Submitted to IFIP World Computer Congress Montreal 2002 Stream 3: TelE Learning Track: Lifelong learning Topic: Scenario for redesign & Learning in a real-life setting Type of content: exemplary project or activity Biography of authors: Marijke Hezemans, having gained a teaching diploma in Mathematics and Chemistry as well as a degree in Education, now works as an educational developer. As a project leader she contributes to educational innovation in Dutch Higher Education. She supervises both the content of innovation processes: the development of competence-based curriculum elements as well as their organisation: the implementation of competence-based programmes. At the moment she is attached to the Expert Centre for Educational Innovation and Training of the Hogeschool van Utrecht, University for Professional Development and Applied Science. Magda Ritzen is an educational psychologist and has been working for a number of years on educational innovation and the role played in this by ICT. At the moment she is attached to the Expert Centre for Educational Innovation and Training of the Hogeschool van Utrecht, University for Professional Development and Applied Science. Here she works as educational advisor and project leader on redesigning the curriculum. She is involved in projects in the areas of learning in a real-life setting and portfolio as well as virtual projects and businesses.
Learning environments and responsibility Marijke Hezemans m.hezemans@cetis.hvu.nl Magda Ritzen m.ritzen@cetis.hvu.nl Cetis: Expert Centre for Educational Innovation and Training Hogeschool van Utrecht, University for Professional Development and Applied Science PO Box 85029, 3508 AA Utrecht, The Netherlands Abstract: Keywords: Universities of Higher Professional Education (HBO) are working together intensively with institutions in the field to develop and provide educational programmes which prepare students as well as possible for the reality and dynamics of professional practice. This article describes the way in which various interested parties (students, tutors and the professional field) can participate in the creation of learning environments which facilitate and promote the development of professional expertise and the competence of all involved. This participation, expressed in terms of responsibility, is presented in a model of 'Learning environments and responsibility'. In this model three types of learning environments are distinguished: task-based, problem-based and situation-based. The model can be used to give form to the curriculum and learning environments; to select professional tasks, to situate learning environments in relation to each other and to develop ideas for assignments and learning environments. The article will also present an example of a situation-based learning environment. The IFIP presentation focuses on the model and different examples. Learning environment, Higher education, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Redesign, Real-life learning, Assessment, Competencies. 1. Educational Innovation in Higher Professional Education Primary and secondary education in the Netherlands has been in a state of change for many years and recently there has been a call for re-orientation in higher education as well. A particular need has been expressed for innovation in higher education, and experiments have taken place with new educational concepts and methodologies in many institutions. From subjects to learning environments The impetus for innovation has been the growing demand from the labour market and in society for graduates who can deal effectively with varied and new situations; who possess, as well as a thorough knowledge of their subject, the ability to work together, solve problems and so on (Schlusmans e.a.1999). The labour market needs people who are already aware of what is happening in the professional field and who are thus able to work effectively right from the start: starting professionals as opposed to subject specialists. This means that programmes can no longer be built up of separate (theoretical) subjects or disciplines, in which the main focus and final assessment rests on the testing of subject knowledge (theories and concepts). A programme like this provides no room for applying subject-knowledge (theories and concepts) in situations specific to the profession or to concrete products relevant to the profession. Graduates are specialists in their subject but when they start on their professional career they still have to learn the profession itself before they can be productive for a company or organisation. There is a growing demand for programmes consisting of learning environments created around situations specific to the profession and its associated competencies (underlying ability/capacity ), making it possible to assess both professional expertise (knowledge, attitude and skills in relation to a certain profession) as well as competence. The focus in the final assessment then lies on the student's professional ability. Graduates are starting professionals, who know the profession and can be involved directly. From transfer of knowledge to competence-based learning In a programme where the main focus lies on students' development of professional expertise and competence, the transfer of knowledge (theories and concepts) is not sufficient. Students must be capable of applying knowledge in professional situations, so that their progress in competence can be seen and assessed through concrete professional products and results. This is characteristic of an educational concept which is often termed competence-based education (see also Kosters and Ritzen 2001, and Hezemans 2000). Characteristics of this educational concept are:
