practiocal teaching skills for maritime instructors

This book has been prepared by the authors to assist maritime instructors and others whofind themselves involved in maritime education and training activities yet lackpedagogical knowled

Practical Teaching Skills

for Maritime Instructors

Copyright © Darrell Fisher and Peter Muirhead, 200 1

All rights reserved For information, write:

WMU PublicationsCitadellsvagen 29S-20l 24 Malmo, Sweden

First Published in Sweden in 2001

Printed in Sweden

NOTEThe Publishers, while exercising the greatestcare in compiling this publication, do not holdthemselves responsible for the consequencesarising from any inaccuracies therein

ISBN 91-973372-2-6

Practical Teaching Skills for Maritime Instructors

FOREWORD

In establishing the World Maritime University in 1983, the International MaritimeOrganization (IMO) recognised that implementation of its many standards on a globalbasis needed to be supported by a core of well qualified and trained professionals Inrelation to maritime education and training, the major instrument for achieving globalstandards has been the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certificationand Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended in 1995

The World Maritime University has been at the forefront over the years in providing over

250 graduates in the field of maritime education and training, representing a core of qualified maritime educationalists in the developing world Yet this effort only touches atthe edges of the problem of ensuring that all those involved in the training and assessment

well-of seafarers are, in the words well-of the Convention "appropriately qualified for the typeand level of training or assessment involved"

This book has been prepared by the authors to assist maritime instructors and others whofind themselves involved in maritime education and training activities yet lackpedagogical knowledge and practical teaching skills The focus on practical teachingaspects and new technology provides the reader with the tools to enhance his or her ownskills as well as understanding how the requirements of STCW 95 are to be implemented

For these reasons I particularly welcome this book, which will help to fill a gap in theglobal training picture As a newly appointed maritime instructor or as a seafarer thinking

of taking up such a role as a profession, you will find much sound practical advice oninstructional practices that can help to ensure that the standard of training and instruction

is of the highest quality

Karl Laubstein

Rector, WMU

iii

Practical Teaching Skills for Maritime Instructors

Practical Teaching Skills for Maritime Instructors

Chapter 4 Preparation and Use of Instructional Media 51

Chapter 6 Competency Based Training and Assessment 91

Chapter 7 The use of Marine Simulation for Training and Assessment 101

Practical Teaching Skills for Maritime Instructors

Chapter 9 STCW 95 and Quality Standards 139

Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations 173

Practical Teaching Skills for Maritime Instructors

TABLES AND FIGURES

Tables

Page

Figures

Practical Teaching Skills for Maritime Instructors

Figures continued

Practical Teaching Skills for Maritime Instructors

PREFACE

We have written this book particularly for instructors in the maritime training institutionsthroughout the world It is important for these instructors to be effective teachers if theyare to cope with the demands for new training and assessment methodologies placed uponthem by the revised STCW Convention (STCW 95) The major objective of STCW95 is

to raise both the standards and quality of training and assessment and this will not beachieved without skilled instructors who can maximise the learning of their students Thechapters of this book are designed to assist instructors to not only meet this challenge but

to provide them with a basis of fundamental pedagogical knowledge and skills to enhancetheir own effectiveness as teachers The book will also provide useful support to other

by ensuring that all their teaching personnel possess appropriate qualifications andexpenence

We have enjoyed writing this book and hope that those involved with maritime educationand training will gain benefit from its use

Darrell Fisher &Peter Muirhead

June 2001

Practical Teaching Skills for Maritime Instructors

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to express their gratitude to:

The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization for permission to

courses 3.12 and 6.09 All these publications are available for purchase from the IMOPublishing Service

Colleagues and friends at the Maritime Institute 'Willem Barentz', Terschelling, TheNetherlands, Warsash Maritime Centre, UK, and at the Shiphandling Simulator Training

photographs of simulator training activities illustrated on the cover and in Chapter Seven

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

on the instructors and assessors working within them How will you the instructor useyour basic teaching skills in conjunction with new training technology and newinstructional media to meet the new standards? How will institutions ensure that alltheir teaching personnel possess appropriate qualifications and experience? These andother questions require answers and action by those involved in the training andassessment processes leading to the issue of maritime certificates of competency Thepurpose of this book is to assist instructors and teachers in maritime traininginstitutions to better understand the fundamental skills needed to be effectiveinstructors and assessors, and to look at that role in the context of the demands placedupon them by STCW 95 The book will also provide useful support to other teachersand instructors getting to grips with a changing learning and training environment inthe 21sl century

STCW 95 AND THE MARITIME INSTRUCTOR

institutions in the 21sl century is not whether they have a quality standards system inplace or if they have an approved radar and ARPA simulator for training Of greaterimportance is whether they have sufficient qualified and experienced staff to make thenecessary changes in order to give the Convention full and complete effect and areable to maintain this situation It is very difficult, for example, to review programs thatare poorly or inadequately documented if experience in teaching and knowledge of

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

curriculum development and design is missing Similarly, to examine the standards of

competency objectives within existing programs, is not an easy task if a criterionbased training and assessment approach has not been used before Equally, the lack ofknowledge and experience of assessment techniques by teaching staff also placesinstitutions in a difficult position if the new requirements for competency are to bemet and if advantage is to be taken of new technology in this regard

APPROVAL OF MARITIME EDUCATION AND TRAINING

One change of great importance in STCW 95 is that mandatory education and training

is required for all masters', officers' and radio operators' certificates of competency.Thus, those governments that currently allow direct entry to examinations withoutcompleting an approved course of education or training (quite common still) will have

to cease this practice after 1 February 2002, and administrations (or delegatedinstitutions) may only accept deck officers for examination in this way if suchcandidates commenced approved seagoing service before 1st August 1998

The full impact on standards will only be seen when the second important change is

training programs and courses for officers' certificates Such approval also extends tosea-going training where it contributes to the issue of a certificate of competency and

Examination of the STCW 95 Code A shows that approval is nearly always required,the only exceptions appearing to be in regard to some practical tests for ratings and forpractical hospital instruction associated with medical care on board ship courses Inthis regard, instructors should note that page 184 of Part B- 1/9 of the Code to the

reference into the mandatory Part A of the Code) can be used to assist in thedevelopment of learning objectives Make yourself familiar with the newly revisedmodel courses 7.01 to 7.04 that deal with certificates of competency programs Thedevelopment of learning objectives is a major challenge for many instructors in view

2

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

of the requirement that training and assessment of seafarers must be structured inaccordance with written programs

It must be remembered also that Parties are required to ensure that the aims andobjectives of simulator-based training are defined within an overall trainingprogramme with the emphasis on objectives and tasks relating as closely as possible toshipboard practices This will require you to develop skills in writing learning aimsand objectives and to get to grips with the challenge of integrating simulator traininginto the overall course curriculum, for example Chapters Two and Seven deal withthese aspects

What are the implications for the institution and you the instructor in regard to written

procedures and course material In conducting its review for approval of a course, theadministration may use I/6 elements as a benchmark Certainly, the word 'written'includes clearly defined goals and learning objectives, curriculum details includingentry standards, course structure and syllabus, means of delivery, examinationmethods including assessment of competency and details of supporting resources.Table 1.1 illustrates typical elements

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

instructors and assessors and clearly identify in which areas of the syllabus they areteaching or assessing

In regard to on board training, approval is clearly required also-under 1111, III1, III/I,V/1, V/2, A-VIII and A-VII2 of Part A of the STCW Code Since the administration

is charged with ensuring that seafarer training and assessment activities areadministered, supervised and monitored, both ashore and onboard, it makes goodsense for your training institution to work more closely together with the shippingindustry, particularly where ship operators do not have approved training programs inplace or lack experience in the use of training record books The extent of suchinvolvement by academic instructors ashore will depend upon many factors includingthe type of training program, company training policies, links between the partiesconcerned and how such training is to be monitored and approved for certificate ofcompetency purposes You are also referred to IMO model course 1.30 - On BoardAssessment, a new release in 200 I, which provides much useful advice on this aspect

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF INSTRUCTORS AND ASSESSORS

assessors It breaks new ground in requiring parties to ensure that instructors andassessors are appropriately qualified and experienced Trainers must be qualified inthe task for which training is being conducted It is not uncommon in many academicinstitutions for new teaching staff to be given no formal instructional training The

facilities for training are not available

The Nautical Institute has prepared a publication, entitled "Maritime Education andTraining - A practical approach" to provide some guidance to those considering taking

up a career as a maritime instructor The World Maritime University MET degreecourse is designed to provide maritime educators and teachers with the overall

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

knowledge and skills to better manage their institutions and run their courses This issupported by several specialised short courses in basic didactic skills for existing andnew trainers You should make yourself familiar with newly revised IMO modelcourses 3.12 and 6.09, which provide excellent guidance on fundamental instructionaltechniques as well as with new course 1.30 dealing with on board assessment A fulllist of IMO model courses can be found in Appendix I The delivery of courses isdiscussed in Chapters Three and Four

Part A of the STCW 95 Code is very specific in relation to instructors conductingsimulator training and assessment It identifies four important aspects of relevance tothe instructor, namely:

• receiving appropriate guidance in instructional technique

• gaining practical simulator operational experience

• receiving appropriate guidance in assessment methods and practice

• gaining practical assessment experience on the particular type of simulator

New mandatory requirements to be followed by simulator instructors and assessorswhen using simulators have been laid down Techniques in briefing, monitoring anddebriefing for example, must be mastered How will you acquire such skills? Thefollowing approaches could be considered:

