Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector
Guidelines for tutors on Task Sheets for Professional Development Portfolio 2010-11
Task Sheets at 2 Levels in Professional Development Portfolio
Level 3
This group of tasks relates to Personal Aspects
a. ILP
1
Reflection on Individual Learning
b. CV
Plan and Curriculum Vitae
c. 50-60 words reflect
Presentation notes, feedback
Professional Responsibilities:
forms only
2
research and talk to group
Micro-teach and 80 words for
3
Micro-teaching and self-evaluation self-evaluation
Pro-forma containing 150-250
4
Summative: reflective thinking
words
Level 4
a. ILP
b. CV
c. 300-400 words reflect
Presentation notes,
feedback
Extra task 300 words
Micro-teach and 200 words
on self-evaluation
200-500 words
This group of tasks relates to Professional Activities
5
Preparing the Learning
Environment
6
The Process of Learning:
7
Session plan
8
Assessment
150-300 words
250-500 words
Mind map 100-250 words
Mind map
300-500 words
Plan
Plan
Extra task 200-350 words
150-200 words
250-500 words
Course Assessment
The requirement in 2007 that all people teaching in an organisation which receives public funding has resulted
in many people who would not previously have expected to take a teaching qualification to have been drawn
into the net. For this reason, the assessment for PTLLS is deliberately set to make use of all the work which
goes on in a classroom where teachers are being trained. Many trainees feel obliged to make notes for
themselves and much good work takes place within small groups whose findings are then discussed in a
plenary. Some of the tasks sheets ask the trainee to record these ideas as the discussion takes place (Group
Task). This is then followed by a further task which should be done alone (Individual Task). It is suggested that
all the task sheets are emailed to the trainees at the start of the course. The copy of the task sheets given to
them in the Professional Development Portfolio can be used in class and a typed final version can be produced
at home. This should reduce the work to the minimum required but also give trainees a challenge, both in the
group discussion and in producing the individual task alone. Suggested word counts are given for those tasks
where it is appropriate. Trainees will need to have this process explained to them and tutors should alert them
to each relevant task sheet in each session.
The Professional Development Portfolio is the Student Handbook and also contains the Task Sheets which are
the assessment activities for the course.
The PDP gives two levels at which assessment activities may be completed so that it is possible to run a mixed
group of Level 3 and Level 4 students. The students may be happy to select their own level; tutors may need to
encourage hesitant students to try for level 4. It is not necessary to make a decision on the level until the
trainees’ names are sent to an Exam Board.
Aim to keep the files small: course notes and handouts should not be included unless they relate to a Task.
Trainees’ work should not be encased in plastic files as the tutor is expected to make comments on the work
Guidelines for tutors on the Assessment of PTLLS Professional Development Portfolio 2010-11
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where appropriate and plastic files slow this process. Good organisation of material is important so the work is
easy to find.
Please make sure that you have discussed and decided how the files will be returned to the trainees once they
have been assessed.
Task Sheet 1:
a) ILP
b) Curriculum vitae
c) Skills Check
All three tasks for Task 1 require a discussion between trainee and tutor about the level of qualifications and
skills which the trainee has in order for the tutor to give guidance about the professional development they
should undertake if they wish to continue teacher training.
As part of a tutorial discussion, trainees should be alerted to the general requirements for teachers to have a
Level 2/3 qualification in the subject they teach. This is already part of the guidelines for entry to the Warwick
programme: a Level 3 qualification in their specialist subject is mandatory. This task requires the trainee to
produce a CV in an appropriate format and presentation style but also asks them to consider the CV content to
establish whether they have the relevant qualifications for the career which they want.
1c asks for an assessment in Literacy, Numeracy and ICT. These assessments can take place at any time during
PTLLS and for more nervous trainees, these should be arranged in such a way that the trainee feels supported
and not pressured. Whatever the results, there is guidance which the trainee can be given about what they
should do next. For those who wish to continue their training, all trainees must achieve a Level 2 Literacy and
Numeracy at the end of DTLLS Year 1 and Numeracy Level 2 at the end of Year 2. Trainees should be guided
after taking the tests about their suitability for continuing their training; for some, developing their literacy,
numeracy or IT skills may be more important.
This activity should also lead to a consideration of the skills needs of their learners. Some of the trainees who
are not yet teaching may have to wait for the session on skills in order to be able to complete this task.
