Quality+Workplace+Learning

[[image:ezwp/Quality_Award.png width="235" height="343" align="right"]]
=This page is for discussion regarding the quality of the student's workplace learning experience with host employers.=

==

Student Knowledge
Many hosts treat Work Placement as Work Experience. Deliberately broach the subject of how the employer can help the students demonstrate their classroom skills for practice, and what type of skills the employer may be able to help develop the student with during the placement. In this way you will raise the expectation that the employer is to support skills development, not baby sit a student for the week. Ian.

Ask the student
Ask the student during induction what they would like to get out of the week. What skills would they like to enhance or practice? Stephanie

New Host Inductions
Ensure inductions are valuable to the host employers. Notice the body language of the host and pace your induction to suit. In most cases hosts will be very comfortable if you walk them through the headings of the Employers Guide with a light explanation ONLY on the sections that are not self-evident. You then encourage the employer to read the full document later. Cheryl

Buddy options
Buddying a student with the host’s apprentice or younger staff encourages the student to ask more questions. The host can make the placement about training the young supervisor. Instead of monitoring the student the host monitors their supervisor’s performance and coaches them on how to plan and organise work for others; how to instruct and coach the student; how to give feedback several times a day and formally complete the journal. The host may like to ask the young supervisor about good supervisors and teachers they have had. What made the supervisor good? Can they channel these traits as they supervise a worker for the week? Cheryl

Feedback to Host Employers
Hosts crave feedback too. Provide feedback from teachers about how students found the week and what they learnt from the week. Cheryl

Students evaluate hosts
At the end of the placement hosts can seek student feedback about how the placement could be enhanced for future students. This could be on a form or verbal. Brett.

Journal reflection exercises
In many cases students don’t realise how much they learn and benefit from placements. Having students complete reflection exercises and class discussions can dramatically deepen their learning and appreciation of WPL. Teachers may need encouragement to support this practice. Ian

Structure the placement
Developing a general structure for the placement smooths its flow. Ideally students will be rotated through as many of these planned experiences as possible. Eg. A metals employer has a plan to rotate students through: · Orientation · Marking out jobs · Welding · Grinding · Fabrication. Ian

Students interview
Employers may like to have email, phone call or site visit/interview prior to student’s placement. Record the employer’s preference and instruction in Pathways and ensure the teacher reinforces these requests. Rowan

New Coordinators
We tend to take for granted how much expertise we have acquired. While inducting a new coordinator hold a mini staff meeting each day to review the learning for each person’s day. In this way they get to hear about 5 peoples experience, rather than just their own hard learning. Also record new ideas in this document. Steph

Event preparation
When planning an event or project ensure all stakeholders are involved in the planning and design. Create a checklist or project plan and consult for other people’s views to build involvement and ownership. Steph

Guest speakers
Contact potential guest speakers and interview them about what they may like to include in a possible talk. In this way you can test the water without formally obligating anyone. If the speaker is off the mark, try to coach them, otherwise you can tip the school off about your doubts and let the school elect not to use the employer. Call the school after the talk to get feedback. Ian

Active listening
Do a course on Active Listening to help with host employers, teachers and students. Steph

Cultural Awareness
Do an Aboriginal Cultural Awareness course. Local the term Aboriginal is preferred to Indigenous. Brett

Induction guides
Some employers have special induction guides and events that student must comply with before placement. These special instructions need to explicitly communicated to students prior to work placement. (Best sent with opportunity listing and teachers verbally reminded). Steph and Rowan

Service Learning
Investigate “service learning” movement in the USA by Googling it. There are a million ideas of simulated projects suitable for work placement. Ian

Calendar requests
Book the first students of the year in late enough during term one to allow enough lead time for the communication with students and employers for a Student Placement Record. Rowan

Journaling
Explain to hosts the purpose of the Journal is to: · Help students reflect upon, make sense of and absorb what they learnt each day. · Gather supportive evidence of skills for the teacher’s assessment · Support the supervisor in conducting a daily debrief and feedback to the student to consolidate the learning · Provide stretch learning opportunities, particularly if there are lulls in real work for the student to perform. Employers should encourage the student to keep the journal up to date as they go. A good tip is to tell them they need to include enough detail so their teacher could understand the significance of their work and learning should they read the journal. Some supervisors ask the students to stop work 30 minutes early each day so they can spend 20 minutes updating the journal, handing back unfinished work, or making plans to continue the next day. The final ten minutes is feedback time where the host talks over the day and helps the students realise how much they have learnt today. Ian

Feedback
Reviewing the journal is a great way to kick off a feedback session. Most students gloss over the journal, so please help them appreciate that this is good practice for reporting to bosses, just like when they take on responsible jobs in the future. Feedback should be constructive and encouraging. Find what they have done well and start and finish on this point. Conversation starters could be: · What did you like most about today? · What new skills did you learn? · What skills did you get to practice? · How does the way we work compare to what you learnt in your course? · What other skills would you like to try out while you are here? · What would you do differently if you had to do the task again? · What would you do if you where the student supervisor here? Ian

Shaping great habits
If the host employer asks the student about their academic achievement and attendance at school it will greatly reinforce the messages from the school that these are very important to future success. Hosts that remain silent, or dismiss the importance may be doing the student a great disservice as the student will be facing a far tougher job market than piror generations. Ian

Post placement debrief
Teachers are to conduct a post placement debrief as part of the SWL process. Many students had learning opportunities happening all around them while on placement, but without help from the teacher to reflect upon this and digest it all they may not retain the learning. Simply put the students may not appreciate, and in turn retain, how much they have learnt. A great question: How did the placement differ from your expectations of the workplace? Ian

Work Inspiration
This is a UK based inniative that I am very keen to see replicated in Australia. It is an employer led campaign that seeks to turn Work Experience into Work Inspiration. Visit the web site to learn more... Ian

She Missed it all...the story of Mark Twains cat
The following link is to an extract out of book called Combining Service and Learning by Jane C. Kendall, published by the US National Society for Internships and Experiential Learning. Key message of this chapter by Conrad and Hedin is just because someone attends a workplace, doesn’t mean they learn from the experience, or learn the right lessons. If you don’t have time to read it all than I really recommend you at least read and reflect on the first page.

Ian

=Stakeholder Survey= Carol Richardson from Southwest Connect recently conducted a survey of Teachers, Students and Employers and found the process very helpful. The Survey designs are posted here for others to adapt... Thanks Carol.