Teaching, training and assessment resources > Teaching and learning
Resources on this page are a mix of free and for purchase and are categorised as 'research' or 'focus on practice'. All resources listed are Australian in origin unless otherwise labelled.
Click on the following topics to access resources:
What's new in Teaching and learning
- Webinar with Torunn Gjelsvik, Secretary General of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) [added 25 November 2024]
(Source: Ako Aotearoa, November 2024)
This webinar introduces the ICDE, the work they do, and discusses international trends in distance/open education related to access, equity and scalability. - The usefulness of feedback [article, 2021] [added 19 November 2024]
Feedback can occur before and after assessment submission but needs to be useful in order for students to improve their subsequent performance. This article draws on survey data from students to explore their experiences of feedback usefulness both before and after assessment submission. A conclusion is that undergraduate students cannot be treated homogeneously, and educators need to attend to the feedback experiences of different student groups as they progress through their programme. - Guides and resources: Artificial intelligence [added 24 April 2024]
(Source: TEQSA)
These resources aim to assist higher education providers and their staff to meet new challenges and benefit from opportunities afforded by advances in generative artificial intelligence (AI). This web page, relevant for VET providers also, features good practice advice from other sources in addition to resources developed by TEQSA. - teachonline.ca [Canada] [added 24 January 2024]
Launched in 2010 as a resource for post-secondary faculty and instructors in Ontario to find the latest information on new technology and new developments in online learning, as well as practical tools and resources to help them integrate technology in their teaching in a way that improves the learning experience for their students. - Answers powered by Accellier: TAE Cert IV course answers from the experts [added 8 January 2024]
(Source: Accellier on YouTube)
Accellier is an RTO and offers a range of nationally recognised courses in education and business, Australia wide through online and face to face courses. This YouTube channel from Accellier presents a range of webinars providing support, free advice, ideas and tips to help VET practitioners complete the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment courses.
Learning strategies
General - Free resources
Research
- Innovation in teaching and learning in vocational education and training: international perspectives [2009]
(Source: NCVER)
This publication explores both the characteristics and examples of innovative teaching and learning practice internationally. It found that technologies can be used to support networks of practitioners and resource banks to foster better professional practice and help practitioners exchange ideas and resources. In addition, it is important for practitioners to be able to step back from their 'daily grind' to think about what they can do differently and how. They need to be supported to test out new resources and pedagogies in a culture of active experimentation. - Learning and teaching in initial vocational education and training [2000]
(Source: NCVER)
This report looks at students' and teachers' perceptions of initial VET. It also reveals how students engage in learning in education and training, provides a description of current teaching practices, and shows the influences which shape learning and teaching in initial VET. - Learning styles in the age of differentiated instruction [article, 2010]
(Source: Exceptionality: A Special Education Journal, Taylor and Francis)
The concept of learning styles has tremendous logical and intuitive appeal, and educators' desire to focus on learning styles is understandable. Recently, a growing emphasis on differentiated instruction may have further increased teachers' tendency to look at learning styles as an instructionally relevant variable when individualizing instruction in increasingly heterogeneous classrooms. We discuss the overlapping concepts of individualized instruction and differentiated instruction, briefly review the evidence base for learning styles, and argue that instruction should indeed be individualized and differentiated. We conclude that there is insufficient evidence, however, to support learning styles as an instructionally useful concept when planning and delivering appropriately individualized and differentiated instruction. - Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY)
A study that follows young Australians over 10 years, from their mid-teens to mid-twenties, as they move through school to further study, work and beyond. - NCVER statistical collection - Students and courses
Data on all Australian VET activity, including enrolments, completions and funding. - NCVER survey - National Student Outcomes
Survey of VET graduate outcomes from and satisfaction with Australia's national training system. - Regenerating the Australian landscape of professional VET practice: practitioner-driven changes to teaching and learning [2009]
(Source: NCVER)
This publication explores both the characteristics and examples of innovative teaching and learning practice in Australia. It is based on discussions with practitioners and vocational education and training (VET) managers responsible for teaching and learning. It examines why and how people are changing their pedagogy, and with what results. - Students' suggestions for improving their vocational education and training experience [2009]
(Source: NCVER)
An analysis of student verbatim responses in the Student Outcome Survey provides suggestions for how the vocational education and training (VET) system could be improved. Eight major domains are discussed: course relevance and design; staff attributes and behaviours; teaching and learning practices; access to courses; facilities and services; assessment practices; learning resources; equipment and materials; initial information provision; and administration and learning support services.
Focus on practice
- ADCET/NCSEHE webinar: Supporting students' wellbeing during COVID-19: tips from regional and remote Australia [2020]
(Source: Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training/National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education)
This ADCET webinar was delivered in partnership with the NCSEHE at Curtin University. Cathy Stone and Nicole Crawford look at research findings that inform understanding of ways to support students' wellbeing and success, in the context of learning and teaching online. - Atlas of emerging trends in new qualifications and competencies in TVET [BILT Atlas] [international]
(Source: UNESCO-UNEVOC)
This resource will help TVET stakeholders reflect upon, and share knowledge about, the challenges and opportunities facing TVET systems. The Atlas works within the BILT framework of three Is: identification, integration and implementation of new qualifications and competencies in TVET. It has a special focus on the twin transition of greening and digitalization affecting the future of work and society. - ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in higher education: quick start guide [international]
(Source: UNESCO)
This guide provides an overview of how ChatGPT works and explains how it can be used in higher education. The Quick Start Guide raises some of the main challenges and ethical implications of AI in higher education and offers practical steps that higher education institutions can take. - COVID-19: resources for the higher education sector [2020]
(Source: National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University) - Good practice in VET teaching and learning: a guide to practitioner perspectives [2018]
(Source: Victorian Department of Education and Training)
This guide provides information about, and examples of, good practice in teaching and learning for VET providers. It was commissioned by the Department of Education and Training (DET) and developed by drawing on the wide and varied experiences of VET practitioners working in the government-subsidised training market in Victoria. - Guides for staff on student equity, and supporting students' learning and mental wellbeing
These four short guides include information about equity and top tips, as well as links to useful resources: (1) 'Equity' in higher education: what does this term mean and what are the practical implications for students in equity groups?; (2) Student equity in higher education: research, policy, practice and data; (3) Supporting students' learning: how to assist with academic writing, referencing and more; and (4) Supporting students' mental wellbeing: what can we do 'on the ground'? - Faculty focus: higher ed teaching strategies [US]
(Source: Magna Publications)
A series of free reports focusing on what works and what doesn't when it comes to teaching, learning and leading - both in the traditional classroom and online. - Informing teaching: navigating and translating education best practice [2021]
(Source: Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership)
At a time when people have greater access to information than ever before, the ability to distinguish between what is robust research, and what is not, is a vital skill. This Spotlight addresses five questions to consider when navigating best practice in education: quality; reliability, validity and design study; sampling; significance; and implementation - how can this research be applied in practice? - Melbourne CSHE resources [2020]
(Source: Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education)
This page provides access to a collection of research-led, higher education resources and guidance materials produced by Melbourne CSHE for academics, graduate researchers and policy makers. Although pitched at higher education practitioners, many of these resources could be useful across all tertiary education contexts. The range of resources available here includes short practical guides, longer guides, discussion papers and reports and weblinks. This collection is organised into the following areas: Teaching, learning and assessment; Student experience and wellbeing; Research reports and papers; Archived publications. - Teaching in the VET sector in Australia [2014]
This book provides an in-depth exploration of both the theory and the practice of teaching in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia. Each chapter invites the reader to reflect on their own practice and offers practical examples and case stories to assist the teacher to develop their own professional expertise. - UDL for FET Resource Hub [Ireland]
(Source: Further Education and Training Authority (SOLAS) and Education and Training Boards Ireland)
This resource hub hosts guidance, tools and resources for Further Education and Training (FET) staff seeking to learn about and apply the principles of universal design for learning (UDL), an educational framework which supports practitioners to reach and teach all of their learners and reduce barriers to learning in the design and delivery of their programmes. While the guidance and tools have been created/curated for FET staff they are useful for practitioners seeking to implement UDL in all educational settings. - Universal Design for Learning in tertiary education: a scoping review and recommendations for implementation in Australia [2022]
(Source: Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a learning design approach that recognises there is no 'average' learner. UDL reduces the need for reasonable adjustments and enhances the experience of all learners, including those with disability. This scoping review provides a systematic comparison of the application of UDL in Australian and international tertiary education systems. This work has been used by the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) and the National Disability Coordination Officer (NDCO) Program to inform the development of Australia's first free online UDL training for tertiary educators.