Task Sheet 2
Professional Responsibilities
LLUK’s Units of Assessment have this firmly in at PTLLS level even though it may appear that this course
requirement is fairly demanding for such a short course. It could be delivered by a lecture but may be made a
little more interactive by asking the trainees to research an area and then share their knowledge with the
others in the group. The emphasis of the assessment for this task should be on sharing information effectively
which should mean that their research has been ‘digested’ well and that they are able to give key points only to
the group, discussing with them those which are most significant. Useful handouts will reinforce the oral
delivery. (one page only)
Assessment for this should focus on the accuracy of what they share their knowledge and how well they make
it accessible to the group. A formal presentation is not what is required here; it is much more important that
they convey the necessary facts and raise issues for consideration. As a communication exercise, this task
demonstrates some of the requirements of the Minimum Core.
Suggested topics: (note that for different types of trainee within the lifelong learning sector, other areas could
have more significance for them)
*Health and Safety
*Disability Discrimination legislation
SENDA
*Child Protection/Vulnerable Adults
*Every Child Matters
*Equality and Diversity
Data Protection
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Professional Standards
*IfL Code of Practice
Codes of Practice for dealing with Substance Abuse, restraint techniques
The rights of the Ex-offender
*Issues of confidentiality
Young people aged 14-16 in post-16 contexts.
Those topics starred* should be given priority in every PTLLS group.
Many of these topics will be considered again in CTLLS or DTLLS; the emphasis here should be on getting across
the key points of any topic in such a way that the audience can take in the important points.
Task 3 Micro-teaching
Micro-teaching brings two-fold benefits: it enables the trainee to get supportive feedback from the group and
from the tutor; it allows trainees to see how other teachers work and to take ideas from that. Both of these
aspects of the assessment are important. Trainees can receive feedback from others if there is a system of
feedback from the other trainees and by the tutor. The feedback from the tutor is vital as not all trainee
feedback is either detailed or perceptive enough. Two full sets of detailed feedback from trainees and one
from the tutor should give the trainee sufficient feedback on which to base his or her self-evaluation.
The second aspect of this is how the other trainees respond to the speaker. A form which allows them to focus
on the positive aspects of a speaker, and to state what they will take from that speaker, is part of their own
professional development and will go into their own portfolio as evidence of this.
Two forms are available:
 A detailed report form which the tutor uses and which two other trainees will use (in turn) so that
each speaker gets 3 sets of feedback to help with their self-evaluation and to go into their PDP
 A general one which shows the impact of the micro-teaching on the listener and which s/he will add to
their PDP.
This should work no matter what the group size, which may vary according to different arrangements for
managing the time for micro-teaching.
Give the trainees choice on their subject but don’t expect it to necessarily be part of a ‘lesson’. Showing how to
make Christmas crackers will provide an equally good opportunity to carry out a self-assessment of one’s
communication skills as a formal teaching session on the English Civil War.
Task Sheet 4
‘Experience, reflected on’
Note that this task asks trainees at Level 3 to log each session so will need to be introduced early in the
programme.
Task 4 pulls together the reflective elements of the Personal Development section. It would be useful to launch
this assignment during Session 6 where reflective thinking is discussed as part of evaluation generally. Trainees
are advised to keep a running record for each session in preparation for this assignment of the impact which
course sessions and tasks may have upon them. Tutors will recognise the similarity to reflective journals;
however to require a full reflective journal to be written would be to increase the course assessment which is
not desirable. However, their own notes which are written up in a summative reflection at the end of the
course echoes processes which appear in both CTLLS and DTLLS.
Task 5
The Learning Environment
 Understand own responsibilities towards learners and how they are reflected in the ‘Professional
Standards’
 List the types of learner in the lifelong learning sector
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Discuss with colleagues the impact of early learning experiences on the learner outside the compulsory
sector
List possible barriers to learning for learners (Maslow)
List ways in which the learning environment can be improved to benefit the learning process
Consider approaches to equality and diversity in LLLS (poverty and deprivation, age, disability, gender,
race, faith and religious belief, sexual orientation, transgender)
Be introduced to issues such as motivation and learning style and how these may affect the process of
learning
Devise strategies for the teacher to counteract these potential difficulties
This assessment will begin in the first session so is deliberately low-key. The trainees will, for the most part,
have only limited experience of learning environments. It will be important to ensure that all trainees are able
to explore the learning environment which is standard for them, so this activity should relate to the range of
learning contexts which exist in the lifelong learning sector. It is also clear from the number of learning
outcomes for this session that this can be only an introduction to these topics, all of which develop much
further later in the ITT programme.
