneofthecollegeswereaskedhowtheyhadaccessedEverydaySkills.Figure18showstheirresponses.
Figure18.DeliveryofEverydaySkillstocollegelearners(Survey2,n=18)
Somecombinationofonlineandclassroominstructionwasmostcommon,withoverhalfofthe(small)sampleexperiencingthecourseinthisway.Apartfromasingle
55.6%
5.6%
38.9%
DeliveryofEverydaySkillstocollegelearners
Online only Classroom only Online & classroom
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personwhoreportedclassroominstruction,therestofthecollegelearnerswereonlineonly.Aftertheprojecthadendedbutbeforethestartofthenewacademicyear,thecollegesinvolvedintheprojectwereaskedtoprovidesomeadditionalevaluationdata.Thisdataisreportedinsections19.1-19.319.1BedfordCollege“Atthestartoftheprojecttheexpectationswerethatcollaborativeworkingwoulddevelopanewapproachtoreachingpotentialadultlearnersthroughon-linelearningopportunities;tobuildstrongworkingrelationshipswiththeothercollegesandtheOU;tolearnfromthedevelopmentsofthematerials;andtoopenupavenuesforadultlearnerstoaccesscoursesandbuildconfidence.Introducinganothersuiteoflearningoptionswhichwereuntriedandtestedrequiresattentionduringimplementation.Itwasimportanttoensurethatthecollegeunderstoodtheprojectasawhole,notjustinpocketsaroundthedepartments.Thedepartmentsandreceptionistswereallbriefedabouttheprojectsothatenquiriescouldbedirectedtotherightplace.“Thingsthatworkedwell:
• Thematerialswerereallyattractiveandinformativeaswerethebannersandimagery
• TheIAGliteraturewasinformativeandengagingforpotentiallearnerstoreadandfollowupwithaccessingtheon-linecourses
• Collaborativeworkingwasexcellentwithallpartners• UnderstandinghowtheOUdevelopsnewinnovativecoursesfrom
concepttodelivery• Manycollegedepartmentsusedthematerialsasrevisionopportunitiesfortheir
studentsandentryassessmentsforcourses• Tutorsfoundthecoursesextremelyusefulforstudentstodopracticerunsand
revisionpriortotheirfunctionalskillsexams• Adultlearningcentresfoundthematerialsgreatfortheirlearnerstobuild
confidence• Access2HEtutorsusethecoursesasawaytoassessapplicantlevelsinmaths
andEnglish• OurapprenticeshipE&Mdeliveryteamareusingitforlearnerstodipintoto
covertheirweakerareas,beingusedasarevisionresource• Wearesignpostingadultstoittoreviseoverthesummerinpreparationfor
coursesstartinginSeptember“Thingsthatworkedlesswell:
• Trackingthosewhoexpressedtheirinitialinterestinthenewcourses• Difficulttoassesshowfarindividualsgowithonlinelearning• Insufficienttimeontheprojecttofullyseetheimpactitwillhaveinthenearand
farfuture• Ittakestimefornewprovisiontobeembeddedintothelearneroffer
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“Itisimportanttorecognisethattransitionfromdistancelearningintolocalisedlearningrequiresconsiderationtoensurelearnersaresupportedthroughouttheirjourney.CollaborativeworkingbetweencollegeshelpstocreateastructureforsharinggoodpracticethoughweneedtofindwaysNeedtofindawaytosharestudentcontactdetailsbetweenOUandcollegesinordertofollowupthelearnersandbridgethegapintoFE.”
KayRodgerProjectManagerSchoolsandColleges,[email protected]“MiddlesbroughCollegehasastrongcommitmenttosupportingadultlearnerstoimprovetheirmathsandEnglishskillsanddevelopintohigherorfurthereducationandemployment.WorkingcollaborativelywithothercollegesandtheOUwasagreatopportunitytocreatearangeofonlinemathsandEnglishcoursestoencouragestudentstotaketheirfirststepsbackintoeducationandlearnattheirownpace.Startingthisproject,ourexpectationwasthattheseonlinecourseswouldprovidemorepotentialadultlearnerswithanopportunitytobreakdownthebarriersthatmayimpactontheirlearningandbuildtheirconfidencewithmathsandEnglish.“Positiveoutcomesfromtheprojectinclude:
• Excellentcollaborationandsharingofbestpracticebetweenallpartners.• Strategicmarketingplantoraisetheprofileofthecoursesandgaininterestfrom
thepublic.• InformativeandengagingIAGpackagewhichwasusefulforpotentialnew
students.• Coursesusedbymanydepartmentswithinthecollegeduringrevisionperiodsto
buildtheconfidenceofstudentstakingmathsandEnglishexams.• FeedbackfromstudentsthathadcompletedthemathsandEnglishEveryday
Skillscourseswaspositivewithmanystudentsstatingthatthecourseswereinteresting,engagingandsupportedthemtobuildtheirconfidencewithmathsandEnglish.
• HavingaccesstoinformationonstudentswithinourareathathadcompletedEverydayMathsandEnglishcoursesmayhavehelpedtoeasethetransitionbetweenonlinetocollege-basedlearning.
