Exemplars of Good Practice

Abstract

The Ministry of Education of China launched the First National Competition for Promoting Competencies of TVET Teachers in 2010, with an intention to enhance the teaching and learning performance among all vocational schools and colleges across the country and to disseminate best teaching practices both in the classroom and in online mode.

5.1 Case 1 The Annual National Competition for Promoting Teaching Competencies of TVET Teachers: A Case from China

The draft material was prepared by Li Meng, a Ph.D. student at Tsinghua University.

5.1.1 Background

The Ministry of Education of China launched the First National Competition for Promoting Competencies of TVET Teachers in 2010, with an intention to enhance the teaching and learning performance among all vocational schools and colleges across the country and to disseminate best teaching practices both in the classroom and in online mode. With annual operation and constant improvements over the past ten years, the competition has now become a most effective mechanism for upgrading the teaching competencies of vocational teachers, both for face-to-face and online teaching practices and vocational skill training.

The number of entries for the competition has been increasing each year. There were 16,900 in 2019 but the number increased to 58,100 in 2021. Because of the constant lock-downs due to the COVID pandemic since 2020, classroom instruction has been changed to online or blended delivery mode. In 2021, there were 240,000 vocational teachers participating in institutional level competitions, and 881 best lessons were nominated for the national competition.

5.1.2 The Competition Process

The objectives of this national competition are to showcase innovative performances with a particular focus on instructional design, implementation of innovative practice facilitated by technology, the evaluation of student learning outcomes as well as teachers’ reflections for further improvement. Participating teachers are selected at the institutional and municipal/provincial levels first and only the winners are qualified for the national competition.

In recent years, the national competition has been geared towards identifying the best practices in employing digital technologies to innovate teaching and learning. Such practices should provide examples of technology-assisted and/or enabled pedagogical approaches and innovative practices and outcomes, which serve as a useful reference for all TVET practitioners. The competition covers two categories of entries, namely foundation courses and specialized courses. Each of the categories is assessed in five areas: namely, objectives and contexts, contents and approaches, implementation and impacts, pedagogical competence and innovative impact.

• Assessment criteria for college foundation courses

Foundation courses are assessed with such criteria as being essential contents, learner-centered approaches and wider applicability. Innovative practices are assessed with specific attention on setting objectives according to students’ needs (20%), content design and delivery through blended approaches (20%), implementation processes and learning outcomes (30%), teaching competence (15%) as well as innovativeness (15%).

• Assessment criteria for discipline-specific (specialized skills) courses

The competition specifies that all the disciplinary-specific courses and curriculum modules need to be relevantly designed in accordance with workplace needs, delivered through hands-on learning, project-based learning, case studies, and situational learning. In support of these approaches, guidebooks and manuals are encouraged to be developed together with digital resources. In regard to vocational skill training and practices, a variety of cutting-edge technologies should be exploited such as virtual simulation, virtual reality and augmented reality to facilitate task-based learning in a real-life like context and develop students’ analytical and problem-solving skills.

5.1.3 Implementation and Impacts of the Competition

Before 2021, this national event had been held at a different capital city in China each year. All participating teacher needed to present their entries in front of an assessment panel at the designated venue. In 2021, to mitigate the widespread impacts of the COVID pandemic, the competition adopted some new modalities to ensure its smooth operation. These include holding the competition in both physical and online modes. The physical mode allowed participants to showcase their entry lessons in their own classrooms with their students, instead of a panel evaluation expert team. This alleviated the burden of traveling and possible infection during COVID for the participating teachers. The process of the presentation was recorded and submitted online for assessment by an online panel. This blended mode of participation proved highly successful as the competition attracted much more participants than before.

Thanks to the wide coverage and ease of access of the online participation mode, 220,000 vocational teachers took part in the 2021 competition, representing 18.3% of the total number of TVET teachers in China. Besides, for the first time, the entries covered all the courses across the 19 disciplinary areas.

As a national level annual event for the promotion of vocational teaching competencies particularly for digital instruction, the competition is now jointly organized by the Ministry of Education as well as other employment-related government agencies. Thousands of entry courses have been designed and constructed, making full use of online platforms, new digital technologies and innovative blended instructional approaches to engage learners in integrated learning environment. To ensure the efficient operation and accountability of the competition, different expert committees have been formed to work as a consortium.

This annual national competition has become a massive training and best practice dissemination mechanism for promoting the use of new technologies to innovate TVET teaching and provide quality learning experiences for students. It has also become an important venue for TVET teachers’ professional development. To TVET teachers as well as colleges, such an exercise has demonstrated a cost-effective drive for capacity building.

5.2 Case 2 Government Strategies for Sustaining TVET Teachers’ Professional Development in the Industry 4.0 Ara: A Case from Germany

This case is based on the materials provided by Yang ChengMing, a postdoctor at Qinghua University. Source of this case: Breiter et al. (2017).

In 2011, the German Government published its “High Tech Strategy” at the Hanover Industrial Fair and introduced the concept of Industry 4.0 for the first time (BMBF, 2014). In 2013, the German government launched the “Industry 4.0 platform,” which brought together various industrial associations and companies to form a massive government-led network to promote Industry 4.0 (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, n.d.). These developments gave birth to the concept of Vocational Education and Training “4.0,” which explored the prospects of developing future workforce that met the requirement of Industry 4.0. To achieve the goals of Vocational Education and Training “4.0”, vocational teachers must improve their ability to use digital media and technology in their teaching.

The German Government, in collaboration with vocational institutions and enterprises, has promoted the development of vocational teacher’s professional competencies through various strategies including developing standards of vocational teachers’ competencies for meeting the demands of the digital age, establishing a digital media competency framework for corporate trainers, building an online platform to continuously develop corporate trainers, and financially supporting vocational teachers’ competency development.