In the programme students work at realistic tasks: study tasks and assignments have a demonstrable (tangible) relationship with the professional field and related competencies. The focus lies on developing students' competence. This means that education is demand-driven, the programme 'facilitates'. Students take responsibility for their learning process. During the course of their studies students' responsibility increases; they become the managers of their own learning process. Student assessment is based on competencies (as opposed to the testing of professional knowledge and skills): students prove that they can function at a certain level. Students are approached during their training as aspiring professional practitioners. In this way professional practice gains a systematic place in the programme and plays a role in assessment of results and developing students competence. Learning organisations. Departments and professionals in the field are continually developing as a result of the ever-changing and increasingly complex business of the profession: professionals are expected to have an innovative attitude. The planning and organisation of competence-based education aims to enable a continuous process of development which includes both students and staff (tutors) as well as the department as a whole and, as an extension of this, the professional in the field. Students develop expertise in relation to the profession, staff develop expertise in relation to professional aspects of the programme and their own practice as tutors, the field gains new ideas, concepts and methods of work through the programme and the students. All those involved develop competencies which enable them to make the best use of their expertise. This means that it is not only students who learn (to learn), but also the staff in educational departments and the field. In this article we present a model 1 which can be used for developing and implementing learning environments which give students the opportunity to develop into starting professionals: students work at their development in the area of professional expertise and competencies in learning environments which vary in complexity. The model also makes clear that the co-operation between the professional field, tutors and students in a learning environment results in competence development not only in students, but also in the programme (tutors) and the field (professionals). 2. Participants in learning environments Three parties are involved in the development and realisation of learning environments: the student, the tutor and the field. Each of these parties has different qualities, and based on these differences makes its own specific contribution to the learning environment, which in turn influences the learning and the achievements of each participant in the learning environment. a. The student A student choosing to follow a full-time higher professional education (HBO) programme in the Netherlands has completed a secondary school education, is above the age of compulsory education and is at least 17. Students who choose to follow an HBO programme make this decision based on a general impression they have of a profession or their preference for the subject which they associate with the profession. Most full-time students have a job on the side as well. Some students choose a job which is related to their course, for example a student of Logistics & Economics may choose to work for a courier business. It is also possible to follow higher professional education on a part-time basis or on a dual basis, i.e. in combination with work in the field. Part-time students are usually older than full-time students and have a full-time job as well as studying. Students choosing to follow a dual programme have the same characteristics in general as the full-time students but usually have a clearer picture of the profession for which they are being educated. Students on a dual programme work part-time in the field as part of their course. All students are expected to be responsible for their own learning process, 1 The model presented in this article is one of the results of a two-year project aimed at designing and developing co-operative ICT-supported learning. This project ( Ontwikkelen van taakgericht teamleren ondersteund met ICT ) was carried out by the Hogeschool van Utrecht and Universiteit van Utrecht with financial support from SURF Educatie<f>.
to determine for themselves what they want to achieve in the programme and what they will need to achieve this. b. The tutor Tutors are responsible for guiding and facilitating the student s learning process: they support students in developing their professional expertise and competence. Professional universities educate students to carry out starting functions at management and strategic levels. As staff members, tutors contribute to the development and implementation of a higher professional programme, so that the aims described above can be realised. In the development and implementation of an educational programme (creating learning environments) the tutor proceeds as far as possible from the way in which a professional is approached in the field: things are not thought out for the student in a school-like fashion; instead the student is approached as an aspiring practitioner in the field. Tutors are expected to develop their expertise not only in relation to the development and implementation of the programme but also in relation to the professional field at which the programme is directed. c. The professional field The professional field formulates a professional profile, which consists of a description of tasks, job functions, competencies and future prospects relating to the profession. On the basis of this professional profile an educational profile is developed together with professional universities, in which educational qualifications are established in terms of competencies and professional expertise. The competencies and professional expertise are identified by people in related fields or functions (professionals) and by those involved in the programme (tutors, educationalists) (see also Boon ea. 2001). Professional practice thus plays an important role in defining the content of a programme (or learning environment) by formulating and/or validating the professional and educational profile. Professionals in the field are expected to keep developing their professional expertise and competence and thus contribute actively to the creation of learning environments, in order to guarantee that these continue to reflect the current state of the profession. In the model of Learning environments and responsibility we have expressed the participation of the three parties involved in terms of responsibility. The student, the tutor and the professional field are each responsible for their own specific contribution to a learning environment. 3. Three types of learning environment Programmes which contain learning environments created around situations specific to the profession and its related competencies and which thus have a (more or less) direct link to professional practice offer students the opportunity to develop the necessary professional expertise and competencies. This enables students (and later graduates) to function adequately in a fast-changing and complex society. This means that the programme offers students the opportunity to work at assignments in learning environments which vary in complexity and in the degree to which they allow for individual responsibility in relation to the quality of the work process and the product realised within the respective learning environments. To enable students to develop professionally we distinguish three types of learning environments, which are related to the working methods and results to be found in the related profession: 1. task-based; 2. problem-based; 3. situation-based. These learning environments differ from each other in complexity and in what is learnt, i.e. the result (of learning). These differences are laid down in the definition of the following four characteristics of learning environments: the starting point: is it a task, a problem or a situation?;