“Therewerenotmanyissuesidentifiedduringtheproject,butthereweresomeconcernsaboutourcapacitytosupportlearners.WewereabletosupportstudentsthatcameforwardtoenrolonacoursefollowingtheircompletionoftheOUcoursesbutmayhavemissedsomelearnersthatdidn’thavetheconfidencetoengageontheirown.“Overall,thiswasafantasticopportunitytoworkwithlikemindedorganisationstodevelopresourcesthatencourageadults,whomaynothaveengagedwitheducationforanumberofyears,tobuildtheirconfidenceandstarttheirjourneytobetterEnglishandmathsskills.”
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KateBurgessEnglishandMathsManager,[email protected]“WestHertsCollegebecameinterestedinBringingLearningtoLifeafterobservingthatadultlearnersoftenexperiencebarrierstoprogressionwiththeircareersandfurtherorhighereducationduetolackofEnglishandmathsqualifications,especiallyatlevel2.OnlinelearningenabledmotivatedlearnerstoachievequalificationsattheirownpaceandoutsideofourtimetabledclassroomdeliveryfromSeptembertoJunewhichrequiresregularweeklyattendanceatCollege.“Theexpectationswerethatthiswouldprovidearoutetoengagingwithmoreadultlearners,employers,HEinstitutions;andsupportingadultlearnersgetaplaceatuniversityandenter/achieveapprenticeships.Therewere105enrolmentsonthe4FunctionalSkillsqualifications.Someoftheselearnersweremultipleenrolments,i.e.thesamelearnereitherprogressingfromoneleveltothenextortakingmathsandEnglishqualifications.Learnerswantingtoenrolontothefundedqualificationsratherthancompleteinformallearninghadtocompleteinitialassessmentsincollegeandachieveatleast60%intheirmorein-depthdiagnosticattheleveltheywantedtotakethecourse/exam.
• 73enrolmentswereasresultofattendingmathsandEnglishassessmentsincollege.
• 32enrolmentswereasaresultoflearnersachievingtheOUbadgeandthenbookingtosittheexam.
• Anadditional82learnerscompletedassessmentsanddiagnosticsbutdidnotachievethelevelrequiredtoworktowardstheexams.TheywerereferredtotheOU’sinformallearningroute.Oftheselearners60%hadEnglishastheirsecondlanguage.AnumberwerereferredtotheCollege’sclassroom-basedESOLcoursesasonlinelearningwasnotsuitableastheirstartingpointwasEntry1,Entry2orEntry3level.
Table42.OutcomesforWestHertsCollege
Qualification Enrolments Passes Pass%EnglishLevel1 20 6 30%EnglishLevel2 24 12 50%MathsLevel1 30 11 37%MathsLevel2 31 19 61% 105 48 46%
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“Thingswefeltworkedwellincluded:• Thetranslationofthewrittenmaterialsbyourmathslevel2authorto
OpenLearnwasfirst-rate.• ThesupportandcommunicationsbyallOUstaffanddesignerswasbrilliant.• Theuseofvideosandcartoonsbroughtthematerialstolifeinanengagingway.• WeusedForSkillsInitialassessmentsanddiagnosticsandtheseworkedwellto
screenallpotentiallearnersandensuretheirskillswereattherightstartingpointforthecoursesandexams.
“Thingsthatworkedlesswell:
• SomelearnersretooktheirEnglishexamsupto4timeswithoutincreasingtheirgrade.ThemostchallengingexamwasEnglishwritingandlearnerswantedmorefeedbackontheirworksotheycouldimprove.Howevertheonlinecourseswereunabletoprovidethistailoredfeedback.
• Theendoffundingfortheprojectjustasitgotgoingwasdisappointingforeveryone.ThereisnootherrouteavailableinEnglandforadultstobeabletoachievelevel2Englishandmathsqualificationsquicklyandfreeofcharge.
• TheleadintimefromourinitialpublicityinJanuarytoavailabilityofthelevel2coursesinAprilwastoolong.Infuture,wewouldnotadvertisethelevel2coursesuntilthemonthbeforetheywerelive.