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- Pedagogy
- Pedagogy - Canada and US
- Pedagogy - New Zealand
- Pedagogy - UK and Ireland
- Podlet [archived]: Theory and practice [final update December 2018]
For purchase
These are examples only of commercial products. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement by NCVER.
- Analytical intelligence: the # 1 skill set for highly effective and successful learners and people [for purchase]
(Authors: Chris Chinien and France Boutin)
Highly-developed analytical intelligence can help the individual learn more successfully, contribute to improving performance at work, and wherever critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving are required. This e-book is about helping you to develop and strengthen your analytical intelligence. - Skills Education resources [for purchase]
- Education Matters Learning and Resources Hub
This resource houses a collection of curated and created content, offers asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities, including a community of practice forum. The hub covers VET topics as well as broader issues that apply in VET such as:- Learning science (learning theory and teaching principles)
- Learning design
- Learning facilitation
- Foundation / core skills
- Teaching with technology
- Learning principles and theory
- Skills Education webinars
- Education Matters Learning and Resources Hub
- Thoughtful Works
Provision of workshops, facilitation and coaching in areas including: engaging learners; vulnerable learners; supporting VET teachers in teaching and learning practice; professionalizing the practice of adult educators; and the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL).
Examples of workshops:- Accommodating students with dyslexia and other specific learning differences
- Advanced teacher/trainer facilitation
This workshop facilitates reflection on practice, testing of familiar habits and investigation of research-based teaching strategies. - Developing assessments that suit all levels of learning
- Developing student voice to improve teaching and learning
- Developing students as learners
- Effective feedback: the what, why, when and how
- How to teach the essential skills and capabilities
- Engaging learners
Learn effective strategies to ensure your students are engaged in learning as well as progressing - Managing challenging behaviours
- Successful ways to engage and support disadvantaged learners
Identify barriers and share strategies to progress student learning and achievement using a solution-based approach - Teaching essentials - growing educators
This workshop addresses the core essentials of teaching such as planning, getting feedback, instruction methods and building a community of learners. - The impact of trauma on learning
- The new educator
Understand what learning looks like for the 21st century and move your practice into a new space of collaboration and activation. Create a positive and strong learning culture to engage educators in contemporary teaching pedagogy and practice. - VCAL workshops
Literacy, assessment, principles, integrated projects
- Velg Training [added 22 February 2024]
Adult learning - Free resources
Focus on practice
- 7 top facts about the adult learning theory [online article, 2018 update]
(Source: eLearning Industry) - Adult Education and Development, no. 86, 2019 - theme: introducing the good educator [Europe]
(Source: DVV [the German Adult Education Association]) - Adult learning principles
(Source: Adult Learning Australia) - Basic principles of adult learning
(Source: University of Queensland) - Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) ALLIES Framework [United States]
Following a five-phase project that began last year, CAEL has released the Adult Learner Leaders for Institutional Effectiveness Framework, or ALLIES Framework, to provide insight on effectively meeting the needs of adult learners within today's digitally dependent learning environment and challenging labor market. CAEL's Principles for Effectively Serving Adults have been restructured within the Framework, which will assume the Principles' longstanding role of guiding postsecondary institutions and state systems committed to an inclusive model of education that meets the diverse needs of post-traditional learners amid ever-shifting education and employment landscapes.
Free registration is required to download the framework, and survey and interview research on never-enrolled adults, which are captured in an auxiliary report. - Make it FutureFit: four ways to design better adult learning [Europe, 2020]
(Source: Nesta)
This guide outlines key principles or ingredients that are known to be effective in the design of adult learning experiences. It also provides specific examples of these principles in practice from initiatives that are applying them today. - The six principles of learning design: learning for performance: a practice note [international, 2020]
(Source: Institute for Adult Learning Singapore)
Dialogical inquiry puts a focus clearly on learners and their learning, uses learners' authentic problems or issues enabling learners to build and co-construct knowledge and deep understanding. This booklet explains how dialogical inquiry approaches differ from more traditional approaches, what the essence of the approach involves and suggests some tools that readers may wish to use in trying out this approach.- See also:
Dialogical inquiry: a short guide to teaching using a dialogical inquiry approach [begins on page 14]
- See also:
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- Australian Journal of Adult Learning
- Podlet [archived]: Adult learning [final update December 2018]
Competency based education and training - Free resources
Research
- Competency based education and training: a world perspective [2000]
(Source: VOCEDplus)
This book examines the implementation of competency based education in some of those countries, including Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Cost Rica, South Africa and France. - Competency-based learning [book chapter, Canada, 2015]
(Source: Teaching in a digital age: guidelines for designing teaching and learning, BC Open Textbooks) - The problematic role of CBT in Australian VET [paper, 2018]
(Source: University of Melbourne)
For many who work in the system, CBT is the only curriculum model they know for vocational education. This discussion describes the attractions of CBT to make clear that the architects of training reform had good reason to make CBT the cornerstone of a new system. This survey is followed by a systematic look at criticisms and shortcomings of CBT as articulated by researchers and other stakeholders. Finally, two questions are presented which would be useful to ponder in any attempt to shift away from CBT. - Working with a competency-based Training Package: a contextual investigation from the perspective of a group of TAFE teachers [article, 2015]
(Source: International Journal of Training Research, Taylor and Francis)
Reforms in the Australian VET landscape have generated significant interest in the changes to the delivery and nature of formal (off-the-job) training provided by RTOs. In this study, despite the reticence to change their pedagogy, the teachers capitalized upon the inherent flexibility in the Training Package framework to tailor and create opportunities for apprentices to apply and contextualize their knowledge and skills to realistic workplace tasks.