the aim: what is done and why?; the approach: is it at an operational, tactical or strategic level?; justification of results: What must the result achieve and who decides the criteria for this? These differences are shown as follows in the model of Learning environments and responsibility' Model: Definition of the three types of learning environments starting point: a task ; Task-based Problem-based Situation-based a problem; a situation specific to the profession; aim: realisation of organisational policy through carrying out related tasks; managing on the basis of organisational policy through solving a problem and thus improving procedures; improving the totality of the current circumstances in a specific area through developing organisational policy; approach: operational: the result to be obtained is realised in relation to the context and is suitable and can be used to achieve its purpose; tactical: the solution is reached on the basis of the current situation; strategic: the innovation is based on or shows evidence of wellthought out policy; justification of results: working model (method) meets established meta-criteria and result based on the model also meets criteria. problem, working model (method) and result (solution/improved procedures) meet established metacriteria. innovation definition, working model (method) and result (policy plan) meet established metacriteria. The definition of the learning environments according to their starting-point, aim, approach and the justification of results determines the formulation of the assignments within the respective learning environments. Example In a problem-based learning environment an assignment formulated for students describes a problem or obstacle in an organisation and asks for a solution. For example: A manager finds himself almost or completely unable to realise the company aims within his department and finds it difficult to manage his department. The manager indicates that he is not kept (fully) informed about relevant results which the department or organisation achieves in a period. This means he is unable to find out what is going wrong and what the cause can be. Solve this problem for the manager. (This assignment is accompanied by meta-criteria in relation to the problem, the working model and the result.) The different types of learning environments can be used to build progress into the curriculum. Firstyear students will more often be involved in task-based rather than situation-based learning environments. However first years can still be involved in a situation-based learning environment, for example while working together on an assignment with students in higher years who will be working on different competencies: students thus work together on an assignment with different professional roles, for example as expert, advisor or junior. The selection of a role depends on the competencies and professional expertise which the students aim to develop in a particular learning environment. 4. The model of 'Learning environments and responsibility' The learning environments and responsibility model is based on the three (groups of) participants and three types of learning environments described above. The development and actual implementation of assignments within a learning environment involves three groups of participants, each with their own activities, as individuals (student, tutor and professional) and also as members of a team (student team, tutor team, professional team). This means that they can achieve results together which are aimed at their own development as professionals and the development of others within the learning environment. In other words the focus lies not only on students' competence and professional expertise, that of tutors and professionals is equally relevant!
Model of 'Learning Environments and Responsibility' (abbreviated version) Learning Task-based Problem-based Situation-based environment: Aimed at own development Responsibility Development of Professional expertise: Student Make Plan of Approach (PoA) Analyse problem Make Plan of Approach (PoA) Analyse development Define innovation Carry out tasks in PoA Make Plan of Approach (PoA) Responsibility Tutor Responsibility Profession Aimed at others' development Responsibility Student Responsibility Tutor Responsibility Profession Development of Competence: Make Personal Development Plan (PDP) Solve problem Make PDP Development of Professional Expertise: Formulate task Identify and define problems Validate in profession Validate in profession Develop learning environment Develop learning environment Develop policy Formulate advice on implementation Make PDP Identify and define development Validate in profession Develop learning environment Development of Competence Make Personal Development Make PDP Make PDP Plan (PDP) Development of Professional Expertise: Sharing knowledge Managing knowledge Benchmarking Development of Competence Make Personal Development Plan (PDP) Make PDP 360 o feedback Make PDP 360 o feedback Development of Professional Expertise:: Sharing knowledge Managing knowledge Managing knowledge Development of Competence - Development of Professional Expertise: Provides resources Assesses method of work and (professional) product(s) Development of Competence: Development of Professional Expertise: Sharing knowledge Development of Competence: Provides resources Assesses method of work and (professional) product(s) Managing knowledge Validation of professional and educational profile Provides resources Assesses method of work and (professional) product(s) Benchmarking of placements
