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VIEWS & OPINION


Apprenticeships: the future of learning?


Comment by ALEX FLEMING, President of General Staffing and Solutions, The Adecco Group UK&I


How adaptive learning technology supports languages


Comment by CONOR FLYNN, COO of Adaptemy


While it may come as a surprise to many that celebrities such as Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver and Stella McCartney started their careers as apprentices, these examples clearly demonstrate the world of opportunities apprenticeships can open up. Yet, apprenticeships still carry a stigma for a lot of people and many do not see them as they should: a viable route into a variety of careers from construction and nursing to business and law.


Social mobility Apprenticeships have great potential to improve social mobility. At a time of sky high university fees and rising student debt, apprenticeships can offer a more affordable option into work, allowing people to not just remain debt free but get paid whilst building their career. For apprenticeships to live up to their potential, there needs to be greater


focus on those that offer plenty of opportunities for development and set out a clear career progression route from the start.


Exposure to more opportunities In addition to promoting social mobility, apprenticeships can expose people to career paths they may not have otherwise considered. Rather than gravitating towards degree subjects such as media and information or the arts, for example, apprenticeships can help steer people into industries that currently have a higher demand for labour. Choosing a career in a sector where there are enough jobs is particularly


important for young people as the Office for National Statistics revealed that they are one of the main demographics in the UK that is struggling with unemployment. But that’s not all, by encouraging people to start their career in an industry they may not have previously considered, apprenticeships can also help close skills gaps and futureproof the UK’s workforce.


Apprenticeships of the future Research we carried out with the CIPD revealed that employers also believe that certain skills that are fundamental to business success, such as communication and teamwork, are better acquired as an apprentice than at University. It also revealed that apprentices tend to do a better job of integrating into company culture than graduates do. To ensure that students can take advantage of the many benefits offered


by apprenticeships, schools have a key role to play in normalising them as an option. Especially by challenging the prevalent belief that apprenticeships are only a choice for those with very few qualifications. One way in which schools can showcase the potential of apprenticeships and bring the opportunities they offer to life, is to invite local businesses to come and talk to students.


When the Levy breaks In recognition of the importance of apprenticeships, the government launched the Apprenticeship Levy last year. But with the number of new apprentice starts having dropped since its implementation, the levy hasn’t had the desired impact of improving the quantity and quality of apprenticeships. To ensure that apprenticeships can live up to their full potential and play a


leading role in the future of learning, at The Adecco Group, we believe that the funds from the levy should be used to develop skills across the population - including school leavers and those already in work. This would require a change in the existing system towards a ‘Training Levy’, focused on cultivating the skills that the UK economy will need in the decades to come. This approach will help ensure that apprenticeships cannot just get more people into work but also play a key role in futureproofing the UK’s workforce.


24 www.education-today.co.uk


A classroom is the worst environment in which to learn a language. With 30 or so students in a class, verbal exercises turn a room into a cacophony of excitement and confusion. With feedback only from peers, learning is slow and hard to measure. Psycholinguistic findings suggest that learning ‘in the wild’ engages


implicit memory systems which help to deeply embed a language. The more aural and visual opportunities there are to experience a language, the better a student’s learning and understanding. Practise and language immersion are essential. One-dimensional textbooks are unable to deliver these experiences.


And so, hungry for a digital solution that can bring language learning to life, publishers are exploring the benefits of adaptive learning technology. So, how does the technology support languages? The biggest consideration for an adaptive learning solution is the


learning design and curriculum map. In language subjects, the path is formed by the layered spiral of interleaved practice. Directly linked to the European framework for language learning, this approach builds knowledge gradually, supplying a little at a time. Learning the words and grammar of a language before talking


about what you did on holiday is not required. Learning a few words and the relevant grammar, and having a basic conversation about your holiday, is appropriate. This knowledge is then built upon, year- on-year.


Supporting interleaved practice Our approach to building adaptive learning solutions begins with understanding this learning path. We use a curriculum mapping tool that empowers subject matter experts and editors to visualise the abstract path and build links between subject matter elements. The result is a comprehensive visualisation of the required


interleaved practice and a number of 'buckets' that require content. The technology then stitches and re-stitches these elements together to present the learner with the next best piece of content as they interact with the solution. This 'stitching together' is possible because of Adaptemy's


proprietary adaptive learning engine. Its subtle and accommodating approach allows for nuanced inferences about what is known and not known by the user. It's this that makes the technology highly adaptive, not only to the student and subject but to the learning path too. Adaptive learning solutions provide students with feedback


instantly. This immediately engages users with relevant feedback, allowing them to quickly adjust and take ownership of their learning. Used as a homework tool alone, it can help a student grasp the


basics of language translation and sentence structure. Content sequencing can also ensure basic phrasing is embedded before more complex phrasing is approached. As with all educational technology, it is vital to remember the


irreplicable art of classroom dynamics. Language is about communication – the back and forth of a conversation. This works best when done face-to-face with a teacher, peers or native speakers. Solutions like Adaptemy can improve skills and remove the


frustration of one-way learning, but they must be used in conjunction with a range of other classroom tools and the precision, experience and context only a teacher can bring.


April 2018


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