Unit

Unit: Workplace health and safety

NTIS training package BSB01 and ICA05
View the units of competency »

• BSBCMN106A: Follow workplace safety procedures"
• BSBCMN211A: Participate in workplace safety procedures

Year Level/Context

• This unit of work was created for students in Year 11 studying the two units of competency.
• It was designed to include a makeup tasks and tests for Year 12 students who had yet to complete all units of competency from the previous year.
• It was designed as an on-line learning course for students to complete at school, at home or in the workplace.

How it was Developed

After consultation with the HOD of Business and the school Vocational Education Co ordinator, I individually created the virtual business Quantum Computers. The content and activities supported and evaluated competencies outlined in the above NTIS training package.

As the year progressed The Learning Place site became a repository for all learning materials for the entire course so both my students and myself could access them anytime and anywhere there was an internet connection.

The Quantum Computer site became a valuable asset. As I was employed part time, one lesson per week was taken by a substitute teacher. I was able to leave instructions for students and the substitute teacher on the Learning Place site so the learning environment was constant and well planned even when I was not there. I could also communicate with students from home during the lesson.

Reason for inclusion

Reason I included this in the portfolio

This example is included in my portfolio as it shows my desire to learn new ICT skills and apply those skills to integrate ICT into the curriculum by providing worthwhile meaningful learning experiences.

Two of the three classes I taught in 2006 involved teaching Vocational Education and Training Certificates in Business and IT. I am a passionate small business owner and I knew that I had the expertise to educate students with hands-on activities relevant to the workplace.

The competencies involved in these certificate courses required students to learn "real skills" in "real workplaces". My management skills included a good understanding of ICT within the small business area. I believed that designing a virtual business was the best way to satisfy this constructivist ideology in a secondary school environment.

My students would be going out to Workplace Training and they needed competencies from the "Workplace, Health and Safety" units. These two units were the first units I designed for use in the Quantum Computers LP environment.

The content of these units is potentially very dry, boring, uninteresting. In designing the learning materials I used comical graphics to illustrate the safety issues. Searching the internet I found some wonderful interactive multimedia sites that assisted students knowledge and understanding. Hyperlinks were included in the links area of Quantum Computers on the LP. Students could link to these sites to access movies and interactive games.

The virtual business of Quantum Computers has

• a management structure with a hierarchy of employees
• an Operation Policy and Procedures Manual for students to access company policy in relation to work tasks
• supervisors in each department that allocate tasks
• learning materials they can access that provide them with detailed information and instructions
• links to websites that will support and enhance learning
• learning quizzes to test their knowledge in the Quatum Training Room, (Respondus was used for these multiple choice and short answer tests with results linked to the grade book)
• required stationery for students to use for all assessment tasks

In the design I attempted to make the business as authentic as possible with real-life tasks so the learning was relevant. Realistic approaches to solve realistic problems ensured ICT was used in credible task based learning not just tool-based learning . All tasks engaged the learner with student-centred learning activities.

This was an excellent unit of work for student's to familiarize themselves with the LP environment and negotiate the button areas and tools. I have used the same navigation layout in subsequent courses and have advised other colleagues to do the same. A common school based approach will make navigation familiar and intuitive in other subjects. (PK1,PP2,PP4,PP5,PP6,PP7,PV2,PV3PV4)

 

Evidence

Evidence to support this unit

Links to students work

Task 1a Photo table   Task 1b Hazard form

Task 2a Accident/medical report   Task 2b Memo

Task 3 Minutes    Task 4   Booklet Cover Front/ Back

Task

Task

• Students are employed by the computer company Quantum.
• They receive activities in the form of memo's from their supervisor.
• These memo's describe the WH&S tasks required to be completed by each student.
• Students need to access the OPPM to find information regarding company policies in relation to work related incidents.
• Forms are accessed, correct details filled out and incidents registered.
• First aide procedures need to be acknowledged and used in preparation of set tasks.
• Correct stationary and company procedures need to be  adhered to.
• The internet is accessed to find detailed information for oral presentation.
• On line learning tests are completed during the unit of work.
• Students learn skills of working within the Learning Place environment.
• Students worked independently and with collaboration of other class members to solve problems and discuss incidents
• Students presented the information in a laminated bound booklet.

Curriculum

Curriculum Links

The learning materials support the competencies of the following units from ICA20105 BSB20101 training packages:

• BSBCMN106A: Follow workplace safety procedures
• BSBCMN211A: Participate in workplace safety procedures

Focus

What was the central focus of the student learning?

Integrated or integral use of ict's.

The aim of this unit was to introduce students to Workplace Health and Safety legislation, related company policies and procedures and apply them to authentic situations.

Integration of ICT was used to development new skills to interact and manipulate the Learning Place content management environment and to expand upon skills learned during the previous term which included:

• ICAU2006A Operate Computer packages
• BSBCMN213A Produce simple word processed documents
• BSBCMN214A Create and use simple spreadsheets.

