Learning for and at work changes the role of educators. With the workplace influx from dynamically changing organisational practices and global, as well as technological developments, adult educators are also having to constantly evolve their practice to ensure their craft keeps ahead of learning challenges. This not only involves understanding who the learners are and how they learn, but also designing and facilitation learning that reflects the complexities and nuances of work, and development of abilities that enable learners to thrive in the broader uncertain and changing conditions.

The growing emphasis on soft skills in response to a dynamically changing environment, in the hope that the learners would then be in a better position to cope and deal with the changes, does not alone meet current and future challenges.

Deep understanding of the occupation and of the work is required to deal with change; it is not developed by requiring learners to reproduce knowledge, but from the ability to co-develop and apply knowledge and skills in changing environments. Deep understanding is integral to what it means to be a particular profession or role (a retail assistant, a nurse, a cook, a doctor, an engineer etc.) and is a never-ending journey. IAL’s research into both learning as a process and a practice leads to the development of the 6 principles of learning design (6PoLD) which is elaborated below. This conceptual framework aims to assist adult educators in thinking about how to design and facilitate learning holistically, so that doing and knowing are integrated, contributing to being and become a particular profession, vocation or role.

These 6 principles enable TAE sector policy makers, leaders and educators to shift from a technicalised and decontextualized notion of ‘skill’ to understandings of ‘skill’ as embodied learning, identity development, deep understanding and knowing in practice.

The principles challenge traditional understandings of learning that is content based and relies largely on lecture formats – what has come to be known as the acquisition metaphor (Sjard, 1978) – is limited in its ability to facilitate learning that meets dynamically changing needs.

Topics covered include:

• Why change our teaching practices?
• What we want our learners to be and be able to do
• Dialogical inquiry - a teaching practice that supports the development of future-oriented learners and aligns with the 6PoLD
• Teaching strategies using dialogical inqury
• The 6PoLD and examples of learning design
• The Map of Dialogical inquiry – identifying your learning strengths and limitations.
  (The Map is a tool for learners and for curriculum/learning designers)

*For F2F, participants can move around the learning space to experience more actively the tools for smaller groups

*Online delivery will be for larger groups and in lecture style – includes at least 2 break out rooms, and active participation using the text function and icons.

Prior the session, participants would be required to answer 3 questions in Mentimeter.