The new teachers

A current diagnosis of the times for the new educators with a practical view of the future tasks of in-company further and continuing education in adult education

From Prof. MMag. Dr. Martin BauerProfessor of Vocational Education and Business Education and head of the M.A. Business Education at the Allensbach University of Applied Sciences

Education and the time to take up education also play a pioneering role in a time of social distancing, in line with the dimensional triad of technological acceleration, acceleration of social change and acceleration of the pace of life postulated by Rosa (see Rosa 2016, p. 124ff ). It therefore seems necessary to formulate new, current and future-oriented (digital) skills in addition to action-oriented knowledge, to develop content, methods, etc. and to make them available to society as innovative teaching and learning material so that education consumers can participate in the transfer of knowledge as independently of time and place as possible and counteract the challenges mentioned.

However, in order for this innovative teaching and learning material to be made available, in addition to technical availability, people are needed who have the knowledge and implementation skills to create and offer such materials. Therefore can iIn adult education, these tasks must be fulfilled by the educators working there. They must be specifically prepared and trained for future scenarios.

One of the ways in which these complex requirements can be met in a highly individualized manner is the self-directed In-company training and further education. One of the questions arising from these multiple problem areas is:

• What knowledge and skills do educators in adult education institutions need in order to carry out their work in relation to the changing and individual needs of adults? strongly different time structures participants and their future challenges well and successfully - and how can this knowledge and skills be used in relation to the changed time structures? prompt and independentand with which methods?

In order to be able to answer this comprehensive question, the author made an attempt to survey the relevant needs shortly after the start of the coronavirus crisis. The aim was to identify the training and further education requirements of employees responsible for pedagogy/didactics for their various areas of work and competence and to identify and present formats, methods, tools and content that are prognostically appropriate, up-to-date, cost-saving, time- and location-independent.

Procedure of the analyses and surveys

A distinction can be made between various training and further training methods within in-company training and further training. An analysis of demand is necessary in order to narrow down the methods and the content to be taught.

The needs analysis

The process flow can be divided into three successive and interdependent phases (see Meifert 2010, p. 77 ff), also known as "Trichometry of the determination of requirements" (Latham 1988, p. 549), subdivide.

1. The Organizational analysis (cf. Hess 2018, p. 36 f) derives normative targets for operational support requirements from existing operational key figures and market data, from key performance indicators or from employee or customer surveys. (Instruments: SWOT analysis, stakeholder analysis, balanced score card ...).
2. The Task analysis uses this as a basis to determine the competencies, skills and knowledge that teachers need to regularly complete their tasks (cf. Sonntag 2016, p. 10). (Instruments: activity analysis or the activity and work analysis procedure ...).
3. The Personnel analysis finally assesses the personal performance and behavioral characteristics (cf. Sonntag 2016, p. 26) as well as the development opportunities of the individual teachers. (Instruments: potential analysis, structured appraisal interview ...).

However, since not every instrument is equally suitable for every situation, apart from the direct notification of training or further training needs by the educators, it was necessary to determine which instruments appeared appropriate for the current challenge and which resources and data material were available for the survey. Only the instruments that were used are listed below. For the most part, the practical surveys were conducted using the Zoom and MSTeams video conferencing systems.

Instruments used in the needs analysis

The Group discussion procedure, "[...] a discussion between several participants on a topic specified by the discussion leader and serves to gather information." (Lamnek 2010, p. 372) - is used. The aim of the group discussion method is to gather the opinions of the group participants.

The Employee interview, "The aim of the [...] appraisal interview (cyclical discussion between employee and company management or manager) are the feedback on performance and behavior, the analysis of strengths and weaknesses, the identification of employees' wishes and goals, the clarification of tasks and objectives, the potential analysis and the discussion of specific personnel development measures." (Becker 2013, p. 596).

Data collection

In order for a needs analysis to deliver relevant results, internal company data and information must also be included. One disadvantage of these instruments is that the unrestricted collection of data is often associated with great effort and data protection problems. Only the instruments that have been used are listed below

The Scenario techniquesScenario techniques are used in an attempt to extrapolate past and current developments in a company's environmental or influencing factors into various possible scenarios. "The focus here is on the questions of how a future scenario can be created step by step and what measures can be taken in which phase by those affected. (sic) influence can be exerted to ensure the occurrence of another instead of one (planned) scenarios." (Pieler 2003, p. 64) The survey instruments are very accurate if carried out correctly and include much more data in the decisions to be made than the survey instruments.

The function groups

The survey also followed Roehl's (2000) adapted attempt at differentiation in the selection of methods (further education and training formats). As can be seen in the following diagram, the following five functional groups, which are superordinate to the methods and partly overlap, can be distinguished.

Figure 1: Functional groups of in-company training (own compilation based on Roehl 2000, p. 163)

The focus was placed on the people-related and technology-related function group.

The personal function group refers directly to the employees in their role as learners. (Methods: e-learning, blended learning, coaching, collaborative learning, ...).

The technology-related function group is of great importance due to the rapid digital transformation of education and communication, the rapidly advancing globalization and the associated spatial fragmentation (see Mniszewski et al. 2014, p. 97). (Methods: WIKIs, corporate cloud, microlearning, learning management systems, e-learning, blended learning ...).

