We have compiled a guide to assist you with achieving your qualification. We expect you to develop these ideas and respond to all parts of each question. At every opportunity, give examples and make links to your own company policies, theories, legislation and any regulatory requirements. Ensure you evaluate, review, and analyse whenever you are asked to do so. This will enable you to fully demonstrate the depth of your knowledge and understanding and ensure you are working at the level expected by the course. Harvard referencing should always be used to acknowledge any sources you have used.
Please make sure you answer all parts of the question. At every opportunity, give examples. Make links to your own company policies, theories, legislation and any regulatory requirements. This is what makes your work level 3 or above! Make sure you reference your work. Harvard referencing is encouraged but not compulsory.
a] Explain the teaching role and responsibilities in education and training? The roles refer to being a teacher, trainer, coach, tutor, mentor, instructor, assessor and lecturer.
Responsibilities refer to enforcement of organisation policies and procedures, preparation and management of learning, assessment and record keeping, working with others, to communicate effectively
Remember your main role and responsibility is to identify and meet the needs of your learners. How do you go about doing this? You are also expected to be inclusive. You therefore need to discuss about equality and how your practice promotes inclusion. You also need to highlight the possible expectations which learners have of you? For example learners expect you to be knowledgeable and inspire them. How do you make this possible and what will be the consequences of you falling short of their expectations? Also apply the same concept to others such as your employer, funding bodies and anyone who has an interest in your learners work. Your employer will expect you to abide by every policy they have. They will expect you to be a good role model for the company and work in line with their mission statement. You could possibly expand this a bit further. Think of a teacher who continuously bad mouths their company in front of students. This could have consequences where-by the learners lose respect of the teacher and company. You could also discuss about the expectation of Professional bodies and regulators regarding your role as a teacher?
b] Explain why it is important to identify and meet individual learner needs? It is important to identify needs as this can enable you to recognise prior learning and achievements, appropriate support, guidance to meet qualification requirements, access to learning, address knowledge or skills gap, promote student involvement and ownership of targets.
c] You need to describe how you might promote good behavior and respect. Remember your learners need to feel safe and be in a conducive learning environment. You could promote this by setting ground rules with your learners. For example, asking your learners to respect the opinion of others. You will need to highlight what could happen if the ground rules are broken? Which disciplinary procedures are available? Another way you could promote good behavior is for you to be a good role model. You are expected as a teacher to model good behavior! How could a learner respect what you are saying for example regarding equality while you appear to be sexist or racist? You will also need to implement any zero tolerance policies you have for bullying.
Your interpersonal skills also play a vital role to crate a supportive learning environment. It might be difficult for learners to benefit from your teaching if you are not approachable? Remember one of your main role is to inspire your learners and enhance their learning experience.
When discussing about safe environment,you could consider ensuing that learners are not exposed to dangerous equipment. For example electronic goods that are not Pat tested? You could also make sure there are no hazards on the floors that could trip your learners. You might also consider some of your initiatives to ensure there are comfort breaks between session?
d] When discussing about points of referrals you need to identify the opportunities that are available to you. You could discuss about the structures within your orgnisation. This could be that there is a requirement for each learner to have a diagnostic or initial assessment. This alone could be an opportunity to find out needs. You might have a dedicated staff member who completes your role as a teacher such as teaching assistants,pastoral staff or dedicated staff to help learners with functional skills? You might also have a policy or procedures regarding referrals to other professionals where-by you can sign post? You might also have access to other professionals especially if you work within a multi-disciplinary team? Remember the question requires you to analyse,you therefore need to fully review these opportunities indicating how they work?
a] As this is a teacher training course you need to refer to the Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers in Education and Training and outline how they influence your practice. It is a good idea to discuss about any regulatory requirements such as CQC, Ofsted, local authorities and awarding bodies? You also need to identify any relevant legislation that applies to you such as the GDPR regulations 2018, Health and Safety 1974, Equality Act 2010 and Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The question is not only testing if you know an array of legislation! You are required here to show how the legislation applies to you and how you implement this in practice? For example you ensure you do not share learners personal information with people that are not authorised. You also ensure any memory stick with peoples personal data has a password just in case it gets lost. This would also be in compliance with your organisational policies and the Data Protection Act 1998. The consequences could be that you will be sacked for breaching confidentiality. Your employer could lose contracts and have sanctions imposed on them by regulatory authorities. You also need to explain ways to promote equality and value diversity? This could include identifying individual learning needs, supporting individual learners and challenging discrimination?
b] Explain how the teaching role involves working with other professionals.You will need to explain and give examples of how as a teacher you might work with others. This could be when working as teams, sharing assessment outcomes, communicating learner needs, negotiating support for learners, contributing to internal quality assurance and liaising with referral agencies.
c] Explain the boundaries between the teaching role and other professional roles? You can refer to team roles and responsibilities, management structures and lines of communication. It is important for you not to overstep your boundary and instead signpost to appropriate professionals?
a] Features include offering equality of opportunity, accessible, differentiated, student centered, meeting individual needs, varied learning styles (VARK), stimulating, actively engaging, motivating, range of teaching and learning styles
It is important to create an inclusive teaching and learning environment as it value’s diversity, challenges antisocial behaviours, encourages peer support and promotes learner responsibility
b] Highlight a number of teaching approaches such as presentation, video, demonstration, individual and group activities. Also highlight learning approaches such as learner-centered, experimentation and independent research. You then discuss strengths and limitations.
c] Here you do not need to show how you teach each of the areas highlighted. You just need to show how you encourage your learners to exercise the skills highlighted. For example, you might give your learners information regarding the number of people who are unemployed at a particular time as part of embedding mathematics. You could ask your learners to read a handout as part of embedding English. You could also ask your learners to access the Internet as part of embedding ICT. As part of embedding wider skills this might include teaching about manners or life skills to make your learners better members of the community.
d] It is important, as this will ensure that the methods are appropriate to learner’s knowledge, skills requirements and meeting assessment requirements. This will also be suited to group size and diversity, actively engaging learners, encouraging and stimulating the learning process,recognise and respond to individual learning needs.
