Diploma in Adult and Continuing Education (DACE) Practicum Overview 1 1st Question - What is DACE? DACE is a WDA-endorsed diploma programme for curriculum designers / courseware developers who design training for adult learners 2 Next, what is Practicum? • The DACE Practicum is part of the DACE programme where a learner : – Applies what he/she has learnt in the programme by undertaking a pro-bono design and development project for a company (called a Practicum Host Organisation (PHO)) • PHO can be any type of company with a sizable number of employees (not necessarily a training organisation) 3 So, what does the Practicum Learner do? Project: • Conduct a training needs analysis to find out training gaps for staff in the PHO • Design a training curriculum based on the gaps identified • Develop courseware (ie. lesson plan, training materials and assessment plan) for part of the curriculum 4 Wait…what is a Training Needs Analysis (TNA)? • Find out what training gaps there are currently in the PHO (through surveys, interviews etc) Example  Sales not doing well  TNA reveals training gaps in customer service skills  Solution – training curriculum on retail 5 I see… but what is a Curriculum? Retail Curriculum Core Module 1: Interact with Customers Core Module 2: Maintain Professional Image Example Core Module 3: Sell Products and Services Elective Module 1: Provide GEMS Service Elective Module 2: Deliver Service Excellence 6 Ok… but what is Courseware? Retail Curriculum Lesson Plan Training Materials Assessment Plan Core Module 1: Interact with Customers Core Module 2: Maintain Professional Image Example Core Module 3: Sell Products and Services Elective Module 1: Provide GEMS Service Elective Module 2: Deliver Service Excellence 7 Alright… but what is Assessment? Lesson Plan Training Materials Assessment Plan Core Module 1: Interact with Customers Core Module 2: Maintain Professional Image Example Assess what has been learnt Core Module 3: Sell Products and Services Elective Module 1: Learning in class Provide GEMS Service Module 2: PassElective assessment Deliver Service Excellence  sales 8 Ok, what does the Practicum Learner do again? Project: • Conduct a training needs analysis to find out training gaps for staff in the PHO • Design a training curriculum based on the gaps identified • Develop courseware (ie. lesson plan, training materials and assessment plan) for part of the curriculum 9 Support from IAL Throughout the project, the Practicum Learner will be guided by a Practicum Supervisor from IAL 10 Final question… what is PHO’s role? • The role of the PHO is to assign a PHO supervisor to: – provide learner with opportunity to conduct a training needs analysis through surveys and interviews – give feedback on learner’s: • Training Needs Analysis report • Curriculum design document • Courseware developed for part of the curriculum 11 Wait wait… last few questions! Q. How long does the practicum last? A. 1 month for TNA, 2 months for designing curriculum and courseware Q. Who owns the work done? A. Usually the PHO, unless special arrangements are made between PHO and learner, but definitely not IAL. Q. Can PHO engage the learner to continue the rest of the development work after his/her practicum? A. Yes, but this will be a private arrangement between PHO and learner. IAL has no involvement in this. 12 Thank you. 13