5.2.1 Setting Competency Standards for Vocational Teachers in the Digital Age

Bundesinstit fur Berufsbildung (BIBB), ithe Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, issued an “Education Strategy for a Digital Knowledge Society” in October 2016, which placed a new emphasis on educational digitalization and required vocational teachers to integrate digital technology into their curriculum design and delivery. The German Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) also issued “Education in the Digital World” in December 2016, which stated that the development of vocational teachers was a top priority in the digitalization of vocational education. Furthermore, this document also set criteria and standards for vocational teachers’ competencies, providing a useful reference for TVET teachers’ digital competence development in different phases of their professional life. These policies and criteria led to the KMK’s proposal of the following prerequisites for future TVET teachers to be technologically and pedagogically competent:

• The ability to develop a diverse range of digital competencies. This involves collaboration, team networking, instructional management, effective integration of digital media into the classroom, and secure handling of educational data.

• The knowledge of the impact of media and digitalization on students and the ability to develop an effective media-assisted teaching plan to promote students’ digital media skills.

• Promoting the effective and creative use of digital tools in personalized and collaborative learning in response to the learner’s needs and preferences.

• Providing personalized support for individual and group learning both in and outside the classroom.

• Selecting relevant instructional materials and applications for individual and group projects based on appropriate vocational education quality criteria.

• Supporting students’ media-assisted learning and developing their digital media production skills.

• Creating and implementing learning projects based on professional experience in collaboration with internal and external instructors and experts.

• Analyzing current educational research studies in the digital environment and seeking further education opportunities.

• Applying knowledge of copyright, data protection and safety, and youth media protection in building a safe learning environment. Promoting students’ conscious and rational use of media and data based on their awareness of the consequences of their behaviors.

5.2.2 Developing a Model for Developing Corporate Trainers’ Media-Pedagogical Competence

The digital transformation of industry poses new challenges for corporate trainers as they must be able to provide training based on the new developments and characteristics of industry needs. This requires corporate trainers to understand and assess the functionality and potential of digital media including learning software and platforms, social media, digital tools, applications, e-books, and more. They should also have the ability to critically evaluate other factors such as digital media providers, potentials and hazards, and developmental trends before deciding on the adoption of digital media in vocational education and training (Breiter et al., 2017).

In view of these challenges, BIBB conducted a research project called “Digital media in vocational education and training” e.g., media appropriation and media use in the everyday practice of company-based training staff,” to investigate challenges faced by company-based training staff. The research proposed three core questions including: (1) How do company-based training staff select digital media for initial and continuing training practice? (2) How are digital media integrated into initial and continuing training processes? and (3) What support do company-based training staff need to integrate digital media into training in the best possible way? Those questions were formulated to clarify and confirm media-pedagogical competencies that are needed in corporate training (Breiter et al., 2017).

Based on their findings, BIBB proposed a media-pedagogical competence model for corporate trainers. The model is composed of three components, “media didactics,” “media education,” and “media integration,” which are all interrelated. Media didactic competence involves identifying and selecting visualizations, simulations, and animations for training. Media education competence refers to the ethical use of media such as developing and implementing appropriate procedures to combat cyberbullying. Media integration competence includes the capability to integrate various resources to achieve learning goals such as collaborating with the working council and data representatives to develop a learning platform.

To help corporate trainers achieve these competencies, BIBB also proposed an acquisition model to illustrate the process of acquiring these competencies. This model specifies that \* MERGEFORMAT the individual process elements of “conditions” (recognizing and taking into account), “approaches” (identifying and assessing) “existing examples” (identifying and assessing) and “own provision” (developing, implementing and evaluating) are all interlinked and cyclic, indicating the propensity of continuous development of media-pedagogical competencies. Additionally, such an acquisition process can be applied to the three types of media-pedagogical competence suggested in the media-pedagogical competence model proposed by Breiter et al. (2017). For example, to develop the media didactics competence, it is important to first recognize its conditions, and then to identify approaches of implementation. This should be followed by assessing existing examples before developing a company’s own provision of media (Tulodziecki et al., 2019).

5.2.3 Creating an Online Platform for the Continuing Development of Corporate Trainers

To achieve the sustainable development of corporate trainers’ competencies, BIBB launched foraus.de, an online portal that delivers high-quality training and support for corporate trainers in November 2014. The portal offers a wide range of online services, including essential information on how to organize company-based training on a regular basis. The services available via the portal support initial and ongoing training practices and contribute to the continuing development of vocational education and training. The portal currently has around 11,500 registered members and hosts the largest community of trainers in Germany.

5.2.4 Financially Supporting the Development of TVET Teachers’ Competencies

Another typical aspect of German government efforts in improving vocational teachers’ competencies in the digital age is increased financial support for various initiatives relating to ICT adoption in vocational education and the training of corporate trainers such as the development of Open Educational Resources (OER), and national training programs. In 2016, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research launched the “Vocational Education and Training 4.0” Framework Initiative. Accompanied with funding support, the initiative’s goal is to upgrade training equipment and promote the use of digital media in vocational education and training. One of the supported programs, “Digital Media in Vocational Education: The Application of Digital Media in Vocational Education,” received a grant of €152 million for the period 2012–2019. The program aided in the development of digital learning and teaching curricula to meet industry needs such as mobile learning and Web-based teaching. Besides, the program also assisted the development of vocational teachers’ media-pedagogical competencies and the training of at least 1200 corporate trainers, improving their familiarity with current digital media and fluent application of these media to corporate training.

The creation and use of OER in education have been sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Research since 2006. The Wiki-media Foundation, with financial support from the Ministry, created an OER map in Germany and offered recommendations on four topics: license and legal rights, quality assurance, teacher training, and financial expenditure and business operation.

5.3 Case 3 National Standards to Guide the Sustainable Professional Development of In-Company Trainers: A Case from the Philippines

Source of this case: Dernbach, A. (2020). Philippine Experience in Dual Training System. In: Panth, B., & Maclean, R. (eds.), Anticipating and Preparing for Emerging Skills and Jobs. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol. 55. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7018-6_13.

