2. Introduction
Background
In 2011-12 a diverse group of nine partner organisations from the Further Education
(FE), Adult Learning, Voluntary and private sectors worked together to create an
innovative new qualification framework and curriculum materials to help adults gain
the skills to become entrepreneurs. This was underpinned by the creative use of
learning technologies, a strong brand identity and a sustainable approach to
continued sharing in the sector.
The project was entitled „Adult Enterprise‟ and was funded through the AoC/SFA
Innovation and Shared Services Collaboration Fund. When the project funding
ended in summer 2012 the original Project Steering Group set up a self-funded not-
for-profit social enterprise to continue sharing the outcomes of Adult Enterprise with
the adult and FE sector. The results of this shared curriculum project caught the
imagination of the sector and by January 2013, 34 institutions (seven local authority
Adult Learning services, one voluntary organisation and 26 FE Colleges) from across
England had understood the merits of sharing an entrepreneurship curriculum and
had financially contributed to Adult Enterprise as member organizations to continue
working together. The Year 2 (2012/13) is now self-funded by member Colleges
which has provided the new social enterprise with an important platform for the
development work to continue. It is now running curriculum sharing across diverse
institutions for field testing the prototype blended learning curriculum generated by
the project, which demonstrates that the sector can generate a cost-effective model
for curriculum sharing.
Using the Manual
This Manual1 analyses the learning points from this successful shared services
project to provide a useful model to improve innovation practice in the sector. It is
designed as a ‗how to‘ guide for sector staff to improve strategies for innovation and
curriculum development through undertaking shared projects. The Manual is divided
into nine sections and commences with a overview of the Adult Enterprise Project
1
The Manual has been written by Christina Conroy OBE, who was Principal of Richmond
Adult Community College and the Project Director for Adult Enterprise. It has contributions
from Dr Ruth Cherrington, Adult Enterprise Curriculum Manager, Peter Kilcoyne, ILT
Director and E-Learning staff from Worcester College of Technology (Dave Thurlby, E-
Learning Coordinator and Adam Salem, IT Support Coordinator).
2
3. Case Study, followed by sections that detail the key themes and learning points for
the sector. It is designed for practitioners who would like more detailed information. A
short document is also available ―Adult Enterprise: Curriculum Innovation‖ which
provides an Executive Summary.
Christina Conroy OBE
Chief Executive (Adult Enterprise)
Contents
Section Topic Summary Page
Numbers
1
Adult Enterprise Project A contextual overview of the 5-15
Case Study project.
2 New models of leadership This provides a conceptual
for Project Innovation framework and guide to enable 16-22
using Co-creation through sector leaders to effectively lead
Partnership Model for innovation and direct projects to
Curriculum Development successful implementation. It
will identify the essential
elements that are required to
generate new ideas through co-
creation and an overview of the
key management principles to
be followed.
3 Using the Innovation This covers the ‗how to‘ of
Code to create New creating new qualifications to 23-29
Qualifications meet the needs of industry, or
new and emerging markets. It
covers a methodology for
qualification and assessment
design with a toolkit to follow.
4 Creating a blended This provides an analysis of the
learning Solution manufacturing process for 30-40
creating blended learning
materials within a pedagogic
framework, and a toolkit for
subject writers for developing
blended learning and e-learning
products.
3
4. 5 E-learnification This section provides an
overview and evaluation of 41-46
software available for online
education and training with pros
and cons. It also provides
guidelines on how to ‗e-learnify‘
subject writers curriculum‘
content.
6 Developing a shared This section provides guidance
learning platform on how to adapt Moodle and 47-49
integrate education and training
software to create a strong user
interface and user experience
(UI/UX) for online learning. A
guide to managing learners,
providing online helpdesk
support, and collecting data for
benchmarking.
7 Managing a virtual team This covers the methods and
processes for managing a virtual 50-54
team of curriculum writers,
curriculum editors, assessment
specialists, awarding body staff
and e-learning designers to
create a shared team.
8 Brand development in a This section explores the
shared environment marketing principles to create a 55
white label design and
marketing proposition that can
be shared.
9 Models for network A toolkit for selling shared
generation for sharing and services and creating a 56-57
sustainability sustainable vehicle for sharing.
58
Bibliography
4
5. Section 1
Adult Enterprise project case study
Introduction
The Adult Enterprise project, funded through the SFA Grant Fund and supported by
AoC, came about because of a business problem experienced by Richmond Adult
Community College (RACC) regarding its relationship with local customers and its
contract as an FE College to the national Government Skills Funding Agency. This
section gives a background to the project inception in terms of an individual
College‘s problem and an overview of the project.
The business problem
Richmond Adult Community College (RACC) is a General Further Education
College for adults based in South West London, providing annually over 1500
skills and leisure courses for 12,000 part-time adults.
Over 80% of its teaching was delivered by part-time, hourly paid lecturers the
majority of which are professionally and industrially active portfolio workers.
The College had been successively rated Outstanding by OFSTED (2006 and
2010) in recognition of its excellent quality of provision and its responsiveness
to the local community.
The College had its own dedicated Richmond Business School specialising in
Digital Technologies, Business and Enterprise.
The business problem that the College faced was:
Between 2010-2011 RACC was delivering entrepreneurship training in an
innovative way to meet local skills demand but this was not recognised by
Government.
The College was unable to generate funding for this activity and was at risk of
not meeting its funding targets as a GFE. This had major financial
consequences for the College in that penalties were implemented by the SFA
if the College did not comply with its funding target.
There was a clear mismatch between what the local community needed in
terms of skills training and what was recognised nationally.
The general narrowing of the curriculum in terms of what was recognised as
fundable for adult skills was a general problem that affected all Colleges but it
5
6. affected RACC particularly as a GFE College because of its niche offer to
adults.
Innovation through co-creation (Organisation and customer)
Since 2008 the College had experienced strong local demand from unemployed
professional
adults and existing small businesses, in response to the recession, for a broad range
of short
courses in entrepreneurship training particularly around new technologies. The
College had
generated these curriculum solutions in its Richmond Business School as a result of
a rich
dialogue between the users and part-time lecturers who were portfolio workers
running their own enterprises or working for global high tech companies such as
eBay and PayPal (Both have their European Head Offices in Richmond).
This dialogue resulted in the users shaping and co-creating the College's curriculum
to respond quickly to their local circumstances to gain the skills to get started as they
sought to make sense of the increasingly difficult UK economy. The co-created
enterprise curriculum at Richmond Business School was innovative, personalised
and designed around the learning journeys of adults in Richmond and South West
London. The South West London economy profile has the highest proportion of
micro-businesses with less than 10 employees (91% of businesses) than anywhere
else in the country. Of this proportion 19% of all businesses are self-employed sole
traders. A rich eco-system of small businesses generates more small businesses as
a result of the low barriers to entry, both for trading and in terms of the social
acceptance towards start-up. Annual destination surveys since 2005 had highlighted
that between 25%- 30% of College leavers from RACC went on to sell their work
professionally, become self-employed or start a business after undertaking a course
at the College.
Innovation as rule-breaking
Despite designing and implementing a rich innovative adult skills curriculum that the
College was delivering, RACC was unable to draw down national funding because
the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) did not recognise this type of
entrepreneurship training for over 19s or enterprise short courses for adults. In
contrast the NQF only recognised enterprise qualifications for 16-18 year olds and
substantive long courses for adults. The NQF (National Qualification Framework)
system and bureaucracy became a gatekeeper to legitimacy and thereby stifled
6
7. innovative approaches to meeting new economic needs. Consequently the College
was losing out on over half a million pounds of funding because what was
recognised and funded nationally, and what was wanted locally, were at odds. If the
College had tried to claim funding for this work it would be breaking the ‗rules‘ and
undertaking an illegitimate act. If it carried on delivering innovative co-created
solutions for contemporary economic needs it would lose money and face funding
penalties from the SFA. If it stopped delivering it would not be meeting its service
mission to the local economy.
