Writing from Experience

1
Writing from Experience

• Helen Pokorny
• London Metropolitan University
• h.pokorny_at_londonmet.ac.uk

2
Institutional APEL Drivers

• Market opportunities (health, social work,
  education)
• Fast-tracking (part-time/professional students)
• Social inclusion agenda (bringing into HE
  different forms of knowledge
• Retention (a way of juggling the widening
  participation agenda)
• Employer engagement agenda
• Student APEL Drivers

3
Issues arising from the student perspective

• Difficulties in finding information about APEL.
  It wasnt easy. I asked a lot of people. I had
  to make several phone calls before I could get to
  talk to someone. It took about two and half,
  three months. UCAS were no help at all, nothing
  in the prospectus and not much on the internet.
  Tutors didnt know
• Seen as a process for students with experiences
  outside the norm. I didnt want do that APEL
  because I didnt think my experiences were worthy
  of that... I was attracted to it but I was scared
  of it.

4
Learning outcomes

• I think they learning outcomes inhibited me
  and Im going to...look at creative writing
  modules and see what the capabilities are and
  maybe look at those and say to myself well Have
  I done that? Have I achieved this? is this
  what Im doing independently as a facilitator ?
• Ive been struggling with the learning outcomes
  idea, because I find that paradoxically I seem to
  think that I can do many things, and yet nothing
  at all that is to say I am very successful when
  people already believe that I am, but I am unable
  to persuade anyone who does not already believe
  in me.
  

5
Struggles with language and with presenting
learning in an academic context.

• Im having to learn a new language. Im having
  to come out of my normal natural selfso Ive had
  to learn and chip away at some of myself and
  repackage myself in order to pass through that
  process.
• Its their structureand I have to respect that
  and try and fit my experience into that
  structure. They are used to working with the
  academic structure so this is like a runaway
  horse and its like hey wheres this going?

6
Issues arising from the tutors perspective.

• Complexities of accommodating a different form of
  knowledge development and assessment into an
  existing system.
• Ambiguity about the process i.e. the purpose it
  is designed to serve and what it should consist
  of.

7
Tutors comments- what are you looking for ?

• Reference to the critical literature,
  theoretical dimension, bibliography, and
  written appropriately, to comply with certain
  academic requirements examples of good practice
  in essay writing that they can write, read,
  edit, take charge of a text.
• Were very big nowadays on learning outcomes.
  Evidence against that particular issue.

8
How should the learning be presented?

• So that you can very quickly flip through ... and
  see what theyve done and say tick, tick,
  tick
• not too much detail, repetition or writing
  that was too verbose...Ive got to sort out
  for myself here what the evidence is
• I think one has to accept the effort which as
  gone into producing this portfolio as an example
  of some form of skill base It should be taken
  into account to some extent their ability to
  document.

9
What are the tutors concerns ?

• One should be as flexible as possible in
  accepting prior experience but at the same time
  It is important that we do ensure that
  university standards are maintained.
• The worst thing you can do is accredit
  something on the basis of a hunch and you
  fall on the side of the student and the student
  suffers.

10
What counts as educationally valid experiential
learning ?

• To consider this question in relation to
  experiential learning assessors will need to
  consider different forms and expressions of
  knowledge.
• This makes it important that we aim to develop a
  shared understanding of APEL processes and
  criteria amongst assessors (including external
  examiners) and between students and assessors.

11
References

• Pokorny, H. (2006) Recognising prior learning
  what do we know? in Andersson, P. and Harris, J.
  (eds)Re-theorising the Recognition of Prior
  Learning Andersson, P. and Harris, J. NIACE
• London Metropolitan University APEL Pages
  accessible at
• http//www.londonmet.ac.uk/credit gtAPEL
  Website
• Peters,H.and Pokorny,H. (2003), A Runaway Horse
  Attempting to harness prior learning in the
  Academic Context. CRLL Conference, Scotland.
• QAA Guidance for the Accreditation of Prior
  Learning (2006) accessible at
• http//www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/a
  pl/default.asp

12
Some ideas for discussion

• What potential do you think there is there for
  APEL development in your own context ?
• What issues remain for you?