Enhancing Learning & Skills: UWS Program Development for RPL and WBL

1. Past, Present and Future –Incorporating Prior and Workbased Learning in the Development of a Degree Programme UALL Conference Durham March 2013

2. Key Objectives • Identify a process to link employer led staff development to UWS awards • Develop best practice in partnership working meeting the needs of employers, employees and UWS • Focus on sustainable engagement • Develop an integrated approach to employer engagement incorporating RPL, WBL and UWS modules Choose UWS/2010

3. Kibble Education and Care Centre • Assess staff for RPL and the transfer of credit • Facilitate APEL for staff through engagement with the Making Experience Count module where appropriate • Develop core Social Pedagogy module(s) • Enrol a cohort of staff onto the Workbased Opportunities module (20 points at SCQF level 8) • Identify existing UWS modules for inclusion in the programme

4. www.scqf.org.uk

5. Programme Pathway

6. Benefits of RPL • For the student • Gaining credit and recognition for learning increases confidence, motivation and self esteem • Encourages further learning • No need to repeat learning experiences for things they already know and for which they can provide suitable evidence • Enhances employment opportunities by gaining a recognised qualification more quickly saving time and money

7. Benefits of RPL • For the Employer • More efficient use of the training budget avoiding duplication of learning and identifying the best way to meet skills gaps • Provides a framework for skills development and CPD enabling employers to: • Show a commitment to workforce development • Improve staff retention

8. Recognition of Prior Learning • Experiences are looked at and those where significant learning has occurred are selected. • Clear statements in the form of learning outcomes are written making sure that: • Learning is at the right level. • There is a clear link between theoretical knowledge and practical application • Learning has been kept up to date. • Evidence in support of the claim to learning is collected and collated this takes the form of a written report accompanied by a portfolio of evidence

9. Why engage in WBL? Links into SCQF Encourages and motivates Gives sense of achievement Enhances reflection Employer engagement

10. Learning Outcomes are: Indicators of what is expected of the student Designed to engage students in the learning process Linked to subject benchmark statements and/or level descriptors

11. Workbased Opportunities - Learning Outcomes • Outline the skills and personal qualities needed to effectively identify patterns of self-defeating behaviours in young people. • Utilise an interactive therapeutic strategy such as the Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) to turn crisis situations into learning opportunities. • Produce a reflective analysis of how LSCI has contributed to your interpersonal skills and relate this to the culture within your workplace and to government initiatives. • Recognise the value of effective debriefing and how this contributes to working practices.

12. Barriers/Risks • Costs • Economic climate, • Benefits of staff development • Sustainability • Culture • Resources • The will needs to be there to find a way

13. What Students Say • Made me reflect on my working practices and question why I did things. • Gave me the confidence to suggest different ways of working. • Made me appreciate what I had achieved within the workplace. • I have caught the learning bug!

14. Lifelong Learning Academy Lea McKay Director, Lifelong Learning Academy UWS Lea McKay@uws.ac.uk 0141 848 3514