In the perverse financial situation of potentially not meeting targets and not pulling
down funding the College's options were to either stop being a College responsive to
the community or try and change the national framework. It needed a way to make
claiming the funding ‗legitimate‘ but also ensure the curriculum was sustainable so
that other Colleges could benefit within a national framework. Both solutions were
not easily achievable as the way the College had developed the in-house enterprise
curriculum was based on individual tutors and students through co-creation, and if
they left the College had no sustainable curriculum plan or framework to repeat.
Similarly stopping the entrepreneurship training during a recession when local adults
want to make their own job would also have been perverse. The College recognised
it needed a dialogue at national level to resolve the NQF issue and also develop a
strategy to make the curriculum sustainable and usable by other learning and skills
providers.
At that time changing national rules was risky for the SFA because their strategy had
been to only fund robust, nationally recognised qualifications to ensure proper use of
public funds. Yet new qualification frameworks were needed to respond to changes
in the economy. The College was able to generate a dialogue with the SFA
regarding this provision and the use of a holding code Z90P (now the Innovation
Code) to claim funding until the provision was on the NQF. This provided the SFA
scope for managed risk but also local responsiveness. The holding code was
designed to fund qualifications for a temporary period if they were awaiting
recognition on the NQF.
This still left RACC with a problem, as a small institution of how to create a national
curriculum framework for adult entrepreneurs to get NQF recognition. RACC had
achieved a solution to part of its business problem which was achieving its funding
target for 2010-11 and securing half a million pounds of funding but it still faced the
challenge of future proofing ‗legitimacy‘ and developing a national framework.
Making innovation sustainable through partnership co-creation
The solution to creating a national qualification framework was to engage a diverse
range of partners who had similar problems with the narrowing of the adult
curriculum or who were working in the adult entrepreneurship space without funding
7
8. who could help co-create a robust national framework. For example what is needed
for entrepreneurship training by well-educated professional adults in Richmond will
be different for adults on benefits in East London. Yet a national qualification
framework needs to be flexible and robust enough to serve a variety of users. A
partnership of diverse providers was set up of like-minded leaders from the
voluntary, FE, Adult and private sectors who bid for extra resources to the AoC/SFA
Shared Services and Innovation Fund to develop the Adult Enterprise Project in
2011. This provided valuable resources to enable staff across the partnership to
work together and solve the problem for mutual benefit.
The Adult Enterprise project
The Adult Enterprise project was funded for one year from September 2011- August
2012. 2 The overall aim was to provide a national qualification and curriculum
framework that would be available to all Learning and Skills providers nationally from
2012/13. The skills qualification framework was designed to be at level 2 and 3 for
adults who wish to be entrepreneurs. The Project also sought to develop ‗blended
learning‘ curriculum materials that could be shared with the rest of the learning and
skills sector to enable national roll-out. The aim was to develop a prototype
curriculum development and delivery model for a new curriculum area
(Entrepreneurship Studies) and achieve increased innovation and efficiency gains by
sharing across diverse partners, disseminating across the whole learning and skills
sector, and ‗designing in‘ flexibility and cost savings in how it could be delivered. The
Project Director was Christina Conroy OBE, formerly Principal of Richmond Adult
Community College who reported to an Adult Enterprise Steering Group comprising
Heads of partner organisations.
Five Phases
The project was organised into five Phases. At every phase the project sought how
to ‗do things differently‘ and ‗design in‘ innovation and efficiency.
1. Curriculum development (September – December 2011)
This involved:
2
The Adult Enterprise Partnership (www.adultenterprise.com) services curriculum project comprised
9 private, public and voluntary sector Partners including 4 General FE Colleges (Richmond Adult
Community College, City of Bath College, Morley College, Tower Hamlets College, Paypal (Europe),
HOLEX, WCL, Community Links, Social Enterprise London).
8
9. Researching the learning journeys of adults who want to become
entrepreneurs and identifying what qualifications were available.
Developing a new model that is more applicable to adults from a wide variety
of backgrounds (socio-economic, ethnicity, age and vocational area).
Using diverse partners from the public, private and voluntary sector to provide
diverse perspectives on the learning needs of adult entrepreneurs.
Research with adults over 18 from a variety of vocational areas, educational
attainment levels, and social and geographical backgrounds indicated that over 40%
express an interest in running their own business or being self-employed, yet less
than 10% actually do take the plunge. The lack of enterprise skills was cited as one
of the greatest barriers to business start-up. Further research across the nine
partners identified that successful adult entrepreneurs go through four main stages
to business start-up which are First Steps, Creating, launching and growing. Whilst
social entrepreneurs often have to transition out of the public sector or voluntary
sector roles before Creating, Launching and Growing their enterprises.
2. Qualification framework development– (January - April 2012)
This involved the following:
Developing a national skills framework at level 2 and level 3, and compiling it
into unitised qualifications that were flexible and attractive for charging fees
but inclusive enough to attract funding for disadvantaged groups.
Ensuring the framework was robust and distinctive enough to be approved by
OFQUAL. (The Adult Enterprise Partnership worked with Open College
Network London Region (OCNLR) as the Awarding Body as the majority of
the partners were based in London.)
Setting up the skills qualification framework which has been devised in a
unitised fashion so that an adult can select units of learning that meet their
training needs at the right time during their learning journey to
entrepreneurship. (The qualifications have now all been accredited by a
national awarding body (OCNLR). Both the Level 2 and level 3 were
approved by OFQUAL and were recognised for funding (both the whole
qualification and the units in 2012/13). All of the qualifications became freely
available in July 2012 on the NQF.
Undertaking further work, due to the introduction of new regulations on adult
loans for over 25s in 2013/14 to combine the level 3 awards into Certificates
and Diplomas so that they are suitable and eligible to attract to loans).
An individual can take whole awards or just units of learning. A credit represents
around 10 hours of learning. There is a rich mix of units including running a street
market, social media, and developing an on-line store that would be attractive as
stand-alone or as whole awards. The rules of combination involve mandatory and
optional units. The assessment model is using an online portfolio of evidence
9
10. (business development log) to demonstrate skills in developing their own business
idea and running a business.
The new qualification framework is as follows:
Name of the Award Units
OCNLR Level 2 Certificate in Generating and Assessing a Business Idea 2
First Steps to Enterprise credits
Assessing Your Capacity to Start and Run a
Business 1 credit
Financial Considerations for a New Business 3
credits
Understanding the Benefits and Tax Credit System
for a New Business 2 credits
Understanding the uses of Social Media for
Business 2 credits
Street Market Trading as a Business Option 1
credit
Considering the potential to Run a Business from
Home 1 credit
Legal Aspects of Trading 2 credits
Understanding Social Enterprise 2 credits
Understanding how to Sell a Product or Service 2
credits
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Deciding on a Business Model for a Product or
Creating a Business – Service 2 credits
Concept and Planning Producing a Business Plan 3 credits
Finances for a New Business 3 credits
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Making a Product of Saleable Quality 3 credits
Creating a Business – Establishing a Service of Saleable Quality 3 credits
Product and Sales Showcasing a Product or Service 3 credits
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Selling and Branding a Product or Service 3 credits
Launching a Business – Working with Suppliers 3 credits
Product and Sales
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Website fundamentals for a Business 3 credits
Launching a Business – Launching an online Business 3 credits
Technologies Managing an Online Store 3 credits
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Keeping up to date with Current Business
Sustaining and Growing a Legislation 3 credits
Business – Business Survival Assessing Health and Safety Risks in a Business 2
Skills credits
Self-Development for Business Sustainability and
Growth 3 credits
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Sub-Contracting Work 3 credits
Sustaining and Growing a Recruiting Employees 3 credits
Business – Planning for Giving a Business Presentation 3 credits
Growth Project Management for a Business 3 credits
Tendering for Work 3 credits
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Trading in Overseas Markets 4 credits
10
11. Sustaining and Growing a
Business – Business in an
International Context
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Creating a Social Enterprise 3 credits
Creating, Launching and Social Enterprise for Voluntary Organisations and
Growing a Social Enterprise Charities 3 credits
Developing Social Enterprise for Public Sector
Services 3 credits
3. Content development and shared delivery strategies – (May - August
2012)
A key aim of the Adult Enterprise project was to design a way to provide
curriculum materials to share across the sector to support the new
qualification framework and thereby reduce the costs of delivery.
