hld - teacher training for vocational...

Teacher Training For Vocational Education

High Level Curriculum Design

Gowri Subramanya

© 2014 Confidential 30/06/14 2

The effectiveness of education in any domain depends on various factors like the quality of the courses, infrastructure, and classroom environment and not least important of all, the quality of teaching. The pedagogy and effectiveness of teachers is critical in the field of vocational education, because the learning is measured in tangible outcomes such as skills acquired, job readiness and the ability of the student to perform well in the workplace. Vocational education aims at making students practically competent in a specific work domain. Despite the criticality of vocational pedagogy and teaching practices required to make vocational education effective and even desirable, there is little focus on empowering the teaching faculty. Role of the trainer in Vocational Education: The role of the Vocational Trainer is unlike that of the teacher in the domain of general education. The sector of Vocational Education is underdeveloped in India and hence the term does not give any precise indication of what the teacher’s role is. However, building on the desired outcome we expect for a student who undergoes vocational education, we may endeavor to define the role of the Vocational Trainer. A vocational trainer needs to develop the students’ skills by training them on specific processes and workflow, help the students acquire suitable exposure to industry to gain awareness of standards followed and help them be job ready. To this end, a vocational trainer needs to train, coach, mentor and guide students. Competencies of a Vocational Trainer: The following competencies are prerequisites for a vocational trainer in any domain:

• Subject Matter Expertise – The trainer must possess a practical knowledge of current practices and processes followed in the Industry within their domain.

• Industry Connect -‐ Since this training is all about jobs, the teacher also needs to know how to connect the student with Employers – be it reaching out to the industry, conducting Industry visits, arranging internships or helping place the students in jobs.

• Awareness of Vocational Pedagogy – Skill development needs a specific set of high-‐level strategies as well as everyday decisions to be made by the trainer, to help the students learn, acquire and practice skills in the classroom and the lab. Awareness of experiential learning and learner-‐centric teaching methods helps trainers make the best out of their time in the classroom.

• Facilitation Skills – A trainer must be able to help students get familiar with equipment, give clear instructions and facilitate a variety of vocational learning activities such as discussions, experiments, games, role playing and hands-‐on job-‐related activities. The emphasis is on facilitation, where the focus is on the learner and the trainer empowers the learner to actively learn with guidance and coaching. Presentation of content in the form of lectures is minimal.

• Soft Skills – Since a With the trainer playing a diverse role, soft skills such as classroom management, engaging and motivating students, managing student behaviour are of prime importance. Professional skills such as time management, planning and organizing also help improve one’s efficiency.


• ICT Skills – In the age of technological advancement, most employers use various technological tools across job roles. Also, technology provides global access to learning aids and content on the web, which can greatly improve the quality of teaching. Teachers across the globe are adapting blended learning methods that require teachers and students to use ICT tools everyday. Awareness of IT tools that can be used in education and computer skills is a must for all vocational trainers. The amount of this training will depend upon the entry skill level of the trainees: if they are already comfortable the number of required hours of training can be reduced.

• Functional English – The most important role of a vocational trainer is to help the student be competent to perform well at the workplace. As most entry-‐level jobs today require people to interact with customers from diverse backgrounds most employers expect a basic knowledge of English. Vocational trainers will also need English to help students familiarize with Industry terminology and language skills needed to interact with co-‐workers and customers. The amount of this training will depend upon the entry skill level of the trainees: if they are already comfortable the number of required hours of training can be reduced.

• Health, Environment, Safety and Regulations. Since the teacher is responsible for the safety and well-‐being of students, they need to be aware of all regulatory and occupational health/safety/environmental requirements

Training Needs Analysis: The entry and exit profile of a Vocational trainer is as below:

We assume that the Teachers or Facilitators have core domain skills (can work as practitioners). Not all may have teaching skills or training, but even those who do may be

• Industry Experience; no exposure to structured curriculum • Little or no training experience • Awareness of principles of teaching; no experience of practical application • Limited knowledge of ICT Tools

Entry Pro\ile

• Practical knowledge of Vocational Pedagogy and experiential learning methods • Classroom management skills • Domain curriculum knowledge • Classroom facilitation and assessment skills • ICT skills • Understanding of leveraging industry experience to provide placement support to students • Functional English Skills