• Understudying an experienced instructor at another simulator centre

• Learning on the job (if there is an experienced mentor available locally)

• Through manufacturers' training programs

• Using the relevant IMO simulator model courses (e.g 1.07, 1.08, 1.09, 1.22, 2.06,and 2.07)

Chapter Seven provides further guidance on major techniques the instructor needswhen using marine simulators for training and assessment

COMPETENCY BASED ASSESSMENT

At the core of the revised STCW 95 Convention lies the concept of competence It is

as well to recall the definition in section A-Ill of Code A (p 5), which states, inter

alia:

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

the level of proficiency to be achieved for the proper performance offunctions on board ship in accordance with internationally agreed criteria

(as specified in the STCW Code) incorporating prescribed standards

or levels of knowledge, understanding and demonstrated skill

Thus a competency based qualification is a statement of competence that incorporatesassessment of skill, knowledge and understanding, and an ability to apply skills,

responsibilities aboard ship It is a process of comparing evidence of competenceagainst a standard The difficulty facing all institutions is in interpreting the standards

in the competency tables in Code A Much will depend upon the resources available tomeasure performance The tables reflect a recognition that different methods will beused to satisfy the criteria as shown in the example in Figure 1.1

The competency based training (CBT) approach taken will of course depend verymuch on the resources and experience available Although the pathway taken willdiffer from institution to institution, the end objective of ensuring that candidates havedemonstrated an ability to perform the tasks, duties and responsibilities competently

is the same

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

Effective measurement of a trainee's ability to perform tasks safely and effectively(the criteria for competence) will depend on whether assessment criteria were of an

objectives In the final analysis, the assessor must consider whether the chosenmeasures of performance are reliable and relevant to the training tasks, and the resultsare iterative (repeatable) in nature

The onus is on maritime administrations and institutions to see that the necessarysteps have been taken to meet the criteria in the Codes before accepting the evidencefrom such performance measurements for competency purposes Only then can there

be confidence that the overall standards of competence have been achieved (Figure1.2) Chapter Six considers competency based training and assessment aspects, bothashore and onboard the ship

ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION

While it is unlikely that there will be a rush by administrations to issue alternativecertificates in the near future, it is important that instructors consider the implications.The purpose of alternative certification is to allow the functions associated with thetotal operation of the ship \0 be allocated to the ship's personnel in such a way as tomake best use of their skills and presence The standards of competency required are

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

exactly the same as for traditional certificates, the functions and levels ofresponsibility being as set out in Chapters IT, III and IV of the STCW Convention,with administrations still needing to approve the programs of education and training.You may decide to modularise your courses by offering programs in accordance withthe functional structure in the Code A tables While not a difficult task for theinstructors, it will involve structural adjustments to the curriculum, and particularly totimetables The following Figure 1.3 illustrates the training possibilities and thus thepotential for reform of existing courses

EXAMINATION AND ASSESSMENT OF EVIDENCE

In the tables of competency, the methods that may be used to demonstrate competenceare specified It should be noted that in most cases the reference is to examinationAND assessment of evidence from APPROVED training and experience using one ormore of a number of methods such as approved sea-service, simulator training,laboratory equipment training, workshop training, practical experience and tests, andtraining ship experience The validity and value of such evidence will depend uponmany factors, but the litmus test will be that the instructor or assessor verifies that thetrainee concerned has demonstrated an ability to perform a function or task safely andeffectively against established criteria In each case the criteria must clearly relate toappropriate criteria specified in column 4 of the tables of competency The use ofmodem technology such as simulators will obviously influence the development ofsuch criteria This is a challenging task indeed particularly as experience in assessmentpractice is often not available with the new technology

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

The objective and scope of the examination must assess a candidate's competence,and not just the knowledge base, and evaluate the ability to apply relevant knowledge

to performance of practical tasks Referring to Figure 1.1 again, it shows the format ofexaminations that may be used It is important that examination characteristics such asvalidity, reliability, level of difficulty, balance, and practicality are selected carefully

to best assess the competence required The use of competence criteria that arequalitative in nature helps to reduce the subjective element in examinations, althoughthis can never be eradicated The reliability of assessment criteria and test itemsshould therefore be verified in use before validating Chapters Five and Eight offeruseful advice in this regard

USE OF SIMULATORS

STCW 95 only makes the use of simulators mandatory for Radar and AutomaticRadar Plotting Aids (ARPA) training Performance standards for radar and ARPAsimulation are laid down in Part A of the Code and must be met by all new simulatorsafter 1st February 2002 Existing simulators or those brought into use before 2002have also had to comply with the performance standards since 1 February 1997 unlessexempt from full compliance