The pedagogic approach, which has been termed ‗flipping the classroom‘
whereby knowledge acquisition is developed through on-line content and
understanding, meaning and skills is developed afterwards in the
classroom,was used in planning the curriculum development.
Currently teachers use their classroom time for giving knowledge but they
would be more effective in generating learning if they spent more time
developing understanding and skills in the classroom rather than lecturing
content. Consequently Adult Enterprise developed e-learning content to go
alongside classroom materials.
The blended learning solution;
The teaching and learning strategy that Adult Enterprise used is known as ‗a
blended learning solution‘ on a learning platform hosted centrally to enable
more efficient and effective implementation across the education sector.
The e-learning content was placed on a customised Moodle 2 platform with
embedded articulate software. It was customised to commercial standards.
The platform was designed to facilitate easy management and tracking of
delivery of over 80 standardised, separate L2 and L3 units to students across
a large number of partner learning providers as well as delivering e-learning
products with high user interface and user experience.
The blended learning content;
The blended learning content was developed by different partners and
independent curriculum writers, with 50% of the curriculum materials to be
used in the classroom and 50% to be available on an e-learning platform to be
used directly by learners.
11
12. A web front-end was developed www.adultenterprise.com to be the learner
portal for delivery backed up by a Moodle platform hosted by a leading e-
learning College as a service to the sector (Worcester College of
Technology).
By the end of the project funding the full level 2 content was completed and
quality assured for sharing with the sector. New contracting arrangements had
to be developed for curriculum writers who were disconnected from direct
delivery in the classroom.
Worcester College provided e-learning support staff to work with curriculum
writers to undertake ‗e-learnification‘ of content. This deconstruction of the
curriculum development and delivery process provided scope for innovation
as well as significant efficiency gains.
In addition to a shared curriculum, a shared marketing model was developed where
Adult Enterprise was branded alongside an individual College/institution‘s brand. A
set of shared marketing materials was developed with a shared website. All the art
work has been designed centrally which can then be repurposed locally. The
marketing pack includes a prospectus, promotional leaflets, display stands, poster
designs, conference packs, learner badges, standardised hand-outs and power
points. The designs chime with the user look and feel of the learning platform.
4. Sector roll-out and Dissemination - (May -July 2012)
Briefings were arranged with AoC groups such as ILT Managers, Enterprise
Portfolio, Innovation Committee and the Shared Services Group which generated
significant interest. Forty Colleges signed up to the website to get more information.
The Project Director visited individual Colleges to gauge interest to identify what
would be the most useful strategy for sector testing. As a result of sector feedback it
was agreed to test the teaching and learning model, and the content across the
regions with both HOLEX members and FE Colleges. The Adult Enterprise
Partnership focused on having a number of the level 2 first steps to Enterprise units
and the shared marketing materials ready for sector testing.
Five dissemination days were organised hosted at Tower Hamlets College, London
Fashion Retail Academy, City of Bath College, Solihull College and Wakefield
College, in July 2012. The dissemination events were presented by the Project
Director, Curriculum Manager, Assessment Manager and a Worcester ILT
representative.
Over 100 attendees from around 80 institutions attended the 5 dissemination days
across the country. Sector institutions were given access the materials to review
content to enable them to give feedback. Excellent feedback was received on the
progress of the project, the blended curriculum materials and the shared curriculum
model. The overview was that sector colleagues liked:
Excellent professional materials
12
13. Meets a large market demand from different adult target markets
Professional high-quality appearance
Excellent range of units and attractive qualification framework
Blended learning approach
Cohesive marketing and branding materials
Flexibility for delivery
Flexibility for learners
Relevant content to suit the needs of adult target markets
Openness to ideas from sector colleges
Support for refreshing and updating materials
Quality of on-line platform
Collaborative approach
Pre-prepared for teachers
Opportunity to deliver bite size elements
Reduction of delivery costs
Things Adult Enterprise needs to do to develop were:
Development of a Level one programme
Tracking student progress online
Size of print on marketing materials
Need for clear explanation of difference between level 2 and 3 for learners
Clarity on funding for each qualification for each eligible group, clarified with
SFA
Combining level 3 Awards into Certificates and Diplomas in preparation for
Student Loans in 2013
Need to raise awareness of JCP and HMRC nationally
Usage with 16-18 and HE students
Business Development Log needs to be more user friendly
Access to social media in councils may preclude offering the social media unit
5. Developing a Sustainability Model – (July - September 2012)
All the blended learning level 2 units were completed and were quality assured in
August 2012. The aim was for interested sector Colleges to be able to start using the
Level 2 curriculum in October 2012, with the rest of the Level 3 content available in
2013. By offering a blended learning solution the attraction for sector Colleges was
that this will reduce teaching costs, save on curriculum development time, and
standardise the quality of delivery but also provide scope for local customisation.
Although the project was funded ‗by the sector for the sector‘ the reality was that it
had to be self-financing if it was to continue in 2012/13 as AoC/SFA Project ceased
in its entirety by 31 October 2012. The overall conclusion from the evaluation forms
from the dissemination events was that there was a clear consensus that there
13
14. would be value in the Adult Enterprise initiative continuing in a sustainable form.
Over 30 Colleges and Adult Learning Services expressed an interest in providing the
Adult Enterprise qualification framework and blended learning content.
The final stage of the AoC/SFA project was to explore what would be the most
appropriate business model for its on-going roll-out to the sector given that the
national qualification framework was freely available to the sector, in July 2012.
Feedback from AOC and BIS was that because the intellectual property was
developed with Government funds a not for profit social enterprise should be
established.
To date (January 2013) 34 Colleges/providers (this includes 4 Founder provider
members) have paid £5,000 membership fees to continue the work of Adult
Enterprise and to continue to share the curriculum and marketing materials. In return
they get unlimited use of the materials, reduced OCNLR fees, shared marketing
materials, train the trainer events, central website and shared learning platform,
curriculum writing opportunities for sector professionals and centrally provided
learner MIS on destinations and success.
There is a good geographic spread across England with good representation in the
North, Midlands and London and the South East.
A Board of Directors/Trustees was appointed in their own right comprising six Heads
of institutions from the original nine Founding partners after discussions with their
College/institutional boards (Morley College, Tower Hamlets College, Community
Links, HOLEX, City of Bath College, WCL). The Social Enterprise has been
registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee. The 34 providers are as follows:
Kent Adult Education and KEY Training
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Accrington and Rossendale College
Burton and South Derbyshire College
Redbridge Institute
Westminster Adult Education Service
Doncaster College
Warwickshire College
The Sheffield College
Highbury College
Stanmore College
Solihull College
New College Nottingham
Uxbridge College
Community Links
City of Bath College
Morley College
14
15. Tower Hamlets College
Oxford and Cherwell Valley College (including Reading College)
North Hertfordshire College
Birmingham Adult Learning Service
Worcester College of Technology
West Suffolk College
Southend Adult Community College
West Herts College
Newcastle Adult Learning Service
Colchester Institute
Sparsholt College
Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education
The Adult College of Barking and Dagenham
Central Bedfordshire College
Furness College
South Essex College
Totton College
15
16. Section 2
New Models of Leadership Through Co-creation
In this section we explore the following:
What are the learning points with respect to leadership and management.
The concept of co-creation through partnership
The management strategies for handling uncertainty and dealing with risk,
and identifing the important role of diversity.
Literature review
The academic literature on co-creation is focused principally on the relationship
between consumers and the firm. Co-creation is a form of market or business
strategy that emphasises the generation and on-going realization of mutual firm-
customer value. It views markets as forums for firms and active customers to share,
combine, and renew each other's resources and capabilities to create value through
new forms of interaction, service and learning mechanisms. It differs from the
traditional active firm - passive consumer market construct of the past.
The future of competition
Co-created value arises in the form of personalised, unique experiences for the
customer (value in-use) and on-going revenue, learning and enhanced market
performance drivers for the firm (loyalty, relationships, customer word of mouth).
Value is co-created with customers if and when a customer is able to personalize
his/her experience using a firm's product-service proposition – in the lifetime of its
use – to a level that is best suited to get his/her job(s) or tasks done, and which
allows the firm to derive greater value from its product-service investment in the form
of new knowledge, higher revenues/profitability and/or superior brand value/loyalty.
C K Prahalad and Venkat Ramaswamy introduced the concept and developed their
arguments further in ―The Future of Competition‖ (2004) where they offered
examples including Napster and Netflix showing that customers would no longer be
satisfied with making yes or no decisions on what a company offers. Value will be
increasingly co-created by the firm and the customer, they argued, rather than being
created entirely inside the firm. Co-creation in their view not only describes a trend of
jointly creating products. It also describes a movement away from customers buying
products and services as transactions, to those purchases being made as part of an
experience. The authors held that consumers seek freedom of choice to interact with
the firm through a range of experiences. Customers want to define choices in a
manner that reflects their view of value, and they want to interact and transact in
their preferred language and style. Prahalad and Ramaswamy identify that the
informed, networked, empowered, and active consumers are increasingly co-
16
17. creating value with the firm. The interaction between the firm and the consumer is
becoming the locus of value creation and value extraction. As value shifts to
experiences, the market is becoming a forum for conversation and interactions
between consumers, consumer communities, and firms.
Customer community leadership
Rowley, Kupiec-Teahan and Leeming (2007) explore a case study of a leading
player in the UK and international ―sportkiting‖ market which focuses on product
innovation through customer community development. Their study provides insights
into the development and management of a customer community, informing product
innovation and engaging customers in co-creation of a consumption experience. The
case company's innovative product development strategy provides the catalyst for
co-creation of a customer experience. Its marketing actions extend beyond product
development and innovation to actively co-creating experiences with customers,
fostering a sense of community among users, facilitating communication within that
community, acting on the feedback, and continuously developing and maintaining
the community relationship. The company's marketing strategy can be summed up
as ―customer community leadership‖. This paradigm proposes a new role for
businesses in sectors where there is a potential to develop and engage
communities. It provides a context for the effective facilitation of customer knowledge
management, within which marketing intelligence plays a significant role.
Co-creation through partnership
Whilst the academic literature on co-creation is rich in relation to consumers and
organisations, it is less well-developed on how co-creation can be used between
partners through collaboration as a business strategy for innovation.
Pavlovich and Doyle 2006 explored a case study of a range of diverse organizations
in Waitamo, New Zealand collaborating to develop innovation in the tourism offer
after the decline in day visitors to the Waitamo Cave system. The study examines
the role that social capital plays when partners collectively develop new knowledge
to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. They explore the structural, cognitive and
relational dimensions of social capital and showed that the structural dimension
helps initiate partnerships, gain access to important markets and build capabilities
within partnerships. The cognitive dimension involved partners unfreezing the sense
making frames of the parent company and co-constructing a new interpretive
framework, specific to the partnership, with the alliance partner. Relational aspects of
trust through professional competency, open communication and personal integrity
were critical for close relationships to be formed in order that ideas could be
integrated and developed. Thus they argue that co-entrepreneurship is a process
whereby both partners contribute to value creation through their ability to transcend
differences and 'negotiate space' in order to 'learn how to learn' for knowledge
creation.
17
18. Leadership skills for co-creation
If co-creation through partnership is going to be successful the type of leadership
skills required will be different from traditional models of leadership. From a
leadership and management perspective the National School of Government
identified co-creation and new models of leadership as imperative to respond to the
challenges and changes facing public services economically, globally and in terms
customer expectations. They ask the question: ‗What would it take to create more
effective leadership of the whole governmental and public service system?‘ The
report puts forward the findings from the Warwick Business School (Hartley and
Bennington 2009) research on public leadership which identified the need for new
patterns of ‗adaptive leadership‘ to tackle tough, complex, cross-cutting problems in
the community. Whole systems thinking and action includes the capacity to analyse
and understand the inter-connections, inter-dependencies and inter-actions between
complex issues, across multiple boundaries, between different sectors, services, and
levels of government. They argue that leadership development programmes need to
translate individual learning into organisational and inter-organisational action and
improvement.
"Think about leadership not just as about individuals but also about ‗leadership
constellations‘ which consist of a team, a partnership group or other stakeholders
who can work in a whole systems way."
"Leadership development programmes in the public and voluntary sectors
increasingly therefore need to cultivate the knowledge and capabilities necessary to
work effectively across the boundaries and networks of the whole public service
system, in order to tackle the complex cross-cutting issues which concern citizens
and communities."
A shared vision
A central theme is that diversity enriches but diverse partners need to all have a
shared vision and values. This is the bedrock of co-creation through partnership. The
challenge of the Adult Enterprise project was that it was required to develop an
effective national approach to identifying the skills and qualification framework that
adult entrepreneurs needed. Potential adult entrepreneurs come from a variety of
market segments such as age, ethnicity, social class, gender, educational and
occupational backgrounds so it was important to work with diverse partners from a
variety of sectors who would have insight into this range of needs. However diverse
partners create tensions because they have different world views. The view of
voluntary sector practitioners from East London working with disadvantaged groups
was necessarily different from private sector partners in West London working with
affluent professional adults.
The shared vision of all the partners was that adults need the skills to survive and
prosper in business to generate sustainable self-employment and business start-up.
18
19. 40% of adults nationally report that they would like to start a business and yet only
5% do. There is clearly a mismatch between aspiration and ability which results in
lack of confidence and inaction. All of the partners believed strongly that learning
changes lives and life chances, and if you give adults the skills to be entrepreneurs
they will have more choices to support themselves, their families and their
communities.
Diversity is creative
The diversity of partners provided a rich range of perspectives in viewing the
framework required for adult learners wanting to become entrepreneurs.
Often partnerships are characterised by working with the same type of organisations,
within same sectors, of similar size, operating in similar markets. Co-creation through
partnership requires a different approach. In the case of Adult Enterprise each
partner came with a different perspective and expertise which proved very creative
and innovative.
The partners in the Adult Enterprise Project were:
PARTNER TYPE OF EXPERTISE
ORGANIsATION
Richmond GFE for Adults Leisure and skills courses for adults in
Adult Richmond and South West London, with key
Community specialism‘s in Digital Technologies, Business
College
and Creative and Cultural Studies
Morley Specialist Leisure and skills courses for adults across
College designated adult London with key specialism‘s in Creative Arts
College and Crafts, and Music based in Waterloo,
central London
Tower A GFE College Based in Poplar in East London providing FE
Hamlets for Young people courses for young people and adults with a key
College and Adults specialism of Full-time 16-18 programmes,
Technical skills and ESOL for Adults
City Of Bath A GFE College Based in Bath, Somerset providing FE courses
College for Young people for young people and adults with key
and Adults specialism‘s in Media & Performing Arts,
Creative Arts and Beauty Therapy
HOLEX A membership Representing 105 local education authority
adult learning services across England. Strong
19
20. organization specialism and connectivity to adult education
and leisure local authority services
Social A voluntary Providing training and funding to support the
Enterprise organisation development of social enterprises across the
London supported by capital
London Councils
Community A voluntary Based in Canning Town in East London,
Links organisation providing advice and guidance, training and
tackling Poverty support structure to tackle poverty, with a key
and disadvantage
specialism in understanding and analysing the
benefits system and the ‗black economy‘.
PARTNER TYPE OF EXPERTISE
ORGANISATION
PayPal, part of A multinational Providing a global online payment system for
eBay private sector individuals, small businesses and corporate
organization partners
WCL Ltd A private sector Providing project and change management
business solutions for the public and private sector
consultancy
service
Open College A private sector Exam validation and accreditation service for
Network London Region FE and adult education Colleges in London and
London Examining Board the South East.
Region
(OCNLR)
Co-entrepreneurship
Pavlovich and Doyle (2006) argue that this type of co-creation should be termed co-
entrepreneurship whereby partners contribute to value creation through their ability
to transcend differences and 'negotiate space' in order to 'learn how to learn' for
knowledge creation. Diverse partners provide different perspectives that enrich the
creativity of the whole group.
However Pavlovich and Doyle identify that the partnership needs to take cognisance
of the structural, cognitive and relational dimensions to generate new innovative
social capital.
