Start of Learning Toolbox pilots in Bau-ABC – Part Two: Feedback during a working visit to Bau-ABC
On Tuesday the 4th of April we had an interesting working visit in Bau-ABC in the context of our EU-funded Learning Layers (LL) project. I, Lars Heinemann (both from ITB) and Martina Lübbing (from Pontydysgu) were on a whole-day visit in Bau-ABC to collect feedback and situation assessments after the first weeks of piloting with the Learning Toolbox (LTB) (see my previous post). In addition we discussed several initiatives to support the pilot activities during the LL project and afterwards. Below I try to give an account on the points and working issues that are most relevant for the whole LL project.
Building upon the work of the pioneering trades
During our visits in the working areas got a picture how the Bau-ABC trainers had experienced the first weeks of the pilots and how to support the next steps. With the pilot group of carpenters (Zimmerer) the LTB had been received well and also apprentices from other groups had shown interest. (However, this other group is right now preparing for interim examinations, so therefore an introduction of LTB would not be well-timed and can at best take place in the autumn.) The pioneering group will shortly return to Bau-ABC and work in another trade – with the bricklayers (Maurer). This cooperation has been built in into the preparation of the stacks for this pilot group and the trainers (Lehrwerkmeister) Markus Pape and Kevin Kuck have been working together.
A similar possibility is available with the pioneering group of well-builders (Brunnenbauer) which is now having a school period in the same area and then switch to work with the trade of machinery and metalworking (Maschinen- und Metalltechnik). In order to support the use of LTB in that period the pioneering Lehrwerkmeister Lothar Schoka volunteered to contact his colleagues in that trade and advise them on preparing similar LTB stacks for their trade.
Integrating new trades and learning areas into the pilot with LTB
On our visit to the working area of road-builders (Strassenbauer), pipeline-builders (Rohrleitungsbauer) and sewage builders (Kanalbauer) we explored new possibilities to extend the pilots. One of the experienced trainers, Stefan Wiedenstried, is now for the moment working with the pipeline builders and expressed his interest to prepare similar stacks for that trade as his colleagues had done in other trades (and Gilbert Peffer for the road-builders before the kick-off event). In a similar way, the shop steward for health and safety (Sicherheitsbeaftragte) Thomas Weerts expressed his interest to prepare stacks for health and safety instructions for apprentices in Bau-ABC. This learning area was already discussed on an earlier working visit of LTB developers in Bau-ABC in February. Now we have a chance to take this initiative further.
Support measures and further activities
Alongside these talks we discussed the need to update the user’s manual for LTB (originally written by Jaanika Hirv during her internship period in Bau-ABC during November-December 2015). In addition we discussed the need to prepare online instructions (as a tile or as a stack) that would be easily accessible in the LTB. The ITB-Pont team took this issue with it as homework. As a further step we had discussions on the prospect to start a new cycle of “Theme room” training in Bau-ABC and to introduce the work with LTB as a new theme. Here we expect Bau-ABC to have internal discussions and then we can start preparing the new cycle in greater detail.
I think this is enough of the general picture. We also took up several working issues on the infrastructure, access problems and proposals for improvements. I will discuss some of these in my next post.
More blogs to come …