Similarly, if a party wishes to use simulators for the assessment of any competency or

to demonstrate any continued proficiency required by Part A of the Code, suchsimulators must also comply with the performance standards laid down in the Codeunless exempted as before Note the previous comments about the qualifications andexperience of personnel using the simulators for such purposes The new challengefacing maritime institutions is that not only do they have to consider the capabilities of

a simulator facility to meet course training objectives, but they also have to considerhow they intend using the simulator for assessment of performance, as well as beingobligated to see that instructors and assessors are properly trained, qualified andexperienced

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

Whilst manufacturers' simulator technical specifications may vary widely, and theSTCW has not attempted to define these, the important principle to be observed bycourse designers, instructors and assessors is that their simulator has the capability ofproviding an acceptable operating environment for the chosen objectives and skills.You need to be clear on how you are going to use the technology A recent publication(2000) by Det Norske Veritas, entitled "Standard for Certification of MaritimeSimulator Systems", provides excellent advice in this regard

The manner in which instructors and assessors are to use simulators for training andassessment has also been covered by part A-I/12 of the STCW Code under Part 2 -Other Provisions This is dealt with in more detail in Chapter Seven

COURSE EVALUATION

The advent of the STCW Convention will mean that training institutions more thanever will be required to deliver quality courses on all aspects of maritime education.The determination of the quality of courses is referred to as course evaluation and this

is described in detail in Chapter Eight Course evaluation is a process that usesinformation to enable judgements and decisions to be made about a course in order toimprove the course The process involves deciding what information is required,collecting that information and then using that information to make judgements aboutthe worth of the course and whether changes ought to be made

The evaluation can occur at one of three levels The institution may wish to evaluateall of the programs it teaches and its general performance and this is often linked withquality standards Secondly, a decision may be made to evaluate one part of theinstitution, perhaps the first year courses or the navigation sequence of courses Thethird level is at the individual class level with instructors interested in their owncourse

In the future, training institutions are likely to use both internal and externalevaluation An internal evaluation is conducted by the institution's own staffmembers and the collection and interpretation of the data remains within that

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

institution On the other hand, an external evaluation involves inviting a person withthe necessary expertise from outside the institution to evaluate the course or courses of

an institution The quality assurance process described in the following section is a

institutions to combine both approaches and carry out an evaluation using their ownstaff together with the guidance of an external evaluator

QUALITY STANDARDS SYSTEMS

Of all the changes introduced into the STCW Convention, the requirement for aquality standards system has had the greatest impact upon MET training institutions.There is of course nothing new in recognising the need to achieve quality in METprograms and the development of a quality system need not be a difficult process

certification process, who state that they meet the new Convention standards fully andcompletely, to demonstrate that they actually do so in a transparent manner For manyinstitutions the absence of a quality standards system and the lack of personnelexperienced in working within such a system form the biggest hurdle to compliance

Maritime Education and Training and STCW 95

In regard to MET, quality assurance can be interpreted as meaning 'fitness forpurpose' The new emphasis is to demonstrate achievement of the stated objectivesand this involves four important steps, namely, documentation processes, compliancewith procedures, self assessment of the operation and independent evaluation by anapproved quality authority or body

Figure 1.4 on the previous page illustrates the possible links between components of a

responsibility of the marine authority, a training board or the training institution itself

Important points to note are that all quality standards systems have key elements Theymust be tailored to suit the particular function or task and the standard must beinterpreted correctly At the core of the quality issue is the relationship between'objectives' and 'achievement' (outcomes) but 'inputs' such as planning, design,

important Preferably the processes, procedures and functions should be clearlydocumented so that everyone is aware of the overall framework and how it works.Chapter Nine examines in more detail the processes of establishing a quality standardssystem in a maritime framework

SUMMARY

To the instructor, the amended STCW Convention may appear somewhat daunting ifyou are charged with the task of implementing the new changes Careful planning andorganisation will overcome many of the perceived problems but in preparing existingMET systems to cope with the new standards you should not overlook new teachingand training methods and supporting technology which could be used effectively tomeet the specified competence criteria This will help achieve the major objective ofthe revised Convention of raising both the standards and quality of training andassessment The following chapters of this book are designed to assist you in not only

pedagogic~l knowledge and skills to enhance your own effectiveness as a teacher

Course Design

CHAPTER TWO

COURSE DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

Whether you are going to teach a course on ship management, celestial navigation,

decisions These are the decisions concerning course design and involve what toteach, when to teach, how to teach and how to assess the impact of the teaching Incurriculum terms, these are decisions about content, learning activities and evaluationand each of these is described in this chapter

What do we mean by the word curriculum?

