Underlying theory or pedagogy

In this approach, trainers expand the boundaries of the classroom, creating opportunities for trainees to learn or practice skills and knowledge in the field or at a worksite. In this activity, trainees visit a worksite of their choice, make observations, interpret what they see and hear, discuss and debate the on-the-job application of given knowledge and skills, and reflect upon the interrelatedness and value of vocational training in the real world of work. By interacting with workers on the job, trainees are able to obtain relevant, up-to-the minute information to help them expand their thinking about the workplace and their preparation for work in it.

 

Training Strategy

Seeing first hand what is being done at worksites can enlighten any trainer who is attempting to prepare trainees for the future and the workplace. Often, as a form of professional development, trainers visit worksites to learn first hand how skills and theory taught in the classroom are used on the job, which can help them to plan meaningful worksite visits for their tainees. More importantly, as trainers discover and discuss the connections they see between different content areas, they can better discern the types of questions they can ask to lead their trainees to make their own connections between school and work. Scaffolding, asking open-ended questions, and actively engaging trainees in learning are a few of the training techniques promoted in this activity.

 

Learning Activity Scenario

In this activity, a local authority made a commitment to integrate academic and vocational education in its four high schools. One of its efforts is to expand classroom boundaries. Its administrators have asked you to identify criteria to use in assessing the relevance of field-related experiences that can serve as a prelude to workplace internships.

Your task is to engage trainees in developing a set of criteria to use in assessing the relevance and quality of worksite visits, test the utility of the criteria, and revise the list based on reflection and feedback. As a preamble to this activity, engage in a worksite visit with other trainers and use the information you gather through your visits to mentor and guide trainee efforts.

 

Evaluation criteria

The criteria trainees establish in conjunction with their trainer at the onset of the activity will be used as a basis for self-reflection and peer review.

 

Operational Steps

STEP 1

Engage a team of trainers to visit a given worksite with you. Prior to the visit, meet to determinate the "who, when, where, and why" of the visit. To help focus your learning at the worksite, develop a set of basic questions to ask the employers and front-line workers regarding their job knowledge and skill requirements, including those that promote employability.

As you observe and talk with workers at the jobs site, think about the skill standards you address in your curriculum and how those standards are being applied in the workplace.

 

STEP 2

Immediately after the visit, meet as a team to discuss your observations and share ideas about ways you can modify your curriculum and activities to bring trainees to an awareness of connections between school and work. Some options might include

arranging school visits by one more of the employees that you and the other team members met during the visit; and
making arrangements for students to engage in a worksite visit experience.

Engage with colleagues in a discussion of such questions as the following (see Norton et al, 1997)

How might worksite visits inspire academic and vocational teachers to develop learning activities that will help students to understand the value of school learning? How might worksite visits motivate students to learn? ¨ What are some positive outcomes of the business/industry relationships established to accommodate worksite visits? ¨ What is one way in which you can adjust a segment of your curriculum to reflect the application of knowledge and skills in the workplace? ¨ What logistics are necessary to infuse an integrated activity in the classroom? Who? What? Where? Why? When?

 

STEP 3

Enlist a group of trainees to participate in a worksite visit experience. Meet with the team and describe their challenge, which is to plan, implement, and follow up a worksite visit

Share reflections about your worksite experience with the trainees by describing why the visit was of value to you as a person and as a trainer.

 

STEP 4

Engage trainees' help in the development of criteria they can use to assess the quality of their worksite observations and investigations. List these criteria on the chalkboard or flip chart so trainees can continually refer to them to guide their performance.

Draw upon the criteria you and other trainers developed subsequent to your worksite visit experience as a tool for guiding trainees. Ask questions to trigger trainees participation in thinking about the developing the criteria upon which they wish their performances to be assessed.

 

STEP 5

Have trainees brainstorm to identify the specific worksite they would like to visit and how that visit might promote their understanding of school and work connections. Help them in the brainstorming process by asking questions so\imilar to the ones you had to answer to set up your own worksite visit.

Examples of questions to facilitate brainstorming

1. Who or what worksite should you visit ? Why? 2. What do you hope to learn at that worksite? 3. Where is the worksite located 4. Why should you visit the specific worksite? 5. When shall you visit the worksite?

 

STEP 6

Lead trainees to plan their worksite visits. Have them self-select their teams to be composed of 3 or 4 trainees who share similar interests. Give the teams the following directions:

Develop a set of basic questions to ask prior to and during the visit. ¨
Prepare a list of the academic, vocational, and employability skills you expect to see demonstrated in the worksite.

Have trainees draw upon previous training and experiences that have helped them to form opinions about the application of skills in the workplace.

 

STEP 7

Guide trainees through their learning experiences, ensuring that they conduct themselves well in the work setting. Provide them with some guidelines for acceptable ways to behave in their roles as observers and interviewers that you have gleaned from your own worksite experience.

Highlight a few of the courtesies trainees should afford the workers and companies they visit, e.g., following the visit, e.g., trainees should write letters of thanks to appropriate people at the worksite, also stating why the experience was meaningful to them.

 

Reflective Practices

Discuss with trainees their conclusions about the application of knowledge and skills in the workplace. Have them do the following:

Identify the academic or vocational skills they observed being applied in the workplace. Identify the employability skills they saw demonstrated on the job. Describe the benefits of partnering with business/industry personnel to enhance learning. Describe the connections they observed among the different disciplines or content areas when applied on the job. Discuss reasons why separating knowledge and skill development into separate disciplines such as math, English, and vocational education is not a realistic reflection of what happens in the workplace. Present their ideas about activities that could be included in an integrated curriculum

 

Evaluation

Use the criteria established at the beginning of the activity as a basis for trainee evaluation. Have teams explain ways they met the criteria and offer each other peer reviews of their self-analysis. Offer feedback to trainees, giving them guidance in ways to improve their learning through observation, questioning, and reflection.

 

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