Focus on practice
- 12 steps for implementing competency-based training [online article, 2018]
(Source: eLearning Industry) - A guide to writing competency based training materials [2003]
(Source: National Volunteers Skills Centre)
This guidebook is written as an application focused reference for novice and veteran trainers, working in the not-for-profit sectors, who develop or deliver competency based materials or learning activities. - Clustering units of competency: a guide to how to cluster for delivery and assessment [1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions]
(Source: Western Australian Department of Training and Workforce Development)
In order to meet clients' needs and maximise outcomes, registered training organisations (RTOs) need to develop processes and products that focus on the quality of the learning and assessment experience. The purpose of this publication is to provide RTOs with guidance about how to use clustering to improve delivery and assessment practice. - Competency-based training (CBT): an introductory manual for practitioners [international, 2020]
(Source: UNICEF, ILO)
The manual provides guidance on how to plan, design, implement and evaluate competency-based training (CBT) and assessment. Based on a clear sequence of 16 steps, it is expected to serve as an introduction to CBT for practitioners and a reference for future training of curricula designers, instructors and assessors. - Competency based training: how to do it - for trainers: a guide for teachers and trainers on approaches to competency based training [1993]
(Source: VEETAC) - Employability skills: from framework to practice: an introductory guide for trainers and assessors [2006]
(Source: Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training)
This resource is written specifically for individuals who provide competency based training and assessment in the VET sector. In addition to explaining what employability skills are, it outlines how they have been included in training packages. - Fact sheets
- Competency-based training
(Source: Australian Government Department of Education and Training) - Competence Based Training (CBT): introduction and definitions
(Batchelor Institute)
- Competency-based training
- Getting started with competency-based training (CBT) [2018]
(Source: eLearning Industry) - Practical guide to using training packages [2000]
(Source: South Australian Department of Education, Training and Employment)
The CD ROM is designed to provide practitioners with background information about training packages and case studies and examples of the ways in which training packages may be used in a variety of training contexts. The CD ROM is both IBM and Apple Macintosh compatible.
Access more items in VOCEDplus
- Competency based training: best practice
- Competency based training: guides
- Competency based training: teaching and training materials
For purchase
This is an example only of a commercial product. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement by NCVER.
- Student study support tool: template and guide
Use this Student Study Support Tool to provide your students with a series of easy-to-read tips for understanding (and overcoming) some of the most common 'barriers' to study.
Problem based learning - Free resources
Research
- Problem-based learning: student engagement, learning and contextualised problem-solving [case study report, 2009]
(Source: NCVER)
The adoption of problem-based learning as a teaching method in the advertising and public relations programs offered by the Business TAFE School at RMIT University is explored in this occasional paper. The effect of problem-based learning on student engagement, student learning and contextualised problem-solving was investigated and it was found that students perceive problem-based learning to be beneficial. Several success factors for this approach are also identified. - Handbook of enquiry and problem-based learning: Irish case studies and international perspectives [book, 2005, Ireland]
(Source: All Ireland Society for Higher Education [AISHE])
Focus on practice
- 10 tips for effective problem-based learning: the ultimate instructional solution [online article, 2015]
(Source: Open Colleges) - Teaching soils online using a problem-based learning design [conference paper, 2001)
(Source: Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education)
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Teaching digital skills - Free resources
Research
- Developing digital competences of vocational teachers [book chapter, Switzerland, 2018]
The main goal of the research presented is to develop a conceptual framework for teachers' professional development focused on digital competencies in vocational schools. See publisher's website for citation details. - Digital competence and professional development of vocational education and training teachers in Queensland [thesis, 2016]
Using a mixed methods approach, this thesis investigated the current digital teaching capacities of VET teachers and how current professional development opportunities are helping to address their learning needs. - The digital literacy imperative [issue brief, US]
Published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, this brief acknowledges that pervasiveness of digitalisation and the importance of acquiring the right set of digital skills for learning and workforce readiness. It highlights the digital skills continuum, multilateral efforts on digital literacy, and the role of the United States in these efforts. - Digital skills cross sector project: case for change [2017]
This project looked across a number of Training Packages to identify qualifications, skill sets and units of competency impacted by digital analytic/diagnostic skills, additive manufacturing (3D printing) skills, and programming/coding skills. The case for change includes recommendations to review and update 10 existing qualifications and 211 existing digital units from Training Packages within the scope of this project. It also recommends the undertaking of further cross sector work to examine the skill needs of Industry 4.0 and the potential impact on Training Packages. - Levelling up: the quest for digital literacy [Canada, 2018]
This report maps the digital literacy education and training landscape in Canada. It highlights the types of digital skills that people in Canada are pursuing, sheds light on barriers to access, and identifies existing gaps and potential opportunities to improve the development and supply of digital literacy skills. - Preparing for Industry 4.0: will digital skills be enough? [2018]
This research arose from work commissioned by the Australian Industry and Skills Committee - in the form of a cross sector project looking at the need for digital skills in a range of manufacturing and related industries. This report synthesises the research evidence - in relation to both digital skills and the broader challenges of skilling workers for the Industry 4.0 workplace. - Skilling for digital disruption and the future of work [webinar, 2018]
This webinar will explore the vocational education and training implications of digital disruption in our future workplaces. The presenters will discuss the drivers changing the world of work, the skills we're predicted to need in the future and what this means for training. The presentation will consider a forthcoming NCVER research report that investigates the training implications of disruptive technologies associated with Industry 4.0, from the perspective of technology producers (innovators) and technology users (industry). - Skilling the Australian workforce for the digital economy [2019]
This study explored the current digital skills demand and supply situation in Australia's workforce. The research investigated the skills impact of digitalisation on two industry sectors - transport and logistics, and public safety and correctional services - as well as the wider workforce. The research culminated in a proposed Australian workplace digital skills framework to help identify digital skills gaps among Australian industries and workforces to enable the development of appropriate training programs. - What digital skills do adults need to succeed in the workplace now and in the next 10 years? [UK, 2018]
The aim of the evidence brief is to collate the evidence as comprehensively and systematically as possible to address this policy question. The brief outlines current definitions of general digital skills and highlights the current and possible future digital skills and competencies likely to be valued by the labour market. Three case study sectors - health and social care, culture and creative industries and financial services - are considered in light of current digital skill needs and developing digital skill requirements.
Focus on practice
- Delivering digital skills: a guide to preparing the workforce for an inclusive digital economy [UK, 2018]
This guide has been created to help policymakers who have been tasked with finding ways to upskill the workforce. It includes ten case studies from around the world that have been designed and implemented to provide digital skills to adults. Each one contains insights that can be used to address policy challenges. - Digital resilience in the American workforce: findings from a national landscape scan on adult digital literacy instruction
This scan aimed to better understand what training resources and approaches are most relevant for educators seeking to increase foundational digital literacy and digital resilience for an adult learner population. - Digital skills for education & training: a good practice guide
(Author/source: TeachingOnline.com.au with Dr Deniese Cox, 2023)
Recent research by Dr Deniese Cox has that found that, not only are digital skills a barrier to education participation for learners, but providing remedial digital skills support to learners has a significant impact on the work of educators. This good practice guide has been developed to address these learner and educator challenges. It presents practical, research-driven guidelines to inform the selection and implementation of learner digital skill support systems in education and training.