Many definitions are available in the literature and include the following:

The planned experiences offered to the learner under the guidance of the

institution

All those learning experiences arranged by a formal educational organisationfor its students whether these occur within or outside the premises concerned(Musgrave, 1979)

All the opportunities planned by teachers for pupils (students) (Nicholls &

Nicholls, 1978)

A plan for learning (Taba, 1962)

The content and purpose of an educational program together with theirorganization (Walker, 1990)

Other definitions use words like: courses offered within a certain subject field or in aspecialised professional school; courses taken by an individual student; and plannedexperiences for learners These definitions are a selection of many but they all featurecurriculum as some formalised course of study designed and structured to enablestudents to learn

Course Design

Today it is generally considered there are three aspects of the curriculum or course you

design

What you plan the curriculum to be - the intended curriculum

What your students actually learn - the attained curriculum

(Travers &Westbury, 1989)

It is important to realise that what you intend or plan for your curriculum may not beactually what your instructors or lecturers teach Everyone is different and mayinterpret the curriculum plan differently Furthermore, depending on their owninterests and learning skills, the students may receive differing messages and constructdifferent meanings thus causing differences in what is attained It is particularlyimportant to remember this when you come to assess and evaluate the students Inother words the three aspects described above should be aligned as closely as possible

In other words, the stated curriculum, the instruction that occurs and the test that

follows should be closely matched

In his writing, van den Akker expands the above three curriculum aspects into six

Ideal the original vision

Formal the vision is elaborated in a curriculum document

Perceived the curriculum is interpreted by users

Operational actual instructional process in the teaching situation

Experiential actualleaming experiences of students

Attained learning outcomes of students

(van den Akker, 1998,421-422)

We could modify the above model to fit a navigation curriculum in the maritimeeducation situation and it could look like this:

Course Design

Ideal the original vision as perceived by maritime educators,

navigators and governing bodies like the InternationalMaritime Organisation

Formal the vision is elaborated and written as a curriculum document

on maritime navigation

Perceived the curriculum is interpreted by the navigation instructors in

the maritime institutions

Operational actual instructional process occurs in classes in the maritime

institutions

Experiential students in the maritime institutions have actual learning

experiences in navigation

Attained navigational learning outcomes of students

Thus, it is apparent that when designing a curriculum or a course you need to:

produce a plan;

implement the plan; and

evaluate what the students have learned

But, where do you start? Well most effective course planning begins by consideringthe situation where the course is going to be used, the context in which the course will

analysing your situation

CONTEXT AND SITU ATION ANALYSIS

You need to begin your course design process by determining what you know aboutyour current situation Who are the learners? Who are the instructors? What otherinternal and external environmental factors should be considered?

The Learners

It is important to know for whom you are designing the course For example, thecourse you design for experienced ships' captains returning to study may be quite

Course Design

different from a course designed for students who have just left school What do youknow about your potential students? What prior knowledge and skills are they likely

to have? What attitudes and aptitudes for study are they likely to have? Will they

and/or gender characteristics to be considered? Consideration of the answers toquestions such as these will allow you to have a comprehensive picture of yourlearners

The Instructors

The word instructor has been used here although the word teacher or lecturer would beequally valid Again it is important to have some idea about who will be teaching thecourse; naturally it will often be the course designer But, what are the characteristics

qualifications? What is the experience of the instructors? Do they have any specialstrengths or weaknesses? By considering such questions you will build up a picture ofthe instructors who will be expected to implement the course you have designed

The Internal Environment

The internal environment is where the course will be taught, whether onboard ship or

in a college or similar institution Here it is important to consider such questions asthe following about the nature of the learning environment What resources areavailable, including materials, literature and technological support? What is theorganisational nature of the place where the course is to be taught? What are theexpectations of the senior people in the organisation? If there are resource problems,

relationships like between the administration and the teaching staff and/or lecturersand students?

An important aspect to be considered is time How long will you have for this course?Each of these factors could have an impact on the course and therefore, needs to beconsidered at the beginning of the design process

Course Design

The External Environment

The external environment involves those factors that are outside the college or shipbut nevertheless, impact on the design and delivery of courses For example, the roleplayed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) will influence decisionsabout what subject matter goes into a course of study Also, what are the needs ofindustries and employers? What policy statements does your government or the IMOprovide? Are there any local authority expectations or demands?

