Designing a program plan

Designing a program plan

Introduction

This is a purely theoretical program plan intended to demonstrate the mastery of the program plan design and development as illustrated by Caffarella & Daffron, (2013) in their book ‘Planning programs for adult learners: A practical guide for educators, trainers, and staff developers’. Theoretically I intend to develop a work plan that will guide my undertaking of adult classes aimed at advancing gaining of knowledge on additional units of study called the accredited courses. A checklist is the best prerequisite to program planning since it enables teachers at all levels of teaching to identify whatever teaching materials that would be essential in helping the learners gain a more dynamic understanding of the subject being taught. In the formulation of a checklist to confirm the availability of these resources, I need to include learning materials such as text books, charts, diagrams and practical objects that can be used to demonstrate the practicality of the modules being taught in the accredited course units.

Using a checklist table to develop and deliver a program for accredited courses

Educational planners have shown preference for practical concepts entailing the use of practical learning tools and instruments which then help the learners to not only internalize the subject taught but gain a deeper understanding of basic concepts that were intended by the program planner. Furthermore, psychologists suggest that the use of practical resources in teaching helps the learners not only internalize the content taught but also break the monotony of theoretical classes. In order to develop and deliver the program plan for the accredited learning program, a table consisting of the essential components required for a program offering part time refresher classes for adult educators is used. The table is called a checklist for accredited courses and it explains four elements of this adult educators training programs.

A sample checklist table guiding the study of accredited courses among working adults is exhibited by this chart below. A suitable program plan checklist has to contain resources, learning groups to specify the subject being taught, the expected outcome from a learning process, timeline for the study of a certain topic and assessors comments which could be helpful in conducting follow up activities especially when the program plan for accredited courses requires to be revised as the program expands in order to accommodate more learners. Each part of the checklist is relevant to instigating review of the program offering the accredited courses. For instance the resources section is bound to trigger tutors into using the right teaching materials, learning groups regards the age of learners and for the accredited courses, it is essential that the learning group consists of people in the working groups.

The learning outcome intended by the checklist stipulates the core objectives to be achieved by the program, the timeline section guides the learning process and since this program is a face-to-face workshops conducted as evening classes and over the weekends, both the learners and tutors need to be time conscious. The assessors comments are a vital part of the checklist aimed at reviewing the whole learning process from time to time.

Checklist for accredited courses for teaching resources

Educational elements of the model

This learning plan aims at teaching refresher courses to designers and developers of learning programs in a sense that will equip them with additional knowledge that they were not previously exposed to. Therefore the need to analyze educational elements is aroused;

1. The element of fundamentalism, quality and timeliness. Refresher training programs are a fundamental part of any growing organization. The teaching profession is not an exception in the attempt to provide quality learning outcomes. This means that teachers, trainers and tutors need to be actively involved in undertaking staff professional development programs. Since this program aims at diffusing beyond regional studies and integrate national training programs, the fundamental training packages should include sessions such as effective time management, program management for optimal results, productive resource use for ultimate learning results, problem solving techniques, emerging trends in the designs of learning programs and handling dilemmas in the learning program (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). For my program plan, I would recommend national training systems in stakeholders for would be qualified teachers who have passed the qualification criteria as set by the teacher’s employment board to help in the attainment of objectives stipulated in the program plan.

Among other qualifications include integrity, good conduct, work experience and professionalism based on past performance. According to my business plan, an accredited qualifications framework is essential in certification after the teachers have completed the professional development programs. The essentials of the training packages are designed in such a way to promote the understanding of MPD which in turn helps teachers achieve efficiency (Newman 20070. The difference between training packages and accredited courses is that accredited courses are aimed at enhancing professionalism because they are graded to help achieve a certain level of expertise. On the other hand training packages top up on the knowledge acquired in the accredited course training thus facilitating efficiency in trained teachers. Accredited courses are developed by a standard national agency concerned with training and qualification of teachers whereas training packages can be developed by anyone in the teacher training sector as long as the training is in line with some national requirements. The training packages can then be incorporated into the accredited course programs as refresher courses.

Units of competence can alternatively be offered as part time study sessions to boost on the teachers understanding of the main course. It is easy to link the two sessions especially for the full time national training programs but for the art time learners, the program can be designed to alternate between a learning program and a learning strategy. The figure below emphasizes on the fundamentals of my learning program.

