Development and Modification of Learner Materials Policy

Strategix Training Group is committed to producing learner materials that:

• Address:

  • Training Package requirements

  • Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence

  • Industry requirements and industry standards

  • Legislative requirements

  • Employer requirements

  • ACSF and AQF levels appropriate to the course of study.

• Are suitable for both students and trainers

• Contain clear and concise information and instructions for all activities and assessment tasks

• Contain current information and content that is related to the industry

• Provide students with a fair and equal opportunity to complete a course of study

• Allow for reasonable adjustments to be made.

Development and Modification of Learner Materials Procedure

This procedure outlines the process for developing, writing, endorsing and modifying assessment materials for units of competency.

Planning

The responsible parties must:

• Refer to the relevant and current Training and Assessment Strategy

• Access the unit of competency from training.gov.au. Identify performance criteria, foundation skills, performance evidence, and knowledge evidence required to achieve competency

• Identify the resources and facilities required for the assessment, including any workplace simulation requirements such as the number of times the task/s must be performed

• Identify the AQF and ACSF level.

Development

The responsible parties must:

Develop the learning materials including, but not limited to:

To do this, the development process includes the following:

Step 1 - Template

Select the correct templates and create a draft version. Each draft version must be named as per the naming convention below:

• Unit Code Unit Name (AMG, MD, LG, VP) v? DRAFT - See table above for explanation of abbreviations.

• Save all materials in the DRAFT folder for specific training package in CURRICULUM folder on the Google Drive

• If required, develop Cloud Assess materials using STG 4.014 Cloud Assess Development and Review Process

• Access the STG 1.026 Style Guide, Harvard Citation Style 2016 PDF and other writing resources as needed.

Step 2 - Assessment and Mapping

• Develop evidence gathering tools (e.g. skills observations, questions, model answers etc.). Evidence gathering tools should focus on the required elements, performance criteria, foundation skills, knowledge and skills, and assessment conditions of the unit of competency

• Identify and develop conditions, resources and instructions for trainer and student

• Ensure assessment tools comply with the requirements of the relevant training package or VET accredited course, by mapping items from evidence gathering tools to the unit of competency. This is done by recording item numbers from the assessment tools using a Mapping Document

• Once assessment and mapping are completed, record required resources for each unit of competency in the STG 4.013 Resource Log.

Step 3 - Learning Materials

• Develop learning materials that provide information, resources, legislative and organisational policies, procedures and standards relevant to the training package and industry knowledge requirements

• Develop formative learning activities to support students to understand information and practise assessment methods.

Step 4 - Documentation

Record progress in the Curriculum Development Projects spreadsheet (CD Projects).

Review

All materials need to be reviewed and finalised before release. These include:

To do this, the review process includes the following:

Step 1 - Pre-review (Writer)

• Writer to check spelling, grammar and formatting prior to review

• Writer to print all materials for review.

Step 2 - Review (Reviewer)

• Review all materials using the Checklist for Curriculum Development

• Document feedback, changes and corrections on materials and update CD Projects spreadsheet.

Step 3 - Provide Feedback (Reviewer & Writer)

• Return materials and discuss briefly if required for clarity or to resolve differing perspectives

• Refer issues or unresolved perspectives to Curriculum Manager.

Step 4 - Make Corrections (Writer)

• Make changes, corrections and feedback suggestions as decided.

Step 5 - Documentation

• Briefly note changes made and / or declined

• Update CD Projects spreadsheet

• Give reviewed materials to Curriculum Manager.

Step 6 - Proofreading

• Send LG & AMG for proofreading

• Make proofreading changes

• Update CD Projects spreadsheet.

Step 7 - Finalise Materials

• Final edit and format check

• Complete finalisation as per Checklist for Curriculum Development.

Document Control

The responsible parties must:

• Ensure that all documents follow the document numbering protocol

• Each version must be named as below:

  • Unit Code Unit Name (AMG, MD, LG, VP, TAS, PP) Version Number (v?) – See section 3. Review for explanation of abbreviations

  • For example: CHCDIV001 Work with diverse people AMG v1.

When changing version numbers, please note the following situations:

Update UoC and Qualification spreadsheet as required.

Implementation

The responsible parties must:

• Following the development, review and editing of assessment materials, version control is to be finalised and the assessment materials are to be saved in the appropriate locations on the server. Superseded versions are archived

• Ensure relevant staff members are notified of changes via email:

  • Department managers and coordinators

  • Compliance

  • Graphic design, marketing and branding

  • Trainers.

Ensure changes to existing or new assessment materials are introduced via email, trainer meetings and compliance updates. Trainers are required to familiarise themselves with the current information or format prior to use and provide feedback to the developer when possible.

Endorsement / Validation

Materials must be endorsed and validated by at least one person who is a technical expert or industry consultant. If assessment materials have been developed by an external party (contractor or partner organisation), at least one member of the Strategix Training Group staff must be involved in validation.

Endorsement process includes the following:

• Materials for endorsement to be sent to trainers / industry expert with link to FORM 9.024 Assessment Tool Endorsement Checklist

• Trainers / industry expert to work through the checklist and provide feedback and record actions to be taken as required

• If changes are required, follow the steps as outlined in section 7. Modifications

All information is recorded in the Validation Tracking spreadsheet, and CD Projects spreadsheet, including the date/s of endorsement of mapping and training materials, and the changes made against each individual unit of competency.

Modifications

Modification of assessment materials may be initiated by the endorsement and validation process, new training releases, superseded packages, internal and external feedback, legislative changes or a change in industry standards or format update. Modification process includes the following:

• Requests for modification can be submitted using FORM 7.003 Modification Request, or by emailing curriculum@strategix.edu.au

• In most cases, the modification process is the same as the planning and development process listed above. Where there are minor modifications to be made (e.g. grammar, spelling, format etc.) a technical expert may not be required, and the endorsement process may not be necessary

• If technical or more substantial changes are to be made, a draft version must be saved in the draft folder and include DRAFT in its title to avoid accidental use

• When the modifications are completed a new endorsement process may be commenced using the process outlined in section 6. Endorsement / Validation.

Where materials have been released for use and modifications occur, an updated version number is to be allocated and all footers, headings and titles are to be updated. This is not required if the change is a cosmetic or a template change. See the table in 4. Document Control.

• FORM 7.003 - Modification Request

• FORM 9.006 - Assessment Book Template - Academy

• FORM 9.013 - Mapping Document Template

• FORM 9.016 - Marking Guide Template

• FORM 9.037 - Vocational Placement Mentor Guide

• FORM 9.039 - Vocational Placement Record Book

• FORM 9.041 - Assessment Tool Template

• FORM 9.043 - Learner Guide Template

• FORM 9.048 - Assessment Release Schedule Template

• FORM 9.049 - RPL Application Template

• FORM 9.024 - Assessment Tool Endorsement Template

• FORM 7.007 - Assessment Tool Endorsement Guide

• STG 1.026 - Style Guide

• STG 4.007 - Curriculum Assessment System Procedure

• STG 4.013 - Resource Log

• STG 4.014 - Cloud Assess Development and Review Process

• Checklist for Curriculum Development

• Current TAS for relevant qualification

• Unit of competency for assessment being developed - training.gov.au.