The guide is available free to all educators and providers. - Digital skills toolkit [international, 2018]
This toolkit provides stakeholders with guidance on developing a digital skills strategy. It is intended for policymakers, along with partners in the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and academia. - Essential Digital Skills Framework [UK, 2018]
This framework has been designed to support providers, organisations and employers across the UK who offer training for adults to secure their essential digital skills. The frameworks sets out five categories of essential digital skills for life and work.- Scotland's Essential Digital Skills toolkit [2019]
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has developed this toolkit to help you make practical use of the Essential Digital Skills Framework. It contains simple checklists for measuring Foundation Skills and Essential Skills, and guidance on how to interpret the results.
- Scotland's Essential Digital Skills toolkit [2019]
- Foundation Skills for Your Future program: Digital Literacy Skills Framework, April 2020
(Source: Commonwealth Department of Education, Skills and Employment)
This Framework has been developed to support the Foundation Skills for your Future Commonwealth Government Program. - Good practice guides [added 10 June, 2020]
(Source: NCVER)- Incorporating digital skills into VET delivery: good practice guide
This good practice guide is intended to provide advice on incorporating digital skills into VET delivery for VET providers and policy-makers. - Teaching digital skills: implications for VET educators: good practice guide
This guide highlights the implications for VET educators of the increasing need to include digital skills in VET delivery.
- Incorporating digital skills into VET delivery: good practice guide
- Incorporating digital skills into VET: No Frills 2020
This page hosts tweets from the second session focused on VET educators, which examined the implications for VET educators of the increasing need to include digital skills in VET delivery. The focus session was based on NCVER's two good practice guides mentioned in the entry above. - Teaching digital skills in your course
The University of Queensland Library offers this Digital Essential suite of modules to support academics to develop their students' digital literacy.
Professional development for educators
Free resources
- Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu) [Europe]
(Source: European Commission)
This framework describes what it means for educators to be digitally competent. It provides a general reference frame to support the development of educator-specific digital competences in Europe. DigCompEdu is directed towards educators at all levels of education, from early childhood to higher and adult education, including general and vocational education and training, special needs education, and non-formal learning contexts.- DigCompOrg Framework
The DigCompOrg framework can be used by educational organisations (i.e. primary, secondary and VET schools, as well as higher education institutions) to guide a process of self-reflection on their progress towards comprehensive integration and effective deployment of digital learning technologies. It is designed to focus mainly on the teaching, learning, assessment and related learning support activities undertaken by a given educational organisation and has elements common to all education sectors.
- DigCompOrg Framework
- Digital Teaching Professional Framework [UK]
(Source: Education and Training Foundation)
The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) supports practitioners across the further education and training sector in achieving their professional development goals. This professional framework is for teaching and training practitioners across all parts of the FE sector, including for learning providers in the workplace, community settings and prisons. It has been designed to focus on the benefits of good pedagogy supported by technology to enhance learning.- ETF's Enhance Digital Teaching Platform
The platform features two free online training module offers - the first focused on use of Educational Technology (EdTech) in teaching and training, based on the Digital Teaching Professional Framework (DTPF), and the second on Essential Digital Skills (EDS) for life and work.
- ETF's Enhance Digital Teaching Platform
For purchase [use links to search for PD in teaching digital skills]
- Velg Training is a member serving organisation and provider of vocational education and training (VET) professional development and consulting services. Velg Training's professional development events and products have been purposefully shaped to education, inspire and empower you! Velg Training continues to provide quality, flexible and innovative online events that drive strategic thinking, develop relevant and insightful skills, and focus on future-proofing your knowledge. Velg Training wants to ensure you can access PD that suits you!
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- Digital skills
- Digital literacy
- Focus on Digital disruption [2016]
- Podlet: 21st century skills
Work-based learning - Free resources
Research
- The hidden classroom of the workplace: how employees learn at work in both formal and informal ways [US, 2014]
- The workplace learning examples described in this report are taken from real portfolios by working adults participating in LearningCounts. The examples show how the workplace can, and does, serve as a learning laboratory for workers, suggesting that employers might benefit from understanding more about how this learning laboratory can contribute to the organization.
- Work-based learning and work-integrated learning: fostering engagement with employers [2016]
(Source: NCVER)
Work-based learning and the inclusion of the world of work into tertiary students' learning lie at the heart of the Australian VET system. Despite the strong emphasis of work-based learning in post-secondary education, both VET providers and universities faces challenges when it comes to engaging industry and employers in these educational provisions. This research synthesis draws on the literature on work-based learning and work-integrated learning to identify how engagement with industry and employers can be fostered, and what the two sectors can learn from each other.
Focus on practice
- Guidance for delivering practical training and assessment in the workplace or under simulation [2020]
(Source: Australian Skills Quality Authority)
Workplace training, workplace assessment, and workplace simulations are training methods which enable students to develop and demonstrate skills in a real-world setting. To help providers interpret training package requirements and understand where flexibility exists to provide training or assessment in simulated environments, ASQA has developed video guidance, examples, and some top tips. - Principles of good practice: guidelines for implementation and definitions for work based learning programs in TAFE NSW [1995]
(Source: NSW TAFE Commission)
This document outlines the principles of good practice for work-based learning programs and presents related guidelines and definitions which aim to assist teachers, trainers and course designers in the effective implementation of work-based programs. - Vocational placements [fact sheet]
(Source: Fair Work Ombudsman)
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- Apprenticeships and traineeships
- Simulation
- Student or work placements
- Work based learning
- Work integrated learning
For purchase
These are examples only of commercial products. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement by NCVER.
- Global perspectives on work-based learning initiatives [book, 2019]
(Source: IGI Global)
This publication provides research on recent progress in selected countries across the globe in educational programs designed to better prepare students for the workforce through the use of work-related learning. - Velg Training [added 22 February 2024]
Delivery methods
Face-to-face education and learning - Free resources
Research
- Brief classroom training sessions for workplace readiness: are they effective? [article, 2017]
(Source: International Journal of Training Research, Taylor and Francis)
Classroom training sessions for new home care workers (HCWs) are often brief and ad hoc, varying in format and content. Yet the application of this training may be central to worker and client safety. A qualitative approach was adopted for this inquiry, comprising two separate but related practical studies. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of brief classroom training sessions, and suggestions for future research. - Comparison of the influences of structured on-the-job training and classroom training approaches on trainees' motivation to learn [article, Taiwan, 2016]
(Source: Human Resource Development International, Taylor and Francis)
Increasing trainees' learning motivation is critical to help them perform well in the training programme. This paper aims to examine the influences of the structured on-the-job training (S-OJT) and classroom training approaches on trainees' learning motivation and learning performance. - Choosing between online and face-to-face courses [US, 2013]
(Source: Community College Research Center, New York)
In this study, community college students discussed their experiences with online and face-to-face learning, as well as their reasons for selecting online versus face-to-face sections of specific courses.
For purchase
These are examples only of commercially available products. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement by NCVER.
- Velg Training [added 22 February 2024]
- Teaching and learning webinars for purchase
- Designing and developing learning that sticks!
