Oldham Social Services

1
Oldham Social Services NVQ Assessment
CentreUniversity of Salford Centre for Social
work Research

• An evaluation of the synthesis of new knowledge
  into practice during a work based NVQ 4 Care
  programme

Barbara Walmsley University of Salford Salford
Centre for Social work Research
Helen Mayall Oldham Social Services Staff
Development
2
NVQ standards

• Provide a framework for assessment
• Do not address teaching and learning
• Cannot be relied upon as a means of helping
  candidates learn
• Do not recognise that candidates may be at
  different levels in their understanding of
  knowledge

3
NVQ candidates?

• Skilled and experienced workers
• Anxious adult learners
• Returning to learn
• Not confident in knowledge handling
• Limited time, support, access to knowledge
• Balancing work/life demands
• How to include in widening participation
  framework?

4
Progression

• APEL
• NVQ 4 Care Degree in Social Work
• Complex learning
• U
  understanding
• S
  social practices
• E
  efficacy beliefs
• M
  metacognition
• 
  
  
  
  Peter.knight_at_open.ac.uk

5
NVQ 4 Care - 8 mandatory units and 6 option units

• Unit CU72
• Synthesise new knowledge into practice
• Unit CU72 Portfolio
• monitoring tool for candidate progress
• teaching (planned teaching sessions and courses),
  learning and assessment strategy
• learning outcomes evaluated using core reflective
  activities
• data for evaluation study

6
Reflection

• Reflective accounts are a core assessment
• activity for NVQs
• Learning logs and action learning sets to
• generate evidence for reflective accounts and
• the project
• Cycles of reflection to demonstrate candidate
• progress

7
Blooms Taxonomy cognitive domain

• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• Application
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation

• Synthesis
• Compiling information
• together in a different
• way by combining
• elements in a new
• pattern or proposing
• alternative solutions

8
Evaluation

• To what extent does learning transfer to the work
  place? (Kirkpatrick (1959) Level 4)
• Use pre-training performance as a benchmark
• Takes place after training
• Application of acquired knowledge/skill to
  practice
• Base line study 6 months
• Main study 18 months

9
Action research objectives

• Evidence gathering
• written and oral, from reflective exercises
• Assessment of evidence
• using learning outcomes for CU72 and Blooms
• taxonomy
• Continuous development
• planning, monitoring, reviewing and modifying of
  the
• programmes reflective activities

10
Baseline study

• Baseline performance of each candidates skills
  with respect to knowledge and reflection
• Self evaluation essay
• Learning needs exercise
• Action learning set
• Learning logs
• Review questionnaire

11
Main study

• Candidates work sampled at intervals during the
  study
• Learning logs
• Taped transcripts from action learning sets
• Reflective accounts (based on action learning
  sets or self evaluations)
• Activities at the end of the study
• Review interview with programme co-ordinator
• An evaluation event for candidates, assessors and
  verifiers

12

• Candidate
  Learning Logs
• I enjoyed the observation task which has made me
  aware of
• the feelings a service user may feel when I am
  undertaking a
• home visit or assessing a family.
• Programme co-ordinator
• The learning log from this candidate provides an
  example of
• application of knowledge and analysis of
  practice. Feedback
• would suggest a further development to ask how
  the
• candidate has modified their practice in relation
  to home
• visits and assessments in light of this
  awareness. This
• would then prompt the candidate to move from
  application to
• modification and synthesis.

13
CandidateI have found that I no longer disclose
personal information, however, I do discuss
experiences which may be personal without the
client knowing this, i.e. my child, I would say,
I worked with this child once who, therefore
using my experiences without being personal.

• Programme co-ordinator
• Following an exercise on role boundaries a
  candidate
• recorded the above in the last section of their
  learning log,
• indicating a modification of practice. The last
  section of the
• learning log asks candidates to reflect on, How
  has learning
• affected my practice? This question does seem to
  prompt
• a higher order analysis, synthesis and sometimes
• evaluation.

14
Action Learning Sets

• Knowledge handling
• Identify underpinning knowledge
• Oral communication skills
• Rehearsal
• Questioning skills
• Handling constructive feedback
• Professional discussion
• Focus on critical incident
• Review performance
• Social Learning

15
The candidate was engaged in complex work and
their approach in the learning set was dominated
by this complexity (story) rather than on a
sustained examination of a critical incident.
Tacit knowledge and practice wisdom clearly
underpinned the candidates practice.
Underpinning knowledge became more explicit
following prompts from colleagues and the
learning set facilitator. Questions from set
members tended to encourage more analysis rather
than provoke the candidate to consider how her
practice had been changed as the result of new
knowledge.The action learning set did
illustrate the wealth of knowledge possessed by
the candidate but considerable prompting was
needed to bring this into conscious awareness.
16
This was a structured presentation with a focus
on an aspect of practice development. Questioning
from set members encouraged the candidate to
reflect on underpinning knowledge that was then
brought into conscious awareness.Questions
asked in this learning set demonstrated how
questioning could be used to extend the
candidates knowledge and create building blocks
for learning. Set members demonstrated that
progress had been made in questioning skills.
17
Candidates view - questioning

• Critical questioning was useful,
• especially probing questions in action
• learning sets

18

Candidates view - reflection

• Im making more of an effort to closely
• examine and review everyday practice.
• How can I improve that? How can I
• develop it?

19
Reflective accounts

• Programme co-ordinator
• Blooms taxonomy continues to be a useful tool
  for me
• in analysing how well candidates are integrating
  new
• learning into practice. It helps me to formulate
  my
• feedback and to plan developmental activity to
  help
• candidates progress.
• The textual analysis of these written accounts
  has been a
• revelation. Having a framework for analysis of
  written work
• certainly pinpoints the different thinking skills
  evident in the
• accounts. Written accounts encourage the use of
  higher
• level thinking skills. The process of carrying
  out the written
• task seems helpful in providing space for
  evaluation (select,
• prioritise, justify, conclude, judge).

20
Candidates view - feedback

• Im more open to feedback
• Identifying something new in feedback
• from service users that can change and
• add to practice
• Not feeling ashamed of not knowing

21
Candidates view reflective accounts

• More thinking took place prior to writing
• accounts, I no longer write down just
• what I do

22
Candidates view knowledge and practice

• Before NVQ
• practice was informed
• by
• some knowledge learnt during training, formal
  learning, supervision.

After NVQ practice was predominantly informed
by knowledge gained on training courses, in
supervision and other taught programmes.
23
Candidates view knowledge and practice

• Engaging with underpinning knowledge,
• wanting to know whats behind what you
• know.
• Bringing all aspects of knowledge about my
• practice together for example, helping to
• clarify what I am doing, the reason why I do
• my job, justifying my job, being more
• confident with my responsibilities