Training Tech Professionals to Teach: Part 6, ACM/IEEE

In Part 5 I looked at the Industry Certifications for IT instructors. However it would also be useful to see what guidance professional bodies provide. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and
IEEE Computer Society provide curriculum guidelines for
undergraduate degree programs in Computer Science (2013), Software Engineering (2014) and Computer Engineering (2016).

 

The curriculum is specified in "lecture hours", but the Computer Engineering curriculum (p. 23, 2016) points out other forms of instruction are feasible:

"This report does not seek to endorse the lecture format. Even though we have used a metric with its roots in a classical, lecture-oriented form, we believe that other styles can be at least as effective, particularly given recent improvements in educational technology. These include forms such as flipped classrooms, massive open online courses (MOOCs), blended learning, pre-recorded lectures, and seminars. For some of these styles, the notion of hours may be difficult to apply. Even so, the time specifications serve as a comparative metric, in the sense that five core hours will presumably take approximately five times as much time or effort to address as one core-hour, independent of the teaching style. "

The "Computer Science Curricula" (p. 52, 2013) discusses the use of specialist teachers, however, no mention is made of what qualifications they should have to teach:

"Permanent faculty, whose primary criteria for evaluation is based on teaching and educational contributions (broadly defined), can be instrumental in helping to build accessible courses, engage in curricular experimentation and revision, and provide outreach efforts to bring more students into the discipline."

Interestingly the "Computer Science Curricula" (p. 53, 2013) goes on to recommend the use of undergraduate teaching assistants, but again there is no mention of what teaching skills they require, or the concept of teaching as a specialization for a computer professional:

"While research universities have traditionally drawn on postgraduate students to serve as teaching assistants in the undergraduate curriculum, over the past 20 years growing numbers of departments have found it valuable to engage advanced undergraduates as teaching assistants in introductory computing courses. The reported benefits to the undergraduate teaching assistants include learning the material themselves when they are put in the role of helping teach it to someone else, better time management, improved ability dealing with organizational responsibilities, and presentation skills [4, 6]. Students in the introductory courses also benefit by having a larger course staff available, more accessible staff, and getting assistance from a “near-peer,” someone with a recent familiarity in the kind of questions and struggles the student is likely facing."

Training Tech Professionals to Teach: Part 5, Industry Certification

In Part 4 I looked at combining VET and university teaching. However, before considering any new qualifications, what industry certifications are there? There are Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) to specifically teach about Microsoft products. These trainers need to have a Microsoft Certification in a subject area, plus "one year of instructional experience", and an instructional skills certification.

The Microsoft MCT site is useful in that it provides a list of IT related instructional skills certifications:

1. CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+)
2. IAMCT Approved Technical Trainer (IAMCT ATT)
3. Microsoft Certified Trainer Instructional Skills Certification (MCT-ISC)
4. IPM (Institut für Personalberatung und Managemententwicklung)
5. New Horizons Instructional Skills Certification
6. Netcom Learning Instructional Skills Certification
7. Global Knowledge Instructional Skills Certification
8. Learning and Performance Institute Trainer Performance Monitoring and Assessment (TPMA)
9. CEGOS Group
10. PrepMasters USA
11. Marcom Deli
12. Gopas
13. Sinerji Egitim

CTT+ distinguishes between virtual and classroom based training. IAMCT ATT requires a three day face-to-face course. The Netcom Learning  CompTIA CTT+ Certification requires a 5 day (40 hour) course. This suggests that the MCT could be compared to a form of Australian VET certificate.

Training Tech Professionals to Teach: Part 4, Combining VET and University Teaching

In Part 3 I looked at the carefully thought out set of teaching qualifications for the Vocational Education and Training Sector (VET). One approach to the university sector would be to start with those who had completed a VET qualification and then add whatever else they might need. However, this might not be attractive, or useful, for someone who already has a degree in computing. Requiring a VET qualification may discourage computing professionals from studying teaching.

An alternative approach would be to have a graduate university program which also met the VET requirements. This would also be useful as the student could look at requirements for the two sectors as part of their studies.