TVET in the Philippines features a dual training system with learning and training taking place alternately between the vocational intuition and workplace. This system has been instrumental in training highly qualified graduates for the labor market since 1994. In recent years, industrial transformation and changes in labor market demands brought about by the advancement of information technology in Industry 4.0 have presented a range of challenges in upskilling in-company trainers.

The Philippines’ Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) developed “Training Regulations” for in-company qualification and trainer competency development based on the 2018 Standard for In-Company Trainer in ASEAN Countries (TESDA, 2021). The “Training Regulations” not only define competency standards for trainers in Philippine enterprises in the Industry 4.0 era, but also serve as a road map for the sustainable development of trainer competencies in enterprises.

5.3.1 The In-Company Trainers Qualification Framework

The “Training Regulations” describes the qualification requirements and competency standards for in-company trainers from four aspects including definition, entry requirements, basic competency requirements, and core competency requirements (Deutsche Gesellschaft für, 2020).

Entry requirements:

• Qualification requirement. If the occupation that students are trained for is regulated by “Training Regulations,” the trainer must possess a National Certificate or certification issued either by the company or by the relevant industry association. In addition, a minimum of five years of relevant work experience is required. If the occupation that students are trained for is not regulated by “Training Regulations,” the trainer only needs a certification issued either by the company or by the relevant industry association. A minimum of five years of relevant work experience is also required.

• Must have completed grade 10.

• Be capable of reading and writing.

• Be able to perform basic mathematical computation.

• Be able to communicate verbally and non-verbally.

Basic competency requirements. There are 12 competencies required of in-company trainers including:

• leading workplace communication,

• applying math and science principles in technical training,

• applying environmental principles and advocate conservation,

• utilizing IT applications in technical training,

• leading small teams,

• applying work ethics, values, and quality principles,

• working effectively in vocational education and training,

• fostering and promoting a learning culture,

• ensure a healthy and safe learning environment,

• maintaining and enhancing professional practice,

• developing appreciation for cost-benefits of technical training,

• promoting understanding of global labor markets.

Core competency requirements. The core competencies for in-company trainers should be demonstrated in the following four aspects of training:

• Job analysis: analyzing new technologies in the context of digitalization, workplace characteristics, and students’ fields of study and needs.

• Preparing for training: analyzing the target trainees of in-company training, determining training contents and learning tasks, selecting appropriate training methods, materials, and facilities (e.g., appropriate digital equipment and tools, digital instructional resources, and teaching methods based on the training content and student characteristics), and simulating a training situation and reflecting on the training process (e.g., designing and using simulation technologies to represent real work environments in the digital world).

• Conducting training: presenting and explaining training contents and learning tasks, using appropriate training methods to monitor and support the trainees’ learning process, and formative evaluation on training effectiveness.

• Conducting end-of-training assessments: delivering task-oriented assessments, assessing trainees’ competency development, offering and receiving feedback, and continuously improving training.

5.3.2 Emphasizing Digital Competencies in Competency Standards

The competency standards of Philippine in-company trainers emphasize the skills of applying digital technologies in industrial operations and training. On one hand, digital competencies have become a prerequisite for in-company trainers due to changes in corporate work modes, job requirements, and work environments. On the other hand, the development of online teaching, particularly during the pandemic, has increased the demand for in-company trainers with digital technology skills.

5.3.3 Diversified Approaches to In-Company Trainers’ Sustainable Professional Development

The “Training Regulations” describe specific competency standards for in-company trainers, as well as methods for obtaining, evaluating, and endorsing these competencies. To promote the sustainable development of their competencies, especially during the pandemic, in-company trainers in the Philippines have adopted many approaches to develop themselves including online learning communities, expert-led seminars, online or offline one-on-one professional support, social media platforms, online courses, OERs, and so on.

5.4 Case 4 A TPACK-Based Integrated Model for Developing TVET Teachers’ Professional Competencies—An Example from Shenzhen Polytechnic, China

This case is based on the materials provided by Yang KaiLiang and Yang WengMing, Shenzhen Polytechnic, China.

Shenzhen Polytechnic is a higher vocational institute in Shenzhen Municipality. Founded in 1993, Shenzhen Polytechnic (SZPT) is one of the first colleges in China to independently organize higher vocational and technical education. Based on the dedicated pursuit for integration of industry and education, SZPT has achieved remarkable achievements in providing quality curriculums and has thus become recognized as the “flag-ship” of China’s higher vocational education. The institute currently has 24,257 full-time students and 2508 faculty members. It offers 85 majors closely in line with the needs of Shenzhen’s leading and innovative industries. In view its faculty’s needs for a sustained professional development program and guidance, since 2017, Shenzhen Polytechnic has developed an integrated approach to exploring the professional competencies needed by its faculty and strategies to assist faculty to develop these competencies. What is particularly exemplary is the development of an institutional framework specifying the professional competencies required of its teachers. Equally important is their adoption of a training model targeting each of the competences outlined in the proposed framework.

First of all, informed by the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) framework (see a discussion of this framework in Sect. 2.2.1), the institute proposed a teachers’ professional competency framework (Yang, 2022) that covers both domain knowledge teaching and skill training. There are three constructs in this framework: (1) PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge)-based teaching competencies, (2) TPK (Technological Pedagogical Knowledge)-based instructional design competencies, and (3) TCK (Technological Content Knowledge)-based resource integration competencies. PCK-based teaching competencies refer to the pedagogical skills to effectively deliver domain knowledge. TPK-based instructional design competencies involve the capacity to integrate technology into curriculum design for a discipline, a course, or a lesson. TCK-based resource integration competencies encapsulate the capacity to take advantage of technologies to collect, identify, and develop various resources in order to effectively integrate them into curriculum design and delivery. These resources can include, but not limited to, teaching, learning, and training resources, team teaching, and institution-industry collaboration.

