Planning and Enabling Learning Rationale For this assignment I will research four main areas that each

has an impact on teaching and learning. Negotiating with our learners allows us as lecturers to ensure the student is undertaking the correct course at the correct level and agreeing boundaries, goals and expectations with learners allows for clear guidelines and an agreed direction for learning. This means that our students enter into their education understanding their own goals and motivated to achieve success. Having negotiated boundaries with our students means that they have joint ownership of them and are more likely to adhere to the agreed rules as they have been previously agreed. According to the Quality Assurance Agency, Inclusive learning can be understood as a process of increasing the presence, participation and achievement of all learners in educational settings in their local community. In this sense inclusive learning can be seen as a form of personalising learning, and ICT can play a key role in supporting this process. Inclusive learning allows us to achieve our goal of education for all; we can and should include all our learners and allow them all equal access to education and the opportunity for achievement. Achieving inclusivity is a multi faceted task that has to take into account many different variables, as lecturers we are responsible for being aware of these variables doing our utmost to challenge and eliminate the barriers that prevent some learners from achieving their best. According to the Qualifications and Curriculum development agency (2009) Functional skills are practical skills in English, information and communication technology (ICT) and mathematics that allow individuals to work confidently, effectively and independently in life. Integrating Functional skills is important for ensuring an overall standard of achievement for learners in certain areas. This means that employers can be assured that students that have just left education will be skilled in the four key functional skills. In turn this should give employers around the world more faith in the British educational system as in theory they are ensured to employ someone with a set of standardised skills. Communication is in my opinion integral to successful teaching. Communication can take many forms and it is important that we are aware of the effects these different forms of communication have on our students. For communication to be effective we need to do our best to ensure that the message we are trying to convey is the message that is understood.

According to Petty (2009) Communication and learning requires that the following chain works perfectly: What I mean ------- What I say------- What they hear--------- What they understand For our communication to be effective we need to pass through this chain challenging any barriers to communication that we as teachers or our students may have. Overall an awareness of these areas can only benefit my approach and understanding of teaching and thereby directly benefit my learners by improving their learning experience. Having an awareness of various theories associated with teaching and learning means that we can be as versatile and adaptable as possible in our teaching methods and approaches. Methodology To gather my information I plan to speak to members of the group regarding their book suggestions then chose the ones that I can find in the library. I also plan to search the internet for information, particularly Geoffpetty.com and the city and guilds website. I will gather my findings and use the information I find to draw from my own experiences.

To write this assignment I predominantly used books that had been recommended by my peers, most of which are very up to date texts. I also used the internet to find quotes and further my knowledge, I did not find the city and guilds website and Geoffpetty.com very helpful so I chose to Google search the broad title areas and use the results to find appropriate websites and quotes.

Prcis of Findings Negotiating According to Linda Wilson (2009 p212) negotiating is one of the keys to effective communication. Finding out why learners want to do something (or not) and establishing compromise is when and how a more favourable environment will emerge. Before this can happen, as lecturers we need to first establish the level of education our students already have. This could be through Initial Assessment, their application form and evidence of their prior learning. Once we have established this base we are then in a better position to begin negotiating with our learners in terms of their motivations and goals for the future.

Negotiating is agreement and compromise towards outcome. By negotiating with our learners we can agree goals, targets and actions regarding achievements, assignments and also behaviour. This is particularly important when helping students produce Individual Learning Plans (ILP). (Wilson 2009 p665) According to Geoff Petty (2009 p) this plan (ILP) responds to initial and diagnostic assessment, and to the students goals and aspirations, and is drawn up by negotiation between the tutor and the student. Communication The essence of communication is the transmitting and receiving of information through a common system of signals and symbols, whether in the form of writing or other signs, expressive movements, or the spoken word. (Curzon 2003 p126) According to Linda Wilson (2009 p101) communication is generally in one of three ways. These include written, verbal and non-verbal and as a teacher we need to be aware of the effects that these different ways of communicating have on our students. We also need to be aware of the barriers to communication for ourselves and our students. In my opinion effective communication uses a range of approaches and takes into account the range of learning styles within the classroom. Along with this I believe that the effects of our unconscious, non-verbal communication are also important as they can have a profound effect on our students learning experience. There are many barriers to communication, all of which can be overcome or at least lessened by being aware of them. In teaching communication is predominantly verbal which means for it to be effective the language used during the lecture should be appropriate for the students within the class and care should be taken to ensure that students with English as second language have understood what has been said. This could involve translation, dictionaries and also handouts before the lecture so that no student is left disadvantaged. Knowing the backgrounds, previous learning experience and results of initial assessment for all of our students means that the most effective approach to communication can be chosen and any barriers to this communication can be addressed.