LEADERSHIP THEMES BENEFITS
STRUCTURE A clear partnership structure helps
initiate partnerships, gain access to
20
21. important markets and build capabilities
within the partnerships
COGNITIVE The cognitive dimension involves
partners unfreezing the sense-making
frames of their existing organisation and
co-constructing a new interpretive
framework, specific to the partnership.
RELATIONAL The aspects of trust through professional
competency, open communication and
personal integrity are critical for close
relationships to be formed in order that
ideas could be integrated and developed.
Innovation as a national movement
All of the partners shared a common vision and were committed to solving the
business problem, and developed a strong trust framework for action. The Steering
Group and Curriculum Groups met regularly and worked together to co-create the
new qualification framework, the curriculum materials, the shared delivery strategy
and new social enterprise. This generated on-going team development and a shared
purpose. Each of the partners was very engaged and proud of their involvement and
keen to encourage other providers to join in the project as part of a national
movement.
Learning Points for Future Curriculum Innovation
Through Co-creation with Partners
1 Develop a high level understanding of the curriculum innovation problem that you are
trying to solve e.g. the desire to be an entrepreneur cuts across vocational areas, cuts
across different localities, different sectors and adults from different backgrounds - Can one
institution innovate alone in a complex situation?
2 Work with enablers such as SFA and agree the use of an Innovation code and get their
buy in to the Project
3 Identify partners who can help from different sectors, different localities, different
vocational areas and serving different adults, and will work effectively on co-creation
4 Find resources to invest in co-creation as it takes time to generate effective solutions e.g.
The shared services and collaboration bid to resource the project through AoC/SFA provided
valuable resources to move the project forward but with clear milestones and effective
evaluation.
21
22. 5 Identify the importance of diversity in the partnership and how it can be led and managed
6 Develop a shared vision and an absolute shared commitment to project goals. Build trust
and the inclusive sharing of information. Shared goals are more important than individual
goals
7 Get the Structure right. This involves ensuring that there are clear roles and
responsibilities at three levels strategic Project Director and steering group leaders,
Operational and task Management Project Manager and curriculum developers/practitioners
and staying in touch with learners
8 Ensure Steering Group cohesion, and try and involve leaders in their sector so that they
can be ambassadors to other Providers whilst staying in touch with Curriculum Developers
working on project task and engaging with learners
9 Find committed suppliers who want to join in and add to co-creation effort
10 Celebrate and disseminate to different sectors to ensure sustainability
22
23. Section 3
Using the Innovation Code
This section covers the new Innovation Code Guidelines with a Table setting out the
Funding Rules and a toolkit on how to identify and create new areas of provision and
the process for working with Awarding Bodies. In April 2011 Richmond Adult
Community College was one of the first institutions to seek to use a more flexible
method of recognising and funding new provision for its short course
entrepreneurship programmes. This was the basis for the development of the Adult
Enterprise Project in 2011/12. Since then the current regulations have been
developed in relation to the introduction of an Innovation Code to enable all providers
to create new qualifications to meet the needs of industry or new and emerging
markets.
In Baroness Sharp‘s report A dynamic nucleus: Colleges at the heart of local
communities (November 2011) recognised that learning and skills providers
nationally needed to have a mechanism to fund ‗responsive provision which meets
locally assessed priority needs.‘ In New Challenges New Chances (December
2011), BIS accepted this recommendation and stated that they would introduce an
Innovation Code to be used by the Skills Funding Agency from April 2012 which
would be used to: ―support FE Colleges and providers to draw down funding for
programmes that meet a particular employer skills need whilst they are
simultaneously developed for the QCF‖.
The Innovation Code therefore is a mechanism designed to help Colleges and
training organisations respond quickly to local employer needs and emerging skills
gaps by designing and deliver new programmes. It allows them to deliver customised
programmes of learning without having to wait for new qualifications to be developed
and accredited. This is possible because the Code is designed specifically to meet
demand where there is no current qualification offer. This could include provision
which tackles unemployment and helps learners progress and remain in work, or
which addresses a particular skills gap within a local area. It allows them to enrol
learners on a course that at present does not lead to a Qualifications and Credit
Framework (QCF) qualification and draw down funding.
Central to the use of the innovation Code is that there is the understanding that the
qualification has been designed in partnership with business, with a commitment to
time limited funding, and that the qualification will migrate onto the Qualifications and
Credit Framework (QCF)‖
23
24. Providers are currently able to use the Code for a period of 12 months during
2012/13, working with local businesses and employers to develop and deliver
provision. They will also need to work with an Ofqual-recognised awarding
organisation, so that the provision can be migrated onto the Qualifications and Credit
Framework using the Innovation Code. The Code initially consists of six learning
aims which will enable Providers to draw down funding within a Provider‘s existing
funding allocation whilst simultaneously developing the programme and qualification.
The Rules for the use of the Innovation Code are as follows:
24
25. GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF THE INNOVATION CODE 2012-14
WHO CAN EMPLOYERS/LOCAL METHOD OF TYPE OF PROVISION INELIGIBLE PROVISION
BENEFIT COMMUNITY NEED IDENTIFICATION
The Code is for It should be used for Local needs might LEVEL Large Employers with Direct Grant
Colleges and Developing specialist skills, be identified Provision delivered through the Innovation Code Provision
training Up-skilling in a particular sub- through a college can be at any level of learning, from Entry through
organisations that sector, and/or training to Level 8 Apprenticeships
appear on the Re-skilling as a result of organisation‟s TYPE
Agency‟s economic conditions in a existing links with It can be: Where QCF provision exists and is
Register of particular local area, local/regional completely new provision planned to be removed from
Training Specific skills required to employers, with adaptation of existing provision funding
Organisations support a growth sector, representative a new combination of QCF units
and have a Supporting entrepreneurship, organisations such SIZE Non-regulated versions of units and
current contract Supporting employment as National Skills The Code may be used for short course provision qualifications that are already in the
as a prime and/or progression and further Academies, Sector where that provision can, for instance, support QCF.
contractor to learning in a particular sub Skills Councils, someone into employment; or it can be used for For providing finance for awarding
deliver Adult sector or sector Local Enterprise slightly longer provision. There are six sizes of organisation (AO) for development
Skills Budget responding to local needs – Partnership or provision costs
(ASB) or Offender for example, adapting training Employment and based on credit value aligned to the QCF which 24+ Advanced Learning Loans will
Learning and for the needs of local Skills Boards. relate to SFA Funding (Full Funding and Co- be introduced in 2013/14 and will
Skills employers seeking to recruit Funding Rates): provide funding for the delivery of
Service Phase 4 unemployed people ZINN0001 Innovation Code Award (1 to 6 Level 3 qualifications for learners
(OLASS4) credits) £203 £102 aged 24 or above. As the
enabling individuals to prepare
provision ZINN0002 Innovation Code Award (7 to 12 Innovation Code relates to the
for and progress into an
apprenticeship. credits) £401 £200 delivery of provision that does not
It can also be ZINN0003 Innovation Code Certificate (13 to currently lead to a qualification, the
used by sub- 24 credits) £703 £352 Code would not be eligible for 24+
contractors with ZINN0004 Innovation Code Certificate (25 to Advanced Learning Loans
The Code can be used for both
the permission in 36 credits) £1,302 £651 provision. (Once a qualification has
employed and unemployed
writing from their ZINN0005 Innovation Code Diploma (37 to been developed for provision
learners.
prime contractor 24 credits) £2,005 £1,002 delivered through the Innovation
to use the Code. ZINN0006 Innovation Code Diploma (49 to Code, if it is a Certificate or
Where the Code is used for
The Prime 72 credits) £2,505 £1,252 Diploma at Level 3, then the new
unemployed learners, this should
Contractor qualification would be eligible for
be to support them in moving into
should monitor 24+ Advanced Learning Loans
employment.
delivery. funding, providing it meets other
. funding criteria
25
27. Learning Points on how to Identify and Create New Areas
of Provision Using The Innovation Code
1 LISTENS TO THE USERS - CO-CREATION
Value will be increasingly co-created by the provider and the customer, rather than
being created entirely inside the learning provider. Co-creation is the trend towards
jointly creating products. The interaction between learning providers and the
consumer is becoming the locus of value creation and value extraction. As value
shifts to experiences, the market is becoming a forum for conversation and
interactions between consumers, consumer communities, and firms. In ―The Future
of Competition‖ (2004) Prahalad and Ramaswamy state that customers want to
define choices in a manner that reflects their view of value, and they want to interact
and transact in their preferred language and style. The starting point for any
curriculum innovation is this dialogue.
