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TRANSCRIPT
An Apprenticeship Model for Developing ‘Competency’ Required for Trade Apprentices (Biopharmaceutical Process Technician(BPT))
In Singapore
Student: Jacob David PorantharapillyMaster of Training and Development, Griffith University
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Agenda
• The Background• The Problem and Analysis• Literature Review• Possible Solution for Improvements– The Solution: An Enhanced BPT Apprenticeship Curriculum
based on Cognitive Apprenticeship principles
• Justification and Challenges• Question and Answer
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The Background
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The Context
• Trade Apprenticeship as a ‘Learn-and-Earn’ scheme is accepted among some Industries in Singapore– E.g. Biologics Industry and the trade of BPTs
• Singapore’s Workforce development agency (WDA) with select Polytechnics’ have initiated ‘Biologics Skills Training program’ (BSTP) and a typical 24-month BPT Apprenticeship Competency-based training curriculum– Apprentices are mainly Chemical/Biopharmaceutical
Polytechnic graduating students.
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Sample BPT Competencies (Bioscience careers, 2016)
• Knowledge of Biologics process.• Knowledge of Good Manufacturing/
Documentation practices (GMP/GDP).• Skills to work in clean room environments.• Skills on work safety.• Skills on sampling (e.g. Biohazardous materials).• Skills to operate various Biopharmaceutical
equipment's (Reactor/Fermenter)…..
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ComplexBasic
The typical 24-month BPT Apprenticeship Curriculum
• Competency-based training (CBT); Assessment (CBA)– Process Workforce skills qualification (PWSQ)
• Conducted in a Polytechnic• Aimed at knowledge development• Conducted by Advanced certificate in training and assessment
(ACTA) qualified lecturers’.– On-the Job Training (OJT)
• Conducted in a host Biologics company• Aimed at skills development• Conducted by employees as Trainers; Not necessarily ACTA
qualified.– CBA: Successful assessment at the end of the program
makes an apprentice ‘Competent’.
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CBA:(Typically 2 days) conducted in the Host Company: Makes an BPT apprentice ‘Competent’ or ‘Not yet competent’
The typical 24-month BPT Apprenticeship Curriculum (Cont’d)
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Host Company CBT:OJT and aims at developing Skills;Curriculum uses OJT Courses meant for ‘New hired BPTs’ training; Trained by an employee as trainers’;Workplace affordances (Job aids, access to procedures) for training.
Competent
Novice
Apprenticeship duration in Months
1-3 4-24
Educational Institution CBT:Theory & Laboratory: Aims to develop knowledge;Lecturers’ are ACTA qualified.
Summary: The typical 24-month BPT Apprenticeship CBT Curriculum
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First 3 Months
Subsequent 21 Months
Theory focused
Skills focused
24 Month
Work- Ready
competencies
The Problem and Analysis
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The Problem
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GRADUATING BPT GRADUATING BPT APPRENTICES’ DO NOT APPRENTICES’ DO NOT EXHIBIT ‘WORK-EXHIBIT ‘WORK-READY’ COMPETENCIESREADY’ COMPETENCIES
BIOLOGICS BIOLOGICS COMPANIES COMPANIES RELUCTANT TO RELUCTANT TO EMPLOY A EMPLOY A GRADUATED BPT GRADUATED BPT APPRENTICEAPPRENTICE
• Apprentices exhibit varying capabilities to perform BPT tasks• Apprentices exhibit lack of confidence
to perform learnt BPT tasks• Apprentices exhibit lack of
genralization and problem-solving skills
• Lacks independence/‘work-ready’ skills• Inability to perform similar but
different tasks• Reinvestment in re-learning; time and
resources Tasks if not performed accurately could affect the Parenteral Drug
(Medicines) Safety and Efficacy and GMP
Critical Analysis of the Problem• The BSTP program/BPT apprenticeship curriculum are
good initiatives to develop Talent for Biologics companies.– Meets stakeholders (WDA and Industry partners) intent– Addresses Nations Skills Future plan/employment pathways– National accreditation: Apprentice receive WSQ Higher
Certificate in Process Technology (Biologics): By WDA.
