Peer Assessment Within the Practical Learning Environment
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- Date Submitted: 06/15/2016 03:38 AM
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PAL within the
Practical Learning
Environment
By Liam Freeguard
1
Introduction
There are currently 6 full-time plumbing groups timetabled within the Plumbing Department at Pencoed
College, each containing around 16 students. Timetable management of these groups is challenging each
year due to the sharing of classrooms with other trades. Overall, within the traditional classroom
environment, the structure of sessions and classroom management is rarely an issue. Despite this, during
practical classes in the workshop, members of staff are stretched to their full capacity on a regular basis.
Students working on practical activities often need closer support on a one to one basis. As a result, the
control of the sessions can be difficult, especially when you consider that there may be up to 3 groups (45
students in total) split between just 3 lecturers and 1 full time technician. In the past, the answer has
always been to increase the responsibility of the technical staff and restrict the amount of activities carried
out by students. The course has been split over 2 years since its introduction in 2004, but this year, due to
changes related to QCF and funding, the course has been condensed into a 1 year programme for both full
and part time students. This change has had a huge impact on the way in which lessons are taught and
how lecturers deal with the workshop sessions.
A chart to show Staff-Student ratios (within the
workshop)
60
50
Persons
40
30
20
10
0
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(proposed)
Students
16
30
45
51
Staff
1
2
3
3
As a result of this, learners have struggled to find the support and guidance needed to complete the tasks
previously split over the 2 years. This is due to members of staff being forced to double the pace of
delivery in order to maintain statistics, which in turn impact on funding. This problem, coupled with the
proposed solution, inevitability puts a...
Practical Learning
Environment
By Liam Freeguard
1
Introduction
There are currently 6 full-time plumbing groups timetabled within the Plumbing Department at Pencoed
College, each containing around 16 students. Timetable management of these groups is challenging each
year due to the sharing of classrooms with other trades. Overall, within the traditional classroom
environment, the structure of sessions and classroom management is rarely an issue. Despite this, during
practical classes in the workshop, members of staff are stretched to their full capacity on a regular basis.
Students working on practical activities often need closer support on a one to one basis. As a result, the
control of the sessions can be difficult, especially when you consider that there may be up to 3 groups (45
students in total) split between just 3 lecturers and 1 full time technician. In the past, the answer has
always been to increase the responsibility of the technical staff and restrict the amount of activities carried
out by students. The course has been split over 2 years since its introduction in 2004, but this year, due to
changes related to QCF and funding, the course has been condensed into a 1 year programme for both full
and part time students. This change has had a huge impact on the way in which lessons are taught and
how lecturers deal with the workshop sessions.
A chart to show Staff-Student ratios (within the
workshop)
60
50
Persons
40
30
20
10
0
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(proposed)
Students
16
30
45
51
Staff
1
2
3
3
As a result of this, learners have struggled to find the support and guidance needed to complete the tasks
previously split over the 2 years. This is due to members of staff being forced to double the pace of
delivery in order to maintain statistics, which in turn impact on funding. This problem, coupled with the
proposed solution, inevitability puts a...