This session introduces the trainee to the variety of learners within the sector and will enable the tutor to
introduce early ideas about inclusivity and equal opportunities. This can then lead into the individual
differences between learners and the differences in how each may approach a new learning experience. A
useful group activity requires the trainee to recall a previous learning experience they have had which was not
successful. With the group’s help, it should be possible to identify what factors led to the lack of success. Such
a discussion can lead on to a plenary where the physical, emotional and cognitive needs of the learner in a new
learning environment can be highlighted. Ideas from this group activity should be recorded in the first box of
the task sheet and is a joint activity working towards a consensus.
Later, the trainee will complete the second individual task. This should first detail a number of barriers a
learner may experience, and will be a re-statement of what was discussed in the groupwork; for each barrier,
trainees will need to show how they would act in order to reduce this barrier. The word limit will confine
responses.
Task 6
The Process of Learning
Most trainees taking PTLLS are likely to be inexperienced in teaching. The objective of this session and this task
is to open their understanding of the complexities of the process of learning. Whilst reading various theories on
learning may follow this task, it should not be seen as the main focus. It is important that the group has time to
discuss with each other what learning means to each person, especially as this will vary between different
subject areas. This will start with the initial activity on defining learning; trainees are asked to write these onto
their task sheets. It is also possible to integrate into this session work done on learning styles, barriers to
learning and the effects of the learning environment. As most of this comes in the first two sessions, these
themes can resonate at the start of the course and prepare them for a fuller, more expansive look at the
learning process at the next level. Various theories can be discussed but the emphasis should be on applying
this theory to someone’s subject teaching. Maslow and Bruner both have simple ideas which can be discussed
first as a theory and secondly as a practical approach to a group of learners. Giving named theorists may
encourage further research but should be limited to just a few.
Thinking, discussion and making links are the key activities for the session and should lead the trainee to a
position where they are able to give a personal response to what they have done. Mind maps lend themselves
easily to this opening out approach and may be used during the session to facilitate the group work and
discussions. Having done this as a group activity, trainees are asked to produce an individual version. Any
work on theorists should be integrated into the mind map.
Task 7
Session planning
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During the session on lesson planning, trainees will have discussed the benefits of planning and filled in the
appropriate box on the task sheet. Similarly, a group brainstorm can supply the various headings which may
need to appear. It’s important to make a distinction between what is good practice and what is required by an
employing institution so there should be some variation as to the headings to be used and personal choice and
the demands of different subject areas should not be overridden. There is space on the Task Sheet for the
headings to be noted.
Showing where skills have been embedded will be raised by those who have to do this and should be discussed
as something which is desirable but not mandatory at this stage.
Work on the terms Aims, Objectives and/or Learning Outcomes should enable trainees to write these
accurately and appropriately. It is advisable to send the less experienced away with several good examples to
use as a guide. You should expect that the Session Plan which is handed in for assessment should be correct
which means that any with aims and objectives or Learning Outcomes which are not well-defined should be
discussed and returned for a second draft.
The rationale for the lesson plan should give the evidence you need for how the trainee approached the
session plan.
Some trainees who are more assessors than teachers may find this task difficult. Assessors are trained to plan
their assessments and to think ahead of what will need to be done. The Task Sheet is called ‘Session Planning’
so that it is applicable to such trainees.
Task 8
Assessment
Learning Outcomes
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Recognise importance of assessment in the cycle of teaching and learning
Discuss assessment of learning and assessment for learning
Recognise importance of record-keeping for teaching and assessment purposes
Recognise the links between assessment, evaluation and reflective thinking
Appreciate the value of reflective thinking in developing own professional practice
Several issues are important here:
 The link between assessment, evaluation and reflective thinking, the last part of the Teaching Cycle, is
the only place where reflective thinking is mentioned specifically. As this is the last session, many
trainees will be working on Task 4 which is a summative reflection on their development through the
course.
 New teachers need to see that every teacher should be assessing what the extent is of their learners’
comprehension of their teaching, so ‘formal and informal’ assessment is for tutors to make that point.
 ‘Record-keeping’ is a very specific topic which SVUK mention several times. This has triggered the part
in the Task sheet which asks why assessment is important for the organisation and the teacher.
 The class activity asks them to identify formative, summative, initial and self-assessment. It’s worth
saying that initial assessment is not necessarily only skills assessment; some investigation of the
learner’s prior knowledge of the subject is also important. Diagnostic and peer assessment may also
be mentioned.
 There needs to be some group activity which will allow them to see some of the ways in which
assessment can become unfair. Some discussion of the poor reader/writer, the teacher who hasn’t
worked out what their assessment criteria are, exam nerves, the importance of maintaining a standard
or assessments which are not planned or set up properly will give the trainee the two examples they
will need for the Individual Activity.
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