Peter Chin

Workplace learning and the metacognitive functions of routines

In the face of research that shows that workplace knowledge and learning are highly contextual, calls for the teaching of generalizable skills for the workplace have been widespread. While the authors reject the usefulness of teaching generalizable skills, they believe that there are commonalities in workplace knowledge that can be taught. These commonalities are related to metacognition rather than simple cognition, and the approach in this paper is to explore the potential of metacognitive instruction for workplace learning. Specifically, the concept of routines is used to develop an instructional theory derived from the inherent metacognitive functions of routines themselves. The paper draws upon contemporary cognitive theory and on recent research on workplace learning, and it builds on studies the authors have conducted on learning in the workplace and on the observation of routines at work.

Epistemological Appropriation in One High School Student’s Learning in Cooperative Education

In this study, detailed observations and interviews from a high school student’s semester-long cooperative (co-op) placement in a dental practice are used to exemplify Hung’s theoretical approach to understanding situated learning. Using Hung’s theory of epistemological appropriation in an analysis of the coop supervisor’s regulatory behaviors (scaffolding, modeling, and coaching) and of the novice’s corresponding regulatory behaviors (submitting, mirroring, and constructing) helped to explain the developments in this student’s learning, actions, and beliefs. In contrast to the progression suggested by Hung’s theory, this study reports daily examples of all types of regulatory behaviors, with scaffolding/submitting being most prominent. The discussion focuses on how Hung’s theory of regulatory behaviors informs supervisors’ improving opportunities for novices’ learning and informs novices’ engagement in epistemological appropriation in work-based learning.

Perspectives on learning to teach science: insights and dilemmas from a collaborative practicum project

In this article we discuss the theoretical and practical rationale for establishing a collaborative science practicum project and report on the findings of the first two years. The project was designed to strengthen the communication links among the school‐based educators, the pre‐service teachers, and the university‐based educators, in order to address the seemingly intractable problems associated with initiating new science teachers into the varied social practices of the teaching profession. Our findings are organized and discussed in the form of three dilemmas (Cuban 1992). These dilemmas are associated with the difficulties the pre‐service teachers had in connecting the propositional knowledge presented in the university setting with the procedural knowledge required in the school setting, and the lack of familiarity by the university and school‐based educators of each others practice setting. We describe results that resonate with similar issues reported in other collaborative projects, and propose...

Learning in the workplace: Fostering resilience in disengaged youth

OBJECTIVE International reports on school-to-work transition make it clear that worldwide youth are at-risk for educational disengagement and are three times as likely to be unemployed as their adult counterparts. Work-based education (WBE) is one of the most frequently recommended solutions for youth disengagement which suggests that WBE serves as a protective factor and encourages resilience in at-risk youth. The objective of this study was to describe and compare the experiences of two at-risk youth enrolled in WBE. PARTICIPANTS Two 18-year old at-risk youth enrolled in WBE were chosen for study because they were learning in workplaces judged likely to promote resilience. Both had been disengaged from school prior to enrolling in WBE. METHOD Each multiple-perspective case study includes the perspective of the youth, the workplace employer, and the work-based educator. Data consisted of ethnographic observations and interviews conducted at the workplace, and with the teacher in the school. RESULTS Each case study highlights how supportive adults and an at-risk youth engage in interactions that facilitate the emergence of resilience in the workplace. CONCLUSIONS In these two cases, risk and resilience are context specific, suggesting that at-risk youth may require tailored workplace programs to meet their career development needs.

Exemplary practice in work‐based education: a validation study

This paper validates the concept of exemplary practice in work‐based education (WBE) programs. The validation uses two theoretical frameworks: Social Cognitive Career Theory, and Billett’s research on workplace learning. The empirical component of the validation study consists of two widely differing case studies of high school students in work placements. Concepts found in previous research (communication, assessment and evaluation, linking school and workplace learning, and creating a pathway) are evident in the data of this study and are consistent with the theoretical frameworks, thus validating the concept of exemplary practice.

Enhancing Workplace Learning for Adolescents: The Use of Metacognitive Instruction.

Purpose – This paper aims to describe an instructional study of three cases of work‐based education students (in co‐operative education in Canada), described by their teachers as ranging from high achieving to low achieving.Design/methodology/approach – The three students are given metacognitive instruction to enhance their workplace learning. The instruction is based on findings from a population of recent case studies of learning in the workplace and is shared with the students, with their teachers, and with their workplace supervisors. Interviews and observations are used to describe the variable success of metacognitive instruction in the three workplace settings.Findings – The paper finds that, while the teachers do not implement the materials fully, both the employers and the students find the metacognitive questions that make up the instructional materials to be useful and have suggestions for how the instructional materials should be used in workplaces. The instructional materials are appended.Ori...