Based on this framework, Shenzhen Polytechnic developed the “Integrated Competency Training Model for Vocational Teachers” as shown in Fig. 5.1.

Fig. 5.1

TPACK-based integrated competency training framework for vocational teachers. Adapted from Wang (2010)

This training model was introduced to help develop vocational teachers’ comprehensive capabilities of instructional design, teaching implementation, and resource integration. It sets specific training objectives and contents for each of the three constructs in the competency framework: PCK-based teaching competencies, TPK-based instructional design competencies, and TCK-based resource integration competencies. This training model has been adopted in the institute’s professional development programs since 2018 and it has proven to be highly effective. We will illustrate some of the implementation features of this model using the PCK-based teaching competency training as an example.

Training paradigm. Guided by a task-driven training paradigm, the training provides hands-on learning opportunities for teachers to learn and apply training content in the completion of authentic tasks. These tasks aim to help teachers transfer what they have learned to their teaching practice. The training is offered in modules, and training content is adaptable to suit specific disciplinary requirements. Trainees are also offered opportunities to engage in project-based training in collaboration with industry partners.

Training curriculum design and development. A goal-oriented approach guides the training curriculum design and development. That is, clear learning goals are set at the both the training program level and the instructional activity level to ensure measurable training outcomes.

Approaches to the delivery of training. Guided by theories on individualized learning, authentic learning, and blended learning, a variety of instructional approaches and modalities are adopted to meet the needs of individual teachers. These include project-based learning, task-oriented learning, modular learning, and role-playing. In addition, depending on the training content, a variety of instructional activities are offered during the training. For example, guided reading, online posting, problem-based learning, situated learning, case studies, brainstorming, discussions, concept mapping, and more can be used.

Technology training. Shenzhen Polytechnic adopts the following strategies to promote training and application of technology in teachers’ professional development.

• (1) Efficient use of smart classrooms for student learning. The institute improves their teaching presentation, students’ access to learning resources, and classroom interaction by utilizing smart classrooms that are equipped with technologies such as big data, face recognition, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.

• (2) Extensive use of XR-based learning spaces. Students can “visualize” and “immerse” themselves in a virtual world by employing technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. Practical and technical skill learning and practice are empowered by the virtual simulation training platform, which allows learners to practice precise operational skills and conduct risky experiments in the virtual environment.

• (3) Effective use of the “smart teaching platform.” The platform is a big data system that includes management, teaching, evaluation, data feedback, and other features to improve students’ learning outcomes. This platform is valuable in supporting the adoption of the flipped classroom approach in that teachers can actively guide and support students’ asynchronous content learning and skill practice before class so that the in-class time can be used more efficiently and effectively. The platform also provides students with a flexible learning space where asynchronous and synchronous activities are available for access at their own pace. Teachers may also use the platform’s formative and summative reports to optimize their teaching based on students’ feedback.

Training resource development. Shenzhen Polytechnic has taken an integrated approach to the development and design of training resources. This process takes into consideration of the overall planning on the structure, media presentation, and timeline for delivery of the training resources, ensuring that task allocation aligns with the expertise of each team members.

• (1) The development of basic instructional resources. Basic instructional resources refer to essential course materials and teaching resources including curriculum standards, textbooks, teaching plans, presentations, micro-videos, exercises, case studies, learning management systems for question banks, and homework.

• (2) The development of supplementary instructional resources. These resources refer to teaching resources in addition to basic instructional resources that can supplement teaching and learning, expand learning spaces and venues, and help achieve better learning outcomes. To date, Shenzhen Polytechnic has develop an extensive range of resources including animation, virtual simulation, AR or VR resources, virtual practical training, webinars, repositories of teaching materials and resources, and domain knowledge retrieval systems.

The success of the TPACK-based Integrated Competency Training at Shenzhen Polytechnic has led to a significant improvement in their teachers’ instructional design and ICT competencies. The institute has graduated more than 142,000 full-time students up this day, with a 96% or above initial employment rate for their graduates. Their graduates enjoy a greater rate of employment in the world’s top 500 companies, a higher rate of innovation and entrepreneurship, and a higher starting salary compared with their peers in the country.

5.5 Case 5 A Standard-Based Tiered Training System in Support of Teachers’ ICT Competency Development: A Case from Chengdu Vocational and Technical College, China

This case is based on the materials provided by Huang Lu, Chengdu Vocational and Technical College, China.

Chengdu Vocational and Technical College (CVTC) was founded in 2003. It consists of seven disciplinary groups such as software technology, smart tourism, intelligent construction, and smart health care, offering 38 programs with a strong link to local industries. CVTC currently has about 11,000 students, 597 full-time teachers, and 202 adjunct teachers. In order to enhance faculty’s digital competencies and promote the effective use of technology in teaching, CVTC developed their “Faculty ICT Competency Standards,” based on which to provide tiered training and resources for faculty of different career phrases.

CVTC published its provisional version of “Faculty ICT Competency Standards” in 2021. The standards outline the specific requirements for faculty’s information literacy competence and practical skills in five areas: responsibility and awareness, curriculum and instruction, tools and their application, evaluation and improvement, and research and innovation. The standards also serve as a guide for designing training programs and developing online training courses and e-textbooks.

In their efforts to normalize faculty’s ICT competence development, CVTC has created a four-tier training system based on faculty’s years of work and teaching experience. The system targets at four groups of faculty: new faculty, faculty with three years of employment at the institute, faculty with teaching experience for more than five years, and senior faculty. To cater for the specific needs of each group, three levels of training are designed: the beginning, medium and advanced levels, which correspond to the three levels of competency requirements specified in the “Faculty ICT Competency Standards.”