“WestHertsCollegehasbeenveryproudtobepartneredwiththeOpenUniversityandtheworkwehavedonetogethertodeveloptheonlinecoursematerials.ThisprojecthasmostdefinitelyfilledagapinthemarketforadultstoachieveEnglishandmathsFunctionalSkillsqualificationsatlevels1and2freeofcharge.Anindividualexampleofsuccessintheprojectisprovidedbelow.“WegenuinelyhopethatmorefundingwillbecomeavailablesowecanupdatethematerialsinlinewiththenewFunctionalSkillssyllabusandcontinuetoofferthistrainingsolutiontoadultlearnersespeciallyasweknowthatthedemandishigh.”LouiseThurstonAssociateDirector–EmployerEngagement,[email protected]
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InMarch2019,AngelaTaylor,anadultsocialcareworker,wasofferedbyheremployertheopportunitytostartanapprenticeshipatBirminghamCityUniversity(BCU)inSeptember2019.SheneededfunctionalskillsinMathandEnglishatlevel2,theequivalenttotheGCSEgradeCinordertobeconsideredforthecourse.Throughthescheme,shewasabletostudytheOUcoursesthroughWestHertsCollege.“IcontactedWestHertsCollegewhoexplainedtheonlinelearningwithTheOpenUniversityandthemselves.Wheretheexamswouldbesat,wouldbethequickestwaytoachievetheexamsrequiredforSeptember2019.“Ithoughtthiswasperfectformycircumstances,asIworkfulltimeandcouldnotcommittosettimeseachweek,thiswayIcouldcompletetheonlinecourseatmyownpaceandtimeallowing.IattendedWatfordCampustositacompetencytesttoseewhichlevelIcouldstudyat,fortunatelyIcouldstartatlevel2(whichwasneeded).Istartedmyonlinelearning,tohelpmyselfIcompletedlevel1andlevel2inbothmathsandEnglish,justtohelpmegetbackintotheswingoflearningagain,asithadbeenover30yearssinceIwasinformaleducation.WhenIhadcompletedthelevel2,IbookedmyexamsviaemailwithWestHertsCollege.“Thereweremanydatesanddifferentvenuestochoosefromtotryandaccommodateallstudents.Ipassedmymaths,readingEnglishandspeakingandlisteningpartsonmyfirstattempt.However,thewritingpartdidnotcomesoeasily.Finally,aftermy3rdattemptIreceivedthecongratulationsemail.Theresultsofalltheexamswereprovidedveryquickly,withintheweekfortheEnglishandwithin10daysforthemaths.IcannowstartmyUniversitydegreeatBCUinSeptember.IhaverecommendedthesecoursestofriendsandfamilymembersasIfeeltheyareinvaluableforpeoplethatwanttoprogressintheircareersanddonothavetherelevantGCSE's.”(Reproducedfromhttps://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/32995-open-university-and-colleges-extend-functionalskills-partnership-to-provide-sector-specific-versions-of-courses)
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20.EvaluationofEverydaySkillsThissectionprovidesanevaluationoftheEverydaySkillscoursesintermsof20.1CoursesstudiedTheSurvey2cohortwasaskedwhichcoursestheyhadcompleted.ThehighestcompletionratewasforEverdayMaths(1)whichcorrelateswiththeOpenLearnanalyticsshowingthatMathslearnersweremorelikelytobeawardedabadge.Table43.CompletionratesforEverydaySkills(Survey2)
Didnotstudy
Studiedbutdidnotcomplete
Completed
EverydayEnglish(1) 34.7% 35.7% 29.6% n=98EverydayEnglish(2) 53.8% 20% 26.3% n=80EverydayMaths(1) 31.2% 23.7% 45.2% n=93EverydayMaths(2) 47.7% 14% 38.4% n=86EverydayMaths(1)(Wales) 87.9% 3.4% 8.6% n=58EverydayMaths(2)(Wales) 94.6% 1.8% 3.6% n=56
LearnersontheWalespresentationweremuchmorelikelytocompleteacoursetheyattempted(thoughthesamplewasrathersmall).Therewerequiteafewgapsinthedatahere.20.2CoursePathways&RetentionTherewere11peoplewhohadcompletedlevels1and2forbothMathsandEnglish.10peoplecompletedlevels1and2forEnglishwithoutattemptingtheMathscourses.8peoplecompletedlevel1inbothMathsandEnglish(2ofwhomwentontocompletelevel2inMaths).Afurther20peoplestudiedlevel1Maths(again,12wentontocompletelevel2).Thehighestattritionratewasseenforlevel1English,where54%ofthosewhoattempteditdidnotcompletethecourse.However,ifalearnerprogressedtolevel2theirchancesofcompletinggetmuchstronger.Almosttwothirds(63.6%)ofthiscohortwhoattemptedlevel1Mathscompletedit,andonethird(34.8%)completedlevel2aswell.Onethirdofthosewhoattemptedlevel1Mathsdidnotcompletethecourse.60%ofthosewhoattemptedlevel2Mathscompletedthecourse.ThirteenpeopleindicatedthattheyhadnotstudiedEverydaySkillsatall,yettheinvitationtoparticipatewasonlysenttopeoplewhohadenrolled.Itisopentointerpretationwhetherthisconstitutesanunsuccessfulattempttotakethecourseoralackoftimetoengagewiththematerials.
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Thosewhoreportedanincompletecourseattemptwereaskedaboutthereasonswhytheymighthavestruggled.