- Enhancing how you plan, organise and deliver group-based training
- Interesting learning: 6 activities to activate your learner
- Integrating reflective activities to provide focus for your learners and enhance their well being
- Pursuing trainer excellence: integrating coaching conversations
- Teaching and learning webinars for purchase
Online/distance education and learning - Free resources
Research
- A learner perspective on barriers to e-learning [article, 2013]
(Source: Australian Journal of Adult Learning)
This study aims to identify and categorize barriers to e-learning adoption and the relative impact of those barriers on learners. It contributes to the understanding of learner perceptions of barriers, the different types of barriers and their relative importance. - Mobile learning and social media in adult learning [Europe, 2015]
(Source: European Commission)
This paper summarises the research on the use of social media and smart devices in adult learning. - NCVER research on delivering VET online [2021-2022]
- Online learning, digital isolation and COVID-19 [2020]
(Source: Reading Writing Hotline)
Feedback from the Language, Literacy and Numeracy sector is that many adults do not have the skills, understanding or access to technology to succeed in education. Employers are also requiring employees to use more digital practices, needing additional training. Whilst there is a drumbeat for online learning, it is important to be reminded that it does not meet the needs of all learners, particularly those experiencing disadvantage and may undermine the basis for community education impacting social connection. [Excerpt from publisher] - The secret is the teacher: the learner's view of online learning [2002]
(Source: NCVER)
This report is based on a survey of vocational education and training students who were studying online, as well as discussions with teachers. It describes what makes for a quality online learning experience and provides suggestions for organisations delivering training online. - Supporting students through the COVID-19 crisis and shift to remote learning: how students are feeling and how educators can help [webinar, US, 2020]
(Source: SurveyMonkey)
This research asked 955 students currently enrolled in post-secondary education across the US, how faculty and staff can best support them during this unprecedented time, and what they need to be successful in an online learning environment. The students were a mix of full and part time at all levels, undergraduate/graduate, in public, private, community college, and trade/professional schools. This webinar discusses the research results. - Technology-enabled learning: policy, pedagogy and practice [international, 2020]
This publication from the Commonwealth of Learning, hosted by the Government of Canada, is based mostly on various technology-enabled learning (TEL) projects from the last five years and presents diverse experiences of TEL from a critical research perspective, offering lessons that can be deployed elsewhere.
Focus on practice
- 10 best practices to be an effective online teacher [online article, 2016]
(Source: eLearning Industry) - The 10 fundamentals of teaching online for faculty and instructors [guide, Canada, 2016]
- 10 principles of effective online teaching: best practices in distance education [US, date not supplied]
(Source: Magna Publications)
This special report explains the 'rules of the road' for online teaching and learning as developed at Penn State's World Campus. - 10 reasons students don't participate in online discussions: how to remedy each [2013]
(Source: Debbie Morrison, Online Learning Insights)
This resource is designed for educators of online courses who use discussion forums as part of their instructional plan. - ADCET/NCSEHE webinar: Three Essentials in moving online [2020]
- Australian Skills Quality Authority
- ASQA webinar - Online learning: beyond PDFs and Zoom
(Source: Australian Skills Quality Authority, May 2021)
The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic saw many training providers make a rapid transition to online training, but what's next? This free webinar provides the opportunity to hear from a VET consultant, provider and quality assessor on how VET providers can use educational technology to enhance and support the quality of online learning and outcomes for their students. - Australian Skills Quality Authority strategic review of online learning in the VET sector [2020-]
A series of papers have been published as part of this review initiated by ASQA in 2020 - prompted by the significant number of providers who shifted their delivery online in response to the circumstances created by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.- ASQA Strategic Review of Online Learning final report
This review of online learning in the VET sector was undertaken to address a regulatory risk identified in the ASQA's Regulatory Strategy 2020-22 and in the 2021-22 Regulatory Risk Priorities. The review found that whilst quality VET can be delivered online, taking into consideration the requirements of the training product, the student cohort, the skills of the trainer and assessor, and the tools, technologies, and processes for delivering online, the challenges, opportunities and risks vary depending on those factors. There is no single issue or feature that is an indicator of greater or lesser risk to quality.
- ASQA Strategic Review of Online Learning final report
- Online learning: information and guidance for delivering learning online
- ASQA webinar - Online learning: beyond PDFs and Zoom
- Best practice in distance education and e-learning [2013]
(Source: International Specialised Skills Institute) - Commonwealth of Learning
An intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. - Digital learning [for schools]
(Source: Victorian State Government, Education and Training)
This website provides teaching ideas, materials and safety for using digital technologies in the classroom. - Digital Technologies Hub [school curriculum]
(Source: Education Services Australia]
This site is designed around the Digital Technologies Curriculum. Provides lesson ideas linked to the curriculum, explore strategies and advice from Australian primary and secondary schools and more. - Foundations for good practice: the student experience of online learning in Australian higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic [2020]
(Source: TEQSA)
This report is a high-level thematic analysis of summaries of student experience surveys conducted by 118 Australian higher education providers in the first half of 2020. It outlines positive and negative aspects of the transition identified by students, to support providers in addressing concerns. - Good practice in online teacher education [2019]
(Source: National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University)
This document responds to the growth in online initial teacher education (ITE) around Australia and the concerning statistics about lower retention, success, and completion rates of online ITE students. It is intended to be used by teacher educators working in the online space. It will also have relevance for educators working in other discipline areas in higher education who teach online. - The importance of trust in nurturing student engagement online [article, UK, 2022]
(Source: Staff and Educational Development Association blog)
This brief article argues that good teaching must include trust to acknowledge that learning is not simply a cognitive process; it has affective elements. The discussion highlights five critical characteristics for nurturing and developing trust between students and educators. - International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning [journal]
- Learning technology: a handbook for FE teachers and assessors [UK, 2018]
This handbook is designed for further education (FE) and post-16 teachers. It provides the knowledge and skills required to source information learning technology (ILT) and content, and to convert traditional learning and teaching resources into engaging and interactive online material. It is designed around each aspect of the teaching and training cycle - identifying needs, planning and designing, delivering and facilitating, assessing and evaluating. - Leveraging innovative technology in literacy and education programmes for refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons [international case studies, 2022]
(Source: UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning)
This compilation of 21 case studies highlights efforts from around the globe to use ICTs in innovative and effective ways to offer literacy and educational opportunities to young and adult refugees, migrants and IDPs. One of the case studies featured is Connected: Adult Language Learning through Drama, run by the Sydney Theatre Company. The program provides English language learning to adult refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Australia through drama and literacy workshops. - Online learning good practice [updated 2022]
(Source: Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency)
TEQSA's online learning good practice hub was launched at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to support providers with the transition to online learning. These resources were subsequently added to throughout 2020 and 2021.
