Towards decoloniality of the education training and development third-year curriculum: Employing situated learning characteristics to facilitate authentic learning

Figures & data

Table 1. Explanations of the SL characteristics and one question that was added

SL characteristics	Explanation of meaning
1. Collaborative construction of knowledge	According to Lave and Wenger (1991), collaborative construction of knowledge implies that the students should be provided with opportunities to explore with the other role players in the learning process, various ways to connect theory and practice in order to complete the activities and assessments in the module. Thus, the lecturer decided to invite two experienced EDT practitioners to co-teach and facilitate the students’ learning in the module.
2. Authentic context and expert performance	Brown et al. (1989) explain that an authentic context refers to the way in which knowledge is used in a real-life setting. Thus, an authentic context relates to the ETD contexts as they appear in a real working environment. It relied on the two experienced industry practitioners’ presence to frame and make examples of how the context taught should be applied in the ETD work setting.
3. Articulation through multiple roles and perspectives	Lave and Wenger (1991) propose that the ability of an apprentice to speak the language and tell the stories of a profession in a collaborative setting is fundamental to their learning about a profession. Hence, instead of presenting the training management content in a linear way, a situated learning environment provided the student with the opportunity to probe into an area of study from multiple roles and perspectives, which consisted of the lecturer, the two experienced ETD practitioners, tutors, their peers in group work activities and observations in the workplace.
4. Integration of authentic activities	Within the context of a situated learning environment, authentic activities allow students (apprentices) to unpack possibilities of how to approach real-life tasks and situations by observing and learning from mentors (Brown et al., 1989; Lombardi, 2007). Accordingly, the students were allowed to choose the tasks within smaller groups and decide how to approach and execute them according to their learning needs.
5. Scaffolding and coaching	Brown et al. (1989), Collins et al. (1989), Griffin (1995) and Young (1993) argue that scaffolding and coaching provide students with support and guidance during critical times to help them mentor and complete activities. They maintain that this requires of teachers to provide apprentices with skills and links that will enable them to complete assigned tasks. This was achieved in the study through the discussions and interactions that took place in the lectures and tutorials, in one-on-one and group consultation sessions with the lecturer, tutors and the ETD practitioners, in the ETD practitioners’ workplace visits and in observing real-life ETD contexts and interactions.
6. Reflection and evaluation of students’ own learning	Collins et al. (1989) explain that a situated learning environment encourages students to reflect on their own learning to promote understanding. In order to promote reflection in the study, the students had to engage and reflect on the authentic contexts and authentic activities in the lectures and tutorials, outside of the lectures, in the workplace and in their group work with their peers, to learn and understand how to complete the assessments in the module.
7. Question that was added: Did the involvement of the two ETD practitioners and the SL characteristics transform the learning and teaching in the module?	The lecturer’s intention with this question was two-fold. Firstly, she wanted the students’ opinions on whether the involvement of the two ETD practitioners and the six SL characteristics differed from what they were accustomed to (in their first- and second-year IPS modules). Secondly, to ascertain if the students perceived that the different approach of how the lecturer facilitated their learning and teaching in the module transformed their views about how training management should be taught.

Table 2. Students’ responses to the seven questions asked in the questionnaire

Questions asked	Cycle 2: 2016 – Responses in percentages
SL characteristic 1: Did collaborative work take place among the two industry practitioners, the lecturer, tutors and peers in group work activities?	Agreed: 86% Disagreed: 4% Undecided: 10%
SL characteristic 2: Did the presence of the two ETD practitioners create an authentic context and provide expert performance in the learning process?	Agreed: 87% Disagreed: 2% Undecided: 11%
SL characteristic 3: Did the different assessments help you to articulate the different roles and perspectives of the ETD profession?	Agreed: 90% Disagreed: 4% Undecided: 6%
SL characteristic 4: Did the provision of integrated authentic activities (industry topics, real-life context examples and storytelling) create a platform for you to integrate theory and practice?	Agreed: 100% Disagreed: 0 Undecided: 0
SL characteristic 5: Did the lecturers, the two ETD practitioners and the tutors, scaffold, and coach the different assessments to you?	Agreed: 96% Disagreed: 0 Undecided: 4%
SL characteristic 6: Reflect and evaluate your own learning in the module – did you learn how to apply the theory to real-life situations and contexts?	Agreed: 96% Disagreed: 0 Undecided: 4%
7. Question that was added: Did the involvement of the two ETD practitioners and the SL characteristics transform the learning and teaching in the module?	Agreed: 92% Disagreed: 4% Undecided: 4%

Table 3. Training and Management Module’s content, outcomes and assessments

Content	Outcomes	Assessments
International and local trends in human resource development The transformational purpose and principles underpinning the skills development legislation The learning organisation and performance management Conducting training needs analysis Practical guidelines for the designing of various interventions Managing the HRD function (e.g. marketing, budgeting etc.) Guidelines for developing learning programmes Conducting evaluation of a learning intervention in the workplace using appropriate techniques, based upon an outcomes-based assessment system	Identify international and local trends in HRD with specific reference to ETD practices and legislation. Explain and provide practical guidelines for each of the phases of the training process – needs analysis, designing and planning, implementation and evaluation Design a basic training programme, based on a needs’ analysis conducted in a real work situation and consider all factors involved in the management of the HRD function (budgeting, administration etc.) Comprehend and appreciate the need for the development of a culture of life-long learning and a focus on performance improvement in the ETD profession	Two tutorial tasks in preparation for the training manual A tutorial case study based on one of the ETD practitioners’ workplaces on the processes involved in conducting a training needs analysis Class test Constructing a training manual in small groups of 4 Practical that involved assessing two real-life situations in the workplace and reporting on them One term test Present a draft of the training manual in the tutorials to receive feedback from the lecturer, ETD practitioners, tutors and peers Improving and finalising the training manual based on the feedback received and observations in the workplaces Final examination at the end of the semester

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