Figure19.Reasonsfornon-completionofanEverydaySkillscourse(Survey2,n=73)
Lackoftimeandtargetedlearningwerethetwomostcitedreasons(apartfrom‘Other’).Someusersalsothoughtthematerialsweretoobasicorthesitehardtouse.Under‘Other’12saidthattheywerestilltakingthecourseandintendedtofinishit.Severalresponsesstatedthattheyhadsometimepressures,oftenrelatingtofamilyresponsibilities(suchasbereavementoranewbirth).Someuserssuggestedthatfinancialpressuresorpersonalissueshadimpactedtheirstudy.Othercommentsofinterest:
• Unabletoselectpagerequiredforexam/verificationcontent• IwantedtostartfromtheEnglish1henceIdidnotcompleteEnglish2• IforgotaboutthecourseandhowIaccessedit• Usingassupporttoclassroommaths• WithWestHertsCampusDoingLevel1and2FunctionalskillEnglish
WithrespectthecontentandimpactoftheEverydaySkillscourses,twoquestionswereasked.Thefirstre-usedsomequestionsaskedaspartofthestandardisedOpenLearncourseevaluationrubric.Thiswasintendedtomeasuresatisfactionwiththelearningexperience.ThesecondfocusesmoreontheimpactoftheEverydaySkillscoursesandre-usedcategoriesfromSurvey1(§7).20.3LearningExperienceParticipantswereinvitedtoexpressagreement/disagreementwithevaluationstatementsusinga5-pointLikertscale.Eachofthestatementsoutlinesapositive
1
2
2
4
4
4
4
5
22
25
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
The course was too advanced
I couldn't access the course materials
I didn't have a good enough internet connection
I was suffering from ill-health
I lost interest / motivation
I found the site hard to use
The course was too basic
I only studied the sections I needed to
I didn't have enough time
Other
Reasonsfornon-completion
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element,suchasrecommendingthecoursetoothers,orfindingtheworkloadmanageable.ResponsesareshownbelowinFigure20.
Figure20.EvaluationofLearningExperience(Survey22,n=122)
Positivesentiment(shownhereinlighteranddarkergreen)wasthemostcommonresponse.‘Agree’wasthemostcommonoptionchoseninallcasesexceptforwhereittiedwith‘Stronglyagree’.Wherepeopleselected‘Stronglyagree’thentendedtochoosethisoptionacrosstheboard.Conversely,mostofthe‘Stronglydisagree’scorescamefromthesamesmallgroupofpeoplewhoscoredeverythingconsistentlylow.Theselearnersdidnotleavemuchcommentarybutthereseemstobeasuggestionthatthematerialstheyencounteredwereconsideredeithertooeasyortoodifficult.Strongestagreementrelatedtorecommendingthecoursetoothers,whichisagoodindicatorofquality.OverallthesescoresconstituteanendorsementforkeyaspirationsofEverydaySkills,andsuggestthatthelevelispitchedcorrectlyformostoftheintendedaudience.Theareawheretherewasleastagreementwaskeepingupwiththeworkload.Peoplewhoselected‘Stronglydisagree’herealsoreferredtoalackoftimeintheircomments(§20.2).Thiswasalsotheareawheretherewasmostneutrality.Therewasleaststrongagreementwiththepropositionthatthecoursewasintellectuallystimulating(although67.5%agreedorstronglyagreed).
26.8%
29.5%
30.9%
31.7%
34.1%
35.5%
40.2%
40.7%
32.0%
43.9%
45.5%
43.1%
35.5%
38.5%
25.2%
27.0%
17.1%
14.6%
15.4%
21.5%
13.9%
4.9%
5.7%
5.7%
4.9%
5.7%
5.0%
5.7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Thecoursewasintellectuallystimulating
Iwasabletokeepupwiththeworkload
Thequalityoftheteachingmaterialswasgood
Overall,thequalityofthiscoursewasgood
Ienjoyedstudyingthismaterial
Thiscoursemademewanttostudymore
Iwouldrecommendthiscoursetoothers
EvaluationofEverydaySkills LearningExperience
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
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20.4ImpactFinally,respondentswereaskedabouttheimpactofEverydaySkillsontheirownlives.Thecategoriesherecorrespondedwiththoseusedin§7.Theoriginalintentionwastotrytomeasurechangesinthesecategoriesafterthecoursepresentation(s).TherewereinsufficientnumberstomakeupareliablecohortbetweenSurvey1andSurvey2,however.Nonetheless,thedatabelowprovidesaninsightintotheperceivedimpactofEverydaySkillsonlearners.
Figure21.PerceivedimpactofEverydaySkills(Survey2,n=119)
Themostcommonresponse(n=18)wasthattheirstudieshasresultedinnochangeacrosstheassociatedvariables.5reported‘Alittlebetter’impactacrossallvariables.Therewere14whofeltthattheyweresignificantlybetteracrossallvariables.Onerespondentreportedbeingsignificantlyworseforeverything.Onthewholeitwasnotcommontoreportanegativeimpact.Mostpeoplereportedamixof‘Nochange’and‘Alittlebetter’acrossthecategories.Themostpositivesentimentherewasassociatedwithfurtherlearningorstudy,where69.8%attestedtosomeimprovement.Leastpositivesentimentwasassociatedwithimprovedsocialinteractionsandculturalbenefits,whicharguablyarelonger-termexpectations.Morethanhalfthesample(51.3%)felttheyhadseenimprovedperformanceatworkorintheirstudiesasresultoftakingEverydaySkills.43.5%felttheynowhadimprovedemploymentprospects.