(PP1-7)

Approach

What teaching and learning approach was used and why?

I was experiencing high absenteeism from the Year 12 students participating in school based traineeships. These students were involved in vocational training one day per week and regularly missed a lesson. Many lagged behind and found it difficult to catch up so they avoided attending school.

I was employed three days per week. Two days per week a substitute teacher took my classes and it was necessary for me to prepare lessons to leave behind. This compounded the problem of losing touch with my Year 12 students and I could not be assured the lessons were being effectively taught.

To encourage vocational employment without students missing out on learning and to provide quality lessons to my students every day, it seemed logical to make learning material available online. My colleague suggested using the Learning Place as a content management system.

The Workplace, Health and Safety units were the beginning of learning materials for Cert II in Business and IT being made available to students online. (PP1,3-7)

Assessment

How was the task assessed?

The unit was assessed by collecting a portfolio of authentic workplace, health and safety tasks that students could possibly experience in the workplace. Computer software packages were used to process the information and present in a bound laminated booklet that is often needed in the workplace.

The assessment included:

• four "real life" workplace tasks where students are required to apply their knowledge and understanding of WH&S information to access forms and company policy information to solve problems.
• seven quizzes that check students knowledge and understanding of course information. Includes multiple choice self marking tests as well as short answer teacher marked quizzes.
• quizzes are linked to the grade book to record marks and provide feedback to students

(PK1,PP7)

PD skills

By doing this task what skills did I develop?

My ICT motto:

"Where there's a will there's a way"

May - October 2006: This learning site was created following three professionally challenged months of re-educating myself to teach in a secondary school environment. To become compliant to teach in this area required long hours of professional development, individual learning and the necessity to obtain Cert IV TAA in Training and Assessment.

To create the learning materials I used USQ Integrated Content Environment (ICE) software. This open source software is used by university lecturer's to present course materials. It requires only a knowledge of Microsoft Word. This was fortunate as I had no experience with web publishing and no skills using HTML.

One of my colleagues had just completed the ICT Pedagogical Licence and suggested I look at the LP as a content management system. I spent weeks on my own studying the knowledge and skills needed to create the environment I wanted. Hundreds of long frustrating hours went into the creation of this virtual business.

(PV1-4)

Evaluation

Why was the task worth doing?

Competency based assessment was used for evaluation. Details are available on the Learning Place for assessment tasks and mapping against units of competency.

This type of assessment is based on industry standards. For students to gain competency the work being assessed must be equivalent to what is required in the workplace. Students are continually given opportunities to resubmit work until it is assessed as competent. My students attach drafts to emails or place in the submission box on LP, so I can give ongoing feedback. The final task that is submitted must be equivalent to what is acceptable in the workplace.

Students enjoyed the "feel" of being employed by "Quantum" and the challenge of tracing the company policies and procedures and forms needed to complete tasks. After the initial login problems with Blackboard, students came to enjoy the learning environment. This was an excellent unit of work for students to become familiar with the buttons and tools provided in Blackboard. The students were prepared for their Structured Workplace training which occurred following the work unit.

View spreadsheets and student profiles used for individual evaluation.

Spreadsheets.xls (PK1, PV1,2,3,4.PP1-7)

Reflection

Further reflection/other information

During the first three weeks, using the Learning Place environment was challenging. The following technical difficulties occurred:

• access difficulties were experienced by five students
• 10 days time delay from LP response team to fix the problem
• LP technical problem in the second week led to website being inaccessible
• school network down for two days
• slow internet downloads made whole class access frustrating

At one point I believed the whole learning site was a waste of valuable time and effort. I found the project very stressful as I seemed to have little control over the technical problems I faced.

After this "breaking in" period and as we became comfortable with the LP environment, the positives began to emerge.

• students individual differences and learning styles were being catered to. Special needs program for one student fitted well into the activities
• they could work their way through the learning environment at their own pace
• I became a facilitator and could work with students who needed assistance
• students were assisting each other with ways to negotiate the LP environment and learning tasks
• students were accessing the LP from home when away or sick
• I could leave work on the LP (prepared from home or school) when I would be away
• I could log in from home and check on the class on my days off
• Most feedback from students was positive after the frustrating settling in period.
• students enjoyed the "real life" experience of "real life" problems and the challenge of successfully negotiating the learning materials
• students believed they understood and retained more information as they were more engaged in the subject matter
• students enjoyed having more control over their learning experience
• the unit was excellent for students to develop the ICT skills integral to mastering the LP environment

It was positive to see students using common sense (constructivism) and relating it to the workplace, health and safety problems presented. Their study and research of new knowledge and skills (connectivism) enabled them to evaluate and employ the appropriate solutions to the problems.(PP1-7, PV1-4)

Prof Knowledge

PK: I understand how ICT can be used to support and enhance what students learn, how they learn, and when and where their learning takes place.