Exit Pro\ile


traditionally trained in general education and lack knowledge of “Vocational Pedagogy” which has special requirements. Hence we will focus on techniques and skills around Vocational training. High Level Curriculum Design From the above set of competencies needed, we can roughly categorize the major skills needed for Vocational teachers to be:

1. Subject Matter Expertise. 2. Facilitation Skills for Vocational Education. Consisting of

• Vocational Pedagogy • Facilitation Skills

3. Industry Connect 4. Professional Skills (these are general competencies to help in better student, class and

teaching management) consisting of • Soft Skills • ICT Skills • Functional English • HES Skills

Curriculum Architecture Based upon the above categorization, the core architecture of the curriculum corresponds to the key skill areas that the vocational teacher needs to have:

• ICT Skills •  Soft skills, •  HES and • Functional English

• Skills to support students beyond the classroom – to co-‐ordinate for internships, placements, site visits and guest talks.

• Vocational Pedagogy • Skills to facilitate activities, assessments, coaching, feedback, etc.

• Overview of domain, job roles, curriculum

SUBJECT MATTER

FACILITATION SKILLS

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

INDUSTRY LIAISON


Topic Modules Number of hours 1. Subject Matter Job roles and Competencies, Curriculum

Overview, Orientation to modules. Typically this will consist of:

• Job Descriptions and Roles • Curriculum overview (High level

and low level designs) • Demonstration modules which

will be run as practice by the trainee teachers and consist of:

o Softskills, English, HES and ICT (common across domains)

o Sample lessons for different categories of courses (e.g. Medical Procedures, Medical Maths, Health Communication in Nursing Care

~7-‐10 hours per domain

2. Facilitation Skills for Vocational Training

Teaching methods and vocational pedagogy, Preparing for the class, Conducting a class, After class, Assessments

~25 hours

3. Industry Connect Industry Exposure, Industry visits, Guest Lectures, Internships, Placements

~5 hours

Soft Skills Communication, Classroom Management, Time Management, Professional Etiquette

~17 hours

IT Skills Teaching Tools, Digital Literacy, Productivity Tools, Privacy and Security, Using WF Platform. While many lessons will be included, the duration may differ depending upon baseline IT skills of the teacher.

~30-‐40 hours

Functional English Capable level of Everyday English, Workplace English, Teaching English

~30-‐40 hours

HES Health – Fainting, Electrical Shock, First Aid Environment – Fire and Road Safety Work Regulations – Employee Rights, Policies

~21 hours


Pedagogical Approach Learning Life Skills essentially requires the learner to change behavior through awareness and consistent practice. The objective of these lessons is to help the learner gain insight into his/her own behavior, understand the desired behavior traits that need to be learned and also to learn techniques that will help them change their behavior over time. We will attempt to:

1. Introduce the concept and importance 2. Show effective how-‐to techniques and tips 3. Personalize it by having them practice in their own context

We will NOT assume this will change their personality after a 1-‐3 hour session, but it will make them aware of the concept and tools/techniques to improve over time. The approach in designing every lesson is:

• Flipped Classroom – a blended learning approach where students first study material before class to familiarize themselves with the topic and then spend the in-‐class time on experiential activities.

• Modular – Learning sessions do not extend beyond an hour, so as to not overwhelm the learner with too much information.

• Real-‐life application – The modules focus on teaching how-‐to techniques with emphasis on applying techniques they learn to their own life situations.

• Video illustration – thought-‐provoking or learning videos that inspire change in behavior • Activity based – All classroom activities are based on peer-‐learning methods to increase

student engagement and motivation. • Teacher as a facilitator – Trainers will facilitate the activities, ensure maximum participation

and encourage learners with coaching and feedback.

A typical flow of a lesson would be along the lines below:

•  Learning Objectives •  Self-‐Assessment • De\inition •  Importance • Context • How-‐to, Techniques • Video – illustration of concept • Credits and Acknowledgements

Pre-‐Class

• Recap • Group Activities • Experiential • Application

•  Summary of Concepts

In-‐Class • Assessment •  Further Reading

Post-‐Class


Materials Provided: This will include:

1. ELearning Lessons (for Pre-‐, In-‐ and Post-‐class sessions) as well as online formative assessments

2. Student Handbook – covering the content presented 3. Facilitator Guide –tips for facilitation and further reading

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