Digital portfolio, part 3

The topics of my digital portfolio I'm going to cover on this post are the following:

• My preferred learning styles
• The traits of an effective teacher  

My preferred learning styles

My preferred learning style depends on what I'm studying, but in general I prefer learning by doing. If a teacher just tells something, it's easy to forget many things, but when I try it on my own, I have to think about all the details and then I learn. Furthermore, I find written assignments, where one has to do some researching, effective for my learning. On the other hand, I also like group work, since the social aspect makes learning more fun.

I like visual learning more than traditional auditory method. I often remember things that I have studied better by their visual appearance. I also prefer inductive learning style. It's easier to start to study some phenomenon, when you first see some practical example of it.

I have described the theory about auditory, kinesthetic, and visual mode and also inductive vs. deductive style earlier on this blog (on the 7th of September 2013).

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The traits of an effective teacher

An effective teacher is an expert in his/her field and has pedagogical skills and worklife experience. The picture below shows the core competences of a vocational teacher:

Source of the picture:
School of vocational teacher education - study guide Oulu University of applied sciences 2013-2014

According to Marsh (1984), good teaching is made up of the following seven factors:

•         Learning and value: Challenge, subject interest, amount of material learned
•         Enthusiasm: Interest, humor
•         Organization: Objectives, clear explanation
•         Group interaction
•         Individual rapport: Provides help and answers questions
•         Breadth of coverage
•         Examinations and grading: clear and fair assessment grounds

Source: Wankat, P. C.  & Oreovicz, F. S. Teaching Engineering. Chapter 16. Purdue University. 

Digital Portfolio, part 2

Question: How do people learn best in vocational settings?

Learning and teaching should be practical and closely related to the world of work. The teaching methods should be diverse and contemporary. Practical training periods in companies are also very important for vocational learning. Learners should be actively involved in the learning process. Here are some guidelines described in the following paragraphs:

1  Four features of high quality practical learning
by Hattie (2009)

According to City & Guilds (2012) guide How to teach vocational education, Hattie (2009) highlights four features of high quality practical learning:

1. "The learning arising from any learning experience is given explicit attention in the moment.
2. Learners have specific, challenging, practical, goals in mind. Learning tasks are constructed with those goals in mind so that they are of benefit. We would add that these goals must be useful to enable learners to progress to higher levels of expertise in their chosen field.
3. Feedback is clear and plentiful. Learners recognise the need to welcome and listen to feedback. We would add that feedback must be of sufficient quality and quantity that it is useful to learners.
4. Teachers recognise learners’ self-concepts and are fully able to coach them to develop improved learning dispositions and strategies."

 
2  Seven principles for teaching and learning in vocational education
by Perkins (2009)

Here is an adapted version of Perkins' seven principles:

1. "Play the whole game – use extended projects and authentic contexts.
2. Make the game worth playing – work hard at engaging learners giving them choices wherever possible.
3. Work on the hard parts – discover the most effective ways of practising.
4. Play out of town – try things out in many different contexts.
5. Uncover the hidden game – make the processes of learning as visible as possible.
6. Learn from the team and the other teams – develop robust ways of working in groups and seek out relevant communities of practice.
7. Learn from the game of learning – be in the driving seat as a learner, developing your own tried and tested tactics and strategies."

3  Effective methods in vocational education

The following list includes methods that have been discovered to be effective in vocational education (City & Guilds 2012, 60-61):

• "Learning by watching
• Learning by imitating
• Learning by practising (‘trial and error’)
• Learning through feedback
• Learning through conversation
• Learning by teaching and helping
• Learning by real-world problem-solving
• Learning through enquiry
• Learning by thinking critically and producing knowledge
• Learning by listening, transcribing and remembering
• Learning by drafting and sketching
• Learning by reflecting
• Learning on the fly: informal learning at work
• Learning by being coached
• Learning by competing
• Learning through virtual environments
• Learning through simulation and role play
• Learning through games"

Sources:

• City & Guilds. Centre for Skills Development. 2012. How to teach vocational education: A theory of vocational pedagogy. Pages 60-61.
  http://www.skillsdevelopment.org/PDF/How-to-teach-vocational-education.pdf
• Hattie, J. 2009. In Visible Learning. 
• Perkins, D. (2009). Making Learning Whole: How seven principles of teaching can transform education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.