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Why do practical training?
What is practical training?
According to the Standard of Higher Education, practical training is “a purposeful activity organised to achieve learning outcomes, aimed at applying acquired knowledge and skills in a working environment in a form determined by the educational institution and under the supervision of an instructor”.
Practical training is part of the studies. In addition to enhancing knowledge and skills, it offers development opportunities, as work experience and interaction with professionals in the field help students be stronger applicants for jobs, get to know themselves better, and make more informed decisions about future studies and career plans.
The volume, form and content of practical training vary considerably by field and are determined separately for each curriculum.
- Volume. The typical volume of a practical training course in bachelor’s studies is 3 or 6 ECTS; in master’s studies, it depends on the discipline and can vary to a great extent. Traineeship is often a part of a subject course. In professional higher education studies, practical training constitutes 15% of the study load.
- Form and content. Practical training may be a separate course or part of another course. It can be a freely chosen professional work experience, or have a specific goal, such as a tour guide or an archivist traineeship, problem-solving practicals, laboratory and fieldwork. Typical forms of practical training include:
- observation, which takes place at a workplace observing a professional’s work, for example, teacher education students observe lessons and analyse the teacher’s work;
- participation, in which students perform practical tasks at the workplace with support from the supervisor;
- project-based training, in which students collaborate to implement a work project with specified resources within a specified time.
- Compulsory vs elective.While practical training can be voluntary, such as an elective course in bachelor’s and master’s studies, it is generally compulsory in professional higher education.
| Time to reflect Which practical training courses are included in your curriculum? What is the volume and form of practical training in your curriculum? Is practical training optional or compulsory in your curriculum? |
