Understanding the learning groups' context at the VTC

On Thursday the 15th October, 2009, we had a short meeting with Otim who is the principal of the centre. He had just returned from a 10 days leave. These meetings were aimed at helping me understand the context of how the learning groups have been going on as well as learning about how the principal would like me to help during my stay at the VTC.

Question 1 to Otim: have you drawn any plan in preparation of how we are going to work together?
He informed me that he did not have any plan and was waiting for me so that we draw the plan together. We agreed that we are going to do that with all the other participants who are interested in this process.

Question 2 to Otim: What would like me to help in at the NPAYVTC towards SCL?
He mentioned that they needed “redirection” and gave an example of the blogs. He mentioned that some teachers have been opening their blogs daily (gave an example of Clara and Amuge among others) while the others lost their passwords. He also mentioned that meetings/learning group meetings of the three major sections (carpentry & joinery, building & construction and Tailoring, tie &dying) were going on independent of each other. The meeting which was scheduled for all the different groups did not take place last month. He also reported that most of the instructors were ding most of the work as individuals independent of their groups.
Meeting with Otim on 16th October, 2009
In a dialogue with him, I raised a question as “what did you mean by ‘redirection’ in relation to what you would like me to help in towards SCL?
He responded that he meant;

1. 
   Opening of their blogs
2. Getting more information about what SCL/ other sources of information. I suggested related to this that this would be done by discussing with the students about what they may be interested in learning/ improving of their practice
3. Documentation of practice; how can we be able to receive feedback about what we write about our practice? Some of the ways he suggested were the “blogs” and “logs” We discussed that it would be good if the ways of documenting practice is discussed with all the other participants who would like to be documenting their practice throughout this period of our collaboration.

We also discussed about the upcoming meetings and agreed that other administrative members of the organization like the Deputy Principal, secretary and bursar be invited to attend and be a part of our discussions. This will help us to be informed of their interests and may also choose to be a part of what will be going on at the VTC during this period. A meeting with the Deputy Principal was yet to be held since he was in class during the time and was travelling to Juba over the weekend.
A day for the meeting with all the willing participants was yet to be set by the principal after the discussion with the Deputy Principal.

Why Experiential learning?

Oxford English Dictionary defines knowledge as (i) expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject, (ii) what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information or (iii) awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation[1]. According to my experience, vocational knowledge and skills can be learnt both at the VTCs and local industries through both education and experience, although the latter may yield better results.
Atkinson et al, 1993 defines learning as a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from practice.[2] The concept of ‘experiential learning’ which is ‘learning by discovery’ necessitates one to make meaning from direct experience. Knowledge in this case is developed from the process of action and reflection (Inglar, 2002:8). ‘Learning by discovery’ which is unveiling meaning, both in professional and contextual matters as well as relating to one’s own existence, in this case acting as an alternative for ‘learning about’ which is a view of knowledge that focuses on the content to be learned, learning material as something written in books and this knowledge does not necessarily need personal relevance (Bjerknes, 2002: 8-11).
Learning by discovery empowers individuals to take responsibility of their learning process, and with that authority, learning takes place more deeply and what is learnt is retained longer than when one learns by being taught and told(Knowles, 1980). This way of facilitating learning requires that one is responsible, committed, self organized, motivated and has an open mind to change.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge
[2] http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/whatlearn.htm

Learning Group

The learning group is a number of two or more people meeting together to share their knowledge and experiences. Meeting together is either face-to-face at a fixed time and place or via email as a part of a computer-supported community/group.
We mean by a group (learning group)* a number of persons who communicate with one another often over a span of time, and who are few enough so that each person is able to communicate with all the others, not at second-hand, through other people, but face-to-face (Homans: 1950: 1)[1]
To put it simply, they are units composed of two or more persons who come into contact for a purpose and who consider the contact meaningful (Theodore M. Mills: 1967: 2).[2]
The purpose of the learning group is to explore the ideas of the participants in the group in order to develop a diversified understanding of the topic under discussion. It is not necessarily that the group members comply with one’s idea(s) but rather the members understand each other’s view(s) related to the topic under discussion.
The learning groups in Yei Workshop for V.T.D were formed as a means to facilitate their learning process. The participants were therefore asked whether they wanted to work in a group or as individuals and all were in support of working in groups.
Groups can be formed using self selection, random assignment or criterion-based selection. The participants selected the different groups they wanted to belong to. As Walvoord describes, self-selected groups seem to work best in small classes, for classes of majors who already know one another, or in small residential college (Walvoord, 1986).[3]
In reference to the above quotation of Walvoord, our experience as a small self-selected learning group, living in one residential area at Arassen, we find that we are able to work best as a group in proximity. This is so because we found ourselves to be the only English speaking Masters’ students in Vocational pedagogy who are on a full time programme.
The learning groups in the VTD workshop were five (5), numbered from one (1) to five (5) with a maximum of four (4) participants each and only one group had three (3) participants. According to Rau and Heyl (1990), “smaller groups (of three) contain less diversity; and may lack the divergent thinking styles and varied expertise that help to animate collective decision making. Conversely, in larger groups it is difficult to ensure that all members participate.”[4]
In general, groups of four or five members work best. Larger groups decrease each member’s opportunity to participate actively. The less skilful the group members, the smaller the group should be. The shorter amount of time available, the smaller the group should be (Johnson Johnson and Smith, 1991).[5]
According to our interpretation, the criteria for group formation in the V.T.D workshop in Yei may have had some challenges such as the different backgrounds of participants’ experiences. For example in the group of three, we observed that one of the participants was not contributing to the discussion and the other two members continuously talked. Reflecting on that, it is perhaps because she was a woman and as a woman in the African culture, she may have felt the lack of freedom to express herself as well as her opinions among men. Secondly, the two may have been talkative and thought that their experiences about the subject in discussion were more than what the lady had, hence leading them controlling the discussion.
On the other hand, in the group of four there were equal chances given to each member to express and listen carefully to the comments of the group. There was a reconsidering of the opinion and judgment of each member in the group. By allowing the participants to give their ideas equally, this may result into generation of a diversity of ideas by the group and this may lead to a powerful decision.
We also observed that each of the groups was asked to setup some rules that can guide the discussion to enhance their cooperation. To mention, some of those rules were punctuality, respect for each others ideas/contribution, record keeping, one person talking at a time among others.
According to our reflection, having rules to guide or facilitate the progress of a learning group is good because it gives the participants a sense of responsibility and members assert their own ideas without attacking the ideas of others, which leads to respect for each other’s ideas. On the contrary, members’ participation in the group may be restricted by the rules and they may not come to meetings, or they attend but withdraw from discussion or even not doing any work.
Group work, under proper conditions, encourages peer learning and peer support and many studies validate the efficacy of peer learning. Under less than ideal conditions, group work can become the vehicle for acrimony, conflict and freeloading. It may also impose a host of unexpected stresses on, for example, students with overcrowded schedules living long distances from the University. (University of Wollongong assessment policy, 2002)[6]
Referring to the above quotation and our experiences as a learning group, the effectiveness of a learning group is related to its importance to learning for example; Peer learning can improve the overall quality of participant’s learning, Group work can facilitate the development of skills, which include: teamwork skills (skills in working within team dynamics; leadership skills); analytical and cognitive skills (analyzing task requirements; questioning; critically interpreting material; evaluating the work of others); collaborative skills (conflict management and resolution; accepting intellectual criticism; flexibility; negotiation and compromise); organizational and time management skills.
During the groups’ discussion, we observed that some participants would monopolize the group discussion and this could have blocked the learning process of group as well as of the individual’s. Similarly, there were also strong points in their group discussion such as sharing personal experiences from a vocational point of view, discussing the weakness in teaching among others.

Learning group is important because it may enhance an individual’s understanding. It may also help participants to learn from each other and benefit from activities given to the group to work on in order to acquire knowledge and skills. The learning group helps an individual to improve his or her own practice. As Johnson, Johnson, and Smith outline that;

The students learn best when they are actively involved in the process. Johnson, Johnson, and Smith reported that, regardless of the subject matter, students working in small groups tend to learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional formats. Students who work in collaborative groups also appear more satisfied with their classes. (1991)[7]
* By Group according to the citation, we refer to a learning group.
[1] Homans, George, (1950) the human group, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
[2] Mills, Theodore M. (1967) the sociology of small groups. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
[3] Walvoord, B. F Helping Students Write Well: A Guide for Teachers in All Disciplines; 2nd ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 1986
[4] http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals(JTE/jte-v7n1/Gokhale.jte-v7n1.html
[5] Johnson and Johnson, Cooperative learning: Increasing College Faculty instructional productivity. ASHEFRIC Higher Education Report No.4. Washington, D.C.: School of Education and Human development, George Washington University: 1991
[6] http://www.uow.edu/about/teaching/teaching_code.htm



[7] http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/collaborative.html

VOCATIONAL TEACHER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP-YEI, SOUTH SUDAN

Introduction

The workshop started off on the Monday 16, February 2009 with a total of 15 participants. As the day progressed, the number of participants increased to 19. The workshop took place at the vocational training centre of NPA, also commonly known as the community development center. The participants came from different vocational and technical trades which included the vocational training center, Mine action, Agricultural training center, medical training center and SPLM. This workshop lasted for five days.

