Advice and guidance?

Tonight I've had the duty of providing an information stall at the College parent information evening.  Although our department doesn't offer any courses, we do have a presence at these events to promote what we do.  We have done a lot in the past but we've not really benefited from them.  So we asked to not attend them.  But now we seem to be asked again.

Parents and their children have been invited to choose potential courses and careers for when they leave secondary school next year.  Because we don't offer any courses and I just had information about our department.  I made myself useful by asking parents or their children if they had decided what course(s) they were looking for, or decided on a career to pursue.  Whilst I don't know a lot about some subjects, I felt proud and helpful that I had been signposting people into the right direction to the right courses.

Tonight reminded me of how important it is to choose the right courses and start to decide on a career.  I had a patchy start in deciding what I wanted to do for a career, and it took a while to find that out.  So I reckon with the right questioning and knowledge of subjects is essential to help others.

When I was speaking to some parents, they didn't know what their children wanted to do.  So I asked them what their children's interests and hobbies were.  If they didn't know, I asked them to try observing their children from now, so that they would get a better idea to help get them the right start come next September.  From my journey, it's important to try and not waste too much time in doing courses that aren't relevant to a career.  But in saying that, it did help me inform and develop my career.

Advice and guidance is important!

Creativity To Ideas Are Born

Me in my creative environment designing and planning for my next course.

Assessing - the last piece to the puzzle

I am now doing the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement!  This course looks at assessing competence in the workplace and outside of it as well as knowing and understanding assessment principles and practices.

For me, this is the last piece to the learning and teaching puzzle, if you like.  It encapsulates the entire process.  It is at the assessment stage to know what has been actually learned and/or applied.  It's such a fascinating process learning and teaching!

I'm doing it as part of the qualification I am delivering, Level 4 Certificate in Technology in Learning Delivery.  As part of delivering this qualification I need to see learners (teachers) in the workplace.  Again, it's a fascinating thing to witness and experience and see real competence and growth.

I am so grateful to be doing this assessor qualification!  My manager, Robert Hutton has really invested in me as a person.  He's spent a lot of money and time in what I want to do over the years.  It's so rare these days and I never take it for granted.  He's such an understanding person and see things positively for what and how they should be.

I've learned so much from him since working with him.  I listen and take in a lot from him.  The main and best thing: challenge purposes and question thinking.  You wouldn't believe how much this has helped me.  He's allowed me to become a person that I always wanted to be. With his help, I'm achieving that and more.  It's been a long journey and glad he has been a major part of it.

So, I am a Lifelong Learner, teacher and now a developing assessor!  Right now, I'm feeling damn proud of the journey I am making and sharing.