There is another series of factors of a more educational kind that needs to beconsidered What are our current beliefs about how people learn? Is the nature of thesubject matter to be included changing? Are there any research studies that could help

in the design of the course? Each of these questions is dealt with in this chapter

Rationale

A consideration of the situation in which the course will operate should allow you towrite a rationale for it This could include the reasons for having the course and a

descriptions that make quite clear the purpose and nature of a course

The purpose of the IMO model courses is to assist training providers

and their teaching staff in organising and introducing new training

courses, or in enhancing, updating or supplementing existing

training material where the quality and effectiveness of the training

courses may thereby be improved

Because educational systems and the cultural background of trainees

in maritime subjects vary considerably from country to country, the

model course material has been designed to identify the basic entry

requirements and trainee target group for each course in universally

applicable terms, and to specify clearly the technical content and

Course Design

levels of knowledge and skill necessary to meet the technical intent

of IMO conventions and related recommendations

(IMO Model Course 6.09, 2001, 1)

WRITING AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Having described your current situation you are now ready to begin the actual designprocess You need to interpret the issues that arose in your analysis of the situationand change them into purposeful directions This process begins usually with aconsideration of what you expect your students to achieve as a result of completingthe course Aims, goals or objectives are the words used to describe this anticipatedachievement Why is this important?

In his classical story for children, Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll wrote of Alice'smeeting with the Cheshire cat as follows:

'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' asked Alice.'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the cat

'I don't much care where,' said Alice

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the cat

(Carroll, 1992,57)

It is important to be clear in your aims, goals and objectives so that you know whereyou are going in the process of course design If these aims, goals and objectives areclear they will provide guidelines for the selection of appropriate content, learningexperiences and evaluation methods for you students

Various books on curriculum development and course design use the words aims,goals and objectives in various ways Following an examination of the literature inthis area, Print (1993) concluded that it was a matter of generality Aims being themost general and objectives the most specific In this book we are using aims andobjectives, however if you wish to use goals then regard them as intermediate betweenaims and objectives

Course Design

Aims

Aims are used in relation to the intention of a system, a university or college, or acourse of an institution Thus, an aim is a broadly phrased statement of intentindicating what students are expected to achieve in a course By their very nature theyare long-term in outlook and may refer to a time span of a year or more Here aresome examples of expressed aims

An aim of the World Maritime University in Sweden:

As a centre of excellence for maritime education and training, the

maritime transportation, safety and environment protection, and

provide a mechanism for the international exchange and transfer of

knowledge and its applications

An aim of the Maritime Education and Training specialization within the MaritimeAffairs program at the above university:

It is designed to provide students with the specialist knowledge and

skills required for the efficient and effective design, development,

training programs

An aim for the subject IMO and IMO Conventions in the first semester at the WorldMaritime University:

To provide a general understanding of the UN system, UN agencies

and other international organisations relevant to shipping and ports

Another subject named Transport Economics I in the same course has this for an aim:

Course Design

To review the fundamentals of transport and maritime transport

economics and apply these to maritime transport

These are all examples of aims that have been written at various levels, the institution,

a degree program within the institution, and for individual courses within thatprogram In each case the aim is expressed in general terms but makes clear what thecourse is meant to achieve

Objectives

expected to achieve from any part of a course of study Because of this, they arestated in terms of learner behaviour and it should be quite clear what the learnershould be able to do at the end of the session Objectives should be derived from theaim of the course, but will be short term in comparison with the aim that is long term.Well-written objectives provide a sense of direction for the course and a firm basis forassessment of the leamer's achievement

Print (1993) distinguishes between two types of objectives General or unit objectivesare typically present in curriculum documents where they represent the translation ofaims into more specific directions for action Specific or instructional objectives arewritten by the instructors/lecturers and usually relate to a single session of work

Examples of general or unit objectives:

The student will define and explain the meaning of displacement and buoyancyand calculate their value from given data

Course Design

The student will understand freight rate determination in bulk trades

The student will have a thorough knowledge of shipping investment appraisaltechniques

The student will have an introductory knowledge of liner freight rates

The student will fix a position by hyperbolic systems

Examples of specific or instructional objectives:

The student will define buoyancy as the upthrust of pressure from the wateracting on the immersed surface of the hull

The student will distinguish the characteristics of the bulk and liner trades.The student will measure the impact of financing and inflation on shippinginvestments

The student will be able to calculate rates for specific cargoes

The student will extinguish an oil fire with a foam extinguisher

These examples of objectives serve to illustrate how much more specific objectivesare compared with aims You will note the typical beginning of an objective with thewords 'the student will' or 'the student should be able to.' These days it is consideredsensible to begin the wording of objectives with the words, 'On successful completion

of this course, the student should be able to.' Then the remainder of the objective iswritten Of course, there is no need to repeat the stem each time For example, here is

a selection of objectives from a course on displacement and buoyancy

On successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

identify a typical ship form and define the dimensions of length and beam;define the depth at which a ship floats as draught;

define the displacement of a ship as the mass of water displaced by theimmersed hull section;

calculate the displacement of a ship using displacement (mass) = volume ofwater displaced ~ density of water; and

Course Design

justify why it has been internationally agreed to define and express buoyancyand displacement in mass units, i.e kg, tonne, etc

What makes a good objective?