In early 2022, TEQSA reviewed and refined this content to reflect the changing nature of online teaching and learning, building on insights and experiences of providers, teaching staff and students during the pandemic. TEQSA welcomes further contributions and feedback, as we aim to build on the materials already available to ensure that this resource continues to be useful and relevant to the sector. - Pedagogy before technology: understanding the confidence of vocational educators for integrating technology enhanced learning [conference paper, 2021]
(Source: Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education)
This project investigated VET educators' perspectives of the usefulness and ease-of-use of technology in their units, including the difficulties they had implementing technology. VET Teachers were offered a one-day 'bootcamp' style workshop where they were introduced to innovative technology for the classroom - Podcast: Pulling back the curtain in online learning [US, 2020]
(Source: Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance)
In this episode on effective remote and online teaching, Dr. Tammy Shelton helps 'pull back the curtain' in online learning to better understand what goes into it from a teacher's perspective, as well as what learners should expect and even demand from their education. The podcast, in the form of an interview, addresses the difference between online and remote learning, hybrid versus high flex, and the future of higher education in its new normal. - Seven practices for building community and student belonging virtually [US, 2020]
(Source: American Talent Initiative)
This practice brief outlines a set of seven practices that institutions can adopt to ensure students maintain a sense of community and belonging, even in a largely virtual climate. - Smoothing the transition to online learning [online article, 2020]
(Source: Australian Council for Educational Research)
In this article, ACER's Dr Anne-Marie Chase recommends resources and reading to help teachers prepare for the transition to online learning. - Staying 'present' when teaching from a distance [online article, 2020]
(Source: National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University) - Strategic review of online learning in the VET sector
This strategic review will seek to understand the challenges that providers, employers and students experience in the adoption and provision of online learning in the VET sector.- Webinar on building e-learning capability
(Source: ASQA, December 2020)
In support of the review, ASQA ran a webinar and live forum on Monday 7 December 2020 to discuss the new online skill set, the challenges of training in COVID-19 and ideas for building e-learning capability. The review is part of ASQA's regulatory strategy 2020-22, which outlines its regulatory priorities for the next two years. The review's findings will inform the development of guidance and support ASQA can offer providers to promote quality outcomes in the VET sector and support self-assurance. It will also inform how ASQA engages with its broader stakeholders about online learning and its delivery in the VET sector. - Follow up discussion webinar
(Source: ASQA, March 2021)
This follow-up discussion webinar took place on Wednesday 3 March 2021 to respond to questions raised in our December Feedback Loop 1 webinar. The live question-and-answer format allowed panellists to discuss the new online skill set, the challenges of training in COVID-19 and ideas for building e-learning capability. The webinar featured a moderated panel made up of ASQA and industry representatives.
- Webinar on building e-learning capability
- TDA Webinar - Engaging trades learners in a virtual class: experiences and lessons
(Source: TAFE Directors Australia, April 2021)
This webinar, introduced by Craig Robertson, focuses on how virtual reality (VR) can be brought to trades training. The event featured two key speakers with considerable experience in using technology in trades training: VR in online training / Shannon Baldock, Refrigeration Lecturer, TAFESA; Engaging trades learners in a virtual class / Husnen Rapani, CEO, Infinispark Pty Ltd.
Ronald Jackson, TDA's Director, Strategy and Tertiary Education, presented 'Reflections on TAFE's response to COVID: teaching trades',which includes an overview of the TDA report, The power of TAFE: the COVID story, published in December 2020. - Teaching in a digital age: guidelines for designing teaching and learning [Canada, 2015]
(Source: BC Open Textbooks) - Teaching online resources [2020]
(Source: Deniese Cox, Teaching online researcher, educator, and coach)
This page provides a range of free videos on a variety of topics associated with teaching online. - Teaching with YouTube [2020]
(Source: Eddie Woo on YouTube)
Eddie Woo is an Australian secondary school teacher and writer best know for his online mathematics lessons published on YouTube. This video provides a guide to the kind of equipment teachers can use to record lessons for students to access online. - The Ultimate elearning podcast guide: best practices, benefits, and production pointers
(Source: eLearning Industry)
This free guide will help you to incorporate podcasts into your training program and explore new ways to engage your audience. - Understanding online pedagogy [online article, 2017]
(Source: Australian Council for Educational Research) - Webinar: Using technology to support postsecondary student learning [US, 2020]
(Source: College Completion Network, American Institutes for Research)
This What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) webinar describes effective methods for supporting remote postsecondary teaching and learning during the current global health crisis. The webinar focuses on strategies for applying the evidence-based recommendations in the WWC's Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning Practice Guide, published in 2019.
For purchase
These are examples only of commercially available products. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement by NCVER.
- Velg Training [added 22 February 2024]
Access more items in VOCEDplus
Blended/hybrid education and learning - Free resources
Research
- Blended learning in vocational education: teachers' conceptions of blended learning and their approaches to teaching and design [journal article, 2012]
(Source: The Australian Educational Researcher)
This paper presents research exploring teachers' experiences of using blended learning in vocational education. Teachers involved in designing and teaching using blended learning from a major Australian vocational education provider participated in the study. - Considerations for applying blended learning programs within TAFE [2015]
(Source: International Specialised Skills Institute )
This Fellowship was undertaken to better understand how learning platforms and learning tools are selected to encourage both teaching staff and students to engage fully in blended learning. It focused on three key areas: (1) the range of current technology choices available when developing blended learning courses; (2) the significance of teacher technological proficiency when implementing blended learning; and (3) the overall framework for implementation of successful blended learning programs for TAFE learners and teachers. - Effects of the flipped classroom: evidence from a randomized trial [discussion paper, US, 2019]
(Source: School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative, MIT Department of Economics)
In a flipped classroom, an increasingly popular pedagogical model, students view a video lecture at home and work on exercises with the instructor during class time. This research demonstrated feasibility for the flipped classroom to induce short term gains in student learning; however, findings also suggest that educators should exercise caution when considering the model. - Good practice report: blended learning [2011]
(Source: Australian Learning and Teaching Council)
This research provides a summative evaluation of the good practices and key outcomes for teaching and learning from completed ALTC projects and fellowships relating to blended learning. - International best practice blended learning for disadvantaged and vulnerable VET learners
This International Specialised Skills Institute Fellowship involved research at Temasek Polytechnic Singapore, Mauritius Institute of Training and Development (MITD) and RMIT College of Vocational Education. It found that effective blended learning involves a range of strategies including specific teacher professional development, supporting student digital literacy, use of the blended learning continuum and interactive educational tools. The report recommends that education and training providers establish dedicated blended learning mentors or 'champions' for peer-to-peer training and support. - Strategies for blended TVET in response to COVID-19 [international, 2020]
In the current situation caused by COVID-19, blended 'as-distance-as-possible' TVET allows for continuing selected components of TVET programmes, upskilling of essential workers in their workplaces, and starting to reskill displaced workers. It also offers the potential to rethink traditional TVET models to be able to reduce costs and increase flexibility, and thus reach marginalised and remote learners, including those working in the informal sector. This publication shares examples and insights that can assist TVET officials and leaders to respond to immediate challenges and to prepare for a more resilient future.
Focus on practice
- Blended learning: the way to go!
(VDC News, August 2020)
This article notes that, in the current environment and post-COVID-19, using more flexible approaches to learning are called for in VET, especially blended learning. This article looks at what blended learning is and what represent good practice. - Fundamentals of blended learning
(Source: University of Western Sydney) - Quality assurance rubric for blended learning [international, 2020]
From the Commonwealth of Learning, hosted by the Government of Canada, comes this innovative tool designed to support individuals and institutions in the development of blended learning courses. It covers eight categories and supporting quality elements that can be used to benchmark the features of a blended learning course against a set of qualifiers.
