THE PRIOR LEARNING ASSESSMENT NETWORK (PLAN) COMMUNITY-BASED PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT IN LONDON
By Tom Crouch, Coordinator and PLA Facilitator, Nokee Kwe Adult Education Centre, London, ON
It seems to be getting even harder to be an adult these days. The rules of work and play are changing faster and faster, and many of us feel unable to keep up with the times. Many of us have had to return to school or go through challenging training programs. Some of us feel quietly threatened by those who seem to grasp the technological changes quicker and better than we do. Experience doesn't seem to matter as much anymore. The competition for work sometimes seems so intense that many of those who are unemployed feel they will not succeed in finding new and appropriate jobs. The increasing educational requirements alone can be daunting. As many of us take long hard looks at mid-life career transitions, we feel the pressing need for better tools to help us cope and make good decisions. That's one reason the Prior Learning Assessment Network (PLAN) in London and Woodstock has been working towards integrating PLA into some of our local community- based training organizations. Our clients need as many useful tools as possible to help them find work or make good career development decisions. We believe PLA and Portfolio Development can be one of those tools. As people working in community-based training, that's what we're trying to figure out, and it's why we want to share what we've learned from our experiences so far.
The group really began with a conversation between Art Gibson from Human Resource Development Canada (HRDC) in London and Sandra Aarts, PLAR Facilitator at Fanshawe College, London. Art had first heard about the concept of PLA while doing his Masters in Education in the early 90's. Then he met Sandra at an assessment workshop in Woodstock and "became more intrigued with it." It was evident that the Employment Insurance legislation being introduced in July '96 could lead to some gaps in training and services, particularly in regards to Labour Market Training. For example, recent immigrants to Canada would not have the same access to language and skills enhancement programs, and Art thought PLA might be able to meet the needs of immigrants who sometimes lack the language skills to articulate their abilities to an employer. Art also thought PLA could be "a valuable tool to fill holes" in the career development process. He thought it might be a way to "lay out who you are as a person, a way to communicate to employers, and a useful marketing tool. All that accumulated knowledge could be articulated."
Sandra had been thinking about PLA since the early 80's when she started to realize there were students in the college using valuable time and energy taking courses they didn't really need or which covered curriculum they already understood. This became especially evident in some of the apprenticeship programs where attendance was sometimes a problem because the apprentices already knew the material and weren't showing up for classes. Making more rules regarding mandatory attendance didn't solve the problem.
She volunteered to be on the Ad Hoc committee at Fanshawe when they started to look at the implications of legislation brought in by the ministry. Eventually her involvement led to her becoming the PLA Facilitator at the college. For the first few years she was mainly engaged in getting PLAR organized within Fanshawe, but she came to realize that while the PLAR service was essential, "the crucial piece was flexibility in program delivery which would allow learners to fill in the gaps in their learning and obtain the desired credentials". The clients she was seeing were typically "college ready," but she felt that PLA should make college level education more accessible to those who were not necessarily ready for immediate college entry. If they wouldn't come to the college, "why not take the college to them?" The more she thought about it, the more she began to think that initial portfolio development could possibly be done out in the community, and that this preparation time could help maximize the time learners eventually spent working at the college.
Initial conversations were held with Terry Fenn, Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada Officer, Anne Langille, General Manager of Women Immigrants of London Counselling and Training for Employment (WIL), and Kathi Jolliffe, Executive Director of London Training Centre (LTC). After discussions with Sandra, the group came back with a more involved proposal for a pilot project which would involve training facilitators from local community-based training organizations to be Portfolio Facilitators. They were looking at a variety of possible client groups who needed assistance articulating their learning, skills and knowledge. Funding was arranged for a one year pilot project.
The initial idea was to provide training in portfolio development to community-based training organizations and to promote a common understanding and acceptance of portfolio development and its benefits. The portfolios would be used to assist individuals with the development of self-directed career and learning plans which might assist with entry into the work force and provide better access to the college for a broader range of learners. Other goals were to encourage the development of some kind of agreed-upon portfolio format for community-based trainers and to encourage inter-agency cooperation.
Sandra was more than pleased with the initial facilitator training program (13 participants from 7 different community-based agencies for a total of 15 hours) and the facilitators' abilities to adapt the process to the different needs of their various client groups, but she had some concerns about where it would all go once the facilitators had had their training. The main desire and consideration was to maintain the momentum and keep the process of community involvement going. Fortunately, the group decided to continue to work together with PLA and Portfolio Development as the focus. Sandra was invited to come up with a proposal for ongoing professional development for the facilitators; 36 additional hours over a period of 12 months. The group did a series of professional development workshops together, breaking up into small work groups and facilitating workshops on Writing Learning Outcomes, Portfolio Development for Different Target Groups, Learning Styles and Documentation.
It was during discussions held around these workshops that the idea for the Prior Learning Assessment Network (PLAN) eventually came up. By the end of the professional development period we had coalesced as a group and wanted to continue with the process of integrating PLA into our own organizations and training related workshops. The formation of the PLAN group was not something Art Gibson had anticipated. The basic vision had by now been "re-formatted" by the group and "we let them go with it. Now, we have this group of people who are crazy about it." Art feels the fact that various agencies are now working together on a regular basis is a very positive outcome. "It has tied the community together and brought the organizations into one place with PLA as the binding element."
The issues that came up most often during the initial training of facilitators and professional development sessions were the importance of ensuring confidentiality, the possible intrusiveness of the process, the need for facilitator support, the role of the life history paper, and essentially "what's the value of the product? To whom will it matter?" There were also discussions regarding the problems of documentation, and time and resource management for organizations with limited resources and time lines. As well, there have been ongoing discussions revolving around how the process will fit into the different kinds of work done by the various organizations. For example, facilitators wanted to make sure some of their clients were not feeling excluded by the process because they felt they had limited experience and there were not a lot of learning outcomes to be documented.