From the table above, it is possible to integrate the four units of competence (time management, program management, problem solving and emerging trends). This is possible by alternating between learning strategies and learning program in the sense that a unit studied in week one can be alternated with another during the second week of learning.

2. The second element is that of presentation formulation. For the designers and developers to be better placed in formulating presentations, the HR team has to seek consultation and training from professional designers. Among the technical requirements that they need to be taught in order to design viable learning programs include having knowledge on the different purposes and focus of designs. Among them being the accredited courses and the training programs. The HR team also needs to have information on learning principles such as the research based and theoretical principles of prior knowledge among students. Students who have prior knowledge on a subject matter can hinder or promote understanding. The principle of student motivation has been known to determine what students do in order to learn.

Ethical considerations and context

In order to embrace ethical considerations as stipulated by emerging issues in the structuring of program plans and other learning activities, the principle of instructional design has to incorporate such ideas as student or learner disabilities, mental and physical state, technology, internetworking and opportunities.  Thus learning designs can be classified into classroom instruction design and a distance learning design. Enterprise standards can be used to attract professional instructors who might want to be associated with the success of a given learning program. In the event that the refresher program for the accredited courses aims at incorporating a part time learning schedule for an inspector of education who has masters in Bachelor of Science Educational Planning and has worked as a designer and planner for educational programs. Taylor, (2010) advices that for face-to-face evening class session to be credible and successful, the class ought to have learners not exceeding 40 students per session. He add that the time duration for the accredited courses should not be less than 2 years while training programs should also take two years.

Instituting the program design

In formulating a classroom instruction design, the existing resources should include textbooks, charts, and diagrammatic representations. On the other hand distance learning design should make use of electronic resources such as e-books, internet and computer networks. Specifically, the learning content for the distant learning can be organized into semesters or terms with special intervals to cater for exams and evaluations. It is recommended the examinations be offered online and should be submitted within a specific time frame. A risk plan should entail dealing with problems that might arise from internet failure resulting from system malfunctioning (Newman, 2007). The OHS considerations demand that both the learners and the trainers have to be accessible through an inter-conferencing network so as to facilitate the administration of oral exams and presentations.

Learning programs should be standardized to include units that are essential to the successful completion of the course. Likewise, VET requirements demand that the program should consist of interdisciplinary studies consisting of both technical and social sciences to foster adaptability of the learners (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). Being that the scenario in question demands knowledge on interpersonal skills, there is need to be interactive and caring about the concerns of the partners who will also play a role in the successful completion of the designs and learning programs. The main training packages will include but not limited to effective time management, program management for optimal results, productive resource use for ultimate learning results, problem solving techniques, emerging trends in the designs of learning programs and handling dilemmas in the learning program. The learning modules will be scheduled on a timetable illustrating specific times for the evening classes for part time students. Since the units of competence and training packages are additional qualifications to the accredited courses, the programs designer will call for documents relating to academic achievements of the learners.

Information can be sourced from the internet by looking at educational websites containing similar designs and learning programs (Newman, 2007). The intermediary AQF level is appreciated by most clients’ especially educational administrators because they are helpful in guiding the issuance of design and learning programs. People working at the intermediary levels have qualifications that suit them to the specific administrative performances. Knowing levels of competence could be helpful in assigning units in chronological order that will help reduce redundancy. In undertaking program plan designs and development the terms unit of competence means units that can be accredited and graded for a leaner to satisfy the examinations boards requirements whereas an accredited course is graded and has a longer period of study while a unit of competence is an additional course that can be done as a part time course. A national training package is a mandatory unit that has to be included in the accredited course studies. The training packages are further used to benchmark accredited courses and competency in the VET systems.

References

Caffarella, R. S. & Daffron, S. R. (2013). Planning programs for adult learners: A practical guide for educators, trainers, and staff developers (3rd Ed). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Newman, M. (2007). The third contract: Theory and practice in trade union training. (Original edition, 1993.) Chapters 11 (Tyler), 12 (Houle), 13 (Knowles) and 14 (Field) explore different models of curriculum design. http://www.michaelnewman.info/the_third_contract.html

Taylor, J. E. (2010). Facilitator as mediator: Mediating the tension between management and employee-learners. Adult Learning, 21(1/2), 19-25. http://0his.ebscohost.com.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5a38fece-4f7f-44b0-b6fa-ad6f24ce5e1d%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=115

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