For purchase
This is an example only of a commercially available product. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement by NCVER.
- Blended learning in practice: a guide for practitioners and researchers [US, 2019]
A guide to both theory and practice of blended learning offering rigorous research, case studies, and methods for the assessment of educational effectiveness.
Access more items in VOCEDplus
- Blended learning
- Massive online open courses (MOOCs)
- Podlet [archived]: Delivery systems [final update December 2018]
Social media - Free resources
Research
- Social media and student outcomes: teacher, student and employer views [2017]
(Source: NCVER)
This report investigates how social media, such as Facebook and YouTube, is being used in VET courses. A good practice guide, Social media in VET courses: good practice guide, was developed based on the findings.
Focus on practice
- Social media for learning and teaching undergraduate sciences: good practice guidelines from intervention [article, 2015]
(Source: Electronic Journal of e-Learning)
This paper reports on an investigation into the success of Facebook as an educational tool for a Pathology course for Medical Radiation students and a Clinical Sciences course for Nursing students. The focus is on the development of good practice principles relating to learning and teaching utilising Facebook groups. Six good practice principles were identified relating to: goals and objectives, expectations, communication, engagement with the course content, active participation, and learning environment. - Social media for teachers: guides, resources, and ideas [article, updated February 2015]
(Source: Edutopia) - Social media in VET courses: good practice guide [2017]
(Source: NCVER)
This good practice guide explores the types of social media being used in vocational education and training (VET) courses, the benefits and pitfalls of using social media in teaching and learning as well as tips for incorporating social media into VET courses. - Using social media [resource]
(Source: Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership)
In this illustration of practice, a teacher uses social media platforms as a means of engaging students in a Year 7 geography unit about Antarctica. - Using social media to enhance students' learning experiences [online article, US, 2014]
(Source: ASQ)
Access more items in VOCEDplus
- Podlet [archived]: Social media [last updated December 2018]
- Social media in teaching and learning
Teaching and training contexts
Adult and community education - Free resources
Research
- Adult Learning Australia has published its latest Australian Adult Community Education environmental scan [2022]
The scan profiles the sector in terms of its programs, features, provider types, participants, outcomes and supporting policy areas. It also explores the challenges facing the sector in terms of sustainability.
Previous scans are available in VOCEDplus. - Engagement and participation in a learner-centred system [2007]
(Source: Adult Learning Australia)
The overview and four papers in this publication examine the challenges posed by the 'participation imperative' for the VET system as a whole, with particular reference to ACE. - Insights from the classroom: a survey of adult literacy providers
This report provides a high-level summary of outcomes from a national survey of adult literacy, numeracy and digital literacy (LND) needs. The survey was commissioned by the national Reading Writing Hotline and co-designed with and administered by Social Equity Works. The aim is to build a picture of current delivery, the need identified for literacy, numeracy and digital literacy programs across Australia and the barriers experienced by both providers and learners. - Hard to reach learners: what works in reaching and keeping them? [2010]
(Source: Adult, Community and Further Education Board, Victoria)
The report begins by defining who are hard-to-reach learners and presenting information on their location. Understanding local conditions is an essential element in the development of effective training. Best practice principles are then discussed in two contexts: (1) a set of principles broadly applicable to all hard-to-reach groups is described along with the strategies and techniques that flow from them; and (2) several particular groups are also considered (vulnerable workers, young people, Indigenous Australians and people with a disability). - Provision of foundation skills training by community education providers in regional Australia [research report] [2021]
(Source: NCVER)
This research investigates the contribution community education providers make to foundation skills training in regional Australia, the models of delivery which seemed to work best, and whether the undertaking of foundation skills training helps build social and human capital of the individual and broader community. The research finds that proportionally more regional community education providers deliver foundation skills training than other regional training providers. Completions among students at regional community education providers are high but little is known about education or employment pathways following training due to difficulties in tracking students. - Supporting pathways in learning and life: non-accredited training within the New South Wales Adult and Community Education (ACE) program [report, 2021]
- Non-accredited training: building student resilience and employability
These training materials were developed in a project funded under the NSW Government's 2020/21 ACE Teaching and Leadership Program, and support a focus on employability skills, as recommended in the report.
(Source: NSW Department of Education)
This project investigated the potential benefits of non-accredited training among community colleges in NSW, with a particular focus on training funded under the state government's ACE program, and how it impacts students in terms of their overall confidence, their engagement in the community and their employability as they transition to the working arena.
- Non-accredited training: building student resilience and employability
Focus on practice
- A conversation about adult education with the Australian Council for Adult Literacy
(Source: ProLiteracy on YouTube, August 2022)
Participants from ACAL and ProLiteracy discuss their organizations and the similarities and differences between adult education and literacy in the U.S. and Australia. - Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) ALLIES Framework [United States]
Following a five-phase project that began last year, CAEL has released the Adult Learner Leaders for Institutional Effectiveness Framework, or ALLIES Framework, to provide insight on effectively meeting the needs of adult learners within today's digitally dependent learning environment and challenging labor market. CAEL's Principles for Effectively Serving Adults have been restructured within the Framework, which will assume the Principles' longstanding role of guiding postsecondary institutions and state systems committed to an inclusive model of education that meets the diverse needs of post-traditional learners amid ever-shifting education and employment landscapes.
Free registration is required to download the framework, and survey and interview research on never-enrolled adults, which are captured in an auxiliary report. - Formal university qualifications for adult literacy and numeracy
(Source: Australian Council for Adult Literacy)
ACAL has compiled this information about opportunities for professional development in the field of adult literacy and numeracy. These specialist teaching qualifications are available at Charles Sturt University and University of Technology Sydney:- Charles Sturt Adult LLN courses
- The Adult Literacy and Numeracy stream of the Graduate Diploma in TESOL and Applied Linguistics at University of Technology Sydney
- LINCS Adult Education and Literacy Resource Collection [United States]
The Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) is a national leadership initiative of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) to expand evidence-based practice in the field of adult education. The resources in this collection have been reviewed by subject matter experts and recommended and approved by the Department.
For purchase
These are examples only of commercially available products. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement by NCVER.
- Velg Training [added 22 February 2024]
Access more items in VOCEDplus
- Podlet [archived]: Adult and community education [final update December 2018]
Apprenticeships and traineeships - Free resources
Research
- NCVER statistical collection - Apprentices and trainees
Data on apprentices and trainees, including occupations, completion and attrition rates. - NCVER survey - Apprentice and trainee experience and destinations
Survey on apprentice and trainee satisfaction and employment outcomes. - Podcast: Traditional trade apprenticeships: still a trusted brand? [2020]
(Source: NCVER)
Do we value tertiary and vocational education equally? Have apprenticeships lost their sense of purpose? With recent budget announcements and the need to build a skilled workforce to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing economy, apprenticeships are in the spotlight. Steve Davis talks to the NCVER Managing Director, Simon Walker and Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) National Coordinator - Skills, Training and Apprenticeships, Ian Curry, about the future of traditional trades and how the perception of apprenticeships has changed over the years. Discussion focuses on regulation, flexibility, completion rates as well as the complexity around the status of vocational education and training (VET).
