Using the Experts to Augment Apprenticeship Delivery

Dr Sarah Digby and Dr Olivia Ramsbottom from the University of Derby and Spencer Ryan-Prewett from Nottingham Trent University are designing a research network of shared learning experiences to enhance apprenticeship learning. Olivia explains…

The lightbulb moment

It all started when Sarah, Spencer, and I, between us teaching on Senior Leader Master’s Degree Apprenticeships (SLMDAs) and Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeships (CMDAs) realised the absolute wealth of skills and experiences we had in the learners themselves. Here were the ‘experts’ who worked in their fields every single day and could comment on the application of the academic theories and models in their workplaces and share that insight with others.

Teaching and learning on the apprenticeships shouldn’t be siloed between the academic programme with on-campus or online teaching and learning on one side, and the application to the workplace process happening via TPR (Tripartite Review) and eportfolio building on the other. Whilst great efforts are made to link the two ‘sides’ already, we felt there was a gap that hadn’t yet been exploited to its full potential.

The theoretical support

Sarah, Spencer and I are ourselves experts in what has been called various things over the years: real world learning, work-based learning, applied learning. For this research we drew on a body of work from andragogy, professional work-based learning and peer-assisted learning to develop a pilot project with SLMDAs and CMDAs sharing their experiences in a workshop setting to test whether we could take the principles of all these areas into a higher and degree apprenticeship learning environment.

Andragogy (helping adults learn) recognises that adults thrive in problem-focussed, active and immediate learning experiences. They want the learning to be learner-driven and student-centred, participative as opposed to didactic, and they want to use their and others’ experiences as resources for learning. They want to be able to apply the knowledge acquired immediately to their own experiences, and they want practical, engaging learning.

There is clear crossover between andragogy and professional, work-based learning. The latter shows that learners want connection, contextualisation and to learn from practice. They want to experience a combination of the academic and applied. They flourish when learning from peers, colleagues and networking and when dealing with real problems. Echoing the idea of participative learning, they want to be co-facilitators in their learning experiences and are self-aware and able to self-assess.

However, to get the most out of work-based learning, professionals need to be ‘prepared for learning’. They benefit most when they are aware of what the learning experience will involve, what the intentions are, and what their role in that learning will be.

Finally, the work on peer-assisted learning, shows that it supports engagement, motivation​, develops critical thinking and deep learning​, encourages learners to take individual responsibility​ and can lead to student satisfaction. There are drawbacks though, as a learner relies on a fellow learner for the development of knowledge, skills and behaviour, there is a risk of missing out elements that the academic lead might cover, and there may be contradiction between learner and academic input. Some complain of a lack of structure in peer-assisted learning.

All of this input led us to want to design a teaching and learning experience using the following equation:

The application of this combination of ideas, and with apprenticeship learners, is rare, so we were confident that we were doing something original.

What we did

We mapped the SLMDA standard with the CMDA standard and identified 16 areas where there was overlap. We then explored suitable and innovative pedagogic/andragogic approaches to create opportunities for knowledge and skills to be shared, leading to individual learning.

We then decided to run a pilot test of one of those approaches. Our first test was a workshop in July 2022​ to cover the mapped areas of research, innovation, data and knowledge management, high performance networks and relationships, and team building. We decided to be prepared ourselves, and prepare our learners, so we structured the learning around a particular module in the CMDA curriculum (Project)​ and we sent briefing notes to our participants.

At the workshop, a group of CMDA learners met a small number of SLMDA learners and they discussed the application of the academic theory and models they were learning in their academic models to their workplace experience. At the end of the experience, we asked them to fill out a mixed methods evaluation questionnaire.

What we found out

From the quantitative questions and answers we were confident that the learning experience met the requirements of our ‘equation’. You can see from the charts below that the learning experience was participative, learner owned and controlled, applied, and led to innovative ideas. Learners were ‘recognised’ (not ignored).

The SLMDA responses do show that more work could be done with them to ensure full participation in the learning experience, with them learning from others as much as they felt they were passing on their experience.

From the qualitative questions and answers, we were further able to ascertain what would have made this experience more useful, and suggestions included incorporating ‘some visuals of models discussed​’, ‘more detail on SLMDA projects and their time management​’, a ‘longer session’ and for larger groups in future, breakouts (not needed on this occasion)​. There was an appetite for more, with learners asking for a ‘discussion forum for each module’.

For us to judge whether we had got the results we wanted from this learning approach; we asked how the learners felt after this experience. The CMDAs felt ‘motivated in relation to my project’, ‘positive, enthusiastic, full of ideas​’, ‘more confident’, ‘like I have learned new things but also developed previous knowledge​’, ‘more equipped to look at issues/problems holistically using their experience to reflect on my job role​’, and ‘that I have gained further ideas and understanding; different ways to evidence, apply critique and models​’.

The SLMDAs reported feeling ‘validated and more confident that learning is ingrained​’ and ‘confident to assist in similar studies’.

Limitations

 We started small on purpose and had only 10 learners at this event but testing the approach with a larger number of participants is intended. Also, we work with public and private sector learners, and we are confident that the approach is valid for both sectors, but in this case only public sector learners were present.

What next

Time is always a challenge, but we intend to build a research network of interested parties. We want to hold more shared learning experiences and gain feedback from them, trying out different approaches and improving experiences as we learn. Of course, this doesn’t need to be restricted to apprenticeship learning, as many lecturers will work with professional learners across a whole spectrum of teaching and learning experiences.

We feel we’ve developed a teaching and learning approach that will really benefit professional learners and feel strongly that all should benefit from this approach. It is under-studied and consequently we feel that there is ‘mileage’ in developing the approach and drawing attention to its successes.

Join us!

If you’d like to join our network, please get in touch at spencer.ryan-prewett@ntu.ac.uk.