1. LL22/3204: WORKPLACE PROJECT What to do and when (pp.25-29 Handbook)

2. The Workplace Project is in 2 parts:  Project Proposal  The Project

3. What do I actually do? It’s largely up to you. You choose an aspect of your work which puzzles or intrigues you and then you examine it in depth.

4. You have a choice of methods:  Empirical project: you collect data in some way and do some reading around the subject  Desk based project: you find relevant literature, and plan how you will discuss it with colleagues/peers

5. How do I choose my topic? Six Critical questions  What is your concern?  Why are you concerned?  What do you think you could do about it?  What kind of evidence do you think you could collect to help you make some kind of judgement about what is happening?  How would you collect such evidence?  How would you check that your judgement about what has happened is reasonably fair and accurate

6. Examples of possible topics:  whether a course is meeting the needs of students/employers  NVQ v BTEC/AVCE  dealing with challenging behaviour  barriers to women returning to education  current nurse training v other approaches

7.  what do students actually get from my course?  the teaching of Key Skills  does my course discriminate against any potential members? Are there any barriers to women, men, those with a less academic background, dyslexic students etc?  how could I use more IT in my course ?  is Curriculum 2000 working? More….

8.  how effective are the evaluation methods for your course?  how effective is my training?  have curriculum/specification changes been successful?  are my students over-assessed?  an investigation of tutorial support  Careers advice : how effective is it? and more..

9.  continuous assessment v exams  what could be done to increase numbers of students on a course?  how can differentiation be achieved in your course?  motivational interviewing: does it work?  how could retention be improved?  will the 14-19 diplomas work? How will they impact on FE? And more..

10.  how effective is my curriculum?  does inclusivity really work for SEN students?  the impact of funding on my course  motivating the unwilling student  remedying gender imbalance  is my course really vocational? And finally..

11. PRACTICALITIES Start small Plan carefully (time likely to be longer than you first anticipate). Include: Which problems to be tackled first Which classes/colleagues to be involved Who needs to be consulted What resources may be needed

12. Set realistic time scale Involve others Keep others informed Arrange for feedback Organise a writing schedule PRACTICALITIES contd.

13. How do I collect data?  you could ask people questions in interviews or questionnaires  you could observe people eg teachers, students, employees, clients  you could get data from College records or other research or opinion  and of course you can do two or three of these!

14. Quantitative data Quantitative data: this is data in numerical, statistical form  75% of students questioned wanted to work with animals  16 students completed the course  none of the employers had heard of the qualification Data can be in 2 forms:

15. Qualitative data Qualitative data: this is non-numerical data. Data really means “information” and can be based on opinions, beliefs, aims, hopes, prejudices etc. It may appear less precise than quantitative data but some issues do not lend themselves to statistical analysis.  “a course manager argued that funding was a priority”  “experienced nurses believe they could be given more responsibility”

16. So we hope you will see this project as an opportunity to do something which is:  enjoyable  stimulating  satisfying  beneficial  with practical outcomes for your work Start planning now!

17. The time-scale Tutorials to discuss project proposal: any time from now on Project proposal due in latest 29/1/09 (this has to be Agreed before you can start work) Progress Review: 26/2/09 and 2/4/09 Tutorials: as needed January - May Report due 21st May 2009

18. What you need to be thinking about now: What am I going to research for this project? What permissions do I need to proceed? What sort of data do I need? How am I going to get this data? Who do I need to talk to?

19. What reading will I need to do? Where will I be able to find this? Who will be able to help me? When am I going to do each bit?

20. Structure of Report Introduction / project question Literature review Approach and methods Data presentation Data analysis - discussion and implications (using reading from literature review) Conclusion / recommendations