Tutors have told us that they would like to be able to contact one another to swap experiences and to ask questions that they don't want to bother WEA staff with. In response we have created a Forum on this website where this type of peer support can be offered and sought. We hope tutors will use this regularly and that it will help address the feelings of isolation from fellow tutors that is inevitable given that courses happen all over Northern Ireland and in the border counties of the Republic.

To complement CPD through training this page will offer tutors materials to download that relate to delivery for the WEA and tutoring in general. A number of these files have been generated for or from our regular Tutor Days. If you have similar materials that you think other tutors would find useful please send these in.

Further information and materials that might be useful can be found on the LSDA and EGSA websites:

www.lsdani.org.uk

www.egsa.org.uk

Portfolio Building - General points to be considered  

Here are a few generic points which need to be taken into consideration in preparation of portfolios. You will need to support the students as much as possible with these points. Some students might never have produced a portfolio of learning before. This might be a whole new experience for them so they will need your guidance with this.

Allow time in the course which is dedicated to portfolios and include this in your Scheme of Work.

As the course tutor you need to ensure that the following is included in the folders: (Some of these might seem fairly obvious, but these are often what are missing.) 

• Title Page: Students name, name of centre, course, tutor, start date of course.

• Work needs to be current, valid, sufficient and authentic.

• Workbooks need to tell the moderator where they can find work (contents page) and therefore needs to be cross referenced to the Learning Outcomes.

• Workbooks need to be easy to read; work kept in order and labelled. Candidates should identify techniques, influences etc. "A picture speaks a thousand words" but without a few words, a picture can mean nothing.

• If a workbook asks for a specific task to be achieved, make sure request is responded to.

• Clean tidy pages in folder

• Allow time for folder to be presented

• Keep evidence succinct and clear.

• Witness statements are to be used if you are recording that a student has achieved a practical task or if for some reason, they can't record the evidence themselves.

• Written feedback from you to the student, must be included. This can simply be your initials and date if a task has been completed properly, few directive points/ words to help the learner, or an example that they can follow. Be positive, specific and clear.  (Feedback will be addressed in today's session.) Give feedback as you go through the course, not just at the end.

• Tutor notes: indicate which of the notes have been presented by the tutor by initialling or putting your name on them and dating when they have been distributed. Supplementary reference notes can be inserted into the back of the learner's folders.

• Student notes: the student can do the same with their notes.

• Tutors: keep referring and responding to the notes in the course outline.

• Handouts: avoid sheets of pages with reams of words and lines. If you must use these, ask your learners to underline, highlight or add their own notes. Think about different approaches to Handouts which would be applicable to your skill area. This indicates that they have read what you have distributed.  When making handouts, keep them as interactive as possible by including one of the following:

• Spaces for the students to insert comments: words or sentences

• Missing blanks

• Linking words/pictures etc

• Learners Evaluations of their own work: this is often difficult for students to complete but being positive about their work can really affirm their learning and development made through the course. Again, encourage them to be specific about their own feedback. If they "like" what they've made: what do they like about it? Etc. 

Creative Courses: Folders should demonstrate a balance between Art and Artesian. Art is the creative aspect: making a new, individual or original item. Artesian brings in the techniques which need to be developed for this particular skill.

Pictures: include a photo of the finished piece at the end of the folder. Don't include the learners face in the photos. Just the work is needed.

Design courses: Another help might be for the student to ask a friend outside of their particular learning environment, to look through their work and see if there is enough information included to explain the development of design ideas, through to the conclusion.

 The Learning Cycle: Opening and Closing Sessions  

Notes  

• It’s easy and useful to combine introductions with the gathering of learners’ expectations of the course
• By recording these expectations on a flipchart the tutor then has a record that can be brought to the closing session and used by the group to assess their progress
• Each learner should also be encouraged to note their personal goals for the course at the beginning and at the end to evaluate their achievement against this
• Groundrules/Group Contract – this is really useful in all classes as it provides a great support when something goes wrong in the group. It doesn’t have to be particularly long and it is ok for tutors to bring a semi-prepared one with them, which can then be talked through and added to as the group wish. Suggestions for the contract would include:

• participation
• punctuality
• agreement around mobile phones
• respecting the diversity that exists in the group
• one person speaking at a time
• actively listening
• take responsibility for own learning

Giving & Receiving Feedback

Download the WEA Powerpoint presentation entitled "Giving & Receiving Feedback" by clicking here 

Lifelong Learning - A presentation entitled "Towards new professional standards and qualifications framework. For teachers, tutors and trainers in the lifelong learning sector" by Alan Clarke, National Manager Northern Ireland for Lifelong Learning UK

Click here to download this Powerpoint presentation.

EGSA - the Educational Guidance Service for Adults - is a local, independent, not-for-profit, frontline service that aims to connect adults with learning.

EGSA has a network of local offices based across Northern Ireland through which it provides services to adult learners, learning advisers, providers, employers and anyone interested in improving access to learning for adults. You may wish to click here to download a Powerpoint presentation to see what EGSA has to offer and how it may be able to support you and your students.

WEA Assessment Guidelines - are now available in Word format and can now be downloaded by clicking here.