46.6%
43.7%
31.4%
62.9%
29.4%
53.9%
46.1%
44.8%
63.9%
36.4%
35.3%
42.1%
21.6%
43.7%
25.2%
28.7%
34.5%
20.2%
16.1%
18.5%
24.8%
14.7%
26.1%
18.3%
22.6%
19.0%
14.3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Beingamoreroundedperson
Beinghappierormorecontented
Confidence
Culturalbenefits
Enablefurtherlearningorstudy
Employmentprospects
Performanceinjob/study
Professionaldevelopment
Socialinteractions
PerceivedImpactofEverydaySkills
Significantly worse A little worse No change A little better Significantly better
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Thefinalcomments(freetext)indicatearangeofexperiencesthatillustratethedivergencesseeninthedatashowninFigure21.Thereweremanygeneralcommentswhichsuggestapositiveexperience:
• Enjoyed• IhavelearntsomuchintheEnglish1.thingsthatIwassupposetodowasdoingit
incorrectlywhenstudyingthisIknewthecorrectways.thanks.• Ihavepreviouslycompletedotherfreecoursesandreallyenjoyedthemandhave
moresetupwaitingforme• Itishelpingmelearnalotmore• Veryenjoyable.
Afewcommentshighlightedthatsomefeltthematerialwasnotpitchedattherightlevelforthem:
• Didn’tgetfarenoughforittoimpactsignificantly.• Ifeelsomeofthemathexampleswerequitebasic,andwouldbenefitfuture
learnerstohavesomemorecomplexequations,tohelpwithabetterunderstanding.AlsoIfeelitwouldofbenefitedmyselffortheexamIsatatcollege,ormaybealinktofurtherpracticepagesonareasofsubjectslearnersarestrugglingtograsp.
• Theactivitiesweretooshort,notenoughtodo.• Thematerialsusedcouldofbeenbetter
Someindicatedawishforaclearerpathwayforprogression.Inparticularthereseemstohavebeensomeissuesaroundtheexaminationthataffordsrecognitionoflearning:
• IhavecompletedjustsomefreeCPDs.IwouldliketohavethepossibilitytogetadiplomainMaths
• Ithinkitwasagoodcourse.Theonlythingthatcouldhavemaiditbetter,Wouldhavebeenmoreavailabilitytoaccesstheexam.
• Thecollegeadministrationofthiscoursewasshambolicandtotallydisorganised.• ThelearninginformationwasgoodbutonceIhadcompletedthetestIwasunable
togobacktoreviseformytestinthecollege,whichisafewweeksaftertheonlinetest.IhavehadtobuyabooksothatIcanprepareforthetest,whichdefeatsthewholepurposeofonlinelearning.
• Theexamconditionsweredreadful.IonlycompletedthecourseasIdesperatelyneededitformyprofessionaldevelopmentotherwiseIwouldn’thavebotheredwiththechaosoftryingtodealwiththecollege.AnunfortunateexperienceIwouldnotrelishtorepeat
ForthosewhoseinterestinEverydaySkillswasmoreleisurelythecoursesseemtohavereassuredthemoftheirabilitytounderstandmaterialatthislevel.
• Bothcourses,EnglishandMaths,didnotincludeanypreparationfortheformatofthein-personexamsthatstudentsmighttake.Therecouldbeaspecialoptionalsectiononthat.
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• Iknowthatforsomeonewiththeneedforthecoursewouldgainalotforpersonaldevelop,accessingtraining,employmentandsocialinteraction.Thishoweverwasn’tmymotivation
• Nothavingstudiedmathswellatschool,thiscourseconfirmedthatIcouldcopewitheverydaymaths’problems
• Thecourseshelpedtocheckbybasicunderstandinganduseofmathsandenglish
IV.DiscussionThissectionpresentsaconcisesummaryofthekeyevaluationfindings;considerstheirimplicationsinrelationtootherresearch;andproposespossibleelementsforfuturestudies.21.1KeyfindingsThecentralmessagearisingfromtheevaluationoflearninginBringingLearningtoLifeasawholeisthatlearnersrespondedhighlypositivelytoboththecoursematerialsandtheirflexibleandopendelivery.AsshowninFig.20,78.7%ofthosewhotookanEverydaySkillscoursewouldrecommendittoothers.Similarly,71%reportedthattakingthecoursemadethemwanttostudymore.Giventhatthesecoursesareaimedatadultlearnerswhomayhavebeenoutofeducationforawhile,thesenumbersarequiteimpressive.Itislikelythatiterativeimprovementofthecoursepresentationscouldraisethesenumbersfurther.ProvisionoffoundationalcoursecontentonOpenLearnhasbeenusedtoengagelearnersinbothonline,classroomandblendedscenarios(thoughmoredatawouldbeneededtomeaningfullyestablishpatternsbasedonprimaryformofaccess).DatagatheredaboutthelearnersonEverydaySkillsrevealthattheyhavediverseexperiencesandexpectations.Survey2showedthatmorethanhalfarealreadyinworkwhileathirdareclaimingsomeformofbenefit.Morethanathirdindicatedadesiretogoontoformalhighereducation,buttheselearnersoftenhavenoqualifications(orareunsurehowtonavigateapathwaytowardstheirgoal).Supportingtheselearnersinfindingtheirpathwaytoskillsandeducation–especiallywhentheyhavetakenasteptowardsformallearning–iscrucial.MeetingDemandHighlypositivecourseevaluationresultscorrelatewithusageandaccesspatternsfromOpenLearn(§§10-12).Analyticsshowthatahighproportionofthosewhovisitthesitecanbeexpectedtoenrolforthecoursewithmanygoingontocompleteandobtainrecognition(seeFig.12).Uptakeforthecourseswashigh,asevidencedin§12.2.Giventhatmanyofthetargetaudiencehavenotbeenineducationforsometime,thisisasignificantresultwhichindicatesthepotentialroleofOpenLearninsupportingfurthereducationlearnerstotransitionintolifelonglearning.Theproliferationoftheopenly
