Implementing innovative approaches to learning and assessment through training packages

Training packages are a key reform in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. They are key resources for the current structured training arrangements. They define endpoints for learning but not how to get there. Through design and intent, they encourage the development of new, flexible approaches to training and assessment. However, training packages are still in their relative infancy, with many issues pertaining to their implementation requiring attention.

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which new and flexible approaches to learning, training delivery and assessment have been facilitated by the implementation of training packages. The key objectives of the study were to:

• assess the extent to which training packages have influenced the implementation of new and more flexible approaches to learning, training delivery and assessment
• analyse specific instances where innovative approaches have been introduced to learning, training delivery and assessment practices as a result of the implementation of training packages
• evaluate strategies and processes which will assist registered training organisations to organise alternative training pathways through the use of training packages.

How was the research undertaken?

The study centred on six case studies spread across four Australian states/territories and selected on the basis of ten criteria. Four types of participants were interviewed at each case study site: personnel involved in the development of the innovative approaches; teachers/trainers involved in their day-to-day implementation; employer(s) who had had experience with them; and learners who were experiencing the innovative approaches.

What was the context of the study?

The study was framed within the context of change management in the VET sector. Training packages represent a form of educational change which aims to bring about significant reform to the way in which vocational education and training is delivered. It is a change which attempts to 'fix the system' by enabling multiple pathways (curricula) leading to the same nationally recognised qualifications. Training packages are also designed to change the ways teachers and trainers in registered training organisations work with industry.

The change relates to the design, implementation and delivery of vocational education and training but it also challenges the established relationships between training organisations and the industries they serve. At the heart of this reform lies a challenge to teachers' and trainers' attitudes, values and beliefs about their relationship to the industries they work with, and their conceptions of their roles and the part they play in acting as 'change agents' to realise policy outcomes mandated by government.

The review of the literature indicated that research on implementation of training packages is limited to date. Nevertheless, a number of researchers have reported concerns regarding current practice, while others have observed interesting developments and described some encouraging and innovative approaches.

The literature also revealed a significant lack of attention to the management of the change process. Training packages signalled yet another significant change for the VET sector and the tension between the policy–practice interface has largely been ignored. Attention needs to focus on transition from previous ways of working to ensure that training packages realise their full potential. The current literature does not demonstrate an appreciation of the complex nature of the change process, including the politics of change and the ways in which conflict and negotiation are integral to the process.

What did the case studies show about training package implementation and innovation?

The case studies illustrate how training packages were implemented in a variety of ways and acted, to varying degrees, as catalysts for the development of innovative approaches to learning and assessment. For three organisations, the advent of training packages resulted in fundamentally new ways of providing training and assessment services. The other three organisations illustrate the ongoing change process that has been occurring in public VET organisations since the early 1990s and how new approaches to learning and assessment have evolved from substantial reorganisations of the business processes within these institutions.

In each of the case studies examined, the implementation of training packages stimulated changes to learning and assessment. In summary these changes included:

• the establishment of practice firms or simulated work environments for learning and assessment
• links with a local rural community shire to achieve suitable real work environments for teaching and learning
• improved quality in delivery of training for rural and remote students through the use of video streaming with other modes of delivery
• creation of accredited training pathways to replace informal training activities
• training and assessment undertaken on the job in collaboration with industry partners
• TAFE staff working on the job with students
• assessment and learning facilitated and jointly supported by industry and TAFE staff
• learning and assessment integrated into everyday work practices.

Obviously the changes that occurred were 'innovative' within the particular contexts where they were implemented, and while they might be 'innovative' to some participants, they may not be to others.

The implementation of training packages also led to changed roles for registered training organisations, industry bodies and enterprises. The case studies illustrate the various ways workplaces can move from a minor role in training workers towards a more central one where they begin to work as (potentially) equal partners with training providers. Responsibilities and roles have been redefined in the light of agreements about the role each has in the training of workers. This move by workplaces towards a more central role in training activity was also accompanied by a significant shift in thinking about learning and assessment: significant because it compelled workplaces to consider the ways in which work practices and structures within their organisations could be more fully utilised to facilitate learning. This is in marked contrast to traditional approaches which have emphasised off-job sites as the lead players and classrooms as integral to the training effort. The case studies serve to depict the varying degrees of flexibility achieved.

Nevertheless, a number of challenges and issues relating to implementing new approaches to learning and assessment were evident across some of the case study sites. These challenges were relatively evenly divided across three main areas:

• utilising the availabile resources for effective implementation of these new approaches
• developing new relationships between enterprises and training providers
• adopting new behaviours on the part of enterprises, teachers and learners in the changed learning and assessment context.

What are the lessons for others implementing training packages?

Some of the lessons learnt from these six case studies should be of use to others implementing training packages. Factors and strategies that may promote innovation in learning and assessment in VET include the following:

• An understanding of the specific environment will promote innovation that is context-specific and appropriate for that environment. This includes an assessment of costs and benefits in terms of human, financial, physical resources available/needed as well as the business environment.
• Most innovations associated with the implementation of flexible approaches to learning and assessment require significant shifts in attitudes, values, beliefs, norms and behaviours.
• Innovation always builds on previous practice (even to the extent that it may supplant previous ways of operating). Linking innovation to previous practices is a key to facilitating the transition from one set of practices to another. Implicit in this concept is an acknowledgement of the shifts in power and the potential for conflict that can accompany such transitions.
• Strategies which enable enterprises/industry to be involved from the early stages of development on an equal basis with the training provider promote ownership and a sense that each has an equal stake in and responsibility for the innovation.
• Innovations may require students to develop strategies to cope with new demands relating to their learning. A sensitive assessment of the impact of the innovation on learners over time is an important part of the innovation process.
• Implementation needs to be underpinned by evaluation processes that provide feedback to ensure ongoing improvement to the innovation.
• A key group or person who will 'champion' and 'drive' the innovation development and implementation process is essential.
• Professional development in working through issues associated with implementing training packages is an integral component of the innovation process.
• Time is an important factor in the innovation process. Individuals need time to experiment, plan, discuss issues etc. Time is also needed to allow individuals to become familiar with the innovation and to absorb new values, beliefs and norms. Calls for constant change can destabilise the implementation process and lead to staff becoming 'change-weary'.
• Support from management and pressure are both needed to give the implementation process momentum. Support without some pressure will not lead to change; pressure alone will lead to resistance.
• Evidence of the implementation of new approaches to learning and assessment arise from individual teacher's/trainer's activities. In order to foster change, organisations need to think about the ways in which they can link all these individual efforts into a coherent 'web of innovation'.
• Support from the wider system is also needed, and changes made as necessary at policy and framework level, if the innovation and implementation processes are to be sustained over time.

This study provides an analysis of the extent to which alternative learning and assessment pathways have been stimulated and developed as a result of the implementation of training packages at six case study sites. The study contributes knowledge about the factors which should be considered when implementing alternative learning pathways. Lessons learnt from a number of specific case studies might be used by other registered training organisations.