The first group to actually attempt a community-based portfolio development program in London was John Booker (London Training Centre) and Joan Durnin (Fanshawe) doing portfolios with a group of recent adult immigrants at London Training Centre (LTC). This was followed by the Network of Ontario Distance Educators (NODE) project with Susie Webster and Marie Hutchinson from Employment Community Services in Woodstock, Vickie Mayer and Hazel Middleton at Audio Tactile Network (ATN), Cathy Hewer at WIL, and Sara Pedlow at LTC. They were experimenting with doing portfolios on-line; computer-mediated portfolio development. Each step and work group led to innovations in the process. The third group was with Joan and Vickie at ATN and Susan Koning at WIL. One of the learners involved in this project had her portfolio validated by her employer; this was an encouraging outcome because it provided a concrete example of the value of the process to both the creator and the intended consumer. In each portfolio development project the portfolio process was adapted to meet the needs and capabilities of the learners involved.
Sandra Aarts didn't, and doesn't, think the process has to be significantly altered to meet the needs of community based trainers. "It can work for everyone from Ph.D.s to basic literacy. What changes are the tools used by the facilitators to begin and work through the process. Learning doesn't change." The key elements are "to determine what supports are needed, the timing of various elements, and the depth. You can only implement to the learner's capabilities."
Bill Pigram, a PLAN member now delivering Employment Information Sessions for HRDC through a contract with the Career Centre at Goodwill, has been working with PLA for years, and has been involved in several portfolio development projects. He is a strong believer in the power of PLA to assist adults with career development and life improvement. "I have been amazed and humbled as I have read the life stories submitted by the participants. I realize that individuals are far more complex, talented, and creative than we have given them credit for, and after completing the portfolio process each one seems to have a renewed sense of future direction. None of this is miraculous. It is simply what happens when humans have time and the appropriate format to do some serious and self-affirming reflection. Every survey of employers states they are looking for enlightened generalists who are flexible, lifelong learners able to move quickly to respond to volatile markets and economies. It seems logical to assume that individuals who have participated in the PLAR process would be attractive employees since they are individuals who are well informed about themselves and able to articulate their competencies. The PLAR/Portfolio process gives adults an opportunity to gain some control over seemingly uncontrollable circumstances and some tools to make informed decisions. It can also help employers hire individuals who are self aware and knowledgeable about their abilities. Develop a portfolio and take control of future options. PLA is an experience which may be quite new and powerful, and quite separate from the results orientation of a new job or course."
Sandra Aarts agrees; "I think the process has integrity, and if you're offering a service that's got integrity it has to be of benefit to the client." The PLA process is "in tune with the way the world works now. People have to take individual responsibility. It helps people make relatively informed decisions and avoid the revolving door. This process puts faces on people in a faceless society."
The formation of the PLAN group, and their first forays into portfolio development have not always been easy. There have been legitimate questions asked and doubts expressed during the development phase, and there will probably continue to be a healthy dose of scepticism within our respective organizations. What will PLA and portfolio development cost us? Do we really have time to go through the process properly? Will it expose my client to harmful memories which our organization is not always prepared to deal with? Will employers be interested in all the detail and personal information contained in a portfolio? The question list grows every time we get together, but so does our answer list. The PLAN group wants to continue along this path and has voluntarily met to plan out the next year of developmental activities.
Cathy Hewer of WIL has been involved as a facilitator in the training of the second group of community-based facilitators (15 hours completed on May 1, 1998) and has also worked on the marketing strategy for the coming year: "The PLAN group serves very diverse client needs. We need to find new facilitators and develop assessment techniques. Now our job becomes one of education and marketing this important tool. We must reach the employers and the general community. They must understand the premise and the product as they will soon be our new assessors. PLAN has begun to put together resources complementary to this process: publications, websites, directories, software pro-grams, anything relevant. This information allows us to speak the language necessary to effectively communicate to those who will recognize prior learning. We have an information package in development and are planning focus groups with employers and new stakeholders. We should understand their needs and wants fully in order to successfully meet them. New ideas around process and standards from the community may have important impact on how and why clients choose this process and find success with it. PLAR can be an open process with assessment and recognition through different eyes. Each of us can be our own assessor. Our families, neighbourhoods and communities can assess themselves and reach forward. We simply don't see an end to the future with PLAR. Our groups' directors and funders have seen our commitment and have thankfully confirmed our direction to date. Our clientele will lead us into achieving new successes and new goals. All will benefit."
Art Gibson is interested to see how far the idea he and Sandra Aarts launched back in the mid-90's will go. He would like to see how PLA can be integrated into a complex system. "How can all the tools we have in the community be folded together along with PLA? How can tools like VALPAR, KEVAS or Workstart be fitted together to help people figure out where they need to go? I want it to become a simple process that everyone in the community can use."
Sandra Aarts: "To make it work you have to create an atmosphere where people are comfortable talking about themselves, where they feel equal and have the opportunity to contribute. You have to be inclusive and open, be confident in the process and the product. You also have to be flexible because when you're a pioneer you don't have all the answers."
On-going Prior Learning Assessment and Portfolio Development may be an excellent way to prepare people for economic displacement. We hope it will be a marketing tool that can be adapted to meet individual needs and requirements. We believe portfolio development can help overcome verbal communication barriers while the process itself builds confidence. It aids in self-presentation and the ability to discuss one's attributes in an interview. Accomplishment-based resumes will naturally come out of the process. Self-informed people are inherently more marketable. As Bill Pigram suggests, "It's so much work, even the effort to get through the process has come to have meaning all by itself."