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licensedcontentandthewebtrafficcomingfromsearchenginesandlocationsnotassociatedwiththeprojectareaclearindicationofdemand.Theimpactonlearnersfromtakingthesecoursesseemshighgiventhatafteronly48hoursofe-learningtheywerelikelytoagreethattherewassomeimprovementinarangeofpotentialimpactssuchasconfidence,abilitytoengageinfuturestudy,andjobperformance.Morethanhalfthesample(51.3%)felttheyhadseenimprovedperformanceatworkorintheirstudiesasresultoftakingEverydaySkills.43.5%felttheynowhadimprovedemploymentprospects(Fig.21).§20.4showsthat69.8%ofthosewhotookanEverydaySkillscoursethoughtthemselvesmorelikelytogoontofurtherstudy.Thisisastrongendorsementofthereal-lifedifferencestudyofthiskindcanhave,andshouldbetakenasanendorsementofthequalityandrelevanceofthecoursematerials.TheopenlicenceonthecoursecontentandtheopennatureoftheOpenLearnplatformallowedthesematerialstoproliferateacrossthecountryinarelativelyshortspaceoftime,reachingawideaudience.Inconjunctiontheseelementssuggestthattheprojectasawholewasverysuccessfulinmeetingitsambitions.Thisisalsoattestedtobytheimpactstatementsreceivedfromthecollegesinvolvedintheproject(§19).Asthematerialsremainavailableonlinethisimpactislikelytogrowwellbeyondtheinitialprojectnetwork.TheintegrationoftheEverydaySkillscontentintotheOpenLearnplatformandtheadditionalvocationalpathwaysintroduced(§10.1)provideseveralroutesforlearnerstobuildontheirexperiences.IdentifyingChallengesThoughtheapproachtakentocontentdeliveryisvalidatedbythedatacollected,areaswherelearnersexperiencesometimesprofoundchallengeswererevealed.FortheSurvey1cohortthesewerework/lifebalance;lackofstudyskills;andtimemanagement.Survey2foundasimilarclusterwithlackofconfidencealsofeaturing.Collegestaffweremorelikelytoidentifylackofconfidenceand/orfearoffailureasthemostimportantbarriers.Somelearnerssaidthatthecoursecontentwasnotattherightlevelforthem(thoughthesewereaclearminority).Asiscommonwithonlinelearning,somepeoplerevealedfrustrationwithtechnicalaspectsoftheplatform.However,experienceswerediverse.Others(especiallylearnerswithadisability)foundinOpenLearnagreatopportunitytoaccesslearninginawaythatsuitedthem.Anaccessibleandeasy-to-uselearningplatformisessentialtothesuccessofaninitiativelikeBringingLearningtoLife.WhilethesearekeyfeaturesoftheOpenLearnapproach,ithastraditionallybeenaimedatthoseinterestedinhighereducation.Itmightbeworthconsideringhowtheoffermightbeadaptedforlearnersatamorefoundationallevel,orwhetherashortcourseonusingtheplatformshouldbeofferedalongsidetheEverydaySkillscourses.Severalcommentshighlightedissuesintheprocessofcollegeexaminationandfrustrationwithadministrationmoregenerally.Thismeantthattherewerelearnerswhocompletedthecourseandwantedcertificationbutwereunabletoattainit.
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Streamliningtheprocessofawardingqualificationsisavitalstepinstrengtheningtheconnectionbetweenstudyandimprovedjobprospects.ManylearnersinbothsurveysexpressedleastconfidenceinEnglishwithrespecttotheirabilitytowrite(whichcannotbeattributedtodyslexiaaccordingtothedataprovided).Giventhatwritingissofundamentaltosuccessfulstudy,itcouldbeanareaoffocusinthefuture.Alternatively,assessmentscouldberethoughtinsuchawayastomakethemlessdependentonthewrittenword.AConfidenceParadox?Learnerstendedtoexpresseitherhighorlowconfidenceintheirabilitiesasawhole.Howbesttosupportlearnersinthetransitiontoformalstudyinawaythatdoesnotunderminetheirself-confidenceiscomplicatedbysomeofthedatathatpertainstolearnerassessmentoftheirownperformance.Thoughitwasanunmatchedsample,itwasobservedthatlearnerswhohadcompletedEverydaySkillstendedtoexpresslowerself-confidence.Itwasalsonotedthatmanylearnersinbothsurveysexpressedhighconfidenceacrosstheboard.Forlearnerswhoareatafoundationallevel,theroleofself-confidenceandself-managedlearningcanbecrucial.Theexpectationistypicallythatlearnersnewtoformalstudyarelackingconfidencewhichcanthenbebuiltupthroughpedagogicalexercises.ThehopewastomeasurehigherconfidenceinthosewhohadtakenEverydaySkills.Whatwefoundinsteadisthatlearnersfrombothsurveysexpressedhighconfidence–butlowerinthosewhohadstudiedthecourse.Thoughweneedtobecarefulhere(seeLimitations)thisisafindingofinterest.ItcouldbethatadultlearnersgenuinelybelievetheyhavestrongskillsinMathsandEnglishbutactuallystudyingtheseformallyleadsthemtorealisethatthiscanbechallengingevenforanativespeakerorsomeonewhoregularlymakescalculationsintheireverydaylife.Inlightofthisitmaybeinstructivethat‘Notknowingwheretobegin’wasseenasabarriertopersonalsuccessbymorethanhalfthesample.Manyseemtohaveself-beliefbutlackasenseofhowbesttoapplythemselves.Iflearnersbeginwithanassumptionthattheycaneasilypassabasiccourseshouldtheybegiventheopportunityandthenarechallengedinthisbythematerialengagedwith,thisissomethingthatlearningdesignersshouldbeattentiveto,especiallyinanunmoderatedpresentationofthecourse.Oneoptionformanagingthisgoingforwardwouldbetoregularlycollectdataaboutlearnerconfidencethroughoutapresentationtoseehowthismightchangeinresponsetodifferentactivitiesortasks(seebelow,‘Suggestionsforfutureresearch’).DriversofCompletionHighratesofattritionareoftenobservedonopenonlinecourses.Inametanalysis,Onahetal(2014)arguedthatmanyparticipantsregardedas‘dropouts’areinfactusingmaterialsselectivelytomeettheirownidentifiedneedsratherthanfollowingthe
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prescriptionofthecoursedesigners.7Therewereafewcommentsfromlearnersthatsupportthisinterpretation,statingthattheirparticipationinthecoursewasquitecasual,orthattheysimplywantedtotestthemselves(§20.4).Theaccesspatternsandbadgesawardedoncourses(Table27)showedratesofcompletionforEnglish(4%)andMaths(12%).BothofthesewerelowerthantheaverageOpenLearnbenchmark(13%).Jordan(2015)foundthatcompletionratesforMOOCsasawholerangedbetween0.7%-52.1%withanaverageof12.6%.8ThisimpliesthattheMathspassratewasfairlytypicalforanopencoursewhiletheEnglishpassratewaslowerthanmightbeexpected.AlthoughtherewasahigherlevelofinterestinEnglish(Figs.11-12),Mathslearnersweremuchmorelikelytocompletetheirstudiesandbeawardedabadge.ThismightbeexplainedbyEnglishlearnersbeingmorecasualornon-linearintheirapproach,butitcouldalsoreflectthepresenceofabarriertointerestorengagement.However,somemorerecentdatasuggeststhatMOOCcompletionrateshavegenerallybeentrendingdownwardssince2013.Inastudyofmorethan12.67millioncourseregistrations(5.63millionlearners)Reich&Ruipérez-Valiente(2019)foundacompletionrateamongstallopenonlinelearnersontheedXplatformof3.13%for2017-2018.9Acompletionrateof4%ismoresatisfactoryagainstthisbenchmark,butfurtherdataisneededtoproperlyunderstandthedifferentfactorsdrivingsuccessacrosstheEverydaySkillscourses.SupportingLearnersFig.8showedthatlearnersaremostexcitedbytheprospectofflexiblelearningwheretheyworklargelyunsupported:therewasaclearpreferenceforworkinginthisway.Additionaltimewasconsideredmoreessentialthanextrasupport.Collegestaff,bycontrast,werelikelytoinsteadasserttheimportanceofclosesupportfromtutorsorpeers.ThecollegestaffviewthatstudentsrequireclosesupportisclosertothetraditionalmodelusedbyTheOpenUniversitytosupportitslearners.TheOpenUniversity’smodelforsupportedonlinelearningisonethathasbeenreinedoverfiftyyearsofdistanceeducationandactsasaparadigmforinstitutionsaroundtheworld.Thisapproachreflectsaveryhighlevelofsupportforlearners,andthereisawealthofevidencetosuggestthatitisaveryeffectiveapproachatdegreelevel. 7Onah,D.F.,Sinclair,J.&Boyatt,R.(2014).DropoutratesofMassiveOpenOnlineCourses:BehaviouralPatterns.6thInternationalConferenceonEducationandNewLearningTechnologies,Barcelona,Spain,7-9Jul2014.https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/dcs/people/research/csrmaj/daniel_onah_edulearn14.pdf8Jordan,K.(2015).Massiveopenonlinecoursecompletionratesrevisited:Assessment,lengthandattrition.TheInternationalReviewofResearchinOpenandDistributedLearning,16(3).https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v16i3.21129Reich,J.&Ruipérez-Valiente,J.A.(2019).TheMOOCpivot.Science,363(6423):130–131.
