Assessor Teacher Evidence Guide

The Assessor Teacher Evidence Guide has been developed to assist in assessing evidence for this qualification with the intent to provide easy to understand and user friendly materials that can be customised to meet your needs and the needs of your teaching section.

The Assessment Teacher Evidence Guide will provide:

*Information about units of competency
*Suggested unit specific questions including model answers for professional conversations
*Links to evidence proformas to support recognition decisions
*Validated assessment tool examples
*Useful links for further information

The RPL process relies on the assessor, to:
*apply the principles of assessment and the rules of evidence
*encourage learner self assessment of competencies
*provide opportunity to discuss issues with the learner regarding RPL
*provide opportunities for feedback and guidance

The support and encouragement that you give to learners during the assessment process is important to their eventual success. For assessors/ teachers the Assessor Teacher Evidence Guide provides benchmarking of evidence to assist you with the decision making process for granting recognition of prior learning and therefore judgements about demonstrated competence.

Portfolio of Evidence
Evidence is the information provided to you that supports the learner in gaining recognition. Evidence comes in many forms and a collation of evidence is commonly referred to as a “Portfolio of Evidence”.
Here are some examples of different types of evidence:
Work samples - reports, documents
Verbal presentation and answer questions
Work in progress (drafts)
Job description
Reference from employer
Minutes of meetings attended
Promotional materials developed
Awards/Transcripts
Awards
Promotional materials
Electronic or hard copies of products
Agendas
Testimonials/Reference/Letters of Verification
Job contracts/Resumes
Audit reports
Training need analysis instruments
Training plans/Contracts/Memoranda of understanding
Tender documents
Newsletters

The Interview
This section of the process provides examples of questions that you as an assessor may ask in order to clarify or expand on the evidence you have provided. Remember you may wish to ask additional questions.

The Assessor Teacher Evidence Guide provides critical aspects of the evidence to provide you with support in assessing the responses a learner may provide during the interview. For example deciding when the information provided is sufficient.

Summary of Evidence
This section of the process assists you with determining the outcome of the recognition process. There are templates available to support you with completing this. For example recording of results and record book. Also included are benchmarked validated assessment tools that can be used when more evidence is required.

At the completion of the process you will need to provide feedback to the learners on your decisions and reasons why those decisions have been made. Templates are available to assist you with this.

When assessing evidence consider all possibilities. This can be:
The workplace (job experience)
Formal training sessions (qualifications)
Life experience (community involvement etc)
Remember, all evidence provided must meet the rules of evidence which are:
Authenticity - is it the learner's own work? What evidence can be provided to prove this?
Validity – how does it relate to the evidence requirements of the Unit/s? How is this judgment made?
Currency – does it show recent use of skills and knowledge? What is an acceptable period of time?
Sufficiency - is there enough evidence to show consistent use of the skills and knowledge to grant recognition? What is the measure of sufficiency?

What an evidence portfolio looks like depends on both the sort of evidence that is collected and the purpose for the collection. To assist learners with the process the Learner Evidence Guide for the Certificate IV Community Services Work is available. The Learner Evidence Guide gives learners the opportunity to provide a logically sequenced portfolio for you to assess. This is available in a CD Rom format and hard copy.

E-Network of Assessors for Community Services (ENACS)



Great news as well! I have managed to secure more funding for a follow up project. This will be about sharing assessments online, developing tests and quizzes as well as exploring the use of mobile technologies. This is about developing an assessors network with you choosing your level of involvement. There will be discussions and chats and some workshops if you are interested!

This network is for VTE professionals interested in exploring e-assessment in a teaching and learning environment. The network aims to support practitioners in sharing ideas and resources involved with managing an online bank of assessment tools for the area of Community Services. The purpose will be to collect examples of good practice and exchange how-to stories that can be documented in an online environment (EDNA group.) This network will explore models, systems and tools for supporting the exchanging of ideas related to online assessment extending this with mobile technology.

http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=720

ICVET Conference 4th August 2006

THE LEARNING POWERHOUSE…Switched on to Work

Friday, 4th August 2006

All day conference followed by a networking cocktail event

Australian Technology Park, Redfern, Sydney, NSW
2006 TAFE NSW Conference on VET Teaching and Learning Practice

Well we have been selected to present at the Conference Yeah!!! Here it is

CEG, LEG and ATEG Supporting RPL in VTE

The more acronym challenged among you may appreciate being told that the title of this presentation refers to a work based learning project involving two TAFE NSW institutes who developed a Learner and Assessor /Teacher Evidence Guide for Certificate IV Community Services Work.

The CEG (Competency Evidence Guide) has been developed in a framework that can be customised to incorporate additional qualifications and can be accessed in a number of formats. The LEG (Learner Evidence Guide) will encourage learners to develop work based skills and knowledge. And the ATEG (Assessor /Teacher Evidence Guide) is expected to assist in maximising confidence in assessment decision making. CEG is to be made accessible in a variety of formats to meet the different needs of both the learners and assessors.