There are five typically used elements of good objectives Firstly, they should bespecific

The objective,

'On successful completion of this course, the student should be able tocalculate rates for specific cargoes.'

is better than the objective,

'On successful completion of this course, the student should be able tounderstand the main features of commodity trade and define and understandfixed and variable costs.'

because it is more specific

Objectives, unlike aims, need to be specific and describe one learning outcome only

Secondly, objectives should be comprehensive and cover all of the subject matterreferred to in the aim or aims of the particular course For example, the aim of anintroductory course on shipping business might be:

The course will provide students with an introductory knowledge of shipping

business

A comprehensive group of objectives for the course might be:

On successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

distinguish between liner, bulk dry and oil trades;

understand the main features of commodity trade;

define and understand fixed and variable costs;

identify and define voyage, time and bareboat chartering arrangements;

and

Course Design

determine freight rate formation in bulk and liner sectors

It is also important that there is a consistency within a set of objectives Theobjectives in the above set are consistent because they are all about providingstudents with an introductory knowledge of shipping business An objective like,'explains that changes in cargo mass and distribution produce a shift in the centre ofgravity of the ship,' would not be consistent with the above list

The remaining two elements of good objectives relate to the students or learners Theobjectives should be suitable for and attainable by the particular group of studentsfor whom they are written A sound knowledge of the learners, which may have beenobtained by a situation analysis, should prevent unsuitable and/or unattainableobjectives being written

Writing objectives

When writing objectives it is important to keep in mind that you are referring to thelearning of the students of your course Learning means a change of some kind in thelearner or student and it is most likely to involve one of three categories

Knowledge that is about the recall, understanding and interpretation of facts andother knowledge For example, 'The student should be able to explain themeaning of ship form coefficients,' is a knowledge objective

Skill development that refers to the acquisition of physical skills - being able to

do something with your hands or eyes For example, 'Using the simulatorprovided, the student should be able to bring the ship safely to a single anchor,'would be a skill objective as the learner has to demonstrate whether he/she hasacquired the skill by effectively using the simulator rather than describing theprocess in words

The development of ,attitudes constitutes the third category of objective Theseobjectives relate to interests and values, motivation and willingness to use

Course Design

knowledge and skills An objective of this category would be, 'The student will

be willing to argue for a code of pollution control in shipping management.'

In the preceding examples, you will observe the use of words like distinguish, define,identify, calculate, justify and measure These are all action verbs and it isrecommended that you use such verbs when writing your objectives

Action verbs make very clear what is expected of the learner Some other words youmight consider are:

name, write, label, recogniseselect, illustrate, explain, formulatepredict, compute, demonstrateanalyse, separate, compare, solvecombine, summarise, organise, relatejudge, evaluate, select

simulate, navigate, use, utiliseappreciate, defend, enjoy, value

These are meant as suggestions only and of course there are many more words that can

be used in writing good objectives

At this stage of your course design process, you should have a clear idea of the context

or situation in which the course will operate and be clear on what the aim of thecourse IS

Course Design

Furthermore, you should now be able to write objectives for the course

The next stage is to select the content for your course

SELECTING CONTENT

If you have written your aims and objectives carefully then selecting the content ofyour course will not be difficult The content of the course is what you are going toteach or have taught It is the subject matter and skills you want your students tolearn It is true that quite often course designers decide on the content of the coursefirst and then write the objectives An instructor may decide to have a course oncelestial navigation and related concepts and then write some objectives Neitherorder is incorrect, but first working out what you want your students to learn wouldseem to be preferable as it places the focus on the learner rather than the contentmaterial

For example, the STCW 95 links content with objectives in the following way:

The objective is that students should be able to prevent, control and fight fires onboard

Against this objective the following content is listed:

Knowledge of fire preventionAbility to organize fire drillsKnowledge of classes and chemistry of fireKnowledge of fire fighting systems

Knowledge of action to be taken in the event of fire, including firesinvolving oil systems

(STCW 95, A-IIII, 37)Once selected you should examine the effectiveness of your content selection againstcertain criteria You can do this by considering the answers to the followingquestions

How essential is this content in this particular subject?

Will the content motivate the learners and will they be interested in it?