Learning providers need to consider whether their portfolio of learning products are
still fit for purpose for both young people, adults and employers. The nature of
government funded regulated learning providers is that they fall into the strategic trap
of ‗wanting to deliver what they like to deliver‘ and ‗dusting down last year‘s
prospectus‘. The starting point has to be community and business needs to shape
provision in a much more responsive way. The Skills Funding Agency indicate that
these local needs might be identified through a college and/or training organisation‘s
existing links with local/regional employers, with representative organisations such
as National Skills Academies, Sector Skills Councils, Local Enterprise Partnership or
Employment and Skills Boards. However often the users and potential users
articulate their need to front-line staff and there is limited capability within learning
providers to collect and analyse this market intelligence for curriculum decision-
makers. A clear message is to ensure that your organization is alert to shifting
demand and need.
2. Articulate Need
Once you have listened to the users you need to develop a high level understanding
of the curriculum innovation problem that you are trying to solve. Try to articulate
what is the problem, who does it affect and what is the training solution. See
example below:
27
28. What is the Type of Who does it What is the At what level Is there existing
business need? affect? subject/ is it provision on the
problem? Curriculum required? QCF?
area?
New types of Up-skilling Energy Energy Level 2, 3 Some units
energy in a business/recy generation/ and 4 are available
generation particular cling waste but new units
using sector companies management/ needs to be
recycled who want to engineering accredited
methane diversify
The need might be for individuals or whole new industries. Boydell (1983) identifies
that new training needs can occur at either the whole organizational level, at the
job/occupational level or at the individual/employee level. The Skills Funding Agency
identifies that new type of provision can be for:
Developing specialist skills,
Up-skilling in a particular sub-sector,
Re-skilling as a result of economic conditions in a particular local area,
Specific skills required to support a growth sector,
Supporting entrepreneurship,
Supporting employment and/or progression and further learning in a particular
sub sector or sector
Responding to local needs – for example, adapting training for the needs of local
employers seeking to recruit unemployed people
Enabling individuals to prepare for and progress into an apprenticeship.
3. Use ‘mash-ups’ as a source of creative ideas
The term mash-up refers to the capability to mix and match from multiple sources
into one dynamic entity. The term mash-up comes from the hip-hop music practice of
mixing two or more songs. It is applied to a new breed of web-based applications to
mix at least two different services from disparate, and even competing, web sites. A
mash-up, for example, could overlay traffic data from one source on the Internet over
maps from Yahoo, Microsoft, Google or any content provider.
‗Mash-ups‘ can be a very powerful way of developing new innovative curriculum and
breaks the boundaries of traditional sector skills council approved provision. The way
the economy is developing is where traditional areas merge and generate a new
approach. For example Smart Phones were the combination of a phone, a web
browser and personal computer. In the same way new areas of curriculum areas are
generated through the merger of 2 or 3 subjects. It is useful to consider this when
trying to address new and emerging community and business needs.
4. Identify the scale of the need
28
29. If you are tackling a new industrial area where there are no existing QCF provision
this will require much greater resources than if you are creating new provision for
specific individual employees. You will need to consider that this might be a national
need and therefore you might need partners to help you shape a national framework.
In the case of Adult Enterprise the desire to be an entrepreneur cut across vocational
areas, across different localities, different sectors and adults from different
backgrounds and one institution could not have create a new national framework on
its own.
The long term requirement is that a new qualification is designed in partnership with
business/community, with a commitment to time limited funding, and that the
qualification will migrate onto the QCF. If the provision is very distinctive and niche
then you need to evaluate whether it might be better to run the programme as full
cost delivery for a specific individual or company rather than to seek to claim funding
for an area that an Awarding Body is not interested in accrediting because the
market demand is too small.
5. Review the existing QCF to see what is available
Since 2011 there has been a narrowing of qualifications accredited with a removal of
duplicates but there are still many vocational qualifications available and approved
by OFQUAL. It is essential to undertake an analysis of what is currently available as
there may be relevant units already written that can be reconfigured into a new
qualification. Working with an Awarding Body (AO) is a useful first step. It is in their
interest to accredit new provision that meets an identifiable market need that will
have resonance for the sector.
29
30. Section 4
Creating a Blended Learning Solution
The Adult Enterprise Project developed through co-creation a new innovative
qualification framework and shared curriculum across a group of partners which was
original and inventive and met a market need but it also developed a strategy to
manufacture in a cost effective and efficient way ‗blended learning‘ products.
In this section we explore:
What is blended learning
The manufacturing process for creating blended learning products
The pedagogic framework
It will also provide a toolkit for subject writers involved in, or who are
considering developing blended learning and e-learning products based on
the experiences of the Adult Enterprise Project.
Meeting a market need
The new Adult Enterprise skills qualification framework met a significant market need
and was devised in a unitised fashion so that an adult could select units of learning
that met their training needs at the right time during their learning journey to
entrepreneurship. The qualifications were all accredited by a National Awarding
Body (Open College London Region), approved by OFQUAL and recognised for
SFA funding. In addition the Adult Enterprise Project devised a teaching and
learning strategy for wider sector roll-out which was ‗a blended learning solution‘ on
a moodle learning platform hosted on a by Worcester College of Technology (acting
as a community cloud) to enable more efficient and effective implementation across
the sector. The Adult Enterprise Partnership developed e-learning content to go on
to a Moodle 2 platform which was customised to commercial standards that
combined both online and classroom based learning. The aim was to create 50% of
the content online and 50% deliverable in the classroom to reduce costs.
Definitions of blended learning
From the outset, it is important to recognize that a variety of definitions and
applications exist for key teaching and learning terms. Some are used
interchangeably with a blurring of the boundaries that can cause confusion and
hinder communication.
A Google search in December 2012 generated 6,390,000 results including numerous
definitions, discussions, books, journal articles, conference papers, numerous
30
31. examples plus video clips. This plethora of results reinforces the idea that one
person‘s experience of blended learning and preferred definition is not necessarily
the same as someone else‘s.
An article in the Washington Post summarized it in this way:
‗..blended learning is some mix of traditional classroom instruction (which in itself
varies considerably) and instruction mediated by technology. The latter can be one
student with a tablet or laptop, or small groups of kids working together on devices.‘
(2012/09/22)
The common denominator brings it down to it being a mix of teaching/ learning in the
classroom combined with some online learning in some form or another.
For some institutions and practitioners, blended learning involves the reproduction of
a classroom situation online, a virtual classroom, with interaction between learners
and tutors through video-conferencing, Skype and forums/blogs etc. This is
considered in a video made by Common craft and the key points are that:
The students are part of a digital learning environment
These types of environments necessitate Learning Management Systems
(LMS) that go beyond traditional classroom management.
Curriculum writers contribute to such environments and systems when they
are producing materials for blended learning.
Blended learning can also be described as a form of technology enhanced learning
(TEL). The result does not lead to a virtual classroom in this sense but one that
supplements actual classroom sessions. According to a study carried out by the
University of Oxford blended or hybrid learning is 30- 79% online and ‗typically‘ uses
online discussions. (2010 p. 25) Another basic definition from the same report refers
to blended learning as ‗online with attendance. ‘(2010, p. 13) Whatever definition
being used, the aim is always to produce effective blended learning, that will enable
learners and tutors to make good use of their time both inside and outside the
classroom and that will open up new opportunities in both content, delivery and
results.
Blended learning can be compared to e-learning. The Joint Information Systems
Committee (JISC) defines e-learning as ‗e-learning facilitated and supported through
the use of ICT. It may involve the use of computers, interactive whiteboards, digital
cameras, the Internet, the college intranet, virtual learning environments and
electronic communication tools such as e-mail, discussion boards, chat facilities and
video conferencing.‘ (Ofsted Handbook for Inspecting Colleges, p. 68)
Another definition comes from ‗Move_On_UP_Etutor_Guide.txt‘. ‗E-learning: a
general term referring to the use of digital technologies to support learning and
teaching.‘ What is clear is that e-learning differs from ‗traditional learning‘ where 0%
content is online, according to the Oxford Report (op.cit: 25) Even so-called
traditional teaching is changing now with some elements going online such as
lectures, powerpoints (ppts) and assessments. This can be referred to as Web
Supplemented- classroom/campus learning but with materials available on the web.
