Certificate IV in Training and Assessment/ Education (TAE) with Cengage/ Open Colleges

 

So, that's all done then... My final online report card upon completing the Cert IV TAE

 

 

If you intend to work in any sort of vocational education training role, in Australia the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (or Training and Education - things seem a bit fuzzy about the exact terminology since the earlier TAA was upgraded to TAE) is a baseline qualification you simply must have.

 

Coming back to Australia after a decade teaching abroad, I was rather frustrated to find that not only was this certificate mandatory as part of any ESL or other vocational training role, without it you couldn't achieve even the baseline salary offerings.

 

So when I took up a VCAL Literacy teaching role at GTEC at Gordon TAFE, I enrolled in the TAE as part of the position requirements but also to help me climb a little higher up the pay scale. It looked like I would be able to apply for RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) for rather large portions of it, but in the end I decided to challenge and renew myself a bit. I took the entire course from the ground up, doing every module and task, challenging myself to apply everything to new areas or in new ways. I wanted to take on the 'newbie' perspective again, and see what I was capable of.

 

I enrolled in an online TAE course with Cengage, which during my course went through an expansion and name change to Open Colleges. I had an opportunity to do the TAE with a range of local providers, but (to be frank) hadn't heard a lot of ringing endorsements of those particular programs, but most of all I didn't relish the idea of doing the course face to face twice a week at night time after work (or on weekends).

 

The online Cengage/Open Colleges course was excellent. It was delivered via the Moodle LMS with a very tidy interface and nice organisation of resources and materials for each unit. This was actually really interesting for me, as I was building courses in Moodle for my own learners at the same time and got to engage with the LMS from both a teaching and learning perspective.

 

I had to complete ten units to get the certification, and while there is mention of 'core' and 'elective' units, in reality as a Cengage/Open Colleges student the whole course is already pre-set and mandatory (in other words, the 'electives' apply to the training provider - not to the learner). This pre-set/mandatory unit selection alongside the mode of material delivery struck me as slightly ironic, given the very sharp and very regular reminders throughout the coursework to get to know learners' needs, learning preferences, contextualize, etc. The course (the way it is selected and structured on paper/screen) didn't exactly find out or take account of any of my particular needs or preferences...until the online tutor flexed her influence - more on that slightly later.

 

From the start I looked for ways to deeply embed the course units into my work role and made up my own learning plan based on a careful look over the official unit documents and guidelines (the ones provided for the training package on the central training.gov.au website, that is). It ended up looking a bit like this: 

 

 

TAE Unit Code	Unit Title	Typical GTEC Applications
TAEDES402A (core)	Use training packages/accredited courses to meet client needs	Unpack trade-related training packages to better understand integration of GTEC/Trade School Better understand VET/TAFE sector Foundation for documenting VCAL in TAFE context
TAEDES401A (core)	Design and develop learning programs	Design and document VCAL courses so they are interpretable and applicable in a TAFE context
TAEASS401A (core)	Plan assessment activities and processes	Develop VCAL assessment plans so they are interpretable and applicable in a TAFE context Improve GTEC/VCAL assessment documentation and processes
TAEASS502A (elective)	Design and develop assessment tools	Develop specialised range of properly documented assessment tools (by subject/stream) for VCAL and GTEC cohort
TAEDEL401A (core)	Plan, organise and deliver group-based learning	Improve ability to teach/apply VCAL with GTEC student groups AND/OR Pass on specialised (skill/subject/stream) knowledge to GTEC teaching colleagues
TAEDEL402A (core)	Plan, organise and facilitate learning in the workplace	Guide and facilitate learning for GTEC students on work placement AND/OR Pass on specialised (skill/subject/stream) knowledge to GTEC teaching colleagues
TAEDEL403A (elective)	Coordinate and facilitate distance-based learning	Create online/distance-based applications for regular in-class VCAL programs Build more integrated bridges between GTEC class work and learning at home, Trade School or work
TAEASS301A (elective)	Contribute to assessment	Improve ability to gather quality evidence for assessment Improve the validity and reliability of GTEC’s assessment procedures Facilitate a better team/collegial approach to quality assessment
TAEASS402A (core)	Assess competence
TAEASS403A (core)	Participate in assessment validation

 

 

This plan mostly came off. I was able to negotiate almost all of the units with my tutor and really contextualize them so they were deeply embedded and relevant to my day-to-day work role.

 

The exception was the first unit (TAEDES402A - Use Training Packages and Accredited Courses to meet client needs), where I was forced to roleplay my way through unpacking a range of training courses and units for... a funeral park! It was interesting, in a way, but gosh - I'm not sure how many people enjoy starting a course making training arrangements involving units to do with gravedigging, etc. 

 

However, the flexible contextualisation more than worked for all of the other units. Here are some of the things I built/designed/applied and got credit for during the course:

 

• Detailed Delivery and Assessment Plans (DAPs) for the subjects I am responsible for teaching, which also managed to integrate VCAL (traditionally a secondary school program) with the more vocationally and adult-oriented TAFE documentation requirements
• Comprehensive assessment plans and a range of highly detailed assessment tools (for example: portfolio, oral questioning and observation of demonstration)
• A series of professional development sessions targeted screencasting skills for the whole team I work with
• Individual workplace learning plans and documentation (oriented around developing e-Learning design and application skills with various members of the teaching team)
• Extensive documentation for one of the online/blended learning programs I developed in Moodle
• A portfolio of assessment tasks, evidence of assessment and an extensive assessment validation process

 

 

Quality Assurance and auditing are big (and getting bigger) in the TAFE context in Australia - part of an important strategy to help TAFEs differentiate themselves from private RTOs on the quality and reliability fronts. The Gordon was going through the process of introducing a highly detailed Teacher Toolkit at the same time I was doing the course, and I found myself well ahead of the curve. Admittedly, that's a nice feeling - to know you are delivering above the documentation requirements ahead of time.

 

But here's the rub: the reason this course worked so well for me was purely and simply because I had an outstanding tutor on this course.

 

Megan Funston epitomised everything that is is excellent in both a course tutor and an e-moderator:

 

• She knew her stuff (as a trainer and guide through Australia's Qualifications Framework) forwards, backwards, sideways, upwards and downwards.
• She provided a wealth of supplementary material via the forums that made a lot of the main/official dense booklet-style content suddenly comprehensible.
• You never waited more than a week to get things graded.
• You didn't just get grades -  you got comprehensive targeted and motivating feedback.
• She bent/molded the course to the needs of the trainee - the reason I got so much of my 'work at/for work' done was because Megan took the time to get to know my needs and context.

 

 

I've worked with and had more than my fair share of teachers over time, and this lady was just amazing. I really looked up to her. She made the course what it was - not the materials, not the curriculum, not the LMS... it was the tutor.

 

So all up this was a great experience for me and I got a lot out of it, beyond a pretty bit of paper qualifying me for a pay rise.

 

Actually, that's the only thing that's missing now...

 

I finished the course almost a month ago and still don't have my certificate or transcript. The company took four seconds to accept my online payment when I was enrolling, but four weeks afer all the work has been completed and graded they still haven't given me my very important paperwork.

 

Cengage/Open Colleges:

Ditch the funeral park unit at the start, offer more electives the students themselves can choose from, keep Megan Funston, pay Megan Funston more than you do (whatever amount that currently is, because quite honestly she is the heart and soul of what is a very good course based on her presence/influence in it) and:

 

SEND ME MY CERTIFICATE!

 

 

;-)