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YOU CANNOT DEMONSTRATE A PRACTICAL SKILL ON PAPER

experience confirms or has changed in your professional practice i.e. how

you put the learning to work. But just doing this is not enough,

for example you cannot demonstrate a practical skill on paper and you cannot show depth of understanding of a topic by doing a demonstration. Showing true competence often requires multiple forms of evidence. Box 1 gives a variety of ways of

providing evidence and these will be covered in more detail in the next issue of sportEX dynamics. When recording evidence consider how you can make it relevant and specific to the standards or requirements that you are aspiring to. This may be different according to the use you will put the portfolio to and you may have to edit your portfolio according to the particular requirement. You will need to show that you cover all of the range and scenarios that are relevant to the job, course or professional standard. It is a case of ‘horses for courses’ (or jobs). Remember that the portfolio is about ‘selling’ you and what you can do. For example, if applying for a job at a football club, can you show evidence that you could do all aspects of the job? Have you evidence of working in clinical environments as well as on the pitch side? Do you have knowledge of the sport, typical injuries associated with that sport and even the club? It is worth mentioning honesty at this point. Don’t try and be something that you’re not, because you will eventually be found out and this may have long term consequences in what is a relatively small world. There is no point in saying you are a lifelong fan of the club you want to work for, if you are not. However if you have the ticket stubs and programmes to prove you are then a reflective piece on how you would put this loyalty to work in the club’s favour might be worth considering!

EXAMINATION OF EVIDENCE When portfolios are presented, assessors or potential employers will be looking to see that evidence is all of the following: n valid n authentic n current

www.sportEX.net n sufficient.

Is it valid? It is appropriate and relevant to the standards and requirements of the job or professional body? Does it meet the correct level? You might be able to go through the requirements and know that you have covered what is asked for. This might be a particular soft tissue or assessment technique. You know that you have done workshops on both topics. Having attended workshops though is not proof that you can actually perform the skill or understand the knowledge. Further evidence would be required to prove that you can apply and understand what was learnt at the workshops.

Is it authentic Can you prove that the evidence is your own work? Is the evidence signed and dated? This is where additional evidence may need to be presented i.e. a practical performance along with written evidence or questioning. You could also back up evidence with photographic evidence for example if you were claiming you attended a particular sporting event (just make sure you’re in one of the pictures though!). Do you need a witness statement from someone else to back up what you say?

Is it current? Is the evidence still applicable to the standards? Have you been practicing? Can you prove you are still up to date? Things like CPD workshops or evidence of reading current books, articles or research papers, would help to show that you are current (as long as you can also prove what you learnt from them). The time frame on current is within the last two years.

Is it sufficient? Is there enough evidence to demonstrate competence over a range of experiences and time? For example, the new National Occupational Standards for massage at level 4 state that you should be competent to work on pathological tissue, non- pathological tissue and in indoor and outdoor environments. Obviously this

is just a taster of what is contained in the standards but it shows that you are expected to massage in a variety of scenarios. You should research fully the extent and scope of the requirements that you are providing evidence for, whether this is for a job or a professional body.

PROBLEMS THAT MAY OCCUR WITH EVIDENCE n Observation: Knowing assessment dates or procedures in advance allows time for planning and/or practice that can enable the learner to maximise his/her chances of success. n Written evidence: How can anyone be sure that the evidence presented has been produced by the learner? n Does the way the evidence has been presented make it easy to find and understand? (See below for portfolio building). n Does the evidence presented cover the full range of contents or conditions listed in the standards or qualification? Can you prove that you have met all the knowledge requirements? Have you covered and can you prove that you can apply practical skills across all of the range?

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