Come to the workshop to view the resources, ask questions, provide feedback on the usefulness of the tools, work through the process and consider the applicability of the CEG, LEG and ATEG to other training packages and qualifications.

Want to know more about the conference?

http://www.icvet.tafensw.edu.au/powerhouse_2006/index.htm

Who else will be presenting?

http://www.icvet.tafensw.edu.au/powerhouse_2006/presenters.htm

Draft 1 Finished!

Well the first draft has been finalised and the main aim was to make it simple yet informative. We are seeking approval for the use of graphics from Prove IT so we will see how it works out.
This is an overview:

Page 1 Index

Page 2 Introduction to the Learner Evidence Guide detailing information about recognition and assessment.

Page 3 provides an overview of the stages of the Learner Evidence Guide:

1. Self Assessment
2. Providing Evidence
3. The Interview
4. Summary of Evidence

Page 4 is an overview of the competencies covered ibn the qualification Certificate IV Community Services Work.

Page 5 is the self assessment to begin the recognition process to match life experiences with the units of competency. This also gives an overview of the competencies in a holistic way.

For example:

CHCCOM3C Utilise Specialist Communication Skills to Build Strong Relationships
Have you developed a range of communication skills to assist you in building and maintaining strong relationships with clients and colleagues?

Page 6 is an introduction to documenting evidence. For example:

Match your evidence to the units of competency. This will assist you in preparing your evidence portfolio. An evidence portfolio is a collection of documents and other documentary evidence (such as film or photographs) that show what work you have done and the skills and knowledge you have developed.

Page 7 provides the learners with example interview questions they maybe asked.

For example:
CHCCOM3C Utilise Specialist Communication Skills to Build Strong Relationships
Can you outline skills you have used in interviews with clients?
How have you contributed to communication with colleagues?
Can you describe the methods you have used to represent your agency to other groups in the community.
Can you detail the strategies you have used in group facilitation?
What specific communication techniques would/ have you used to assist in resolving conflicts in your workplace?

Final Page:

Summary of details which provides profromas to assist with gathering evidence prior to enrolling with TAFE and will streamline the process.

For example:

Section 1 Your Details: This provides your contact details and the competencies you are seeking recognition.
Section 2 Your Training: This is all training you have completed. This evidence can be aligned to the units of competency of the qualification.
Section 3 Educational Qualifications. You may gain recognition for units of competency in your current TAFE NSW course if you have successfully completed the identical unit with another Registered Training Organisation. This is called Mutual Recognition. Some outdated qualifications can be mapped to current courses, so it is important to note all courses completed.
Section 4 Work History. For this section it is important to include the duties performed. This provides extra evidence to assist you to gain recognition.
Section 5 Evidence Examples. This aligns your evidence to the units of competency of the qualification and organises it in a logical way. You may also seek supporting evidence from your supervisor or work colleagues.
Example of a Third Party Report

Copies have been developed and are currently being reviewed with Industry and members of the team. The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation will be working in partnership with us to evaluate the resource. This was showcased at the Learn@work meeting this week and positive feedback was received.

Working on the Leg

All the information has come in for the Learner Evidence guide and we are on schedule for meet the outcomes of the project!
Yeah! Lots of interest in the flow charts but these are still in draft formats.

1. Flowchart for the Learner

2. Flow chart for the Assessor/ Trainer

Off to talk to the Centre for Learning and Innovation to discuss the production of the materials in both hard copy and CD Rom format. have to work out with Finance payment arrangments for everyone.

Deadline for LEG

Friday 12th May our first deadline......

By the end of this week we hope to have all info for the first part of the project for the LEG. What is needed is:
1. Initial Assessment Overview Question
2. Evidence Examples (At least 5)
3. Interview Questions (At least 3)
4. Completed Evidence Examples (at least 3)

To help support the group I have developed:

• Power Point Explainng the Project
• Flow Chart for both LEG and ATEG

These have been uploaded to the Jetty:

Lets see what happens by the end of the week.....

• 
  Back to Work
  
  

The term break over Easter came and went and now it is time to return. I sent off a survey to all to evlaute the Kurri Workshop. Great feedback and everyone is interested in being a part of the presentation at the ICVET Conference. The submission has been sent!

The Jetty has been developed further to help support everyone that is part of the project. This has included:

• Uploading resources this is both Unit Guides and Recognition Guides that are available.
• Documents and templates for documenting evidence and assessment validation.
• Draft copies of both the LEG (Learner Evidence Guide) and ATEG) Assessor/ Teacher Evidence Guide.

The first announcement was sent to all members of the project to keep everyone informed and up to date. Just received the photos of Kurri will upload them soon.