Online Teacher Training: US MOOC Versus Australian Vocational Training

University of California, Irvine are offering a Specialization Certificate  "Virtual Teacher Program" on-line through Coursera. The student undertakes four courses and a final capstone project. The courses are each 2 to 4 hours a week over five weeks and cost A$63 each. The capstone is also $63, making for a total cost of A$315 for the Specialization Certificate.

The courses are:

1. Foundations of Virtual Instruction
2. Emerging Trends & Technologies in the Virtual…
3. Advanced Instructional Strategies in the Virtual…
4. Performance Assessment in the Virtual Classroom
5. Virtual Teacher Final Project

The certificate will require 50 to 100 study by the student. This is roughly comparable to the content and study required for the Australian VET Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (and about the length on one course at an Australian university).

Australian registered training organizations (RTOs) offer an on-line Cert IV T&A from $300 to $500 (or about $1,800 for the classroom course at a TAFE), making the US course cheaper. The US certificate also has the advantage of being issued by an institution called a "university".

The Australian government is currently negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with the USA and other counties in the region. The details of the draft TPP are secret, but the intention is to reduce barriers to trade. One effect of the TPP may be that Australia will be required to accept qualifications such as US university Specialization Certificates as being equivalent to Australian VET qualifications. The result of this will be that government TAFEs and commercial RTOs in Australia will be competing directly with US universities for students.

This may require Australia to broaden its definition of a "university" to include what are now vocational institutions, or for the current universities to offer VET qualifications, so they can compete with US institutions.

Australian teaching universities will likely strengthen their links to the VET sector, so that students can start with a VET qualification and then articulate to university. But the high status "research" universities will be wary of damaging their reputations by being seen to be offering VET qualifications. They will likely continue to offer education programs at associated "institutes" but not highlight these are actually VET qualifications. Also research universities would have difficulty obtaining VET certification as their academics would not have the necessary teaching qualifications.

As an example of the open approach, Federation University Australia offers their own branded Technical and Further Education (TAFE) programs, which articulate to their university degrees.

In contrast, the University of Western Australia offers an "Advanced Management Program", in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Management Western Australia (AIM WA). The marketing material for this says participants can earn an AIM WA "Advanced Diploma" and status for UWA certificate and degrees. But the marketing is careful to avoid using the terms "VET" or "TAFE", as that would detract from UWA's image as a leading university. 

 

Skills for University Tutors

As part of the Vocational Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, I was required to learn how to prepare Work-based Learning Pathways. At the time I was looking at what training university tutors received, so I prepared a work-based learning pathway for an ANU computer science tutor. This was an interesting exercise in seeing what training was available from the university and if  vocational e-leaning modules could be used to supplement this. Also it was interesting to see if the vocational approach made sense in a university environment. Overall it worked reasonably well.

It would be interesting to see if the training which early career academics (ECAs) receive could be structured in such a way that they receive both a university and vocational qualification. That is the student would receive a Cert IV in Training and Assessment, plus do extra study for a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, so they were qualified to teach in universities and TAFEs.

WORK-BASED LEARNING PATHWAY

Graduate Students Tutoring Undergraduates in Computer Science

Workplace: ANU

Name of employee/s: Graduate Students Tutoring Undergraduates in Computer Science

Learning goals:

• Run tutorial groups and workshops. Administer the course website.
• Maintain student records for the course.
• Assist with teaching in tutorials and workshops. Undertake assessment of assignments

Benchmark/units of competency

• BSBCMM401A - Make a presentation
• TAEDEL401A - Plan, organise and deliver group-based learning
• BSBEBU401A - Review and maintain a website
• TAETAS401A - Maintain training and assessment information
• TAEASS402A Assess competence
• ANU Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning, 1 Jan 2012

Instructions to facilitator: This learning pathway documents the recommended learning pathway for graduate students tutoring undergraduates.

Please note:

1. This will need tailoring for individual tutors. It is expected the graduate students have necessary technical knowledge of computer science topics and be familiar with HTML, but have limited presentation skills and little or no teaching experience.
2. Tutors will need to make a presentation and assist with a tutorial before doing so on their own.