Focus on practice
- Alternative pathways to apprenticeships: good practice guide [2015]
(Source: NCVER)
This good practice guide collates the relevant key findings for education practitioners and workplace supervisors from three research reports that look at different aspects of earlier completion such as competency-based progression and recognition of prior learning. Although the research highlights the benefits of completion, it also identifies gaps in communicating and supporting alternative pathways between policy-makers and program administrators, as well as communications between the training provider and the workplace. - Apprenticeships and traineeships: good practice guide for registered training organisations [3rd edition, 2012]
(Source: Western Australian Department of Training and Workforce Development)
Access more items in VOCEDplus
- Focus on Higher level apprenticeships pathways
- Pod - Apprenticeships and traineeships
- Podlet [archived]: Apprenticeship models [final update December 2018]
VET delivered to secondary students - Free resources
Research
- NCVER statistical collection - VET in Schools
Data on VET undertaken by secondary students as part of their senior secondary certificate of education - VET for secondary school students: acquiring an array of technical and non-technical skills [2019]
(Source: NCVER)
The aim of this study is to understand how VET can equip the students with the technical and non-technical skills to participate in an ever-changing world of work. It identifies the presence or absence of key non-technical skills within the content. - VET in Schools: a pathway to post-school employment and training - infographic [2017]
(Source: NCVER)
This infographic is based on the reports Australian vocational education and training statistics: VET in Schools 2016 and VET in Schools students: characteristics and post-school employment and training.
Focus on practice
- Guide to Western Australian school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBAT) [2020]
(Source: Western Australian Department of Training and Workforce Development)
This guide has been developed to support schools, registered training organisations, employers, students, parents and other stakeholders operating in the WA apprenticeship and traineeship system. It provides detailed information on the key aspects involved in an SBAT arrangement, including: a quick guide outlining the key steps involved in an SBAT from starting out through to completion; real life examples that make it easier to understand how SBATs actually work in practice; information on the roles and responsibilities of each of the stakeholders in an SBAT; and links for easy access to fact sheets, forms and other information. - Structured workplace learning manual for Victorian secondary schools [2017]
(Source: Victorian State Government, Education and Training)- SWL Statewide Portal [Victoria]
This portal helps school students to find work placements with employers across Victoria.
- SWL Statewide Portal [Victoria]
- VET for secondary students in Australia's states and territories
- VET in the Senior Secondary Certificates of Education (SSCE)
(Source: Australasian Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authorities, 2018)
The Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authority in each state or territory recognises Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the context of its own Senior Secondary Certificate of Education. Students can undertake VET as part of a Senior Secondary Certificate and its completion by the student provides credit towards both a recognised VET qualification and a senior secondary school certificate within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).- Preparing Secondary Students for Work: a framework for vocational learning and VET delivered to secondary students
(Source: myskills, Australian Government Department of Education and Training)
This framework and all the associated tools and resources on the website have been developed by Australian and state and territory governments in partnership with the education and training sector and peak industry bodies.
- Preparing Secondary Students for Work: a framework for vocational learning and VET delivered to secondary students
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
- VET in the Senior Secondary Certificates of Education (SSCE)
- Vocational placements [fact sheet]
(Source: Fair Work Ombudsman)
Access more items in VOCEDplus
Workplace education and training - Free resources
Research
- A huge learning curve: TAFE practitioners' ways of working with private enterprises [2005]
(Source: NCVER)
Increasingly, vocational education and training (VET) practitioners work with industry and within private enterprises in arrangements that provide training for workers. This report, based on interviews with TAFE practitioners and managers, enterprise managers and on-the-job learners, highlights the expanding roles of TAFE practitioners in these training arrangements. - Roles of informal workplace trainers in different organizational contexts: empirical evidence from Australian companies [article, 2006]
Informal workplace trainers help employees learn what they need to know and do in order to get their job done. Little is known about the actions of informal workplace trainers, who may be colleagues or supervisors. This study provides an empirical basis for actions undertaken by informal workplace trainers. - The emerging role of enterprise learning consultants [2013]
(Source: NCVER)
Enterprise learning consultants (ELCs) assist industry by combining their educational - in the context of the Australian Qualifications Framework and training packages - and business objectives and thereby promoting workforce development. This case study research examined the roles, duties and key competencies of enterprise learning consultants, and the areas of professional development needed to develop new ELCs. - The nature of learning being facilitated by frontline managers [article, 2013]
The research explores the role frontline managers play in promoting and facilitating learning at work. The results of this study suggest that frontline managers, who were considered leaders of learning within their respective organisations, take an instrumental approach to leading employee learning, that is, learning is seen largely as a mechanism for getting work done. - Workforce skills development and engagement in training through skill sets [2012]
(Source: NCVER)
Skill sets are a grouping of one or more competencies below the level of a full qualification that meet a client skills need, such as a licensing or compliance requirement or specific knowledge of an emerging area. A point of debate is the role that skills sets play compared to full qualifications, which are seen as the foundation of the VET system. Using a case study of agrifood students, this study investigated the use of skill sets by students enrolled in Rural Production Studies skill sets developed by TAFE NSW and those enrolled in the Diploma of Agriculture. - Workplace training: employer and employee perspectives [2017]
(Source: NCVER)
This summary highlights key findings from research which examined different aspects of employer-supported training.
Focus on practice
- 5 popular employee training methods for workplace training [online article, 2018]
(Source: eLearning Industry) - Corporate eLearning
- (Source: eLearning Industry)
- Enterprise learning and development as the new engine for business success [online article, 2018]
(Source: eLearning Industry) - Legal obligations when training staff
(Source: Business Queensland) - Microlearning: why it's time to ditch the 'completer finisher' mindset and go with the flow [online article, 2019, UK]
(Source: Trainingzone)
Classroom-based training is no longer the only way for employees to learn, so it’s time to ditch the ‘tick box’ approach to learning and truly embrace microlearning - and everything that goes with this. - Why immersive learning is the future of employee training [online article, 2018]
(Source: Human Resources Director)
For purchase
These are examples only of commercially available products. Inclusion on this list does not signify endorsement by NCVER.
- Velg Training [added 22 February 2024]
Access more items in VOCEDplus
- Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources [journal]
(Source: Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI))
Focuses on human resource topics in the Australasian region and Aimed at those involved in human resource management and research. - Human Resource Development International [journal]
The focus of this journal is on all aspects of practice and research that explore issues of individual, group and organisational learning and performance. - Human Resource Development Quarterly [journal]
Aimed at human resource professionals, the journal focuses directly on the evolving field of human resource development (HRD). - Podlet - Developing the workforce
- Podlet - Work-based and work-integrated learning
Evidence based evaluation
Free resources
- 5 essentials for effective evaluation [2016]
(Source: Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, NSW Government) - 5 steps of Evidence Based Practice
(Source: NT Health Library Services) - An evidence-based approach to teaching and learning [2005]
(Source: ACT Department of Education and Training) - Evidence-based practice and service-based evaluation [2013]
(Source: Australian Institute of Family Studies) - Non-researcher's guide to evidence-based program evaluation [2012]
(Source: Evidence-Based Leadership Council) - What does evidence-based practice in education mean? [2006]
(Source: ResearchGate)