Technical-Vocational Livelihood Education: Emerging Trends in Contextualised Mathematics Teaching

Technical-Vocational Livelihood Education (TVLE) Strategies and Indicators (S&Is) are the strategic procedures needed to come up with a well-informed contextualised learning instruction. This study is aimed at exploring the trends in Technical-Vocational Livelihood Education. The focus of this study is on soliciting relevant strategies and indicators (S&I) that can be utilised to develop a contextualised mathematics teaching module. S&Is in this study are consolidated from various experts in the field of curriculum contextualisation who were purposively selected from various regions representing the DepEd Manila, DepEd Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan (MIMAROPA), DepEd Bicol region (Region 5), and DepEd Central Visayas (Region 7) recommended by the Department of Education (DepEd) Manila. Formal interviews and coding of consolidated experts’ experiences have passed through a qualitative thematic analysis to obtain a profound understanding of the strategies and indicators. After a thorough investigation of the information gathered, related studies, and theoretical reviews, the study resulted in the seven (7) stages of a contextualised mathematics teaching module such as 1) Planning, 2) Assessment of the curriculum guide and resources, 3) Collaboration and Consultative Meeting, 4) Crafting and Developing of the Contextualise Learning Modules/Lessons, 5) Implementation, 6) Monitoring, and 7) Evaluation and feedback. The first four (4) stages are the developmental phase cons Planning, Assessment, Collaboration, and Crafting of the working module (PACC). While, the remaining three stages to implement, monitor, and conducts of evaluation and feedback are on the validation phase. As module, the contextualised mathematics teaching can be utilised as a training guide for teachers in Technical-Vocational Livelihood Education strands of the K-12 curriculum. Further research may be conducted to validate the most appropriate modular approach in teaching specific subjects

Contextualisation of learning objects to derive meaning

One's thinking becomes different when exposed to new and unfamiliar worlds. Certain common ideas become inexpressible, whereas other previously unimagined ones spring into life, finding miraculous new articulation. In some instances, that which cannot be adequately articulated in one context may in another, become fully comprehensible. It is at the juncture of prior and new understandings that the potential for creativity arises (Quinton, 2005)

Pedagogy For Employability

This guide, produced by the HEA, constitutes a revised and updated version of the Pedagogy for Employability publication first published in 2006. The publication has been updated with the practitioner in mind – those teaching in the classroom and those engaging with policy and student interactions in other ways, such as careers guidance and learning development workers. Practitioners are our focus, as we discuss the policy and institutional context that frames the environment within which people work. The early sections of this publication are intended to illuminate the possibilities and constraints that operate in different national, institutional and departmental situations, having a direct impact on the way that teaching and learning takes place between practitioners and students. Case studies of learning and teaching that support the development of student employability, in the classroom, through distance and part-time learning and in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, are provided throughout the publication. In the later sections of the publication we focus particularly on the curriculum and learning and teaching practice

Contextualising Legal Education: The Case of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

Legal educators in the South Pacific, often from outside the region and on short-term appointments, may initially have limited familiarity with some or all South Pacific environments, beyond an understanding that their legal systems are ‘based on common law’. The University of the South Pacific, a regional institution providing legal education for 12 independent South Pacific countries, aims to produce graduates ‘well equipped to enter the legal professions’ of these countries. However, there have been few resources to inform legal educators about the local legal environments in which their graduates will work, and to help educators understand what law graduates require to be ‘well equipped’ for South Pacific jurisdictions. To help bridge the information gap, the research undertaken for this thesis investigates the legal environments and preparatory needs of law graduates in two of these South Pacific jurisdictions: Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The thesis begins with an overview of the development of state law, the legal profession and legal education in the South Pacific, to provide historical context for the work that follows. A case study of contemporary legal environments is then presented. Set within an interpretive paradigm, this qualitative study draws from 80 interviews conducted within the legal sectors of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and from documentary and other sources. The picture which emerges is of an environment in which state law sits uneasily with continuing local traditions and everyday life, and where lawyers and the legal profession as a whole face many challenges in their attempts to meet the legal needs of their communities. The case study demonstrates that to be well equipped to enter the legal professions of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, law graduates need high degrees of ‘work-readiness’, and legal knowledge, skills and attitudes tailored to these legal environments. Drawing on educational theory and practice, and taking account of the constraints facing legal educators in the South Pacific, the thesis then explores how undergraduate law students might be helped to achieve the preparation required for working in local legal environments

Selection of industrial and organisational psychology master's students: exploring the validity of applied psychometric measures

The objective of this study was to investigate how well the academic performance of the Industrial and Organisational Psychology master’s students at a research institution can be predicted through psychometric measures. A non-experimental design was used in this empirical study. The sample consisted of one hundred and thirty-three IO Psychology master’s students over a five-year period. The secondary data for this research originated from the students completing the Graduate Verify Ability tests as well as the Occupational Personality Questionnaire, which are psychometric measures that form part of the selection. Both psychometric measures load onto the Person Job Match competencies. A theoretical relationship could be found between the Ability tests and academic success as well as the PJM competencies that included weighted scores from both psychometric measures. The empirical relationships, therefore, proved that the ability tests have the strongest predictive ability for academic success.Industrial and Organisational PsychologyM. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology

Does the computer helpdesk vocational training course change attitude about customer service?

The purpose of this research was to determine whether The Computer Helpdesk vocational computing course, in conjunction with The Virtual Workplace simulation computer program, changed attitude about customer service. Thirty-seven adult female students at Fujairah Women\u27s College of the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates took part in the study. To assess possible attitude change, a combination of observation, interview and survey techniques were used. The Likert scale customer service attitude survey, which measured beliefs and perceptions about customer service, fanned the primary data gathering instrument. Qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated, and quantitative results were analysed using MANOVA. Results suggest strongly that the combination of the Computer Helpdesk course and the Virtual Workplace simulation program generally did not change attitude about customer service, however some degree or amount of attitude change in some subjects was detected

Learning from the learners' experience: e-Learning@greenwich post-conference reflections

This publication comprises papers from presenters who, having made a conference presentation, were invited to author an academic paper about their work

Competency maturing: a substantive theory of how senior information systems undergraduates develop their existing competencies and acquire additional competencies within an organic learning environment

There is a high demand for competent Information Systems (IS) / Information Technology (IT) graduates in a globalised knowledge-driven economy with rapidly evolving Information and Communication Technology (ICT). However, becoming a competent IS/IT graduate is not a once-off event because rapid technological changes require that IS/IT graduates continually strive to be up-to-date and relevant. Continuous updating of knowledge, keeping up-to-date, acquiring a diverse set of IS/IT/ICT competencies, and being competent is a problematic task globally, and requires building competencies comprising knowledge, skills, abilities and values. This thesis employs Classic Grounded Theory Methodology (CGTM) with a single case to identify the main concern of senior IS undergraduates during their learning process, and how they resolve the concern. Data were obtained from two diverse groups of senior IS undergraduate classes using multiple data collection methods, embedded in constant comparative analyses. Understanding what was going on in the substantive research area and explaining how the senior IS undergraduates' main concern was resolved was the focus of the data collection and conceptualisation. Through the single case exploratory CGTM study, the senior IS undergraduates' main concern emerged as a perceived lack of IS Competency, and the main concern was explored. A substantive theory of Competency Maturing conceptualises and explains how these students attempt to resolve their perceived lack of IS Competency. A substantive theory of Competency Maturing is a Basic Social Process (BSP) which involves engaging in learning by doing, and spontaneous learning within an organic learning environment. Three phases of the BSP of Competency Maturing are student engagement, self-awareness of competency, and self-development. This thesis recommends a Framework for a South African senior IS undergraduates' programme and offers a set of conceptual propositions developed from empirical data. The thesis makes theoretical and practical contributions to the IS education body of knowledge of student engagement, learning environment, senior IS undergraduates' curriculum development and competency development. A substantive theory of Competency Maturing is relevant to IS educators who wish to break away from traditional, teacher-centred approaches in higher education, and are willing to create learning environments where senior IS undergraduates are motivated to learn in rich, relevant and real-world contexts. The thesis contributes to IS educators who seek to understand how the learning environment and IS educational content influence and support student engagement and Competency Maturing. This thesis also offers IS educational practitioners an understanding of the educational content and a delivery style that can provide senior IS undergraduates with strong theoretical and practical foundations. The thesis's findings suggest that creating an organic learning environment can be a useful approach to developing more competent IS graduates