Tutors will need “tutor” access to the Learning Management System.

Development Plan

 

Skills and knowledge to be developed	Learning activity and recommended strategy	Facilitator	Cost	Sequence/ Timeframe	Agreed Completion Dates
Run tutorial groups and workshops.	Attend introductory university on-line course on small group learning. Prepare and present to the group of tutors.	CECS Educational Development Group	3 hours	Day 1	Day 1
Administer the course website.	Read “Introduction to Wattle" (Web Access To Teaching & Learning Environments) Attend “Wattle Course Setup”  Attend ANU “Alliance” workshop.	ANU Library and Central Wattle Training	3.5 Hours	Day 2	Day 2
Maintain student records for the course.	Attend “Student Admin System Training Session"	ANU Division of Registrar & Student Services	3 Hours	Day 3	Day 3
Undertake assessment of assignments	Read “Assessment and examinations” section of ANU website Listen to “Tutors Again” podcast and undertake the exercises Undertake “Assess competence” from the Australian Flexible Learning Toolbox Coaching by experienced tutor.	ANU Academic Skills & Learning Centre	3 Hours	3 Hours	Day 4

Implications for the workplace: Face-to-face workshops may take months to schedule and so would be better if this was organized the semester before the tutor is to start work.

Assessment methods: Student to keep a journal using ANU Mahara e-portfolio system to document learning. Experienced tutor to provide feedback on this.

Support needs: Student will need to be paid 12.5 hours for the training. Experienced tutor will need to be paid to undertake the coaching (3 hours).

Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

Today I received my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110) from Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) in the mail. This does not have quite the gravitas of being handed a certificate by the ANU Chancellor a few weeks ago, but is a lot more useful.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Of the ten courses I was required to undertake for the Certificate IV, I was able to obtain eight by Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). This was made a little easier by having just completed the equivalent university qualification, a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education.

Having prepared open on-line course material also made it much easier to provide the evidence needed for RPL. This still was not an easy process, requiring me to find people to attest to my teaching experience along with evidence.

On-line Courses

Two courses I could not obtain RPL for and I had to complete on-line assessment (Workplace Coaching  and Learning in the Workplace). CIT use the same Moodle Learning Management System I am used to at ACS, ANU and USQ, which simplified the process.

CIT has very standardized, carefully designed and consistent on-line documentation, as is common in the vocational sector. However, this was not without problems. The very modular nature of vocational courses meant there was a lot of repetition and the emphasis on standardization meant for some very long winded materials.

One glitch with on-line access is that CIT does not permit students to change their password remotely.  I was required to travel to a CIT campus to change the password. As a result I suspect that many student never change their password from the default. This is a serious security law in the CIT system.

Lack of e-Portfolio System

One surprise was that CIT does not use an e-Portfolio system for the student to collect their RPL evidence in.

ACS and USQ both use the Mahara e-portfolio software. This allows the student to collect materials and then submit them for assessment on-line.

CIT uses Moodle's submission system for on-line assessment tests, but not for RPL evidence, which is tracked using a paper form, with photocopies attached. This made the process cumbersome and error prone (added to the fact that I could not read the hand-written notations from the RPL assessor).

Vocational Standardized and Work  Relevant

The CIT certificate arrived about two weeks after I completed the program, whereas the ANU certificate took four months to arrive. The Cert IV T&A is recognized nationally and required for teaching in government TAFEs and private Registered Training Organizations (RTOs). Many universities run graduate certificates in higher education, but these are not mandatory for  university teaching staff and no standard syllabus. Presumably an ANU certificate will be well regarded nationally, but there is no guarantee it covers what is needed at another university.

Need for Mutual Recognition of Vocational and University Teaching Qualifications

While the RPL process allowed me to gain the qualification for teaching in the vocation sector largely from my university qualifications, this should not be necessary. Apart from the terminology used, there is no real difference in teaching between the vocational and university sectors. This is particularly the case with universities catching up with TAFEs in the use of on-line technology and practical work-orientated assesment.

