RPL: A Practitioner’s Journey
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Judy Forbes, Teacher, Childrens' Services, TAFE SA
With sixteen years of face to face, classroom based teaching and assessment under her belt, and now a key role in effecting change in RPL practices right across her organisation, Judy talks about her journey of change. Her story is involving and well worth a listen.
In 2007 Judy facilitated a Reframing the Future project which aimed to assist TAFE SA to provide consistent, responsive and quality RPL services. The project was about pulling together those pockets of quality in RPL practices in TAFE SA that exist, but have remained isolated, impacting little on wider practices. Through this process of exchange, key issues were identified to try to drive and improve quality changes.
Issues identified were not limited to any one particular concern and were:
- Changing attitudes and approach/mindsets
- Raising awareness, understanding and connection with industry, enterprises and individuals
- Clarity of systems, infrastructures and policy.
An action plan has been developed which looks at a range of strategies to deal with these issues.
Actions (to initiate change)
- To research current ‘RPL’ assessment strategies, models and approaches based on theory and practice
- To decide on a Recognition model that reflects research and principles of assessment
- to market and promote such a model across the organization
- To up-skill practitioners/managers in skills and knowledge required to assess, administer, manage RPL systems and processes
- To affect structural changes in policy, systems and processes.
Strategies
- Develop promotional materials – pamphlets/brochures, CDs/DVDs
- Develop an ‘Implementation Guide’ (to effect consistency)
- Encourage the development of quality resources and tools (valid, reliable, flexible)
- To develop a ‘register of RPL practitioners’ for mentoring/coaching/advisory purposes.
Recognition Online Network
Through her contacts in working on the Reframing the Future project Judy is also involved with the TAFE NSW based Recognition Online Network (RON) RPL network. This Recognition network is well underway and expected to expand in 2008 as other states such as Western Australia come on board and relationships are forged across Australia in working towards improving RPL.
Judy notes that her work has been influenced by that of Brian Spencer’s Recognising Competency model as she feels this links with her own core beliefs. www.recognisingcompetency.org.au
Work values
- valuing experience in the workplace
- recognising skills and attitudes developed over ‘time’/lifespan
- having upfront assessment opportunities
- linking assessment with the ‘job role’ and competency of the individual
- assessing using workplace evidence
- integrating assessment of underpinning knowledge and skills
- sharing responsibility and decisions for learning with ‘learner’
- collaborating with others
- flexible learning opportunities
- respect and trust
- engaging, consulting and interacting with sector/workplaces and individuals
- ensuring the learner and assessor work collaboratively to collate/generate/initiate evidence.
RPL issues
Some of the issues Judy has identified with RPL are not unfamiliar and include:
- people still turning to tools to finding solutions to improve their RPL practice and yet consistently it was around the frameworks, model and approaches that we needed significant change
- practitioners using a range of evidence - evidence collection was confused with AQTF compliance and documenting
- people still fraught with frustration about how much is enough to demonstrate competency.
As an “evolution” of Judy’s experience through her experience, professional conversations, knowledge and skills - (which she adds “sounds rather like she’s providing evidence for an RPL application”) are the key words: communicate, consult and collaborate.
Judy has developed a proforma which she uses to support her RPL work – she refers to it in her talk.