Peter Knight, The Open University, UK

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Enhancing employability through pedagogic
practices

• Peter Knight, The Open University, UK

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Bologna

• See handout 1 for summary.
• The degree awarded after the first cycle shall
  also be relevant to the European labour market as
  an appropriate level of qualification. (Bologna)
• Lifelong learning (Prague)
• Quality assurance?

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Overview

• Employability a discourse
• Responses
• Co-curricular
• Curricular
• Actions
• Being strategic

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Employability is the hook

• for talking about, advancing and researching
• The quality of the student experience.
• Good learning.
• Valued academic practices.
• On the basis of international research evidence.

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Employers talking

• Employer satisfaction with new graduate hires
• Complain of specific failings no general HE
  programme could anticipate them.
• Handout 2

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The ESECT view

• A set of achievements, understandings and
  personal attributes that make individuals more
  likely to gain employment and be successful in
  their chosen occupations.
• Consistent with thinking in other countries
  Hong Kong (Ed Ko), Australia (Simon Barrie),
  Canada (Alan Wright), USA (Marcia Mentkowski).
• Has attracted attention at European conferences.

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Complex outcomes of learning

• Advanced (but ? formal operational thinking).
• Slow (10000, 5000, xxxx hours).
• Fuzzy (precision only at the expense of
  validity).
• See the modern version of Blooms taxonomy,
  handout 3.

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• Employability a discourse
• Responses
• Co-curricular
• Curricular
• Actions
• Being strategic

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Co-curricular responses (1)

• Co-curriculum
• All those arrangements made outside the regular
  curriculum for the educational enrichment of the
  undergraduate years
• Careers provision
• Student Union activity
• Includes all other special certification of
  skills, out-of-class work (e.g. graduate
  enterprise), voluntary work, optional work
  experience/placement, and

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Co-curricular responses (2)

• Add-ons have significant but limited power.
• The predicament of careers services.
• The co-curriculum and unequal access.
• Slow growing achievements.
• Fails to capitalise on what subject areas can
  contribute if well taught.

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• Employability a discourse
• Responses
• Co-curricular
• Curricular
• Actions
• Being strategic

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Curriculum responses (1)

• Employability lies less in curriculum content
  than in curriculum processes.
• An entitlement approach to learning, teaching and
  assessment.
• A programmic approach to employability, learning,
  teaching and assessment.

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Curriculum responses (2)

• The LTSN/GC Learning and Employability series
  (2004).
• Yorke, M. (2004) Employability in Higher
  Education what it is and what it is not. York
  the Learning and Teaching Support Network.
• Yorke, M and Knight, P. T. (2004b) Embedding
  Employability into the Curriculum. York the
  Learning and Teaching Support Network.

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• Employability a discourse
• Responses
• Co-curricular
• Curricular
• Actions
• Being strategic

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Action 1

• Offer an alternative to the toxic waste view of
  employability.

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Action 2

• Refresh web sites, module handbooks, programme
  guides, open day materials, programme
  specification, etc.

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Action 3

• Awareness
• For staff creating a learning culture.
• This is how we do things around here.
• Rules of the assessment game.
• Rules of the job-getting game.
• For students knowing what you know.
• Self-awareness.
• Claims-making.
• CV building.

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Action 4

• Look at teaching do practices support the
  development of complex outcomes?
• Sufficient variety?
• Sufficient coherence?

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Action 5

• Look at learning
• Problem-based?
• in the wild?
• Encourage autonomy?
• Encourage collaboration?
• Cumulative?

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Action 6

• Look at assessment
• Grading-focused?
• Learning-oriented?
• with complex outcomes in mind?
• Self- and peer-assessment?
• Building curricula vitae
• e-assessment?

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Action 7

• Audit LTA practices at programme level.
• Modular programmes?

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Action 8

• Use tools to help employability audits
• www.esect.co.uk.

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Action 9

• Tune and tighten the programme.

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Action 10

• Work with student unions/associations
• Course reps and curriculum

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Action 11

• Careers advice and guidance
• and curriculum.

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Action 12

• Research and knowledge transfer develop the
  evidence base

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Action 13

• Professional bodies

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• Employability a discourse
• Responses
• Co-curricular
• Curricular
• Actions
• Being strategic

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Pascarella and Terenzini (2005)

• College can affect students. Key elements
  include
• Diversity
• Engagement
• Quality of the whole experience (in and out of
  class).
• Challenges to
• Course-based approaches.
• Default instructional patterns.
• Bedrock cultures.

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From tactics to strategy?
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More readings

• Barnett, R. and Coate, K. (2005) Engaging the
  Curriculum in Higher Education. Maidenhead
  Society for Research into Higher Education and
  the Open University Press.
• Knight, P. T. and Yorke, M. (2004) Learning,
  Curriculum and Employability. London
  Routledge/Falmer.
• Pascarella, E.T. and Terenzini, P.T. (2005). How
  college affects students (Vol 2) A third decade
  of research. San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Yorke, M and Knight, P. T. (2004) Employability
  judging and communicating achievement. York the
  Learning and Teaching Support Network.

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Contact

• Peter Knight,
• Institute of Educational Technology,
• The Open University,
• Milton Keynes,
• MK7 6AA
• peter.knight_at_open.ac.uk
• http//iet.open.ac.uk/pp/peter.knight/