CQ University advise that their CertificateIV in Training and Assessment requires about 270 hours of study. This is approximately one half the time for a postgraduate certificate. So it would be reasonable to incorporate the material required for a Cert IV in a Graduate Certificate.

One approach which could be used is to teach the students using the tools and techniques they are learning about as subject matter. As an example, students could prepare an e-portfolio as part of learning about e-portfolios as a teaching tool. The students would learn about Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as an educational topic and also present evidence, via the e-portfolio, for RPL.

Tick & Flick Vocational Qualification Rort

A media report includes alleges Australian private training providers awarding certificates without carrying out adequate assesment ("Concerns over 'tick and flick' qualification companies 'rorting' RPL government-funded training scheme", ABC News, 16 April 2016). RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) allows accredited trainers to issue a certificate and charge the student fees (funded by the government VET-FEE-HELP scheme), without the student having done any training. However, there is still supposed to be an assessment of the student's skills, to a level equivalent to that for students who undertake training.

The integrity of Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector is important to the community. VET involves the expenditure of billions of dollars of public money (with student fees subsidized by government). Also the safety of the public depends on having skilled workers, as the VET sector certifies workers who undertake safety related tasks. If VET assessment is not correctly carried out then the public is at risk.

The VET sector also has potential for an expansion of export of education, alongside university programs. China is planning to spend $15bn on two million redundant workers from state-owned enterprises ("China to shed 1.8m coal and steel jobs", Yuan Yang, 29 February 2016). This includes retraining for workers. Australian RTOs could retrain some of these workers, or train the trainers.

RPL is is a legitimate part of training. The student has to present evidence that they have the required experience and it meets the requirements for the skill being assessed. As an example, I obtained a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110) partly by RPL. The assessor first discussed with me what relevant experience and training I had and then suggested which VET modules would be suitable. I then had to find evidence of each. This required not only documents, but people to attest to what I had done. It was a difficult and time consuming process, not a "tick and flick" exercise. Also I was not able to obtain a whole qualification by RPL, having to also do several training modules and be tested on these.

Increased Risk of Aircraft Collision Due to Poor RPL

An Australian Air Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB)  report has found that the use of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) increased the risk of collisions between aircraft by having Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) who were not properly trained. RPL allows a student to be certified based on past experience or studies. This saves time and money by not requiring the student to undertake courses where they are already competent. However, this needs to be a carefully documented process to ensure the prior learning is equivalent and this can be shown later.  In this example, a Boeing 737 airliner was not kept the required distance from an aircraft dropping army paratroops. Fortunately in this case there was no collision and no injuries, however the ATSB report found fault with the RPL process used to certify Australian Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs). RPL was also mentioned in a previous loss of separation report concerning an Airbus A330-300, B-HLV and Boeing B737-800 in 2009. The ATSB was unable to find evidence that the controller in question had completed the required written examinations, or passed simulator testing:

Airservices’ recognition of prior learning processes did not adequately consider the variances between the ATC operating systems, traffic complexities and airspace design in the trainee’s previous overseas unit with those in Australia. In addition, the consideration of the trainee’s skill and knowledge levels relative to the Sydney operational environment could have been considered more effectively.

The trainee had not had used a computer-based ATC system before and, on return to the Sydney TCU after a 14-year absence, found the non-standard training program challenging. Their training had been interrupted due to a period of illness but there was no documented review of the training plan following the trainee’s absence due sickness, or of the occurrences in which the trainee was involved in August and November 2011. Though an OJTI is directly responsible for the safe and effective provision of ATC services when conducting training, consideration must be given to the performance of the trainee, particularly when they are involved in an incident.

Ultimately the Airservices’ checking system determined that the trainee should neither be endorsed, nor rated in the Sydney TCU. Whether the trainee might have successfully completed the training had the Airservices recognition of prior learning processes been more effective could not be established.

From page 28 of "Loss of separation involving CASA C212-CC, VH-MQD, operating in the Richmond parachuting area, and Boeing 737-7BX, VH VBP, near Richmond Aerodrome, NSW, 5 November 2011" ATSB, Investigation number: AO-2011-142, 16 December 2013

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).