Responding to change: innovations and adaptations to VET programs in a post-pandemic world
Authors:
Mary Hughes and Julie Wright
Holmesglen Institute
Theme: Teaching & Learning
Presentation:
This paper is based on ongoing research that builds on an earlier study exploring the innovations and adaptations made to face-to-face delivery in programs from Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher Education (HE) in a TAFE institute in Victoria, Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants were drawn from two faculties within the Institute and included learners, teachers and lecturers. We used in-depth contextual interviews, collection of documents and artefacts, and an audit of the online learning platform as data collection methods in this single case study. Findings from the study showed that teaching staff from VET and HE were challenged by the online learning experience, firstly in the changes to pedagogical approaches and secondly, in the uptake of new technology. As emergency remote teaching continued, teachers were given more flexibility and autonomy to adapt and adjust their pedagogical approaches and use of digital tools. They developed and engaged in virtual classrooms, mastered new skills such as creating short instructional videos and adjusted and adapted assessment tasks.
In this presentation the researchers will consider, firstly, how the pandemic has recalibrated the way teachers work and secondly, how the new digital technologies and innovative pedagogical practices identified in our study are being utilised in collaboration with industry. We will focus on a partnership with a garment manufacturing facility in Melbourne, a social enterprise that employs members of CALD communities and disadvantaged groups in a supported environment. Two programs were delivered during and just after the pandemic: a Certificate lll apprenticeship program and an Industrial Sewing Skill Set course. This was a Victorian first, aimed at supporting training for the next generation of skilled workers to meet the needs of the clothing and textile industry while also creating new and meaningful opportunities for migrants and refugees.