Positive responses to each of these questions will indicate that your content selectionhas been wise

Another aspect to be considered is the scope of the curriculum How much contentwill you include? You must strike a balance between overloading the curriculum andensuring that you have included all the material that you regard as essential knowledge

in this course Not having enough time is one problem, the learners missing out onimportant knowledge is another Your initial analysis of the situation will help as youshould know how much time you have available and how you will be able to structurethe course For example, there might be ten content areas each to which you candevote two hours in a 20-hour course

SELECTING ACTIVITIES FOR PRESENTING THE CURRICULUM

Another important question that must now be answered is the order in which topresent the content to the learners What is the sequence to be? In this, coursedesigners are influenced by knowledge of how people learn and the ideas of learningtheorists like Ausubel, Piaget and Bruner For a more detailed discussion on howpeople learn, a great deal of literature is available and the interested reader shouldconsult this material Following are some brief comments about some of the learningtheories that have had a major impact on course design

Course Design

The Swiss psychologist, Piaget (1963) asserted that there were four factors thatcontributed to learning Firstly, as we grow and mature so do our brains and nervoussystems and Piaget described this as nervous maturation Secondly, we learn byhaving 'encounters with experience.' Thirdly, we learn from one another and Piaget

continually adjusting our mental processes and Piaget referred to this fourth factor as'equilibration ' The implications of this for course design are that we should ensureour students have experiences with the material we wish them to learn, provide for thesharing of ideas through group work and similar activities and allow the students toconstruct new meanings as they have new experiences

Robert Gagne (1970) proposed the concept of a learning hierarchy where learning isseen as a series of additive steps The key question to consider is, 'What do thestudents need to know before they learn this?' As a course designer, if you keepasking yourself this question you will soon reach a point where you know it is safe toassume that your students all know the information This then becomes the beginning

of your teaching sequence Your sequence would usually begin with some factualinformation, followed by some concepts, principles or laws and then the application ofthese principles in a new situation

David Ausubel (1968) is a cognitive learning theorist who believes that what we learndepends primarily on us Previously existing knowledge is important or in Ausubel'swords, 'find out what they (the learners) know already and teach them accordingly.'Thus, you should consider ways of determining the existing knowledge of yourstudents and this will provide you with a suitable starting point for your course Healso suggests we should discourage our students from rote learning any material thatcould be learned more meaningfully The use of advance organizers is anotherinteresting idea of Ausubel' s For example, suppose you are about to teach a course

on fire-fighting, then prior to the actual teaching of the course you could have posters

of fires on ship or fire-fighting equipment in your teaching room The purpose of this

is to focus the students on the task ahead in order to assist their acquisition of newknowledge on this topic

Course Design

A constructivist approach to learning was suggested by Piaget (1963), von Glasersfeld(1995) and others and this has had a major impact on curriculum and course design inthe past few years Constructivists consider that knowledge is constructed in theminds of the learners, therefore, a constructivist course is student-centred rather thanteacher-centred Knowledge is seen as a product of learning tasks undertaken by thelearner, the actions and experiences of the leamer, social interaction, and a challenge

to the existing perceptions of the learner Learning is seen as a personal experienceand students should be free to organize their own learning experiences A moretraditional course usually sees the learners as being deficient in all or some knowledgeand skills However, in contrast, a constructivist course would see the learners' priorknowledge as something to be built on and utilized The lecturer's role is one of being

a facilitator and observer encouraging students to make their own ideas explicit asthey challenge their own pre-existing know ledge

Your students will most likely be adults and probably experienced seafarers Today

we can build on the work of writers like Knowles (1984) who have provided usefuladditional information on the way that adults learn Some of the points made by suchauthors include the following:

Adults have a self-motivation, a desire to learn, and the instructorllecturershould nurture this already existing motivation

The motivation of adults usually includes both lower order (e.g., receiving acertificate) and higher order needs (e.g., development of additional skills andknowledge in order to improve feeling of self-worth in chosen profession)

Adults are more likely to learn and use what they perceive to be personally andprofessionally relevant

Time should be provided for adults to reflect on both what they have learnedand how they are learning

Adults require a supportive learning environment.

Time should be provided to allow adults to interact and learn from oneanother

Adults benefit from negotiating and assisting in the organisation of their

learning experiences

In addition to these principles, adults have different preferred ways of learningreferred to as learning styles Some adults prefer to learn through discussion andinteraction methods, others learn best through listening to information such asprovided through lectures, others by applying new knowledge to their own situations

impossible to cope with all types of learners at the same time in your class, however,

if you ensure there is variety in your teaching approach you will be enhancing thelearning of each of your students

appropriate learning activities you will offer your students Remember the importance

of a variety of approaches and that no single method is superior to another in allsituations You also need to consider what the aim and objectives of your course areand the content to be covered (see the example in Appendix A) The other aspect is ofcourse the availability of computers, simulators and other resources that will assistyour delivery of the course Details of various learning activities are provided inChapter Three and include such activities as lecture, demonstration, audio-visualpresentation, discussion, individualization, problem solving, computer-assistedlearning, and simulation