ARLA/CLUSTER: Como os principiantes se podem tornar radioamadores?

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

 How do newcomers become radio amateurs?

WIA Board Director *Brian VK2GCE* recalls how a visit by *Geoffrey Booth
G8DZJ* in 2002 helped put Australia on the road to the Foundation license

At the 2002 WIA Convention, a visitor from the RSGB, Geoffrey Booth G8DZJ
as I recall, described the RSGB's new education system. At that time, the
Australian system had 5 levels. Morse was on its way out world-wide;
without Morse, the Australian system would devolve to three levels. The
RSGB system had three levels, and its lowest level was below Australia's
entry level - a ready-made, new, entry course, Woo Hoo!

Education in the UK is based on the Education Act of 1870, which was really
a way of saving children from death by factory. It is a competitive system,
based on Teaching Objectives. Your achievement was measured by closed-book
responses in a fixed time - so, it measured recall and literacy, rather
than technical knowledge. You got graded outcome levels, like FAIL, PASS,
CREDIT …

In 1990, TAFE was pioneering Competency-based Training (CBT); it was
another form of competitive education, this time with only two outcomes -
Competent or Not Yet Competent. Assessment did not require a fixed time.
Competence was demonstrated by your getting a certain percentage of the
Learning Outcomes correct.

Note: Teaching Objectives are what the teacher wants to achieve; Learning
Outcomes are what students want to achieve. They're seldom the same.

Ron Smith, VK4AGS (now SK) was also at that 2002 Convention. He was the WIA
Federal Education Co-ordinator and ran the Education column in AR mag for
several years till his untimely death. As a senior lecturer in engineering
at UCQ, Ron had hands-on experience with Problem-Based Learning (PBL). He
sent me many PBL research papers from teaching colleagues around the world
- I found strong resonance:

For my motor vehicle racing licence, my peers, on the track at the same
time as me, assessed me. When doing my MBA at UNSW, my fellow students
assessed me in some subjects. During my research in hospitals, I saw
budding clinicians assessed by their peers. While training to be a Lawn
Tennis coach, once again, I was assessed by my peers.

Under PBL, the 'teacher' is really a facilitator; students decide their own
learning outcomes and methods, and their peers assess them - hence, the
Learning and Assessment go together; PBL is a co-operative system. Research
shows that students set and attain higher levels of competence than in the
monolithic-classroom model. Another beauty of PBL is that students can
choose their own areas of expertise - whether EME, ATV, SatComms, SDR,
FT-8, JT65, Morse, RTTY, construction ... or ... camouflaged back-hand
top-spin lob??

By 2004 we had three models - the RSGB's, TAFE's CBT and PBL. Whether due
diligence was done on any, I don't know, but the WIA bought the RSGB's
system and persuaded the ACA, it was a 'good thing'. The WIA set up a
Registered Training Organisation to administer this new system of Education
and Assessment - allegedly along CBT lines, but with the UK notion of
knowledge questions answered closed-book within a fixed time.

Any modern-day teacher can tell you that the present syllabus – really just
lists of teaching plan topics - is not equivalent to CBT Learning Outcomes.

The present three-tier, linear model offers a single path to a hilltop that
few new radio amateurs seek. Just look at the conversion rates from
Foundation to Standard or Advanced. Some believe that 3 levels provide an
incentive for candidates to access more bands and use more power. Did
anyone ask candidates whether they saw graded levels as an incentive, or
wanted the extra bands and power??

The ‘theory’ in the present Foundation learning material pre-dates
Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg and Planck - but who needs atomic theory anyway?
Is a radio amateur going to design a BJT, a FET or an IC? And there is not
a skerrick of computing or digital comms at any AOCP level.

The new system has one benefit - new candidates for all levels must
demonstrate practical ability to connect up a radio, and proper
communication protocols. However, along with these safety-style items are
open-book Regulations knowledge items that pen and paper, multi-guess could
test, rather than invigilated surveillance of page turning.

In summary, I believe that we need to change the Learning Outcomes and the
modes of Learning and Assessment:

The present antediluvian syllabus needs flexibility and relevance. Learning
and Assessment must go hand in hand.

73 from *Brian, VK2GCE*

Source WIA News
http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/wianews/
display.php?file_id=wianews-2018-03-11
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