Learning and development process for Polytechnic Colleges: teaching skill for instructors and lecturers
Polytechnic teachers need both subject skill and teaching skill. A plain learning plan that builds both, and keeps them close to industry, improves practical sessions and student results.
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Share your requirementsWhy learning and development process matters in polytechnic colleges
Workshop instructors in polytechnics are chosen for their hands-on skill. They know the lathe or the wiring bench well, but explaining it to twenty students is another matter. Lecturers may know the syllabus but have never seen the plant where their students will work. Training, where it exists, is a one-off workshop with no follow-up.
A good plan lists what each group needs, offers a short course on teaching, arranges industry exposure and checks that practice changes. It keeps records of who attended what and asks teachers to share learning with colleagues. It is small enough to run alongside a full timetable.
Polytechnic teachers also face change that a one-off course does not cover: syllabus revisions, new equipment and software in labs, and students who arrive with weak basics. Few colleges have a way to plan for these. Without a standing plan, the same two keen teachers attend everything and the rest stay where they were.
How to set it up
1. Find the needs
Ask teachers, heads of department and recent students what teaching and technical skills are lacking. Prepare a short list.
2. Run a teaching course for instructors
Two or three half-days on explaining, demonstrating, checking and handling mistakes, with practice in the workshop.
3. Arrange industry exposure
A short visit or attachment each year, with a one-page report and a sharing session.
4. Observe and give feedback
A senior teacher watches a session and gives specific comments. Repeat after three months.
5. Plan around syllabus and equipment changes
When a syllabus changes or a new machine or software arrives, list who needs to learn it and schedule it before the term starts.
6. Spread opportunities
Keep a simple list of who attended what, and offer the next course to those who have had none, within what the subject needs.
7. Record and share
Keep a list of courses, skills and visits for each teacher, and ask them to teach one thing to colleagues.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. Use your own records for a defined period and note gaps in the evidence. The review may take longer if records are incomplete or spread across teams.
- Ask five instructors what training they received in the last two years.
- Check when lecturers last saw a working industry unit.
- Observe one workshop session and note what the instructor explained.
- List skills the department lacks.
- Whether the same few teachers attended most of the training offered last year
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach learning and development process in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Short and spread out works best: a few half-days with practice between them and an observation afterwards. A single long day is quickly forgotten and rarely changes how people teach.
Approach nearby units, alumni employers and suppliers. Ask for a one-day visit or a short attachment, with a clear purpose, and ask the teacher to report back. Start with one or two partners.
Observe sessions before and after, ask students about clarity and look at practical results. Check again after a term. If nothing has changed, adjust the course.
Ask the supplier for a hands-on session, then have one trained teacher run a short session for colleagues using the college's own equipment. Record who has been cleared to use it unsupervised.
Where they teach practical sessions, yes, at least on safety and teaching basics. Include them in the training list so that learning does not leave with them.
We set up the interview and hiring process for polytechnic colleges
Every business interviews, but few have a written process that works the same way for every role and every interviewer. GullyHR designs yours, from the role brief to the offer, trains your managers to run it, and can run it for you on the roles you hand us.