Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The Candidate-Profiling Phase
phase, a portfolio is used. The portfolio should
be structured. Educational programmes within
the same subset can use a similar structure. The
structure of the portfolio should suit the candidate's
prior informal and non-formal learning and the
competences required by the institute (Baume &
Yorke, 2002; Bjørnavold, 2001; McMullan et al.,
2003). Therefore, an institute must be aware of the
possible prior learning experiences a candidate will
use and the evidence the candidate will present of
his/her prior learning. In line with Livingstone's
(2001) conclusion that the kinds of sources for
prior learning are broad, but related to the study
a candidate wants to start, Joosten-ten Brinke,
Sluijsmans and Jochems (2009) recommend to
inform candidates in the portfolio's template
about the relevant sources. Also in this phase a
self-assessment on the standard by the candidate
is required. Self-assessment involves learners
taking responsibility for monitoring and making
judgments about aspects of their own learning. It
requires learners to think critically about what they
are learning, to identify appropriate standards of
performance and to apply them to their own work.
The results of the self-assessment, evidence and
arguments are stored together into the portfolio.
A variety of difficulties are present in this phase.
Candidates experience tremendous difficulties in
their search of relevant and reliable evidence of
their prior experiences. Quite often, they misun-
derstand the criteria about what is regarded as
sound evidence. Support of candidates during the
collecting evidence activities occurs in practice by
mentors. Sometimes some preliminary checks are
performed to inform the candidates whether the
evidence is sufficient and appropriate. However,
this is time consuming. In tracking the develop-
ment of competences in learning networks, a
large amount of competence information can be
gathered from diverse sources and diverse types
of sources, which is subject to uncertainty and
unreliable (Miao, Sloep, Hummel, & Koper, 2008).
There is often no one-to-one relation between
In this phase, the institution gathers information
about the candidate's personal characteristics and
needs. The candidate gathers information about
the steps, procedure's expectations, the standards,
possible learning sources and possible outcomes
of the APL procedure. The standards in APL are
crucial. These basic competence profiles act as
a mirror to the prior learning experiences. What
prior learning matches with which part of the
competence profile? Or the other way around,
which competence profile fits best the candidate's
prior learning? A basic self-assessment is mostly
available for candidates to assess whether APL
might be suitable or not. This suitability depends
on the level and amount of prior learning, but
also on the possible outcomes of an APL proce-
dure. The outcomes may be identification and/or
recognition of competences that can be used for
entry into one of the stages of a formal educational
programme (entrance, positioning or certification)
or for further development in the labour market.
At the end of the first phase, the following must
be clear for APL candidates: (1) the prior learning
that is required described in terms of competences,
knowledge and skills, (2) the possible outcomes,
(3) the form in which evidence should be pre-
sented, (4) the assessment method and assessment
standard, and (5) the support that is offered to
candidates by the institution for self-assessment
and portfolio construction. Personalised advice
during the entire APL procedure and offering
this advice face to face is time consuming (Kalz,
Van Bruggen, Rusman, Giesbers, & Koper, 2007;
Joosten-ten Brinke, 2008).
The Evidence-Gathering Phase
In this phase, candidates collect and classify
evidence about previous qualifications and experi-
ences in order to support a claim for credit with
respect to a specific competence profile. In this
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