(Oxford Report op.cit:1) This might refer to the intranet of a particular
31
32. college/university rather than the internet such as ppts being posted only for students
enrolled on the course, additional readings etc.
The manufacturing process of shared blended learning products
The manufacturing process for developing the shared blended learning curriculum
for Adult Enterprise was significantly different from traditional models of curriculum
development where the teacher develops the courses and applies to an awarding
body for accreditation, the teacher designs the curriculum content for the course and
delivers and assesses the curriculum. In the model adopted by Adult Enterprise the
manufacturing was disconnected from the teacher with the creation of a new
qualification framework by partners in partnership with an Awarding Body (AO),
procurement of curriculum writers to write content and elearning designers to
transform the online materials into usable elearning content.
The process was as follows:
Stage 1: Market Map Need - The learning points from developing Adult Enterprise
was that it is beneficial to develop a new innovative qualification framework and
share its curriculum where the subject area is ‗ubiquitous‘ and can be repurposed for
a variety of markets by different institutions. This makes sharing more attractive for
more users.
Stage 2: Development of a Qualification Framework - This needs the involvement of
an Awarding Body that is skilled in designing qualifications, has a good
understanding of the assessment and also how a new qualification fits alongside
existing qualifications.
Stage 3a): Content Creation – curriculum content needs to be designed and written
by subject experts who work within a pedagogic framework that provides both on-line
and off-line content. The copyright needs to be owned by the Sharing Entity rather
than individual writers.
Stage 3b): Editing- This needs to be edited to ensure that separate content writers‘
approach is consistent and coherent. This involves designing a pedagogic model for
a scheme of work that reflects the blended learning approach to curriculum
development. The scheme of work and the content selected needs to be clearly laid
out so that the desired learning process can be clearly articulated.
Stage 4: E-learnification – the content needs to be put on to a learning platform and
‗e-learnified‘ which means that particular software needs to be used to enable the
content to enable learning to take place online and offline. This requires technical
software skills but also the ability to understand the learning process as set down by
the content writers and editor.
32
33. Stage 5: Creation and hosting on a Learning platform- there is a multiplicity of
platforms available but Moodle represents the best value for education as it is written
using open source software. However it requires a degree of programming and
design customisation to make it attractive and accessible for teachers and learners.
The content and learning platform needs to be written in such a way so that it can be
streamed on to a variety of devices.
In the case of Adult Enterprise the business model was B2B (Business to Business)
which was that the finished entity was a ‗white label‘ brand that could be licensed to
Colleges. The benefits of this approach was that the marketing brand could be
shared and also awarding body discounts could be negotiated for a wide variety of
users as part of a consortium use.
A B2C (Business to Customer) model where individual Colleges could develop their
own curriculum products is possible but there is one big limiting factor and that is
cost. This proposal seeks to address this limiting factor and empower sector
Colleges to develop their own products at low cost thereby creating multiple creators
as well as giving them the ability to share at low cost.
See Fig 1: Manufacturing Process
33
34. The pedagogic approach
The Adult Enterprise project‘s aim was to find ways to deliver a shared
entrepreneurship curriculum across the sector in a more efficient way using a
blended learning model. Its aim was to seek to deliver 50% of the content online with
curriculum available for teachers to deliver the other 50% in the classroom. For
quality reasons, as well as efficiency, Adult Enterprise was also keen to effectively
integrate information technology into teaching and learning. OFSTED 2012 Report
on Learning and Skills state that the best teaching and learning is where teachers
are “skilled at developing learners‟ vocational and subject expertise by engaging
them in stimulating and challenging learning activities. Their confident use of
information learning technology successfully helped learners become more
independent in their learning through the use of technology at work and at home”.
The pedagogic approach was rooted in trying to ‗flip the classroom‘ so the
knowledge element could successfully go online but the higher order learning could
be undertaken in a face–to-face interaction with a teacher. The flipped learning
model, which started in the classroom, transposes homework with class work. In the
world of education, this means students get the presentation portion of a class as
homework through videos, screen casts and podcasts. Then during class, there is
time for interaction, discussion, projects and individualised instruction. The model is
based on the idea that learner interaction and enrichment in the classroom are more
effective than passively watching a teacher present or lecture.
This model provided the starting point for schemes of work to be devised that could
integrate learning objectives from both the online and classroom content. This is
based crudely on Blooms Taxonomy of Learning (1956) which set out that
knowledge can be acquired much more easily than higher level learning where the
use of the social aspects of learning is important.
Fig 2 Bloom‘s Taxonomy
The Adult Enterprise Project used this model with curriculum writers to assist them in
developing integrated schemes of work.
34
35. STREAM SHARE
KNOWLEDGE MEANING/UNDERSTANDING
TYPE OF LEARNING SKILLS ACQUISITION
WRITTEN GROUP ACTIVITIES
CONTENT INFORMATION/ PEER REVIEW
AUDIO/VISUAL DEMONSTRATIONS
eg POWERPOINT, PRACTICE SESSION
VIDEO, EBOOKS, DISCUSSIONS ON THE
HANDOUTS, MEANING AND APPLICATION
PHOTOGRAPHS OF KNOWLEDGE/CONTENT
MOODLE 2.2 TEACHER LED CLASSROOM
METHODOLOGY/MODE PLATFORM WORK FOR INDIVIDUALS AND
GROUPS
ON-LINE CLASSROOM
LEARNING STRATEGY
CURATING DESIGNING CLASSROOM
ROLE OF EXISTING and ACTIVITIES
CURRICULUM WRITER GENERATING SCHEMES OF WORK
NEW CONTENT LESSON PLANS THAT
WORKING WITH INTEGRATE
WORCESTER ON ASSESSMENT,UNIT
UPLOAD SPECIFICATIONS AND E-
LEARNING CONTENT
The Scheme of Work for Blended Learning
A model Scheme of Work was developed through a process of trial and error that
enabled Curriculum Writers to ensure that they had taken account of the need to
integrate online learning with classroom based activities.
35
36. SCHEME OF WORK PRO-FORMA FOR CURRICULUM WRITERS
Unit Title and OCNLR Level Credit GLH Unit sector Unit Writer(s)
Unit Code Value
Teacher(s)
Please Complete in Full To be completed if known
Purpose and Aim: Provide brief statement (1 or 2 sentences)
Part Learning Assessment Criteria Assessment Methods and
Outcomes Evidence
The learner will The learner can Online learning Classroom learning
Please state Session 1,2, etc Please state Session 1, 2, etc
1. Insert as per Unit Insert as per Unit What will the learners be doing What will be happening in the classroom? Insert What will be assessed?
outline outline on their own (or linked to other activities with links to any handouts/learning What is the learner expected
learners through online guides that will be used and to submit for assessment?
groups)? materials/resources. Clearly reference each e.g. [NB- not all activities have to
1.1, 1.2 etc. be assessed but learners
Insert activities with links to advised to keep all their work
any e-handouts/learning Please provide approximate timings for each as part of their portfolio]. You
guides that will be used and activity - take into account that roughly 50% is can indicate what is for
materials/resources. online/ 50% class-based activity. portfolio and what is for
assessment (A and P)
Please provide approximate Try to include a mix of teaching/ learning What will be the assessment
timings for each activity- take activities - group work, role play, focus groups, products? E.g. Short reports,
2. into account that roughly 50% pair work, input from tutor, input from learners personal development plan,
is online/ 50% class-based etc. set of notes, set of
calculations, list of key
Please provide in brief - for ‗at a Please provide in brief - for ‗at a glance‘ information- full websites, and use of Business
glance‘ information- full details will be in details will be in your learner and teacher materials. Development Log etc.