Learning environment: Task-based Problem-based Situation-based Making competencies explicit Making competence profile explicit Making competence profile explicit It can be seen in this model that the tutor is responsible for developing the learning environment. By this we mean that in every type of learning environment the tutor formulates the assignment for the students. To create the optimal learning environment the three participants share responsibility together. This model aims to build on current thinking in relation to competence-based learning (see for example van Weert 2001). In working at realistic assignments within the respective learning environments the following two dimensions can be distinguished: 1. content: in the programme students work at assignments which have a demonstrable relation with the profession or functions for which their education prepares them. This means the adoption of a functional approach to education and educational development; and 2. methodology: placing assignments at the heart of learning and studying lays the main emphasis on the students' activity, productivity and creativity, leaving plenty of room for an independent attitude to work and study. Most of the time this is directly linked to working together with other students. This didactic approach has evolved from constructivist and social-constructivist insights into effective and efficient learning. This approach assumes among other things that students will be more motivated when they can work at meaningful assignments, which are linked to the profession: participatory learning is more effective than passive learning (de Boer 2001). The second dimension is seen as crucial when working on assignments: not only the content or the result to be realised (the product) is authentic, but also the way in which the assignment is approached. When this approach bears no similarities to the way in which professionals approach this sort of assignment in the field there will be a significant reduction in motivation and learning for all involved. Programmes which offer competence-based education intend junior professionals to have a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and to be able to deliver a professional product whose quality they can justify. 5. An example: the development and realisation of a situation-based learning environment At the Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM) of the Hogeschool van Utrecht (HvU) we have experience in using this model for designing the programme and making decisions about the degree to which individual students take responsibility for aspects of the learning process. The example presented here aims to clarify the following: How professional practice is the starting-point for designing the programme (both in regard to methodology and result) 2 ; That students take increasing responsibility for formulating the criteria which the method and result must meet and justifying the choices they make in regard to method and result; The way in which each of the participants works at developing expertise and competence both for themselves and colleagues. 2 By taking the professional field as an important starting-point, based on a specific educational concept and vision on learning, the way in which ICT can play a role becomes increasingly clear: during the working and learning process use is made of standard tools (e.g. Word), communication tools (e.g. the digital project environment) and professional ICT tools (e.g. CadCam, legal database).
Project setting A project of educational innovation commissioned by the directors was carried out at the Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM). This innovation involved producing competence-based programme components (modules), which would be suitable for part-time students on all part-time programmes 3 offered at the FEM. The project produced three modules each intended to provide 280 hours of study. We present here one of the three modules: the e-commerce module. Participants in the e-commerce module students: third-year part-time students (± 100); tutors: tutor-developers (5) and tutor-implementers (7); profession: Service Line Manager Business Consulting, Oracle Nederland BV and project commissioners. Defining the learning environment Principles were formulated based on a view of part-time education, which reflects the profile of parttime students, the description of the educational concept of competence-based learning in part-time programmes, and the advantage to be gained from using ICT by part-time students. The most important principles were: 1. Professional practice provides the model for designing the learning environment: a practical situation forms the basis for learning assignments or study tasks; and 2. Use of ICT makes e-learning possible: the application of ICT promotes interaction among students and between students, tutors and the field. On the basis of the formulated principles it was decided in discussions between tutor-developers and professionals in the field to develop a situation-based learning environment. The learning environment was defined as follows by the tutor-developers (in the model: Identifying and defining development, validating in the profession, developing learning environment ): Situation-based learning environment: e-commerce Starting point: E-commerce is defined by the Ministry of Economic Affairs as the sum of business dealings (by businesses, consumers and government) which is carried out electronically to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of market and business processes. It includes both internal business processes as well as those which support interaction with a third party. This means not only pure transactions (buying and selling), but also the business processes which precede this (for example providing information, communication and market research) and the follow-up (such as payment, distribution and after-sales service). On the basis of a business plan, in which attention is paid to the aspects mentioned above, a business or organisation can decide whether the use of e-commerce is efficient, effective and feasible. Project assignment: Write a business plan for an e-business or e-commerce activity to be used either within the business/department or externally. Find a party who will commission this project and discuss a plan of approach for implementing the project assignment. Participants (parties involved): Project team: The project team consists of four or five third-year part-time students. The students come from different programmes; Project supervisor: There are seven project supervisors involved in this module. Each project supervisor leads a number of project teams; Commissioning party: as a project team you decide which business, (where one of you is employed) is most suitable and prepared to commission the project. Aim: improving the efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation or company's market and business processes; Approach: strategic: the innovation depends on or is evidence of well-thought out policy; Justification of results: 3 The departments concerned were: Business Economics, Business Informatics, Commercial Economics, Management Economics & Law, and Logistics & Economics.