The new teachers

Based on the surveys, data collection and additional literature research, and building on the current tasks of educators in adult education institutions (for details, see Bauer 2019, p. 54 ff.), it has now been possible to discuss which goals and tasks need to be established for the following years with a focus on the changed time structures, the resulting distance learning and teaching and, in particular, the content-related support and development measures.

In principle, it can be stated that the educators' task portfolio will remain largely unchanged in accordance with the outcomes of the surveys. However, the skills, competencies and knowledge in the field of online learning and teaching must be fundamentally expanded. In order to successfully establish digital learning/distance learning and teaching in adult education, the specific teaching-learning processes and their quality assurance should be taken into account.

This could enable active and reflective learning, the processing of authentic tasks taking into account current topics, collaboration and interaction between participants and instructors, various and diversely designed learning sequences and learning times in a virtual learning environment. Digital and/or distance learning can no longer be ignored in our world due to the flexibility that is increasingly demanded of us and, in some cases, necessary for our health.

At the same time, however, a variety of fears were expressed. Although digital teaching and learning meets the requirements of fast and flexible implementation of isolated learning in relation to our accelerated time structures and can also be used for targeted self-optimization, it prevents the resonance necessary for adult education (see Rosa 2018, p. 5) and also deprives participants of the time for leisure and sustainable internalization of what they have heard, read and learned. What therefore falls by the wayside is "[...] responsive interactions between teachers, pupils, things, spaces and provinces of meaning [...]" (Beljan 2017, p. 16 f). Educational measures would thus be reduced to unrelated, interchangeable scenarios at any time and could no longer serve as a joyful and cooperative space of expectation, creation and resonant interaction.

The following topics are relevant for the Educators in terms of further education and training in the future in order to develop their skills and knowledge in an action-oriented and prospective manner. The topics can be divided into two categories (organizational and content-related needs) according to the surveys and are ranked according to the number of mentions.

1. Organizational needsTools for the development and creation of online materials; establishment of digital media for targeted communication and collaboration with participants and company colleagues; online quality assurance tools; establishment of digital tools (IKM, BIST, diagnostic tools) to measure learning progress or to identify special needs of participants and to be able to respond to these in a targeted and individualized manner; online recruiting tools; MS Excel.
2. Content requirementsTraining and development of digital synchronous (simultaneous) and asynchronous (delayed) teaching and learning methods; training and development of multisensory training design; didactics of web-based learning for different target groups; inverted classroom models; training in online media competence; training in the critical handling of information and data; training on topics ranging from online safety to knowledge of technology and coding; training in correct communication and cooperation behavior in cyberspace; creation of online materials; digital evaluation.

All requirements can generally be classified as forward-looking, time-independent in terms of teaching, facilitating work and increasing efficiency. Furthermore, it can be deduced from the results of the pedagogical staff that there is an enormous educational deficit when it comes to digitalization.

The next chapter presents the results of the analysis in the area of methods for communicating organizational and content-related needs.

The new educators: Results of the analysis in the area of methods

The methods were selected as part of the group discussion process on the basis of the following attributes (cf. Roser 2002, quoted from Heisig 2005, p. 73): high relevance and usefulness; avoidance of information overload; target orientation; reliability; sustainability; efficiency; high cost-benefit factor and resource potential.

The blank tables were handed out to the teachers separately and evaluated as part of the group discussion process. There were only two evaluation options: Approval "√" or rejection "-". The tables below therefore show the consolidated evaluations. The results are therefore based exclusively on the quantitative voting majority. Consequently, the following text summarizes the participants' comments on the results, including the tables listed, and the participants' output determined on the basis of the minutes.

Table 1: Evaluation of personal methods (own compilation)

The methods E-learning and Blended learning can be attributed consistently positive results; they should certainly be used in further and advanced training. The method Blended learning The advantage is that open questions can be discussed in person in face-to-face mode. The method Coaching offers the advantage of specific and personality-oriented advice for the respective employees as well as the promotion of self-assessment. However, the appointment of an external coach can result in high costs. The method Collaborative Learning can therefore be assessed as positive in all respects. The individual success can therefore be recorded in solidarity, and the implementation is cost-efficient, effective and sustainable.

Table 2: Evaluation of technology-related methods (own compilation)

As can already be seen from the table, the method Wiki the attributes of avoiding information overload and reliability are rated negatively. The reason for this is the fear that, on the one hand, there are no regulated and standardized correction mechanisms for the content created or adapted by the employees and, on the other hand, the amount and structure of the content could appear confusing. The method Inter/intranet and corporate cloud is generally recommendable, but concerns were expressed about the excessive quantity of content and the dependence on a functioning Internet. The method Microlearning was therefore consistently rated positively and as a useful tool for small and online-based learning units. Learning Management Systems are also consistently rated positively as storage media for online content, which, in addition to organizing learning processes, also enables communication between learners and teachers (see Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien 2019). The methods E-learning and Blended learning can also be recommended.

In conclusion, it can be stated on the topic of "The new educators" that with good financial and personnel resources, motivated and activated employees and guidelines from a management with an affinity for further education, all of the evaluated methods could positively fulfill all attributes.

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"The new educators": Extended bibliography[1]

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[1] In addition to the literature used, this directory on the topic of "The new educators" lists additional specialist literature in order to enable in-depth study of individual aspects of the topic.