Vocational and Academic
Vocational training is focused on performance improvement. The learning objectives are clearly defined and easily measured by pre- and post-tests. Vocational training focuses on specific measurable skill-building tasks: Can the worker set the machine dial to X?
Example of vocational goals and objectives:
Goal—Employee will be able to operate the system.
Measurable Objectives—Employees will be able to:
- set monitor levelsadjust dials
- read and interpret print-outs
- input five standard commands
- report warning signs
The academic approach attempts to assist students in constructing knowledge or schemas that the learner can use as scaffolding for adding future new knowledge. Educators try to develop structures upon which more knowledge can be assimilated and applied (i.e., does the student understand the concept of setting a dial? Can the user set the dial to any factor of X?)
Learning Outcomes
If the desired outcome is for students to identify X, then a teacher-centered
course may be the most efficient mode.
If the objective of the module is that the student research X, analyze
X, apply X to four distinct scenarios and evaluate the outcome, a student-centered
approach may be better suited.
Industry Trends Shift to Combine Academic and Vocational Training
Corporate executives and educational leaders are calling for a paradigm shift requiring a combination of academic and vocational training. As job skills change, so too must training strategies.
In the League for Innovation in Community College Conference in Miami, November 1998, the Chairman of Cisco Systems John Morgridge gave a keynote address stressing the importance of providing student-centered, "just-in-time" learning for workers. He stated: "Students need to know how to apply the skills and knowledge in creative and dynamic ways. We need employees who can take a concept and apply it to new and dynamic situations."
Vocational and Academic Assignments
Online trainers and educators are frequently caught trying to balance
teaching people a vocational skill (how to use Adobe Photoshop) and how
to adapt and apply that skill to a dynamic situation (apply principles
of image manipulation learned with Photoshop to other graphics programs).
Defining which learning objectives are vocational and which are academic
can be helpful in designing assignments. If the desired skill is to identify
a correct answer from a list, then a multiple-choice quiz is an excellent
learning tool. However, if the skill is to write a sonnet, then ultimately
the students will have to write the sonnet to demonstrate they have learned
to apply the skill.
Industry Trends Shift to Combine Academic and Vocational Training
Corporate executives and educational leaders are calling for a paradigm shift requiring a combination of academic and vocational training. As job skills change, so too must training strategies.
In the League for Innovation in Community College Conference in Miami, November 1998, the Chairman of Cisco Systems John Morgridge gave a keynote address stressing the importance of providing student-centered, "just-in-time" learning for workers. He stated: "Students need to know how to apply the skills and knowledge in creative and dynamic ways. We need employees who can take a concept and apply it to new and dynamic situations."
Vocational and Academic Assignments
Online trainers and educators are frequently caught trying to balance
teaching people a vocational skill (how to use Adobe Photoshop) and how
to adapt and apply that skill to a dynamic situation (apply principles
of image manipulation learned with Photoshop to other graphics programs).
Defining which learning objectives are vocational and which are academic
can be helpful in designing assignments. If the desired skill is to identify
a correct answer from a list, then a multiple-choice quiz is an excellent
learning tool. However, if the skill is to write a sonnet, then ultimately
the students will have to write the sonnet to demonstrate they have learned
to apply the skill.
Topic 4 |
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Vocational
and Academic
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