• However, there are shortcomings…– Curriculum not ideally aligned to address Apprentices need– Training focuses on teaching outcomes rather than learning
• Trainers and workplace affordances.
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Critical Analysis of the Problem
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Education and Experiences not Synergized
Critical Analysis of the Problem: Curriculum
• Reflects Traditional Apprenticeship approach– Learning tasks due to the demands of workplace/industry– No challenging tasks; affects confidence (Eraut, 2007)
• Mainly CBT– Outcome based; Consistency; Documentation significant– Learners limited to contextualize similarities and differences
(Bound, Rushbrook, & Sivalingam, 2014).• OJT not created for BPT Apprentices (Novices)– Meant for new hired BPTs; work considered training– Lacks depth when inappropriate pedagogical strategies are used
by Trainers; limited access to affordances (Billett, 2001).
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Critical Analysis of the Problem: Trainers
• The PWSQ courses (conducted in a Polytechnic)– WSQ ACTA qualified lecturers are good initiatives– Employs pedagogical learning strategies
• The OJT courses (conducted in a host company)– Typically Non-ACTA qualified employee as Trainers
• Trainers not equipped with proper pedagogic learning strategies– E.g. Coaching, modelling, scaffolding etc.
• Lacks an understanding of Learning styles and Learner Preferences
– Trainers tacit knowledge not shared/Unaware to share• Trainers unaware to access required workplace affordances.
– Trainers see assessment leading to ‘Competent’ as priority.
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Critical Analysis of the Problem: Workplace Affordances
• Restricted affordances creates restricted learning environment affecting learners acquiring broader skills/‘work-ready’ skills– Access to workplace systems (e.g. Learning management
system and GMP deviation reports); procedures; knowledge-sharing forum.
• Articulates division of labour and distribution of opportunities to participate in work and learning.
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Literature Review
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Literature Review: Apprenticeship
• Apprenticeship: A structured learning where Experts help novice Apprentices acquire ‘competence’ in a trade (Collins, 2006; Dennen, 2004).
• Traditional Apprenticeship – Tasks not arising from pedagogical concerns– Limited teaching outcomes/Not broad-based (Collins, 2006).
• Cognitive Apprenticeship (Collins, 2006; Dennen, 2004; Dennen & Burner, 2008)– Tasks and problems sequenced to the learning demands– Generalizes knowledge/application to different settings.
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Literature Review: ‘Novice’ and ‘Competent’ Stage’s of Development• Novice: Learners have no experience on what they are
expected to perform and are taught on ‘context-free features and rules’;
• Competent: Learners are able to set goals and able to comprehend the situation in terms of what is needed to achieve those goals (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980).– Most workers (Clinical Nurses) acquire a ‘competent’ stage
to perform on similar work situations within 24 to 36 months (Benner, 1984).
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Literature Review: Curriculum
• Intended: Exactly what stakeholders intent should happen when curriculum is implemented;
• Enacted: What happens when curriculum is enacted;• Experienced: What learners experience, construe
and learn as a result of its enactment (Billett, 2006).– Learners are meaning makers/experience differently/level
of effort (Smith & Keating, 2003).
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Literature Review: Trainers
• Trainers/Experts increases apprentices competency by sequencing learning and making connections between work and institution (Collins, 2006).
• Trainers, however could be seen as mere curriculum “Implementers” (Print, 1993) when work is seen more important rather than training.
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Literature Review: Workplace Affordances
• Access to meaningful workplace affordances aids in reinforcing, refreshing and generating new forms of knowledge (Billett, 2001).– E.g. OJT Job aids– Apprentices equipped with “Restricted knowledge and
skills affects competency development” (Moore, 2004) in an occupation.
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Literature review: Curriculum (Cont’d)
• CBT: “everyone receives the same learning experience to reach the outcomes, no matter how different the settings and groups of learners” – Learners do not have capacity to identify similarities and
differences between contexts because theoretical constructs are invisible for learners in CBT (Bound, Rushbrook, & Sivalingam, 2014).