As an assessor, you should always carry out a holistic overview and consider a number of factors that can affect behaviour. In this scenario it could be that your initial assessment methods are not fit for purpose as they are probably generating results far from the reality. On the other hand, the learner might be perfectly competent and works well on their own. The learner might also be intimidated by you as a stranger or someone with the power to turn their dream into reality. Think of the situation whereby the candidate is desperate for the qualification to access University or to gain a promotion. In terms of the questions, you should be asking this could include checking if the learner is enrolled on the right course, if they will have sufficient learning opportunities and whether they are in the right job role? You could also consider if their enrolment is safe and manageable?
Scenario 2
Regardless of the circumstances when it comes to evidence and assessments your judgement should be based on sound principles. You should bear in mind that once you accept the work from the candidate you inherit full responsibility. You should, therefore, ensure that the evidence is reliable, current, sufficient and authentic.
Scenario 3
Here you should make reference to the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Information Commissioner’s Office. You will need to describe the procedures you have in your workplace such as locking away assessments and learner records. Other procedures could be making sure that memory sticks and computers are password protected. Making sure that you don’t take any work home. Make sure you outline the importance of following these procedures and make links to disciplinary procedures and other consequences of not doing so.
Scenario 4
Risks can include being burnt out. Not being able to assess at the same standards as experienced practitioners. Data protection, health and safety concerns. Being unable to interpret the standards correctly. Dave might need to participate in standardisation or shadow experienced practitioners as part of his learning process and induction. Risks can be reduced during the assessment process by asking the learner about their work environment and identified risks which will help you to devise an appropriate response. This might include using a range of assessment methods. You might also need to learn the policies and procedures of the learners work environment if you are visiting.
Scenario 5
You will need here to explain to Kelly how you have come to your decision. It would be a good idea to reassure her that the assessment decision is based solely on the assessment criteria and explain how you have come to the decision. You might also want to refer to the QCF level descriptors. Demonstrating to the learner why you cannot acknowledge a pass would be good. For example, you are not going to accept bullet points where a full explanation is needed. You might also not accept an explanation where actual evidence of the work product is required. You then need to describe your complaints procedures, which normally start with you. The learner will then be able to seek recourse from your quality assurer, manager or others before they can seek external recourse from the awarding body or any other appropriate source of support.
c] You will need to discuss the activities the assessor carries out during the assessment cycle starting with planning, assessing, feedback and reviews. You can also refer to need to motivate and inspire learners and work inline with both internal and external requirements.
d] Technology makes it easy to record and store evidence such as video files. It is also cost-effective as you can carry out video conferences compared to traveling to meet the learner. Technology such as wood processing can make it easy for a candidate to revise and amend their work compared to when it’s written where the learner would have been expected to rewrite everything if there is a referral. Technology such as emails can make assessment quicker compared to posting coursework.
b] You will need to consider factors such as availability of assessment opportunities. You also need to ensure the learner is ready and the necessary consent and permission has been sought especially if you are going to be making a face to face visit n the workplace.
c] Feedback motivates the learner and can provide guidance on how they are doing. Questioning can help to elaborate areas not fully met and also authenticate any written evidence.
d] The learner should be given information about the assessment, timeframe and any relevant documentation. It is also important for the learner to be informed about any appeals and complaints procedures in place. This information empowers the learner to know their rights and responsibilities. Information also helps others such as employers to understand the demands of the qualification and might inspire them to contribute to the assessment process.
b] Assessment decision should be in line with the assessment criteria. The decision should also be valid, reliable and fair. This will involve ensuring that you have not disadvantaged your learners. This result should okay regardless of the assessor. The assessment method should be appropriate in the assessment criteria for limit. You might also consider creating your own assessment activities as a means to limit the impact of plagiarism.
c] Self-assessment helps learners to reflect and evaluate their own performance. Be assessing enables learners to share the experience and to gain a greater understanding of the assessment process. The learners could also develop their analytical skills and ownership.
d] This will include observational processes, simple enough evidence, and candidate interviews and standardisation. This will ensure assessors are working in the same standards. The procedures will also identify developmental areas of assessors and ensure the right support is provided. If this was not done it might lead to bid practice and learners being disadvantaged and assessment process being compromised. It will be important also when discussing about standardisation to outline the frequency and how this takes place in your own organisation.
C] You can discuss how you can change the assessment method from writing to oral. This might also involve changing the time of assessment to suit the working patterns of the learner. This might also involve greater use of witnesses especially where confidentiality, safeguarding, and ethical issues are involved.
d] This might help you to become a better assessor by learning from your past experience when reflecting. It will also help you to work within the legal and professional framework. CPD opportunities allow you to gain more skills, which also improve your practice especially when it comes to assessing. For example, learning how to use new technology