In addition, CVTC hosts training programs on a variety of topics, including training teachers for participating in the institutional, provincial/municipal and national levels of competitions for best ICT-supported teaching practices (see Case 1 for details of these competitions), the development and application of electronic textbooks, effective resources for mobile devices, PowerPoint design and application, and the design of micro-lessons, etc. Faculty from each college and department take turns participating in online and face-to-face training. Their annual training includes teaching and ICT competence training for faculty and technicians (over 400 participants per year), information technology training for students (including network security, with overall 5000 participants per year), and training for enterprise partners (with over 500 participants per year).

CVTC takes advantage of many learning platforms to provide training opportunities, including UMOOC, XuetangX, Mosoink, and Qinghua Online. Aside from that, they also invite external experts to offer a series of lectures covering the five areas recommended by the “Faculty ICT Competency Standards” (see above).

Those training opportunities guide faculty in applying ICT theories to their teaching, supporting educational reform, effectively integrating technology tools into their teaching, and enhancing instructional quality.

CVTC also encourages faculty to develop their professional competencies via various other instructional resources and opportunities. For example, faculty are encouraged to participate in national teaching competitions to innovate their pedagogy and learn from their colleagues. They are also encouraged to develop and use various virtual simulation resources in their teaching. Following their initiatives on blended learning reform, CVTC has engendered asynchronous and synchronous opportunities for the competency training and for faculty teaching on several online platforms. Besides, CVTC faculty are also supported to develop their cloud-based textbooks, demonstrating a high level of ICT proficiency. To recognize their faculty’s professional development efforts, CVTC has developed their own system of certifying faculty’s ICT competencies based on their levels and duration of training.

Intensive online training is another feature of CVTC’s professional development for their teachers. For example, between October and November 2021, the institute offered 10 intensive online training sessions, each lasting five days. With an emphasis on blended learning, these courses were designed for all academic teachers with the aim to strengthen their ICT competencies. The training was delivered via their online learning platform covering topics on blended learning design, micro video and online resource development, effective use of concept mapping tools, and PowerPoint design and application.

CVTC’s standard-based, customized training system has greatly improved their faculty’s ICT competence and their instructional design skills. Their teachers won several awards in the National Competition for Best ICT Supported Teaching Practices in 2020–2021, while their students have received numerous prizes in the Vocational Skill Competitions and Innovative Entrepreneurship Competitions. CVTC’s innovative training programs have been recognized nationally for their efforts in teachers’ professional development.

5.6 Case 6 A Top-Down Model of Developing TVET Teachers’ Digital Teaching Competencies: Strategies Adopted by Shouguang Vocational School, China

This case is based on the materials provided by Wang JiaYang, Shouguang Vocational School, China.

Shouguan Vocational School is a state-run school located in Weifang, Shangdong Province, with 490 teaching staff and over 7000 students. It offers practical and industry-relevant courses and subjects across a range of skills relating to computer science, agriculture, information technology, pre-school education, oceanology, and many other training programs.

As a comparatively new school, it has faced a number of challenges in teachers’ professional development. Among them, lack of motivation, clear orientation, and sustained efforts have been identified by the school as the key areas for improvement. Since 2016, the school has adopted a top-down approach to develop a sustainable model to help teachers in their professional development.

Developing digital teaching competence for all teachers was one of the priorities in the school’s Strategic Plan 2016–2020. The school started to implement blended learning in 2016 under the guidance and support of the Institute of Education, Tsinghua University and UMOOC company. Since then, the school has actively participated in a range of projects relating to blended learning and online course and resource development at both the provincial and national level such as the Blended Learning Development Strategy project, Digital Campus Building project, and Quality Open Online Course project. These projects informed the school’s strategic decision to include the development of teachers’ digital teaching competencies into its blended learning initiative, making it parallel with the development of digitalization of learning content and innovation in teaching and learning evaluation.

The school has developed a model consisting of four key strategies and stages (Fig. 5.2). As shown in Fig. 5.2, the four strategies are institution-wide training, teaching competitions, ongoing PD activities, and data-driven evaluation. This model also recognizes the progressive and transformative nature of teachers’ digital teaching competency growth from awareness (becoming conscious of the need for ICT enhanced learning), exploration (beginning to understand the pedagogical potential of ICT), adoption (applying ICT in teaching), and innovation (creative use of ICT).

Fig. 5.2

A top-down model of developing TVET teachers’ digital teaching competencies

In view of the limitations in the previous professional development program, such as limited coverage, outdated contents, lack of effective application of training outcomes to practice, the school management decided to engage an external team of trainers to develop a series of school-wide initiatives to prepare staff in terms of blended learning pedagogy in 2017. The team of trainers consisted of researchers and practitioners in blended learning pedagogy as well as IT support personnel. The first initiative started in March 2017, when a blended learning workshop was delivered by external blended learning researchers and practitioners. In April 2017, the school called for expression of interest from academic staff to participate in blended learning pedagogy training and selected 20 as seed teachers. These teachers watched 18 online modules on blended learning course design and designed and delivered their own blended learning courses with the online support of the training team. In May 2017, the training team came to the school to discuss, face to face, with each of the 20 teachers on specific issues encountered in their blended teaching. These teachers attended an advanced workshop at Tsinghua University in July 2017 to further develop their digital teaching competency and reflect on their experiences and learning.

Since July 2017, these seed teachers have shared their experiences and insights through a range of school-wide activities such as demo classes, seminars and workshops showcasing exemplary teaching practices, discussing challenges in ICT adoption, and sharing new insights into blended learning pedagogy and strategies. These activities have helped new blended learning adopters and future adopters in the school to better understand the potential and importance of blended learning.

At the same time, all the training materials have been uploaded to the school’s Learning Management System (LMS). To date, there are over 200 training repositories available online covering theories and pedagogy relating to blended and online learning, demo classes, technical support resources, and recordings of seminars by experts. These resources can be used for school-wide ongoing training activities as well as for individual teachers’ self-development in digital teaching competency.