Innovation definition (selection and definition of e-commerce strategy), working model (method) and result (business plan) meet established meta-criteria. Development of professional expertise Together with the Service Line Manager Business Consulting of Oracle Nederland BV meta-criteria were developed for the justification of the result. For example, the meta-criteria in regard to the choice of e-commerce strategy were formulated as follows: Various ideas are supported in regard to suitability, feasibility (internal and external (competition and client needs)) and acceptability (within own organisation and for other (external) stakeholders) expressed by means of the following points: 1. Number of critical success factors and their quality and measurability; 2. Costs versus gains (relative to the existing situation); 3. Organisational feasibility; 4. Technical feasibility. The final choice is justified on the basis of the vision and analysis given. Development of Competence The develop of students' competence in this learning environment is linked to the work experience which forms part of every part-time programme. As part of the process of work experience students are asked to make a Personal Development Plan (PDP). In this learning environment the following relevant competencies were identified by professionals in the field: Business creativity; Co-operation; Sensitivity to the market and the context; Problem analysis and forming a judgement; Oral and written communication. While working on the project assignment, are carried out within the learning environment by the project supervisor (tutor), the commissioning party (field) and/or team-mates (students) in regard to the competencies mentioned above. Use of ICT A digital learning environment was created with all the material developed. This digital environment is accessible to students (employees), tutors (project supervisors) and the professional field (employers) and can be reached from a distance (via Internet). In this environment three parties, each with their own role and responsibilities, work together to make a business plan. Final assessment of students Finally students' development of professional expertise is tested on the basis of the business plan and the criteria which have been established for it. Students' development of competence is assessed on the basis of the evidence provided by the business plan. These do not necessarily have to take place at the same time. 6. Conclusion The Model of 'Learning Environments and Responsibility' aims to give an overview of the most important principles and choices for creating learning environments: the model makes clear in which way students, tutors and professionals are involved in the design of the learning environment and in which aspects of the learning/working process the student gradually receives and takes more responsibility from both the tutor as well as the professional field (responsibility as a junior professional). The model is intended as an aid to: introducing progress into the curriculum, lines to be followed; designing learning environments; selection of professional tasks; situating learning environments in relation to each other, starting from specific professional situations; thinking through the consequences of choices which are made;
developing ideas for assignments and designing learning environments. A complete model 4 of 'Learning Environments and Responsibility' can be found at: www.cetis.hvu.nl/learningenvironment The Model of 'Learning Environments and Responsibility' is used in different faculties of the Hogeschool van Utrecht to develop programmes which are competence-based and which are of benefit to all those involved. The model shows the nature of the learning environments and indicates in what ways and in which aspects the students' responsibility for developing as a young professional can be realised. The example makes clear that the model is workable and not intended to be a straightjacket: the model helps to provide direction and make choices. We hope that it may also prove to be useful in other institutions for giving form to the programme and creating links with the professional field. References Aa, van der P., M.Hezemans en G. Kinkhorst, Competentieleren in het hoger Economisch Onderwijs, In: Thema, Tijdschrift voor Hoger Onderwijs, 2000, nr.3. Bie, de D. en J. de Kleijn (2001). Wat gaan we doen? Het construeren en beoordelen van opdrachten. Houten: Bohn, Stafleu en van Loghum. Boer, K. de, (2001). PGO bij Small Business Enschede: vertrouwen in verantwoordelijkheid studenten. In: Tijdschrift voor Hoger Onderwijs, 30, (2), 21-24. Hezemans, M. (2000). Onderwijsvisie afdeling bedrijfseconomie en Accountancy. Interne publicatie Faculteit Economie en Management - BE/AC, Hogeschool van Utrecht. Kösters, J. en M. Ritzen. (2001). Combining Different Aims in a Portfolio System: a Web-based Portfolio and the Various Ways in which it can serve the Student. Paper presented at EDMEDIA conference, Finland http://www.efa.nl/publicaties/portfolio.html Ritzen, M. (2001) Ontwikkelhandboek Taakgericht Teamleren met ICT-ondersteuning. Cetis/Hogeschool van Utrecht, Utrecht. Schlusmans, K. e.a. (red.) (1999) Competentiegerichte leeromgevingen. Utrecht: LEMMA Weert, T. J. van (Ed.), Information and Communication Technologies in Secondary Education: A curriculum for schools, International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), Laxenburg, 2000. http://www.ifip.or.at Weert, van T. (2001) Ontwerphandboek Taakgericht Teamleren met ICT-ondersteuning. Cetis/Hogeschool van Utrecht,Utrecht. 4 The Model of 'Learning Environments and Responsibility' is based on experience with part-time students, i.e. students who are already working in the professional field for which they are being educated. We think that the model could also be useful for designing programmes for students in 'dual' courses and that it may even prove beneficial for designing programmes for full-time students. This assumption will be tested in the coming year.