The course that I teach on uses many specialist terms, it is important for me as a teacher to ensure that I highlight these terms and ensure that all students pick them up. I often do this by writing key terms on the board, putting them into handouts and asking students to look up the meanings of certain words and phrases. It is also important to ensure that the tone and speed of delivery are appropriate and that the background noise is kept to a minimum, this would help keep the students attention. Inclusivity Negotiating and communicating effectively with our students is in my opinion one step in the right direction to inclusive learning. Linda Wilson (2009 p151) suggests that inclusion is about creating interesting, varied and inspiring learning opportunities for all learners; ensuring all learners contribute and are never disadvantaged by methods, language or resources. For me this is equality of education for all without discrimination. An inclusive learning environment is one that caters for all learners similarities and differences. Creating inclusive learning environments can be achieved by incorporating flexibility and adaptability in delivery methods and resources. As teachers we need to allow for differentiation in our approach by using varied and appropriate resources, we can also allow for differentiation in our schemes of work, lesson plans and our delivery methods. By assessing the needs of our learners and any barriers they have to learning we can ensure that we utilise the most appropriate resources, methods and approaches for our students. This may include using different styles and fonts in handouts and different coloured paper, another technique that I use is to ensure that students have access to many different styles of resources for example drawings, anatomical models and digital images to illustrate things. In my institution we have access to many Information Learning Technologies such as the SMART Board that I regularly use in my teaching. It offers flexibility as you can use many different fonts, styles and backgrounds and also incorporate the use of pictures and video. This allows for adaptability and alteration for the needs of individuals within our classroom and caters for different learning styles. Although Information learning technology is in my opinion extremely adaptable and flexible it is important to remember that not every student has access to a computer.

Linda Wilson (2009 p192) suggests that a totally ILT/ICT based learning medium would not be inclusive. Functional Skills According to Linda Wilson (2009 p 43) Functional skills refer to the mastery of English/ Literacy/ Numeracy and Information communication technology. In education it is our responsibility to develop these skills in our students at any given opportunity. I teach on a degree course so many of my students have a high standard of functional skills, however I still appreciate the importance of using any opportunity to improve them. Once qualified these students will enter a profession with a successful reputation and they must possess the skills to allow them not only to undertake the practical aspects of the profession but also uphold the professional standards of the profession which include the use of all of the functional skills. Since undertaking my PTLLS qualification I have paid more attention to incorporating functional skills into my teaching. I feel this has allowed me to reinforce the importance of them for my students and also illustrate the importance of keeping my own functional skills up to date. I believe that I have a good standard of functional skills due to my previous education, I have very good written and oral communication skills and good ICT skills, my main area for improvement would be mathematics as it seems if you do not use mathematics regularly your skills become rusty.

Overall researching and writing this assignment has been particularly informative to my teaching as I have increased my awareness of a number of important areas. It is important to me as a teacher to have access to and awareness of a range of information and theories in order to make my teaching the best it can be and also ensure that my students receive the best learning experience.

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References Wilson, Linda. (2009) Practical Teaching a guide to PTLLS & DTLLS. Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA. Petty, Geoff. (2009) Teaching Today a practical guide. 4th Ed. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Curzon, L. B. (2003) Teaching in Further Education an outline of principles and practice. 6th Ed. London: Continuum. Learning and Skills improvement Service. 2009. Inclusive Learning and Teaching. [Online] Available at: http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=135154 [Accessed 20 February 2010] Qualifications and curriculum development agency. Functional Skills. [Online] (Updated 11 November 2009) Available at: http://www.qcda.gov.uk/6062.aspx [Accessed 20 February 2010].

Bibliography Reece, Ian and Walker, Stephen. (2006) Teaching, Training & Learning a practical guide. 6th Ed. Sunderland: Business Education Publishers Ltd. Armitage, Andy et al. (2007) Teaching and Training in Post-Compulsory Education. 3rd Ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Gravells, Ann. (2008) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector. 3rd Ed. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. Gray, D. Griffin, C. & Nasta, T. (2005) Training to Teach in Further and Adult Education. 2nd Ed. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Harkin, J. Turner, G. & Dawn, T. (2001) Teaching Young Adults- A Handbook for Teachers in Postcompulsory Education. London: Routledge Falmer. Wallace, S. (2005) Teaching & Supporting Learning in Further Education. 2nd Ed. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd