inFOCUS READING
In this edition we feature two teachers of brickwork and construction. Ian Sanderson, from Reading College, and Troy Everett, from a technical institute in New South Wales, Australia. Both men started in construction, but chose a career in teaching. Here’s how their professional lives compare.
IAN SANDERSON IS A BRICKWORK TEACHER AT READING COLLEGE
Ian has been lecturing for some eight years and before
that worked in civil engineering and construction. As well as his trade qualifications, he has a Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS). He teaches around 60 students in brickwork and building. His teaching contact
hours are not untypical at 25 hours a week, although it is approaching double Troy’s face-to-face teaching load, in part reflecting his
Australian counterpart’s additional duties as a head of department. The remaining time in Ian’s 37.5 hour week is spent on preparation, assessment and admin duties. Like Troy, Ian teaches everything from entry to
advanced level. His students are a mix of apprentices and vocational learners. Ian describes his teaching style as flexible, varying with the level of student he is teaching. Embedded in all of Ian’s teaching are Functional Skills and equality and diversity. Feedback is usually delivered verbally, and Ian is a great believer in peer assessment, unlike Troy below. The college also supports online feedback.
Ian has three hours per week in his timetable for professional
development. He uses this to take part in inter-departmental development activities and occasional cross-college
functions. He says managers are always approachable for one-to-one advice. His faculty is set up so that staff and students build strong relationships with employers, which aids professional updating.
WOLLONGONG
TROY EVERETT IS HEAD TEACHER IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND SURVEYING IN THE TAFE NSW IN WOLLONGONG
Troy, a qualified bricklayer, builder and building supervisor, juggled contract work and teaching part-time for about 10 years before deciding that teaching was the path he wanted to follow. He gained a number of teaching qualifications, including a Bachelor of Vocational Education and Training, and now heads a department teaching 250 students from trade certificate to advanced diploma. Troy averages around 14 hours’ teaching in a 35-hour week. The rest is spent on administration, preparation, marking and feedback. Frequent course revisions, not all of which affect much change, he says, added to compliance and auditing demands, mean a growing admin burden. Troy has developed many self-learning programmes in line with the move towards competency-based learning in Australian vocational education. This is good for students, he says, although not all students have the discipline for self-directed learning.
Like Ian, Troy prefers direct, succinct feedback to students but, unlike Ian, he is no fan of peer assessment. Updating is via regular ‘return to industry’ days and, as a WorldSkills coordinator, Troy keeps abreast of trade developments internationally. New teachers receive two hours a week continuing professional development (CPD) in their first two years. CPD then becomes part of a personal capability development plan with no set weekly hours.
AUSTRALIA: READING COLLEGE
is part of the Activate Learning Group, a major provider of education and training comprising schools, further education providers, university technical colleges, and a commercial arm.
UK:
TAFE NSW is Australia’s largest vocational education and training provider with more than 500,000 enrolments annually. It comprises 10 institutes and 130 campuses, including Wollongong, across NSW.
8 ISSUE 27 • SPRING 2017 INTUITION
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