• The construction of this LP course was specifically designed to provide students with access to learning materials anywhere and anytime. This shows my detailed understanding of how ICT can be used to support the above professional knowledge principle.

Prof Values

PV1: I set my own ICT learning goals based on regular reflection of my own professional practice and determined needs.

• See Professional Development Plan
• reflection blog

PV2: I am committed to developing my skills, knowledge and abilities required to exploit the potential of ICT in education.

• See Professional Development Plan
• reflection blog

PV3: I critically review and select from ICT resources and teaching and learning approaches and adapt where necessary.

• Ongoing. I change and adapt my use of ICT to suit the learner, the learning content, the environment and personal skills needed for implementation.
• reflection blog

PV4: I operate safely, legally and ethically when using ICT and teach and model this practice for students.

• As part of this unit in OH&S I use our classroom as an introductory activity for students to assess as a safe environment to work.
• I have posters reminding on walls reminding students of correct ergonomics using ICT's (see slideshow on home page)
• This unit of competency assesses students knowledge and understanding of legal and ethical use of ICT's withing a business framework.
• I model safe, legal and ethical practices at all times within my classroom.

Prof Relationships

PR1: I seek opportunities to contribute to professional teams to share what I know and do regarding ICT and pedagogy.

• I belong to a teaching community called BCT ideas. This is a group of Business and IT teachers that help and support each other through email. I have regularly contributed ideas, work programs and supported other teachers in their goals. This group helped me through the challenging first three months of being a secondary school teacher. In return I have helped many teachers, especially in VET with ideas, work programs and support.
• I successfully integrated two certificates into learning content of one course. Up until this point the school had advertised the course however the staff member responsible for doing this had left the school. I liaised with QSA advisor Wendy Garbutt to ensure the success of meeting all requirements. Students can successfully achieve competencies in two certificates over two years by carefully mapping out assessment items across both.
• I created a detailed course overview to contribute to the school Vocational Education Handbook which previously had no information regarding Business and Information Technology. This overview was included in the Learning Place site for students and parents to access from home.
• I created a school website for the Business and IT course I run so all interested students and families could access this information.
• During the first three months teaching VET at Oakey SHS I designed a series of spreadsheets to track individual assessment of students. Included in these assessment spreadsheets was an individual student profile. This could be used to printout a current overview of individual competencies achieved and allows the students to keep track of their personal profile.
• I worked with teachers in other VET areas to help them duplicate these spreadsheets for their individual Certificate courses. These spreadsheets are invaluable to our school registrar to provide up to the minute information on individual students when leaving the school or when required.
• I assisted the teacher in Transport and Logistics set up a Learning Place environment for his students. These students also participate in school based traineeships.

Prof Practice

PP1:I plan learning experiences within units of work that use ICT to achieve curriculum goals and are based on student developmental needs, interests, prior knowledge and experiences.

• Documented in LAS Business and IT plan
• Documented in LP/Certificate in Business and IT/Course Document/No1 BSB.file/content

PP2: I provide opportunities for students to use ICT to enhance the learning of concepts and processes, working independently and as part of a group.

• Documented in LAS Business and IT plan
• Documented in LP/Certificate in Business and IT/Course Document/No1 BSB.file/content

PP3:I provide challenging tasks that integrate learning areas and involve student ICT use throughout all stages of the learning process and for a range of purposes

• I had ensured students had competencies in the computer software required to complete activities in this unit. These basics skills had been taught in Term 1 and Term 2.
• Tasks provided for in this unit were challenging, including real life experiences needed for the workplace.
• A variety of ICT's were used in the process of compiling the tasks into a laminated, bound booklet for assessment and use in the Internal Review for VET.

PP4: I create opportunities for students to use ICT to develop and apply new knowledge, skills and understanding.

• All tasks build on and continue to develop students ICT skills. Students basic knowledge and understanding of safety is used to learn and apply new knowledge skills and understanding to the workplace. This unit of work supports the constructivist theory of learning.

PP5: I effectively manage the access to and use of ICT resources in meeting learner needs.

• I created accounts for each student on the LP, enrolled them in the course and dealt with technical problems as they occurred.

PP6:I provide opportunities for students to purposefully use a range of communication tools in their learning; and to participate with others in ICT projects in local, national or global communities.

• Students successfully learnt to attach documents to emails and send to work supervisors.
• Students used fax to send copies of documents to OH&S officer.
• Students successfully learnt to research and report to students real life solutions for workplace OH&S problems through participating in online forum.

PP7:I plan assessment tasks that incorporate the use of ICT to meet learning goals.

• I incorporate the use of ICT in everything I teach as this is the field of teaching where I specialize.