Prior to the official opening, the principal of the center welcomed the participants and facilitators. He later welcomed the Project Coordinator Mr. Johan Thiis-Houge fo an introductory speech. He gave a brief introduction to the workshop and the NUCOOP project in general as well as emphasizing that the facilitators are to learn more form the participants and not a one way training.

The workshop was officially opened by Mr. Paterno Legge, the Investment and Development Advisor to the Governor of Central Equatorial state. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of Capacity building in south Sudan after a 20 years period of war and limited schools as well as formal education. He further emphasized the importance of having the interest in learning if one has to progress in his/her carrier such as assessing all aspects of one’s working life.
He mentioned the three things that one needs to develop that is; to be creative by having the room to think, commitment to one’s work and contentment with what one has.

The workshop facilitator introduced the participants to what the workshop was about which was teachers’ facilitation of student centered learning. The major of question of “how can I improve my practice?” was used throughout the whole process of the workshop.
The facilitator then asked the participants to say out the questions which were on their minds after introduction of the guiding question. The questions which were brought up by the participants included;
· How to learn in relation to my field?
· How to improve unknown area which I have not handled?
· How to cope up with the training being my first time to see and attend such a thing?
· How to learn to keep up with new generation issues?
· How to get the right material to improve my teaching profession so as to improve my students?
· How to make my students learn?
· How to learn new things on capacity building?
· How to think and get the right way of learning?
· How to get the proper way of passing knowledge to the students?
· What to do to get my students to understand me better as a teacher?
· How to maintain my ethics when teaching?
· How to be creative to make others learn?
· How to improve areas of weakness in my field?
· How to make students happy while giving my lessons?
· Will there be any improvement while delivering lessons to my students after this workshop?
· How to activate the community to join the vocational training center?
· How to have the students to be attentive during lessons?
· How do I ensure that the students retain their knowledge so they are able to apply it when needed?
· Which are the objectives of the workshop?

The facilitator mentioned that improvement of how one does his her work should be a continuous process. He also noted that there is a difference between questions about oneself and questions about others.
The questions above highlight that pedagogy of the participants involved is about facilitation of teaching and not the learning process. To some of the instructors, teacher-centered teaching and learning seemed ideal depending on the type of questions arose by them. They were more concerned about how to impart their knowledge to their learners and not how to facilitate learning.
The questions also highlight the areas where each of participants may want to improve or what they are concerned about according to my observations and reflections.

How learning is facilitated at Affex College at the Affex river side camp in Juba

This college is financed by JICA, a Japanese initiative in southern Sudan aimed at promotion of vocational and life skills’ development.
The methodology I used in the kitchen was basically observations and a dialogue with the heads of departments. The major aim of doing this was to find out how the learners were being incorporated in the work of the kitchen since it is a part of their training.

There was a basic emphasis on food hygiene, safety in the kitchen, life skills for women, kitchen hygiene and disinfection of utensils using sanitizers and disinfectants, food costing (accountability and prevention of wastage by taking the right measures), food spoilage and safety using food thermometers as well as handling and cooking of different foods.

The students are taught both theory and practical but their greatest emphasis is on practical. The instructors were of Kenyan origin and met communication challenges with their students. Most of them couldn’t express themselves in English or even put it on paper.
The chef and his assistant from Kenya said that they use demonstrations and signs when communicating to the different students to solve the problem of language barrier. They also use fellow students to act as translators to their colleagues who may not understand English as a language of instruction.
There are also challenges of family responsibilities, weather changes and anger since most of their employees are internally displaced people.
As a characteristic of work place learning, emphasis is put on production and not learning. The students therefore need a lot of follow-up, remainders, inspiration and patience.

The hotel’s kitchen is divided into the main kitchen and the small kitchen. The main kitchen has several departments which include; the grilling or roasting department, butchery department, pastry department, vegetable department and the overall hygiene department. This kitchen also has the food cooling compartments to ensure that the quality of the food is maintained to ensure food safety.
The small kitchen is used for fast foods like fries, omelets among others.

The chef continued to explain that they go out in the field to assess what their customers like. To attain this, they usually design questionnaires to assess the food tastes and preferences of their customers as most them stay at the camp for a relatively long time.
As a result of this assessment, they have different nights to reduce on the monotony of their meals and do away with the common buffet service that is, Tuesday is carving night, Wednesday is pasta night, Thursday is Mongolian night, Friday is Mexican night, Saturday is a barbeque and Sunday is a brunch meal instead of a buffet. This is done basically to attract customers and to cater for their needs.

He further explained that the students are rotated throughout the different departments of the kitchen to ensure that they acquire and practice the skills associated to each. As a business center, this leads to maximum productivity since it takes a relatively long time. This may however affect work efficiency.

The fuels used in the kitchen include firewood charcoal, gas and electricity. Charcoal and firewood are however the commonest since they are cheaper than the rest.