In order to further promote teachers’ blended and online teaching competencies, the school systematically organizes and supports teachers to participate in various teaching competitions. These competitions range from national, provincial, municipal, and school-based ones. The school also encourages its teachers to form a community of practice where seed teachers guide and support other teachers from various fields of study in preparation for these competitions. This practice has become an ongoing part of the school’s professional development programs.

To facilitate the blended learning implementation, the school has made efforts to assist teachers to more effectively manage online resources, online tests, online forums, and survey instruments.

Digital teaching competence becomes a key performance indicator (KPI) for academic staff and for the performance review of all departments in the school. Each semester, the school’s overall performance data in blended and online teaching are published, and the completion rate of the integration of ICT into curricula is assessed and published monthly. These results are used to assess staff performance monthly and annually.

In the past five years, blended learning approaches and strategies have been integrated into the curricula of every disciplinary area. Blended learning has now become an integral part of the school’s teaching. ICT has been embedded in curricula in a manner consistent with course requirements and learning outcomes.

5.7 Case 7 An Integrated and Coordinated Approach to Developing Teachers’ Professional competencies—A Case from Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University in Germany

Source of this case: DHBW. Wir über uns. [2019-06-10] [2022-03-15]. https://www.dhbw.de/die-dhbw/wirueber-uns.

As a direct successor to Baden-Württemberg vocational college, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (BHBW) is a dual-education institution in Germany, offering degrees in cooperation with industry and non-profit institutions. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate study programs in the field of business, engineering, and social work and also offers postgraduate degree programs with integrated on-the-job training. All degree programs are both nationally and internationally accredited. BHBW has around 33,500 enrolled students, over 9000 partner companies, and more than 200,000 graduates.

In response to the changes in the competency requirements of the labor market in the digital age, DHBW has adopted a range of digital media tools in teaching and learning to improve learning outcomes. Such an extensive use of ICT requires teachers not only to acquire sufficient digital literacy, but also to develop technology-enhanced pedagogy to improve their teaching quality. To help teachers develop these competencies, DHBW has implemented a variety of strategies including clarifying goals for teachers’ competency development, establishing support structures, developing additional resources, and developing and improving assessment mechanisms for evaluating teachers’ competency development.

5.7.1 Clarifying Goals for Faculty Teaching Competency Development

In collaboration with their corporate partners, DHBW has offered its students a dual-study mode allowing learning and skill training to alternate between the classroom and workplace. This mode enables students to gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills during their study in DHBW. DHBW has developed a blended learning approach to support the dual-study mode through various digital media technology tools. Digital technologies are not only used in the classroom, but also in teaching and learning management such as submitting research papers, assigning advisers, maintaining teaching logs, and administering digitalized tests. Thus, DHBW clarifies and emphasizes the following goals in promoting teachers’ teaching competencies: (a) continuing to raise teachers’ awareness of the potential of ICT and technological equipment, (b) integrating ICT and technological equipment in view of catering for the specific disciplinary needs and learners’ needs for diversified and personalized learning, and (c) innovating pedagogy and teaching modes.

5.7.2 Creating Support Structures to Develop Faculty Teaching Competencies

DHBW established the Center for Teaching and Lifelong Learning to support the development of their teachers’ teaching competencies. Its major areas of services include teaching and learning, faculty development, and assessment of qualifications. In terms of faculty development, the Center has:

• supported teachers’ teaching competency development through offering training programs and professional development activities (e.g., how to teach online, how to manage student inquiries). These training programs are offered on their online continuing education platform where teachers can also post new ideas and share their teaching experiences in the online forum called “Online Teaching Café.” The Center also issues certificates of online professional development to teachers who have completed those trainings.

• produced a series of publications to encourage the exchange of innovative teaching ideas and experiences. Topics range from the introduction of various teaching principles and practices, approaches to online teaching and learning, and how to integrate theory into practice.

• conducted online and in-person teaching seminars and programs to develop their teachers’ teaching competencies and optimize student learning outcomes.

5.7.3 Developing Resources for Enhancing Teaching Competencies

DHBW has developed various resources to support the development of their teachers’ ICT competencies. The DHBW Teaching Handbook and its supplementary resource, Practical Templates for the Teaching Handbook are two good examples.

The DHBW Teaching Handbook provides guidance for teachers in areas such as media-enhanced instructional design and delivery, exams, and curriculum planning.

The Practical Templates for the Teaching Handbook has also proved useful for teachers to track students’ learning process, adopt appropriate teaching methods, select appropriate digital media tools, design and deliver online teaching, and plan the overall curriculum of a course.

5.7.4 Developing and Improving Assessment Mechanisms for Evaluating Teachers’ Competency Development

In 2018, DHBW published its updated edition of “Quality Management Handbook,” which provides guidance for developing teachers’ teaching competencies as well as a set of mechanisms for assessing teachers’ competency development. Key indicators for measuring teachers’ professional development were introduced in these mechanisms. They include providing integrated internal and external evaluation, updating teacher qualification criteria and responsibilities, providing standards for outstanding teaching practice, offering teaching evaluations (of application of digital media technologies, students’ learning outcomes, and various assessments used in teaching), and covering an instructional development quality report.

5.7.5 Characteristics of DHBW’s Systematic Approach

• (1) Identifying teaching competency constructs and recognizing the importance of sustained teachers’ professional development. One of the primary goals of DHBW is to ensure that their students graduate with the skills needed in the current labor market and are competent in their occupations. This goal led to the creation of the “Quality Assurance Handbook,” which considers the entire quality assurance of the institution. The handbook clearly articulates the competencies required of their teachers of all levels, as well as standards for the use of digital media tools, course evaluation, evaluation of assessment methods, teaching evaluation report, and so on.

• (2) Promoting student-centered instructional design and delivery, and evaluation of teaching and learning. The emphasis of current teaching in DHBW has shifted from knowledge imparting by the teacher to active learning by the student, resulting in a transition from teaching-cantered to learning-cantered pedagogy. Their goal of instruction is to assist students in acquiring knowledge and developing their vocational skills. Thus, DHBW recognizes the importance for their teachers to know what knowledge and skills future graduates need in the digital age. Accordingly, their teachers’ professional development has been focusing on the innovative use of digital technologies in teaching and supporting students in acquiring those skills. To better meet students’ needs, teachers in DHBW are supported in the institute’s professional development programs in developing proficiency in utilizing various technologies to innovate curriculum and instructional design, delivery approaches, online assessments, and teaching evaluation.

• (3) Linking theory to practice in teachers’ professional development. The DHBW Teaching Handbook introduces guidelines for instructional design and implementation of ICT-supported teaching and learning and provides cases and examples of how to apply them in practice. This has been achieved through theoretical expositions followed by practical procedures and examples. In addition, the Practical Templates for the Teaching Handbook also includes templates and scaffoldings for faculty to use in designing, implementing, and reflecting on their teaching practices. For example, faculty can use the templates to categorize and present teaching contents for face-to-face and online teaching in an integrated manner to optimize content delivery. Faculty can also use the self-evaluation form on the templates to assess their level of preparation with reference to the selection of teaching resources, the use of digital media and tools and the adoption of instructional methods.

5.8 Case 8 College-Enterprise Cooperative Training Based on TVET Teaching Competency Standards: A Case from China

The draft material was prepared by Zhou Qian, Qinghua University.

5.8.1 Background

U-MOOC Online Education Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. was established at the end of 2014. It is a national high-tech company that specializes in the research, design, development, application, and evaluation of online learning platform learning management system. The system provides an overall e-Learning solution for 500 universities and vocational colleges with an emphasis on the continuous improvement of their teachers' digital teaching capabilities.

5.8.2 Development of the College-Enterprise Cooperation

Guided by TVET teaching competency standards, the college-enterprise cooperation is distinctive and innovative in its training philosophies, goals, and methods. Its philosophy involves promoting vocational teachers’ digital teaching competency as well as the integration of technology for teaching such as the IT application theories in blended learning. The training design team analyzes the digital teaching competency of their teachers based on TVET Teaching Competency Standards and urgent needs of the target audience.

The goal of the training is to enhance the teaching competency of individual teachers and promote the team building of the teachers. According to China’s State Council’s National Vocational Education Reform program (hereafter referred to as “20 Articles of TVET”), we should adapt to the demands of “Internet + vocational education” and use current information technology to enhance the instructional performance (China’s State Council, 2019). Workshop-based vocational teacher training aims to enhance vocational teacher's competencies of course development, course delivery, professional knowledge, industrial capability, information literacy, and research and development. The training design team analyzes the teaching competencies of vocational teachers based on the TVET Teaching Competency Standards, and then designs tailored training programs based on the findings. Vocational colleges can promote their teachers’ communication and develop an environment of teaching discovery in the information age by holding experience-sharing sessions, forums, and workshops. Vocational colleges can encourage their teachers to apply their comprehensive teaching ability in their classrooms by incorporating teaching delivery, student satisfaction, and academic achievement into teacher performance appraisal indicators, resulting in improved vocational teachers’ comprehensive teaching competencies through training and teaching practice.

The six dimensions and four phases have been proposed as the framework of TVET teachers’ competency in the digital age that can be applied to the establishment of training goals (see Chap. 3).

The training has been conducted using the “standard-led, situation-based, and personalized design” teacher development approach to promote the development of teachers’ teaching competency in the information age. Figure 5.3 shows how phases flow.

Fig. 5.3

“Standard-led, situation-based, and personalized design” teacher development approach

Based on dimensions and standards of the teaching competency of vocational teachers, an index system and an assessment scale were used as a benchmark and tools for diagnosing and evaluating vocational colleges and their teachers’ teaching competency of using Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Teachers were classified into different phases of development based on their evaluation results. Follow-up plans were also created to improve their teaching skills based on their current teaching situations. The systematic development of vocational teachers’ teaching competency has aided in the development and innovation of the academic programs, as well as providing assurance for effective hybrid teaching reform and development. The standardization of teaching competency standards for vocational teachers is one of the breakthroughs in leading the development of vocational education, improving the vocational education system, and establishing and improving school curricula, teaching staff, teaching materials, and application of ICT in teaching. The personalized design of training programs and the systematic planning of training content are two examples of training innovations.

U-MOOC presented a long-term, systematic, personalized, and actionable teacher development program with personalized design at its center. With response to participating teachers’ needs, the system was designed to fulfill the teachers’ training demands. U-MOOC facilitated a network among vocational institutions by forming a service team that includes training supervisors, specialists, corporate representatives, and more. They also collaborate to solve problems, build a stable long-term partnership, and train teachers towards teaching experts.

U-MOOC classified teachers’ development into four phases based on vocational teachers’ teaching competency standard framework: beginners to advanced beginners, advanced beginners to competent teachers, competent to resourceful teachers, and resourceful teachers to teaching experts, with a total of 56 specified indicators. The four phases of development correspond to four levels of learning evaluation in Kirkpatrick Model and the COMET Competence Model. The “beginners to advanced beginners” phase corresponds to the layers of teachers’ reaction and learning. The “advanced beginners to competent teachers” phase corresponds to the behavioural change layer. The “competent to resourceful teachers” and “resourceful teachers to teaching experts” phases correspond to the results layer.

• (1) Beginners to advanced beginners

The beginners to advanced beginners’ phase focuses on gaining a basic understanding of course development, course delivery, professional knowledge, information literacy, and research and development. In this phase, through hands-on approaches, teachers will adjust their teaching philosophy and understand the characteristics of vocational educational curriculum and teaching in the information age. In this phase, four modules are available for teacher development offered through cooperation between on-campus teacher development offices and external educational service units. Modules in this phase are mainly delivered in the form of expert lectures, case sharing, exercises, and expert reviews. The specific training formats and modules are shown in Table 5.1. Each vocational school will select trainings from the list suitable for their teachers based on the analysis of their current teaching competency.

