Work Integrated Learning: A Guide to Effective Practice

Citation

Cooper, L., Orrell, J. and Bowden, M. (2011), "Work Integrated Learning: A Guide to Effective Practice", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 414-417. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090591111128360

Book synopsis

Building on earlier research on work integrated learning programmes, Janice Orrell has partnered with colleagues Lesley Cooper and Margaret Bowden (2010, p. 1) to provide a “Practical guide for designing and managing learning programmes that occur in the workplace”. With such a lofty applied goal, one might expect a tabbed, spiral manual rather than a scholarly paperback.

The book is designed to offer readers an applied, “hands‐on” type of guide for managing a work integrated learning programme. The authors take an andragogical approach to this instructional guide, providing a conceptual map in the introduction that identifies which chapters address each of seven distinct dimensions of work‐integrated learning: purpose, context, partnerships, integration, curriculum, learning and support. These application‐oriented segments offer a practical and active reference guide, as opposed to a theoretical shelf text.

The first section addresses aspects of leadership and vision (Chapter 1), and defines the seven dimensions of work‐integrated learning (Chapter 2). The next section of the book addresses the core dimensions of work‐integrated learning: curriculum and learning (Chapter 3), teaching (Chapter 4), assessment (Chapter 5) and supervision (Chapter 6). Finally, the authors address management concerns and problems while offering a blueprint for designing and managing a work‐integrated learning programme using a five‐stage continuous improvement design. This instructional checklist addresses the purpose, design, setup, implementation and improvement of a university and industry partnership programme. Chapter 7 provides lists of a programme coordinator's activities, privileges and rewards from the university, strategies for recognising workplace participants and even vital elements for the contract between the university and the workplace. Shadowbox scenarios and testimonials illustrate the instructional approach. In the implementation section, the authors analyse the work integrated learning management process from the academic coordinator's point of view. This analysis covers the starting point of establishing relationships and closes with the steps for successful programme evaluation.

In Chapter 1, the authors consider old and new university paradigms for work integrated learning, as it has evolved from cottage industry to a significant higher education enterprise. They outline specific drivers motivating workplace and university implementation of work integrated learning programmes, including learning enhancement, workforce development, transfer of workplace knowledge and enhancement of university – industry partnerships. A best practice case study from Victoria University in Australia illustrates how a higher education organisation can demonstrate and support institutional commitments to a learner‐centric partnership with industry.

Chapter 4 introduces the concept of “learning guides,” people outside a formal instructional role, who help students to learn in the workplace. The teaching component of work integrated learning, for university teachers and workplace learning guides, receives specific attention; a student reading this section would come away with clear expectations for what the university should provide in preparation for a co‐op or internship experience. Workplace literacy, motivation and practice working with others are just a few of the preparatory inputs that students should expect to develop and take into the workplace. An additional behavioural tool for students' preparation and usage is a concept the authors call “noticing,” or actively absorbing the characteristics, actions and interactions in the work milieu (p. 84). Cooper and her colleagues suggest that this form of paying attention, coupled with introspection, may lead students to develop higher levels of emotional intelligence (Bradberry and Graves, 2009; Goleman, 2006a, 2006b). Additionally though, it may develop an awareness of how to deploy their own top strengths in the workplace (Buckingham and Clifton, 2001).

In Chapter 5, Cooper, Orrell and Bowden address the critical need for rigorous, well‐planned assessment of the work integrated learning programme including academic and professional knowledge, workplace skills, and ethical and moral dispositions relevant to the field. An example of a work integrated learning rubric offers useful guidance for entering into the evaluative phase of the programme collaboratively, with all parties aware of standards and expectations. The chapter goes on to look at supervision, management of difficult situations arising out of the work integrated learning experience, and the act of contracting between the university and the industry partner. Each of these areas is treated thoughtfully and comprehensively. In Chapter 6, while providing a step‐by‐step explanation of how supervision should be carried out in a work integrated learning arrangement, the authors provide instruction on interpersonal process recall and critical incident analysis, valuable skills for coordinators, supervisors and students alike.

Evaluation

This book might better serve as a tabbed how‐to handbook for programme managers, student‐employee counselors and facilitators on either side of the relationship. The authors' thoughtful approach to assisting coordinators and supervisors of a work integrated learning programme omits no useful detail, and includes no superfluous information.

The World Association for Cooperative Education has convened over 16 international conferences publishing proceedings and various articles on this difficult‐to‐define construct. Combining professional work experience with classroom studies though is a phenomenon taken seriously by over 25 higher education institutions worldwide (PBWorks, 2007). Ulbrich et al. (2006, p. 525) define work integrated learning as a way to enhance the productivity of knowledge workers by allowing competency development and transfer of learning to happen at the workplace. This allows consideration of the students' “personal competency disposition”.

Additional previous research on Australian work integrated learning programmes supports Cooper, Orrell and Bowden's proposed format requiring specific training for both academic and industry supervisors, as the direct mentoring impact of these roles essentially differentiates work integrated learning from year work experience (Jancauskas et al., 2000).

The specific value of Cooper, Orrell and Bowden's offering is its lucid, specific application of theory. The authors' discussions of empirical research and use of case study evidence support practical methods of conceptualising, designing and promoting complex programmes, providing useful checklists and sample documents. They also address marketing and managing a work integrated learning programme. Such a clear “instruction manual” is also applicable to career and technical education programmes, framed in a social constructivist manner and focusing on learners who have not reached collegiate level, but who wish to make sense of new experiences such as those mentored and supervised encounters faced in a work integrated learning programme. As a result, the book has the potential to reach a wider audience than just university‐level programme coordinators, particularly in light of the focus on career and technical education programmes in the USA and elsewhere.

In the authors' own words

The five‐step work integrated learning process described in Chapter 8, illustrates that work integrated learning programmes are not stand‐alone processes but involve many interlinking processes and address diverse, and at times competing, concerns. To accomplish this, a clear purpose and mandate is essential. The programme design is complex as it must accommodate the needs of the university, the realities of workplaces, the interests of the community and, above all, the learning needs of students. All parties require an understanding of their particular responsibilities and the educational and practical frameworks underpinning the programme. Simultaneously, all parties need to attend to their particular primary responsibilities and be aware of their rights in this context and the rights of the other stakeholders (p. 188).

Reviewer's details

Angela N. Spranger, MBA, MA Ed., PHR, Training Coordinator, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. Angela Spranger is a HRD Scholar‐practitioner and Lifelong Learner, engaged in doctoral study at Regent University in the field of organisational leadership. She is particularly interested in workplace learning, meaningful work and organisational engagement, as well as issues of trust, organisational justice and workplace incivility. A veteran of non‐profit and church business administration, Angela has worked for the last eight years in corporate human resources covering employment, labour relations and human resource development and training functions. She is a consultant and workforce strategist, with a unique gift of helping others improve on their immediate situations and progress toward their goals. As an Instructor at Hampton University's College of Continuing Education, Angela facilitates courses in Marketing and Management, including Labor‐Management Relations and Compensation and Benefits. Currently pursuing a Certificate of Practical Ministry, Angela Spranger seeks through her academic and professional pursuits to help others find wholeness and purpose. Angela N. Spranger can be contacted at: drspranger@gmail.com