In my observation, there seemed to be more females than males in the kitchen with a ratio of 2:1. Most of the females however were in the cleaning department.
The heads of department were all foreigners in the country much as the kitchen had many Sudanese in general.

The heads of departments were working with the different students assigned to their departments. This was promoting learning in a way that the students would observe how their heads were handling different things and would learn from that.
The chefs of the kitchen would move through out the different departments to ensure that the work is coordinated well. I also noticed that the aspects of hygiene and safety in the kitchen were well catered for. The students and other members of the kitchen had white clean aprons, head gears and closed shoes.

BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT-YVTC/CD

This center targets 35 students each year but this intake had three dropouts, one lady because of sickness one male due to family issues and the second male was a drug addict who could fight in the dormitory and was discontinued from the course which brought the number to 32.

An instructor who has been at the center for five years mentioned that vocational training is a good approach to development.
He mentioned that they use the East African syllabus during their and priority is given to the practical aspect (80%) and 20% to the theory.
He mentioned that he uses his stories and experiences to encourage and motivate his students to promote learning. He also invites those who have been trained at the center to come and share their experiences with the students which further encourages them to learn. He also tries to show them the opportunities available for them in the field after completion of their course which further motivates them to teach for example the many companies who come to look for builder all the time from the center. He further mentioned that the former students have been asking him about how they can improve their practices in terms of acquiring more skills.
He further mentioned that the curriculum they are using is lacking some aspects of advanced technology for example auto card and technical drawing which is relevant knowledge and skills to the builders.
He further elaborated that they do not limit anyone from joining the institution and can have students from those between primary six and and secondary six of the Ugandan syllabus.
He said that the primary leavers however give them a hard time to teach but this is solved by the adult literacy offered for the first six months for those students who take it seriously.
He also handles the language issue by expressing himself in both English and Arabic to promote better understanding and learning.


In an observation made at this workshop, the students were working in groups and as individuals and this to my mind is a good practice because they are able to learn from each other. The students also had protective wear in the form of overalls and gumboots to safeguard their clothes and their feet from cuts. This is a good gesture according to me because it ensures hygiene and encourages them to work and learn better.
The bricks are made by mixing water and the soft soil and this mixture is carried with their hands to a wooden mould and then displayed on a flat surface for drying.
In the case of a lot sunshine, the bricks are covered with dry grass to prevent them form cracking. When they dry up, they are piled in a square form in preparation of burning.

Another observation made in this department was that the instructor leaves the students with work and models to construct in his/ her absence. The students continue to work in their groups until they come up with something similar to the hand drawn sketch left with them. This according to me is a good practice because it promotes creativity and gives the students a self drive even in absence of a teacher. On the other hand, some of the students were not actively involved in the model and therefore close supervision can be an option to encourage them be creative and motivate them.

Poultry keeping and animal husbandry

As one of the vocational practice in the Yei Agricultural Training centre and industry, the practice is appreciated especially at the centre because it is a source of income.
In a class of 48 students, 39 males and 9 females, the training at the centre takes three months. The students’ weekly schedule begins with a work experience from 6:30-7:30. This practice is aimed at ensuring that the students put in practice what they have learnt in class and improve their time management. The instructor highlighted that the students were lazy at waking up before and always had to wait for the bell. The students also have a daily practical course from 2:00-5:00pm but depending on the tutor concerned, the time may vary.

The students are taught livestock management i.e. basics of Agriculture since most of them are primary learners. Mr. Daniel Kenyi, an instructor in this field uses hearing, seeing and doing in teaching to facilitate learning. He said that most of the students are interested in learning but there is a limitation of lower academic level.
He said that most of the students from the government pay less attention to learning because they are not earning any money. These are however encouraged to learn by informing them about the benefits of Agriculture and that it can be applied every where possible for example begin with two chickens and increase with time.

The instructor uses a question and answers approach in class to involve his students in the lesson and relates what they study to what is happening in real life. He does so by involving the use of modern technology because most people in Sudan are still using crude methods of rearing animal for example introduction of animal nutrition, health management (vaccination and de-worming) . The instructor uses a curriculum in his department developed by him and has a good relationship with his learners much as there is a communication barrier with people from Upper Nile, Jongole and Central equatorial state.

My reflections about these practices.
Looking at the price of poultry and animal products in the market, it is relatively high and this may probably be attributed to few suppliers and high demand. Given an increase in the number of producers on the market will improve the quality of the produce and lower the price to a level when many people can afford hence meeting the needs of the local population.

This hence means that training people on improved methods of keeping animals and birds will lower the amount money spent on importation of food from neighboring countries, and the local community will readily be availed with the food any time and conveniently.

Complied by Aidah

24/11/08;12:19