• OJT lack teaching depth when inappropriate pedagogic strategies are employed– Limited access to experts and affordances (Billett, 2001).
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Possible Solutions for Improvements
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Possible Solution for Improvement (Educational Institution learning)
• Continue with PWSQ courses in Polytechnics but link to sequential/progressive workplace OJT learning– Implement a Dual-system/Two-fold approach
• Separate theoretical knowledge into ‘Basic’ and ‘Advanced’ interjected with workplace attachment learning into ‘Fundamentals’ and ‘Complex’ learning tasks
• Utilize projects/Problem-based assignments• Sequence ‘Advanced’ and ‘Complex’ learning to later stages of the
curriculum– Espouses situational learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991).
– Many Educational-institution has adopted such practices (Problem-based learning) based on authentic work contexts (Etelapelto, 2008)
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Possible Solution for Improvement (Company OJT learning)
• Create structured; progressive learning environment– Create specific OJT CBT courses/‘Basic’ and ‘Complex’ tasks
• Use existing OJT job aids already available for New-hires (BPT).
• Develop ‘Trainers’ to become ACTA qualified Trainers – ACTA enables application of various pedagogic learning strategies
(Willmott & Karmel, 2011)• Trainers equipped with pedagogic learning strategies are well-equipped to
meet the needs of diverse learners– E.g. Coaching, modelling, scaffolding etc.
• Support unrestricted affordances for learning– Apprentices become part of workers community (Lave & Wenger
1991).
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Possible Solution for Improvement (Competency-based Assessment)
• Create formal workplace assessment to assess explicit knowledge (Bound & Lin, 2011).
• Adopt ‘Absolute/Relative grading’ of Competency-based assessment (Gronlund & Waugh, 2009)
• Enables grading in terms of student performance without reference to others performance • Enables company’s to select graduated BPT apprentices
to suit different job roles/workplace tasks.
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Possible Solution for Improvement (Stakeholders’)
• Include Apprentices (representatives) to design their ‘Learning curriculum’.– Trend concurred by organization and work communities
(workers, managers and trainers) (Etelapelto, 2008)– Alignment of Intended>Enacted>Experienced curriculum.
• Move from Traditional apprenticeship approach– Explore Cognitive apprenticeship approaches and
principles to enhance the typical 24-month BPT apprenticeship curriculum model
– Content>Method>Sequencing>Sociology (Collins, 2006)1. Tasks and problems sequenced to the learning demands;2. Generalizes knowledge/application to different settings.
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Literature: Cognitive Apprenticeship (Collins, Brown & Newman, 1989)
• Cognitive Apprenticeship: Learning tasks sequenced to reflect demands of changing learning needs.
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Literature: Cognitive Apprenticeship Principles (Collins, 2006)
Literature: Cognitive Apprenticeship Concepts (Collins & Burner, 2008)
• Situatedness– Active learning that takes place via one’s participation in an
authentic task or setting (Lave and Wenger, 1991).
• Legitimate peripheral participation– A newcomer who primarily observes is considered a legitimate
peripheral participant.
• Guided participation– It is the social element of cognitive apprenticeship
• Membership in a community of practice– Cognitive apprenticeships often naturally occur within a
community of practice.
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Literature: Traditional vs Cognitive Apprenticeship
Traditional Apprenticeship Cognitive ApprenticeshipJob determined by tasks Learning determined by goalPhysical skills and processes Cognitive and metacognitive
processesTasks performed by observation Tasks performed by reasoningLearning by doing Learning by problem solvingLearning from modelling, coaching and fading
Learning from modelling, coaching, fading, articulation, reflection and exploration
Simple tasks Complex tasks
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The Proposed Solution: An Enhanced BPT Apprenticeship
Curriculum Model
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Basis of the Solution• An apprenticeship model that develops ‘competent’
BPT Apprentices’ with ‘work-ready’ competencies within a 24-month period.
