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Manchester Metropolitan University - Case Study: Responding to the student voice

An exploration of the ways in which the ITT delivery team can respond to the learning needs of work-based learners following an ITT programme

 

 

Introduction
The Institute of Education of Manchester Metropolitan University, in conjunction with ten partner colleges, agreed to pilot individual learning plans (ILPs) for trainee teachers in the post-compulsory sector.

 

The research involved 102 trainees based in a variety of settings: further education (FE) colleges, adult and community education (ACE) and work-based learning (WBL). Ethnographic case-study methodology was undertaken with each college choosing to explore a theme within a particular context. The findings of eight college case studies were presented and designed to provide a basis for further research regarding initial teacher training (ITT) provision.

 

As an additional theme, one provider, Macclesfield College, chose to explore the way in which work-based trainers accessed the PGCE/CertEd programme. Trainers accounted for 40% of the market – attributable in part to employer knowledge of the need for trainers to become qualified teachers, and as a response to national drivers arising from Success for All, the Foster Report and the Agenda for Change.

 

Key idea

"Our primary aims within the study included contextualising learning for those involved in work-based delivery and responding to the ‘student voice’ by putting six strategies in place designed to make closer links between theory and work-based practice."

 

The study evolved from an analysis of data derived from the 2004–05 annual monitoring and review exercise. Data relating to student feedback indicated that some of those involved in work-based training were experiencing difficulties in fully accessing learning on ITT programmes because of the nature and context of their role. Three difficulties emerged:

 

1. Difficulty in completing particular assignments
   Trainers commented that the nature of their role did not always allow them to access (or experience) pre-course assessments of their students’ (employees) individual learning needs. As a result, they were not able to write fully on assignments pertaining to the issue of identification and assessment of such needs.
2. Difficulty with the nature of delivery
   Those involved in training were often manual-led and format driven.
3. Difficulty finding a suitable subject mentor
   The specialised nature of their role meant that they were often the only ‘expert’.

 

The first area of difficulty was chosen as the area for study. Its prominence in college data, combined with the need for student engagement with specific-subject matter (namely pre-course assessment of student needs), drove the agenda. It would be difficult for students to ‘implement an inclusive approach for their learners with regard to language, literacy and numeracy’ (FENTO, 04/02) ‘if they did not experience, encounter or engage with it themselves’.

 

A prominent feature of the WBL environment appeared to be the delivery of a one-hour or ‘block’ session to an unknown group of employees, often without any previous knowledge regarding individual learning needs – such as those learners with dyslexia and physical impairments, as well as gifted students. Hence, differentiation was not clearly evident in terms of resources, session planning and methodology.