Supporting adult learners returning to education to study EDS.
This project focused on adults returning to study a digital curriculum - the Essential Digital Skills qualification (EDQS). The project team wanted to inspire digital courage, confidence to experiment, and competence to master new skills in delivering the new qualification.
The project team wanted to increase adult learners confidence in the new EDS qualification. They started by producing an initial assessment framework conversation for EDS courses which would help teachers to assess their learners’ needs, preferences and aspirations. The project team found it was important to build closer, trusting relationships with students at the outset of their EDS programmes, focusing on delivering sessions that are in line with their needs. This helped to alleviate the many anxieties students felt about enrolling onto the course.
OTLA 8
4. Be creative and innovative in selecting and adapting strategies to help learners to learn - The learner-focussed approach of the project enabled a focus on individual strategies to support learners. This meant the project team experimented with quiz creation, summary cards, matching exercises, and mind maps- all of which have not previously been used for Entry IT. The project also helped the team to recognise the role of the trainer to prompt learners to adopt new learning strategies and that once prompted, learners reacted well.
9. Apply theoretical understanding of effective practice in teaching, learning and assessment drawing on research and other evidence - The project team enjoyed the opportunity and encouragement to draw on the ideas of other practitioners. The change in assessment, to digital examination, prompted the team to review their approach to how knowledge is acquired and retained by learners.
13. Motivate and inspire learners to promote achievement and develop their skills to enable progression - The project helped the team to better understand their strengths as a provision and how these can be harnessed to address the growing market for adult education – particularly for IT. It has inspired the team to experiment with new approaches to learning in this roll on/roll off learning environment. This project has led to conversations with the aim to inspire learners to consider learning other disciplines.