Teaching science for the workplace? An analysis of Canadian science curriculum documents

This article reports on the analysis of 108 science curriculum documents from the 13 Canadian provinces and territories exploring the explicit links that the science curriculum makes with the world of work. The document analysis was undertaken to examine the extent to which the contemporary Canadian provincial and territorial science curriculum documents represent objectives and goals that relate to science in the workplace. Because Canadian curriculum documents are reviewed periodically, the research was timed so that it captured the moment at which a significant number of these policy documents had been revised and released: December 2004. The article begins with a review of the nature of the knowledge or New Economy. Then previous document analysis research on science curriculum policy is discussed. The present study’s findings suggest that curriculum policy makers are generally inattentive to the world of work and, in particular, to the demands of the New Economy. Implications of the research include the need to review the purposes of science education in Canada. Questions we might ask include, ‘To what extent might school science attempt to bridge the worlds of school and work?’ and ‘How might the bridge be built to this large part of life after school?’RésuméCet article est le résultat de l’analyse de 108 documents provenant des curriculums scientifiques des 13 provinces et territoires canadiens, portant sur les liens explicites entre les curriculums scientifiques et le marché du travail. Cette analyse a été réalisée afin de mieux comprendre à quel point les documents issus des curriculums scientifiques provinciaux et territoriaux canadiens reflètent les but et objectifs qui touchent les liens entre les sciences et le monde du travail. Puisque les curriculums canadiens sont révisés périodiquement, cette recherche a eu lieu à un moment choisi en fonction du fait que nombre de ces documents faisaient l’objet d’une révision détaillée, soit en décembre 2004. L’article commence par un tour d’horizon sur la nature des connaissances sur la nouvelle économie. Ensuite, il présente une analyse des recherches précédentes sur le sujet. Nos résultats suggèrent que les décideurs en matière de curriculums sont généralement peu attentifs au monde du travail, et aux besoins de la nouvelle économie en particulier. Parmi les implications qui se dégagent de cette recherche, mentionnons la nécessité de revoir les objectifs de l’enseignement des sciences au Canada. Les questions que nous sommes en droit de poser sont entre autres les suivantes: Jusqu’où les sciences à l’école peuvent-elles aller pour faire le pont entre les milieux scolaires et le monde du travail ? Comment peut-on procéder pour construire un pont vers cette longue étape de la vie qui suit la formation scolaire?

Workplace Learning: Metacognitive Strategies for Learning in the Knowledge Economy

The New Economy signals a significant growth in knowledge (Stiglitz, 1999) and economies are increasingly based on knowledge (OECD, 1996). The implications are that workplaces will become increasingly reliant upon workers who are learners and that schools will be expected to furnish students with appropriate preparation. The Canadian Advisory Council on Science and Technology (2000) argued, “experience with work programs [must be] core elements of elementary and secondary curricula” (p. 55). In this paper, we propose general instructional approaches for workplace learning. Our approach derives from our research in co-operative (co-op) education, or work-based education as it is called in some jurisdictions. In our research, we have focused specifically on secondary

Using Interactive Technology to Disseminate Research Findings to a Diverse Population

This paper demonstrates how case stories can be used to disseminate the findings of several case studies on negotiating accommodations in the workplace. It highlights the power of interactive technology and of the partnership between the researchers and the Canadian Council for Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW). The paper describes the process of designing an interactive web-based case story for the purpose of disseminating research findings. The interactive case story is an extension of both the case study and the narrative case story. As part of a larger research project, it is our goal to use interactive case stories to investigate the impact of essential skills training on workers with disabilities who negotiate with employers for workplace accommodations. Resume Le present article montre comment les histoires de cas peuvent etre utilisees pour diffuser les conclusions de plusieurs etudes de cas sur la negociation entourant l’amenagement du milieu de travail. Il met en evidence le pouvoir de la technologie interactive et du partenariat entre les chercheurs et le Conseil canadien de la readaptation et du travail (CCRT). L’article decrit le processus de conception d’une histoire de cas interactive en ligne visant a diffuser des resultats de recherche. L’histoire de cas interactive est un prolongement a la fois de l’etude de cas et du recit de l’histoire de cas. Dans le cadre d’un plus vaste projet de recherche, notre but est d’utiliser des histoires de cas interactives pour etudier l’impact de la formation sur les competences essentielles chez les travailleurs handicapes qui negocient avec leur employeur pour l’amenagement de leur milieu de travail.

They want to come to school: Work-based education programs to prevent the social exclusion of vulnerable youth.

OBJECTIVE This paper describes and compares exemplary work-based education (WBE) programs in Ontario Canada designed to meet the needs of two groups of vulnerable youth - at-risk youth and youth with severe disabilities. PARTICIPANTS Two focus group interviews were held, one with professionals from exemplary programs designed to meet the needs of at-risk youth and one with professionals from exemplary programs for youth with severe disabilities. METHOD Standard qualitative analyses were conducted on each focus group transcript to generate themes which were subsequently grouped into larger patterns. Then cross-case analyses identified consistencies and unique features within the two types of WBE programs. RESULTS Two major patterns that characterize the WBE programs emerged from the analyses: the first pattern described the programmatic approaches to WBE appropriate for each type of type of student (which included themes such as the need for an alternative learning environment for at-risk youth), and the second pattern highlighted the rationale for each kind of program (which included themes like ensuring equity for youth with severe disabilities). CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that schools should continue to provide distinct WBE programs for each of these groups of vulnerable youth - at-risk youth and youth with severe disabilities.