As part of a participant-observation study investigating technical education in Canada, students enrolled in pre-apprenticeship refrigeration mechanics courses at the community college level were interviewed. The responses of students enrolled in a 1-year, competency-based program were compared with the responses of students enrolled in a 36-week, traditionally-delivered, cohort-based program. The results suggest that the different curricula lead to different student experiences of the content. Most notable was a distinctly perceived split between the "theory" and the "practical" aspects of refrigeration mechanics by students in the traditional cohort-based program, whereas students in the competency-based program did not seem to perceive theory and practice as 2 distinct entities. Additionally, although students in both samples described histories of language and literacy difficulties, the competency-based program participants seemed less adversely affected by these weaknesses. However, students in both types of programs viewed patience and supportiveness as crucial aspects of good teachers.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Bell et al. (2000) studied this question.