• Guiding thoughts to develop this ‘Ideal’ curriculum: – My experiences as an Apprentice (1982); and– A Framework for Cognitive apprenticeship.
• Beneficiaries: – Biologics and Pharmaceutical company’s– Company trainers’ through ACTA certification– Polytechnic students/Young adults– The Nations ‘SkillsFuture’ plan/Singapore CET 2020.
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The BPT Apprenticeship Model
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Host Company CBT:Classroom &OJTSimple tasksWork related Lab tasks
Competent
Novice
Apprenticeship duration in Months
1-3 4-9
Educational Institution CBT:Basic Theory Laboratory
Educational Institution CBT:Advanced Theory Advanced Lab based assignments
Host Company CBT:OJTComplex tasksPerform simple tasks independentlyPerform Lab tasks independently
AssessmentCBA:Graded assessment in presence of EI and Co Reps.Perform a ‘Batch’ as a team with other BPTs.(Independently)
10-12 13-23 24
Note: Benner’s suggested duration in reaching a ‘competent’ stage is used as a guidance for apprenticeship period (e.g. 24-month) and not to justify BPTs apprentices’ ‘competent’ stage.
Justification and Challenges
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Justification
• An apprenticeship curriculum that synergise education and experience
• Adopts cognitive apprenticeship principles– Apprentices learn by observing, engaging, and discovery
• Dedicated BPT apprenticeship curriculum enables specific Training and Assessment (T&A)
• Advocates ACTA qualified trainers’ for OJT; T&A– Apprentices able to learn from ACTA qualified trainers
equipped with various pedagogical learning strategies– Modeling, Coaching, Scaffolding.
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Justification (Cont’d)
• Graduating ‘Competent’ Apprentice may know their ‘competencies’ (strengths and limitations) – Students experience success early in the program
• Provides motivation and improved confidence
• Biologics companies could rely on graduating ‘competent’ Apprentices with work-ready skills– Do not have to reinvest in already learnt competencies
• Model can be adapted to other industries apprenticeship curriculum.
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Challenges
• Stakeholders ‘Buy-in’– Curriculum CBT
• Creating Basic and Advanced and Complex task-based CBT courses and a “Lengthy Graded CBA” as part of the curriculum
– Polytechnic and host Company’s need to accommodate the “Phased and Incremental training” structure• Polytechnic Lecturers and ACTA qualified Trainers availability
– Workplace affordances for learning• Unrestricted to Employees as well as Apprentices
– Approval of the Curriculum/Courses by WSQ for accreditation.
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Challenges (Cont’d)
• Trainers– Unwillingness to become ACTA qualified– ‘Consonant’ and ‘Dissonant’ curriculum users
• Adopt Machiavellian tactics to resist / undermine the new curriculum (Marsh, 2004)
• Apprentices– Graduating apprentices could face difficulty in gaining
employment due to graded outcomes– Ineffective feedback on learning experiences
• Trainers/Company’s ineffectiveness; Fear of retribution• Curriculum courses inappropriateness.
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Evaluation: Assessing the Model’s Effectiveness
• Stakeholders regular Audit of the program• Evaluation/Feedback reports (Kirkpatrick, 1975)– Apprentices
• Experienced curriculum– Lecturers and Trainers
• Enacted curriculum• ACTA and its benefits
– Biologics companies who have hired these graduated apprentices as BPT employees• Company Managers and Trainers observing their work activities • Level 4 or Return on Investment (ROI)
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Summary: The BPT Apprenticeship Model
• A Sequential and progressive learning curriculum– Basic and advanced and complex (knowledge and skills) learning
(Dual system with a two-fold approach)– Students experience success early in the program
• Provides motivation and improved confidence
– Empowers Trainers to use appropriate pedagogical learning strategies to teach novice apprentices
– Empowers Company’s to provide Resources/workplace affordances to enable apprentices meaningful learning
– Graded assessment enhances reliable performance assessment.
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Question and Answer
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End
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