There is no reason why vocational and university teachers could not undertake the same training. Currently postgraduate university students may receive some ad-hoc training to help them tutor, but in general will graduate and go into university teaching with no formal teaching qualifications.  It would make sense for higher degree students to obtain at least a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

Previously when I suggested university postgraduates should have vocational qualifications my university colleagues were shocked and suggested I did not know what I was talking about. But I am now more qualified than most of them to express an opinion. ;-)

Australian Skills Recognition of University Lecturers

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship lists "University Lecturer" as an occupation (Number 242111) in the Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI) for the purposes of skilled migration. A Lecturer is described as someone who "Lectures students and conducts tutorials in one or more subjects within a prescribed course of study at a university and conducts research in a particular field of knowledge." It will be interesting to see if this description is revised, as teaching practices change. As an example, I mostly teach on-line now and ANU is phasing out tutorials and lectures for some courses.

The Lecturer occupation is allocated a skill level commensurate with a bachelor degree and/or five years of experience, the same as for a University Tutor (ANZSCO Skill Level 1). As with tutors, no particular degree program is specified and skills of applicants are assessed by Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS). It is not clear if university lecturers are required to have a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110), which is the only Education assessment VETASSESS offers. Australian universities generally request (or in some cases require) a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, which is a higher level qualification (Level 8) than a Certificate IV (Level 4) in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). While both qualifications are described in the same framework they are not currently compatible and vocational institutions do not accept a Graduate Certificate in place of TAE40110. As an example, I have obtained an ANU GCHE for university teaching and a CIT CertIVTA for vocational teaching.

Skilled migration programs include the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS), Points Based Skilled Migration visa and Temporary Business (Long Stay) (Subclass 457).

For statistical purposes, university tutors are grouped together with lecturers (Unit Group 2421 University Lecturers and Tutors). Tasks of a lecturer or tutor are described as:

• preparing and delivering lectures, and conducting tutorials, seminars and laboratory sessions
• preparing and marking essays, assignments and examinations
• advising students on academic and related matters
• attending departmental and faculty meetings, conferences and seminars
• supervising work programs of postgraduate and honours students and tutorial staff
• participating in setting course and degree requirements, curriculum revision and academic planning
• serving on council, senate, faculty and other committees and professorial boards
• conducting research and undertaking consultancies in a particular field of knowledge
• stimulating and guiding class discussions
• compiling bibliographies of specialised materials for reading assignments

University Lecturers/Tutors and Vocational Education Teachers are part of the one statistical occupation group "Tertiary Education Teachers" (Category242). At this level the tasks are a little more general:

• preparing and delivering lectures to tertiary students in one or more subjects within a prescribed course of study

• conducting tutorials, seminars, and laboratory sessions

• preparing and marking essays, assignments and examinations

• participating in course development and in meetings on departmental, budgetary, curriculum and policy matters

• attending conferences and seminars, and conducting research into a particular field of knowledge

• providing feedback to students on progress and advising students on courses and related matters

• consulting with Education Managers, Librarians, Student Counsellors and other support staff

Australian Skills Recognition of University Tutors

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship lists "University Tutor" as an occupation (Number 242112) in the Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI) for the purposes of skilled migration. A tutor is described as someone who "Conducts tutorials in one or more subjects within a prescribed course of study at a university."

The tutor occupation is allocated a skill level commensurate with a bachelor degree and/or five years of experience (ANZSCO Skill Level 1). No particular degree program is specified and no specific teaching qualification. Skills of applicants are assessed by  Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS). As a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) of assessment-only services, VETASSESS evaluates applicant's experience and knowledge. Interestingly, in the case of university tutors, this is the application of a vocational assessment process to university skills.

The only Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) offered by VETASSESS for  Education is the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110). While widely recognized in the vocational sector within RTOs and TAFEs, this qualification is not normally required for tutors at Australian universities. Although there is no reason why TAE40110 would not be suitable for tutors, universities tend to run their own non-assesed short courses for tutors, with no formal qualification.

Skilled migration programs include the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS), Points Based Skilled Migration visa and Temporary Business (Long Stay) (Subclass 457).

For statistical purposes, university tutors are grouped together with lecturers (Unit Group 2421 University Lecturers and Tutors).