3. your learner and teacher materials.
etc
Additional Notes Insert here anything else you think would be useful such as any alternatives or optional, additional work
Resources and Materials:
List here all resources and materials to be accessed and used for both classroom and online learning sessions.
Resources can include- power points, YouTube videos, sections from books, learner handouts and notes prepared by tutor, indicative websites, TV programmes, film, newspaper articles,
government reports, etc. Be as contemporary as possible but do include key works in the area that should be looked at. Newspaper articles and reports, for example, can be useful trigger
materials as well as business sections.
You might like to indicate what is recommended for full participation in online/classroom learning (R) and those materials/resources that are additional (A) for those who have more
time/interest to pursue further.
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37. Toolkit for Curriculum/Subject Writers Developing Blended
Learning Materials
The Adult Enterprise Project used a Curriculum Editor Manager, Dr Ruth Cherrington
to manage all of the Curriculum Writers to ensure a standardised approach. This
Toolkit provides advice for other organizations who might wish to employ this
approach for creating blended learning. This Toolkit was written as a result of her
experience of managing a diverse team of writers to create rich blended learning
content for Adult Enterprise suitable for use by a range of Colleges across the
country.
Toolkit for curriculum writers
Ultimately, however, what Curriculum writers use and how they adapt any templates
and other materials, depends on a range of factors:
• The specific nature of the courses under development
• What level they are
• The target audiences
• The resources of the learning providers
• The nature of the e-learning platform/Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
When starting out, curriculum writers need to be provided with their remit. This
should detail what is expected of them, the boundaries of their work, deadlines and
so on. They will also need to be provided with related documentation and course/unit
specifications. These should be read through carefully to gain a clear idea of:
• The awarding body e.g. OCNLR, City and Guilds etc.
• The key features of the units/modules/course
• The level(s)
• Number of hours and, if applicable, Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
• Timings in terms of unit/module/course length or session length, both
classroom and online
• Other relevant information
It is important for curriculum writers to gain as much contextual background
information as possible especially when working for a particular body or organization
for the first time. Further information about awarding bodies and the courses can be
found by going online to their websites. Some areas to consider are as follows:
Are there areas that need clarifying? If so, the writer should contact the
organization/body/employer.
What degree of autonomy does the curriculum writer have in terms of
deciding number of sessions, content, activities, and outcomes and so on?
Are templates provided that have to be used or are they only suggestions?
What does the VLE - Virtual Learning Environment look like?
How are curriculum writers expected to contribute to this?
What is the LMS and how does it work?
How are the materials to be curated?
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38. After considering all of the above and gaining any additional information required the
curriculum writers are ready to start designing their materials. They may already
have some ideas about how to approach the unit. The best place to begin is with the
Unit Specification and the learning outcomes and assessment criteria. These should
guide writers into what sort of material and topics should be covered in each
classroom and online session and help them envisage what will be the evidence for
assessment.
Scheme of work
How Many Sessions? How long should each be? What is the expected or preferred
ratio between online/classroom learning?
If there is no given/ set number of sessions then writers must decide according to
how the teaching and learning is being built up throughout the Unit. The number of
GLH should also be a guide as well as the assessment criteria and expectations of
learning outcomes. There is also the possibility that the learning providers, when
they deliver the Unit, might decide to merge some sessions or, alternatively, split
some up into smaller sessions.
It might be that three classroom sessions and two online sessions would work well,
with each being 2 hours long. Writers are advised to carry out an initial mapping out
of sessions and see how they look before filling them out with content and activities.
Classroom Sessions
A suggested time should being given for the session (1 hour, 90 mins, 2 hours
etc.)
A varied mix of teaching and learning activities should be included- not just
‗teacher talk‘ but activities in pairs and groups, role play and games,
powerpoint presentations, guest speakers, recording (tape and video)
activities where useful /feasible, etc.
Any special facilities or equipment that are required such as computers, Wi-
Fi/internet, TV, cameras etc., should be listed.
Learner activities should be delineated as assessed/non-assessed.
Please note: it is up to the learning providers to subsequently factor in time needed
for health and safety checks, taking of registers, tea/coffee breaks etc., not the
curriculum writers.
Online Sessions
A suggested time should being given for the session (1 hour, 90 minutes, 2
hours etc.)
A varied mix of learner activities should be included in addition to researching
relevant websites.
Specific tasks/activities should be provided throughout the session with over-
general and vague instructions avoided.
Each session should have aims and specific learning outcomes- these are not
just chunks of time to be filled.
Tasks should be manageable and achievable within the time frame given and
should facilitate improvement in the learner‘s research skills
They can encourage further exploration and work outside the time set for
each session
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39. Learners should always be aware of what they are meant to be looking at,
finding out about or practicing.
Sequencing of classroom sessions and online sessions
This is up to the writer to decide, based on what is trying to be achieved. It might be
advisable for learners to do an online session prior to their first classroom session,
as a ‗warm-up‘, familiarisation exercise or to obtain some information they can bring
with them to the first class-based session. If this is the case, the Unit writer needs to
flag this up on the Scheme of Work.
Sourcing and referencing materials/content
Only websites and links that are reputable, relevant and up-to-date should be used
with alternatives provided in case these go down. Wikipedia has become a very
popular website, accessed by millions on a regular basis. It is certainly useful as a
starting point but we have to remember that the information placed here is not
always correct, accurate or reliable. Most teachers and lecturers discourage the use
of Wikipedia so curriculum writers should give this a wide berth as well. Tutors and
learners expect and are buying into something more thorough in their blended
learning course. Whenever any existing material is cited, whether it is a journal
article, book, a YouTube video, TV programme, etc., the full details should be
referenced. When a web link is given as a reference, the date this was accessed
should also be included. When repurposing materials that you have used in other
circumstances, all necessary permissions should be obtained.
Blended learning tutor guidance notes for classroom sessions
Unit writers need to provide thorough instructions for the tutors so that they
understand what they are meant to be doing in the classroom. Suggested timings
give them guidelines to work with though also offering some room for flexibility.
Suggestions for individual, pair and group work are to be detailed and where learner
input takes the form of an assessed activity.
Learner guidance notes for online sessions
Unit writers are to provide instructions and materials for the learners in a way that
they can follow easily, that are user-friendly yet not overly chatty. Illustrations, video
clips, animations, examples and case studies should all be included where
necessary.
It is advisable to avoid just providing pages of text or notes to read. Links to texts
and notes which learners need to find and research for themselves, with associated
tasks/activities, are preferable. The online sessions should be informative,
instructional, interactive and interesting- what is termed here as ‗the 4 i‘s‘.
Writers must also bear in mind that these instructions will be prepared for the e-
learning platform/VLE by the relevant team. Instructions for them should also be
provided logically and clearly.
Assessment and Assessment Guidance Notes
Assessments should be written according to the assessment criteria and learning
outcomes provided in the course/unit specifications. In the case of Adult Enterprise
the assessments formed part of the learners‘ portfolio of evidence and were part of
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40. the Moodle package in the form of a Business Development Log. The following
guidance notes were used:
Each assessment should be clearly numbered and/or labelled with a title such
as ‗Going into Business SWOT analysis.‘
What the learner needs to do to meet the criteria should be detailed.
It is possible for one activity to meet more than one assessment criteria.
Each assessed task should enable the learner to produce evidence that is
directly related to their own business or business plans as well as the
assessment criteria.
They can be uploaded for the tutor to access and assess but also downloaded
for learner to retain. Each assessment builds on the others and leads to a
tangible set of skills and experience.
Any special instructions for the learners should be properly flagged up as well
as any for the e-learning team.
Learners should also be encouraged to make additional notes on any
research activities they undertake as part of the online learning element of
your unit content, even if not assessed content.
Checklist
Finally this list was provided as a useful aide de memoire to ensure writers have
included everything in their package of materials in the form of a Checklist for
Curriculum Writers.
Checklist for Curriculum Writers
ITEM Submitted? (please Comments/queries
tick)
Completed Scheme of Work (with
classroom sessions and online sessions)
Tutor guidance notes for classroom
sessions
Powerpoints (where necessary)
Learner guidance notes for online sessions
Handouts for classroom (where necessary)
Assessment tasks
Non - assessed activities
Additional resources/reading
Other?
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