learning

This section discusses how the fragmented sense-making experiences of learners from ICT and healthcare courses are affected by the curriculum design and pedagogical practices shaped by the interaction between industry and TAE contexts.

4.1.1 Fragmented sense-making (ICT)

As described in Section 3.1, the adult learners in the ICT course experienced a low level of sense-making as they spent most of their time noticing differences, recalling past experience and making comparisons. They seldom connected theory with practice, or conceived a systemic understanding of the software and the possibilities it offered. Also, they had limited, if any, application of what they learned to potential workplace practices. Such a sense-making process tends to be fragmented because the learners stopped at identifying and comparing differences in theory and practices and recalling past experiences. Learners’ comments indicate that these sense-making processes were not sufficient for the learners to translate their learning into their workplaces.

The low level sense-making experienced by ICT learners might be due mainly to the fragmented curriculum design of this ICT course. In this course, the learners attended classroom (20%) and e-learning (80%) sessions involving both theoretical and practical knowledge. However, at the end of the course, the learners shared that they still lacked the competence to apply for relevant jobs. What was taught in the course did not incorporate the versatility of the SAP system and the ways in which it can be applied differently in different settings. Instead, the course design and facilitation were very prescriptive where learners had to strictly follow the procedural steps. Consequently, there was no opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the possibilities for the deployment of SAP system in a company, which was the promised learning outcomes at the end of the course. Learners reported instead that they could only be a user, and could not operate at the higher level of a consultant. They explained that the curriculum content was not adequate to meet most employers’ needs and requirements in the industry. They strongly recommended that some embedded workplace hands-on learning in between classroom learning and e-learning was necessary to help them achieve a holistic understanding of the deploying SAP ERP system and be more competent and confident in applying for related jobs. Additionally, there appeared to be limited opportunity for learners to engage in purposeful dialogue. Figure 7 represents the overall sense-making experience of ICT learners of this BL course.