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Jones(2015)describesthe“SupportedOpenLearning”(SOL)approachthatwasdevelopedbyTheOpenUniversity(UK)forsupportingdistancelearnersatscale.10
1. DistanceorOpenLearninga. Learning‘inyourowntime’b. Reading,undertakingsetactivitiesandassignmentsc. Possiblyworkingwithothers
2. Resources
a. Printedcoursematerials,setbooks,audioandvideocassettes,CD/DVDmaterials,homeexperiments,courseandprogramwebsites(previouslybroadcastTVprograms)
3. Systematicsupporta. Acoursetutor,aregionalnetworkof13centres,centrallibraryand
technicalsupportb. Tutorialheldwithinregions,dayschoolsandonline(e.g.languages,
summerschools)Obviouslythefirsttwoaspectsareaccommodatedinopenonlinelearning,butthislevelofsystematictutorsupportcannotnecessarilybeofferedthroughafreeplatformlikeOpenLearn.However,elementscouldbeadaptedforspecificpurposesorcoursepresentations.Forexample,ifanemployerorcollegecohortwasworkingthroughmaterialstogethertheycouldoffertargetedsupportwhichwasrelevanttothecircumstances.Collegesorcollegenetworkscoulddecidetooffersystematicsupportonasharedbasis.Strikingabalancebetweenbuildingtheindependenceandconfidenceoflearnersatfoundationallevelandgivingthesupporttheyneed(butdon’tnecessarilywant)seemsessentialforeffectiveengagement.Inconclusion,TheOpenUniversityisinauniquepositiontoofferoversightandexpertiseforonlineandblendedlearninginitiatives.Workinginconjunctionwithcollegepartnersseemstohavebeenextremelyeffectiveforestablishingasharedapproachandbodyofknowledge.BringingLearningtoLifehasshownthatthereismuchpotentialtofurtherengageadultlearnersthoroughflexible,opendelivery.
10Jones,C.(2015).Openness,technologies,businessmodelsandausterity.Learning,MediaandTechnology,40:3,328-349,DOI:10.1080/17439884.2015.1051307
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21.2ConstraintsThereareseveralconstraintswhichshouldberecognisedwithrespecttotheconclusionsdrawninthisstudy.
1. Unmatchedsamples:whileSurveys1&2wereoriginallyplannedwiththeintentiontofacilitatecomparingaconsistentcohortoflearnersbeforeandaftertheirexperienceofEverydaySkills,veryfewpeoplerespondedtobothSurveys.Thismeansthatitishardtodrawanyconclusionsbycomparingdatafrombeforeandaftertheintervention(asistypicaleducationalevaluation).
2. Self-selection:participantswereundernoobligationtotakepartandthesamplewasnotadjusted.Survey2isunlikelytohaveincludedanydatafromlearnerswithoutaninternetconnection(approximately10%accordingtoSurvey1).
3. Lackoftriangulation:datapointsweregeneratedthroughSurveys1&2aswellasthroughtheOpenLearnplatformanalytics.Fromascientificperspectiveitwouldhavebeendesirabletotriangulatethesedataforindividuallearners,whichwouldprovidearichdescriptionoftheirlearningactivity.Atpresent,individuallearnersarenottrackedinthisway,notleastbecausethislevelofsurveillanceisopentocriticism.
4. Sequencing:whentheevaluationprogrammewasdesignedtheEverydaySkillscourseswerenotfinalised.Thismeantitwasnotfeasibletoevaluatespecificcoursecontentelements.
IntheoriginalprojectconceptiontherewasanticipatedgreaterinvolvementintheBringingLearningtoLifefromemployers,tradeunionsandotherprofessionalbodies.Theevaluationrubricwasdesignedwiththisinmindsothatcomparisonsmightbemadebetweenstaffineducationandstaffinothersectors.Intheendthesurveywasnotsharedwiththesegroups,whoseinvolvementwiththeprojectendedupbeingdifferentthananticipated.Thisdatamighthaveprovidedausefulpointofcontrastwiththeexpectationsoflearnersandeducators.Itwouldbeentirelypossibletore-usetheresearchtoolswithsuchgroupsinthefuture.
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21.3SuggestionsforfurtherworkBasedonthefindingsofthisreport,anumberofrecommendationsmaybemadeforfutureworkinthisarea.
1. Longertermmeasurements:onestraightforwardfollow-uptothisresearchwouldbetorepeattheevaluationannuallytomeasureanychangesinattitudestowardsthelearningmaterialsoftheperceivedimpactofEverydaySkills.
2. Widermeasurements:thisreportusesdatafromlearnersandstaff,butthe
instrumentscanbeusedwithallkindsofemployersandotherstakeholders.
3. Triangulationoflearnerdata:duringthisinitialpresentationofEverydaySkillsitwasnotpossibletotrackindividuallearnersorconnectsurveyresponsestodatafromthevirtuallearningenvironment.However,suchtriangulationispossibleandwouldgiveamoregranulardescriptionoflearnerpathways.Mostlearnersofferedacodewordwhichcouldbeusedtoconnectsurveyresponseswithoutretainingpersonalinformationonthelearner.
4. Confidencemonitoring:giventhattherewereobservedsomeinterestingpatternsofexpressedconfidence,itwouldbeinterestingtomonitorconfidencemorecloselythroughouttheactivitiesofacourse.Thiscouldbedonebytakingconfidencemeasurementsatregularintervals(e.g.afteraweeklyassignment)andidentifyingpatternsthatemerge.
5. Comparisonofonline,classroomandblendeduseofmaterials:withabiggersamplesize,meaningfulcomparisonscouldbedrawnbetweentheuseofEverydaySkillsindifferentcontextsandpedagogies.Thiscouldinvolvemoredetailedcasestudiesforcollegesusingthematerials.