TY - BOOK

T1 - Good practice; better practice

T2 - a review of practice-based professional learning in four Central Academic Units in the Open University

AU - Yorke, Mantz

PY - 2006

Y1 - 2006

N2 - This paper synthesises and discusses a number of themes arising from self-evaluationsconducted by four Central Academic Units in the Open University. Some of the themeswere also discussed in an earlier paper, Issues in the assessment of practice-basedprofessional learning, which is available on the PBPL CETL website.Some pedagogical implications of the difference between professional learning in twomilieux, on placement and in one’s own workplace, are acknowledged. In the lattermilieu, a course participant has the advantage of familiarity with the workplaceenvironment, but this may make it difficult to draw in a proper manner on workplaceresources when responding to course assessment tasks.A number of curricular issues are discussed, including the appropriate blending oftheoretical and practical understandings; the problems of providing workplace learningopportunities; some aspects of e-learning; and the twin challenges of stating standards forcourses involving professional learning, and assessing against them. The moreindividually focused is the curriculum, the greater the problems of ensuring robustassessments and the greater the cost implications (the same apply broadly in respect ofthe assessment of prior experiential learning).The problematic nature of grading is often under-appreciated. However, when even athree-point grading approach (fail/pass/distinction) is adopted in practice-basedprofessional learning, challenge presents itself – and is particularly evident where thedistinction grade is involved. This is an aspect of assessment that demands furtherinquiry.Another aspect of assessment that is worthy of further study is the use of assessors and/orverifiers from the workplace. The Foundation Degree in early years is pioneering theuse of verifiers, which is an approach that merits formal study since it has implicationsthat could extend well beyond the Open University.The challenging curricular and assessment issues have implications for staff and studentdevelopment, and for quality assurance.

AB - This paper synthesises and discusses a number of themes arising from self-evaluationsconducted by four Central Academic Units in the Open University. Some of the themeswere also discussed in an earlier paper, Issues in the assessment of practice-basedprofessional learning, which is available on the PBPL CETL website.Some pedagogical implications of the difference between professional learning in twomilieux, on placement and in one’s own workplace, are acknowledged. In the lattermilieu, a course participant has the advantage of familiarity with the workplaceenvironment, but this may make it difficult to draw in a proper manner on workplaceresources when responding to course assessment tasks.A number of curricular issues are discussed, including the appropriate blending oftheoretical and practical understandings; the problems of providing workplace learningopportunities; some aspects of e-learning; and the twin challenges of stating standards forcourses involving professional learning, and assessing against them. The moreindividually focused is the curriculum, the greater the problems of ensuring robustassessments and the greater the cost implications (the same apply broadly in respect ofthe assessment of prior experiential learning).The problematic nature of grading is often under-appreciated. However, when even athree-point grading approach (fail/pass/distinction) is adopted in practice-basedprofessional learning, challenge presents itself – and is particularly evident where thedistinction grade is involved. This is an aspect of assessment that demands furtherinquiry.Another aspect of assessment that is worthy of further study is the use of assessors and/orverifiers from the workplace. The Foundation Degree in early years is pioneering theuse of verifiers, which is an approach that merits formal study since it has implicationsthat could extend well beyond the Open University.The challenging curricular and assessment issues have implications for staff and studentdevelopment, and for quality assurance.

M3 - Commissioned report

BT - Good practice; better practice

PB - Open University

CY - Milton Keynes

ER -