Table 5.1 Teacher development module for beginners to advanced beginners

• (2) Advanced beginners to competent teachers

The phase of advanced beginners to competent teachers mostly involves teaching preparation and implementation. Training in this phase is customarily provided through online Q & A and engagement in experiential learning. With no predefined training material, training content is the same as it is in the beginners to advanced beginner phase. Training is mostly conducted through individualized one-on-one online consultations or small-group meetings based on participants’ questions.

• (3) Competent to resourceful teachers

Transiting from competent to resourceful teachers, teachers should have a greater grasp of course development, course delivery, information literacy, and research and development. This is a result of as having sufficient vocational educational reform experience from prior rounds of training, As a result, some exemplary instructors with prior experience in teaching reform may have higher expectations for their self-value to be realized.

Various vocational teaching competency and lecture contests are held regularly at the college, municipal, provincial, and national levels. Besides, there are also opportunities for vocational teachers to apply research and instructional development funding. Teachers in this transition need to consolidate their teaching reform experiences, data, and reflections into “teaching achievements” which is a unique undertaking that demands them to combine theory and practice. Teachers are now more anxious to master vocational education curriculum and instructional theories, as well as theories on ICT integration and other foundational educational pedagogyy. In many cases, due to their heavy teaching loads and administrative responsibilities, teachers can only refer to teaching pedagogy resources when preparing for “special events” such as “teaching skill competition,” “young teachers teaching competition,” “lecture competition,” and “teaching achievements award.”

As a result, training in this phase mainly focused on theories that are closely related to instructional practices such as vocational education curriculum and teaching theories, theories on ICT integration, and systematic research and development theories. This training phase is critical for developing teachers’ teaching competencies as they pilot and adjust to best new teaching practices based on learning theories.

This phase of training is designed to help teachers break out of their comfort zones by helping them to systematically understand learning theories, practice applying those theories in their teaching, reflect on and create new best practices as they implement ICT in the classroom, and ultimately, become teaching experts in their fields. The modules in this phase are mainly delivered through expert lectures, case sharing, workshops, and more. The specific training formats and modules are shown in Tables 5.2.

Table 5.2 Teacher development module for competent to resourceful teachers

In this phase, faculty training can be structured in a variety of ways, including mixing instructors’ personal study with external training. Teachers can self-learn using a variety of online training tools. External training plans with focused theories are created based on instructors’ present teaching skills.

• (4) Resourceful teachers to expert teachers

The key duties in the previous three phases have been fulfilled by teachers in the phase of resourceful teachers to expert teachers. Based on their experience in vocational educational curriculum and teaching reform, research achievements, and peer recognition, they are exceptional in their job and becoming experts in their disciplines. Teachers in this phase are not confined to conducting small-scale individual study; instead, through continuous learning and communication they can gain more knowledge and develop their own vocational educational instructional theory system that can be utilized in various contexts. Vocational colleges for those experts should provide them with a platform where they may influence others and contribute to the development of other teachers.

5.8.3 Results

A review of current vocational teachers’ teaching competencies in the information age revealed some problems and issues in the past teacher development. Issues regarding training delivery include: (1) no tailored training addressing participants’ needs, (2) prioritizing training length above quality, (3) no follow-up on training content, (4) training content cannot be applied to teaching practice, (5) too much content in a short period of time, (6) theory is disconnected from practice and cannot be easily applied, (7) training content is not thorough enough, (8) irresponsible training experts with ill-prepared materials, (9) no ongoing training or communication with training experts, (10) a lack of focus in training, (11) no training objectives, (12) delivering teaching innovation with outdated teaching methods, and (13) no interaction.

Participants’ identified several training demands identified in the survey. First, they desired course development training on hybrid course design and textbook development (such as loose-leaf textbooks). Training on information literacy in online course development, workplace practices, mind mapping, software application, ICT application, and design of educational resources such as animation and min-games, PPT design, and web development would be helpful. Course delivery training such as design of teaching evaluation, hybrid teaching, teaching methods and strategies, innovative instructional activities, and using instructional practice guidance rather than lecturing were some areas identified in the survey as valuable professional development areas. Finally, the participants indicated that training on industrial practice skills and research and development (e.g., training on research tools and interpretation of vocational education policy) were preferred.

Training effectiveness is mainly measured by post-tests and satisfaction surveys. There are 5 multiple-choice questions and 9 short-answer questions on the post-test. The questions in the post-test are different, yet comparable from the ones in pre-test. Participants are tested on the four training themes with a total of 100 points. The post-test is graded with graders of the pre-test following a criterion. Test results indicated that participating teachers performed best in the information literacy section and may need to work on their course design skills.

A satisfaction survey using a 5-point Likert Scale and open-ended questions was used to find out participating teachers’ general perceptions of the training, satisfaction towards various training courses, as well as suggestions. A total of 34 teachers completed the survey with a 100% completion rate and a Cronbach coefficient of 0.791. Overall satisfaction and degree of satisfaction in all areas are high and more than 50% of respondents were highly satisfied in most questions.

5.8.4 Reflections

Cooperation between vocational colleges and enterprises can serve to provide a formation of a professional training team to assist the development of teachers’ competencies and practices. The demands of vocational teacher training can be met by improving vocational teachers’ ICT teaching competency.

Course development, course delivery, information literacy, and research and development are the only four primary areas covered in the present training, and training on disciplinary knowledge and industry competencies is currently unavailable. Furthermore, current training emphasizes skills in using ICT in the classroom, and future training should include content that can be thoroughly interwoven with specific academic programs. It will eventually serve as a reference tool for evaluating vocational teachers’ teaching competencies, as well as examples for providing self-study and professional development programs.